The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

Erzhu said: "I wish I could kill him right now. My family used to rent land from him. At the beginning of last year, my father went to his house to borrow two dou of rice, and agreed to return four dou by the end of the year. But there was a flood last year, so how could we return the rice? I begged Qian Laogui to give me some time, but who knew that Qian Laogui would hang me up and beat me up. My father went to Qian Laogui to plead for mercy, but he called my father uncle and said that it didn't matter if I couldn't pay it back. He said that if my sister went to his house to work for a year to make up for the debt, she wouldn't have to pay the rice back. My father had no choice but to send my sister away because he thought that working for a year wouldn't be a big deal."

At this point, Da Zhuang couldn't say any more, he choked up and burst into tears. The old lady sighed and said: "Da Zhuang's sister was only fourteen years old, and she had just been promised to someone, but she died in Qian Laogui's house. Da Zhuang's mother was in poor health to begin with, and she fell ill because of the anger, and now she can only lie in bed. Da Zhuang's father was so angry that he went to Qian Laogui to argue, but he was beaten to death..."

Da Zhuang paused and continued, "I've tried to fight Qian Laogui several times, but if I die, there'll be no one to take care of my mother. My mother also said that if I die, our family line will be cut off, so I have to hold back. Captain Li, take us with you to seek revenge. As long as you take his guns, I'll be your soldier and willing to work like a slave."

The emotions of several people in the room were aroused, and they all said they wanted to follow the People's Liberation Army to fight against Qian Laogui.

"Would the Qing court take care of such a situation? Why didn't they report it to the authorities?" Hearing this, Da Zhuang immediately became excited and said, "Of course not. But Old Ghost Qian and the officials are all in the same boat. I can't beat you, and there's no way to reason with you. It's really dark and gloomy here!"

Li Yumei suddenly realized how foolish she was. How could she have asked such a question? And how could she have moved into Qian Laogui's house without knowing anything about it? Qian Laogui had a gun. If he got desperate, he might kill her. It would be too late to regret. Sacrificing herself would be a small matter, but if it implicated all the comrades, they would probably also have to sacrifice themselves, and that would be a huge loss. Fortunately, the comrades corrected their mistakes today and moved out in time. Otherwise, I'm afraid I would die without knowing how I died.

Hadn't I joined the revolution to help the poor? There were so many cruel villains in this world, and you could find them everywhere. Now that I was here, I had to rid the villagers of this evil and help the poor gain power.

Li Yumei was thinking in her mind, writing down her thoughts with her hands, and calling on others to start complaining.

A grievance-filled gathering began. Once the impoverished people's emotions were aroused, Li Yumei didn't need to say anything more as she began to spill the beans, revealing one bloody fact after another. Her hands ached from taking notes. Finally, several people stopped talking. Li Yumei glanced at her watch. It was already past one in the morning.

"Rest here for a while. Don't go home yet. Eat something first. Now that we know that Old Ghost Qian has committed many evil deeds and caused great harm, we will take action tomorrow morning and strive to capture Old Ghost Qian in one fell swoop and restore peace to the people."

All the comrades gathered. Like Li Yumei, they had spent half the evening discussing the situation through various channels. After reviewing the situation, they concluded that Qian Laogui was indeed a blood-stained criminal, a ruthless bully with a gun. They needed to take immediate action. Otherwise, if Qian Laogui became alert, he might flee or resist, resulting in heavy losses.

After reaching a consensus, Li Yumei immediately ordered the soldiers to prepare for battle, then packed their luggage and only let two comrades follow her to capture Qian Laogui. As a woman, she should be able to make Qian Laogui relax his vigilance.

The deputy captain and others were ready to respond at any time. If they succeeded in catching Qian Laogui, they would go to Qian Laogui's house to dig up his wealth and seize his land...

Qian Laogui's home is right in the middle of the village. Due to his wealth and wealth, the gatehouse is very imposing and the gate is carved with dragons and phoenixes. It should be called brick carving art.

When Li Yumei led the two to the door of Qian Laogui's house, the gatekeeper, Old Wang, asked, "What can I do for you, sir?"

Li Yumei raised the bundle in her hand and said, "I didn't sleep well last night. I felt that staying at Mr. Qian's house was very comfortable, so I wanted to come back and catch up on some sleep."

When Old Wang heard this, he hurried in and shouted, "Boss, the commander is coming back to live here again."

Qian Laogui was already paranoid. Ever since the work team moved out of his house yesterday, he'd sensed something was amiss. Last night, he'd sent a few people to see what the work team was doing, but due to the tight security of the soldiers, they couldn't get close. But Qian Laogui knew the land reform team must be hanging out with those poor people. What good could come of these people together? They must be spreading rumors about him, preparing for a fight.

Qian Laogui also hadn't slept all night, tossing and turning, not knowing what to do. If he ran, he really couldn't bear to leave such a huge family business behind. Besides, where could he run to? The entire Zhejiang region had become part of the PLA, and it was still under military control. Where would he be safe? If he didn't run, he was afraid that the land reform team would join forces with the poor people to deal with him next. That would be fatal.

Thinking about the sins he had committed in the past, Qian Laogui suddenly felt a little scared. In the past, the poor ghosts were afraid of him, but that was because they all had different ideas and it was difficult to unite. He could take whose land he wanted and sleep with whose daughter he wanted. But now the land reform team came. If all the poor ghosts came together and rebelled, no one would be afraid of him anymore. He couldn't even imagine the ending.

The more Qian Laogui thought about it, the more he hated it. It was such a shame. The Qing court had so many troops, yet how could they let the Red Bandits take over Zhejiang so quickly, leaving him completely unprepared? They say you train your troops for a thousand days and deploy them only once, but now, when the time came, there was not even a trace of them. They were just like those bandits, the same kind of people. At dawn, Qian Laogui made up his mind: he had to run!

However, with such a large family business, even if he ran away, he had to make arrangements. Qian Laogui planned to finish his work during the day and sneak away after dark. He heard that there were troops from foreign powers in Shanghai, and if he ran over there, it would be easy to deal with them.

With something on his mind, Old Man Qian got up early, asked his concubines to pack up his belongings, and called the housekeeper and the accountant to come and explain things to them.

While I was talking to the housekeeper and the accountant, Old Wang came in and said that the land reform work team had returned and said that they had not slept well the night before and wanted to come back to catch up on some sleep.

Qian Laogui was not Old Wang. He thought something bad was going to happen and was afraid that they were going to take action. He quickly told Old Wang: "Just tell them I'm not here and let them rest."

After saying that, Qian Laogui turned around and went to the drawer to get a pistol in case of emergency. Li Yumei's soft and sweet voice rang in his ears, but it gave Qian Laogui goose bumps: "Mr. Qian, what are you busy with? Why are you still lying?"

When Qian Laogui turned around, he saw that Li Yumei and others had come uninvited, and several of them were pointing guns at him. Qian Laogui knew that it was over, and he lost his balance and sat down on the ground.

A comrade stepped forward, opened a drawer, pulled out a pistol, and said with a smile: "I didn't expect that Mr. Qian would want to welcome us with a pistol. Get up!"

Two comrades stepped forward and picked up Qian Laogui, tied his hands behind his back, pulled out his belt and tied him up from behind.

Seeing their boss tied up, the housekeeper and the accountant were so frightened that they squatted on the ground, shaking and trembling, not daring to speak. Li Yumei's nervousness relaxed when she saw that Qian Laogui had been captured. She felt that her experience was worth it and sat down on a chair.

At this time, the deputy captain rushed in with his comrades. Seeing that Li Yumei and the others were fine, they immediately began to interrogate Qian Laogui, the housekeeper and the accountant. The other comrades took all of Qian Laogui's family members out of the door. I must find the gun and take those people to guard the entire yard to prevent any accidents.

After watching the deputy captain finish all the work, Li Yumei realized that her hand holding the gun was shaking and beads of sweat appeared on her face. Then she remembered that this was her first time leading a team in a battle alone. She was so nervous that she was terribly embarrassed! If the sisters who trained with her knew about this, they would laugh their teeth off! Revolutionaries are not afraid of death, so how could they be nervous?

Soon, crying and clamoring could be heard from the courtyard. Li Yumei knew it was Qian Laogui's family members crying and felt a little sorry for them. She went outside to see that it was indeed Qian Laogui's concubines throwing a tantrum, crying and cursing. Several soldiers approached and were about to tie them up and drag them out, but Li Yumei stopped them and said, "Lock these women up, don't tie them up. They were once daughters of good families, but Qian Laogui took them for himself. I believe they will recognize the reality and wake up."

After hearing what Li Yumei said, Qian Laogui's female relatives stopped crying and were obediently taken to a room and kept under guard.

Qian Fugui hurriedly said: "Captain Li, my family has handed over all the land and cooperated with the government, so we have made a contribution."

"We will investigate thoroughly and handle the matter as appropriate."

All of Qian Laogui's guns were finally found: ten Hanyang rifles, six Japanese Springfield rifles, and five Russian Mosin-Nagant rifles, each with dozens of rounds of ammunition. Seeing so many firearms, Li Yumei broke out in a cold sweat. If Qian Laogui had used this to attack the working group last night, the consequences would have been disastrous.

When the crowd entered, the courtyard was already relatively quiet. Erzhu said, "Captain Li, I don't know where the thugs that Qian Laogui controlled have gone. He previously formed a militia, and although it was later disbanded, it definitely has more than just a few guns. Now that Qian Laogui has been arrested, if these people are still at large, it's easy for something to happen!"

After hearing this, Li Yumei immediately discussed with everyone and decided to set up a militia team. The team leader would temporarily be the deputy team leader of the land reform work team, Erzhu would serve as the deputy team leader, Li Yumei would also serve as the instructor, and another villager would serve as the deputy instructor.

Li Yumei took the seized pistol from Qian Laogui and handed it directly to Erzhu, asking him to select team members in the village, with the deputy team leader being responsible for training to defend the fruits of the revolutionary victory.

These days, food is the real hard currency for the Chinese people. As long as there is enough food, countless problems can be solved.

So the land reform team and the villagers went to check out the granary at Qian Laogui's house. Entering the backyard, they discovered several large granaries. The housekeeper shakily opened the door of one of them, and everyone was astonished. The warehouse, dozens of square meters in size, was filled with rice, large and small. The rice in the innermost part was a bit lime-colored and even moldy. It was unknown when it had been stored there until now.

Qian Laogui is so strange. The profits he makes from lending money far exceed the profits he can get from the land, but Qian Laogui keeps occupying the land. He has so much grain that he can't even eat it all, so he doesn't sell it for cash, but instead hoards it. What a contradiction.

Li Yumei immediately asked the housekeeper to open the other warehouses. They were full and classified into categories, including soybeans, corn, sorghum, wheat, etc. Even if they were to supply the entire village for a year, they would not be able to finish eating.

These days, food is extremely valuable. Li Yumei was surprised to see so much food in the village all at once.

A villager saw the warehouse full of grain, ran to the yard, squatted on the ground and burst into tears, crying and shouting: "Oh my God, open your eyes and see what that bastard Qian Laogui has done? So many people have starved to death while fleeing famine, and so many families have even eaten grass roots and tree bark, and this bastard has let the grain go moldy at home. Oh my God, are you blind? Hahaha, hahaha!"

After seeing this scene, Li Yumei suddenly understood the word class and knew why Chairman Zhang Yinghao was determined to get rid of the landlords. It was true that if the people ate more, the landlords would eat less, but if the landlords ate a little more, the people would starve to death.

It turned out that the feudal landlord class and the proletariat were sworn enemies. Damn, the landlords' grain had all gone moldy, but they would rather let it go to waste than share it with the common people. The common people were so hungry that they could only eat dirt to fill their stomachs.

Li Yumei finally understood what the Chairman had emphasized before they set out: Fujian and Zhejiang regions weren't actually short of food; what they lacked was how to distribute it fairly. Sure enough!

What landlord didn't have three years' worth of food? It's no wonder that every ruler throughout history relied on currying favor with the landlord class. Perhaps this was the landlord class's instinct for land annexation; perhaps this was the traditional Chinese landlord class, each minding their own business, unconcerned about the fate of the nation or the well-being of the people. They seized the nation's wealth without fulfilling their responsibilities and obligations.

Li Yumei had Qian Laogui brought up and asked, "You have so much food that's about to go bad. Why don't you share some with the villagers to tide them over?"

Qian Laogui said confidently: "This is my family's food, why should I give it to those poor people?"

"Then why don't you lend it to me?" "Can these poor bastards afford to pay it back?"

Hearing this, Li Yumei was furious and immediately said: "We are all fellow villagers, how can you watch the villagers starve to death? You..."

The deputy captain quickly said: "Team leader, this is not the sin of Qian Laogui alone, but a systemic sin. Class positions are different. There are so many landlords in the world. What's the point of using conscience and morality to condemn them?"

Li Yumei glared at Qian Laogui with resentment, then glared at the deputy captain unwillingly. Then, after discussing with everyone, she decided to convene a mass meeting to mobilize everyone and organize all the villagers to distribute the grain and land. There was too much grain, so they left seeds and food rations for the entire village. Each family would receive 100 kilograms, with half that given to children under ten years old. This would be enough for the villagers to eat until the early rice was ripe.

Besides handing the rest over to the county, the villagers were also required to organize water conservancy and road construction. This grain was the best start-up capital. They could also sell the grain to the supply and marketing cooperatives in exchange for RMB. They could be paid wages or given grain for their work. It was their choice.

Li Yumei told the villagers who had arrived about the solution, and everyone agreed. So she immediately asked the people to go door to door to call people to transport the grain.

The whole village was in an uproar that day. The villagers held a mobilization meeting and lined up to see the granary of Qian Laogui's family. Only then did they realize where all the food they had worked so hard for all year had gone.

Under the organization of the work team, the villagers adopted the method of placing corn kernels to count votes, elected the village head and village party secretary, and then began to distribute grain.

Adults and children all had smiles on their faces. Even women with bound feet came out, holding cloth bags and carrying baskets to help the men distribute and transport grain.

Erzhu told Li Yumei that in his entire life, he had never seen the village as lively and festive as it was today. It was much more festive than the Chinese New Year. There were more smiles on the villagers' faces than in any other year.

Li Yumei was also happy, feeling that she had finally done something useful for so many people. In the past, she complained about the food at home and was spoiled, never having imagined that so many people were starving, lacking warm clothes, having no land, no money, no food, and having to eat grass roots and tree bark.

If her mother saw her leading a group of people to carry out land reform and bravely leading people to capture a landlord, she would probably be so surprised that her mouth would be wide open! Thinking about the changes she had experienced after joining the liberated area, Li Yumei felt very proud and smiled happily.

There were three other wealthy peasant families in the village. An investigation revealed no major crimes, and they all lived off their land. Seizing the opportunity, Li Yumei and her team visited their homes to persuade them to comply with the land reform policy. Seeing that Qian Laogui had been arrested and his grain and property had been confiscated and divided up, these three landlords, knowing they were powerless, were willing to donate only their own arable land and food, leaving behind only what they could cultivate and what they could eat.

Seeing that the land reform had made a breakthrough, Li Yumei sent people to report to the higher authorities and prepare to hold a public trial. At the same time, she organized villagers and work teams to measure the land and prepare to divide the land and livestock and give some floating assets to the people before the spring plowing.

There were many other work teams like Li Yumei's. At that time, the entire Zhejiang region was surging with enthusiasm for land reform. The farmers who had been liberated were jubilant. During the day, they distributed land and grain, and at night they attended literacy classes organized by the work teams.

This spring, revolution swept across Fujian and Zhejiang. The army concentrated its forces to crush any local forces that showed even the slightest sign of discontent. They gave no opportunity to those armed forces that nominally wore the banner of "militia," but in reality, most of them had degenerated into bandits and frequently looted the countryside.

The People's Liberation Army eliminated one "Good Man Zhao", "Good Man Qian", "Good Man Sun"... or they were called Rich Man Zhao, Rich Man Qian, Rich Man Sun, and some were called "Master".

These landlords were wealthy, powerful, had connections and guns, and they bullied men and women. They also colluded with the Qing government, committing all kinds of evil. The villagers suffered terribly, and dared not offend them. When they encountered the landlords, they had to pretend to respect them.

In fact, all the "Zhou Paopi", "Nan Batian", "Peng Batian", "Zhao Wugui", "Qian Laogui", "Sun Laosaojing"... were exposed to the eyes of the people. Under the iron fist of the proletariat, these guys with countless crimes were trembling in fear. Anyone who dared to resist armedly would end up in ashes.

The people danced, shouted, and cheered as they sent off those guilty of many crimes and gained a new life. The dark clouds that had enveloped the people dissipated, and the warm sun enveloped them. And it was the Progressive Party and the great Liberation Army it led that brought about all these changes.

Chapter 722: First update!

The sudden deployment of the People's Liberation Army to Zhejiang and Fujian greatly irritated the imperialist powers and the Beiyang government. The imperialist powers knew that if they did not quickly resolve the issue of the Forward Party and continued to procrastinate, China would be unified by the Forward Party before the imperialist powers could intervene in the Chinese revolution.

At this point, Britain, France, Japan, and Russia no longer had the heart to force Yuan Shikai to continue selling out his country. Yuan Shikai had reached a tacit understanding with the Forward Party that the People's Liberation Army would not attack the Beiyang-controlled areas, and the Beiyang would use the liberated areas to check and balance the powers, gain benefits, and maintain the status quo. However, the PLA's attack on Min and Zhejiang also made Yuan Shikai very dissatisfied. Yuan Shikai naturally did not want the liberated areas to become strong, otherwise it would be his doom.

Under secret orders from their respective governments, the envoys of various countries jointly convened the Beiyang government to eliminate the Liberated Areas and safeguard their interests in China. The envoys of various countries in China had already decided at the meeting to jointly send troops to suppress the Liberated Areas and to gather their fleets in Shanghai as a threat. Various countries had already successively sent reinforcements to Shanghai, coveting China's sovereignty and interests.

Caught off guard by the sudden expansion of the Liberated Areas, the Beiyang government was in a state of panic. The imperialist envoys immediately summoned the Beiyang government, preparing to eliminate the Forward Party and crush the Liberated Areas on its behalf. The imperialist powers even staged naval and land exercises in Shanghai and other locations, with their warships parading along the Zhejiang and Fujian coasts.

The great powers have decided to use force to interfere in China's internal affairs. They will send naval and land forces to cooperate with the Beiyang Army to attack the two lakes region.

While Zhang Ying and Zhang Hao were busy dealing with issues in the newly liberated areas, the ministers of Britain, France, Japan, Russia, Germany, the United States, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Portugal and other countries once again came to Wuhan together. After finding the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they arrogantly said that they wanted to meet with Zhang Yinghao.

Facing the diplomatic corps of the imperialist powers, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs knew something was afoot and immediately consulted Zhang Yinghao. After a moment's reflection, Zhang Yinghao said, "It would be helpful to meet them and see what the imperialist powers are up to. Let's arrange a large conference room for negotiations. Remember to use the latest recording equipment; these are authentic historical documents and will allow those who come after us to understand the challenges of our journey."

Zhang Yinghao knew that the PLA's devastating liberation of two provinces had already unnerved the foreign powers, and this was likely their final attempt to pressure the liberated areas. Zhang Yinghao sneered. It had been quite a while since he'd received news of the joint attack from the foreign powers. Why hadn't the powers taken action yet? Wasn't it because China was too far from European countries, leaving it unprepared? The sea voyage from Marseille, a major French port, to Shanghai alone was approximately 1.2 nautical miles (2.2 kilometers). While the sailing time to China at that time depended on the chosen route and type of vessel, a large troop transport typically took 50 days. Attacking China was truly no easy task.

Moreover, not all countries would agree to a military dismantling of China. Initially, Jordan proposed dividing China into separate regions based on national strength, but Rockhill unexpectedly voted against it. While dismantling China offered enormous benefits to the United States, its real need lay in open door policy. The US now sought markets, not territory. Consequently, the major powers were deeply conflicted and difficult to reconcile, coming together only to share the common interest of suppressing the development of the liberated areas.

When Zhang Yinghao walked into the conference room, the diplomatic corps of the great powers had already taken their seats. When Zhang Yinghao walked into the conference room, the scene instantly became quiet.

Zhang Yinghao looked at the group of bearded foreigners, and a sense of déjà vu suddenly emerged in his mind. In an instant, Zhang Yinghao remembered, damn, isn't this scene the black and white photos he saw in his previous life when Li Hongzhang negotiated with the foreign powers to sign the "Xin Chou Treaty", which was the largest indemnity, the most serious loss of sovereignty, and the deepest spiritual humiliation? No, not very similar, it's exactly the same!

Zhang Yinghao instantly felt a sense of mission in his heart. Humiliation must be washed away from this moment!

Zhang Yinghao and his comrades sat on the other side of the negotiation table. Neither side spoke, and the scene fell into a silent and awkward atmosphere. The air pressure seemed to drop several degrees.

At this moment, Zhu Erdian slowly took out a box, opened it, and found several cigars inside. He picked up a cigar and put it in his mouth, then took out a lighter and tried to light it. Zhang Yinghao noticed that the lighter Zhu Erdian used was actually produced in the Liberation Area.

Zhang Yinghao raised the corner of his mouth, tapped the table lightly and said, "Sir Jordan, this is a meeting room, no smoking."

After saying that, he pointed to a piece of paper next to him that said "No smoking" in English. Zhu Erdian instantly felt like he was staying in Bengbu. The situation instantly became extremely awkward. No one expected Zhang Yinghao to be so disrespectful to Zhu Erdian, forcing Zhu Erdian to not come to Taiwan for a while. He was holding a cigar in his mouth, so he couldn't light it or not.

At this time, the British lackey, representing the Japanese Minister Uchida Yasuya, said: "Mr. Zhang Yinghao, the British Empire is the world hegemon, and Sir Jordan has the right to smoke cigars anywhere and at any time."

Zhang Yinghao glanced at the Japanese devils and said immediately: "Of course, this is the privilege of the strong, they can do whatever they want. So you all finish smoking first, and we will leave first. When you are done smoking, notify us to come back."

He then made a move to stand up and leave. Zhu Erdian immediately took off his cigar and said, "Mr. Zhang Yinghao, please sit down! Your advance into Zhejiang and Fujian has severely damaged the interests of the great powers in China. This is absolutely unacceptable. We demand that you immediately withdraw from Zhejiang and Fujian and accept our demands. Otherwise, all consequences arising from this will be borne by you."

With this aggressive attitude, do they really think the Progressive Party is a member of the Qing imperial family and Zhang Yinghao is a prince? They tried their best to curry favor with the foreign powers during negotiations, but once they entered the room, they just bowed and scraped, smiling, and greeted without a trace of dignity.

Zhang Yinghao, however, was not angry at all. The more timid the imperialist powers appeared, the more it proved the correctness of his actions. Of course, Zhang Yinghao knew that the imperialist powers' demands were excessive and that the Liberated Areas could not meet them at all. However, Zhang Yinghao still wanted to hear the extent of these imperialist powers' shamelessness and to teach his comrades to learn from them, recognize the true face of the imperialist powers, abandon their illusions, and prepare for battle.

"Sir, I wonder what the great powers' demands are for our liberated areas?" Jordan said immediately. "British envoy and plenipotentiary minister Jordan has made basic demands. You must recognize the treaty signed by the Qing central government. That is, you must acknowledge the historical fact that the Qing government ceded Hong Kong Island to the British Empire in perpetuity. The lease of Kowloon and other territories will last for 99 years. Customs and salt taxes will be taken over by the British tax commissioner. The Yangtze River will be opened to international navigation, guaranteeing innocent passage for ships from the great powers. Concessions and garrisons in Shanghai, Wuhan, and Tianjin will be recognized, and the great powers will enjoy extraterritoriality. Debts will continue to be paid... The interests of the British Empire in China must be protected."

Zhang Yinghao nodded his head, saying it was excellent. However, the other comrades present were gritting their teeth, ready to pick on someone and attack him. It was truly excessive. However, Zhang Yinghao felt that this was a genuine negotiation. Previous lists had only been vague requests for Zhang Yinghao to acknowledge the unequal treaties signed by the Qing Dynasty, but this time, they listed every single point, demanding bargaining for the liberation of the areas. It was truly a negotiating attitude, but unfortunately, Zhang Yinghao would not accept it at all.

Zhang Yinghao looked at Zhu Erdian and said, "There is no problem with opening up the Yangtze River."

Hearing Zhang Yinghao's words, the comrades present were a little surprised, looking at him in surprise, their faces filled with astonishment. However, Zhu Erdian's face lit up with joy. Without waiting for Zhu Erdian to speak, Zhang Yinghao continued, "However, the United States' Mississippi River and Suez Canal, India's Ganges River, Egypt's Nile River, as well as the Rhine, Danube, and Thames Rivers should all be open. As long as all rivers in various countries are open, China can open not only the Yangtze River, but also the Pearl River, Yellow River, Huai River, and other waters! As long as you have no problem and your country agrees, you can sign and confirm it now."

This tactic of giving the other country a taste of its own medicine was very effective, making the great powers feel a little embarrassed. However, China is a weak country and the great powers are strong countries. Strong countries can make demands on weak countries, but how can weak countries make demands? They can only be forced to accept them.

Since it was impossible to open their own country's rivers, the French envoy interjected, "The French Imperial Envoy and Plenipotentiary Minister to the Chinese capital, Lu Ban, has requested that you recognize the treaty signed by the Qing central government. These treaties require you to recognize France's concessions and extraterritoriality in Shamian, Wuhan, and Shanghai, withdraw troops from Yunnan and Guangxi provinces, ensure the security of French Indochina, and open Guangxi and Yunnan as free trade zones, allowing France free trade, prospecting, and mining, and continuing to pay its debts...to ensure France's interests in China."

Zhang Yinghao wanted to laugh when he heard this. What the hell is this French guy thinking? Damn, he thinks he can open a dyeing factory after being given a little color. However, Zhang Yinghao just nodded. After the French guy finished speaking, he looked at the Japanese and said, "Don't worry, I will listen to the requirements of each country first, and then we can discuss it in detail."

Seeing Zhang Yinghao looking at him, Uchida Yasuya immediately said, "The Imperial Envoy and Plenipotentiary Minister of the Empire of Japan, Uchida Yasuya, demands that China recognize the treaty signed by the Qing central government, namely, opening the domestic market to Japan, allowing imperial merchants to open factories, purchase materials, and make investments. Restore the concession in Wuhan and extraterritoriality, especially open up coal, iron, and copper mining rights to the Japanese Empire, and continue to pay arrears. Apologize for your army's surprise attack on our army in the Northeast, and compensate the Empire of Japan with 500 million taels of silver... to ensure Japan's interests in China."

Zhang Yinghao knew from Uchida Yasuya's words that Japan was in urgent need of industrial raw materials like coal and iron ore. This was a good thing. Every time Japan failed to produce a single steel smelter, its national strength weakened compared to its historical level. Without Northeast China, Zhang Yinghao wanted to see how Japan could rise. As for the 500 million taels in indemnity, Zhang Yinghao believed the Japanese were thinking that their previous victory over the Qing Dynasty had netted them over 200 million taels of silver and ceded vast tracts of land. This time, Japan's losses were even greater, so naturally, the compensation would be even greater.

Zhang Yinghao looked at Mu Mo and said, "Minister Mu Mo, do you think these requests are appropriate?"

"Chairman Zhang, you Chinese say 'ask for a high price, pay back on the spot!' Although some of these demands are unreasonable, they can all be reached through negotiation."

"They are all a bunch of robbers!"

Zhang Yinghao gnashed his teeth inwardly, but remained calm as he asked, "So what are Germany's demands?"

"The Imperial Envoy to China, Minister Mu Mo, has been ordered to make the following request: You recognize the Empire's 99-year lease of Qingdao, recognize the Wuhan Concession and extraterritoriality... and protect the Empire's other interests in China."

Zhang Yinghao wanted to chuckle, but he held it back. He looked at Russia again. Pukodi said, "The Grand Russian Plenipotentiary Minister, Imperial Court Doctor Pukodi, has only four demands. First, the Chinese army must withdraw from Russian territory and return the Chinese Eastern Railway and Port Arthur to the empire. Second, the Wuhan concession and confiscated property must be returned to the Russian Empire, and an apology must be made, guaranteeing that such incidents will not occur again. Third, the Forward Party government must compensate the Russian Empire for its losses, totaling one billion gold rubles! Fourth, China must not station troops in Mongolia, open Mongolia to trade, and allow Russia to explore and mine in Mongolia."

"Lord Rocky, do you think we need to continue the discussion? A pack of wolves entering a sheepfold will listen to the sheep's opinions? Are you issuing an ultimatum?"

Uchida Yasuya interrupted arrogantly, "Talking to you is a favor to you. We're just going through the motions. Keep it simple, be honest, and agree quickly."

Ruokeyi could only smile awkwardly and said, "Chairman Zhang, we Americans do not want the Far East to be plunged into war."

"Of course, China has always been a peace-loving country. We are willing to maintain peaceful relations with any country, but interference in China's internal affairs is not tolerated. This is a matter of principle. So what are the US's demands?"

"The American plenipotentiary for peace negotiations, John Rockhill, has responded to domestic demands that you recognize foreign garrisons, concessions, and extraterritoriality, open the Yangtze River to international navigation, allow free trade, permit American exploration and mining, and allow the United States to build railways and highways. If you agree, the United States will waive your Boxer Indemnity and return over $5 million of the Boxer Indemnity to China to be used for cultural and educational development."

"What the hell!"

After hearing this, Zhang Yinghao immediately stood up. What nonsense! The Americans have been intending to cultivate pro-American elements in China for so long? But why is it only more than 5 million taels? Zhang Yinghao immediately reacted. Leading the revolution himself is like chopping electric wires with a kitchen knife, with sparks and lightning all the way. Naturally, the Qing Dynasty does not have that much money to pay compensation to the great powers.

The United States received over 70 million taels of silver in the Boxer Indemnity, including principal and interest, equivalent to over 50 million US dollars. However, the Americans had a more prudent approach, believing that plundering money wasn't the goal, but rather seizing talented individuals. Therefore, they forfeited part of the indemnity and decided to establish a university, allowing China to actively recruit the best talent, thereby cultivating talent for the United States and fostering pro-American personnel. Tsinghua University, in essence, was the result of the United States robbing the Qing government of its wealth and then establishing a university to train its own talent.

This approach is similar to China's previous practice of recruiting black students. After all, after living in a country for a period of time, students become more familiar with it and naturally develop a close relationship with it. However, China only sends its top talents abroad. Facts have proven that the persistence of sending students abroad and the establishment of Tsinghua Academy have had a comprehensive and far-reaching impact on Chinese society. Most of these students have returned to China and made important contributions to the development and progress of my country's social, economic, cultural, and scientific and technological undertakings.

Zhang Yinghao understood that sending Chinese students abroad was essential for China's development and its pursuit of catching up with Europe and the United States. He also supported the policy of "supporting study abroad, encouraging return, ensuring freedom of movement, and ensuring that students play a role." However, he was less enthusiastic about the idea of ​​earmarking the indemnity for education, establishing a special program for Chinese students, and sending them to the United States.