The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

Zhang Zhixuan then continued, "So Zhu Yuanzhang placed the united front on uniting the landlords and gentry. After all, with their help, Zhu Yuanzhang could quickly obtain the manpower and material resources he needed. This provided the material foundation for his campaigns north and south!"

Of course, as everyone knows from historical records, Zhu Yuanzhang wasn't well-educated, but he was incredibly humble and willing to learn, which he considered a form of criticism and self-criticism. He strictly forbade his troops from harming civilians during war. When they captured Hezhou City, his personal guards brought several civilians to him to complain. Upon questioning, he learned that some of the generals who had accompanied him from Chuzhou were known to be serious banditry, allowing their subordinates to rob civilians, abduct women, and kill innocent people.

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and immediately summoned all his generals to give them a lecture: "We rose up to overthrow tyranny and stabilize people's livelihood. You openly robbed people's women and property. What's the difference between you and thieves? How can you gain the support of the people?"

He ordered all looted women and property to be immediately returned to the people, and severely punished the officers and soldiers who had committed the offense. In subsequent wars, Zhu Yuanzhang repeatedly reiterated this prohibition to his generals, and that's all I have to say. His united front had already spread to the common people.

As for Party building, he had an administrative system in place long ago. Regarding ideological development, he put forward the slogan "Expel the barbarians and restore China." That concludes my answer.

"Sit down. Do you have anything else to add? Or any questions to ask? Oh, Li Fugui, come here."

"Let me talk about the issue of the united front. Zhu Yuanzhang truly overthrew the Mongols and rebuilt China. At that time, less than a century had passed since the Yuan Dynasty destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty, and the people in the Central Plains were living in dire straits, as if a hundred centuries had passed. "Drive out the barbarians and restore China" was the slogan first put forward by Zhu Yuanzhang, the peasant uprising army, when he resisted the Mongols who conquered China.

In 1367, after defeating Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng, and other warlords in the south, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang issued the "Zhu Yuanzhang's Northern Expedition Manifesto" as he prepared for the Northern Expedition. The manifesto, which espoused the slogan "Expel the barbarians, restore China, establish laws and discipline, and provide relief to the people," became the guiding principle for Zhu Yuanzhang's Northern Expedition. This slogan, comparable to Ran Min's "Order to Kill the Barbarians," was inspiring and a great encouragement to the Chinese people.

In just one year, the slogan was put forward, and the army was able to advance from Nanjing to the Yuan capital, Beijing. This is unimaginable in previous dynasties. Therefore, this slogan completely played the role of a united front. My answer is complete.

Zhang Yinghao nodded and waved for Li Fugui to sit down. Suddenly, a bell rang outside. Zhang Yinghao waited until the bell stopped before saying, "Comrades, you may have discovered a problem. There is no clear distinction between the three magic weapons. They are intertwined."

After that, Zhang Yinghao turned around and drew three intersecting circles on the blackboard, then said: "Okay, this class is over. As for how much I have learned, I can only say "Master, please come in, practice is up to you." I will not talk about the remaining cases.

If you have any questions, you can come and ask me after class or discuss with your classmates. For example, Liu Bang, Liu Xiu, etc., you can go and see for yourself. I have another class later, so I will talk about something else. get out of class dismissed."

"stand up."

"Goodbye, classmates!" "Goodbye, teacher."

As soon as Zhang Yinghao returned to the office, Zhao Jinshan came running over. Zhang Yinghao saw Zhao Jinshan coming and knew what might have happened, so he quickly invited him into the office and asked him what happened.

"Chairman, two of our soldiers died suddenly while running today." "What happened? Can you tell me in detail?"

It turned out that several squads of soldiers who had gathered together had been given new shoes.

The soldiers were weak and ill-prepared for wearing the new shoes, and had not experienced such strenuous exercise. So during a training session, two of them died suddenly.

The number of people gathered was small to begin with, and if they were to assign questions based on this ratio, who knows how serious the problems would be. Although the team had previously trained to meet the target, Zhao Jinshan now felt that he could no longer bear the pressure. The North Command and the situation were Zhang Yinghao's own creation. After all, people in this era were physically weak, and their tolerance for death was not as fragile as in later generations.

For high-risk occupations, such as steel, there will be Beiren Guidance Association, which is how many people are involved in accidents each year. As long as the investigation is clear and there are no violations, the relevant responsibilities will be

Those who are responsible do not take responsibility. In the barracks, there must be a death index. Without this index, military training may fail to complete the mission.

Zhang Yinghao thought for a moment before saying: "Tell the canteen to put more oil in the dishes to improve the food. Do more adaptive training and warm-up exercises before high-intensity training such as marches.

All soldiers who died in battle will be given a photo by the Martyrs' Office and treated according to the standards for martyrs' families."

"Okay, Chairman. Anything else?"

"The training intensity cannot be reduced. These soldiers are just a little uncomfortable now.

"Ba, if you can't even make it through the training now, then your military exploits will be recorded in the future. Recruiting soldiers will require physical examinations. If you're in good health, you can apply to join the army. You don't have to worry about that. Just look for Yun and Ding Di. What's the matter?"

"The troops are feeling a bit agitated right now. Do we need to deal with this?"

"Isn't it written on the wall at our training ground? Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in war. The training ground is a battlefield. Who told you there wouldn't be casualties at the training ground? Go talk to the political commissar about this. A few deaths at the training ground are normal. Have the political commissar handle the situation. Also, didn't they always arrange for disabled veterans to attend classes? Why is he so emotionally unstable?"

"There is no instability, just a little excitement. After all, such things rarely happen in training before. These people have been through training before, and now they are back to the training ground.

I feel that they are more or less resistant. We have just started training and there is no time to invite the disabled soldiers to come. Moreover, these soldiers have heard of those

class."

"This is human nature, but it also shows that our political work isn't quite up to par. Okay, I get it. You've attended the lectures, but they've been working at the grassroots level for a while and may have forgotten a lot. These things are important to deepen the comrades' minds, so they're very necessary."

"Okay, I understand. I'll arrange it when I get back."

"Well, there must be a doctor on duty at the training ground. Once the three-hour training is scheduled, the doctor must be arranged in place. You must consider it more, so as to avoid sacrificing one less person. Chief Instructor, you must give this aspect more consideration yourself.

Train boldly and confidently to produce elite soldiers, and I'll take care of the rest."

"Yes, Chairman. I will go back then."

"Okay, don't feel pressured. Just train as you should. I just want the results."

"Yes."

After Zhao Jinshan saluted and left, Zhang Yinghao sat in his seat and thought for a moment. In this day and age, a few deaths during training are normal. If someone were to train while wearing Liberation shoes and still be in a lukewarm state, that would be a real death. Not to mention now, even in the future, with advanced medicine, wouldn't there still be occasional sudden deaths? These are unavoidable, and we can only try to avoid them.

The bell rang, and Zhang Yinghao picked up his course materials and headed towards the classroom. He just did what needed to be done. Given the current situation, the army would definitely be fine.

"The previous three classes focused on the three great magic weapons. As long as we implement them well, victory will be within reach. However, there's a fundamental point here that I've discussed before, and I'll repeat it again: where does our strength come from?

What are the three magic weapons of ours—Party building, armed struggle, and the united front—for? Upholding these three magic weapons is to achieve victory in the struggle. And when we progressive Party members face the enemy, we must constantly consider employing these three magic weapons to achieve victory.

We, the members of the Progressive Party, can only be considered to possess the three great magic weapons. That is, we have now created the forms of the three magic weapons, but we have not yet truly mastered them, we have not yet refined them, and we have not yet fully utilized them. Before we have mastered these three magic weapons, our strength is weak and feeble.

In order to ensure that we can grow smoothly, I have also refined a great killer for everyone. When we are unable to fully exert the low-level skills of the three great jade swords, we hold this great killer, then we will be invincible.

What is an instrument?

Has anyone figured this out? I won't keep you in suspense here. This powerful weapon is the mass line. The three major work styles of our Progressive Party members are integrating theory with practice, maintaining close ties with the masses, and practicing criticism and self-criticism. This close connection with the masses is our powerful weapon, the mass line.

Zhang Yinghao looked around and continued, "Why do I call it a big killer? It's because we, the Forward Party, are the vanguard of the proletariat. We come from the masses, yet we are separated from them. Yet, we are also part of the masses. Our strength comes from the masses, and our work is for the masses. Everything we do is for the masses; we come from the masses and go back to the masses."

We progressive Party members must be like seeds, taking root and sprouting wherever we go. We are like a drop of water; as long as we merge into the vast ocean of the masses, we will never be in danger of drying up. Wherever we go, we must integrate with the masses, educate them, mobilize them, and organize them. As long as we grasp the powerful weapon of the mass line, we will be invincible.

As everyone knows, we are revolutionaries who want to build a country where everyone is equal and working people are the masters of their own destiny. As advanced elements among the masses, we must fulfill our responsibilities and take the initiative to educate and organize the masses.

The masses outside the base areas don't know us at all. They still live under the rule of the Qing Dynasty, suffering terribly. We, the Forward Party, have the responsibility and obligation to rescue them. But how? I have always said that the revolution was not created by us; it has always been nurtured among the people.

To put it bluntly, the masses all need revolution. They have all suffered severe oppression and exploitation. Yet, they remain ignorant and confused. They don't understand what revolution is, and no one teaches them what revolution is, let alone leads them in it. Therefore, whenever we arrive in a new place, our first priority is to understand the most pressing needs of the local people and integrate with them. Then, we must educate the local people, mobilize them, and organize them.

Chapter 137:

Zhang Yinghao went on to say: "The people need revolution very much, but why don't they have revolution? It's because no one teaches them what revolution is and how to make revolution. We must let the masses understand revolution, understand exploitation, and understand the truth about the entire world. We must take the initiative to educate the masses. As long as the masses understand these things, they will naturally stand with us and fight with us. Our Forward Party adheres to science, democracy and labor. As long as the local masses can take the initiative to learn science and actively participate in our decision-making and labor, then we will hold our powerful weapon in the local area, and we will be able to face any enemy and defeat any enemy.

We will soon rapidly expand our base area, and all of you present here are the backbone of our base area. You will be working in a new location, and I don't know exactly how to proceed. As everyone knows, the dialect in our country varies from place to place, and I might not even understand what's being said there. So if someone asks me how to do this, I can only tell you that without investigation, I have no right to speak, and I don't know the specifics.

We rely on three magic weapons in our struggle, but when you arrive in your new location, the situation you'll face will undoubtedly be very complex. But I can assert that whoever first masters the ultimate weapon will be the first to seize control of the situation. As for the rest, it's up to you. We still have some time, so do you have any questions?

Seeing so many people raise their hands, Zhang Yinghao was slightly surprised, then said: "Zhang Tao."

"Chairman, you talk about our Progressive Party's three main principles, then three magic weapons, then three styles of work, and now you're talking about a killer weapon. What's the connection between these things?"

"Haha, that's a great question. We say that the three main principles of our Progressive Party members are to uphold science, democracy, and labor. We Progressive Party members must master the three magic weapons. We Progressive Party members must have three excellent work styles. The connection between them is only one, and that is to educate everyone to become a qualified member of the Progressive Communist Party.

We, the members of the Progressive Communist Party, must be able to uphold the Three Styles, master the Three Magical Weapons, abide by the Three Excellent Styles, and refine our ultimate weapon. If you can do this, then you are an outstanding member of the Progressive Communist Party. If you can continuously learn and strive to master these, or even master some of their contents, then you are a qualified member of the Progressive Party. So, do you have a clear idea of ​​whether you are a qualified member now?

After hearing Zhang Yinghao's words, many of the comrades in the audience looked at each other in bewilderment, unsure how to respond. In fact, in Zhang Yinghao's eyes, there were only two or three who could truly call themselves qualified Party members, and Zhang Yinghao himself wasn't sure if he was qualified. Knowledge was knowledge, but he felt he lacked the fervor of a Communist. On the other hand, even if they lacked knowledge, many comrades in the base area still possessed this fervor, and Zhang Yinghao couldn't deny that.

Sometimes, emotion is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is relatively easy to acquire, but where can you find emotion? So Zhang Yinghao doesn't dwell on this. The best way to combine knowledge and emotion is through labor. Whether it's physical or mental labor, only through labor can one gain true understanding.

"Any other questions? Oh, Comrade Zhou Baogui, please ask."

Zhou Baogui put down his hands, stood up, and read from his notebook: "Chairman, what does it mean that we come from the masses but are separated from them, and we are also part of the masses?"

"Well, sit down. Let me give you an analogy. There are many people at the foot of a mountain, and the top of the mountain represents communism. Then I suddenly run up the mountain, and you are beside me. You see me running up the mountain and follow me. At this moment, are the people running with me originally from the people at the foot of the mountain? Have we now separated ourselves from this group at the foot of the mountain?"

The reason we are said to be separated from the masses is that we have learned knowledge that the masses have not yet learned, which makes us different from them. We know that the mountaintop is communism, but the masses are still confused and ignorant, and they are waiting for us to educate them.

We're already in the lead, running far ahead of the masses. Our thinking is completely different from theirs; we're the most advanced among the people. But why are we still part of the masses? Because the people behind us will soon realize that the mountaintop is communism. Seeing us ahead, they'll catch up. We're currently jogging ahead, so they can work harder and sprint a little faster to catch up. If sprinting isn't an option, can we ride horses? Or take a carriage?

Therefore, we cannot be separated from the masses, and we must constantly learn from them. Why? If they say the masses are running fast, and we are trotting, we will soon fall behind. So we should learn from the fast-running masses how to run faster. If the masses on horseback catch up with us, we should learn from the horseback riders how to ride horses. We should learn from them. This is the only way to always maintain our leading position. Any more questions, Xiaoming?

"Chairman, you said that whenever you go to a new place, you must understand the most pressing needs of the local people. How do you do that specifically?"

At this time, his classmates whispered to him, "Then go and do the investigation."

Zhang Yinghao listened to the clamor and said with a smile, "Did you hear that? Just go investigate, integrate yourself into the masses, become one of them, ask the masses, and you'll know."

"I know. What I want to ask is how to conduct the investigation."

"Oh, how do you conduct a survey? There are many ways. For example, if you walk around and observe, you'll find out if local people think the roads need repairs. If you go to farmers' homes and ask, you'll find out if they're in urgent need of water conservancy, and if the local bureaucrats and landlords are oppressing and exploiting them. I'll write down the specific steps for conducting a survey and send them to you all for reference after class. Your task is to understand the needs of the masses and to mobilize and organize them.

Everyone should know that our goal is to mobilize and organize the masses. We can't just mobilize and organize the masses and then leave them alone. We want to organize the masses to carry out construction. Why do I keep emphasizing that our strength comes from the masses? Think about it: how much did you dig yourself to dig a ditch? How much did the masses dig? How much did you build a road yourself? How much did the masses build?

Comrades, when you go to the local level to work, please remember that we are a workers' union. We believe in distribution according to work; those who do not work shall not eat. We want workers who will work with us, not those who are full of erudition and morality. If we were to categorize who is our friend and who is our enemy, then at this stage, almost anyone who does not work with us can be considered our enemy. Everyone must keep this in mind.

Furthermore, hard work can't be accomplished in a day or two. Xiaoming's question about how to conduct an investigation actually means he wants to achieve it all in one go, which is impossible. When we talk about integrating with the masses and educating them, everyone must understand that these people have been educated by the landlord class for thousands of years. Their ancestors have been educated by the landlord class for generations. We can't expect to awaken the masses in a day or two; we must be prepared for a long-term struggle. If we have to give it a deadline, I think it will take at least thirty years, one or two generations, for a complete change in their outlook..."

Just then, the bell rang outside and Zhang Yinghao's class was about to end. Staying in get out of class after class was the habit Zhang Yinghao hated the most.

Time flies by day by day, and after the training of this batch of students, the next batch of students will come. The lectures are still going on. Zhang Yinghao thinks that if he follows his training method,

Even if I train them here for my whole life, I still can't train them all. Fortunately, this is just a temporary crash course, or in other words, what I teach them is all theory. As for the integration of theory and practice, that requires their own continuous efforts in work.

After training a group of students, Zhang Yinghao had a better understanding of these comrades and knew their level. When he gave lectures to the second group of students,

However, generally speaking, the second batch of comrades is better than the first batch.

Comrades are relatively speaking still a little behind, and the depth and breadth of their answers to questions are not as good as those of the first batch.

This also made Zhang Yinghao happy. After all, this showed that the organization department now had a better grasp of the abilities of the comrades in the base area and had a clearer understanding of their levels and conditions.

"Tomorrow's class has been moved to today. Today we will first discuss an article you all covered during military training, 'Born in Worry, Die in Comfort':

Therefore, when Heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on a man, it will first test his mind and will, exhaust his muscles and bones, starve his body, and deprive him of all poverty. It will also make his plans go against his will. These are to stimulate his heart and harden his nature, and increase his ability to do what he could not do before.

People always make mistakes, and then they can correct them; they are trapped in their hearts, weighed in their thoughts, and then they act; they are expressed in their faces,

It starts with sound, and then it becomes metaphor. If you enter, you will not be able to fight against the pigs, and 8 will die.

This classical Chinese text was required of all comrades at the time. We gave it to all of them. Did you memorize it? We also gave the comrades a direct translation of the text into vernacular Chinese.

I don’t know if you comrades have seen it.

Is there a problem with the translation? No, not at all. Just like the translation of "The Art of War," some people read it and understand it, while others can lead troops in battle. The only person who can do this is Zhao Kuo. Do you know Zhao Kuo? He's just someone who only knows how to talk about war on paper.

People who learn from others will not be able to apply what they have learned.

I hope everyone understands the logic behind this. The first paragraph discusses two people: Shun, Fu Yue, and Jiao Ge. On a snowy day, a great flood returns to the sea, and Baili Xi is a merchant. Everyone should realize that none of them is bad. Whether it's Shun, Fu Yue, or Jiao Ge, what are they talking about? "One person?"

"Workers."

"Yes, they are all workers. They are among the working people. If given a chance, many people will change their fate. We are all workers. We have already become famous. As for how much success we will have in the future, it all depends on our own efforts."

The opportunity is already in the hands of our comrades.

Is there a problem with the first paragraph's explanation? If not, let's move on to the second paragraph. The second paragraph states, "Therefore, when Heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on a man, it will first test his mind and will, exhaust his muscles and bones, starve his body, and deprive him of all poverty. It will also cause his actions to be frustrated. This is to stimulate his heart and harden his nature, and thus increase his ability to accomplish what he was not capable of."

Many people know what it means just by looking at the translation, but in fact, countless people have died because of this paragraph. On the surface, it means that when God wants to give a person a heavy responsibility, he must first make his heart distressed, make his muscles and bones tired, make him starve, make him suffer from poverty, and make his actions confused and disordered, in order to shake his heart, make his character tough, and increase his abilities and talents that he originally did not have.

Is the translation correct? Why do they say so many people died here? It says something about toiling, starving, and suffering from poverty. That's sick, asking for trouble. I don't think anyone would do that, right?

When everyone heard what Zhang Yinghao said, they immediately laughed out loud. But after thinking about it carefully, it was indeed true. Who the hell would be willing to endure hardship?

"We are all in this revolution to build a prosperous and strong nation. In the future, there will be no truly poor people. So where will he go to endure hunger and poverty? Should he refuse to eat food on the table to train his ability to endure hunger? Or should he deliberately seek out a remote place to suffer poverty? Tell me, what is this if not a sickness?"

Chapter 138:

Hearing Zhang Yinghao's witty remarks, the classroom erupted in laughter. Indeed, during military training, the teacher briefly discussed translation. Now that I think about it, I do think there was a problem with my understanding back then.

Zhang Yinghao waved his hand and said, "We are all working people from poor families. Our families are poor enough, right? We have suffered enough, right? Why are we still penniless? So there is a huge problem here that has not been raised. Or rather, there is a problem here that countless people cannot understand. So what is this problem?

Let's look back at the original text: "One must first make their hearts and minds suffer, their muscles and bones toil, their bodies hungry and empty, their actions frustrated. This is how they can stir their hearts and harden their natures, and thus increase their abilities." We previously said that people like Shun and Fu Yue were laborers. Was this article actually written for laborers? No, it was written for scholars.

Can scholars understand working people? They simply don't. Work is so hard, yet the old scholars are lazy, ignorant of the five grains; they only know how to talk. The Qin Dynasty emphasized farming and warfare, so what use did Confucianism have for its rule? Instead, it corrupted social morals. So, does Qin Shihuang's burning of books and burying of scholars need explanation? Anyone who still regards "hardening their minds and starving their bodies" as a golden rule is ill-informed. So, comrades, if you think this article is ill-informed, you're right. If you think it's not ill-informed, then there's something wrong with you.

However, this article is about workers, so we can learn something from it, and we can't dissociate ourselves from the perspective of the workers. To toil means to do everything in our power to complete the work. To toil means to be fearless and personally practice. To starve means to work tirelessly, forgetting to eat or sleep, rather than deliberately starving oneself. To be destitute means to never be satisfied during the labor process, recognizing one's own deficiencies. To be unrestrained means to have a materialistic view of time, to work calmly and methodically, to recognize the importance of the process, to complete one's work according to scientific principles, and to know what one can and cannot do, avoiding reckless behavior.

Only in this way can one achieve perseverance and aspiration, and enhance what one cannot yet achieve. This means that only by doing so can one calmly integrate knowledge, wisdom, and ability, achieving what ordinary people cannot. In fact, you've probably all seen some of our technicians at work, or perhaps we ourselves often forget to eat while working. In the midst of intense work, when you look up, it's almost dark. Have you ever felt this way? This is what it means to forget to eat and sleep.

Many of us nowadays, when faced with a problem, scratch our heads and search for solutions, or hold endless meetings with colleagues day and night to figure things out. Have you ever encountered this before? Comrades, when you were working at home, you rarely encountered this, right? This is what it means to be determined and exhaustive, to try every possible means to solve a problem. When you feel you lack knowledge, you desperately strive to learn, to fill yourself with knowledge. This is a sign of a feeling of emptiness and dissatisfaction with your current state, which means you need to improve.

So, if someone experiences a lot of hardship, endures a lot of suffering, and is very hardworking, can they change their fate? Hardly! Therefore, the idea that hardship cannot lead to glory is a false proposition. Someone says you can endure hardship. Is that a compliment or a negative? It's definitely not a compliment. Ability is when you can endure hardship and work hard to improve your living conditions.

When I was teaching this class before, some people asked me why I read people like fortune-telling.

This is how I judge people. Comrades, you know we're currently short-staffed throughout our base area, and everyone needs to cultivate successors to their positions. So who are the right people? Those who work tirelessly, forgetting food and sleep, those who find ways to overcome difficulties. These are the people worth cultivating.

I've said before that seriousness is paramount in everything, and we in the Progressive Party value it above all else. Why? Because when someone works diligently on something, they recognize their shortcomings, diligently learn, and improve daily. Only then can they achieve the greatest progress, be motivated and patient, understand the importance of discipline, and act in accordance with scientific principles.

So, when you look at those who take shortcuts and those who are a little clever, you realize they can't accomplish anything great. Why are diligence and courage considered virtues, but intelligence isn't? So after listening to this class, you can also have your relatives and friends' fortunes read to see how much they've accomplished.

We say you can tell a person's future by looking at him or her at the age of three, and their old age by looking at him or her at the age of seven. Comrades, you may have had this experience before: knowing someone for three, five, ten, eight, or even twenty or thirty years, and then seeing them for the first time, you feel like they haven't changed at all; they're still the same person you knew before. Think about it, how terrifying it is! How could someone remain unchanged for such a long time? In other words, how could they never make any progress? Can't you tell someone's fortune? Isn't that a joke?

I can say that the fate of everyone here has changed. We have a saying: "After three days of separation, a scholar should be looked at with new eyes." It means that a person is learning and improving every day. After a few days, you have become someone that others are unfamiliar with. Your body may still be the same, but your inner self has changed.

Why do we, the Progressive Party, adhere to dialectical materialism and historical materialism? It's because this way of thinking is, to date, the most correct. Some comrades have previously asked whether materialism is atheism. Let's find someone who can clarify this question. One of the purposes of this training is to clarify this question.

Ganmin? Handline Tu County

So, is there a netherworld, a hell? I think some of you might say yes, some might say no, and some might say you don't know.

If you are an atheist, you will say that there is no such thing. If you believe in God, you will say that there is such a thing. But we materialists only believe in facts. What is the fact? You say there is a God, then please ask a God to come out and show His power.