The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

With the help of my neighbors, I escaped and managed to save my life. Later, I came across our group recruiting and joined them. By the time I led my comrades to our village, the landlord's family had disappeared. Unexpectedly...unexpectedly, fate would open its eyes and allow me to encounter this old beast again.

Zhang Yinghao walked up to him, patted his shoulder and said: "Well, Comrade Tongxu, I'm sorry. Shunshun, I know about your situation. Does anyone else know about your situation?

Chairman, everyone in our village knows it!

"I just want to ask you, if you report this to the leaders, won't they make a decision for you? What's the point of you just going up and stabbing the landlord to death with a bayonet? Ah! To put it seriously, you have no respect for organizational discipline.

Long Tongxu immediately stopped talking.

Zhang Yinghao turned around and said, "Zhang Feng, take Comrade Tongxu to the military security department and ask them to investigate the whole story. When the time comes, we will deal with it as we should. Even if it means expelling Long Tongxu from the army, there will be no objection. We will also announce the results of the investigation and the handling of the matter to prevent the people in the base from saying that our soldiers are killing innocent people.

Zhang Feng replied happily: "Okay, Chairman, I'll bring it over right away.

After saying that, he saluted Zhang Yinghao.

At this time, Long Tongxu immediately shouted: "Chairman, I am not wrong. I will never leave the army even if I am beaten to death. I just killed a beast. I...

"Okay, why are you wasting time talking? Just follow me, you idiot!

As he said that, Zhang Feng pulled Long Tongxu's ear and walked away, not forgetting to kick Long Tongxu's calf twice.

When Zhang Yinghao saw this situation, he smiled and said to himself: The deeper the love, the more severe the criticism.

What is law? Law is the embodiment of the will of the ruling class. In simple terms, it is the rules set by the ruling class. Law is like a rubber band; in theory, the ruling class can manipulate it however they please.

In fact, the rulers need to use the law as a tool to control certain things and maintain their rule. Therefore, the ruling class will do their utmost to protect the laws they have promulgated. After all, these are things they have promulgated to maintain the order they need. If they do not abide by them, then what credibility do they have?

There's a saying: "What the law doesn't prohibit is permissible; what the law doesn't authorize is prohibited." Regarding private rights, you can do what the law doesn't prohibit. Regarding public power, don't do what the law doesn't authorize. This saying clearly tells us that law is a tool of the ruler.

Of course, there are some things in society such as abusing power for personal gain, trampling on the law, and trading power for money. Because they are not punished by the law, some people do not believe in the law.

Some people believe that once a law is enacted, everyone should obey it. They even think that the law should be independent and not interfered with by political factors. The law is unchangeable. These people just want to replace humanity with divinity, not think about fighting against crime, and want to live in heaven.

China has always upheld the rule of law. Prisons, as a tool, have existed since the ritual system of the Shang and Zhou dynasties. The Qin Dynasty, the era of classical Chinese law, reached its peak. Shang Yang, the founder of the Qin Dynasty, instituted the rule that if the emperor broke the law, he would be punished just like the common people. The classical legal system of the Qin Dynasty shines brightly in Chinese history.

After the Qin Dynasty, the era of rule by man was established, which is what scholars often call "Confucianism on the outside and law on the inside." Of course, those scholars certainly hoped that Confucianism would be used to govern the country, and that scholars would not be punished by law. After all, stealing books is not considered stealing. Stealing books is something that scholars do, so how can it be considered stealing? Unfortunately, the emperor is not so easy to fool. If he listens to scholars, then what is the purpose of the emperor? After all, even the old ruffian Liu Bang knew the three rules of conduct!

Zhang Yinghao could certainly punish Long Tongxu severely, but what would that mean? If the landlord Long Tongxu killed was truly guilty, he should have been punished by law, but Long Tongxu's direct use of a bayonet to kill someone was unacceptable. If Long Tongxu had killed an ordinary citizen, Zhang Yinghao would have had no hesitation in executing him. However, if Zhang Yinghao punished his comrades for the murder of a landlord who had not been investigated, he would have felt very uncomfortable.

Zhang Yinghao came to his senses and shook his head, as if to shake out his thoughts. He returned to his office, sat down at his desk, and took a sip of tea. Zhang Yinghao didn't know what to say about Zhang Feng bringing Long Tongxu to see him, but the information revealed in it made Zhang Yinghao feel a chill down his spine.

Chapter 119:

Zhang Feng, now the second-in-command in the military, had actually brought people to look for him. This showed a lack of trust in the military security department. The military's rules, or laws, were all written by Zhang Yinghao and his comrades from the Military Commission. The establishment of military tribunals was also agreed upon, but it seemed there was still a long way to go. It seemed those written documents still lacked the authority to convince people.

But think about it, laws are made and written to be used. But to say that everyone will obey the law unconditionally is a pipe dream. I am a revolutionary myself, and the Qing Dynasty has laws that stipulate that crimes like rebellion are punishable by extermination of all nine generations of the family, but now I am living well, right?

Therefore, when making laws, one must do so within the scope of one's own power. Once a law is made that conforms to the interests of the ruling class, one must desperately defend it. Otherwise, it would be better not to make such a law. If the authority of the law cannot be maintained, it will gradually lose its authority.

"well!"

Zhang Yinghao sighed, took another sip of tea, and started looking at the documents again.

Meanwhile, Long Tongxu, who had been taken away by Zhang Feng, followed Zhang Feng obediently, mumbling to himself. Zhang Feng, however, completely ignored what Long Tongxu was saying. He now understood that his rash decision to bring Long Tongxu to Zhang Yinghao was completely inappropriate. The best way to handle matters like this is to be open and fair, not to cover up, which only harms others.

Zhang Feng looked back at Long Tongxu and wondered why he had brought this idiot to find Chairman Zhang Yinghao. Was it because there were many working people at the place where the killing took place? He should have made a statement on the matter and calmed people's hearts immediately after subduing this idiot, instead of rushing over to find someone with Long Tongxu.

"well.

Zhang Feng also sighed, he still made a mistake.

The best way to deal with this now is to quickly hand Dragon Bronzebeard over to the military security department, have the security department investigate the ins and outs of the matter, and then deal with the matter publicly.

"well,

Zhang Feng sighed again and thought for a moment. He then instructed his guard to take Long Tongxu to the military security department and explain the situation. He then hurried to Zhang Yinghao's office and sent his guard inside to announce that he had something to ask Chairman Zhang Yinghao.

Zhang Yinghao heard a knock on the door outside, looked up and called out, "Come in," then continued to look down at the documents.

"Chairman, Comrade Zhang Feng is outside the door and said he wants to see you.

"Oh, didn't he take Dragon Bronzebeard to the military security department? Let him in.

""Good boy

Zhang Yinghao placed the documents on the table and rubbed his eyes. After a while, he heard Zhang Feng's voice outside the door shouting "report".

"come in!

'President.

"Well, didn't you take Dragon Bronzebeard with you? Is there anything else?"

“Chairman, I was wrong about the Dragon Bronzebeard incident this time.

Zhang Yinghao was a little surprised. This level of awareness was quite high! Zhang Yinghao looked at Zhang Feng and said, "Oh, where do you think you went wrong?"

"First, my process for handling the Dragon Bronzebeard incident was wrong. Second, my own thinking was wrong."

Hearing Zhang Feng say this, Zhang Yinghao immediately became interested. He stood up, poured Zhang Feng a cup of tea, handed it to him and said, "Tell me in detail, sit down and talk.

"Thank you, Chairman. I feel that my handling of the Dragon Bronzebeard incident this time exposed my lack of trust in and familiarity with the military regulations we formulated ourselves. This was a major mistake.

This reveals a more serious mistake: our soldiers still don't have a deep understanding of discipline. The song you wrote, Chairman, sang it well: "Orders must be carried out, prohibitions must be observed." But our army clearly still can't do that.

"Hehe, do you think you did it?

Zhang Feng immediately stood up and said, "Chairman, I know I was wrong."

Zhang Yinghao waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright. Is it enough to know you're wrong? Finding a problem is easy; solving it is the key. Tell me. Since you've come here, you must have your own opinions."

"Chairman, I think we should gather the troops together and give them a few more thorough training sessions. Right now, everyone except the new recruits has been sent out, either to fight or to build bridges and roads, carry out land reform, and even help farmers with their work during the busy farming season. I have no objection to any of this, but the army still needs to act like an army. We can't keep going like this, or the little discipline the new recruits have developed will disappear over time.

"Oh, anything else?

"Secondly, I think we should go out and fight some more, and train the troops at the same time. If you don't practice for three days, your hands will become unfamiliar. If you don't practice for a few days, you won't be able to shoot accurately.

"Well, anything else?"

"Chairman, I wonder what will happen to Dragon Bronzebeard in the end?"

Zhang Yinghao couldn't help himself after hearing this and slammed his hand hard on the table, making a loud "bang".

"Zhang Feng, ah Zhang Feng, is this what you mean by knowing you're wrong?"

When Zhang Feng heard Zhang Yinghao's scolding, he stood up quickly.

"Tell me what the purpose of our army is.

"Defend the motherland, defend the people, and defend the fruits of the revolution.

"That's quite a sly statement. You said you were going to enforce discipline during training? Would you still be needed to enforce it then? Is our military's discipline just for show? Without supervision, outside the training camp, is discipline no longer discipline?

"President…

Zhang Yinghao waved his hand and said, "Zhang Feng, we are the people's soldiers. What's wrong with helping them with some work? When necessary, we are ready to sacrifice our precious lives for our fellow countrymen. If you have no objection to building bridges and roads, just organize the army comrades to do the work well. This is more effective than any political class or any preaching.

We don't just say we are the people's army, the people's team. We truly are the people's army, the people's team. We must put our promises into action. What's the point of talking big? It's useless. We do it first and then talk about it, or even do it without saying anything. Because this is what we should do. Since it is what we should do, what is there to say?

You asked what would happen to Long Bronzebeard in the end? I said I'd like to see the results of the investigation. Our military rules and regulations are out there. They were written by us and voted on by us. No matter who did it, they must be held accountable for their actions and bear the consequences.

You're talking about something we wrote ourselves, something we voted on ourselves. If you don't trust it yourself, what else can you trust? No matter what Dragon Bronzebeard did, we have to admit it. The rules are there, whether he's ultimately innocent or executed, we have to admit it. To deny it would be to undermine the very foundation of our existence, and that's something I won't allow."

"Chairman, I know I was wrong.

"Well, it's not your fault. You're just too worried. This might be the last period of calm; we'll be launching a large-scale operation soon. Hand over your work to the relevant personnel. Take this opportunity to attend our latest training class to recharge your batteries and refresh your mind."

“Okay, Chairman.

"Sit, sit, sit. What's wrong with you? You don't seem to be in good shape lately.

Come, have some tea.

"Okay, Chairman, I don't know what's going on, I just feel tired." Zhang Yinghao looked carefully at Zhang Feng's face and felt that it was indeed much worse than before. There were also bloodshot eyes.

"Ah, it seems you're really tired. I'm sorry, following me is exhausting. You can also treat this training as a vacation. Take a good rest, get enough sleep, and recharge your batteries. Look at you now. You've lost your basic judgment over such a small matter.

"Chairman, what is the content of this new training session?

"Haha, you said before that our base should expand outward, and I agree with that. We will also expand in the direction of Baoning and Suiding, but it's not the right time yet. I will call a meeting with you when the time comes. You said that if our territory expands, we definitely can't report everything big and small to me like we do now, right? So this training is to form a team for the new base.

"Then I..."

"Don't worry about it. Just stay in the army. This training is for everyone, and all government and military personnel must participate. This may be our last training in Guang'an. The next training will be in Chongqing or Chengdu.

"How long will this training last?

"It's not completely certain yet, but it will definitely take a long time. It all depends on how quickly the Qing reacts and how our trade with foreigners develops. Of course, the most important thing is our own preparations. If we run out of ammunition during a fight, there will be casualties."

"Alas, Chairman, our battles against the landlords' armed forces have indeed become much simpler. Generally speaking, a landlord can be defeated without much force. However, recently, the landlords have been massacring the people in our base area. Although this usually occurs in newly liberated areas, it still creates a lot of trouble for our work.

"I've read quite a few reports on the issue you mentioned. It needs to be analyzed from two perspectives. On the negative side, as you mentioned, it does cause concerns among the people in the newly liberated areas, and it also causes considerable losses to the people in the base areas and our army. However, these losses are something we must bear at this stage, and we must take them seriously and confront them.

But on the bright side, revolution and counter-revolution are actually a pair of contradictions. What benefit can these reactionaries gain from killing people? They have no benefit at all. Apart from intimidating and slaughtering the people, they have reached the end of their rope. This is their last resort. What they are doing is actually educating our comrades and the people in our base areas.

"That's true, but these people are as annoying as flies and rats.

"No, they are not flies or rats, but man-eating tigers and autumn grasshoppers."

"Oh, what do you mean?"

"You may not have witnessed the real reactionary activities of these landlords yet. After all, we are ruthless to them. We either kill them or put them under arrest. Just think about it, even when we were developing in secret, so many people had already suffered the slaughter of those landlords' armed forces.

If the Qing Dynasty mobilized a large army to attack us now, and simultaneously called on these landlords to form their own militias to protect themselves or attack us, then our losses would be far greater than this. So, these people are real tigers, ready to devour human flesh. Think of the previous war between the Taiping Rebellion and the Qing Dynasty. The continuous stalemate left almost nine out of ten houses in the Jiangnan region, with a death toll of over 100 million.

Of course, no matter how brutal these reactionaries are, their reactionary nature remains unchanged. Before us, the awakened people, they are like grasshoppers after autumn, unable to hop for more than a few days. But dust won't disappear without a broom, so we still need to work hard, organize, and mobilize the people. Then our victory will be within reach...

"Report."

"Come in."

"Chairman, this is a letter from Comrade Chen Yiwei."

As he spoke, the messenger handed the letter to Zhang Yinghao. Zhang Yinghao did not hide it from others and opened the letter and read it on the spot.

The letter contained little information, primarily stating that they had purchased several factories and were already in the process of relocating them. They had also contacted several classmates studying in the United States and briefed them on the situation in the base area. These individuals, along with the letter, returned to the base area first. Another group of overseas Chinese were also willing to return to China to work, and they returned with their machines.

Chapter 120:

Among these people were students of chemistry, physics, and mineral exploration. Zhang Yinghao was very happy to see the letter. After reading it, he handed it to Zhang Feng and asked, "Where are the people who came back with the letter?

"Chairman, those people have been taken away by Comrade Bao Shilin and should be in a place where they are resting.

"Zhang Feng, let's go, let's go, let's go take a look. It's almost time for lunch. Let's go have a meal with these turtles."

As he spoke, Zhang Yinghao took out the money from his pocket and gave it to the guard.

"Brother Comrade, thank you for your hard work. Take this money and go sell a chicken, buy some vegetables and tofu, and two kilograms of rice wine. Then bring them to my house to cook. You don't have to come over. Just help me cook.

Zhang Yinghao turned around and asked the communicator, "How many people are there?"

"Sir, there are six of us.

"Okay, okay, tell my mom that eight guests are coming to dinner, and buy more food and cook more rice. Okay, go ahead."

"Yes, sir, I'll be there right away.

The guard turned and ran away. Zhang Yinghao said to the communicator, "Come on, comrade, lead the way. Let's go and see these newly returned overseas students.

"Chairman, who is the turtle?

Zhang Yinghao was amused by the question and burst out laughing.

"Haha, those who return from overseas are called sea turtles."

"Oh, yes, yes, yes. Look at my brain. Let's go see the turtles.

Zhang Yinghao is extremely excited and excited about these talented individuals returning from overseas. These current college students are not the same as those who graduated after universities became widespread. Those who are able to study in the United States now generally love learning and are therefore very capable.

Zhang Yinghao thought that each of these people was definitely more capable than himself, and since these precious gems had come from afar to his base, it was very necessary to welcome them. In Zhang Yinghao's impression, those who were able to stand out in the Republic after the founding of the People's Republic of China were almost all those who had returned from studying abroad in Western countries.

Therefore, Zhang Yinghao still had a good impression of these returning students. It was not easy for them to travel thousands of miles to study in a foreign country and then give up the favorable conditions there to return to China to make a difference. You have to know that the Qing Dynasty was plagued by natural disasters and famines every year.

These people, while not living in luxury in foreign countries, should at least have no worries about food and clothing. Zhang Yinghao admired their patriotism. However, now that they were in his own little corner, they couldn't leave. Zhang Yinghao wouldn't be satisfied until he squeezed them dry.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yinghao's face showed a smile like that of Grandma Wolf. Zhang Feng turned his head and saw this smile, and his heart was inexplicably cold, almost getting goose bumps all over his body. He hurriedly asked cautiously: "Chairman, what are you laughing at?"

Zhang Yinghao's face straightened, and then he laughed again in an instant: "Haha, Zhang Feng, the sea turtles nowadays are different. These people are generally talented. With their joining, many of our current problems can be easily solved. There may be experts among these people who can solve our problem of guns and ammunition. Think about it, aren't you very happy, hahahaha.

After saying this, Zhang Yinghao laughed happily.

Zhang Feng thought that if these problems were solved, it would indeed be a very happy thing. However, he always felt that something was wrong, but he didn't know what it was. He could only say: "This is indeed a happy thing. If there is an adequate supply of guns and ammunition, our army can be expanded two to three times.

"Yes, so you have to be nice and keep them all here so they can work in our base."