The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

Britain exploited the hostile relations among European countries to pursue its own interests, sometimes allying with France to fight Germany, sometimes joining forces with Germany to attack France, and sometimes leading its European allies to bully Tsarist Russia in the east. In short, it was actually trying to prevent the emergence of a unified and invincible superpower on the European continent, that is, to create a divided Europe!

Europe actually resembles the alliances of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Without the emergence of nationalism and the rapid development of the Industrial Revolution, Europe would inevitably have unified the world. Britain played the role of the Qin, but more as an outsider operator. After all, Britain is an island nation, and this was a helpless choice. Qin would also face its own fate through its own resources. This strategy is known in the UK as the "continental balance of power" policy, also known as the "offshore balancing" policy.

This can be summed up in four words: "separate the strong and unite the weak." That is, whoever is strong on the European continent will be attacked, and whoever is weak will be supported. In this way, Britain has achieved a balance of power among the European countries, thereby ensuring its own relative advantage. It is really a game of joy.

In his previous life, former British Prime Minister Chuck Schwarzenegger gave a relatively apt summary of this policy in his memoirs: Britain's foreign policy for the past four hundred years has been to oppose the emergence of the largest, most aggressive and most domineering country on the continent. Britain always joins the less powerful side and unites with them to defeat and thwart the military hegemon on the continent, no matter who he is or which country he rules.

This strategy has been practiced by the British for nearly four hundred years, making it a long-standing one. Of course, Britain wasn't always engaged in alliances, as its principle was "balance of power." For example, in the second half of the 18th century, Germany and France competed for supremacy in Western Europe. The British viewed this as a dog-eat-dog situation, with both sides suffering losses, and the only way to profit was to sit back and reap the benefits. Consequently, Britain naturally abandoned its former ally, France, leaving France severely beaten by Germany and even having its emperor captured.

Britain's reputation for perfidy spread, but did the British care? They knew that as long as they controlled the world's warships, the world would be at their mercy. Even the United States, which inherited Britain's legacy, relied on fleets like aircraft carriers to maintain its global dominance.

This was another product of the continental balance of power policy, the policy of "splendid isolation." Its core principle was that Britain would not maintain long-term, stable alliances with any nation, relying instead on the dynamics of continental Europe. However, by the late 19th century, with the rise of independence, the gradual decline of colonialism, and the powerful rise of countries like the United States and Germany, Britain needed an ally, and that ally was naturally France, with whom it had a bitter rivalry.

This led to the Anglo-French alliance during World Wars I and II. A hundred years earlier, Napoleon the Great's French Empire dominated Europe, but it collapsed amidst repeated wars waged by Britain, which rallied numerous European nations to form anti-French alliances. Now, it was the German Empire's turn. The unified German Empire unleashed an immensely powerful force.

By the end of the last century, Germany's industrial output had surpassed Britain's, ranking second in the world, behind only the United States. In terms of technological prowess, Germany rivaled Britain in every way, holding the top spot globally. Furthermore, Germany possessed the world's most powerful army. All of this put immense pressure on Britain, forcing it to swallow its pride and sign a treaty with its former enemy, France, which later joined Russia to form the Triple Entente.

Arguably, the most important priority for Britain right now is to contain Germany and the Triple Alliance it leads. Everything else can be sidelined. Germany's aggressive development has already made Britain feel deeply threatened. Germany's massive investment in the navy has made Britain feel a profound and mortal threat. The Royal Navy is the world's most powerful navy, the foundation of Britain's global colonial system and the foundation of its financial hegemony. It cannot afford to be sloppy. The Germans' attempt to challenge Britain in this area is absolutely unforgivable, and Britain will naturally fight back with all its might.

The British, fully aware that Germany was a far more formidable opponent than any before them, hoped that Russia would focus its attention on Europe and suppress Germany. However, if Russia were drawn into a large-scale war in the Far East, the British would be deeply dissatisfied, as it would be completely contrary to the interests of the British Empire. They seemed to have completely forgotten their previous instigation of the Russo-Japanese War and now fully expected Russia to act in accordance with British interests.

From the British perspective, Russia should have focused all its strength on suppressing Germany and the Triple Alliance. Therefore, they launched the Russo-Japanese War, causing Russia to suffer a crushing defeat in the Far East. Now, they are refusing to support Russia, causing it to suffer another severe setback in the Far East. Now, their plan seems to be succeeding.

10 Downing Street, the British Prime Minister's residence. Prime Minister Henry Campbell Benedict convened a cabinet meeting. Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey, First Lord of the Admiralty Sir John Fisher, Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George, and War Secretary Richard Burden Haldane attended the meeting.

"Gentlemen, Russia has lost hundreds of thousands of troops on the battlefield in the Far East, lost cities and territories, seized railways, and was surrounded by field armies in Kulun and Vladivostok. Once these remnants are eliminated, the Russians will have lost a quarter to a third of their regular army. I think it's time for the Russians to stop the war. Otherwise, if it goes on like this, the Russians will pay an unbearable price. It is also not conducive to the interests of our British Empire." said Prime Minister Henry Campbell Bannavin.

"Before the war broke out, everyone underestimated the Qing rebels. Facts have proved that the strength of the Qing rebels can no longer be underestimated. Their army strength is at least second-rate in the world." Army Secretary Richard Burden Haldane sighed.

Compared to the world-renowned Royal Navy, the British Army was a mere miniscule force. With only a few tens of thousands of troops, it was completely unworthy of being the world's foremost power. After the PLA's victory over the British in the XZ region, he began to pay attention to this new force emerging in the Far East. He felt it was unstoppable, rising rapidly and powerfully, a force that deeply worried him about the future of the Far East.

The other ministers nodded in agreement. The British naturally didn't feel they had lost the war in Xinjiang; it was simply the British expeditionary force's logistical difficulties that led to their defeat by the field army. Before the PLA and the Russian army began fighting, the British naturally hoped the PLA would be able to withstand the Russian offensive, or at least end up in a mutually devastating defeat. But who could have imagined that the Russians, who had fought the Japanese with equal strength, would become helpless before the PLA. The PLA, like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, decisively defeated the Russians, seemingly on the verge of victory. This caught the British off guard.

"Now, Russia has suffered heavy losses, and there is still revolution in their country. If they are sensible, they should stop the war, right? They should suppress the revolution in the country first?" said David Lloyd George, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

"However, everyone seems to have forgotten that His Majesty the Tsar of Russia is very stubborn. Can he accept being defeated by those yellow monkeys?" said Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey.

Suddenly, the other cabinet ministers' expressions grew solemn. The British were currently worried most about Germany's idiotic Emperor Wilhelm II, and secondly, Tsar Nicholas II, who aspired to emulate Peter the Great. They were all well aware of Tsar Nicholas II's headstrong and conceited character. His previous defeat by the Japanese was perhaps merely a humiliation. If he were defeated by China again, and by a bunch of rebels, and even lost so much territory, for Nicholas II, who aspired to be Peter the Great, accepting such an outcome would be a struggle beyond belief.

"No matter what, Russia has been defeated. Nicholas II must accept this result. Russia's limited national strength must not be invested in a meaningless war in the Far East. Even if Nicholas II does not care about his gray beasts and treats them as cannon fodder. But the most valuable place for these cannon fodder is not in the Far East, but in Europe!" said Prime Minister Henry Campbell Bannavin.

"Yes, Prime Minister, I completely agree with your point of view. The Russian side has contacted us and they hope that we can mediate this war and provide Russia with an emergency loan." Sir Edward Grey continued.

"Mediation and loans? Humph! I think the Russians' desire for mediation is just a pretense. Their real goal is to secure loans and continue the war," said Finance Minister David Lloyd George with disdain. The entire European world knew of the Russian royal family's wealth, yet they were as stingy as a scrounger, never spending a penny. They even sought loans everywhere, relying on borrowed money to survive.

"Yes, that's the analysis of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Russia's finances are on the verge of collapse, and they simply don't have the money to continue fighting. However, the stubborn Tsar seems to have ignored this. He still refuses to admit defeat. And according to the forecast of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, if Nicholas II insists on fighting, Russia will even collapse. And according to the news, a serious plague has broken out in Vladivostok, and the port has already collapsed." said Sir Edward Grey.

"Has it reached such a serious point? In this case, we should not lend money to the Russians. It would be a waste of money. The previous wars have proved that the Russian army is no match for the Qing rebels. Russia has lost 600,000 to 700,000 troops in the continuous wars. Can it continue to fight? Even with the Trans-Siberian Railway, due to the limited transportation capacity and Russia's finances, they can only invest another 200,000 to 300,000 troops at most. It is simply wishful thinking to expect these troops to defeat the Qing rebels. Once the Far Eastern port of Vladivostok is lost, what chance does Russia have to return to the Far East?" War Secretary Richard Burden Haldane expressed his opinion.

"According to the information we have received, the Russians' preparations go beyond this. They are rapidly approaching the Japanese and may jointly launch an attack on the Qing Dynasty. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has instructed the ambassador to Japan to reject the Japanese loan request and issued a warning to the Japanese, warning them not to participate in this war." said Sir Edward Grey.

"So, what do we do next?" said Prime Minister Henry Campbell Banawen.

Of course, he hoped that the Russians could stop this doomed war so that when the war with the Germans broke out in the future, they could devote all their strength to the war against Germany instead of wasting their national strength in the Far East now.

"Since the Russians have invited us to mediate, we will do so. However, it is impossible for the Russians to obtain loans. Not only can we not lend money to the Russians, we also have to ask France not to lend money to the Russians. In addition, we need to put pressure on Russia to end this war!" said Sir John Fisher, the Secretary of the Navy.

Now, the British Navy no longer had an absolute advantage over the German Navy. It was not until the battleship "Dreadnought" was put into service that all previous battleships became products of an era behind, and Britain's absolute advantage at sea was returned to its hands.

"I completely agree with Sir Fisher. We must wake up the Russians and make them understand that it is shameful to waste precious war power in the Far East," said Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Minister of War naturally seconded the motion.

"Well, in that case, let's formally reject the Russian loan request and mediate this war," said Prime Minister Henry Campbell Bannawen.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, we now have to face a difficult problem. That is whether the Qing rebels will accept our mediation. They now have the upper hand on the battlefield. Moreover, the Qing rebels and Japan are still at war, and there is still no peace talk!" said Sir Edward Grey.

Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannawan couldn't help but frown. The British Empire was the world's most powerful nation. But the current situation was that the British Empire had accidentally lost to the Qing rebels in Tibet, Myitkyina had been attacked and destroyed, and now the Qing rebels had defeated Russia in the Far East. At this time, the Qing rebels were in high spirits, making it difficult for them to accept mediation.

"The Qing rebels have close ties with the United States and Germany, and both the United States and Germany have provided large amounts of loans to the Qing rebels," Sir Edward Grey continued.

"We must stop the Qing rebels from getting closer to the Germans. Otherwise, if Germany, which also has a powerful army, and the Qing rebels attack Russia from both sides, Russia will surely collapse soon." said War Secretary Richard Burden Haldane.

The ministers present were shocked when they heard the news. Richard Burden Haldane's view was truly novel and at the same time a bit too shocking. If the Qing rebels really joined forces with the Germans, it would be a disaster for Russia. Would Russia be able to hold on? Once Russia collapsed, the Germans would have no one to restrain them on the Western Front. I'm afraid that all of Europe would fall into the hands of the Germans. By then, would the British still be able to confront Germany, which had taken control of all of Europe?

"We absolutely cannot allow this to happen," said Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Banawin. Originally, he had planned to pressure the Progress Party government during the negotiations. However, that now seemed unworkable. The Chinese couldn't be pushed too far.

Chapter 680: Second update!

While the British were deliberating on how to mediate the war between the liberated areas and Russia, small-scale revolutionary uprisings broke out in Guangdong and Fujian. After months of coordination, the "true revolutionaries" overseas who opposed the Forward Party's land reform policies finally swore an oath with the secret societies and began preparing for the uprising.

The Forward Party's attitude towards members of secret societies has been consistent. Although secret societies are a product of the old era, and the Liberated Areas will also provide policies for these people, the crackdown on secret society members has not changed. During the crackdown in Sichuan and Shaanxi, secret society members were also the first targets of the crackdown. Especially for those secret society members with underworld backgrounds, the Liberated Areas were not polite at all, and there was a provision for organized crime for these people. As long as this was involved, the punishment was severe and swift.

Therefore, the Forward Party was seen as a separate party from the secret societies, who were deeply hostile to it. Some members even hated it to the core, eager to eliminate it. So, when these overseas "true revolutionaries" contacted them, they immediately fell in love. They immediately began calling their friends, killing roosters, drinking blood wine, swearing blood oaths, and swearing oaths. As a result, the whole world knew that there were revolutionary parties in Guangdong and Fujian planning to revolt.

Zhang Yinghao received the relevant news and smiled faintly. He also hoped to use the blood of these revolutionaries to teach his comrades how the counter-revolutionaries truly suppressed revolutionary uprisings. After all, the Forward Party had not encountered any major setbacks since the Sichuan Uprising. Even when militias resisted and even massacred villagers in counter-revolutionary acts, the People's Liberation Army suppressed the local forces, and there was no serious one-sided counterattack. Without specific and practical education, it would be difficult to let his comrades know the power of the counter-revolutionaries. This could also teach the Forward Party that it must firmly grasp political power and control the military and other violent apparatuses. As Lenin said: The proletariat must do everything possible to seize and hold state power. Let the comrades know that they must always be vigilant against counter-revolutionaries. If they seize the opportunity, they will immediately strike back and kill countless people.

The Qing government was fully aware of the factions of revolutionary parties and secret societies preparing for uprisings in places like Guangdong and Fujian. Secret society members possessed no sense of discipline. They considered their rebellion a glorious event, a glorious one, and a courageous one. They desperately wanted everyone to know about it, even while dining in teahouses and taverns, they would loudly proclaim their intention to revolt. As for these teahouses and taverns collecting their money, they were even more furious. They were about to become founding heroes, and they still cared about your small amount of wine money. In the future, even giving you a restaurant would be a piece of cake.

The teahouse and hotel owners were also extremely helpless regarding these freeloaders. When they first heard about the revolution, they were very happy. After all, they all knew that in the liberated areas, taxes were lower and there were no exorbitant levies. So, naturally, these owners initially assumed that these revolutionaries would be similar to those in the mainland. However, they never imagined that the revolutionaries in Guangdong and Fujian were completely different. When they saw that those former landowners had transformed into revolutionaries, they were filled with excitement.

After contacting these secret society members, the genuine revolutionaries overseas immediately decided to launch a large-scale Guangzhou Uprising. Their plan was to use the Guangzhou New Army as the core, with 400 revolutionary volunteers forming a death squad. They would first capture Guangzhou, then have some comrades lead a force into Fujian, while others would raise a counter-insurgency force in the lower Yangtze River basin. They would then converge at Nanjing, launch a northern expedition, and ultimately seize control of the country.

"Their Progressive Party was able to easily defeat the Qing army, and we will definitely be able to achieve the final victory."

This sentence has now become a catchphrase for these revolutionaries. The reason why Zhang Yinghao and his men rose up against the Qing Dynasty has been clearly understood by these revolutionaries. In their view, since the Forward Party can easily occupy Sichuan and other places, they will definitely be able to easily occupy Guangdong and Fujian and establish their own territory.

If Zhang Yinghao had heard the voices of these revolutionaries, he would have been very familiar with these words. "Watching others carry a load is effortless, but carrying it yourself is a burden that breaks your spine." When you see others easily achieve victory, you tend to assume it's easy, developing a blind confidence that you can do it too, perhaps even better than the person doing it. However, when you actually do something, you realize the difficulty isn't what you imagined.

The reason success studies are so captivating is that they can lull you into a state of imagined success without requiring you to actually commit to it. What makes us human is our thoughts. But thoughts are like a magnificent flower. No matter how beautiful, if they are not put into practice, they cannot connect with the material world. Then, thoughts can only dwell on beauty, not transform the world.

Those overseas who claim to be true revolutionaries are now completely lost in the fantasy of a successful uprising. It's so easy to fantasize; just close your eyes and it's dark. Perhaps they themselves don't know what they will do after a successful uprising; they simply know they must rise, overthrow the Qing Dynasty, and establish a republic. However, they also know that an uprising will result in casualties, so before launching, they, like the Forward Party, meticulously prepared for it, assigning dedicated personnel to fundraising, purchasing weapons, and organizing liaisons.

In order to better lead the uprising, these revolutionaries also established a coordinating department in Hong Kong, under which were set up a dispatching office, a reserve department, a transportation department, a secretarial department, an editing department, a cashier department, a general affairs department, and an investigation department to specifically lead the uprising. They also successively established secret bases in Guangzhou as places for work and storage of military equipment. In short, the revolutionaries were determined to organize this uprising well.

Unfortunately, these revolutionaries didn't know that their supposedly secret actions would be completely exposed once they were leaked to the secret society. Many secret society members had even begun to sell out the revolutionaries for profit. Leading the way was the best shortcut to wealth and status.

After the establishment of the Coordinating Headquarters, each department sent personnel into Guangzhou to begin activities. After a month of effort, revolutionary forces within and outside Guangzhou, as well as in Fujian and Shanghai, were largely connected. Secret society members from Foshan, Zhaoqing, Huizhou, and other areas also flocked to Guangzhou. The Coordinating Headquarters set the date for the uprising for August 20th, with the revolutionaries attacking in nine directions. In addition to the "vanguard," arson commissioners were also appointed to prepare for impromptu fires to disrupt the morale of the Qing army. However, due to the widespread public awareness of the revolutionaries' uprising, the Qing Dynasty had already imposed martial law in Guangzhou. Furthermore, the delay in the arrival of funds from America and military equipment purchased from Japan forced the uprising to be postponed.

The uprising had to be postponed, but the news of the postponement was not conveyed to everyone in time, dooming the uprising to failure. The revolutionaries infiltrated Guangzhou from Hong Kong and established a temporary headquarters near Xiaodongying, near the Guangdong-Guangxi Governor's Office. They had decided to launch the uprising on the 20th, but due to the delay in the arrival of firearms from Japan and Annan, and news of the imminent mobilization of the Third Regiment of the New Army, which was preparing to respond to the uprising, the uprising was caught in a difficult situation: unable to launch quickly, but also unable to delay.

The revolutionaries temporarily decided to postpone the uprising for a few days, setting it for August 26th. They changed the original plan of nine routes to five: the first route would attack the Governor's Office; the second route would attack the General's Mansion; the third route would attack the Xiaobei Gate, occupy the Feilai Temple, and welcome the new army and defense camp into the city; the fourth route would attack the Patrol Training School; and the fifth route would defend the South Gate.

In fact, the Qing Dynasty was completely frightened by the uprising of these revolutionaries and only imposed martial law in Guangzhou, intending to passively defend. However, the Qing officials soon received news that these revolutionaries preparing to revolt did not get along with the revolutionaries from Sichuan, and were even hostile to them. Therefore, they chose to revolt on their own instead of running to the rebels and joining the current Forward Party.

No matter how corrupt and incompetent the Qing dynasty was, it always managed to find a few loyal and capable officials. When they realized it wasn't the Forward Party that was responsible for the uprising, and that they didn't have a military to back them up, they breathed a sigh of relief. They might have struggled to deal with the field army, but they had no problem dealing with a few overseas students. The Qing dynasty even had access to their personal information through their connections. After all, under the immense pressure of the Forward Party, those officials who remained in their posts were considered loyal to the Qing. As long as they weren't just sitting there doing nothing, they did improve under the pressure.

However, due to a series of unforeseen circumstances, the uprising was postponed again and again. As the news could not be communicated in time, many local uprisings were suppressed. This not only allowed the Qing Dynasty to train its troops and recognize the weakness of these revolutionaries, but also gradually weakened the already insufficient strength of the revolutionaries.

At 5:30 PM on August 26, 1906, the revolutionaries finally launched their general uprising, marking their crowning moment. Although Zhang Yinghao felt reluctant to part with these outstanding Chinese people, China, despite its lack of talent, certainly had no shortage of hostile elements. It could only be said that different minds could not work together. Using them as sacrifices to educate the entire Party and army was far more significant, ensuring their immortality.

Zhang Yinghao even had documents related to the revolutionaries' plans for an uprising, but he showed no intention of offering any help. Since these passionate young people had chosen revolution and rebellion, they were putting their heads on the line. Why would they revolt if they were afraid of death?

The first "vanguard," numbering over 120 men, wrapped in white towels and armed with guns and explosives, blew horns and charged directly at the Governor's Office. The guards offered resistance, but the revolutionaries unleashed a barrage of bullets, killing the guard captain and storming the office. Guangdong and Guangxi Governor-General Cen Chunxuan fled to the Admiralty's Office. Unable to locate Cen, the rebels set fire to the office and then stormed out, encountering Admiral Li Jun's personal guards.

Some of the insurgents knew that their comrades were among the opposing army, so they stepped forward and shouted: "We are all Han people. We should work together to eliminate the alien race and restore the Han territory. There is no need to fight! There is no need to fight..."

Naive, too naive. It was foolish and naive to say such things at this time. Even if there were comrades among them, no one could stop the other Qing troops from shooting in such a situation of mutual distrust. Even when the Field Army attacked and liberated Wuhan, the Hubei New Army had so many comrades among them, but they still couldn't stop the battle between the Hubei New Army and the Field Army, let alone on the front line of the current exchange of fire. Therefore, before the rebels could finish their words, countless bullets were fired from the opposite side. Many revolutionaries were hit by the bullets fired by the Qing army and died on the spot.

The bravery of these insurgents goes without saying. Some of them carried baskets full of bombs on their chests, held trumpets in their left hands and rifles in their right hands, and bravely led the charge, fearlessly throwing bombs. Some ignited their explosives and perished along with the Qing army, while others, knowing they were no match for the enemy, fought against the outnumbered and ultimately died in battle.

Zhang Yinghao had long anticipated the failure of the revolutionaries' uprising. In this era, there is no longer the situation of one man guarding the pass against ten thousand men as in ancient times. It is no longer possible to win by relying on the bravery of a few people. The invention of guns and bullets allows the elderly, children, and women to fight against strong men. To put it more simply, the ancient peasant uprisings are almost impossible to achieve. In ancient times, it was said that one man's desperate efforts could defeat ten thousand people, but now, no matter how hard one man fights, he can't withstand a peanut shot from a distance. This is also the fundamental reason why Zhang Yinghao is completely unafraid of the landlord class. With the revolutionary army in his hands, he can suppress all enemies of the feudal armed forces.

The third group of rebels heading towards Xiaobeimen soon encountered Qing troops. After a fierce battle, they killed and wounded many of the enemy. Finally, Cen Chunxuan set fire to the streets, declaring the uprising a failure. Other rebels, seeing no hope of survival, fled Guangzhou for Hong Kong, while others encountered Qing troops, resulting in fierce fighting. However, these rebels were ultimately outnumbered and either perished or fled.

On the eve of the uprising, the secret societies in Huizhou and other places were notified to respond on August 20. At that time, hundreds of secret societies in Shunde raised their flags in response and seized the Letong militia branch. Ultimately, under the pressure of the Qing army, the secret societies disbanded and the uprising failed.

This seemingly grand uprising was more noise than action, ultimately achieving little success and instead strengthening Qing rule. With the exception of the Guangzhou faction and the Shunde secret society, the remaining rebel groups failed to act, or were brutally suppressed by local landlord militias. The New Army's ammunition was confiscated, leaving them incapable of combat. Some rebels, realizing the situation was hopeless, fled without informing their comrades.

The Guangzhou Uprising, after being promoted by the Forward Party, quickly became known throughout the country. Although Zhang Yinghao was not optimistic about the uprising and would not offer any assistance to the revolutionaries, he still gave their uprising a high evaluation. This is political correctness:

From a practical perspective, the sacrifices of the martyrs of this uprising were a shame for their professional expertise. It can be said that "it is a pity that they died for their country and their people!"

However, from another perspective, they are like torches, illuminating the spiritual sky of the Chinese nation and inspiring the Chinese people's passionate revolutionary spirit.

Among the martyrs of the uprising, there were many national elites who were capable of becoming generals or ministers. They came from wealthy families and were well-educated. They could have lived a superior life. However, once they were called upon, they were willing to die bravely and were indomitable, showing their fearless heroism and revolutionary spirit of selfless dedication and courage to sacrifice.

This spirit of courageous sacrifice for the country and its people is as important as the progress of the real world and is equally a precious asset of the Chinese people. This is the tug-of-war between the new China and the old world, an inevitable spiral of progress in which the new overthrows the old. This foreshadows the inevitable victory of the revolution and the inevitable demise of the Qing Dynasty.

The significance of this spiritual value is comparable to that of Wen Tianxiang, the late Song Dynasty hero who fought against the Yuan Dynasty. While Wen Tianxiang's military achievements were modest, his famous line, "Since ancient times, all men are mortal, but I will leave behind a loyal heart that will shine through history," and his unwavering integrity have endured through the ages, becoming a spiritual treasure of the Chinese nation. As Wen Tianxiang's escort ship was about to pass through Jiangxi, Wang Yanwu composed a 1800-word "Living Sacrifice to Prime Minister Wen," and wrote nearly a hundred copies, "with characters as large as palms, hung high up on the wall." These copies were posted prominently on the walls of post stations and shops where Wen Tianxiang might pass, and he dispatched people to read them everywhere, encouraging Wen Tianxiang to die.

"Alas! The great Prime Minister deserves death... Although his actions may have achieved nothing, his integrity has been unshaken. All he owes is death... Heaven has doomed the Song Dynasty, and for the sake of its people, no one can survive. Prime Minister Wen is a senior official of the Song Dynasty, and he should die for his country, preserving the spirit of righteousness in the world."

As an old subordinate of Wen Tianxiang, why did the 28-year-old Wang Yanwu persuade his fellow villager to die? Isn't it a pity that this prime minister with the talent to govern the country died? But this can leave a precious spiritual integrity to the nation! The country can be rebuilt after it is destroyed, but the national spirit will never rise again after it is dead.

Our Chinese nation must have this fearless spirit of daring to sacrifice and the determination to resolutely fight all counter-revolutionaries. The Progressive Party and the Chinese people must have the ambition to sacrifice and the supreme courage to change the sun and the moon into a new sky.

At the same time, the Guangzhou Uprising also demonstrated the crucial value of revolutionary truth. The victory of the Chinese revolution required the guidance of revolutionary truth; otherwise, failure would be inevitable, setbacks would be suffered, victory would be delayed, and the people would suffer greater hardship and sacrifice. Only with the guidance of revolutionary truth could the Chinese people no longer be a loose sand; with revolutionary truth, the Chinese people would no longer be trapped in the rut of "dynasties"; with revolutionary truth, the Chinese people would no longer be mocked for "lamenting their misfortune and being angry at their lack of struggle"; with revolutionary truth, the Chinese people's fearlessness of hardship, diligence, and courage would unleash; with revolutionary truth, the Chinese people would no longer be deceived and exploited again and again by the reactionaries, who would seize the fruits of the revolution.

The world is undergoing a turbulent period, with changes taking place at an alarming pace. The Chinese revolution is unstoppable. The Chinese revolution will ultimately achieve final victory, the Chinese nation will ultimately stand on its own among the nations of the world, and the Chinese people will ultimately achieve freedom and liberation.

Long live the great Chinese people.

Long live the great Chinese nation.

Chapter 681: First update!

While the Forward Party was concerned about the Guangzhou uprising by these overseas revolutionaries, its energy and attention were currently preoccupied with the war in the north and the devastating floods in the liberated areas. They simply disdained these childish uprisings. Consequently, the Forward Party maintained a completely calm attitude towards the matter, seemingly just watching the excitement. They believed that their energy would be better spent focusing on providing more aid to the affected people.

Zhang Yinghao, however, disagreed. He was deeply concerned about the Guangzhou uprising and the subsequent developments after the landlord militia's suppression. After the Guangdong uprising was suppressed, the landlord militia launched a new round of massacres in coastal provinces. This time, the killings targeted those with Western tendencies, or those considered progressive.

To be honest, during this brutal era, it's true that the Qing Dynasty was a feudal society. However, because barbarism and backwardness triumphed over civilization, and because it rejected antiquity, the Qing Dynasty bore numerous traces of slavery and colonialism. Manchu and Han landlords treated ordinary people without connections like cattle and horses. The collusion between landlords and officials naturally led to a lack of fair treatment for ordinary people, and their lives were naturally dark and bleak. Qing law stipulated: "If a citizen sues an official, it's like a son killing his father. He will first be flogged fifty times, and even if he wins, he will be exiled two thousand miles."

In other words, during the Qing Dynasty, if a homeless commoner suffered an injustice and wanted to "sue" an official, they had to first pay fifty taels of silver. Even if they won, they would be exiled 2,000 miles. And if they lost? At best, they could be beaten and beaten, and at worst, their lives could be lost. Even these required finding someone to write a petition and having enough money to travel to the capital... It's not wrong to describe the world as a difficult, dark place.

At this time, with the exception of the Hongze Lake area, the Yimeng Mountains, Shaoguan, and Qinzhou in Guangxi, the PLA had no immediate incentive to liberate other coastal provinces and regions. The Forward Party leadership gradually realized that retaining the Qing court still had significant value. For many matters concerning the foreign powers, if the Forward Party didn't want to confront them head-on, it could simply push the blame onto the Qing, making the "central government" bear the brunt of the conflict and deflect attention.

The Liberated Areas were currently facing such significant difficulties because they hadn't yet resolved their own internal affairs, leaving them with no time to address the events unfolding in the coastal provinces. However, the landlords and gentry in these coastal provinces saw things differently. They now understood that they were like ants after autumn, unable to thrive. However, they knew how the Forward Party treated the landlord clique, and they were constantly worried about their future. The Guangzhou Uprising and the incitement of secret societies across the country provided them with an outlet for their frustration.

After suppressing some of the "uprisings," these landlord militias quietly banded together and began to huddle together for warmth. As these people huddled together for warmth, their inner resentment grew. No class wanted to voluntarily die and exit the stage of history, let alone the fact that the revolutionaries were trying to divide their land and cut off their financial resources. This was like killing their parents and digging up their ancestral graves; it was simply denying them a chance to survive.

From the beginning, these militias constantly feared an attack from the Forward Party, but now they've grown accustomed to the pressure. As the saying goes, the greater the pressure, the greater the motivation. As these militias banded together for warmth, they gradually felt they had gained immense strength, believing they could fully withstand the PLA. They believed the Forward Party and the PLA, like the insurgents before them, could be slaughtered with ease.

They are inflated, but in fact they don't know that the power they feel now is illusory. They are like a big balloon, which looks intimidating, but they don't know that as long as they lose the support of the people, they will be wiped out by the regular army with just a slight poke.

Now, in a desperate attempt to maintain what they perceived as their former selves, these landlord militias launched a counter-offensive, slaughtering local progressives. They needed to purge their ranks before the People's Liberation Army arrived. Those with pigtails, those wearing suits and leather shoes, those with pens in their pockets, those wearing watches...anyone with Western-style features was targeted by the local landlord militias. This massacre by the local landlord militias purged all progressives from the coastal provinces, setting back progress by at least ten years. The local atmosphere froze to a freezing point, like a stagnant pool of water, and everyone felt insecure.

Zhang Yinghao quickly learned of the massacre by the landlord militia, but he simply glanced eastward for a moment, neither reacting nor offering a helping hand. Even with such a massive slaughter, Zhang Yinghao remained unmoved. He intended to sacrifice these revolutionaries to educate the members of the Forward Party, so he immediately convened a party meeting to study and reflect on the brutal atrocities of these reactionaries. He urged his comrades to deeply understand the reactionary nature of the landlord militia, recognize their enemies and friends, abandon illusions, remain vigilant, and even prepare for military struggle.

After Zhang Yinghao reported on the coastal landlord class's massacre of progressive individuals, the comrades present immediately erupted in discussion upon witnessing such shocking slaughter. The Progressive Party and the People's Liberation Army had already been dealing with these landlord militias during the liberation of Sichuan. It could be said that their greatest enemy had never been the Qing Dynasty, or even the foreign powers, but these landlord militias. After all, no one knew how many landlords and gentry had been put on trial, and they simply didn't have the energy to keep track of them.

Everyone knows about the landlord militia's counterattacks, but during the revolution, their killings were understandable. After all, the Progressive Party had actually divided their land and cut off their roots, so it was natural for these landlord militias to hate the Progressive Party. However, the indiscriminate killings by the landlord militia in the coastal provinces have truly frightened many Progressive Party members. What kind of madness would be needed to commit such a massacre?

For Zhang Yinghao, the actions of these landlord militias are actually easy to understand. After all, consultation has developed in later generations, and what has happened is even worse than before.

In 1927, 16 years after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, preparations began to distribute the fruits of the revolution following the failure of the Great Revolution, marking the beginning of the counter-revolutionary purge of the Communist Party. Under the slogan "Rather kill a thousand innocents than let one go," provincial reactionaries assisted Chiang Kai-shek in eliminating the Communist Party. They even harked back to the Boxer Rebellion, slaughtering people in Western suits and pens. They managed to eliminate over a million Communists, out of fewer than 50,000. Perhaps this explains Chiang Kai-shek's preference for wearing only military uniforms and traditional long gowns and jackets; at heart, he represented the landowner class.

Ten years later, China's landlords and gentry still treated ordinary people as if they were human. After conquering the Central Soviet Area of ​​Jiangxi and the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Soviet Area, they continued the murderous and genocidal policies of the early Qing Dynasty's invasion of the Central Plains and the late Qing Dynasty's suppression of the Taiping Rebellion. To completely "annihilate" the Red Army, Chiang Kai-shek's army and the Blue Shirts Rangers implemented the brutal "Three Alls" policy in the local area, carrying out brutal massacres in every area they occupied. They gathered together the returning landlords and hooligans to organize reactionary organizations such as the "Returning Home Corps," the "Anti-Communist Corps," the "Assassination Corps," the "Volunteer Corps," the "House-to-House Corps," the "Calm Guard Corps," the "Security Corps," and the "Mountain Search Corps," and carried out frenzied revenge against the people of the Soviet areas.

Chiang Kai-shek's army wantonly shouted "Three days of chaos, three years of slaughter," demanding "houses replaced with stones, people replaced with seeds," and "eradicate the grass at its roots, exterminate families and exterminate all races." Under the reactionary slogan "Better to kill a thousand by mistake than to let one go," Chiang Kai-shek's army implemented the brutal "Three Alls" policy of "kill all, burn all, and loot all" in the Soviet areas. As the Kuomintang government confessed in its report, in the "mopping-up" areas, "every house was burned, every tree was felled, every chicken and dog was killed, no able-bodied man was left alive, and not a trace of smoke from cooking fires was seen in the streets and alleys."

To intimidate the people, Chiang Kai-shek's army massacred Communists and civilians in the Soviet areas using horrific and brutal methods. These included heart removal, skinning, dismemberment, quartering, hacking, chopping, hanging from beams, burning, burying alive, gouging out eyes, cutting off ears, threading wire through bodies, cutting tongues, disemboweling, removing intestines, cutting breasts and ripping out breasts, drowning in wells, using landmines, being nailed to a T-bar, and force-feeding pepper spray, among other tortures. From newborns to the dying, no one was spared; men, women, and the elderly were slaughtered. Some infants were grabbed by their feet and torn in half. Some revolutionaries were burned alive by having red-hot iron boxes placed on their heads. Some women were gang-raped, had their breasts cut off, and died of humiliation. In Jiangxi alone, five million people were massacred in this bloody massacre. Numerous villages were completely decimated, becoming "deserted villages" or "bloodbath villages," with corpses strewn across the ground and rivers of blood flowing. This doesn't even include the Kuomintang's brutal persecution of civilians during the Sino-Japanese War by conscripting men. Soong Mei-ling herself admitted that at least 14 million new recruits died before they even joined the army. It's no wonder the soldiers were so emotional when the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army and their uniforms were changed. It was truly a vengeance for the murder of their fathers and the seizure of their wives.

Zhang Yinghao still remembers watching a TV drama in his previous life, during the Kuomintang's campaign against the Jiangxi Soviet and Yan'an in Shaanxi, where a line struck him deeply: "If the Mao is too strong, the people must be replaced." Because in the eyes of the counter-revolutionaries, the people who had undergone revolutionary education had truly been poisoned and were beyond redemption. Unable to resolve class contradictions, the counter-revolutionaries, in order to maintain their own reactionary rule, could only eliminate those who created them.

Gathering his thoughts from his past life, Zhang Yinghao ignored his comrades' discussions. He knew that a simple analysis of the landlord militia's actions using the theory of class struggle would make them clear. In the words of Taizu, "class struggle works as soon as it's grasped." Class struggle is the most fundamental struggle of interests, a question of revolutionary stance, and it's undeniable.

Seeing that the comrades' discussions had gradually died down, Zhang Yinghao knocked on the table and said, "Comrades, the times are constantly changing. Now is the best time, but also the worst time. Mr. Yan Fu's translation of "On Evolution and Ethics" states that the fittest survive in the struggle for survival. Our ancient Xunzi also said: "The laws of nature are constant; they do not exist with Yao or perish with Jie." The development of things has its own laws. The demise of the Qing Dynasty and the establishment of a new country are inevitable. In this era of drastic changes, our Progressive Party is the biggest variable in this era of change. We will ultimately determine the final appearance of the new country.

Having said that, why did these landlord militias kill progressive people on a large scale? We say that history is an upward spiral. In fact, these landlord classes want to return to the environment they are familiar with. What is the environment that the landlords are familiar with? That is, they can exploit the tenants under their hands at will and enjoy the fruits of other people's labor at will. In the simplest terms, they want to return to the traditional feudal era where they believe that they are the only ruling class, and they will rule forever.

The revolution led by our Forward Party has achieved a series of great victories, liberating most provinces across the country. The revolutionary flame has spread throughout the nation. We want to overthrow the Qing Dynasty's rule and eradicate the landlord class at its root. Therefore, the landlord class is frightened and terrified. They are trapped in the crazy imaginations they have constructed and cannot extricate themselves. In their narrow-minded thinking, anything that threatens them is a target for destruction. It is not a question of whether they want to destroy, but only a question of whether they can destroy.

I have long told my comrades that if we do not advance, we will retreat. If we retreat, we may become one of those slaughtered people. This is the cruel era we face. It is both the sorrow and the glory of this era. The characteristic of the industrial age is that only by constantly moving forward, constantly progressing, can we survive and ultimately achieve national independence and liberation! Comrades, because the times are changing so rapidly, we have not had time to learn many scientific principles, and we do not understand much of the relevant science. Therefore, it is normal for us to encounter difficulties and make mistakes in our continuous progress. Our Forward Party has grown in the midst of difficulties. We must learn and grow at the same time. Any complacency, arrogance, and desire to rest on our laurels are our greatest enemies..."

Zhang Yinghao can confidently say this now, because the Progressive Party has always forged ahead despite numerous difficulties. Each time it grapples with a challenge, its revolutionary cause advances. Through wars and natural disasters, through the trials and tribulations of life, the Progressive Party's enemies and competitors often aren't defeated by the Party, but rather succumb to difficulties themselves, unwilling to move forward. The opponents the Progressive Party once feared are now, in retrospect, little more than mere foes.

Although some Party members in the liberated areas fell into despair after setbacks, their fate was invariably to rescue them immediately upon discovery; those who failed to do so were dismissed from their posts. Those who do not actively pursue progress, who encounter difficulties but fail to resolve them, and who refuse to learn how to resolve them—such people are not needed by the Progressive Party.

...Comrades, I've long told you that class struggle is an incomparably cruel affair. It's a competition between two modes of production and living, a fundamental struggle for interests. Either the East prevails over the West, or the West prevails over the East. In this era of scarce productivity, it's a life-and-death struggle. Class struggle isn't a mere exchange of insults. Therefore, once these landlords and gentry begin their killing spree, they won't stop until they've completely eliminated those they perceive as threats.

"Chairman, these provinces have already been slaughtered to such an extent, do they want to continue killing? Do they still have any humanity?"

Zhang Yinghao waved his hands solemnly and said: "Comrades, revolution is not a dinner party, nor is it a painting or embroidery. It cannot be so elegant, so leisurely, so refined, so gentle, courteous, frugal and modest. Revolution is an uprising, a violent action by one class to overthrow another. The issue of revolution has never been a discussion of the good and evil of human nature, but a question of life and death, and fundamentally a question of the production and distribution of wealth. I have said this many times before. We all know that in Chinese history, unified dynasties have changed dynasties every few hundred years, with land annexation and cycles of order and chaos. The reigns of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, the prosperous era of Emperor Wu of Han, the reign of Emperor Zhenguan, the prosperous era of Emperor Kaiyuan, the reign of Emperor Renzong, the prosperous era of Emperor Yongle, etc. These prosperous eras achieved different degrees of success in politics, economy, culture and other aspects.

While this may seem like a literal achievement, it's actually a struggle for profit, a question of wealth distribution. In feudal society, a nation's wealth was limited, especially when it came to food, or land. If you had more, I'd have less. As the population grew, per capita wealth initially increased, then gradually declined, eventually reaching a plateau. At this point, a major natural disaster would inevitably lead to widespread famine and a streak of corpses.

In ancient times, dynasties changed through repeated slaughter. This slaughter reduced the population, and through land reclamation, per capita wealth was raised, achieving a relative equilibrium and thus ushering in the next cycle. Class struggle, on the other hand, is a naked struggle for profit, a struggle against the landlords and gentry to maximize their own class's interests. Therefore, once class struggle begins, there will inevitably be extremely horrific slaughter, and this has been the case throughout history, both in China and abroad. Comrades, do not assume that these landlords and gentry will stop after eliminating local progressives. The landlord class lacks a clear political ideology, and precisely because they lack it, they are like a pack of mad dogs, hence the brutality of their struggles and slaughters. Subconsciously driven to establish an order that will endure for generations, they will rely on the instinct of class interests to exploit this chaos to maximize their own gains.

"Chairman, do you mean that this massacre will continue to spread? Then these places won't just be covered in corpses, but a sea of ​​blood and corpses."

"Indeed, the slaughter will continue endlessly until the landlord class believes they have eliminated all threats and gained sufficient benefits and land. Therefore, the massacres in Guangdong and Fujian will open your eyes and refresh your understanding. They will also make you realize what kind of slaughter we, the Forward Party, will face if we lose power, our apparatus of violence, and the support of the people. The landlord class's counterattack may even be even more brutal than what we have seen in Guangdong and Fujian. If the landlord class is given the opportunity, our Forward Party, including all the comrades present here, will be crushed to ashes by the landlord class, leaving no place for burial. This is not a threat or intimidation to our comrades; it will become a reality if the landlord class seizes the opportunity. Therefore, any compromise with these landlord reactionaries is cruel to our own comrades. Our comrades must unwaveringly uphold the political ideals of our Forward Party. We must follow the mass line, persist in carrying out land reform comprehensively and deeply, and resolve the problems of oppression and starvation in our country. Anyone who opposes our land reform, even if not our enemy, is definitely not our friend."

"Chairman, what exactly do these landlords and gentry want to do? How mad and insane must they be to do this? We are all from the same village. It is true that landlords and gentry are ruthless to tenants and farmers. But the indiscriminate killing you describe is simply unbelievable."