The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

"Who can recite our party oath?" Everyone looked at each other, no one said a word.

"Haha, how do we do it? It's all written in the Party oath. You're asking me how to do it, aren't you kidding me? So, we all need to strengthen our political studies in the future. Okay, let's put it this way: at the next Party meeting, everyone must be able to recite the Party oath. Anyone who wants to join the Party must be able to recite the Party oath. Is that okay?"

Seeing that no one spoke, Zhang Yinghao continued, "Organization Department Minister Luo Zelin is in charge of this matter. It's ridiculous that a party member can't even remember the party oath. If they don't know what to do after joining the party, what's the point of joining the party?"

Zhang Yinghao suddenly wanted to hang the Party emblem on everyone's chest, a constant reminder that they belonged to the Progressive Party and were required to be mindful of their words and actions. In his past life, displaying one's Party emblem was a matter of great pride and sacredness, representing one's position. But after some thought, he decided to give up for now. Producing an extra bullet would be less costly than producing a Party emblem. He could wait until he had enough steel.

"Okay, now we get to the main topic of this meeting—expansion. Zhang..." After recounting the difficulties the base was currently facing, Zhang Yinghao continued, "We've been halting military operations for some time, and now we've reached the point where we have to expand. Expansion has many advantages, but not expanding has many disadvantages. Of course, for everyone here, expansion means everyone will only get busier. Do you have any opinions?"

Bao Shilin was the first to stand up and say, "Chairman, I support mobilizing troops. Too many people have poured into the base area, and the pressure on us is too great. If there is a problem with food, the consequences will be disastrous."

"Yes, let the troops go out. Now that spring planting is over and the soldiers have been training for a while, this is a good time to test the effectiveness of their training."

"Okay, now that everyone agrees, let's talk about the next action plan."

Zhang Yinghao first talked about his idea of ​​conquering cities first and then liberating the countryside, and then said: "Everyone has tasted the benefits of conquering cities, right? Conquering and quickly operating a city can quickly provide us with a lot of help. This is a proven fact and there is no doubt about it. But there are so many people living in the city.

People need to eat and drink, which puts a lot of pressure on us. However, pressure is the driving force. This time we still use the method of attacking Guang'an Prefecture last time to occupy Shunqing.

Then they continued to carry out land reform in a covert way.

However, this may be our last chance for a surprise attack. After taking Shunqing, other cities will undoubtedly get the news and take precautions. However, we must continue to block the news. Every day the Qing Dynasty slows down gives us another day of construction, and our revolution can accumulate strength for another day.

Comrades, we've all worked on infrastructure. Who hasn't? Is it easier to build or destroy? Definitely easier to destroy. Think about it, everyone. Consider a reservoir. Huge amounts of manpower and resources went into its construction. If someone sabotaged it, it would only take two explosive packs. Two explosive packs are easy to make, right? Our current gunpowder factories produce enough gunpowder in a single day to blow up countless reservoirs.

So comrades, for those who sabotage us internally, they are not destroying our personal property, but the people's property. We don't have that much time to waste with them. If we catch them, we will publicly try them and behead them if necessary.

After our main force leaves, the responsibility of maintaining public security will fall to the comrades who remain, especially Zhang Kai. The police have a heavy workload. However, construction cannot stop; we must also support the war. After we capture Shunqing, we can expand our forces. And let me give you a heads-up: we must liberate all of Sichuan before the end of this year. This will prepare us for the Qing encirclement and suppression, as well as possible imperialist intervention—oh, that is, the foreign devils may also come to attack us. So, comrades, always be prepared for a major battle."

Why was Zhang Yinghao so anxious to take Sichuan? It was because he knew that after Cixi returned to the palace, the Qing would begin to implement new policies and train new troops, and the Qing would gradually recover its strength. Zhang Yinghao did not want the Qing to have too much breathing space. The sooner he defeated her, the sooner China would end its enslavement under the Qing.

Zhang Yinghao unified everyone's thinking and began mobilizing personnel and deploying troops. He still intended to deploy the special forces this time. He had learned about special forces training methods from television. However, based on his own experience in wilderness survival and scientific training, as well as the work of comrades like Hunter, the results were quite comparable. Furthermore, these were all elite soldiers selected from within his own unit. Even if they didn't meet the requirements of special forces, they still met the requirements of a scout in this era.

Add to that the special warfare tactics Zhang Yinghao personally explained to them, primarily drawn from the explanations and case studies of decapitation and sabotage operations from several TV dramas he'd watched in his previous life. These comrades' wilderness survival skills should have met Zhang Yinghao's expectations, given that they'd already been in the mountains for a while. However, their ability to survive behind enemy lines remained to be tested. This time, they were going to unleash the dog on the man—oh, no, they were going to unleash the tiger on the cage.

For a grassroots government like the Qing dynasty, using special forces is like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. However, the special forces should be sent out more often to see blood, to test the results of the training and improve the training content. One or two actions are not enough to show the effectiveness of these comrades.

Zhang Yinghao had already said to this group of comrades that they should explore the training methods and content on their own, and his explanations were only for their reference.

After the comrades have worked out a systematic training method, they will train a new batch of logistics warehouse protection troops.

The special forces team is still highly confidential. Only a few people from the Military Commission are in charge. Besides the twelve people Zhang Yinghao had at the beginning, the other leaders of the Military Commission are all members.

When the committee members have time, they also go to experience the training content of the special forces. Bimo is a young man, and he can't compete with the king of soldiers in specific combat, but the overall training content is still good.

Enough to hold on.

Zhang Yinghao also planned to keep the secret weapon of the special forces secret as long as possible.

Special forces soldiers are like bullets with eyes, capable of significantly altering history. The fewer people who know about them, the better, the more low-key they are. That's why Zhang Yinghao gave the special forces a rather unassuming name: Warehouse Logistics Custodians.

This time, the main force, with the support of the intelligence department, attacked the barracks, while the special forces continued to enter the city covertly. After the main force launched the attack, the special forces, with the support of the intelligence personnel, quickly occupied the mansion and captured the chief executive and military commander alive.

Zhang Yinghao still had no intention of leading his troops to attack these cities.

Many of the best officers and soldiers in the army had already experienced the trials of battle against the Qing Dynasty and knew how to operate after capturing a region. With everything they could do, many officers and soldiers began to emerge. If I were to lead the troops, I wouldn't be able to provide sufficient training for my subordinates. While we hadn't fought any major battles yet, we had fought many small-scale engagements, keeping morale high. If a major defeat did occur, it wouldn't be too late for Zhang Yinghao to step in and clean up the mess. He was now a legendary figure within the army, and his presence would immediately boost morale.

Li Tieniu was on his way to attack Shunqing. As a farmer's son, Li Tieniu possessed a kind character and the excellent qualities of hard work and perseverance. As an impoverished boy from the mountains, his only childhood memory was hunger. He was hungry from childhood to adulthood, from morning till night.

His elder brother was beaten half to death by the landlord because he stole horse feed from the landlord to feed his younger siblings. When he returned home, he died because he had no money to treat the disease. From then on, Li Tieniu hated him.

Landlord's family. Li Tieniu didn't know why the family lived in such poverty before. But since the Forward Party brought troops to defeat the landlords and distributed the land to them,

After the class, his heart was filled with hatred for the landlord class and the oppressor class.

When the revolutionary army was recruiting in the village, Li Tieniu's father said to him: "Niu, we should be kind and know how to repay our gratitude. The Progressive Party has distributed land to our family. I have never seen such a good army in my life. Those people are all good people. Our family will have a good life. We should know how to repay our gratitude. Now the revolutionary army is recruiting. It is the army that protects us poor people from being bullied. It is our own army..."

In this way, Li Tieniu became a glorious revolutionary soldier and entered the barracks. Li Tieniu ate white flour buns and often ate chicken, duck, pork, and fish. Now, no one would ask Li Tieniu to leave, and he would not leave even if he was beaten to death. This was the only place in the world where he could eat white flour buns and meat to his heart's content. Is there any better place in the world than this?

As a child from the countryside, Li Tieniu found physical training a piece of cake, but drills and academics proved particularly challenging. Despite his dedication, he simply couldn't match the performance of others. Zhang Yinghao personally presented Li Tieniu with a certificate of merit for his military exploits against the landlords.

When Chairman Zhang Yinghao asked him what difficulties he had, Li Tieniu was an honest child. Seeing that Zhang Yinghao was younger than him, he was not too nervous and said directly: "I am just not good at studying."

He still remembers Chairman Zhang's words: "If you're not studying well, it's because you haven't developed a study habit. You don't have the concept of learning in your head. You have only one solution now: forget about everything else and study hard. Study hard and memorize everything you're taught. If others can learn something after reading it twice, read it twenty times, a hundred times. Read a book a hundred times, and its meaning will become clear. You'll definitely learn it. Study a little every day, and habit will become second nature. Once you get used to studying, your learning ability will naturally improve. Keep going! I'm very optimistic about you."

Quotations from Zhang Yinghao: In the face of life and death, everything else is nothing but clouds; in the face of firm ideals, life and death are also nothing but clouds.

Chapter 80

Li Tieniu's heart warmed whenever he thought of Chairman Zhang's encouragement. He now followed Chairman Zhang's instructions. While others read eight or ten times, he, Li Tieniu, read at least twenty or thirty times. After so much hard work, he became a squad leader. You know, competition at the grassroots level in the military is fierce these days; soldiers who can't recognize regular characters can't even become squad leaders. He could already read articles a long time ago, and perhaps he could become deputy platoon leader or even platoon leader next. Li Tieniu was filled with anticipation.

Zhang Yinghao had no idea how many comrades like Li Tieniu he had met. These comrades suffered the most from class oppression, but once they were awakened through education, they possessed the strongest fighting spirit, the strongest fighting spirit, and the most uncompromising attitude towards the landlord class. They often became exceptional fighters in a very short period of time. However, they shared a common flaw: they had grown up in a relatively closed circle, lacking any notion of learning. They appeared dull and clueless. Initially, they lacked the habit of actively studying, lacking the ability to learn, or perhaps due to their limited prior experience, making learning difficult, even painful. Without encouragement, they could easily give up.

In response to these circumstances, Zhang Yinghao also increased training for instructors and political commissars in this area. He also wrote the timely article "We Must Strive to Be Excellent," a rewrite of his elementary school essay. Zhang Yinghao knew that in his previous life, those who loved learning were as rare as those who loved labor. However, today, those who love learning are relatively more numerous. This is because people of this era generally mature early. Previously, they lacked opportunities to learn, so they were extremely eager to learn. Now that they have the opportunity, they naturally will not let it go and will work tirelessly to learn.

Of course, Zhang Yinghao is currently promoting concepts like work, labor, equality for all, and science. This is the only way to promote it, and no other ideas can be promoted for the time being. He can only promote the idea that labor is the most glorious, not the idea that not working is acceptable, and not promoting the idea of ​​getting something for nothing.

As someone who lived through the 21st century, Zhang Yinghao prioritized propaganda. If he didn't seize the public opinion frontier, the enemy would. This realization became even more clear after Zhang Yinghao took control of public opinion. Aren't color revolutions like those caused by information asymmetry? If public opinion is unleashed rashly, a chaotic scene will unfold, and once unleashed, it will be difficult to rein it back. Then, a large number of people will emerge as so-called champions of the Mingzhu, demanding Mingzhu and freedom. In reality, what they want is the Mingzhu to continue deceiving the people. They want to be masters, ruling for the people. The freedom they seek is the freedom to speak their own nonsense and control the discourse.

Zhang Yinghao despises these people because they're whores who try to be virtuous. If you want to lick their boots, then lick them, but you don't dare admit it. Zhang Yinghao praises those who openly declare they won't marry a Chinese person, because they're not hypocritical and don't look down on Chinese people. If someone doesn't want to be Chinese, that's their freedom. Those who tout freedom, one after another, have brought chaos to a whole host of countries. They've educated the Chinese people, and they've finally become so discerning that they can see through even the American tricks. As soon as an American raises his butt, they know what's coming.

Sometimes when Zhang Yinghao sees these people courting death, he wants to say: You pig teammates, don't jump too hard! They sold the United States so cleanly, how can the United States deceive them with lies?

Zhang Yinghao now feels that as his territory expands, staying in Zhangjiagou is no longer keeping up with the pace of development. Although Zhangjiagou is now covered in red brick and tiled houses, giving it a modern rural feel, the lack of electricity makes life inconvenient. Zhangjiagou's location is a bit remote, and communication is difficult. Zhang Yinghao is already considering leaving.

Since the construction of the reservoir in Zhangjiagou, many things have developed at a speed beyond imagination. After seeing the farm run by Zhang Yinghao, the villagers did not want to lag behind and quickly started raising chickens and ducks. The number of chickens and ducks in the village has increased rapidly.

Zhang Yinghao then gave the method of hatching chicks at around 37 degrees to agricultural students for research. Now there have been preliminary results, and the first batch of chicks have hatched.

With a reservoir, fish naturally thrive in deep water. As for fish, once the reservoir is full, they quickly appear in large numbers. Although they are not large or high-quality species, eating them regularly is not a problem.

Zhang Yinghao discovered that people of this era did not know how to raise fish seedlings. They just picked up seedlings from everywhere and raised them in their own ponds. This way, there were actually not many high-quality seedlings.

Zhang Yinghao then proposed the idea of ​​artificially selecting and breeding fish fry to the agricultural students for research. He himself didn't know how to use fish eggs for breeding, nor did he know the required temperature and other conditions. He remembered that it seemed to require some sun exposure. But that didn't matter. The scientific principles were there. With this idea in mind, Zhang Yinghao was confident his colleagues would be able to obtain the relevant data through experiments, and then they would be able to breed large quantities of high-quality fry.

By then, using earthworms as feed for fish farming, we'd soon be able to eat large quantities of chain fish and carp. Zhang Yinghao's mouth watered at the thought. In fact, in China today, whether it's raising chickens, ducks, or fish, the restrictions are on chicks, ducklings, and fish fry. Solving this problem would greatly improve people's living standards.

The occupation of Shunqing was smoother than expected, especially in a place like Sichuan.

The people were not so fierce, and the revolutionary army took Shunqing in a short time. If it were in Gansu or Shaanxi, it might not be so easy. After all, the people in those places were fierce, private fighting was serious, and the army had to be dispatched frequently. In the meantime, there were also conflicts among various ethnic groups. The most serious one was the conflict between Hui and Han people, and there were also religious conflicts.

contradiction.

However, Zhang Yinghao believed that with overwhelming training and superior weaponry, the Qing Dynasty would undoubtedly be defeated, even with preparation. After occupying Shunqing, the new government, having gained experience after training in Guang'an, had a smooth transition, so smooth that Zhang Yinghao couldn't believe it. He now felt that the Qing Dynasty was completely rotten, even the pillars were completely rotten.

After fleeing from the capital to Xi'an, Cixi saw many scenes that she could not see in the deep palace. She made her own judgment on the world and would immediately start training more new troops, that is, she wanted to add a few pillars to the broken house of the Qing Dynasty to ensure that it would not collapse.

Unfortunately, Cixi didn't know that the pillar she buried was actually watered and fertilized by later generations after her death. As a result, the pillar came back to life, took root in the rotten body of the Qing Dynasty, madly absorbed nutrients, began to grow wantonly, and was ready to act like a demon and act alone. As a result, it squeezed the broken house of the Qing Dynasty from the inside.

However, this pillar was born with a weak foundation. It only absorbed the corrupt power of the Qing Dynasty and did not take root deep into the ground. It was unable to grow into a towering tree in a short period of time and did not cover the sky.

The result is that the house collapsed, and only a few bare pillars remained.

There is no deep-rooted foundation, no huge canopy, no ability to provide shelter from wind and rain. The most important thing is that this pillar is completely exposed. Anyone with some ability wants to carry this pillar home to use as the main beam of their own home.

A group of people fought to the death for this pillar, and in the end, several families benefited from it.

Just when Zhang Yinghao was considering whether to move from Zhangjiagou to Guang'an Prefecture immediately, George, the foreigner who bought the textile machine, came back with a long convoy.

"Hello, Zhang, my good friend, you must thank me with good wine and delicious food."

Zhang Yinghao, suppressing the stench of body odor, gave George a big hug. "Haha, George, my best friend, this is absolutely fine. If we keep working together, you and Payne will soon become millionaires, multi-millionaires, and even nobles of the British Empire. How will you thank me then?"

Zhang Yinghao wasn't happy about these machines; he was happy that he might have a new trading partner. The benefits a long-term trading partner could bring him were far beyond what these machines could compare to.

After seeing George deliver the machines, Zhang Yinghao decided to move the headquarters to the state capital immediately. It was too inconvenient to be stuck in Zhangjiagou. He should also follow the development of the base, leave the countryside, and move to the city.

"My God, Zhang, do you know how long I've been drifting on the sea for your machine? We've encountered several dangers, and a typhoon almost capsized the boat."

"Oh, my dear friend, God forbid we lie. Didn't a telegram reach the British Empire? Did the telegram almost fall into the sea?"

"Oh my God, we're still good friends even though we saw it all but didn't say it. Look, this is the list of purchases."

Zhang Yinghao took it, took a look and said, "Thank you, George. We are best friends."

"Dear Zhang, you know, these are the latest machines. Ordinary people can't afford such advanced machines."

"Oh, really, George? We've also bought a batch of machines from the United States. We'll know which one is more advanced when we use them."

"Oh my God, it's unthinkable that you would buy machinery from such rude, barbaric, uncivilized people."

"Haha, George, the American machine has now entered the debugging stage and will be ready for trial production soon. If you don't come back soon, I'll think you abandoned Payne and absconded with the money."

"No, no, no. The gentlemen of the British Empire are the most trustworthy. Only the Northerners break their promises."

Zhang Yinghao chatted with George while checking the number of machines. As for acceptance, it would naturally have to wait until the machines were installed and debugged.

Zhang Yinghao took George to find Payne in the classroom. He saw Payne standing on the podium, talking about the British Empire with saliva flying, and cursing Germany and the United States at the same time. He seemed to be living a very comfortable life.

Payne saw George and immediately ended his lecture. He quickly walked out of the classroom and gave George a big hug. Zhang Yinghao went inside and told the squad leader to organize a self-study class. He then took Payne and George to eat. Zhang Yinghao and the guards walked in front. The two foreigners gradually fell behind and began to mutter in English. Zhang Yinghao didn't understand English. Perhaps only Chen Yiwei in the base could communicate with these foreigners in English. The situation in the base was shown to these foreigners. What they should not show to them was shown to them. Zhang Yinghao felt that the two foreigners were probably discussing the affairs of the base.

Zhang Yinghao didn't bother to get involved in their discussion. "Do whatever you want," he said. Even if you knew you were a revolutionary, what would that matter? Should you report it to the British government or the British consul? To Zhang Yinghao, it didn't matter anymore.

In the cafeteria, Zhang Yinghao, acting as host, served George and Payne a meal, along with several authentic farm-style dishes from the base. Zhang Yinghao had heard in his previous life that foreigners didn't particularly enjoy chili peppers, so he omitted any, preferring instead a rich, rustic flavor. To elevate the atmosphere, he also poured each person a glass of ordinary soju.

Zhang Yinghao's Quotes - When you feel empty inside, it's because you haven't done anything meaningful for a long time and your heart lacks energy!

Chapter 81

George ate with gusto, praising the farmhouse dishes highly. Zhang Yinghao, naturally, was no slouch in his praise, lavishing praise on the base's cuisine. During the meal, Zhang Yinghao gave George and Payne each a pack of cigarettes and several boar-bristle brushes, praising their durability and affordability. If they weren't so difficult to carry, Zhang Yinghao even considered giving them a few bamboo baskets to take back home and see if they could sell.

After a satisfying meal and a few drinks, it was time to discuss business. After some discussion, Zhang Yinghao purchased some more machinery and also ordered a batch of machine tools. Zhang Yinghao's biggest desire was heavy industrial machinery. Unfortunately, the British, as the world's dominant power, were extremely sensitive and wary of this. Because of the lessons learned from America's independence, their own colonies were almost entirely devoid of heavy industry, making it difficult to sell them heavy industrial machinery. Furthermore, Britain was particularly sensitive about heavy industry. While they might allow the Far East to have one or two heavy industrial plants, as Hanyang Iron and Steel had, they would never allow the Far East to manufacture its own heavy industrial equipment. Therefore, Zhang Yinghao could only pin his hopes on the United States and Germany.

"George, Mr. Payne, we need to change our payment method." "Zhang, shouldn't you pay us 30% of the purchase price first?" "George, I hope we can have a long-term business, but we don't have that much cash right now. Changing the payment method won't cost you a penny."

"Okay, then, what about the new payment method?"

Payne spread his hands and said helplessly.

"It's like this. We don't have that much Gongli metal here, so we can't trade with you at an equal value. That is, we have to export as much materials as we have machines, otherwise our business will not be able to do well."

long."

"Then what?"

"Haha, George, then of course you will ship the machine to us. After installation and debugging, if there are no problems, we will start settlement immediately."

"Oh, God, how can this be possible? Oh, are you afraid that we will default on our debt?"

Zhang Yinghao laughed dryly and said, "Of course not, but if you run away, it will be a problem to find you."

"Zhang, in the name of God..."

"Stop, George, I'm not a Protestant, it's no use telling me this. George, you have to understand that you buy machines and sell them to us, and then resell our products to Britain.

Empire, you are making money back and forth, you can say that there is almost no entry. Mr. George, are you afraid that I will default on my debt? Your British Empire is so powerful.

The strong can deny the weak, but how can the weak dare to deny the strong?"

"Zhang, but we don't have enough cash to buy the machine for you." "George, doesn't your country have banks? You can sell us this time to

Pawn your supplies to the bank, or ask Baiwen-1 on your palm. Doesn’t the bank have the money yet?”

"Oh, my God, Zhang, you're a genius." "Well, George, it's a pleasure working with you."

After saying that, Zhang Yinghao extended his hand. "Okay, happy cooperation."

George also stretched out his hand and shook hands with Zhang Yinghao.

Hey, George, don't look so sad. As long as our business continues, you will be a millionaire soon, and even a multi-millionaire in the future. You will be glad for the decision you made today."

"Okay, I'll borrow your good words."

Zhang Yinghao talked a lot about friendship with George and Payne, but whether it truly existed was a question of truth. Zhang Yinghao knew that as soon as he began expanding his base, as soon as he attempted to leave Sichuan, the conflict with the British would become almost irreconcilable, and this had nothing to do with his friendship with George and the others. The ultimate development of Sino-British relations depended entirely on future developments. As for his friendship with Payne and George, well, personal friendships were fine, but once they reached a higher level, promises and friendships became empty talk.

Zhang Yinghao followed the carriage carrying the machine, taking Xue'er, her family, and his mother to Guang'an Prefecture. They were accompanied by a group of high-ranking officials from the Forward Party and the Revolutionary Army, as well as a few foreigners. Besides George and Payne, there were also people who had come specifically to install the machine.

Zhang Yinghao had no intention of leaving with his relatives; they were born and raised here. If they had wanted to join the revolution, they would have already joined him. If they didn't, Zhang Yinghao wouldn't force them. As long as he wasn't driven out of Guang'an, their lives would only get better and better, no matter where they were.

Since Xue'er's family hadn't married yet, naturally there were very few people who came to Zhang Yinghao to find relatives. Those who were willing to join the revolution had already joined the revolution. So this time, they were traveling light and leaving at a moment's notice. Zhang Yinghao thought that if he brought a large number of relatives with him, there would definitely be some of the same scams he had seen on the Internet in his previous life. Who knows how many troubles would arise in the future. This was one of the reasons why Zhang Yinghao wanted to take Xue'er's family with him. Their status was different now, so there were some things that should be avoided.

The most destructive force in an organization is not the grassroots, but the top. If the top violates the discipline, it will cause great losses. Zhang Yinghao naturally has to try his best to avoid such things.

Happened to oneself.

Upon arriving in Guang'an Prefecture, the machinery was quickly moved to a factory building that had been pre-built by the infrastructure team. Under the guidance of the engineers, installation began swiftly. Zhang Yinghao had no knowledge of machine installation and didn't bother with it, simply paying the money and calling it a day. However, Zhang Yinghao arranged for some clever students to assist him, hoping they would learn something. This was the second time these students had learned to install machinery; the last time, they had helped install the textile machines Chen Yiwei had purchased.

This time Chen Yiwei went for so long because he had a lot of things to buy. The United States at this time is like China in the 21st century. As long as you pay, you can sell almost anything. There is overproduction, poor quality and low price. For Zhang Yinghao, he hopes to buy all the factories that are about to be eliminated in foreign countries. Unfortunately, this is unrealistic. However, a small

Steel mills are still possible.