The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

"Retirement is necessary. Our team cannot tolerate these parasites. We will then send them to work with drug addicts for reform until they are free from addiction.

In this era, when it comes to opium, the Golden Triangle, Silver Triangle, Black Triangle, and Golden Crescent are just little brothers in the face of the Qing Dynasty. During the heyday of the Golden Triangle, the annual opium production was only 6000 tons.

During the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty in China, due to the lack of imperial authority extending below the county level, many people began to engage in the rampant sale of opium. During the Second Opium War, the Qing dynasty was also engaged in the suppression of the Taiping Rebellion. Military expenses were enormous, and the Qing government was facing severe financial constraints. To alleviate this situation, the Qing government promulgated the "Regulations on the Collection of Taxes on Native Medicines" in 1859, imposing a tax on opium.

The impact of this regulation is not only about the tax itself, it is tantamount to affirming the legality of opium trade, indirectly allowing and even encouraging farmers everywhere to grow opium (i.e. poppy), which completely opened Pandora's box.

Because the profits from opium cultivation were far higher than those from growing crops, farmers everywhere abandoned crops and used their best fields to grow poppies. Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou were not to be mentioned, but also Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Shanxi, Gansu, and Zhili, and so on. Opium was grown everywhere from north to south, so in later generations, these opium cultivation bases were just minor brothers.

In 1894, the young Australian Robert Morrison traveled to western China. According to what he saw: "During the entire 1700-mile journey (from Hubei, Sichuan to Yunnan), the poppy plantations never disappeared from my sight."

Opium cultivation significantly squeezed the space for grain cultivation, severely impacting food security during the Qing Dynasty. The devastating Dingwu famine of 1877-1878, which caused over 1000 million deaths from starvation, was largely due to a significant reduction in grain-growing areas.

Faced with opium, a devastating drug for the nation and its people, the Qing government was unable to strictly prohibit the dumping of opium by foreign powers. Instead, it resorted to a less effective tactic: the so-called "opium trade war." By relaxing the ban on domestically produced opium, the Qing government not only prevented the outflow of silver but also allowed it to tax it, increasing fiscal revenue and farmers' incomes. This, admittedly, was the root cause of the opium problem.

Drugs are harmful to people's bodies, but they also contain huge and unparalleled profits. There is a joke that goes, "The most profitable industries are all written in the criminal law."

To eradicate drugs, relying on people's conscious resistance or public opinion guidance is not enough. Only by relying on the tools of state violence, the most powerful of which is the iron fist of the proletarian dictatorship, can the spread of drugs be stopped. Didn't later generations say that drug control in Mexico is as difficult as drug trafficking in China?

Zhang Yinghao continued, "We say that a single rat dropping spoils the whole barrel. Many people, in order to have a good pot of porridge, desperately look for that rat dropping. This is putting the cart before the horse. The first thing to do when you discover rat droppings is to find a way to kill the rat immediately. This is the only way to solve the fundamental problem."

"The Chairman wants to arrest those drug traffickers?

"That's right. If we don't grow the drugs ourselves, and if no one sells them, then those who want to use drugs won't have a source of drugs. Now that drugs have infiltrated our military, there must be a sales channel we're unaware of. The military security department, intelligence agencies, and public security organs must act quickly to find this source and eliminate it."

“Yes, I guarantee that the mission will be completed.

"Okay, the meeting is almost over. You should go and interrogate them now. Make sure to find the entire chain. I'll be waiting for your results.

"Yes.

"Alright, everyone, get back to work. Zhang Feng, we'll gradually gather people from the military department. Don't gather too many people at once and affect the work. Don't get involved in external expansion. Shilin, if we need to buy food, make a plan here about how much to buy. And try to buy as much cotton as possible. Everyone else, go ahead and do what needs to be done. Make plans when necessary. Time waits for no one. Let's go now."

"yes.

Seeing their backs turn, Zhang Yinghao thought of the difficulty of eradicating the drugs. However, no matter how difficult it was, the spread of drugs would never be allowed to continue on the land of China. His own strength was limited, so he absolutely could not allow drugs to appear in the base.

Zhang Yinghao used to be confused by the fact that some anti-Japanese dramas showed people not paying for supplies from the logistics department. Now, he completely understands. Troops who came to collect equipment had to submit a report in advance or receive it at a specified time. The people in the military were essentially supported by the state. Within the state, the military was essentially a unit that consumed supplies, and the army's consumption had already been paid for.

Generally speaking, the logistics department is always short of supplies, especially when preparing for or fighting a war. The supplies in the warehouse are like running water, rushing out. This is just like what is said in the movie "Bright Sword": you can't fight a war at a loss. A war without captured spoils or with little captured spoils is a losing battle.

In this special era, when the enemy is strong and we are weak, we may not be able to hold on to the territory we have conquered. While developing ourselves, we must also try our best to eliminate the enemy. Not having enough spoils of war is a disguised weakening of our own strength, which is not what a wise person would do.

Zhang Yinghao wasn't like that now. Although he didn't care about the gains and losses of a city or a piece of land, that was when the enemy was strong and we were weak, so we had to give up territory to preserve our manpower. The real situation now was that we were weak and the enemy was even weaker, and the enemy was on the decline. Zhang Yinghao wasn't bragging, he was indeed on the rise, and he was taking small steps.

What Zhang Yinghao most wants to replicate now is America's earliest development model. What model? It's the American Westward Expansion. America's "Westward Expansion," also known as the "Westward Movement," began after the victory of the Revolutionary War and lasted until the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a century-long process.

The westward expansion of the United States played a huge role in the development of the West, but in fact, the development of the West played an even greater role in the development of the eastern part of the United States. The westward expansion of the United States completed the accumulation system of the eastern industry of the United States.

In the more than half a century from the Civil War to World War I, the United States rapidly transformed from an agricultural country to an industrial country.

The United States was a colonial nation from 1607 to 1753, and its economy was very underdeveloped. From 1754 to 1783, the American Independence Movement took place. After the Boston Tea Party and the shootings at Lexington, the United States became an independent nation and its economy began to become independent. From 1861 to 1865, the American Civil War took place. During this period, the northern United States was undergoing urbanization and its economy was developing rapidly, while the southern part was still under the control of slave plantations and its economy was relatively backward. After the war, the country was unified and its economy entered an integrated stage.

In 1860, the American industry ranked fourth in the world. In the absence of foreign wars and sufficient colonies, by 1894, the American industry had jumped to the top of the world, and the biggest credit for this was the westward movement.

The eastern region provided capital and technology for the westward expansion, and the development of the west provided raw materials for the eastern region. What is truly remarkable is that the industries of the eastern region of the United States achieved primitive accumulation and technological upgrading through this westward expansion. Just like China in the late 1990s, although the quantitative change had not yet led to qualitative change, the internal transformation was already fully mature.

This is what Zhang Yinghao wanted to learn from. He had no capital, no technology, no talent. What did he have? Human resources and raw materials. Zhang Yinghao only needed to build the simplest of industries, and through repeated expansion of his base, accumulate sufficient technology and talent, ideally completing his initial accumulation.

This path is the best one Zhang Yinghao envisions. In the past, the Republic chose to lean towards the socialist camp, which was completely unavoidable. Later, it actively sought to improve relations with the United States, which was also an inevitable choice.

But Zhang Yinghao had no such concerns at the moment. The world wasn't yet clearly divided into two camps; the ideological confrontation remained on paper. Furthermore, right now was the perfect time for the Second Industrial Revolution, which was in full swing. Seizing the opportunity would allow him to overtake others.

Chapter 127:

Of course, all of this is still in Zhang Yinghao's head. What will ultimately become of it? That will require practice and time to determine. But the most important thing right now is building a factory and purchasing machinery and equipment. Without the raw materials, everything else is just empty talk, and empty talk is the most harmful.

After thinking about it, it is still the same saying that a good cook cannot cook without rice. Now it depends on Chen Yiwei to make more efforts. To build a base with a relatively complete range of industries, at least the whole Sichuan must be turned into a base. I also have to work hard here.

Zhang Yinghao felt that he was thinking too far ahead, but there was nothing he could do. If one does not plan for the future, he will inevitably have immediate worries. Now the entire base area depends on Zhang Yinghao for both long-term and immediate concerns, as well as internal and external troubles. It was only because Zhang Yinghao himself was relatively open-minded, knowing that China would ultimately win. Otherwise, the current situation would be beyond Zhang Yinghao's ability to face with ease.

Zhang Yinghao never considered himself a communist fighter. He feared neither death nor hardship, and he hoped for a long and prosperous life. Alas, life and death are determined by fate, while wealth and honor are determined by heaven. Man proposes, but God disposes. Ultimately, he must accept his fate and seek his own happiness.

After Zhang Feng arranged for the military security department to interrogate the soldier and contact the public security and intelligence departments, he returned to the office to preside over the meeting.

The Military Commission had been waiting in the office for a while, and since they were gathering for a small meeting, Zhang Feng, as the most educated person, also took on the role of secretary. This was Zhang Yinghao's rule: meetings must be recorded, and even important meetings required the signatures and fingerprints of all attendees.

Zhang Yinghao had also launched surprise raids, checking meeting minutes during or after meetings. All the leaders in the base area were now aware of Zhang Yinghao's habit, and no one wanted to offend him. Because Zhang Yinghao had been caught twice without taking minutes during meetings, the person presiding over the meeting was given a demerit and demoted two ranks. All participants received a demerit, which was recorded in their files, and were also publicly criticized.

Generally speaking, before a meeting begins, the person presiding over the meeting will either find a secretary or act as the recorder themselves. Meeting participants will also immediately look for the person who took the record, as not everyone is above receiving a serious demerit or receiving a public reprimand.

"Everyone, please take a seat. You've all heard the Chairman's announcement regarding the upcoming military arrangements. This meeting will discuss how to proceed. I'll take note of today's meeting. I'll first brief you on our recent military activities and the current situation."

After so long fighting against the landlords, we've accumulated considerable experience. The problem now is that many landlords have already fled with their families before our troops even arrive. Some have simply gone up into the mountains to become bandits or taken refuge with their retainers, waiting to kill our staff or massacre the people in our base.

So the problem now is that we are expanding very quickly, but our staff have suffered heavy casualties. Some landlords intimidated the local people when they left, and these people did not dare to take the land we allocated to them.

Now that the base area is running low on food, the revolutionary army is launching a large-scale expansion, targeting Suiding, Baoning, and Zhou Prefectures. The primary goal is to suppress the landlords and secure food supplies for the base area. I will not participate in this military operation; you must do a solid job and capture these three prefectures.

Chairman Zhang Yinghao mentioned the early deployment of forces in Jiange County and Migang Road, which we've discussed before. We've already dispatched our teams, and the outcome will depend on the dedication of our dispatched comrades. Previously, our team had the Long Tongbeard murder incident, and now we have another case of drug abuse.

These two incidents are not isolated incidents, but rather evidence that our troops are already lazing about. Away from the barracks, the soldiers' sense of discipline has seriously declined, so one of the purposes of this meeting is to discuss how to bring the troops back together, how to do it, and how many soldiers to recruit.

Of course, if necessary, we can immediately call all the soldiers back. But now Chairman Zhang has said that for the time being, without affecting work, half of the troops should be secretly called back for training. Everyone, what should we do? Comrade Tanaka Yoshi, you go first.

"I don't think we need to call back the troops that are still expanding. Our state capital is so empty right now, with the troops busy constructing water conservancy facilities and roads. I think calling back just one-half of these people will be enough. Chairman Zhang is so brave. If an enemy team were to sneak into our base, the consequences would be disastrous. Over."

"Next.

"Chairman Zhang, don't you still need to train new recruits? Isn't taking one out of two too few? I think taking two out of three is about right. This won't have a big impact on the overall work, and we'll have enough manpower here. Over."

"Didn't Chairman Zhang mention replacing the army's shoes? I think we can mobilize the troops based on the number of shoes produced. That way, we can truly avoid delays. Over."

After everyone had spoken, Zhang Feng said, "Everyone has said almost everything they need to say. The Chairman's intention is probably to re-equip the troops and train them again. I also tried on the shoes and they are very good. If used for marching, we can completely achieve Chairman Zhang's goal of sweeping across Sichuan in the shortest time.

Let's put it this way: our troops will be sent back to the training camp for training at a rate of one-third. I'll find out about the shoe production rate later, and then call back troops for additional training based on that. Chairman Zhang said a training session is coming up soon, but we can't have everyone here. Someone needs to be in charge, so we'll have to wait for news from the organization department.

"Comrade Zhang Feng, I wonder what the content of this training is?

“Haha, I don’t know either, you’ll find out after you go to training.

When this comrade asked about the content of the training, Zhang Feng was reminded of the incident with Long Tongxu, and he felt a little annoyed. However, there was no need for him to get angry at these comrades, so he said, "I will also participate in the training this time, so it may be one of you who will stay. So, everyone should do the next work well and not put all the burden on others.

When everyone heard Zhang Feng say this, a look of "as expected" appeared on their faces. Zhang Feng was stunned, and then he understood. In this energetic team, everyone is now almost at the same starting line, and everyone's starting point is very low. Every training is the best opportunity to improve yourself.

Judging by the current frenzied expansion of the base, generally speaking, after training, they'll be entrusted with important responsibilities, or at least have better opportunities for advancement than others. While people may not be fully aware of this yet, it's human nature. Training means improved abilities and greater opportunities.

Zhang Feng could only smile. He couldn't say he had to go to training just because of the Dragon Bronzebeard incident. He shook his head and continued to arrange the work.

After the meeting ended and I filed the minutes, I went out to the shoe factory to find the factory director.

At this time, Bao Shilin was also holding a meeting, and he said: "Our job now is to calculate how much food we need to support our early rice harvest. The food problem is now the biggest problem in our base area, and we must put this problem first. The army is about to start fighting to expand the base area, and we don’t know how much food they can seize, so we can’t put all our hopes on the army, but we have to find a solution ourselves.

Once I figured it out, I'd report it to the Chairman immediately, and then I'd start buying grain from the Yangtze River and other places. However, Chairman Zhang has long said that grain is a strategic resource; it's better to have more than less. Without food, people will starve to death. And cotton, I don't know how much I can buy if I have to buy it in bulk, but I'll just buy as much as I can.

The Chairman said that we now have to solve two problems: being attacked and starving. For us, this means solving the people's food, clothing, housing, and transportation needs. Our base areas are still relatively new, and many resources are unused. For example, in the newly conquered base areas, we don't grow much cotton, but a lot of opium. I hadn't asked the Chairman about this problem before, so I didn't know how to solve it.

All right, comrades, everyone, pull yourself together. I know it's exhausting working so tirelessly day and night, but we're the only ones who know how to do math, so there's nothing we can do about it. I just hope we can train more math experts soon, so they can help us share some of the workload."

After hearing what Bao Shilin said, everyone started complaining.

"Yeah, now I feel like there are numbers flying around in my head even when I sleep. Seeing those numbers makes me want to vomit."

"Well, there's nothing we can do. Aren't there two of those newly arrived overseas students translating books? Why don't we ask them to come over and help? After we get the grain statistics in the next two days, we can take turns and have a rest." This was happily decided. If the comrades' health is ruined, it wouldn't be worth it. Health is the capital of revolution!

Bao Shilin thought for a moment before saying, "Well, I'll go find those two foreign students to work with us later. Everyone, hold on for the next two days. After we're done with this, you can take turns to rest. Okay, if you're all right, let's adjourn the meeting!"

Zhang Yinghao had no idea that Zhang Feng, Bao Shilin, and their colleagues had held another meeting after returning, nor that some of his colleagues hadn't rested at their posts for ages. He had no concept of weekends anymore. What day was he not working? Honestly, he couldn't even rest when he left his post.

There are still many problems in the base area, but according to Zhang Yinghao, these aren't really problems. For example, farmland is being occupied for road construction, and quarrels and even fights are a frequent occurrence. There are also cases of people stealing communal farm tools from the cooperative, or using them excessively and refusing to repair them when they break.

Zhang Yinghao thought that if he tried to solve these problems one by one, not only would he be unable to solve them, but he would also be overwhelmed with so many things and would have no time to deal with these small matters.

Many farmers have ox carts and donkey carts. These farmers may not be stingy with their own labor, but these people are determined not to use their own horse carts and donkey carts. To be honest, Zhang Yinghao has no way to deal with these things. Because Zhang Yinghao himself was a rural person in his previous life, he naturally understands the farmers' thoughts. At the same time, although it seems stingy, the fact is that if you borrow someone else's animal, you will use it to death. In his previous life, Zhang Yinghao's family lent a cow to someone else to plow the fields, and the cow's nose was torn off. It was too embarrassing to ask for compensation from fellow villagers, and his family couldn't say anything. He had to swallow the loss.

So, if the base area is busy now, it will be too busy to finish. However, Zhang Yinghao can ignore these matters, but the comrades below are facing these matters directly and have to deal with them. However, many of the comrades below have no experience in handling these matters, and many of them seem to handle them roughly or even unreasonable.

This led to constant disputes and quarrels within the base. Zhang Yinghao personally attended several of these quarrels, which brought back memories.

In reality, these arguments were all caused by trivial matters. In his previous life, Zhang Yinghao lived in a small village like this, where quarrels could be heard every few days. When did this happen? Between the 1990s and the first decade of the 2000s, quarrels were common in this small village.

The situation wasn't limited to my village; the neighboring villages were also plagued by this. Because we lived in a small, underdeveloped mountain village, young people didn't migrate to the city for work at the time. Consequently, conflicts arose over petty gains. Today, your child stole my cucumbers, and tomorrow, my cow ate your rice seedlings.

But later on, this situation rarely happened. The young people all went out to work. The villagers were old and young. No one worried about a few dollars or a few mouthfuls of food anymore. Instead of arguing, they would rather watch TV.

Chapter 128:

Zhang Yinghao occasionally hears these people quarreling, and he feels a strange sense of nostalgia. He knows that if nothing unexpected happens to him, their quarrels will quickly disappear into the long river of history with economic development. In the future, even if he wants to quarrel, no one will want to argue with him.

"Comrade Li Kaishan, this is your training notice. Please sign it and report on time for this training session."

This was the last notice Zhou Baogui sent. This training was also presided over by Chairman Zhang Yinghao, but the time was rather tight. According to Zhou Baogui's guess, the training would not last too long.

As a correspondent, Zhou Baogui generally has access to a lot of news, often quite new. This training session was conducted in multiple batches, with continuous training. As one group left, another arrived. The first batch was rushed, but the second batch's list is now ready, so things are much smoother.

Zhang Yinghao knew that the base was still relatively small, so getting around was relatively easy. At the very least, they could still get there on horseback. Furthermore, the number of personnel wasn't particularly large, so the organization department was able to organize and account for nearly everyone in the base. Therefore, Zhang Yinghao could simply negotiate directly with the organization department if he needed to organize training.

If the base area expanded, or if it was separated into separate, disconnected areas, as in the previous life, then the scene from the previous life's TV series would inevitably appear: each base area sent several outstanding comrades to Yan'an for further study. "Comrade XX, you have performed outstandingly in our base area and have never come to headquarters for study. This time, you will go."

As for who will receive the training, it's not a one-time event; it's just a matter of timing. Those who meet the requirements will soon be trained, naturally from nearby to further afield. Furthermore, this training session was led by Zhang Yinghao, but future training sessions will no longer require him. Instead, outstanding colleagues will deliver the lessons by rote.

Being able to recount the content of Zhang Yinghao's training in his own words at least proved that he had memorized it. As for applying it in a comprehensive way, that depended on one's ability, and Zhang Yinghao had no way around it.

People are inherently different. Genetic differences lead to endocrine system variations. This is why some people have short tempers, others are naturally melancholic, and others are naturally lively, and so on. However, these aren't the true factors that determine people's differences. The true difference lies in each person's experiences and attitudes.

Just as there are no two identical leaves in the world, there are no two people in the world with exactly the same experiences. Everyone's experiences are different, and the things they see and the way they deal with things are also different.

Twins may have very similar experiences when they are young, but each person has a different attitude towards the same experience, so everyone in the world is an independent individual. Perhaps this is the reason for loneliness in life.

In a previous life, Zhang Yinghao asked many people the same question: Are all people equal at birth? Some answered yes, some said no. After much debate and reflection, everyone agreed that they were unequal.

Zhang Yinghao also felt inequality in his previous life, but after traveling through time, he explained that at that moment, all human beings were equal. Aside from death, there was no other time more equal than this moment.

Why are some people born destined for greatness? Why do some people struggle their entire lives to barely make ends meet? Some achieve great success, while others start from a higher level. Beyond their origins, everything else is related to a person's experiences. If someone spends every day around big bosses, they'll inevitably understand how to run a business. If someone spends every day around cattle and horses, they'll inevitably understand how to herd them.

People's experiences are different, so their lives will inevitably move forward according to their experiences until they encounter the power to change their destiny or until they die.

The size of a person's achievements depends on how many people's destinies they have changed, not how much money they have. When a person changes the destiny of an entire era, an entire country, or even the entire human race, then the achievement of this person is unparalleled.

What Zhang Yinghao has to do now is to change the destiny of the entire country. As for what kind of achievements he can achieve, only future generations can say.

There used to be a debate: Is it the times that create heroes, or are heroes the ones who create the era? There's really no point in arguing; the era was there. From the perspective of chance and necessity, the emergence of heroes is inevitable, but who they appear in is also inevitable and accidental. If it's accidental, it's because there are many heroes in an era, and this one person simply stands out. If it's inevitable, it's because this person is the first to perceive the changes of the times and adapt to the new era.

Heroes cannot create the era. It is the people who truly create the era. But someone can be the leader and lead the era. He is the trend-setter of the era.

When the time comes, heaven and earth unite in strength; when luck is gone, heroes are helpless. This is the truth. When the times call for heroes, they may not always be able to produce them. This is the tragedy of the times. When the opportunity has passed, even the most talented are useless. The times nurture everything, but they also eliminate everything. How many people remain at the forefront of the waves? The waves of the Yangtze River push forward, and after the rain and wind blow away, all that remains is an eternal chant.

The training room was already full. As a rising star, Li Kaishan wasn't familiar with many of the people attending the training. Seeing some of the people who had been elusive in the base, he felt strangely excited. He was finally able to sit down and listen to a class with them.

Li Kaishan had also undergone several training sessions, from recruit training to cadre training, and even Party member training. However, he had never been in the presence of these important figures from the base before, which made him realize that this training was extraordinary.

Less than a year had passed since the base was founded, and many people had witnessed its transformation from scratch. Everyone knew that advancement required training, and there were many who failed. Li Kaishan's family wasn't considered poor peasants; they were better off than most, but not as poor as others. He had been educated since childhood, and of course, he occasionally did some chores within his capacity. His family had never slacked off on his education, so he saw things more clearly than most.

Knowing his family's situation, Li Kaishan has been very cooperative with the army and its staff since joining the revolutionary army. He also successfully joined the base and became a member of it. At this time, because he was literate, he was quickly assigned to a job after training. Due to his outstanding ability and understanding of revolutionary principles, he quickly stood out and was promoted rapidly. Even Zhang Yinghao had heard of his name more than once.

However, he was only a new comrade here. Although the base was established relatively recently, seniority was still inevitable. Zhang Yinghao didn't have a good, immediate solution for this. As long as there was no deliberate suppression of others and no obvious factionalism, Zhang Yinghao would tolerate these inevitable things. As the saying goes in the military camp, a soldier who arrived a day earlier is considered a veteran as well as a soldier who arrived a day later. This was reality.

Since we're here for training, we need to be self-disciplined. Zhang Feng, Bao Shilin, and other comrades have already started proposing the election of class leaders. This is all as it should be. We're not elementary school students anymore; we don't need a homeroom teacher to oversee our work. While there are teachers, everyone is busy, so how can they care about these little things?

After the class leader elections were complete, the next step was to report on their work. This was a crucial part of the training session, and not just those in the political and organizational departments listened. Everyone else listened. In this classroom, there was a special person: Xue'er. This was Zhang Yinghao's suggestion, essentially using his privilege. He didn't know if she had originally been among the first group, but he still included her in the training.

While everyone knew that training wasn't a one- or two-term program, everyone inevitably focused on the first two. While Zhang Yinghao saw little point in it, the pressure on the organization department was inevitable. Of course, there were those who tried to get in through the back door, but Zhang Yinghao ignored them. Moderate competition was necessary. The base was still in its growth phase, and conflicts and struggles were under control. Unless it escalated into a personnel struggle, there would be no improvement.

After the first day of work reports, Li Kaishan realized that there were still many outstanding comrades in the base area, and this did not include the outstanding comrades currently expanding the base area. The slight sense of pride he felt in his heart disappeared after listening to a few comrades' reports. Especially when he heard that one comrade had walked all the villages under his jurisdiction after work, organizing all the working people to build water conservancy projects, bridges and roads without any compensation, and that the projects were almost complete.

Li Kaishan realized then that he hadn't been diligent enough. He now reflected that he wasn't familiar enough with his jurisdiction. Over the next two days, several senior military commanders and members of the Central Committee arrived. Some of these people were familiar to Li Kaishan, while others were unfamiliar. As they arrived, he reported on his duties and prepared for any issues.

After listening to these people's reports over the past few days, Li Kaishan had almost completely grasped most of the current situation in the base area. He truly achieved the level of a scholar who knows everything about the world without leaving home. Meanwhile, word of Chairman Zhang Yinghao's impending marriage had slowly spread among the trainees. Everyone looked at Xue'er with a more unique look, and their attitude towards her had subtly changed.

After everyone in the training room had finished their briefings, Zhang Yinghao finally walked into the room, amidst everyone's anticipation. Li Kaishan didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt like the room had gotten much brighter since Zhang Yinghao walked in. It was as if countless rays of light had followed him into the room. He even saw Zhang Yinghao glowing, and he quickly rubbed his eyes.

"Stand up. Seven

“Hello, students.

“Hello, teacher.

"Please sit down.

"This training was organized a bit hastily, but thanks to the efforts of our comrades, we were able to overcome the difficulties and start the class as scheduled. Actually, it would have been better to hold this training session after we had a complete grasp of Sichuan, but the Sichuan Governor might take the initiative to contact us now, so I decided to hold the training in advance. After a few days of debriefing and familiarization, everyone here, whether they have met before or not, should now have a good impression of us. We currently have sixty comrades here, forty-eight men and twelve women."