The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

Zhang Yinghao laughed and asked, "Do you think we are very strong or very weak?"

"Not very strong." "Not very weak." "Neither strong nor weak."

"Your answer is probably that while we're certainly powerful compared to the landlords, we're still a bit outmatched against the Qing. Let me just say this: we're short on guns and ammunition right now. We won't be able to fight a major battle before we run out. And we have nowhere to buy them, so we can only manufacture the little we have ourselves. Think about it, if we capture the provincial capital and it becomes known to the world, what will the Qing do?"

"They will definitely come and attack us."

"They will come to surround and suppress us."

"Yes, so it's best if we don't let the Qing know about our revolution, or at least not let them know right away. The best case scenario is that the Qing finds out and thinks it's no big deal and lets us develop as we please. That's the best scenario."

"It's difficult."

"That's why we need to hold a meeting! Of course, there's another possibility. That's if the Qing government doesn't take us seriously and sends hundreds or even thousands of Qing troops to destroy us. Then we can strengthen ourselves by destroying the Qing troops. So I think we should enter the city quietly, without firing a gun."

"But expecting the patrol officers and soldiers inside to surrender without resistance is not an easy task."

"Of course it's not an easy task, but how do you know it's impossible if you don't try? Even if we fail in the end, there will still be a gunfight. Didn't we try our best?"

"Chairman, I have an idea. If we have nothing to do these few days, let's set off a few strings of firecrackers in the state capital. If a gunfight breaks out when we occupy the state capital, everyone will get used to the sound of gunfire."

"This method is good. Everyone, think about it. As long as your thinking doesn't slip, there are always more solutions than problems."

"Chairman, the Qing army's armaments are lax. They certainly don't carry their weapons every day, let alone sleep with them. So why don't we send an elite squad to seize the Qing army's arsenal first? That way, the Qing army will be like a toothless tiger. It will be easy for us to deal with them."

Zhang Yinghao glanced at Hu Songhui in surprise, and suddenly remembered the special forces. It was indeed possible to select some top soldiers and form several such teams to carry out special missions.

"Well, that's not bad either. Then the task of forming this team will be handed over to Comrade Hu Songhui. Is that okay?"

"No problem, I'll go pick some people and rehearse some tactical questions later."

"very good.""

----

"So after the Qing Dynasty's armed forces are resolved, what will happen to the people here?"

"Let them go and let these people fend for themselves."

"We can't release them. If we do, the Qing will immediately know what's going on here. I think we should just send them through labor reform. Shouldn't we immediately form a construction corps? Throw them in there and help with the construction."

"Well, that's a good approach, but what about those older people? Content that's not suitable for physical work?"

"Then give them two acres of land to farm." "What if they run away?"

"Gather them together and have someone monitor them."

"I think it would be better to disperse them to different villages so that the villagers can supervise and monitor them."

"Centralization is impossible. Do we have to build a village specifically for them?"

"It's better to disperse. We've seized quite a few houses from landlords, haven't we? It shouldn't be a problem to give them one or two to live in."

"Okay, then let's handle it according to everyone's discussion. There's one last thing, and that's the issue of the Qing court officials. Officials are our magistrates, as well as deputy officials like the county magistrate, inspectors, clerks, and chief clerks. The clerks are the people the magistrate is responsible for, such as finances, criminal justice, and taxes. Everyone, what do you think we should do?"

"You certainly can't kill people casually. There's a saying that killing officials is a rebellion. On the other hand, if you don't kill officials for a long time, it doesn't count as a rebellion."

Zhang Yinghao was truly refreshed by this theory. "Comrade Lin Zhenghong, what do you think?"

"Chairman, since we don't want the Qing Dynasty to pay attention to us for the time being, I think we should keep this county magistrate working in the county magistrate's office. We will normally receive and send official documents to and from the Qing court. If there are any documents to and from the Qing Dynasty, we will first give them to him to handle. After he handles them, we will see if there are any problems. If there are no problems, we will distribute them normally."

Zhang Yinghao thought this suggestion was very good, but he felt it was still a bit conservative. He could completely use the county magistrate to control Guang'an, and everything he did would be justified. Zhang Yinghao also wanted to test him, so he asked, "So, what about the deputy officials and minor clerks?"

"Chairman, aren't we short of manpower? These people have been managing these matters for generations, and they're very familiar with them. We can investigate them. If they're innocent, we can educate them and then continue to use them to serve the people."

After listening to Lin Zhenghong's story, Zhang Yinghao felt that Lin Zhenghong was indeed a promising talent and that this approach was indeed a very good one, and everyone expressed their agreement.

“Does anyone have any other ideas or thoughts?”

"I think we can also send a team to deal with the outside of the Zhixiang E. When we attacked, they suddenly occupied the prefectural government office and took over the

If we can control all the officials on the front line, then the entire Guang'an Prefecture will immediately be leaderless. Without a command structure and a backbone, the resistance we encounter will definitely be greatly reduced..."

"You mean we take Guang'an City during the day? Wouldn't that make too much noise?"

"I mean at night!"

"There are only a few people in the prefectural yamen at night. It's useless to attack them."

"Then we will deceive all these people's residences into disappearing, and the eight members of Duoyishu will sneak in. Before the action, set off fireworks and everyone will act in unison.

Catch all these people.”

After much discussion, everyone unanimously agreed to deploy a large number of soldiers into the city and, with the cooperation of the intelligence department, round up all the officials in Guang'an. If they could enter the city quietly, they would do so quietly. If fighting broke out, they would seize the city by force as quickly as possible. As for the two captured villagers, Zhang Yinghao hadn't mentioned them at all. After the city was liberated, all the criminals inside would surely be reexamined, and the two villagers would naturally be released.

Zhang Yinghao's quote: It's easy to ruin a person. All you need to do is tell him that he is great just by reading books.

Chapter 60

When Zhang Yinghao arrived at the end of the Qing Dynasty, his course of action had changed.

From the beginning, I wanted to develop slowly by farming, to training Zhang Feng to carry out armed struggle, from insisting on the land revolution based on the countryside to now occupying

Leading the city. Zhang Yinghao didn't know if things would change in the future, but these changes showed that he was constantly maturing. These routes also took Zhang Yinghao a long time to figure out the relationship between them.

The Qing Dynasty's imperial power did not extend beyond the county level, and the grassroots government relied entirely on the maintenance of the landlords and gentry. Therefore, the landlords and gentry also developed a set of coping methods to maintain the local situation. For example, the clan elders had the power to decide the life and death of family members.

Another example is the lies of the landlords and gentry, which justify their huge profits from land. In short, there are all kinds of

Feudal deception and lies.

Why is it so difficult for China to develop industry? Why is the resistance to industrialization so great? In fact, it is because of a set of theories, feudal

The mainstream social consciousness hindered the development of industry. For the landlords and gentry, they did not know what industry was and did not understand the principles behind it. However, industrial production did destroy their idyllic fantasy.

They wanted to break the shackles they had on the peasants, which meant that industry was competing with the landlords for people and money.

How can a country dominated by the landlord class tolerate this? It has been said before that there are only individuals who betray their interests, but no class that betrays its interests.

There might be some enlightened individuals among the landlord class who would establish businesses with Western merchants. But for the vast majority of landowners, cutting off their financial resources is like killing their parents. The exchange of industrial products for the clothing industry is a naked harvest of wealth, or to put it more nicely,

It's called the scissors gap. Naturally, the landlords would not allow Youzhan to open a business, → B wholeheartedly supports it. The landlord class is thinking about how to return to the old days.

With a carefree lifestyle, they will naturally follow your trend.

On the other hand, the landlords also need to consume industrial products and maintain their

As the landlord class sought a more respectable lifestyle, their expenses increased accordingly, inevitably leading to increased exploitation and plunder of tenant farmers. Bankruptcy grew, and society inevitably deteriorated. The more the landlord class degenerated, the more they yearned for a return to an idyllic past, and the more they resisted industrialization. Following the principle of bad money driving out bad, the people quickly transformed into corrupt gentry, nurturing militias and suppressing, even physically eliminating, any dissenters, practicing brutal rule.

Zhang Yinghao finally got it right after so long of practice. But there is nothing wrong with saying that the countryside should surround the cities and seize power by force. The mistake is that I believed this statement superstitiously.

The Kuomintang's power was almost entirely concentrated in the cities. Even during the Qing Dynasty, the revolutionary party could not successfully launch an uprising in the cities.

What about the Republic of China period? So at this time, we had to take the path of surrounding the cities from the countryside.

But the period we live in now is completely different from the Republic of China! The Qing imperial power doesn't extend beyond the county level, and they have almost no influence in the vast rural areas. But is the Qing's current power in the cities very strong? In fact, not at all. The Qing army currently has hundreds of thousands of troops, but apart from the troops trained by Yuan Shikai in Xiaozhan and Zhang Zhidong in Wuhan, the rest are old troops.

At this time, the Qing Dynasty hadn't yet carried out military reforms, and their combined forces numbered only a few hundred thousand. But how much territory did the Qing Dynasty rule? Over 13 million square kilometers. This small force wasn't enough to cover such a vast territory; it was just a sprinkling of troops. This meant the Qing could only station troops in key areas, and couldn't really control much of anything else.

This is one of the reasons why the Qing Dynasty quickly fell, simply because cities like Wuchang revolted and the armies in these key areas collectively rebelled. Yuan Shikai also lacked grassroots political power. The situation he faced was exactly the same as Dong Zhuo's. He inherited the mess left by the previous dynasty, couldn't even pay his employees, and blamed others for not listening to him. He relied on foreign loans to survive, and even had to let his troops plunder to survive. He imagined that once the country was unified, the situation would naturally improve and the people would all obey him. This was a dream.

As the "people's butcher" who suppressed the Boxer Rebellion, Yuan Shikai was unable to understand the people, nor did he know what the people's hearts were. In the end, he showed off a series of magical operations, ruined the Beiyang regime, and was nailed to the pillar of shame in history, becoming a laughing stock.

Chiang Kai-shek's clique, through its collaboration with the Communist Party and its policy of supporting workers and peasants through alliances with the Soviet Union and the Communist Party, fully understood the Communist Party's principles. Consequently, Chiang Kai-shek was determined to eradicate the Communist Party. Even when forced to unite against Japan, he remained relentless in his suppression of the Communist Party. Some have called Chiang Kai-shek a reactionary, but in reality, he was deeply versed in the theories of communism.

But he was very clear about his own interests. He represented the interests of the landlord class and the comprador class. So Chiang Kai-shek was actually a defender of his own interests and the interests of the class he represented. As his opponent, Taizu admired Chiang Kai-shek very much. After all, he was loyal to his own interests and the interests of the class he represented.

Another statement clearly demonstrates Chiang Kai-shek's understanding of his own interests: Fighting corruption means the destruction of the party; not fighting corruption means the destruction of the nation. The party represents class interests, but this class cannot represent the nation. Chiang Kai-shek ultimately chose the destruction of the nation, not the destruction of the party.

Many Apple fans boast about how many of the Kuomintang’s soldiers sacrificed during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and how a large group of officers died one after another. Their desperate resistance is worthy of praise and is very touching. These are indeed facts.

But when facing invasion, soldiers defend their country and die on the battlefield. Isn't that their ultimate fate? From the moment those soldiers who sacrificed their lives picked up their guns, weren't they prepared to die in battle?

Then what kind of soldier would you be?

In fact, if the Kuomintang really suffered so much, their descendants would not have lost their leadership position in a small country and lost their position as a leader. You have to know that Chiang Kai-shek led an army of 600,000 at that time, and the military and civilians were afraid of the enemy.

In his previous life, Zhang Yinghao had read some novels set during the Anti-Japanese War. Many of the protagonists in those novels turned the tide and became anti-Japanese heroes. When the Kuomintang and the Communist Party were at odds, they tried their best to mediate and demanded joint support. All of these were good. However, after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Zhang Yinghao turned into a white lotus, expressing his disapproval of the civil war. He joined the team in the civil war, made a very annoying speech, and then went abroad. He either used the wind to shoot the six bones of the army in the north to spread propaganda, or allowed his own team to attack him, saying that the civil war consumed the national strength and he was in the middle of the civil war.

Li, whoever wins the fight will be glorious: I wish E is a white lotus, to solve this problem, he is glorious, without any stain, he is a white lotus,

Extremely pure.

When these authors were writing, they did not understand that when Wang Minba went to war, the protagonists would naturally have some excuses to persuade the outside world to unite and face the outside world. But after the victory, they gathered the leaders of several parties together and talked about nationalizing the army, relying on the high welfare of the army to divide the Eighth Route Army, and relying on persuasion to make Chiang Kai-shek, Taizu and others put aside the disputes over class and party interests and build the country peacefully.

This proposal sounds like heaven, infinitely beautiful, but how can it possibly be achieved in reality? A party is a party because its leader represents its interests. When a leader abandons the party's interests, he or she no longer represents the party. The party will immediately engage in internal strife, internal friction, and even division, a problem that even the leader cannot resolve. Therefore, Taizu said: "Class struggle works as soon as it is grasped." Why? Because once class positions are established, who are enemies and who are friends is already determined.

Many people use the UK and the US as examples, saying that two-party elections are democracy. However, in the US, political parties are controlled by financial corporations.

So no matter which party wins, it's all a game for the financial establishment, and the financial establishment always benefits. The British Parliament is indeed full of debate, but the real action is carried out by the civil servants. British MPs and civil servants are not on the same page. Even if Parliament were to turn upside down, it would have no impact on the UK at all.

So Zhang Yinghao could not understand why those who spoke for the landlord class

Sometimes I see novels that still retain the landlord class and then carry out social reforms. Or they raise land rents to allow these landlords to turn to industrial and commercial development. This is so naive that I think the entire landlord class will betray the land.

The idea of ​​the dominant class is as absurd as hoping that water will flow from low to high on its own. Revolution is not a banquet, nor is it painting or embroidery; it cannot be so elegant, so leisurely, so gentle, courteous, frugal, and modest. Revolution is an insurrection, a violent act by which one class overthrows another, an act in which one side must defeat the other.

Why is revolution not rebellion? Rebellion is simply a matter of rotating the banker. When one banker quits playing, or has made enough money, or has lost everything, the next one will take over. It's like blowing bubbles: once one pops, another pops. From the beginning of the hereditary system of the Xia Dynasty to the present day, it's simply a matter of one banker being replaced by another, a cycle of power shifts, sometimes peaceful, sometimes violent. That's all.

When Zhang Yinghao understood this, he knew his initial strategy was flawed. He couldn't wait for the Qing to discover his revolution and encircle and suppress it. He should take the initiative and attack. To avoid an overreaction from the Qing, he could develop his forces in the countryside and attack the cities less, or even less, than he did in the past. While he was undoubtedly in a difficult situation, Zhang Yinghao believed the enemy was facing an even greater challenge. Therefore, he immediately revised his strategy and decided to enter the cities immediately.

As a modern man, Zhang Yinghao prioritized efficiency and never procrastinated. He established the Urban Reception and Management Committee that very day. He selected elite cadres to study the information gathered by the intelligence department and discuss the city's reception and management. With a scientific approach, things would be much easier. The Communist Party of China (GC) in previous generations also emerged from the mountains, and many of its soldiers had never seen electricity or used running water, yet they ultimately managed the city through learning. Under Zhang Yinghao's leadership, several sub-units were quickly established through discussion, such as the Industrial and Commercial Bureau, the Police Bureau, the Civil Affairs Bureau, and so on, along with the corresponding staffing.

They had to clearly understand the roles of existing Qing officials and clerks, and how to obtain information on their previous work. They also made extensive preparations for retaining the old ones. They mobilized a large amount of manpower and material resources, ensuring that Guang'an City would be operational immediately after taking over, and order must not be disrupted.

After several days of preparation, a large number of elite troops have quietly entered the city. Under the arrangement of the intelligence department, they have moved into houses not far from their target, waiting for the moment of action.

That evening, Zhang Feng led the team out. Zhang Yinghao had decided not to personally lead the team in formal military operations unless necessary. It wasn't that Zhang Yinghao was afraid of death, but rather that he urgently needed to train these comrades and let them take charge as soon as possible. Before, he had no one to lead the team, so he had to lead the team himself. Now that the comrades had been trained for a while, he decided to let them take the lead and let them take a walk.

Furthermore, Zhang Yinghao himself had no intention of entering the city so early. These cities were too low-class, and Zhang Yinghao truly despised them. This time, Zhang Yinghao had made all the necessary preparations. If anything unexpected happened, it would be fate.

Zhang Yinghao's Quotes: Success requires hard work, but hard work doesn't guarantee success. This is a fact. But we must firmly believe that hard work will lead to success, otherwise you're doomed.

Chapter 61

One of Zhang Yinghao's most important tasks right now isn't entering the city, but rather preparing to establish a construction unit. He plans to use this unit to establish at least five universities and cultivate a group of truly technologically advanced professionals.

The officials in Guang'an Prefecture were confused about the bandits in Zhangjiagou. They also received news about the landlords who were captured. Not all of them were killed. Some of them were killed by local people after voting.

The decision was to execute them, and the rest were organized to work. This group of defeated bandits did not kill officials or rebel when they were flogged, nor did they incite the people to kill officials and rebel.

They just organized the untouchables to build reservoirs, dig ditches, dig ponds, and build houses. Everything they did seemed so reasonable but it was actually absurd.

It is an incredible thing, but it is certain that Zhangjiagou is just like the Hongyang rebels of the past.

The magistrate of Guang'an Prefecture, Zeng Chuanxi, had reported the situation in Guang'an to his superiors several times, but the prefect did not care. The prefect reported to the prefect, but the prefect did not care either. Finally, the report was made to the Governor of Sichuan and General of Chengdu, Guaerjia Kuijun. However, he was not interested in Guang'an affairs at the moment. As a Manchu, he was now completely focused on Empress Dowager Cixi who had arrived in Xi'an, Shaanxi. His second focus was on how to make money, which was his greatest pleasure. After all, the dung tax and the artillery tax were invented by this man. As long as it did not interfere with his money-making, he would not bother to care about the trivial matters far away in Guang'an.

meeting.

Why didn't Zeng Chuanqi, the magistrate of Guang'an Prefecture, flee? No kidding, officials have the duty to defend their territory. If caught escaping, they would lose their job or even beheaded. Furthermore, the capital was still in the hands of the foreigners. How could Zeng Chuanqi dare to mobilize troops recklessly? If a rebellion broke out and caused local unrest, he would be in big trouble. Anyway, the situation was stable for now. Someone would have to handle the matter if the report was submitted. Wouldn't he be ordered to send troops then? The most important thing was that the Boxers were wreaking havoc everywhere, and the local Qing officials were still powerless to control them. They were not Yuan Shikai, who dared to kill at will. As for whether the prefect, the governor, and others considered Zhang Yinghao and his men to be Boxers, that was unknown.

As for the patrol battalions and the Qing soldiers, Zeng Chuanxi actually wanted to send these veteran soldiers to wipe out Zhang Yinghao and his men. However, these brave soldiers were not fools. Previously, those landlords had gathered so many militias and bandits, but they were easily wiped out by the revolutionary army. Why would they go back to die? Now the power of the revolutionaries has spread throughout Guang'an. Knowing that the revolutionary army has attacked everywhere, and defeated those bandit militias and armor, many of them have grass growing on their graves. Sending them out to fight is like sending them to die. Isn't this a joke? How dare these dogs and slaves do such a thing?

Initially, officials of all ranks in Guang'an Prefecture were terrified. Gradually, as the number of petitions on their desks grew and the news they received increased, Guang'an remained largely peaceful, and Zhangjiagou hadn't resorted to open rebellion like the Liangshan heroes. The magistrate, relieved, accelerated his lobbying for a transfer. Just as he was clinging to these illusions, a large number of soldiers began to enter the city in disguise.

Cao Qiang was one of the specially selected individuals for this mission. Coming from a family of hunters, he had been exposed to firearms and ammunition since childhood, honing his skills. Two years prior, his father had been attacked by bandits while out hunting. Although he narrowly escaped death, he was left with a persistent illness: a bullet lodged in his body. Although the flesh had healed, the pain inside him persisted during cooler weather, wind, and rain, rendering him unable to perform physical labor. He relied on medication year-round, leaving the family destitute.

Therefore, Cao Qiang hated the bandits to the core and worked hard to improve his skills. After the revolutionary army led the troops into their village, eliminated the landlords, carried out water conservancy construction and land reform, his family was also allocated food and land, and life was able to get by. However, the biggest benefit for Cao Qiang's family was that the revolutionary army doctors provided free medical treatment to the masses. After his father went to see the doctor with an attitude of giving it a try, the doctor used tools such as probes and magnets to detect the location of the bullet and helped his father remove the bullet that was left in his body. Not long after, his father's health was completely healed, and he had no problem going up the mountain to hunt or working in the fields. Out of gratitude, Qiang Cao followed the revolutionary army out of the mountains with his father's permission.

Cao Qiang, having learned hunting from a young age and spent years in the mountains, possessed exceptional physical fitness. Coupled with his intelligence, he quickly became a key figure in the revolutionary army's training. During Hu Songhui's selection, he also achieved excellent results and was admitted to the special training camp. After two days of emergency training, they departed for Guang'an Prefecture.

Led by intelligence personnel, Cao Qiang disguised himself and entered the prefectural capital, hiding in a room closest to the county magistrate's office. Some members of his squad practiced calligraphy on the floor, some quietly recited the Yinghao Chinese Pinyin alphabet, some memorized multiplication tables, some cleaned their guns, some played with their throwing knives, and some played with their broadswords. But no one slept. As squad leader, Cao Qiang was brimming with confidence in his team. After listening to Chairman Zhang Yinghao's lecture, he even felt confident that they alone could infiltrate the capital and take the emperor's head.

Cao Qiang still remembers the limerick Chairman Zhang Yinghao sang during his lectures: "After listening to my lectures, you'll have friends all over the world. After listening to my lectures, you won't kowtow to the emperor. After listening to my lectures, bullies and evil gentry will be slaughtered..." That's right. As long as you are a member of the working proletariat, as long as the world remains unchanged, there will always be exploiters and oppressors, and there will always be people who don't have enough to eat or warm clothes. As long as we unite the vast majority of the exploited and oppressed, where can we not develop our own comrades? As long as we can develop and grow, the whole country will be our comrades. How can there be a way for emperors? How can there be a way for landlords? Every time Cao Qiang thinks back on Chairman Zhang's lectures, the more he thinks about them, the more he feels that they make sense.

Cao Qiang was observing the situation in the government compound across the way while comparing it to the reconnaissance map, pondering how to end the battle as quickly as possible. He knew that all the troops that had sneaked in this time should have arrived by now, and everyone should be patiently awaiting the signal for the final attack.

As evening approached, Cao Qiang called the team members together for a final check of their guns and weapons. The comrades disassembled their weapons, cleaned them, and reassembled them. They pulled the triggers, and a gentle click echoed. After loading the bullets and securing the safety, Cao Qiang arranged the sentries and covert personnel, then sat down to recite multiplication tables in his mind.

Regarding sentry duty, Zhang Yinghao still remembered the TV series "Bright Sword," which combined visible and covert sentry duties. He'd seen so many of those shows, and they were the things he had to pay attention to, military lessons he had to teach his students early on.

Zhang Yinghao is very particular about firearms. He can't mass-produce them right now, and losing a firearm is a grave sin. Firearms are a soldier's second life. In the military's parlance, a firearm is like your wife; no amount of care or attention is too much. Furthermore, anyone who has handled firearms knows that those who don't know how to maintain a firearm shouldn't use it.

Zhang Yinghao's unit begins firearms training two weeks after new recruits begin. This course covers the internal structure of a gun, how it fires, bullet trajectory, and range. Being able to independently disassemble and assemble a gun is crucial, as it can be fatal if a bullet jams during combat or a damaged component is damaged and you don't know how to replace it.

Cao Qiang fell asleep unconsciously. When he woke up suddenly, he felt confused and didn't know what time it was. Why didn't he wake up?

Did someone wake me up? Did I miss the time for the attack? Did my comrades oversleep? Cao Qiang was suddenly startled and felt an infinite panic in his heart. The fear swept away all his sleepiness in an instant.

He suddenly jumped up, but the scene he saw made him extremely confused. He saw his comrades still doing their own things, as if he had not slept at all.

"How long did I sleep just now?" "Captain, about an hour." "Why don't you guys take a nap?"

"Captain, we got up because we couldn't sleep."