The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

In all honesty, the PLA did its utmost to protect the wounded. All the wounded received meticulous care and bandages, and the bodies were even cleaned briefly, a feat that cost a considerable amount of money. Furthermore, the personal belongings of all prisoners and fallen soldiers were registered and handed over to Wang Shizhen. This act of righteousness is unprecedented in Chinese history.

The PLA also suffered numerous casualties during this engagement. Of course, the PLA's gains were also substantial: weapons and equipment for over 20,000 men, a regiment's worth of horses and equipment, and countless ammunition and supplies. This single capture alone could arm tens of thousands of men, enough to form a substantial war reserve.

Chapter 352:

The Qing court was naturally suspicious of the Shaanxi Red Bandits' release of prisoners, especially when they learned that the wounded New Army soldiers had received medical treatment. They were incredulous and needed to understand the details of the situation to uncover the Red Bandits' conspiracy. As a defeated general, Wang Yingkai naturally had little to say about the investigation and questioning. He no longer controlled his own fate, so he naturally couldn't care less about the New Army soldiers. Wang Shizhen, however, felt that since they had been defeated, a thorough investigation was necessary, so he was complacent and paid no attention.

The court officials were shocked by the Red Bandits' actions. Karl Landsteiner of the University of Vienna in Austria first discovered the ABO blood type in 1901, for which he was awarded the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. However, the unscientific Qing officials considered blood transfusions not medical practice but witchcraft. Naturally, they accused the Shaanxi Red Bandits of conspiracy, or that the patient had been poisoned by a blood poisoning or possessed by a demon! Such foolish theories abounded.

As a result, these seriously injured soldiers did not receive timely medical treatment, and many died from wound infections. Even those who survived were not allowed to return to the New Army to continue their service. Upon returning home, they faced isolation and rejection from their fellow soldiers, which had a profound impact on their lives. Two New Army soldiers, unable to bear the pressure, even committed suicide by slitting their wrists. It wasn't until their hometowns were liberated and basic medical knowledge became available that these rumors ceased.

These were not the worst things. The Manchu supervisors among the Beiyang New Army prisoners immediately started to complain as soon as they were released. The speeches made by the Forward Party to the captured officers and soldiers were naturally the focus of their complaints. Moreover, they also revealed that there might be undercover members of the Forward Party in the Beiyang New Army. This was a big deal. It was not only the Forward Party that would purify the team. Traitors were hated by all forces. And when Tie Liang saw this situation, he thought it was great! He could take this opportunity to remove the mark left by Yuan Shikai, clean up the disobedient officers, and completely control the Second Regiment of the New Army. So, he immediately issued an order that these prisoners must be thoroughly investigated. The supervisors who received the order immediately isolated these Beiyang New Army soldiers and conducted an investigation.

Did the military supervisors know how to conduct an investigation? Of course they did: through torture. Due to the massive expansion of the Beiyang New Army, the Qing Dynasty, in order to control the new army, aggressively placed bannermen in the army to serve as spies. From the Qing court's perspective, these bannermen were naturally trustworthy. They were also aware of the Yuan-Tie dispute, and they had long disliked these Han officers. Now, with orders in hand, it was natural for them to enforce them, and to crack down on them. With a single call from the military supervisors, the bannermen within the army immediately emerged, arresting and interrogating them.

The first targets to be tortured were those New Army soldiers who the supervisors disliked or who dared to contradict them. With nearly 20,000 prisoners, and the Beiyang New Army lacking a system of magistrates, who wouldn't have one or two they disliked? These bannermen tortured these New Army soldiers, forcing them to confess or denounce, and using every possible means to lead the charge back to the officers. This was a serious matter. A confession was naturally impossible, but an indictment was certainly possible.

As a result, a number of officers were captured through reports from the New Army under investigation. The military supervisors naturally tried every possible means to convince these New Army soldiers to prove that the captured officers were colluding with the Red Bandits. This was especially true for the lightly wounded soldiers who had spent time alone with the Red Bandit doctors and were the primary targets of the Bannerman military supervisors' attention. Many of these lightly wounded soldiers, meticulously bandaged by the doctors, died from infection due to lack of timely treatment.

After the Bannermen military supervisors captured a group of people and reported them to the emperor, they were immediately praised and rewarded by Tieliang, who then gave the vacant officer positions to the Bannermen who presided over the review. The other Bannermen immediately understood Tieliang's plan and went crazy. They knew that if they could identify officers, they could get promoted. This was a profit-making business with no investment. Such a good opportunity was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Bannermen were extremely efficient and immediately began to fabricate charges and coerce the captured New Army soldiers into confessing. After signing their names, they had confessions and witnesses. Soon, they captured another group of officers. Then, these Bannermen immediately executed the New Army soldiers and officers together, making the case an ironclad case. For a time, the prisoner camp was filled with blood and gore. The Bannermen's misdeeds directly led to the split between the New Army soldiers and the Qing Dynasty, and also laid the groundwork for officers and soldiers to defect.

By the time Wang Shizhen, the Sixth Regiment's ruler, discovered this problem, half of the officers at all levels of the Second Regiment had already been killed. It was undeniable that these Manchus were highly efficient. Wang Shizhen dared not neglect it any further and immediately sent troops to the prisoner camp to stop the killing by the Bannermen supervisors. He also sent a telegram to Yuan Shikai and the Ministry of War to explain the situation.

After receiving the telegram, Yuan Datou was furious and immediately went to the Ministry of the Army to argue with Tieliang. Tieliang naturally would not admit his mistake. He even praised Tieliang in his heart, saying that as long as he could replenish the officers who obeyed him in time, the Second Town would be out of Yuan Datou's control.

He immediately turned the tables and said, "The Beiyang New Army is the imperial army, not Yuan Shikai's private army. Moreover, there are spies hidden by the Red Bandits in the New Army. We must investigate and eliminate them."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Datou was speechless. Although the killing in the Second Regiment had ceased, it was no longer the same. Many officers and soldiers of the Second Regiment said that if they had known they would encounter such a thing, they would have been better off as prisoners in Shaanxi. Tieliang's actions further weakened the morale of the New Army, and the contradictions became more prominent.

After defeating the enemy in Tongguan, Zhang Feng sent a telegram asking for advice on how to deal with the Qing army in Gansu. Without a second thought, Zhang Yinghao sent a telegram back: Li Su entered Caizhou on a snowy night.

Zhang Feng immediately understood the meaning of the telegram after receiving it. Li Su's snowy night invasion of Caizhou was a much-told story from Zhang Yinghao's military academy lectures, a classic example of a successful surprise attack. Zhang Yinghao's reference was, of course, to the liberation of Gansu. As for why Zhang Yinghao used this allusion, November was not a good time to send troops to Gansu, but there was no time to delay; liberating Gansu in December would have been even more difficult.

In fact, even without Zhang Feng sending a telegram, Zhang Yinghao had already planned to liberate Gansu and Qinghai as soon as possible. At this time, the Military Commission was holding a meeting to listen to the intelligence content in Gansu.

The Party Committee and the Military Commission are not open to religious believers. Those with religious beliefs are not allowed to join the Party, and Zhang Yinghao would never allow anyone with religious beliefs to join the top echelons of the Military Commission. It's not that Zhang Yinghao discriminates against people of faith, but rather that religion must withdraw from politics and must not interfere in politics.

If Zhang Yinghao could tolerate polytheism to some extent, then he could hardly tolerate monotheism. However, since these religions had been introduced to China for so many years, they had become an unchangeable fact, and Zhang Yinghao had to acknowledge them.

Zhang Yinghao distributed the collected information about the Green God Cult to his comrades. After reading it, the comrades all looked serious and roughly understood the purpose of Zhang Yinghao's meeting.

After the comrades finished speaking, Zhang Yinghao addressed the assembled comrades: "We say that the great changes of the past were born with the invisible. We look back to observe the past and to examine the future; we look back to understand the past and to understand the present. There is nothing new under the sun. We, the Forward Party, can only draw lessons and general scientific laws from past events to guide our work. Do all comrades have any objection to this?"

When Zhang Yinghao set the tone for the meeting, all the comrades listened intently. When Zhang Yinghao asked questions, everyone shook their heads, indicating no objection. One of the Party's methods of action is to integrate theory with practice, then summarize and then put it into practice again. Naturally, there were no objections.

Seeing the expressions of his comrades, Zhang Yinghao continued: "Comrades, please read these three sentences first: Gu Yanwu, a thinker in the late Ming Dynasty, commented: "Only the Lu Lu adhered to their national customs and refused to change. They formed gangs and were violent. Even the moral education of successive dynasties could not tame their stubborn and wild habits."

In a memorial to Emperor Qianlong, Shaanxi Governor E Bi wrote: "The Green People in various counties of Xi'an have always been in contact with each other. They often rely on their unity and strength to bully the Han people. They are tyrannical and rude, and steal without restraint. The people in the community suffer greatly from their actions. Occasionally, they are discovered, but they are dealt with as usual. Even the incompetent scholars and officials, when they see Green People fighting, do not report it unless there is any casualty. This has led to their violent behavior.

In his memorial, "Promoting Guyuan Prefecture to a Zhili Prefecture, Adding the Magistrate of Xiamaguan, and Changing the Deputy Magistrate of the Salt and Tea Hall to the Magistrate," Zuo Zongtang pointed out: "Moreover, the Green people have always valued imams, and although they do so in the name of preaching, they are actually secretly encroaching on official power. All local affairs are controlled by imams, and over time the Green people no longer recognize the existence of local officials." "Comrades, do you have any questions about these three paragraphs?"

"Chairman, won't these greens change?"

Zhang Yinghao heard such nonsense and explained directly: "Green Green is very loyal to Green God. The problem with Green Green is that Green God describes a model of the integration of politics and religion and provides a viable lifestyle. Those who believe in Green God are bound to be traitors to the secular regime. If they want to get rid of this lifestyle,

Then they have to completely destroy Green Nerve. But without Green Nerve, are they still green?

"Why not just get them to give up believing in the Green God? Doesn't the documentation say they don't eat pork? Zuo Zongtang and his men forced the Green Gods to eat pork, so they could become Han Chinese again."

After hearing this, Zhang Yinghao almost couldn't help sneering. It took a lot of effort to suppress the sneer. Zhang Yinghao could only say that his comrades were too naive.

"Secular governments must never trust those who believe in the Green Nerve. Comrades, the Green Nerve describes this situation in detail: when pagans show a moderate attitude, these Green God believers will use tough tactics to extract the most benefits possible. When pagans draw their butcher knives and kill the Green God believers, the Green God believers can use various temporary obedience and lies to preserve themselves. So, let alone eating pork, they don't even care if they openly speak words that betray their teachers and ancestors and deny the Green God.

Comrades, faith lies within a person's heart; you can't see or touch it. If he says he no longer believes in Islam, does that mean he no longer believes? Do you believe what he says? In the eyes of Islamists, as long as they have Islam in their hearts, deceiving infidels is a feat in their eyes. They think infidels are easy to deceive, and they may even consider those they deceived fools! Furthermore, comrades, the Hadith of Bukhari states: If a Islamist changes his faith in Islam, he should be killed; the Hadith of Islam also states: There is no punishment for killing apostates. Scripture also states: All non-believers should be converted to Islam by force.

Speaking of this, I personally have great admiration for Muhammad. I truly admire him for devising this system of religious management, which has been rigorously enforced by believers for over a thousand years. Therefore, I can predict that the Muslim faith will surpass Christianity and become the world's largest religion. Although one of our Kadima Party's political stances is anti-religion, I cannot help but admire Muhammad.

"Chairman, even so, the Green Cult shouldn't be that powerful, right?" "Yes, theoretically, a religion can't be that powerful. But its power is determined by the Green Cult's unique structure, which differs from Buddhism and even Christianity. Comrades have seen that the Green Cult is tightly organized. Mosques are the primary organizational units, with believers living around them. Doctrine empowers imams to interfere in every aspect of life. The Green Cult has its own religious rules, civil affairs, judicial, educational, commercial, and military systems. The Green Cult's control over the grassroots is no less than our control over grassroots leaders. It's effectively an underground regime, a theocratic organization. Therefore, when Greens clash with other ethnic groups, they have an advantage. Not only are they well-organized, but they can also rely on each other for external support."

If the Green Cult's organizational mobilization system of "mosques as grassroots branches, imams as political commissars, and believers as militias" is not destroyed, religious intrusion into secular power could even lead to a terrifying situation where the government and religious power jointly rule, with religious power surpassing the government. We should all remember our three magic weapons and three methods of style analysis, right?

Hearing Chairman Zhang Yinghao's words, the comrades present immediately understood. Indeed, if analyzed according to the three magic weapons standard for building a successful organization, the Green God Cult and its Green Greens embody a successful organizational model. Ordinary organizations are truly no match for them.

"Chairman, if you really make that comparison, it does sound terrifying." It is certainly terrifying. Just think about the countries in the world with "Green" in their names.

Zhang Yinghao nodded and said, "Can you imagine Buddhist monks destroying Taoist temples? We've never seen monks or Taoists destroying mosques or killing Muslims. But it's the Muslims who destroy other people's temples and even kill to defend their religious beliefs. Although we materialists are fearless, I still want to avoid some trouble for the future. Right now, our productivity is low, and class contradictions are very sharp, so we can still use class contradictions to resolve this issue. Furthermore, in these troubled times, we can use weapons of criticism rather than the weapons of criticism. Once we incorporate the Muslims into our system, we must fight within the rules, and we can no longer use weapons of criticism."

"Chairman, what should we do specifically?"

Zhang Yinghao did not directly answer the question, but said: "Before we talk about how to do it, we must first understand why the Green Movement keeps resurfacing and why it is so difficult to eradicate it. I have summarized a few points here, comrades, please listen.

First, the Green God Cult utilizes uterine weapons, and their doctrine stipulates polygamy. Given the right conditions, all ethnic groups are quite fertile. However, the Green Cult is deeply influenced by the Green God Cult's teachings. As long as food is plentiful and medical and health facilities are greatly improved, maintaining a very high fertility rate will undoubtedly lead to a significant increase in population.

Second, a Qing cannot marry a pagan. A pagan who wants to marry a Qing must first become a Qing. This rule is quite significant. If 20% of Qing marry pagans in each generation, it would effectively expand the Qing population by 20%. Furthermore, the descendants of Qing must be Qing, essentially eliminating the possibility of converting to other religions. Want to persuade them to convert to Buddhism or Christianity? It's practically impossible, and you'd probably be beaten to death.

Third, the Green Islam is a religion that combines politics and politics with a strong military orientation, a significant advantage. Green Islam mosques serve not only as places of worship but also as gathering places for believers to gather and listen to the teachings of the imam, who generally handles daily disputes among Green Islamists. Crucially, they pray five times a day, and those who can afford it attend mosques. Therefore, even if Green Islamists wish to leave the religion, it is unlikely due to the tight-knit social fabric.

Mosques are effectively the grassroots political structure of the Greens, allowing them to quickly mobilize and rally large numbers of Greens nearby. In times of war, while followers of other sects may be scattered, Greens can gather in mosques, led by their imams, offering greater opportunities for self-defense and offensive action. Therefore, during times of war, non-Greens are much more likely to starve to death or be killed than those who unite. Furthermore, during times of war, Greenism can attract a large number of new converts, as the number of people rescued by Greens increases dramatically, and many, out of gratitude, may convert. Consequently, after each war and after each catastrophe, the Greens' proportion of the population rapidly increases, and Greenism's influence grows even stronger.

Fourth: Once a region's Green population reaches a critical mass and takes power, they will oppress Gentiles through taxation and other means. Gentiles must pay higher taxes, which undoubtedly exacerbates their poverty and suppresses their fertility. What can Gentiles do when they can no longer endure this? Resistance is hopeless, as the regime is already Green. Gentiles will either flee or convert, and the Green ranks will swell.

Fifth: No one can question God or the prophets! Their reasoning is: The prophets are God's agents on earth, the only ones who are absolutely right, so what is there to question? Christians can question Jesus, and we Chinese can question Confucius? That's because they have their faults. How can they be compared to the prophets and God? But in Lulu's view, God and the prophets are absolutely right, and of course they cannot be questioned! It's not them who are wrong, but the whole world."

Chapter 353:

After listening to Zhang Yinghao's story, the comrades all frowned, a little confused about the Green Church. In fact, Zhang Yinghao himself couldn't quite understand it. Just these few points, even in the 21st century, have not changed much. Even in China, marrying a Hui girl often requires converting to the religion and abiding by religious rules, not eating pork, and not drinking alcohol. This is definitely not freedom of religious belief. The implication of coercion is too obvious. Some people will definitely argue that if you don't want to believe in Green Church, then don't marry a Hui girl! No one is forcing you. Is this correct? A modern industrial country is still artificially creating racial segregation and reproductive isolation, and these segregations are naturally existing in religion. It is a very terrible thing. Such religious teachings are definitely problematic.

The biggest problem with Green God is that they put their doctrine before the country. Their religious identity naturally takes precedence over their national identity. The followers of Green God are the most pious. According to the rules and organizational structure, once you enter, don't think about leaving, otherwise you will be severely punished.

The following details how to establish a green regime in the desert area and how to deceive and conceal other regimes in non-desert areas to survive, and

How to ultimately bring down the secular regime.

In the socialist state of China's past, the "Green" movement enjoyed the best conditions for survival. If it weren't for family planning, the "Green" movement would have been ubiquitous. Even so, the cost of maintaining stability in the Northwest remains high. In the 21st century, some are still attempting to establish a Muslim-dominated Islamic state, demonstrating the extraordinary power of the "Green" movement.

As the economy develops, gender equality increases. Women, feeling equal to men, become more compelled to carefully consider their marriage choices, wielding considerable power over whether to have children and how many to have. Furthermore, the greater the time women spend earning money, the less likely they are to have children. The goal is to achieve equality with men and a sense of security. This inevitably leads to a significant decrease in the number of children born. However, the Greens, due to religious rules, continue to enforce childbearing. While this may not be harmful in the short term, what if the situation persists for two, three, four, or five hundred years? A nation's dominant ethnic group will be displaced, and both the nation and the nation will be distorted.

"Chairman, the solution is to do it the other way around, right?"

"Yes, all places we liberate must practice monogamy. This is stipulated in our constitution, and no one can violate it. Secondly, after the liberation of the country, due to improved medical care, we will not allow a situation where half of all children are born to die. The population will inevitably increase rapidly. We are a socialist country, and everything is planned, so we must implement family planning. A couple can only have two children. We must strictly enforce the family planning policy for the Greens to control their population. Thirdly, law enforcement must be strict, and violations must be punished. Regardless of whether they are Han, Green, or any other ethnic group, anyone who breaks the law must be dealt with according to our laws. Imams in mosques will be stripped of their judicial and criminal powers. Fourthly, we must maintain local stability. If Greens attempt to establish a state, rebel, or engage in looting, they must be resolutely suppressed..."

"Chairman, these are the instructions for what we need to do after liberation. What should we do now as we advance?"

Zhang Yinghao said, "Let's first determine a few principles. Do we need to abide by the 'Regulations on Religious Management' formulated by our Religious Affairs Commission when we enter the Northwest? Those who support compliance, raise your hands."

To determine issues of principle, one must vote and take responsibility. However, the issues of principle raised by the Progressive Party must be supported. There is flexibility in the operation, but principles cannot be violated.

Seeing that all the comrades had raised their hands, Zhang Yinghao asked again: "Do we continue to support freedom of religious belief? Raise your hands if you support it."

Freedom of religious belief has been mentioned many times now, and all comrades have raised their hands.

"Chairman, I'd like to ask, aren't religion and belief the same thing? Our Marxism is not a religion."

Zhang Yinghao listened, nodded and said: "That's right, religious belief is only a part of faith. In fact, even without Marxism, each of us actually has faith, it's just a matter of whether you are firm or not. We say that a man is the backbone of the family. The word "master" is actually like a kind of faith. Everyone in the family believes in you. We say: master, have a master, be the master of the house, doctrine, idea, sovereignty, opinion. These are words that only appear after you firmly believe in something. For example, do you have a master in your heart? Only when you stand firm can you have a master. Only when you have a master can you take action. We say that there is no master, no master of the land, and no master is chaos, which actually means the same thing. This is also where Muhammad is powerful. He registered the word "master". In the religious field, the master is Allah.

The word "Lord" is very powerful. Comrades, try it. Fold your hands over your chest and whisper quietly, "Lord! Lord!" Then gradually increase your voice. You'll feel a surge of strength rising from within. We don't believe in religion, but we can sense a profound compassion and a surge of strength from deep within. This is because it strengthens oneself and reinforces one's self-identity. However, if someone prays this way after suffering injustice, violent emotions and the urge to destroy everything will arise within them. Why does this happen? Because if a person is trapped in their own imagination and self-centeredness, they lose their ability to view things objectively and become narrow-minded. We all experience pain and setbacks. If someone who constantly cries out "Lord!" encounters pain and setbacks, they will believe that the fault lies not with them but with the entire world.

Therefore, for Muslims, their primary identity lies in the individual and religion, not in the nation or ethnicity. Everyone must treat them well, because if they are not satisfied, or their demands are not met, they do not look for the fault within themselves, believing that they are not at fault, but rather the entire world is at fault. If a Muslim reaches the perspective of Allah, they become extremely self-absorbed, a form of extreme religious extremism. Such people have no compassion in their hearts, only prejudice and ignorance, and they will kill without the slightest sympathy.

Zhang Yinghao continued, "Let's talk about a few principles. Will we continue to implement the principle of ethnic equality when we march into the northwest? Those who agree with ethnic equality, please raise your hands."

Hearing Zhang Yinghao's question, the comrades gathered their spirits again and raised their hands.

Zhang Yinghao asked the comrades to put down their hands and said with a smile: "Comrades should all understand the political philosophy of our progressive party. Once the principle issues are determined, then we should know

We do not incite ethnic hatred, nor do we engage in ethnic and racial genocide. We talk about ethnic unity every day, so I don’t need to say more.

One of the purposes is to unify thoughts and ask comrades to raise their awareness and vigilance, so as to prevent things like the Tongzhi Hui Rebellion from happening again.

In fact, we hardly encounter many Green People now when we march into the Northwest. The massacre during the Tongzhi Rebellion caused a sharp decline in the population of the Northwest. To what extent did it decline? Originally, the Green People population in the Northwest was about 800 million, 600 million in Gansu and 200 million in Shaanxi, accounting for 25% of the population.

The post-war Green Minority population in Northwest China likely bottomed out at less than 800,000. The Green Minority population in Guanzhong, Shaanxi, was virtually wiped out, save for the 20,000 to 30,000 Green Minorities in Xi'an who did not participate in the rebellion. The remaining tens of thousands of Green Minorities in Shaanxi migrated from the fertile Guanzhong Plain to the impoverished Xihaigu region. Gansu's population plummeted from over 15 million to just over 4 million. Yunnan's Green Minority population, once at 1.3 million, comprised over 10% of the population, but now has fallen to less than 1%. Xinjiang, particularly northern Xinjiang, saw the near-extinction of approximately 200,000 Green Minorities, leaving them at less than 1% of the population.

Ma Hualong, a small group of Jahriyya officials and dignitaries, orchestrated their schemes, only to be met with the shrewd Zuo Zongtang and the ruthless Duolong'a. Ultimately, their efforts were in vain, and their lives were at stake. Ma Hualong, his son, and his closest associates were hacked to pieces, their heads painted and dried, and displayed throughout the country for ten years. Over 300 members of his family were executed, along with over 1800 key members and their families.

Although tens of millions of Han people in the northwest and southwest suffered heavy losses due to the sudden attack and massacre by the Green Cavalry and the subsequent plague, the Green People were definitely the bigger losers. The Green People in the Guanzhong Plain, Hehuang Valley, Hexi Corridor, Northern Xinjiang Oasis, Hetao Plain and other core cross-regions of the northwest, as well as half of Yunnan west of Kunming, suffered heavy losses. They lost the population and territory that they had accumulated over hundreds of years since they entered the Central Plains as vassal troops of the Chinese invaders in the early Yuan Dynasty.

During the Southwest Rebellion, the Green rebels nearly wiped out the Bai, Dai, and Naxi peoples of central Yunnan, attempting to merge with the Northwest through Sichuan and Guizhou. During the Northwest Rebellion, the Green rebels advanced northward into Inner and Outer Mongolia and westward across Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, and Xinjiang. Han, Manchu, Mongolian, White, Dai, Tibetan, Naxi, Zhuang, Miao, Yao, and other non-Islamic ethnic groups, as well as the Greens, all suffered heavy casualties. The Northwest remains vast and sparsely populated, leaving no winners. Why were we able to implement land reform after liberating Shaanxi? A major reason is that Shaanxi's vast territory and sparse population created little resistance to land reform...

Zhang Yinghao talked about the current situation in the Northwest and said: "So what policy should we adopt when we march into the Northwest to liberate it? In fact, when we march into Gansu and Qinghai provinces, this is the only time we can use weapons directly to criticize people. It will basically be impossible in the future. Even if there is a rebellion, it will basically be impossible to carry out large-scale killings. What is the situation in the Northwest now? After we liberated Shaanxi, the former Governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, Song Fan, became the Governor of Gansu. He trained the army in Gansu for more than a year, and their training should have achieved some results. There is also a military base in Ning Dong Fuxiang, a veteran general from Jinjibao, formerly Ma Hualong's stronghold, was re-appointed by the Qing and returned to help the Qing court train troops in Ningxia Prefecture. It was Dong Fuxiang who coined the phrase "staining the cap with blood." However, Gansu only has so few men, and even if we deploy troops at full capacity, we won't be able to produce many. Furthermore, facing machine guns and cannons, what's the point of having more soldiers armed with swords and spears? Therefore, my advice is to completely eliminate all armed forces that resist us unless they surrender. We should carry out land reform while simultaneously suppressing the rebellion and carrying out reforms. We should proceed cautiously and steadily, putting down the rebellion and carrying out reforms simultaneously.

"Chairman, isn't this a bit hasty? Xinjiang and the border minority areas have maintained the status quo until now."

Zhang Yinghao nodded and said, "Comrades, it's understandable that you think this way. Why aren't we rushing to carry out land reform immediately in border minority areas like Xinjiang and Yunnan? It's actually very simple. These places are too isolated and the language is not common. Forcing social reforms will inevitably lead to chaos. Many places are still in the state of slavery or even primitive society. We must have enough patience. But Gansu is different~"

After saying this, Zhang Yinghao pointed at the map and said, "People in Ningxia Prefecture, Pingliang Prefecture, Qingyang Prefecture, Qinzhou, Jiezhou, Jingzhou, and Gongchang Prefecture should all be aware of our land reform policy by now. Gannan is the core area of ​​Gansu, with a relatively concentrated population, accounting for over 60% of Gansu's population. Once we liberate these areas, liberating the entire Gansu will be easy."

"Chairman, didn't you say Dong Fuxiang is still in Ningxia Prefecture? His personal information shows that he is still a hero in the fight against foreign powers!"

"Yes, so I want to see if the issue of Dong Fuxiang can be resolved politically. I will write a telegram to the Shaanxi Military Sub-district and ask them to find a way to hand over what I wrote to Dong Fuxiang to see if the problem can be resolved peacefully. However, it doesn't matter whether he is in Gansu or not, or wherever he is. We will not change our policies because of a certain person. If the other party is unwilling to stand on the side of the people, we can only sweep him into the dustbin of history. We say that revolution and counter-revolution are a pair of contradictions. Don't they know that we are carrying out land reform in Shaanxi? What can they do? They can only carry out more counter-revolutionary rule. By doing this, they have actually promoted the maturity of the revolution. We have always said that revolution is nurtured among the people. If the people in places like Ningxia and Qinzhou are still completely unaware of what is happening in Shaanxi, then our propaganda is not enough.

Even if the people of Gansu had never heard of our revolution, the conditions for revolution in Gansu were already fully ripe. After we liberated Shaanxi, the Manchu Qing government in Gansu, in order to maintain its corrupt rule, imposed heavy taxes and levied extortion, and officials at all levels exploited the people. Just as the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal struggle is now surging across the country, with uprisings, riots, and executions of corrupt officials occurring one after another, the feudal rulers' repression has become even more brutal.

For example, since its establishment as a county, Dunhuang has served as a vital granary for the northwest throughout the dynasties. As early as the Han Dynasty, the practice of cultivating land for frontier garrisons and resettling people to cultivate land for farming was implemented to build granaries. During Zuo Zongtang's tenure as Governor-General of Shaanxi and Gansu, the policy of cultivating land for farmers was once again implemented to replenish the granaries. But what about now? Corrupt officials exploit Dunhuang's granaries by directly exploiting the peasants. Under the pretext of "Gansu's insufficient military funds," the government exploits local grain procurement to extort money, requiring each household to pay an additional 4 dan of purchased grain annually, in addition to the grain it pays for garrisoning. In times of abundance and scarcity, and price fluctuations, the combined garrison and procurement taxes are now a permanent fixture.

This meant that each farmer had to pay an additional 4 dan of grain per year. Unable to afford this, the farmers demanded a reasonable reduction of the burden, but the government ignored them and instead used violence to suppress them, forcibly purchasing their grain, leading to large-scale resistance against the grain.

The heavy taxes imposed by the corrupt government, the hardships of conscription and assignment, and the miserable life in dire straits constantly inspired the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal struggle of the people of Dunhuang.

Dunhuang farmer Zhang Jianming and martial arts candidate Zhang Huming led a group of more than 20 farmers to petition the Dunhuang County Government to exempt them from purchasing grain. The county magistrate, Wang Zonghan, refused.

The government dismissed the matter as a "century-old case," then imprisoned and executed three of the farmers who signed the petition, accusing them of "collecting money for lawsuits, misappropriating funds, and secretly cultivating government farmland." This was intended to deter others from purchasing grain. The government's unreasonable and brutal killings further inflamed the farmers' anger.

Zhang Huming and his brothers secretly organized a resistance group, which gained momentum in the surrounding villages. Upon hearing the news, the leaders of the resistance peasants secretly convened a mass meeting, urging everyone to take action and prepare to resist the Qing army's suppression. However, the news leaked, and Wang Zonghan immediately dispatched troops to secretly surround Zhang Huming's residence that night. During the struggle, the Qing soldiers opened fire, wounding Zhang Huming. He was then arrested and his property was looted.

So it wasn't us who created the revolution; it was the people who needed it. Even without us, these peasants would have continued their struggle. So, as long as we liberated Dunhuang, these peasants who resisted the grain harvest would be our best allies. As long as we bring them justice, they would immediately support us, and the conditions for distributing the land would be ripe.

Zhang Yinghao can only tell his comrades what to do, but he himself can't know everything. What if his subordinates don't do it? Zhang Yinghao can't do it himself, right? This depends on organizational discipline. Just like when Ma Huigen and Gulina Eva were forced to do their love affairs, and just like when Liu Wenxiu and others slaughtered civilians in Tsarist Russia, if the local comrades don't fight it themselves, or if the local comrades agree to it, what reason does Zhang Yinghao have to oppose it? As long as it adheres to the system of centralization and does not violate the Party Constitution and Program, Zhang Yinghao can only comply. So Zhang Yinghao can only keep moving forward and let others follow him. This is perhaps what politicians do.

Chapter 354:

Marxism is based on the ever-progressing science of science, and it must evolve with the advancement of science and technology. Marxists must also flexibly apply Marxism as science and technology advance, integrating theory and practice for mutual progress. If one merely memorizes a few Marxist phrases, then that person is not a Marxist, but a dogmatist.

From a revolutionary's perspective, Zhang Yinghao's criticism of the armed forces aiding the Qing Dynasty during the liberation of Gansu was perfectly acceptable, as it was an enemy-enemy conflict. However, once the PLA liberated Gansu, the criticism of their use of force changed its nature, becoming an internal conflict among the people. Further use of force would not stand the test of history and would be politically incorrect. At that point, Zhang Yinghao could only resort to the weapons of law and regulation.

Zhang Yinghao unified the thoughts of the top leaders, and Zhang Feng soon received Zhang Yinghao again.

Zhang Feng saw the detailed telegram sent by Hao. In addition to military affairs, the telegram also listed many items, many of which were religious, such as the abolition of the sect.

At first, he didn't know what the Menhuan system was. He went to the Religious Affairs Administration Committee in Shaanxi to learn about it. Only then did he realize that it was a system of religious hereditary succession and a special status for "high-ranking families" formed under the influence of traditional Chinese culture. This system gave Lü Lü a strong mobilization ability.

After Zhang Feng knew what it was, he naturally knew that these things must be abolished. Now that Shaanxi has eliminated the threat from Tongguan, the mobilized troops and resources can be directly invested in the military operation to liberate Gansu.

Just before Zhang Feng set off, he received another telegram from Zhang Yinghao. After reading it, Zhang Feng immediately arranged for his comrades to secretly deliver the telegram to Dong Fuxiang. As for Dong Fuxiang's final choice after reading it, it was not something that Zhang Feng and Zhang Yinghao could decide.

Zhang Feng tried his best to avoid the eyes and ears of Gansu, secretly assembled eight divisions of regular troops on the border of Shaanxi and Gansu, and divided them into three groups to directly attack Gansu. The Qing army in Gansu can now

The Beiyang Army did not have the luxury of getting much support from the Qing court, and they did not even have a single heavy machine gun. In fact, it is not surprising. Gansu did not have any heavy industry, and Shaanxi was liberated by the Forward Party. It had to go through Mongolia for thousands of miles to transport heavy equipment. Even if there was a heavy industry,

Machine guns will soon become scrap metal, so what's the point of equipping heavy machine guns? Gansu's strength lies in mobile warfare, cavalry and sabers, but sabers are outdated in modern warfare.

"Comrades, the Sichuan People's Liberation Army has liberated XZ and the two provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou. I know that many comrades have long envied the Sichuan comrades for a chance to fight and want to liberate Gansu and Qinghai as soon as possible. Quite a few letters of request to fight have piled up on my desk. Comrades, Chairman Zhang Yinghao of the Party Central Committee has now issued us a glorious order, requiring our Shaanxi Military Sub-district to immediately dispatch troops to liberate the northwestern Gansu and Qinghai regions. Comrades, don't we say every day that we are the people's army, the people's team? Don't we say every day that we want to liberate all of China? The people in Gansu and Qinghai are suffering now. We are going to overthrow the corrupt rule of the Qing Dynasty and liberate the suffering people. Comrades, now it is finally our turn to make a difference. Fight to Lanzhou and liberate Gansu Province."

"Fight to Lanzhou and liberate Gansu Province." "Fight to Lanzhou and liberate Gansu Province."

"Long live Chairman Zhang." "Long live Chairman Zhang."

The commissar mobilized the troops and immediately marched into Gansu Province. Since the People's Liberation Army had liberated Shaanxi, a group of Qing officials began to make even more traitorous statements, echoing those of the coastal defense faction led by Li Hongzhang during the Tongzhi Rebellion. They advocated dividing the country with the Communist bandits, using the Yellow River as the boundary. However, Cixi, aware of the Communist bandits' ambitions, naturally disagreed with these officials.

Unwilling to lose the Northwest, Empress Dowager Cixi sent all the Ma family generals who had previously escorted her to Gansu via Mongolia to lead the army. Dong Fuxiang, who had been held in custody, was also released by the Qing court and placed in command of Ningxia Prefecture. Ma Fuxiang, for example, now served as the Qing general in Gansu. However, Gansu has always been relatively poor, and coupled with the severe drought before 1901, the Gansu Qing government lacked the leadership of the Forward Party, and thus has yet to recover.

No one could have imagined that the PLA, having just repelled the attack from Tongguan, would turn around and march directly into Gansu. Furthermore, the weather was growing increasingly cold, and if Gansu could not be liberated quickly, things would inevitably change over time. The prolonged standoff had made the defending Qing army extremely complacent.

The PLA's 5th and 6th Northern Route Divisions entered Gansu from Guguan. After fighting at Renshanhe, they annihilated a portion of the Qing army and liberated Pingliang, over a hundred kilometers away. As Zhang Yinghao had anticipated, nearly all the civilians along the route were familiar with the Forward Party's policies in Shaanxi. While the landlord class naturally feared the PLA and the Forward Party, the poor, having long endured the hardships of the Qing, eagerly awaited the liberation of the PLA. After liberating Pingliang, the two divisions continued their advance, capturing the crucial Sanguankou Pass. They then prepared to liberate the strategic Liupan Mountain, directly responsible for liberating Haiyuan and Guyuan, while also containing the Gansu cavalry. Over several days of fighting, they annihilated over 10,000 enemy troops.

The 9th, 10th and 12th divisions of the People's Liberation Army in the middle route broke through the three defense lines set up by the Qing army in Gansu with a thunderous momentum in a very short period of time. The cavalry units attacked quickly and even broke into the hinterland of Gansu faster than the retreating Qing army on the defense line. Before the Qing army officers and soldiers in Qinzhou City could react,

Unexpectedly, they rushed directly into Qinzhou City. The situation of Dashihe and Ju was a double-net fight, and they captured Ma Fuxiang and other Qing officers and officials in Qinzhou City.

All.

After that, the Qing army in Gansu did not deploy any more troops along the way. The People's Liberation Army took advantage of the victory and attacked, and the cavalry killed the enemy for thousands of miles, sweeping away all the enemies along the way and liberating a large area of ​​eastern Gansu.

On November 12, Qin'an was liberated. On the 13th, Gangu, Qingshui, and Qin'an were liberated. On the 14th, Tongwei and Wushan were liberated. On the 15th, Jingning, Longxi, and Huining were liberated. On the 18th, Dingxi and Weiyuan were liberated. On the 19th, Xihe, Lintao, and Yuzhong were liberated. On the 20th, Kangle was liberated. On the 21st, Hezheng and Guanghe were liberated. On the 22nd, Linxia was liberated. With this, the semi-encirclement of Lanzhou was completed. The PLA immediately halted its military operations and began consolidating the newly liberated areas. They also observed the Songfan's next move, hoping that the Songfan would mobilize all their armed forces from Qinghai and other places to defend Lanzhou.

The 15th Division of the Southern Route set out from Lueyang, Hanzhong, to liberate Chengxian County and was also responsible for liberating Jiezhou and other places.

Zhang Feng was overjoyed when he learned that his troops had successfully captured Qinzhou. Qinzhou is the legendary birthplace of Fuxi, known as the hometown of Emperor Xi, and is also the birthplace of the Qin State and the Qin people during the Spring and Autumn Period.

After the PLA captured Qinzhou, they immediately detained the Qing officials there. They also rushed to transport supplies in preparation for the subsequent liberation of Lanzhou, while also guarding against a surprise attack from the Qing army in Lanzhou. This type of warfare was very unfamiliar to the PLA. After all, Gansu was an unfamiliar place, and no one knew whether the Qing army would launch a surprise attack, or where the attack would come from.

As soon as Zhao Dabao dismounted, everyone gathered around the map to study it again. Actually, the map wasn't much to look at; everyone had already studied it countless times before the attack. They had long been thinking about how to liberate Gansu, and the comrades simply spent their free time studying the map. They had already studied the map thoroughly.