The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

They were exploited and oppressed by foreigners, foreign companies, docks, foremen, and gangs. But in the countryside, the tenant farmers were the most oppressed. In the mines,

The miners are the most oppressed. Therefore, our comrades must go into these places where oppression is the most severe, understand their lives, educate and transform them, and develop them into our own comrades.

?"

"Chairman, do you mean to have our comrades work as porters at the docks and miners in the mines?"

"Yes, that's what I mean. While we are working, we also organize literacy classes and study classes to explain our principles to these workers.

Comrade Ren is the comrade most receptive to our revolutionary ideas. However, we must recruit members secretly, keep the party secrets, and not act openly.

"Okay, we will work in this direction from now on."

The method Zhang Yinghao mentioned is the method used by the gc party in later generations. When scholars enter factories and mines to work, they can easily gain the trust of workers and be accepted by them. Zhang Yinghao is also making arrangements in advance.

The Bureau has infiltrated its power into these factories in advance to prepare for the future.

"Report, Chairman, I'm here."

"Oh, Zhang Kai is here. Please come in. I hope I didn't disturb your work by calling you here in such a hurry."

"Oh, I'm just overwhelmed with thoughts and wanted to ask the chairman for advice. Excuse me? No thanks."

"Come, have some tea."

Zhang Yinghao poured a cup of tea for Zhang Kai and said: "Public Security Police

"Cha" literally means public safety, vigilance, and investigation. Anyone who threatens public safety or commits a crime will be punished by your own efforts. I'll see when I have time to write you a book on "Basic Public Security Knowledge." As for the rest, you'll have to figure it out on your own.

"Ok."

"I called you here this time because I have a job for you to do."

"What job?"

"Household registration book, ID card. That is to establish a household registration system, establish a household

You see, Comrade Tianqiao and Comrade Kesheng are here too. If you cooperate with me this time and complete this task, it will be your responsibility in the future.

The police officer completed it himself. The ID card is like the badge we use to prove our identity now, with information such as name, age, birthplace, etc. on it. The household registration booklet is the basic information of a household. The ID card and the household registration booklet complement each other...

"Chairman, once you tell us, we know what to do."

"That's all right. You must understand one thing. These ID cards and household registration books will be used nationwide in the future, so they must be taken seriously. With these two things, we will be able to manage them more conveniently. We can identify those who don't have our base ID cards and household registration books and conduct strict inspections. Our supply and marketing cooperatives will also pay close attention to those who, for example, suddenly purchase too much food."

With the household registration booklet and ID card, we have one of the most important foundations for our collective defense and joint governance. From now on, anyone leaving the village or taking in a stranger must have the village head's certificate and signature. This way, any spies or secret agents will have no place to survive."

"Chairman, is this the Baojia system?"

Zhang Yinghao waved his hand and said, "It's not the baojia system. It's a temporary measure to prevent the landlord class from retaliating and to protect the people. The landlords are slaughtering our people, and we've come up with this solution to solve the problem. It's actually a very good method at the forefront of our expansion, but in Zhangjiagou and Liujiazhai, do you think it needs to be too strict? This is just a temporary measure. We'll use whatever method works best."

"Chairman, should we equip the villagers with weapons?"

"Look at what weapons the landlords used to kill the people this time. Look at what weapons the Qing army in Sichuan is using now."

"Haha, Chairman, they almost all used muzzle-loading rifles and muzzle-loading pistols. Only a few used smoke rifles and Shuli pistols. Many also used broadswords, spears, and bows and arrows. Chairman, are you saying that Qing officials were involved in this landlord counterattack?"

"I don't know. A wild goose leaves its voice behind, a man leaves his name behind. I don't believe this landlord just fell from the sky. Or is there some bandit armed force nearby, or is there some local landlord who is behind this?"

"It is indeed urgent to implement collective prevention and control and joint prevention and control."

"However, protecting our homeland isn't just the responsibility of our Forward Party and the Revolutionary Army; it's the responsibility of every citizen. Therefore, we must maintain close contact with the masses and work with them to ensure effective prevention and control. And Comrade Ke Sheng, could you please share the spy tactics I wrote with the people in the base area? The people have sharp eyes."

Yuan Kesheng replied, "But, Chairman. If we tell the masses all the tricks, won't those spies also learn them? Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Zhang Yinghao said, "You! There's nothing wrong with that. Whether we publicize it or not, there will still be spies. And we want to tell those spies that we are cracking down on them. Only when we publicize it will the people know more about the truth. The people have sharp eyes, don't worry!"

When it comes to ancient spy agencies, Zhang Yinghao only knows about the Jinyiwei, Dongchang, and Xichang of the Ming Dynasty. But in fact, there have been spy organizations in every dynasty, including the Embroidered Uniform Envoys of the Han Dynasty, the Plum Blossom Inner Guards of the Tang Dynasty, and the Imperial City Division of the Song Dynasty.

Zhang Yinghao had to admit one thing: from the founding of the Qing Dynasty to its demise, only during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng did the Qing Dynasty establish a non-official intelligence agency: the Sticking Rod Office. It could be said that the Qing Dynasty lacked any spy agencies, a historical oddity. Of course, the Qing Dynasty was legitimate, so naturally, countless lackeys betrayed intelligence to the Qing Dynasty, thereby gaining promotion. In a previous life, people like Qiu Jin were arrested due to betrayal by traitors, but this was not a Qing Dynasty intelligence agency.

The Ming Dynasty was the heyday of intelligence agencies. To better monitor their subjects, the Zhu family emperors established the East Factory, West Factory, and Embroidered Uniform Guard, which ran rampant throughout the dynasty. Even in the late Ming Dynasty, intelligence agencies like the East Factory still wielded considerable power, which accelerated the dynasty's downfall.

During the Qing Dynasty, the previous dynasty's intelligence agencies were completely abolished, and no dedicated intelligence agencies were established. The implication was clear: the Qing dynasty, learning from the Ming Dynasty's decline, strengthened centralization and tightened the imperial grip on power. It wasn't until the 48th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign that Aisin-Gioro Yinshen, later known as Emperor Yongzheng, established a similar intelligence agency, the "Nianganchu."

The stick sticking place is officially called "Shangyu spare place". It has a name that people have heard of, which is the legendary blood drop.

As the name suggests, the "Sticking Rod Office" is a service organization that specializes in catching cicadas, dragonflies and fishing.

After Yongzheng came to power, he strengthened this organization, comparing people to insects, that is, to be airtight and leave the enemy nowhere to escape. As a special intelligence agency, the Sticking Rod Office played an important role in the history of the Qing Dynasty.

In the face of ambushes on all sides, Yinzhen created a secret office, secretly managed and raised experts and collected intelligence. In addition to the wisdom and strategy of Emperor Yongzheng,

The pole department also made great contributions.

However, since the reign of Emperor Yongzheng, the duties of the Sticking Rod Office have changed.

Gradually, the main job changed from gathering intelligence to accompanying the emperor on his outings and serving him. By the Guangxu period, the Nianshichu was just an empty box.

Therefore, Zhang Yinghao established an intelligence agency to guard against and inquire about the Qing Dynasty's intelligence, but its real purpose was to prepare for the future.

Of course, we call it the Intelligence Bureau now, but we'll change the name to the National Security Bureau in the future!

"Chairman, do you have any other instructions?"

"Since you're here, don't leave yet. Let's chat." Then he turned to the messenger and said, "Messenger, please gather all the Central Committee members and newly appointed alternate members stationed in the nearby villages. I need to hold a meeting to brief them on the latest situation."

Zhang Yinghao said: "You three departments can have competition, but you can't have vicious competition or sabotage each other. Instead, you should cooperate more. Especially

Comrade Tianqiao, when doing intelligence work, must promptly coordinate with Xiangtian's troops. We don't quite understand the specifics of intelligence work, but we can definitely study the chapter on using spies in Sun Tzu's Art of War. It says there are five types of spies: local spies, internal spies, counter-spies, dead spies, and living spies. In fact, when it comes to the methods of using spies, there is no better way than Sun Tzu's Art of War.

content."

Zhang Yinghao took a sip of tea from his teacup before continuing: "However, as a modern political party, our Progressive Party has a strong sense of responsibility for intelligence work.

We must have a focus, and we should make some changes. For example, we can do without spies, and we don't care about assassinations or assassinations. Since we believe we hold the truth, we must use open tactics and act openly and honestly. Cultivating talent is not easy. As revolutionaries, we must be prepared to sacrifice our lives at any time, but this does not mean sending our comrades to their deaths. We must show the enemy that we can defeat them openly and honestly.

We don't use dead spies ourselves. We don't resort to assassinations or poisonings. But we must guard against our enemies using dead spies against us. We can't let them use these tactics against us. That's why we established the Intelligence Bureau, specifically responsible for gathering intelligence and combating the enemy. Therefore, your intelligence work is extremely important. Sometimes, it even means the life and death of our base.

But now I need you to gather more economic intelligence, such as current prices in Chongqing, what Chongqing exports, where to buy machinery, and where to find the talent we need. We really need this information! This kind of work isn't dangerous, but it's the intelligence we need most..."

Zhang Yinghao's Quotes: Changing yourself without a goal is very painful. Not many people have a goal, so there are very few people who change themselves!

Chapter 58

Zhang Yinghao knew that intelligence agencies were essential for a modern nation. While they could be used to gather classified information, counterintelligence could never cease. Commercial intelligence and other such areas were also crucial at this stage. Most importantly, the next few decades would be arguably the most turbulent period in human history, and the importance of intelligence work could never be overstated.

And then there were those revolutionaries who carried out assassinations, poisonings, and formed assassination squads, only to be retaliated against and suffer the consequences, killing more of their own people than their enemies. Zhang Yinghao urged Li Tianqiao to pay attention to this and make preparations early.

When almost all the committee members and alternates had arrived, Zhang Yinghao informed them of the landlords' massacre of civilians. The comrades were naturally outraged, and one even suggested executing all the landlords and gentry they had arrested to prevent future trouble. Zhang Yinghao firmly opposed this.

Zhang Yinghao said: "Comrades have always been wondering why I was so wary of the landlord militia. We didn't encounter much resistance when we attacked them, and we always defeated them with few casualties. Moreover, we didn't let any of the landlords we captured go, and they were either publicly tried or sent to labor camps. We didn't need to be on guard against these landlords at all, they couldn't cause any trouble.

They really can't make any waves in front of our revolutionary army, but what if they face the masses? What if they face those ordinary, unarmed civilians? Are they still dispensable? Of course not, they are just jackals, tigers and leopards, and they are the kind that eat people without leaving any bones and kill people without blinking an eye.

Now you have all seen how the landlords slaughtered our people. Just one small landlord who escaped caused more than a hundred casualties among the people. So these landlords and gentry hate the working people who divided their land with their bones, and they must get rid of them as soon as possible. In their theory, these people are bad at heart, and they must be tortured to death and become corrupt before they can be at ease. Therefore, our attitude towards landlords and evil gentry should be consistent from beginning to end, that is, not giving them the opportunity to harm us ordinary people. Do you all agree on this?

Some comrades were indeed frightened by the data. The revolutionary army suffered few casualties when it defeated so many landlords, while the landlord militia carried out a massacre, slaughtering entire villages and wiping out entire households. Now it seems that controlling these landlords is indeed the greatest mercy.

So they all said: "I agree. Of course I agree."

"That's right. That's it."

Despite the numerous casualties caused by the landlords, Zhang Yinghao felt a certain joy deep down. He realized that no one took his many problems seriously, no matter how much he addressed them. This massacre had opened the eyes of his comrades, serving as a lesson for them. Furthermore, as the revolution continued and expanded, incidents like this would become more and more frequent.

"Some comrades say we should kill all the landlords, but I disagree. We are revolutionaries, saving people. If we instigate massacres, we are not saving people, but rather retaliating like the landlords. Why do we hold public trials of captured landlords and gentry, and then let the local people vote to decide their life or death? It is because only the local people know whether they deserve to die. Of course, this is also one of our ways to mobilize the masses. If a landlord and gentry does not deserve to die, but we still want to kill him, then we are taking pleasure in killing people, and those who take pleasure in killing people will never achieve their goals in the world."

So he went on to say: "Some comrades have previously said that we should attack the cities. I am firmly opposed to this because our real enemy at this stage is not the Qing court, but these landlord militia armed forces and bandit gangs. In fact, I have always been very puzzled. Why did the landlord militia stop attacking us after just one attack? You know, what we are doing now is to kill them and cut off their roots.

Only after this counter-revolutionary incident broke out did I finally understand. First, our previous destruction of the landlords' armed forces was so clean and efficient that it frightened them, and our retaliatory actions that same day further frightened them. Second, transportation is underdeveloped, and information exchange is limited. This means it would take time for the landlords to unite, and we simply didn't give them that time. Third, our actions were neither legitimate nor justifiable, and without government support, the landlords were wary. Fourth, each time we attacked the landlords, we would block information beforehand, preventing them from uniting.

We all know that if we suppress information about our actions against landlords in one village, then even the neighboring villages won't know about it. That's why our previous expansion efforts didn't encounter significant resistance. However, as our territory expands, our strength becomes less concentrated, and the villagers' looting of landlords' property previously proved our lack of strength. And this time, the landlord, upon receiving the news, actually fled beforehand, proving we can no longer expand as we once did. Do you all agree with this statement?

The comrades also said: That is indeed the case and they agreed.

Zhang Yinghao then said, "We have gathered so many comrades here, and the decision we have made is in line with the organizational requirements of our progressive party. We are now entering a period of relative shortage of forces, and the comrades we have trained are far behind the pace of our expansion and construction. Therefore, we must intensify the training of our comrades. I would like to put forward four suggestions for discussion. If they are feasible, we will implement them immediately."

First, I just discussed this with Comrades Li Tianqiao, Yuan Kesheng, and Zhang Kai. We need to implement a village-to-village joint defense system within the base area, with collective defense and governance, and joint defense and governance. We will establish village squads, town squads, and county brigades. During the slack season, we can organize villagers for training. Where conditions permit, we can also let villagers practice shooting, so they can lead others to escape in the event of an emergency. We will also establish a children's corps, a children's group, and organize all our students. While they are students in school, they will also be responsible for guarding the village and teaching the villagers literacy when they return home.

The second is to establish our household registration system, strictly distinguishing between rural and urban residents, temporarily controlling large population movements and preventing unpredictable risks. This is primarily done by the police department setting up household registration police to handle this work.

"The third is to form an infrastructure corps, or engineering corps. This is a corps specifically responsible for infrastructure construction, using the same approach we use to organize our own troops. This will reduce the distraction from our combat units and allow for large-scale recruitment. I plan to recruit only 2,000 men this time, taking into account our food needs. Since we're in a year of famine, food and lodging will be provided. As for wages, we'll pay them a pound of grain per day, all in our own currency. After this season's grain harvest, recruiting another 20,000 men won't be a problem. At the same time, the infrastructure corps will also receive cultural education and military training, serving as our secondary talent training base, focusing on training available personnel. We want to make basic education accessible to everyone who aspires to progress."

Zhang Yinghao had never heard of the Infrastructure Engineering Corps in his previous life, so it could be said that this time he had hit the jackpot.

前世在1966年8月1日组建的基建工程兵，1982年撤消,只存在了16年。基建工程兵组建以来，基建工程兵的足迹几乎踏遍了全国近30个省、市、自治区。

During the construction, the infrastructure engineering troops were not afraid of hardship, dirt, or fatigue. With a spirit of perseverance and entrepreneurship, they completed more than 130 national large and medium-sized construction projects and key individual projects, including the Hubei Provincial Chemical Plant and Fertilizer Plant, the Sangshuping Coal Mine in Shaanxi Province, the Panxian Mining Area in Guizhou Province, the Tiefa Mining Area in Liaoning Province, the Liaoyang Petrochemical Fiber Corporation, the Gujiao Mining Area in Shanxi Province, and the Panjiakou Reservoir.

A number of uranium and gold deposits have been discovered;

Completed the second phase of the Beijing subway project and built a large number of teaching, research buildings, factories and residential buildings in Beijing and other large and medium-sized cities;

We completed a hydrogeological survey covering over 220 million square kilometers in North China, Northeast China, Southeast China, and Southwest China, filling a large hydrogeological gap in the most difficult areas of 350 million square kilometers below the national snow line, providing basic data for economic and social development.

The construction and reconstruction of Qinling Mountains, Tianshan Mountains, Sichuan and Zang Mountains and a highway of P-km; the infrastructure engineering corps is responsible for the exploration and construction in a very wide range of fields.

In the process of completing various tasks, a number of advanced collectives and "Lei Feng-style good cadres" Yao Hu have emerged in the infrastructure engineering corps.

Heroic model figure, made important contributions to the socialist modernization drive. Group number: 775111838

In addition to engineering construction, the construction engineering corps also contributes to responding to natural disasters, such as the 1975 Zhumadian flood in Henan and the 1976 Tangshan earthquake.

In that extremely difficult era with poor technical conditions and material scarcity, countless construction engineering soldiers sacrificed their precious lives for the country's construction.

Let me give you two examples: one is the construction of a section of highway in Xinjiang where 168 officers and soldiers died; the other is the construction of the Sichuan-Tibet Highway. The purpose of the four micro-projects is well known to everyone. During the construction process, 2000 soldiers lost their lives. The oldest soldier who died was only 3 years old, and the youngest was only 21 years old. I have to say that this group of construction workers had great achievements (I really thought there was no such department. After looking up the information, I was deeply moved).

I can't say enough, my eyes are filled with tears, I pay tribute to these great comrades.

Zhang Yinghao now plans to establish a construction engineering corps based on actual needs. This represents a significant advancement in his personal growth. He has three goals in mind: first, to cultivate talent; talent is paramount. Second, to focus on construction, as the Qing dynasty left behind a vast mess. Third, to help more disaster victims survive the years of devastation, and the establishment of a construction engineering corps is precisely what meets these requirements.

"Third, if we want to develop, the Qing court in Guang'an cannot remain. If the Qing prefect remains in Guang'an, we cannot act freely. Why did I firmly not allow the occupation of the city some time ago? Why do we want to occupy the city now? We are being realistic. We did not occupy the city some time ago, but we are occupying it now because the conditions have changed. This is a conclusion drawn based on the actual situation. First, we cannot allow the Qing government to collude with the landlords and gentry. Because from our recent experience, we can prove that militia fighting alone is not scary, but organized militia is scary.

If the militia was not recognized by the Qing Dynasty, it would be an illegal militia and would not be able to grow. However, after the Qing Dynasty recognized it, the militia could train and practice with justification. Everyone knows the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which was the country established by Hong Xiuquan and his rebellion. You must know that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom once swept across half of China! In the end, Zeng Guofan and his militia destroyed it.

The most important thing is that everyone knows that the landlords have money, food, and people. If we let them organize themselves, or even train them to achieve results, we will be the ones who suffer. Therefore, we must cut off the connection between the landlords and the government, and cannot let them get the recognition of the Qing Dynasty and openly train militia. However, we did not announce the occupation of Guang'an to the outside world, and we will still focus on the countryside and supplement it with the city. We must build our basic rural base well, otherwise if we all move to the city, what will happen to the vast rural water conservancy construction? The comrades who move to the city also need to eat and drink. Without rural water conservancy construction, especially in a disaster year like now, without a stable food supply in the countryside, will the comrades in the city starve?"

Quotations from Zhang Yinghao: Cultivating successors is the primary consideration for any organization.

Chapter 59

In fact, at this point, Zhang Yinghao wasn't afraid of the Qing court knowing about his revolution, but he still felt he could develop quietly for a while, so he could better consolidate his foundation. At this point, the revolutionary army led by the Forward Party was definitely not invincible. If the Qing knew about his revolution and the crisis of his rule, and the foreign powers knew that their interests would be damaged, they would definitely support the Qing court in suppressing the revolution with all their might.

If the Qing Dynasty truly launched an all-out encirclement and suppression campaign, coupled with the support of the foreign powers, while it would be impossible to completely eliminate the revolutionary forces led by Zhang Yinghao strategically, it would be completely possible to tactically annihilate the revolution led by the Forward Party. The revolutionary army now lacked the foundation for invincibility, so Zhang Yinghao naturally chose to remain dormant.

"Fourth, I plan to establish an administrative academy directly under the central government to train our administrative personnel. Once we conquer a city, we must govern it well. However, we currently have a significant shortage of relevant talent. If we don't intensify training, the gap will only widen in the future. Everyone here should attend the academy, both as a student pursuing further studies and as a teacher.

Comrades, among us here, only Comrade Chen Yiwei is a student studying abroad.

As for the others, hehe, I am not trying to belittle everyone, but almost all of them are from the mud-legged family, or ordinary workers, and are all poor laborers. It is a fact that our cultural level is low, so we must continue to strengthen our studies and make continuous progress in order to do things better. We have also seen those petty officials we caught, they are just doing things for the government, in fact, that is nothing special, we can definitely do it

We should do better than them, so everyone should study hard. We are the typical peasants who come to the city now! We can’t succeed without hard work.”

Everyone laughed after Zhang Yinghao finished speaking. It was indeed a new experience for a peasant to come to the city.

"So after we enter the city, we must do a good job. We can't be driven out and become peasants again because we don't have the ability or can't do the job well. That would be shameful. Another point is that in our newly occupied base area, we can't divide the land first and then start water conservancy construction. The order should be set like this: first carry out water conservancy construction, then elect village heads, and finally...

Can divide the land."

"Chairman, why?"

"Well, it's very simple... because we only work with the masses

Only when we have a strong sense of community and understanding will the people trust us. If our comrades distribute land to the villagers with a condescending attitude, they will not accept it. The village head we elect must also be a comrade who can work alongside the people. If we elect the village head first, the villagers will not understand the election process, and the elected village head will be a prestigious, old-fashioned figure in the village, which will be detrimental to our work. Only by working together with everyone and promoting the cause clearly can we achieve the desired results in land distribution.

Comrades, our revolutionary song goes: "There has never been a savior, nor do we rely on gods or emperors." Comrades, there has never been a savior, and none of us are saviors. Some comrades think the Forward Party is the savior, but this is completely wrong. None of us is a savior, and anyone who thinks they are superior or acts like a savior is making a mistake.

Comrades, to create human happiness, we must rely on ourselves. Where does a happy life come from? Where does our current happy life come from? It must be earned with our own hands and created through labor.

This beautiful house we live in was built by our labor. The rice paddies, the reservoirs and the ditches were built by our labor.

We need steel, and it is our comrades who build the furnaces through their labor. Which of these is missing without our labor? Which of these is missing without the participation of the masses?

Comrades, we are not saviors. At most, we are the vanguard leading the people's labor. Everyone can think about it. In the end, do we, the people sitting here, do more work, or do the working people do more work? I think if it were just us sitting here, I don't know how long it would take to build a reservoir. So comrades, we must recognize our own position. We are merely people who serve the masses. As for everyone being a leader, it is because you have the ability to sit in this position, not because you sit in this position that you have this ability. You can do our work well, but if you give it to other villagers, they will not be able to do it well. This is how you were elected and sit in the position you are today. Do you understand? "

"clear."

"Okay, now let's discuss how to enter Guang'an Prefecture City." Zhang Yinghao took out the information about the prefecture city collected by the intelligence department and distributed it to his comrades. It included information about the positions in the prefecture city, the work content of each department, and the location of the Qing armed forces.

"Now, let's discuss the resettlement of the Manchus, the officials left behind by the Qing Dynasty, and the personnel of the Qing Dynasty's armed forces."

When everyone heard this question, they looked at each other, not knowing what it meant.