The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

Zhang Yinghao is now taking advantage of the best opportunity for external expansion and the opportunity of land reform.

The liberated people were organized into a large-scale construction effort. Previously, the focus had been on water conservancy projects. Now, having tasted the sweetness of concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks, Zhang Yinghao leveraged the land and grain of the landlords to leverage the vast local labor force, concentrating vast human and material resources on infrastructure construction. Wherever the troops passed, the people were mobilized to build roads, schools, wells, and water conservancy projects. Locals were forced into this torrent of construction.

As mentioned earlier, even the simplest, most shabby industrial nation cannot compare to a purely agricultural nation. Zhang Yinghao was born in the countryside before his rebirth. He remembers his childhood, during the busy farming season, if rice was harvested manually, an adult worker could only harvest a little over 100 kilograms of rice in a morning, including threshing, and could only bring home three loads of rice a day. Later, a harvester was called to the village to harvest the rice, and it could harvest 15 mu of rice in a single morning. This was because he lived in a mountain village, and the largest plots of land were only a little over one or two mu, and the smallest were only a few centimeters. Some were even too large for a machine to reach, so efficiency was low. The larger the field, the faster the harvest.

One machine is equivalent to the combined labor of dozens or even hundreds of young and middle-aged men. And this is because the rice in Zhang Yinghao's village needs to be bagged individually. If a vehicle were to follow a harvester on the plains, it could harvest hundreds of acres of rice in a single day. What a terrifying number!

In the past, people carrying rice home manually would only carry a load a few hundred meters before needing to rest. If you harvested and carried the rice yourself, while it wasn't very tiring on average, how much could one person accomplish despite working so hard? Zhang Yinghao twisted his back several times carrying rice home as a child, and even then, he couldn't do any heavy work.

After the village hired a harvester, Zhang Yinghao finally felt that his back pain was more than just a sore back. Thanks to the harvester's speed, the rice was harvested quickly. Then, what? He had to carry the rice home, one load at a time. At that moment, Zhang Yinghao wondered if he should just throw the burden away. It was too tiring, too tiring. It's a feeling that only manual laborers can truly understand.

Later, the farmland in the village was transformed and a road was built between the paddy fields.

A narrow cement road. Now farming has become easier in Zhang Yinghao's village. They use machines to plow the fields instead of following behind cows as before.

The rice is transported home by tricycle and hoisted to the roof with a winch to dry in the sun and then stored in the barn, which greatly saves labor.

Zhang Yinghao still remembers his elementary and middle school years, when he lived at home and often helped with farm work. But the family could only cultivate five mu of land, which was their limit. Later, when Zhang Yinghao went out to work, his father could cultivate over ten mu of land at home alone. Even the year his father was diagnosed with cancer, he still managed eight mu of land. This is the advantage of using machines. Just bagging those eight mu of rice that year exhausted Zhang Yinghao, who came home to help.

Everyone has moved house these days, and even those who haven't have at least moved luggage. A long journey doesn't matter how heavy it is! Even a very light item can feel overwhelming when carried a long distance. Consider how a large truck can carry dozens of tons of cargo at a time, or how a freight train can haul hundreds of tons. This is the power of even the most mediocre industrial nation; it's simply not something a feudal army could defeat.

Consider the ancient military campaigns, often involving armies of 800,000 or even 700,000. In reality, more than half of these forces were logistics-related. Numbers don't lie. Without cars, simply rationing wouldn't be something modern people could easily handle. Transporting food was incredibly difficult in ancient times. "Mengxi Bitan" (Dream Pool Essays) explains this difficulty. In Volume 11, the following design (modern translation) is mentioned:

Each laborer could carry six dou of rice, and the soldiers could carry five days' worth of rations. One laborer could supply one soldier for eighteen days. Six dou of rice, or two liters per person per day, would last two soldiers eighteen days. If the return trip was included, the advance would only take nine days.

Two laborers could sustain one soldier for sixteen days. At one dan and two dou of rice, three men would need six liters of rice per day. After eight days, one of the laborers had eaten all the rice he had on his back, so he was given six days' rations and sent back home. For the next eighteen days, the two men ate four liters of rice per day. If the return journey is included, the first eight days would require six liters of rice per day, and the remaining five days and the return journey would require four liters of rice per day, resulting in a total of thirteen days of progress.

Three laborers supported one soldier, carrying one dan and eight dou of rice. For the first six and a half days, four men ate eight liters of rice per day. Subtract one laborer, giving him four days' worth of rations. For the next seventeen days, three men ate six liters per day. Subtract another laborer, giving him nine days' worth of rations. For the final eighteen days, two men ate four liters per day, which would last him thirty-one days.

If you count the return journey, you need to eat eight liters a day for the first six and a half days, six liters a day for the middle seven days, and eight liters a day for the last eleven days and the return journey. If you count the return journey, you need to eat six liters a day for the middle seven days, and four liters a day for the last eleven days and the return journey, which means you can only travel a distance of sixteen days.

Three civilian laborers supplying one soldier was already the limit. If a 100,000-man army were to be deployed, one-third would be taken up by baggage, leaving only 70,000 soldiers available for combat. This would require 300,000 civilian laborers to transport food. Expanding the force further would be difficult. Soldiers had to be sent back to escort the laborers transporting food, as some would die or become ill during transportation. These lost supplies would have to be used to support the soldiers.

The six dou of rice per person was calculated based on the total number of laborers. The captain couldn't carry it himself, and those responsible for fetching water and chopping wood could only carry half. Any reduction in their burden was shared by everyone else. Furthermore, there were those who died or fell ill, and their burdens were also shared by everyone else. In reality, each person carried more than six dou. Therefore, the army didn't tolerate idlers; even one idler wouldn't need two or three men to support him.

If livestock were used for transportation, a camel could carry three dan (approximately 100 dan/200 dbl), a horse or mule could carry one dan (approximately 150 dbl/200 dbl), and a donkey could carry one dan (approximately 100 dan/200 dbl). While these animals could carry more and cost less than manual labor, they would become emaciated and die if not grazed or fed promptly. When an animal dies, the food it carried is discarded along with it. Therefore, there are advantages and disadvantages compared to manual labor.

It should be admitted that Shen Kuo's design was based on careful planning, reasonable scheduling and the absence of accidents. It is difficult to achieve such a high level under normal circumstances.

Leading troops to fight is not an easy task. War is all about logistics. Zhang Yinghao has no reason not to develop industry himself. Instead, he should develop industry desperately. Otherwise, during the march and battle, the logistics will drag down the base.

Chapter 97:

In an era without trains and cars, marching a large army was not an easy task. Many wars seen in ancient China were actually supported by the entire country's strength.

Sun Tzu said: "In the art of war, one must have a thousand chariots, a thousand leather chariots, an army of a hundred thousand men, and provisions for a thousand miles. The expenses for internal and external affairs, for guests, for glue and lacquer, and for the maintenance of chariots and armor, will cost a thousand pieces of gold a day. Only then can an army of a hundred thousand men be raised."

In the use of warfare, if victory lasts for a long time, the troops will become dull and weakened; if a city is attacked, the strength will be exhausted; if the army is kept at bay for a long time, the country will run out of resources. If the troops are dull and weakened, and the strength is exhausted and the resources are depleted, the princes will take advantage of the situation and rise up, and even the wisest will not be able to deal with the consequences.

Therefore, in war, we have heard of the quickness of clumsy tactics, but have never seen the longevity of clever tactics. There has never been a case where a nation has benefited from a prolonged war. Therefore, if one does not fully understand the harm of using military force, then one cannot fully understand its advantages.

A skilled military commander does not register troops again, nor does he store food for more than three years. He uses the food for his own benefit and relies on the enemy for food, thus ensuring sufficient food for his army. Countries that are poorer than the enemy have to transport goods from far away, which impoverishes the people. Countries close to the enemy have to sell goods at high prices, which exhausts the people's wealth, and exhaustion leads to the urgent need for hard labor. When the people are exhausted in the Central Plains and their families are destitute, seven out of ten of their expenses go to the people, while six out of ten go to the public purse for broken soldiers, exhausted horses, armor, arrows, bows, halberds, shields, spears, oars, oxen, and carts.

Many online articles speculate whether Sun Tzu would have rewritten The Art of War if he had seen today's armies. Needless to say, the specific content would certainly change, but the underlying ideas would remain largely unchanged. The Art of War already embodies the concepts of naive materialism, but due to historical limitations, it hasn't yet reached the heights of dialectical and historical materialism. The difference here is simply a matter of time.

The current Qing Dynasty is not fundamentally different from the previous feudal dynasties, so what Zhang Yinghao has to do now is to work hard to produce and store grain. This can be seen from the fact that Duke Zhuang of Zheng weakened the Zhou royal family by harvesting wheat.

Of course, this was the nature of war in feudal dynasties or agricultural nations: the costs far outweighed the benefits. All the nation's efforts were exchanged for a tiny amount of land, which required further investment—a mere trifle that was neither palatable nor worthwhile to discard. However, once a certain level of industry developed, war became more than just a matter of expenditure without return. Unliberated and recently liberated areas became dumping markets for industrial products, while newly liberated areas provided abundant raw materials for industrial development and a large labor force.

Zhang Yinghao had no other options but to do his utmost to organize the people for labor. Only in this way could the base's wealth and foundation be increased. Therefore, Zhang Yinghao combined external expansion with internal construction, transforming the entire Shunqing area into a massive construction site, striving to mobilize everyone's enthusiasm. Only by joining the labor and participating in the construction could the base's wealth be increased and qualified personnel be rapidly identified.

Zhang Yinghao knows that some of the people he's training are illiterate, and some are even in their fifties or sixties. But as someone from the modern era, Zhang Yinghao doesn't look down on them. Just like Li Yunlong in "Bright Sword," some people are born to fight. As long as they keep learning now, their future is limitless. Furthermore, the Sixth Patriarch Huineng taught about Buddha nature: understanding the mind and seeing the nature, and seeing the nature leads to Buddhahood. People can achieve sudden enlightenment, and some, once they do, can surpass the efforts of others who have practiced a lifetime of hard work.

Qin Niugu is just such an "old man." He's 48 years old this year, but he's already a grandfather, his grandchildren already old enough to help him. In rural areas, most landlord families are one or two generations younger than poorer families. While wealthy families have no worries about marriage and children, poorer families start planning marriages when their children are still quite young. A generation gap of five or six years can mean a generation gap of one.

As a family of poor peasants for five generations, the Qin Niu Gu family was on the verge of collapse. They went hungry, and when they were full, they could only afford three sweet potatoes for a grain of rice. They had only two tattered quilts. The daughter-in-law had to bring them back, a common occurrence in rural areas during the late Qing Dynasty. Their clothes were like pudding.

Add pudding, after a long time, the cloth has become rotten, so there are still many holes that cannot be repaired.

In addition, the excessive taxes and levies in recent years have made it difficult for people to make ends meet. Especially after a few years of drought, there is not a single grain of rice left in the rice jar.

It was sold out. Some time ago, Qinniu Ancient City was preparing to pawn its daughter-in-law. Fortunately, the arrival of the Progressive Party prevented this tragedy from happening.

Pawning a young woman is also called "pawning a wife". The word "pawn" means to pawn or mortgage, similar to when a person has no money, he would take his belongings to

Pawning a daughter-in-law is like mortgaging one's own daughter-in-law in exchange for a certain amount of money.

This may be incredible to modern people. After all, which man or family is willing to exchange their women for money? Most people can't accept it after hearing it. But in this particular era, this may be the only way for Qin Niugu's family to survive.

The only way to go.

The phenomenon of "pawning wives" has existed since ancient times, and can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. At that time, due to frequent wars, the lives of ordinary people were unsustainable, and they had no choice but to marry off their wives and sell their children. Even if the law wanted to prohibit it and morality wanted to restrain it, it could not stop the people from continuing this phenomenon.

In China, the phenomenon of pawning wives primarily occurred in southern China, particularly in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. By the late Qing Dynasty, it had spread throughout the country. In feudal society, men held primacy and had the final say in all matters. Therefore, when a family could no longer survive, they would pawn their wives and children. When they had enough money, they would redeem their wives. While this was a tragic form of human trafficking, pawning women was essential for survival, and the money earned was enough to keep their families afloat. That was all.

Because the level of productivity in this era was low, most people were very poor. Once a natural disaster or war occurred, social productivity would be severely damaged. At this time, the tragedy of families being separated would continue to occur.

The pawning contract also imposed conditions on the woman, such as the requirement that she be able to bear children and not cohabit with her former husband during the pawning period. Some even required her not to return home to care for her children during the pawning period, and these requirements were written into the contract. In some places, the pawning contractee lived with her new husband, providing him with food and clothing. In other places, she lived in her own home, hosting him and keeping him away.

For women, a pawn contract is undoubtedly equivalent to a contract to sell their bodies. Once the contract is established, the pawned wife will be played with by others, give birth to children for others, and finally be separated from her own children.

What kind of people are the most terrifying in real life? The most terrifying are those honest people who are pushed into a corner. But they are also the most pitiful. There's a low kind of honesty: the kind that comes from being inexperienced. This kind of honesty is superficial and vulnerable. Honest people who haven't experienced much of the world are probably like poison that pierces their intestines.

In the 16th chapter of Journey to the West, Tang Sanzang and his disciples stay at Guanyin Temple. An old monk takes a fancy to Tang Sanzang's brocade cassock and asks to borrow it for a night. Tang Sanzang warns Wukong, "Rare and interesting things should not be shown to greedy and treacherous people. Once they catch their eye, their hearts will be moved, and once their hearts are moved, they will devise schemes."

So, while the lowly honest person may seem pitiful, once they grasp the truth, no difficulty can deter them from pursuing it. Many consider honesty a fundamental virtue, but honesty is actually one of the most precious qualities. A truly honest person possesses wisdom and vision, and is undeterred by temptation.

Think of the monk Sha in Journey to the West, who was silent and made no sound.

Wukong, the capable monkey, has been running around for a few times, while Zhu Bajie, the greedy and lustful one, always wants to break up and go back to Gao Laozhuang to get a wife. Only Monk Sha has never said that he will go back to his quicksand river to eat people, but he is only focused on going to the West to obtain the scriptures. The novel only sets up Monk Sha as the weakest, but the survivors are the kings, as the screw of the revolution. If it were not set up,

Only honest people like Monk Sha can ultimately stand out.

At the beginning, older people like Qin Niu Gu were relatively inferior in the Progressive Party. Because many of them had no knowledge at all, and their age was

As they grew older, many of them lost confidence in their studies and progress. They also thanked the Progressive Party and the Revolutionary Army, and after receiving their land, they planned to farm and make a good living at home.

Zhang Yinghao also accidentally learned about the inner distress of these "old people" and immediately wrote the song "Start Over Again" to encourage them to work hard, study hard and strive for progress.

Start over

All the pain of yesterday has become a distant memory. I've toiled through half my life, and tonight I'm once again facing the storm. I can't drift with the tide, for the sake of my beloved. No matter how hard it is, I must be strong, just for those expectant eyes. If the heart is there, the dream is there, and there is true love between heaven and earth. Regardless of success or failure, life is heroic, it's just a matter of starting over.

Qin Niu Gu is now a liberated man, awakened by the lessons. His thinking and personality have completely changed. His former timidity and anxiety have completely vanished. Now he feels a burning energy, a radiant spirit that radiates from within. Human thought is like this: sometimes, a simple turn opens up a new world. Especially after Zhang Yinghao taught the song "Starting Over Again," many older comrades no longer felt so old and have joined the ranks, fully committed to overthrowing this cannibalistic society.

So Zhang Yinghao continued: "We should constantly organize the villagers to do construction, whether it is building reservoirs, repairing bridges and paving roads. Every bit of construction now will benefit the future.

The gains are tenfold and a hundredfold. Your training is almost over. The eight members of the RT industry team led everyone to visit our textile factory. Everyone took a good look. After graduation, whatever job you choose, do it well and learn a lot. I look forward to your hard work.

Get good grades, and come back to me next time to report on your work. I'll give you a celebration party. If you have any questions, come and ask me after class. Okay, get out of class dismissed."

"stand up"

"Goodbye, classmates" and "Goodbye, teacher"

Zhang Yinghao packed up the training materials and returned to his small office to correct homework. Not long after he sat down, he heard a knock on the door. Zhang Yinghao looked up at the door.

"Please come in."

At this time, Qin Niu Gu opened the door and walked in. "Oh, it's Comrade Qin Niu Gu, what can I do for you?"

"Chairman Zhang, I just want to ask about our land reform."

Some comrades now call Zhang Yinghao "Teacher Zhang," while others call him "Chairman." Generally speaking, Party cadres and military comrades call him "Chairman." After all, since they attend so many meetings, the title of position is more appropriate. During class, students generally call him "Teacher," though some also call him "Chairman." Zhang Yinghao doesn't mind this at all, but the title reflects the students' position and closeness to him, and some students do care about it.

When Zhang Yinghao heard him ask this, he knew that he might not be able to answer it in a short time, so he stood up and pushed a chair to Qin Niu Gu opposite his desk and asked him to sit down and talk.

"Please sit down. Would you like some water or tea?" "I'll have tea. Thank you, Chairman Zhang."

Zhang Yinghao didn't respond. Instead, he walked over to the coffee table, placed tea leaves in two glass cups, and poured boiling water over them. He placed one cup in front of Qin Niugu. Within the Forward Party and the Revolutionary Army, Zhang Yinghao instituted a small rule: when subordinates met with their superiors, the superiors would pour tea or water for them, as a sign of harmonious relations and respect.

"Drink tea, be careful, it's hot." "Thank you."

Qin Niu Gu glanced at the glass. It used to be very valuable, at least Qin Niu Gu had never used glass before. But they had visited glass factories and learned that it was now being mass-produced. The process was simple, the cost was low, and there were already a lot of them on the market. Zhang Yinghao was used to glass, these daily necessities. Once it was made, he could just use it.

Zhang Yinghao returned to his seat, took a sip of tea, turned around and saw Qin Niugu also took a sip.

"Comrade Niu Gu, do you have any questions about land reform?"

Chapter 98:

Qin Niu Gu straightened his back and said, "Chairman Zhang, I'm not opposed to land reform, but I've thought about it for a long time and I feel there's a problem with it. We have so much land distributed evenly now, but I feel like after we reform it, it won't be many years before the land is concentrated in the hands of a few big landlords again. Why do I feel that land reform is still unreliable and won't last for decades?"

Zhang Yinghao thought for a moment, then glanced at Qin Niu Gu. He saw that his face was covered in knife-like wrinkles. Strips of bone could be vaguely seen beneath his thin clothes, but his skinny face was filled with a burning desire for knowledge.

"Comrade Niu Gu, you're very good and right. This land will eventually be centralized, but let me ask you a question first. In the past, did the landowners or the farmers eat more of the food they grew?"

"This, needless to say, must be the landlord."

"Comrade Niu Gu, you're also a veteran who's participated in many land reforms. So, should the grain grown on this land be eaten by the landlords, or should it feed the people of our country?"

"Chairman, you've said long ago that there's only so much grain produced now. If everyone in the world were to share it equally, they'd just have enough food to eat. But if the landlords eat too much, people will starve to death. So, of course, we have to use this grain to feed the people of our world!"

Zhang Yinghao nodded, very satisfied with the answer, proving that Qin Niu Gu was already a good comrade. Zhang Yinghao had never discussed the question of who owned the land since the revolution, but simply said in one simple and crude sentence: the land is state-owned.

It seems that when discussing the ownership of land, the question of whether land is publicly owned or privately owned will inevitably arise. And the problem that arises from this can be said to be that Zhang Yinghao is currently completely unable to solve it, and it may even cause confusion among the people.

Zhang Yinghao has always avoided this issue.

"Yes, then you said that if we don't carry out land reform, our poor people will starve to death, so we have no choice but to carry out land reform. In addition, you also see that now

More and more people in our cities are not farming anymore, and the same is true in our factories. If there is no land reform, the grain will be controlled by the landlords. If they maliciously raise the price, or if they hoard the grain in a disaster year like now, then we won't be able to survive.

Don’t you think so?!"

"Yes, Chairman Zhang, this landlord's conscience has been eaten by dogs."

"Comrade Niu Gu, this is not a matter of conscience, this is a matter of political stance.

We can only hold it in our own hands. Also, we are building schools now, and those teachers may no longer farm. They concentrate on educating children. And our soldiers and workers are increasingly not farming. These people rely on them for food.

They use their wages to buy food, meaning they're starting to eat commercial grain. Where does this food come from? It comes from taxes and our unified purchase and sale system. If we don't implement land reform and collect 30% of the land tax, then those landlords will exploit their tenants to death, or even rebel against us. So, at this stage, as long as the people of the world have a way to survive, there will be no way for the landlord class.

"That's exactly what's happening."

"You just asked how long our land reform can last. The purpose of our land reform at this stage is to solve two problems. First, all land and all mineral resources are nationalized, changing the ownership of land. Second, we must feed our people. We can't let some people die of overeating while others die of starvation.

The fact that you're asking me about land reform shows you've given it deep thought. You're right. If we only pursue land reform, then it won't be long before these lands are concentrated in the hands of a few, for various reasons. This is inevitable. I've said before that land reform doesn't increase wealth, nor does it increase grain production. Therefore, if we only pursue land reform, then our Forward Party will become the greatest reactionary group in history, even worse than the Qing Dynasty.

"So what should we do?"

"It's actually very simple. I've said it before: developing productivity. How do we develop productivity? We do it through industrialization. Mining, building factories, and so on require a large labor force, don't they? Where does this labor force come from? It comes from the land that our peasants have converted. Our peasant comrades are working in factories, so their land at home can't be left idle! It might be sublet again or concentrated in the hands of a few people in other ways.

Therefore, the future re-concentration of land is inevitable. However, after our land reform, and through industrial development and increased productivity, this re-concentration of land is a good thing, not a bad thing. Comrade Qin Niugu, think about it, how many acres of land can a young worker cultivate now? Only three or five acres, almost the limit, and that's for families with large livestock. How much can families without large livestock cultivate? Not much, right?

However, with the development of productivity, one person will be able to cultivate tens or even hundreds of acres of land, and a simple farm will be able to manage thousands or even tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of acres of land. At that time, these people will no longer be farmers, but agricultural workers.

With the development of productivity at this stage, it is still relatively difficult to feed hundreds of millions of people in our country.

"It's simple. In the future, our descendants will no longer look down on the few acres of land allocated to them now. Even if you give them a few acres to farm, they won't want to farm because they think it's too troublesome! Haha!!!"

"Oh, is that so? It seems I was worrying too much."

"It's not excessive worry. It's better to have this worry than not to have it. I read this in books. After all, it's the same in many foreign countries now. I've done the math for you before. Nowadays, a worker can create hundreds of times more wealth than a farmer. Think about it, even if we workers are paid less, it won't be less than farmers, right? If you work and the wages you get are two, three, or even ten times the total income of our farmers, few people will be willing to farm! Everyone wants to find work outside. After all, everyone wants to live a better life!"

"Yes, the income from working is much better than digging in the fields."

"Well, so, we must resolutely complete land reform now and improve basic water conservancy. We must feed all the people in our base area so that everyone has food to eat. At least we can't let the working people starve to death, right? This is the situation now. We can talk about the future later. Our most important task now is to solve the problem of food and clothing for our people."

"I know, Chairman. We must grasp the principal contradiction and concentrate our efforts on resolving it, right?"

"Haha, that's what I mean. The issue of food is the main problem. I'm destined to be a teacher now. I can talk about it, but the work still depends on you to complete it."

"Alas, Chairman, I can't do it anymore. My health is not good. I am already a grandfather now, and I don't know how much longer I have left. I can only do as much as I can now. I still rely on you young people!"

Zhang Yinghao knew that in this day and age, 55 was considered a very old age. Why did people used to celebrate birthdays with something like a 60th birthday? It was no joke; few people could reach 60. In Japan, elderly people would give up hope of living and retreat to the mountains to live in seclusion. Of course, Zhang Yinghao wouldn't say anything to dampen morale.

"Haha, Comrade Niu Gu was just joking. We want to liberate the people of the whole country and let them live a good life. We can't keep saying we're old. We are revolutionary fighters, and revolutionary fighters are always young. And besides! Comrade Niu Gu, have you heard of Cao Cao?"

"Haha, Chairman Zhang, although I'm not well-educated, I have actually heard of Cao Cao."

"Comrade Niu Gu, if you don't have any education, then learn it. We have a saying: 'Live long and learn till you die.' That means as long as you're still alive, you can't stop learning and making progress! Study hard and make progress every day. Learn a little every day, and over time, little by little, you will definitely be able to learn a lot."

"Yes, how can we make progress without studying?"

"Well, that's the attitude. Your attitude is very correct. We, the members of the Forward Party, value seriousness the most. As long as we work hard, there will definitely be a result, whether good or bad. Since Comrade Niu Gu knows Cao Cao and Cao Mengde, today I will tell you a story about him. You can go back and spread the word so that the older comrades know about him. We revolutionaries don't care about his age. As long as he can work for the interests of our poor people and create a better future. As long as he has a breath, he will work hard for the people to the end. In this way, he is a person of noble character and a person worthy of learning from all workers.

Let's turn to Cao Cao. His most famous victory, achieved with a small force, was the Battle of Guandu. With a force of around 20,000, he achieved a surprising victory, crushing Yuan Shao's 100,000-man army. His military prestige soared, and Cao Cao's ambitions grew even greater. In July of that year, with the ambition of unifying the north in mind, Cao Cao led his army on a day-and-night expedition against the Wuhuan.

Historical records indicate that upon arriving at Liucheng, the army decisively defeated the Wuhuan cavalry and killed Chanyu Tadun. Yuan Shao's sons, Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi, fled from Liucheng to Gongsun Kang in Pingzhou. Upon learning of this, Cao Cao's generals urged him to seize the opportunity, capture Pingzhou, and eliminate the Yuan brothers. Cao Cao knew that Gongsun Kang and the two Yuans were at odds. If he rushed to attack Pingzhou, they would surely unite and resist; if he waited any longer, they would likely turn on each other. So, regardless of his generals' advice, he ordered his troops to withdraw. A few days later, Gongsun Kang delivered the heads of the Yuan brothers. Thus, Cao Cao's grand plan of conquering the Wuhuan and unifying the north was complete.