The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

Everyone now believed that Yuan Shikai had rebelled and murdered Emperor Guangxu in order to usurp the throne. The Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang, Duan Fang, a Manchu of the Plain White Banner and loyal to the Qing dynasty, immediately sent a public telegram questioning Yuan Shikai, asking if he had been responsible for Emperor Guangxu's death and what his real intentions were.

As for the princes and nobles in the capital, they were as docile as quails at this moment, and they truly didn't utter a single word. Of course, it wasn't that they didn't want to curse Yuan Datou, this living Cao Cao, but they simply didn't dare. Soldiers from the two towns were stationed in the capital, closely monitoring their residences. If they dared to venture out, the rioting soldiers would surely reenter, their homes confiscated, and even their bodies mutilated. The princes and nobles had lived in comfort in the capital for over two hundred years. Now, detached from the masses, without the support of the people, without the support of the soldiers, and without the support of the Qing regime, they had lost the foundation of their power. They were now just independent individuals, fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

Seeing no action from the liberated areas, Yuan Datou announced the abdication edict issued by Empress Longyu, formally declaring the throne abdicated to Yuan Datou. After three attempts to decline according to ancient rituals, Yuan Datou finally accepted the throne "with reluctance." The Beiyang government officially took over as the central government, and subsequently announced that Yuan Datou would offer sacrifices to heaven and ascend the throne to become emperor.

Zhang Yinghao silently watched this farce orchestrated by Yuan Shikai, lamenting how quickly times and human sentiments change. In just four or five years, after overthrowing the Qing Dynasty, he could only become president. Then, Yuan Shikai bucked the trend and proclaimed himself emperor, leading even his closest subordinates to abandon him and oppose the monarchy. But now? Yuan Shikai's accolade, aside from fears of rebellion in the liberated areas, was filled with joy, sharing in the feast.

Of course, Yuan Shikai's rule was not won through conquest, but rather through a conspiracy and coup. Furthermore, his hasty declaration of the throne, with an air of impatience, was unsightly and made one suspect something fishy was going on. This also caused widespread discussion throughout the country, with anger rising in unliberated areas, and the situation became turbulent.

However, Yuan Shikai didn't care at this point, and neither did the Beiyang government. After all, in the minds of these old-fashioned figures, Yuan Shikai's access to the throne meant he could legitimately command the world, and the people had to obey him. They were accustomed to the game of power division and seemed completely unaware that their power came from the people. They believed that as long as they could clean up the country and eliminate the Red Bandits, all other problems would be irrelevant.

Upon hearing the news, Duan Fang, the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang, immediately issued a telegram opposing Yuan Shikai's enthronement and preparing to swear an oath to support the emperor. However, Duan Fang was only talking big and did not actually take action, as he had no ability to send troops to attack the capital. He could only talk big, perhaps hoping to gain as much benefit as possible. Of course, the Beiyang government was also unable to reach Fujian, Zhejiang and other places and had no way to deal with Duan Fang. Zhou Fu, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, was originally a Beiyang minister and needed his support. After receiving Yuan Shikai's promise, he immediately expressed his support for Yuan Shikai's enthronement.

The enthronement process went smoothly. Yuan Datou first prepared to offer sacrifices to the heavens at the Temple of Heaven. At that time, the Temple of Heaven had been renovated. Beside each railing stood a soldier in uniform, with feathers in his hair and holding a spear; on both sides of the road were musicians ready to play music; and a large group of civil and military officials in sacrificial robes were waiting for Yuan Datou.

At dawn, Yuan Datou, clad in imperial robes and crowns, rode in a carriage, escorted by a large number of cavalrymen bearing banners, to the main gate. He then rode in a sedan chair into the Temple of Heaven. He ascended the second level of the Circular Mound from the south and stood facing north. After the bonfire in the large cauldron was lit, he bowed four times at the command of the sacrificial officer, accompanied by civil and military officials. Then, he offered carefully selected animal blood and hair, followed by water and wine. The sacrificial officer then began chanting a prayer, directing Yuan Datou and the others to kowtow. The entire process lasted over an hour.

After the sacrifice to heaven, the master of ceremonies read out the Qing Dynasty's abdication edict. The next day, Yuan Shikai was surrounded by people and held a ceremony to ascend the throne, naming the country "Chinese Empire".

On the first day of Yuan Datou's acceptance of the throne, he met with over 200 civil and military officials in Huairen Hall. These officials, both large and small, congratulated Yuan Datou. Civil officials were on the left, and military officials were on the right. They knelt and kowtowed to Yuan Datou. Led by the Internal History Supervisor Ruan Zhongshu and the Grand Ceremony Officer Huang Kaiwen, Yuan Datou delivered a short speech.

Yuan Datou said he was working to save the country and the people. He said the throne was a never-ending task, and therefore the emperor's position was one of constant concern and vigilance. He said it was not a place to rest on wealth and honor. Furthermore, the descendants of past emperors rarely achieved good deeds, and their freedom in education and occupation was often restricted. Therefore, the imperial family was unlikely to prosper. To save the country and the people, he dared not avoid sacrificing his descendants...

For various reasons, Yuan Shikai's enthronement seemed extremely hasty. Everything was kept simple, so simple that not only the civil and military officials, but even Yuan Shikai himself felt a little regretful. The scene was shabby and deserted, and even the operation and improvement of the government system had to remain mostly the same. It actually looked like a farce.

Afterwards, Yuan Datou received envoys from various countries in the Forbidden City. The envoys bowed to Yuan Datou. Jordan said to Yuan Datou: "Your Majesty, congratulations on becoming the ruler of the Chinese Empire. The British Empire recognizes the establishment of the Chinese Empire and regards the government you have established as the central and legitimate government of China. The British Empire has always been friendly to China and has a deep traditional friendship. The British Empire has always regarded Your Majesty as a friend and will provide Your Majesty with all the help it can."

Jordan smiled. With Yuan Shikai as emperor, they could proceed with their next move, and the interests of the British Empire would be guaranteed. Furthermore, the great powers had already reached an agreement with Yuan Shikai: the powers would support the Beiyang government and help the Beiyang army suppress domestic rebellion. The Beiyang government would inherit and recognize all treaties signed between the Qing Dynasty and the great powers. In the eyes of the great powers' envoys, Yuan Shikai was simply a monkey in human form. So what if he became emperor? Nothing had changed; he was still just a puppet in the hands of the great powers.

Yuan Datou also said with a smile: "Sir, thank you for the support of the British Empire. The Chinese Empire and the British Empire will always be good friends."

Uchida Yasuya immediately said, "Your Majesty, your current situation is not optimistic. You only occupy a few provinces, and the other provinces do not recognize your legal status. If you do not eliminate them, your position will be unstable. However, the Empire of Japan has recognized your legal status, so I hope you will fulfill your promise as soon as possible."

In order to gain Japan's support and allow Japan to tie up more PLA troops at the Yalu River, Yuan Shikai had to promise a lot of conditions, including buying Japanese weapons at high prices, exporting food, coal, iron ore and other materials at low prices, and continuing to pay the indemnity stipulated in the Boxer Protocol.

Yuan Datou looked at the Japanese eagerly, and the corners of his mouth twitched unconsciously. The Japanese were really good at taking advantage of the situation! However, there was no way, a weak country had no diplomacy. Although Yuan Datou disliked and even hated the Japanese, the Beiyang government really needed their support at this time. They needed the Japanese to hold back the PLA army, otherwise the Beiyang government would face tremendous pressure. Even though he knew the Japanese were taking advantage of the situation, Yuan Datou had to grit his teeth and accept it.

"Dear envoys, if you have any specific matters, please contact the relevant departments. The Chinese Empire is your friend. Friends are easy to talk to. We can discuss anything slowly."

Yuan Shikai didn't know that his attitude would only make the great powers become more aggressive. Any attempt to satisfy the great powers would only make them think he was weak and could be bullied, and what he would get in return would not be empathy, but greed.

Uchida Yasuya listened, nodded, and said nothing more. He couldn't help being anxious. The people in the country were starving, the industry lacked sufficient raw materials, and even the coke and iron ore needed for the Yawata Iron and Steel Works, which had been built with great difficulty, were in short supply. They could only import from the United States at exorbitant prices or brutally exploit and oppress North Korea. It was so hard to find a sucker, so how could they afford to wait?

As soon as Uchida Yasuya left, Russian Minister Pukodi said: "Your Majesty, the Great Russian Empire hopes that your army will immediately march north to attack and cooperate with our army to completely eliminate the Red Bandits. In addition, pay the indemnity stipulated in the Boxer Protocol as soon as possible..."

Currently, Russia was completely at a disadvantage in the war against the liberated areas, and the destruction of the West Siberian Railway made an eastward offensive extremely difficult. If the Beiyang Army could advance northward, the pressure on the Russian Empire would undoubtedly be much less, and the territory could be recovered more quickly, preventing the Red Army from gaining a foothold. Pu Kedi knew that while it would be extremely difficult for the Russian Empire to recover territory from the Red Army, it would be much easier to recover territory from the Beiyang Army. The Boxer Protocol was the best weapon, and even a united force of threats could force Yuan Shikai to make concessions.

However, Yuan Shikai was no fool. While he was aware of the PLA's threat, he also knew his own strength. It was a good thing the PLA didn't attack him. Beyond the few areas he had to reclaim, how could Yuan Shikai easily mobilize his troops? Furthermore, if the PLA was eliminated and the Russian army advanced southward, how could the Beiyang government resist? The best option now was to allow Tsarist Russia to tie down the Red Bandits' forces while Yuan Shikai took the opportunity to train his elite troops. Furthermore, would it be easy to get the Beiyang army to attack the PLA? Not only would it require a large sum of money, but the Beiyang officers' agreement was uncertain. Yuan Shikai could only respond with a few words, then dismissed Duan Qirui and the others while he continued to negotiate with the other powers; the Beiyang government needed their support.

The day after Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor, Britain, France, Japan, Russia and other countries publicly recognized the Beiyang government as the only legitimate central government in China, which made Yuan Shikai successfully seize the ruling position in China on the surface.

Zhang Yinghao remained aloof and watched the events unfolding in the capital, silently recording what would become history. Yuan Datou, a military man and a Han Chinese emperor, naturally wanted to change certain traditions. Therefore, he implemented a policy of promoting Han Chinese clothing in the areas under his rule, demonstrating his legitimacy as a Han Chinese emperor.

Zhang Yinghao remained noncommittal about Yuan Datou's policy, but he couldn't help but laugh at the fact that, in that era, the public's perception of Hanfu was similar to Peking Opera costumes, which he found a bit difficult to accept. Of course, Zhang Yinghao saw nothing wrong with reviving Hanfu. Those who could afford it were the wealthy landlords, gentry, and compradors, so he couldn't force the masses to wear it. Clothes were worn for comfort, warmth, and appearance. Furthermore, many jobs at that time were unsuitable for Hanfu; being caught in the machinery would kill you without a trace. So, if anyone wanted to wear Hanfu, they could do so themselves. Zhang Yinghao even wanted to own a pair to wear occasionally, to showcase the Han Chinese culture and to show the world what "the beauty of clothing is called Hua."

However, we absolutely cannot force everyone to wear them, and we can't use administrative orders. In this era, some people are used to wearing long gowns and jackets, some prefer large robes, and some young people prefer suits. These are completely personal preferences, and there's no need to label them as patriotic. Patriotism isn't about clothing; simply avoid showing off by wearing something that offends the Chinese people.

Of course, as a politician, Zhang Yinghao naturally understood that Yuan Datou's intention wasn't to restore Hanfu, but rather to co-opt nationalism, incite patriotic sentiment, and demonstrate his respect for China's "traditional culture," its customs, and morals. Perhaps Yuan Datou didn't understand the underlying rationale, but subconsciously, he knew what was best for him. Having seized power from the Qing dynasty through military force, Yuan Datou had to quickly erase its legacy. Under the influence of revolutionary propaganda, Yuan Datou naturally understood how to do so.

Therefore, after implementing the policy of restoring Hanfu, Yuan Datou's second step was to target the braids on the back of the head and began to advocate cutting them off. As a military general, Yuan Datou had no attachment to the braids. He cut off his braid in public in front of civil and military officials to show that he was drawing a clear line between himself and the Qing court. Similarly, Yuan Datou also made his civil and military officials draw a clear line between themselves and the Qing court by cutting their braids, telling them that they were no longer the subjects of the Qing court, but his subjects.

It should be noted that there were only two national costume regulations in history. One was the Zhao State during the Warring States Period, which adopted the Hu clothing and horse riding style. The other was the Qing Dynasty, which allowed people to keep their hair but not their head. Zhang Yinghao analyzed that after Yuan Datou solved the clothing and hair problems, he knew that Yuan Datou wanted to control the Chinese people ideologically and make them obey his orders. Therefore, Yuan Datou had to go to Shandong in person to visit the descendants of Confucius, pay homage to the Confucius Temple, and begin to promote Confucian culture.

The current Confucian culture, forged over two thousand years under the influence of feudal ideology, serves the feudal rulers. Yuan Datou cannot propose his own political ideas, so he can only play with the existing traditional ruling philosophy to gain the support and support of the people.

Zhang Yinghao felt that Yuan Datou's approach was remarkably prudent. He gradually tested the public's boundaries and guided them step by step, first restoring Hanfu, then eliminating the braid, and only after encountering no serious resistance did he choose to revert to Confucianism. The educational community of the era also highly valued Confucianism and naturally supported Yuan Datou, who advocated this educational approach.

Zhang Yinghao felt it was not too late to promote the Confucian way of worshipping Confucius, attempting to replace the newly formed desire for freedom and loyalty in the hearts of the people with Confucianism's obscurantism. However, in the current situation of internal and external troubles, without industry and a strong military, it would definitely not succeed.

Zhang Yinghao knew that respecting Confucius was different from wearing Hanfu and cutting braids. Respecting Confucius was an idea, and an outdated one at that. When there was a conflict of ideas, someone would immediately jump out to oppose Yuan Datou, including progressive elements within the Beiyang government who would oppose Yuan Datou's retro behavior.

To be honest, if Yuan Shikai still carried out feudal rule like the Qing Dynasty, or if the emperor took turns to be the boss and now a Han emperor became the emperor, then what is the essential difference? It's just that the vested interests have changed from the Qing imperial family to the Beiyang Group. What benefit does it bring to the grassroots people?

When Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor, Duan Fang clamored wildly, calling on the whole country to form an army to support the emperor and march north to attack the Beiyang government in order to overthrow Yuan Shikai, the fake emperor. The whole of China fell into a strange silence, watching the reaction of the liberated areas with one eye and Yuan Shikai's performance with the other.

Of course, with Japan's support, another political force finally emerged on the historical stage: the Overseas Revolutionary Party. Sun Zhongshan even publicly declared that Yuan Shikai was a thief who had stolen the country, committed perverse acts, and was an enemy of all China. However, although the Overseas Revolutionary Party launched an uprising, it was not only unsuccessful but also suffered heavy losses. Its influence in China is now very limited.

The Forward Party led by Zhang Yinghao cut ties with the Overseas Revolutionary Party very early on, which was one of Zhang Yinghao's contributions. Zhang Yinghao certainly would not allow other people's crops to grow in the land he had worked so hard to cultivate, so he naturally fiercely criticized the Tongmenghui's practices.

As a person who traveled through time, Zhang Yinghao naturally knew that Sun Zhongshan's ideas were of little use to China. It was not until the specific slogans of allying with the Soviet Union, allying with the Communist Party, and assisting the workers and peasants were put forward that the Whampoa Military Academy was established and the party army was created. Only then did China's revolution enter the fast lane.

When Zhang Yinghao first crossed over, he seemed to think that temporarily abandoning the frontier regions was fine, as long as the Eighteen Han Provinces could be preserved. However, once he decided to choose communism as the path of revolution, he had to admit one thing: without the unity of the working people of all nationalities, it would be impossible to achieve the revolutionary tasks of expelling foreign powers and overthrowing feudalism at home.

The late Qing Dynasty was a period of transition, as society gradually degenerated from feudalism to a semi-feudal, semi-colonial society. This profound social transformation undoubtedly had a profound impact on Sun Zhongshan's revolutionary thinking and the formation of his revolutionary ideology. Seeing the impoverished and weak Qing government at the mercy of Western powers, the people suffering and the widespread grief, Sun Zhongshan felt a sense of historical mission to save the people from disaster and to save the country from collapse, and began his reflection and exploration on saving the Chinese nation.

Various plans of the Qing government to save the country failed one after another. In particular, the introduction of the imperial cabinet led to widespread disappointment among the gentry class with the Qing Dynasty, which led to the further spread of bourgeois revolutionary ideas. They used Western bourgeois theories of natural human rights, freedom and equality as ideological weapons, and American and French ideas of independence as political ideas. Combined with China's national conditions, they put forward the revolutionary program of the Three Independences and used it to guide the practice of the Revolution of 1911.

As early as 1894, Sun Yat-sen founded the Revive China Society in Honolulu. The oath of membership of this earliest bourgeois revolutionary organization was: "Drive out the Tartars, restore China, and establish a united government."

The oath, along with the content of the Revive China Society Charter on saving the nation and revitalizing China, became a concise expression of nationalism and democracy. The Revive China Society's program, for the first time, put forward the epoch-making demand for a republic.

With the Xingzhonghui as the center, Sun Zhongshan united revolutionary groups and revolutionaries such as the Huaxinghui and the Guangfuhui to establish the Tongmenghui in Tokyo, with Sun Zhongshan as the prime minister. They also passed the general charter and issued a declaration.

The Forward Party may now be able to analyze Sun Zhongshan's own understanding of the Three Inscriptions even more thoroughly. After all, Zhang Yinghao, as a time traveler, can analyze the underlying logic more clearly and understand its strengths and weaknesses more thoroughly. Furthermore, Zhang Yinghao's writings, which now total millions of words, are too numerous for the average person to read, so why would they need to read anyone else's? Therefore, the comrades of the Forward Party only need to read Zhang Yinghao's writings. Everyone is so busy, how can they find the time to understand Sun Zhongshan's true intentions?

Chapter 712:

In addition to implementing these policies, Yuan Datou knew that if he didn't solve the problem of inflation in the capital, his rule would remain unstable. The biggest problem for Yuan Datou was the political instability and public unrest caused by hyperinflation. The currency system in the Beijing-Tianjin-Zhili region was in chaos. Some people used silver, some used copper coins, and many had to use sacks to carry paper money. Transactions were very difficult and the people complained bitterly.

In order to rectify the currency market and consolidate his dominance, Yuan Datou used the precious metals such as gold, silver and copper seized from the princes and nobles of the Qing Dynasty to order the casting of copper plates and silver dollars, and minted "Yuan Datou", a unified new type of silver coin.

However, the Beiyang government had just been established and could not come up with any more money except for the money confiscated, so Yuan Shikai still ordered the issuance of banknotes to continue plundering wealth.

Of course, Yuan Shikai was so concerned about currency reform not because he was really thinking about the people, but because he wanted to fill the gaps in fiscal and military spending as quickly as possible...

Just as Yuan Shikai was committing a series of farces, news of his declaration of emperorship reached Europe. Most Europeans viewed this as a matter of fun. After all, the change of dynasties and emperors in the ancient Eastern kingdom far away had no impact on Europe at the time. In their eyes, China was still their target of bullying.

However, when European students saw this report, they were naturally happy but also outraged. They were happy that the Qing Dynasty had been overthrown and the hat on the Chinese people's heads had been taken off. However, Yuan Datou became emperor again. Could China's fate be left to Yuan Datou?

Sun Zhongshan's speech opposing Yuan Shikai's declaration of emperorship spread among overseas students, generating considerable resonance. For them, the allure of a republic was far greater than that of an empire. Having overthrown a Qing emperor, they were reluctant to see another Han Chinese emperor rise above them. Many overseas Chinese expressed dissatisfaction with the silence of the liberated areas, and, of course, even more confusion.

Comrade Lin Chengdong, who works in Germany, is now very busy and happy. Since he received German loans and aid again, he has started large-scale purchasing again and doesn't care about what is happening in the country at all.

Comrade Lin Chengdong's current work achievements are remarkable. Following Chairman Zhang Yinghao's orders, he not only brought back world-changing technologies and equipment like synthetic ammonia, which Germany currently doesn't value, but also negotiated multiple partnerships with Rheinmetall and Krupp. He arranged for a large number of students and technicians sent from the Liberated Areas to study in schools and factories, and even purchased a large amount of books and technical materials from European countries and shipped them back to China. It can be said that if the Liberated Areas could absorb these machines, equipment, and technical materials, their scientific and technological level would be not much behind that of Europe. Perhaps the only thing missing would be some foundational knowledge and some truly difficult-to-replicate, highly skilled workers.

While Lin Chengdong wasn't concerned about Yuan Shikai's claim to the throne, other overseas students were. Lao Fu, Xiao Yu, and Li Shengnan, who had been very helpful to Lin Chengdong, were particularly concerned. They immediately approached Lin Chengdong and asked, "Brother Lin, what's going on back home? Why is Yuan Shikai proclaiming himself emperor? Why hasn't the revolution succeeded in China yet? Is Yuan Shikai stealing the fruits of our revolution back home?"

Looking at the angry faces of Li Shengnan and the others, Lin Chengdong said helplessly: "I've told you many times that you are now probationary party members. You can call me Comrade Lin Chengdong or Comrade Lin. We are comrades. Don't call me brother. We don't believe in brotherhood in the Progressive Party."

"Okay, okay, Comrade Lin, what do we in the Liberated Area really think?" "Yuan Datou can declare himself emperor, so what? Why hasn't the revolution in our country succeeded yet? Does overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and the emperor count as a success? The French Revolution lasted more than 80 years, how long has it been here? Can we rush it?"

"I think we could have easily overthrown the Qing Dynasty ourselves. How could we have allowed Yuan Shikai to become emperor? If the liberated areas hadn't weakened the Qing, how could Yuan Shikai have overthrown it? Wouldn't that have been Yuan Shikai stealing the fruits of the revolution?"

"The liberated areas are one of the achievements of our revolution, and political power is still in our hands. The People's Liberation Army is also one of the achievements of our revolution, and military power is still in our hands. The factories we built are also one of the achievements of our revolution, and the economic lifeline is still in our hands. Have you eaten up these revolutionary achievements? How can you say that the fruits of the revolution were stolen by Yuan Shikai? Is there any end to the revolution? If Yuan Shikai wants to be emperor, then he can be emperor. We will continue our revolution and will not affect each other."

As for Comrade Lin Chengdong, he had listened to Chairman Zhang Yinghao's lectures, so he knew that it was not difficult for the current liberated areas to overthrow the Qing Dynasty or the Beiyang government. It just required blood and sweat. As for why he did not act immediately, the Chairman naturally had his reasons.

Although Lin Chengdong only spoke a few words before falling into reflection, his words had a profound impact on Lao Fu and the other two. Their goal was to overthrow the Qing Dynasty. Now that the Qing Dynasty had been overthrown, Yuan Shikai had taken advantage of it and become emperor. How could they possibly feel good about this? Lin Chengdong's revolutionary attitude surprised them even more. They were now even more curious about the real Chairman, whom Lin Chengdong often praised.

The three of them were stunned by Lin Chengdong's words, but the stubborn Liu Dehai, a die-hard Sun Zhongshan fan, immediately disagreed. Sun Zhongshan said Yuan Datou was a thief who stole the country, so Yuan Datou was a thief who stole the country. He said Yuan Datou was a perverse person, so Yuan Datou was a perverse person.

Therefore, Liu Dehai, who had been eavesdropping outside the door, immediately walked in and said: "Yuan Datou has done evil things and should not be allowed to become emperor. We should overthrow him immediately and establish a republic."

“What kind of republic should we establish?”

"Of course, we should overthrow the emperor and then slowly discuss the matter. We can learn from France or the United States and establish a two-party or multi-party republic."

Lin Chengdong sneered, "Haha, I certainly can't accept Sun Zhongshan's republic led by the Tongmenghui, which forces people to be loyal to him. I also can't accept a republic that doesn't want borders, drives out the Tartars, restores China, and only wants the eighteen provinces of Han. Who are our friends and who are our enemies? Sun Zhongshan probably still doesn't know! What a joke!"

In fact, this was precisely why many revolutionaries found the Three Principles of the People unacceptable. In the past, only after the overthrow of the Qing government, and the rapid degeneration of the revolutionaries, did insightful individuals immediately realize that revolution without ideals was doomed to failure, leading later generations to embrace the Three Principles of the People again. Sun Zhongshan's timely replacement of "expel the Tartars and restore China" with "a republic of five ethnic groups" addressed this shortcoming.

In his previous life, fate seemed to be particularly kind to Sun Zhongsen. He even died at a particularly good time. If he had died a few years earlier, the development of the GCD would have had nothing to do with him. Would he still have the title of Father of the Nation? If he had died a few years later, the contradiction between the two parties would inevitably have broken out. This was the inevitable result of the development of class contradictions, and he would have had to make a choice. There is even information showing that the Father of the Nation had already planned to purge the party, and Chiang Kai-shek was just an executor. He might even have been a reactionary character.

As luck would have it, Sun Zhongshan died during the honeymoon period between the two parties, leaving the revolutionary legacy to his successors. Even after the two parties engaged in a life-or-death struggle, his contributions were never erased, and he became a "Father of the Nation" revered by both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Liu Dehai naturally couldn't modify the Three Ming Doctrines to suit his ideal leader, so he fell into an awkward silence in response to Lin Chengdong's comments. But Lao Fu, rather than the flaws of the Three Ming Doctrines, was more concerned with Lin Chengdong's earlier statement. He couldn't help but ask sincerely, "So, in Comrade Lin's opinion, who are the friends and enemies of the revolution?"

Lin Chengdong glanced at Xiaoyu and Li Shengnan and said, "The three of you have made tremendous contributions to our overseas work, so I approved your admission to the Party overseas. I also raised my hand. However, you've missed some Party classes, and you're almost done with them. So, after you return to China, you'll probably be assigned to teach at school first, while also taking Party classes and related political science courses. After these classes, with your intelligence and talents, you'll understand all these issues."

Lin Chengdong went on to say: "The working masses of our country, the working masses of all countries in the world, and all the oppressed and enslaved people in the world are friends of our revolution. The enemies of our revolution are, first, feudalism, second, imperialism, and third, bureaucratic and comprador capitalism."

Lin Chengdong decided to say more at this point, so he continued: "It was precisely because of the imperialist invasion that the people's revolutionary consciousness was aroused.

However, as an accomplice and running dog of imperialism, our country's feudalism actively suppressed the people's revolutionary enthusiasm, forcing the people to deal with this accomplice of imperialism first.

To defeat imperialism, we needed a solid material foundation, and that foundation was national industrialization. However, feudalism, by its very nature, sought to tether the people to the land and enslave them, necessitating its overthrow in order to achieve national industrialization. Whether it was Britain or France, both countries had to first decapitate their emperors before embarking on the path of industrialization.

The bureaucrats and comprador capitalists will not allow China to develop industry. The money they earn as compradors is enough for them to live a wealthy life. How could they support other forces that cut off their financial resources and develop an industrial system that would destroy their jobs?

So, for us, overthrowing the Qing Dynasty was easy, and overthrowing the current Beiyang government shouldn't be too difficult either. However, if the revolution fails to awaken the people to the path of industrialization and doesn't raise the goal of opposing feudalism and imperialism, then such a revolution is incomplete and doomed to fail..."

After learning about these, Lin Chengdong believed them without a doubt, but they naturally did not understand what Chairman Zhang Yinghao was thinking.

In his previous life, as a post-90s generation, Zhang Yinghao had learned those political philosophies since childhood. However, in a republic that had become deeply bourgeois, where everything was focused on money and lucrative gains, certain concepts had long been the subject of ridicule and dismissal. Everyone wanted to be the next Ma, or Ma, and everyone wanted to achieve a small goal. Who would think of themselves as the next Lei Feng or Yang Gensi?

In his own era, countless people were whitewashed. Talents like Hong Chengchou and Li Hongzhang were celebrated as national heroes, while Zuo Zongtang was labeled a butcher who oppressed some of his compatriots. High-ranking officials and other privileged classes frequently confiscated assets worth hundreds of millions or even tens of billions of yuan, yet online descriptions of the dark side of officialdom were banned, often resulting in 404 notifications. Representatives of the people were nowhere to be seen at the People's Congress; they were all dressed in suits and embellished with wealth, and they routinely secured support at hearings on price increases and other issues. Even more amusing, a television host who proclaimed patriotism had a life goal of going to the United States to have children and become an American.

A few actors always become the center of attention in the news media, and the public likes to discuss what these people look like without makeup at the National People's Congress.

To suppress Taizu, the true founder of the Republic, some desperately portray the founder of the Republic as the "Father of the Nation," desperately promoting his contributions to the War of Resistance Against Japan. It seems as if the great Liberation War has become a battle of Chinese against Chinese, a slaughter of anti-Japanese heroes, and a vulgar civil war for power and profit. Faced with such social realities, who would still truly believe in these revolutionary theories?

However, for the Chinese of this era, any revolutionary theory that could offer a glimmer of hope was readily accepted. It was only after the failure of the Xinhai Revolution, the theft of its fruits, and the disillusionment of most revolutionaries that they completely abandoned progressive ideals and embraced conservatism. This is similar to how Islamic civilization, after being eliminated by industrial civilization, completely turned to fundamentalism, attempting to preserve itself through conservatism and rejection of industrial civilization.

Lao Fu and Xiao Yu were deeply enamored with the revolutionary concept of mobilizing the working masses to oppose feudalism and imperialism, and they peppered Lin Chengdong with questions. Liu Dehai, on the other hand, found it difficult to accept that his own Three Ming doctrines were being disdained by Lin Chengdong, and his proposal of a so-called revolutionary path relying on the working masses infuriated him even more.

He then said, somewhat angrily, "Since you hold such a high opinion, believing that the Beiyang government can be brought down with a single blow, and so dismissive of the Tongmenghui's platform, I would like to ask you for your guidance. How exactly can we bring down the Beiyang government with a single blow? Empty words alone will not convince me."

Lin Chengdong looked at Liu Dehai in some confusion. Could it be that the other party was really the kind of person who turned a blind eye and refused to listen? Didn't he know that the Forward Party just didn't want to overthrow the Qing Dynasty? Otherwise, where would Yuan Shikai be? However, seeing that Lao Fu and the other three were looking at him with longing, he felt embarrassed to refuse. After all, he was his comrade, and Liu Dehai had made a lot of contributions to his work.

Lin Chengdong cleared his throat and began to speak, "I've said before that in China, the Qing government had become an agent of imperialist aggression and oppression of the Chinese people. It's just that it has now become the Beiyang government. There won't be any fundamental changes."

“What if Yuan Datou didn’t sell out the country?”

"The Beiyang government has no money and needs the support of the great powers. The Beiyang government's economic lifeline is still in the hands of the great powers. Therefore, the Beiyang government is destined to rely on the support of the great powers to continue their rule. Then the Beiyang government will inevitably become the spokesperson of the great powers. This is something that cannot be changed by the Beiyang government, unless the Beiyang government is willing to destroy itself. Therefore, both the Qing government and the Beiyang government rely on the support of imperialism to maintain their rule. This also means that the government is completely bankrupt politically and the legitimacy on which it relies to rule China has been completely lost. What else can this situation be but a dead body in a tomb? The reason why it can still survive is simply because it still has some money, some men and horses, some guns and cannons, and the imperialists are willing to lend it some money to maintain its expenditures. In other words, both the Qing government and the Beiyang government are being kept alive by the great powers.

However, whether it was to support the reactionary armed forces suppressing the people's resistance or to pay the imperialists in reparations, loans, and interest every year, ultimately, all this money came from the toiling masses. In other words, the more powerful the reactionary government appeared, the more reactionary they were, and the more the people hated this foreign court.

Our Forward Party only needs to eliminate the armed forces in the hands of the Qing Dynasty or the current Beiyang government, so that they have no tools to suppress the people, and then this reactionary court will naturally be overthrown by the people.

Therefore, the best way to overthrow the reactionary government is not to gather a few revolutionary patriots or secret society members to attack the reactionary government's government offices, but to mobilize the people from all walks of life who are dissatisfied with the status quo, thereby transforming the people's dissatisfaction into enthusiasm for revolution, and ultimately exposing the reactionary government's weak nature and completely overthrowing it.

Liu Dehai sneered and said, "Awaken those foolish men and women to revolt? Just by saying that, the people will suddenly wake up? Isn't that too easy to say?"

"So, you're clamoring for revolution abroad, while we're working down-to-earth at home. We have different ideals and cannot work together."

After hearing this again, Liu Dehai felt bad all over and immediately had the urge to hit someone, but Lin Chengdong didn't want to talk to them anymore. They were of different classes and represented completely different interests. They had different principles and there was nothing to argue about.

At this moment, someone came in and reported: "Director Lin, Karl Liebknecht is here. He said he has something urgent to discuss with you. I brought him in."

Karl Liebknecht was a leading figure in the German Social Democratic Party and the left wing of the Second International, and a co-founder of the German Communist Party. As fellow revolutionaries, Lin Chengdong and his companions naturally became friends with Liebknecht and his colleagues as they participated in various activities. In 1906, Karl Liebknecht published "To the Conscripts" in the seventh issue of the journal Young Guard. The article sharply exposed the nature of the capitalist army, pointing out the hardships and restrictions young conscripts would face in the military; the bourgeoisie forcibly conscripted them under the banner of "defending the fatherland." This so-called "defending the fatherland" meant the invasion and plunder of China and Africa. He urged the conscripts to fully understand the reactionary and decadent nature of militarism.

Lin Chengdong and his team naturally sought out foreigners who sympathized with China and formed a united front. After receiving approval from their home country, they even temporarily joined the Second International as observers. It was with the help of these revolutionaries that Lin Chengdong and his team were able to carry out their work so smoothly. Of course, participating in this work and completing their mission also cost a considerable amount of money.

When Lin Chengdong heard that it was Comrade Karl Liebknecht who had arrived, he immediately stood up and said, "Okay, please come in quickly."

After saying this, he quickly stood up and walked out to greet Karl Liebknecht.

Seeing Karl Liebknecht come in, Lin Chengdong immediately said: "Comrade Liebknecht, welcome and thank you for your previous help."

Lin Chengdong was truly grateful to people like Karl Liebknecht. While enlisting their help required fees, commissions, or rebates, without their connections and resources, he wouldn't have known how to find many avenues. He remembered Chairman Zhang Yinghao's words: "In foreign countries, if you can get things done according to the rules and spend money, then everything is worth it." After all, everyone knows that hiring someone else also costs money, and he couldn't let others suffer losses or constantly offer selfless help. Everyone needs to make a living, and the Forward Party can't be a one-time deal.

Karl Liebknecht waved his hand and said, "It's just a small favor, not worth mentioning. However, I just received some very bad news. I hope you can be mentally prepared."

"What?"

Karl Liebknecht knew that what he was about to say was too shocking, but there was no need to keep it secret. After all, such news would surely spread around the world very quickly, and who could keep it absolutely secret?

"Britain, France, Japan, Russia and other countries have reached a consensus and are preparing to form an alliance to invade China again and divide it up. I regret this, but I am personally firmly opposed to war and will also mobilize mass demonstrations to reject Germany's participation in this unjust war of aggression..."

Chapter 713: First update!

It was a bolt from the blue, truly a bolt from the blue. Since arriving in Germany, nothing had been more shocking than this news. Lin Chengdong was stunned, while Lao Fu, Xiaoyu, and Li Shengnan also looked in complete disbelief. Liu Dehai, however, felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He was truly terrified, his face brimming with fear. He muttered to himself, "I knew this would happen, I knew this would happen. The Red Bandits' tyranny is a deadly act. It won't work. Rushing too hastily and harming the interests of the great powers will inevitably lead to their invasion..."

When Karl Liebknecht saw the expressions of Lin Chengdong and the others, he could understand them very well. After all, when they heard that the great powers had jointly invaded their country, any expression would be justified. He just continued to wait quietly without saying anything.

Lin Chengdong quickly recovered from his shock. Hearing Liu Dehai's trance-like mumbling, he immediately realized that Liu Dehai truly knew everything. For a moment, he even doubted whether the Party's revolutionary path was correct.

If Zhang Yinghao had heard Liu Dehai's words, it wouldn't have been wrong to some extent. After all, after kneeling for so long, it's not easy to stand up straight and speak tough words. However, Zhang Yinghao would only tell Liu Dehai one thing: peace survives when it's sought through struggle, but it dies when it's sought through compromise.

Fear and worry are futile; taking up arms and fighting is the most important thing to do. Did the great powers of the past voluntarily give up their interests and privileges in China? Absolutely not. World Wars I and II forced the great powers to shrink, and under the onslaught of Japan, countries like Britain and France were forced to give up their privileges and interests in China. But didn't the great powers ultimately attempt a comeback many times? Only to be repulsed by the fist of justice.

Lin Chengdong suddenly recalled a training session Chairman Zhang Yinghao had given to those of them who would be deployed overseas. During that training, the Chairman had explained two worst-case scenarios facing the Forward Party and the Liberated Areas. The first was that if the foreign powers, upon the initial rise of the Forward Party, saw through its true nature and joined forces with the Qing Dynasty to strangle it, the revolution would inevitably suffer a massive setback.

Secondly, when the Forward Party was about to lead the People's Liberation Army to liberate the entire country, the great powers, for the sake of their own privileges and interests in China, would suddenly send troops to interfere with the Chinese revolution. In the worst case scenario, Tsarist Russia would occupy the area north of the Great Wall, and some border areas such as Xinjiang would be split off with the support of the great powers. The People's Liberation Army would then face an army totaling more than five million...