The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

"Chairman, you have great foresight. This is excellent. The salt in these salt wells is crucial to the daily lives of countless people. If production were to cease, countless more people would suffer. To prevent sabotage by the reactionaries, we still need the cooperation of the people here!"

"Haha, the division commander has hit the nail on the head. Although our army is relatively new, many of our comrades are veterans. I think the key is to mobilize the masses here. Relying on just our few people, even if we split them up, wouldn't be enough!"

"That's right! Without the cooperation of the local people and our former comrades, we wouldn't have been able to take over these salt wells so easily. Now I truly feel the insignificance of our power. Only when the people give us help and stand on our side can we achieve twice the result with half the effort!"

"The Chairman once said: 'When fortune arrives, heaven and earth unite in strength; when fortune departs, heroes are helpless.' As long as we wholeheartedly serve the poor people like us, they will stand with us. And now there are so many poor people. Isn't this the greatest trend in the world right now?"

"That's true, but if we want so many people to have access to affordable salt, we still don't have enough supply and marketing cooperatives! Do you think we can find a way to increase the number of supply and marketing cooperatives?"

"You must have a solution to the problem you raised. Could you please tell me about it?"

"Then let me share my thoughts. In the past, we always used our own comrades to run supply and marketing cooperatives, which was undoubtedly a good approach. This was especially true when we employed a large number of disabled soldiers. I fully support this approach. However, now that the territory of Zhao 1 has expanded dramatically, this approach is no longer appropriate. Not to mention that some comrades are reluctant to open a supply and marketing cooperative far from home, in order to maintain good relations with local comrades, we should also share some opportunities with local comrades and the masses."

"What specific method is it?"

"It's a cooperative approach. For example, if we divide up the Luzhou City we conquered not long ago, we need at least a dozen small supply and marketing cooperatives, and a few large ones. The material distribution center should also be expanded on the existing basis. The Chairman has mentioned the concept of wholesale markets before. I think the important thing is to

Establishing a wholesale market can solve the problem of centralized transportation."

"That's true. What's holding us back right now are road and transportation issues! These can't be solved overnight."

"We always have to plan ahead."

"If this supply and marketing cooperative is not established quickly, I'm worried that we won't be able to sell our salt, and the people won't know where to buy it."

"That's right. And for many of our jobs, we don't pay with silver or copper coins, but with salt and grain. The Chairman said that salt and grain are now the hard currency of our base."

"Okay, okay, let's continue talking about the supply and marketing cooperative." "Well, what I mean is that we can cooperate with some stores and let them sell salt. We can sign a contract with them and set the price of salt.

"Everyone knows that our base has adopted new technologies, and the salt production has increased significantly. As long as the salt here also uses new technologies, how can the price of salt be high?"

"I think we still need to rely on the channels established by these salt merchants. If we can control these channels, it will have an immediate effect on the sales of salt."

"No, what if these people still raise the price recklessly?"

"I think it doesn't matter at all. As long as our supply and marketing cooperatives are there to disrupt the situation, high salt prices can definitely be curbed. As for places where our supply and marketing cooperatives haven't reached, we don't need to worry about whether they are consuming high-priced or low-priced salt. What matters is that they have salt to eat. In the future, when our supply and marketing cooperatives open there, won't the people there be able to consume our salt?"

"this.....…""

"The Chairman said we should do everything within our capabilities. If we don't use those channels, many people will not be able to eat salt. There is no choice at all: to eat expensive salt or to eat no salt. More importantly, the high prices these salt sellers sell will only serve as an excuse to deal with these unscrupulous merchants in the future!"

"Well, this matter is controversial, so let's put it to a vote. It's better to do it than to argue here. You won't know whether it's a good idea until you do it."

"can."

"I agree too."

"Since it's been approved, Comrade Liu, since it was you who proposed the solution, you should be the one to work on this plan. Once it's complete, execute it."

"Yes."

"Report." "Come in."

"Commander, I've got the IOUs from those people."

"Oh, haha, come, come, comrades. These salt merchants are really good at making money. They made 1.5 million taels for a simple dinner. I think this money is just a drop in the bucket for them!"

"Did you really get it?"

"With the IOU here, are you still worried they'll default on their payments? How's our investigation going? Are there any heinous criminals among them?"

"Commander, even people like this wouldn't dare show up at the dinner table. Are they hiding somewhere, waiting for us to leave? This way, they can continue to bully others."

"You've put it so vividly. We took their money, but they'll immediately take it back from the people tenfold or a hundredfold. If we just raise the price of salt a little bit, they'll be able to make it back immediately. But who knows how many more people will be left without salt."

"Haha, what a pity! We will never give these people the chance to exploit us again. Let's first arrest those bullies and evil gentry we have investigated, and then we can follow the clues and clean up Fushun."

"I think we should hold public trials. Those guilty of serious crimes should be paraded through the streets. We should also hold public meetings. Our policies must be publicized as soon as possible. Otherwise, if some unreasonable people take advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble, we'll be in big trouble."

"These must be done, and we'll start tomorrow. But if we're talking about inciting the masses to riot, I think the main responsibility lies with the salt workers. Right now, their biggest fear is losing their jobs. We must immediately mobilize our comrades to do a good job of propaganda and explain things clearly to these salt workers."

"We still need to complete the organization of the union. Previously, our comrades were underground, and the union was incomplete. As long as the union is fully established, it will be less easy for the workers to be incited."

"The trade union is important, but I think what's even more important is our party organization. We must establish and improve the party organization in Fushun as soon as possible. The key is to always ensure the leadership of the party."

"Well, the Party organization should start developing among the salt workers first. The salt workers here have suffered the most persecution and exploitation, and we have brought with us many Party members and cadres who were born into the salt working class. They know best how to do things. But now, I think we should go get this money first. It's really not easy to upgrade the factory without some start-up capital."

"Haha, I still don't know what a million taels of silver piled together looks like. Let's go and open our eyes together this time."

"I think we can just find two people to take charge. I also need to talk to those victims persecuted by the salt merchants and review the prisoners who have been in prison for these years. This job is not easy at all. None of you can escape it. You must come and help."

"I knew you, Wu Yanwang, were up to no good. I've always felt that the people in your Anti-Counterrevolutionary Committee are very sinister. However, the files and documents in the government office are also a big deal. These things must be sorted out as soon as possible."

Chapter 168:

After discussing and arranging the work for the comrades, everyone got busy. Ouyang Jun looked up at the sky and said with emotion: "Ah, another sleepless night."

Zhang Yinghao didn't yet know that the Ouyang army had already captured Luzhou and Fushun. He had only received news that Zhang Feng had taken over Chongqing and dispatched troops to sweep across southern Sichuan. However, Zhang Yinghao was one of the architects of the early battle plan, so he could roughly guess what the situation looked like and, barring any unexpected events, where the troops were headed.

Zhang Yinghao is now considering implementing a province-wide new policy. Nationalizing land and distributing farmland are the most basic policies. Comrades can just follow the situation in the previous base areas. But beyond that, there are countless things to do.

First, there's the issue of the lijin tax, a legacy of the Qing Dynasty. In the feudal era, the saying "I own the land, I plant the trees" was a common practice everywhere, requiring payment of a bribe to pass through. They created a prison, imposing fines on anyone who crossed their territory. If someone disliked you, you'd be killed. In many places, ordinary citizens had to pay an entrance fee to enter the city. Remember, ordinary citizens consume goods, generating significant revenue for the city. Zhang Yinghao simply couldn't understand why they wanted to reduce the flow of ordinary citizens into the city.

Salt, cloth, and other daily necessities were so expensive for several reasons: first, the excessive lijin tax; second, the high tolls along the way; and third, the fact that merchants, to protect their own lives, had to support merchant militias—the merchant corps—which increased their costs. Take salt, for example. The actual cost per jin was only a few wen, but with Qing taxes, lijin fees, protection fees, and sunk costs, the price per jin was only a few dozen wen. Without a profit margin of ten or twenty times, the profit per jin would have been a loss.

To bolster economic activity, the lijin issue had to be resolved. Following an investigation, Zhang Yinghao immediately issued a decree abolishing all lijin taxes. All goods would only be taxed at the production and sales stages. Consequently, wherever the revolutionary army marched, lijin checkpoints were abolished.

Many people were unemployed. Zhang Ying and Zhang Hao remembered that Li Zicheng was initially a postal worker. Emperor Chongzhen, in an effort to save money, laid off staff, leaving him unemployed and ultimately joining the rebellion. Zhang Yinghao also had to make arrangements for the unemployed. Those who passed the review and assessment could then receive training and work in tax offices and other institutions. Those who failed the assessment were then given land and forced to become farmers or work in other fields.

In fact, Zhang Yinghao, a future generation, was deeply concerned that these people might misbehave in their new positions. However, Zhang Yinghao himself simply didn't have that many professionals. Simply establishing a credit union would require a large number of people who knew arithmetic, but mathematical knowledge was scarce in that era, and this knowledge was almost monopolized. Even multiplication tables and division were complex subjects, impossible to master without years of apprenticeship. Therefore, Zhang Yinghao had to recruit these people, otherwise much of his work would have come to a halt.

The lijin system was one of the Qing Dynasty's most malpractices. Where the Qianjin Party abolished it, prices immediately fell. Next, Zhang Yinghao announced a unified purchase and sale policy for grain, fixing the prices of grain and salt. This was Zhang Yinghao's trump card. He knew that where his power lay beyond his reach, prices would remain high. However, in places where his own government departments were established, the household registration system would be improved immediately.

Those who completed their household registration were also eligible to receive a grain and salt certificate, which allowed them to purchase a certain amount of grain and salt based on the number of people on their household registration. Large or multiple purchases were strictly prohibited. Zhang Yinghao knew that if he relaxed the purchase quota, even with the most thorough preparations, demand would still outstrip supply, ultimately leading to his downfall. Therefore, he had to limit supply.

Zhang Yinghao also knew that this approach was full of loopholes, but that was the reality. Even the best ideas needed people to implement them, and even the best systems needed people to maintain them. The only way to prevent loopholes from being exploited was to ensure transparency. As long as everyone had the right to know and everyone could supervise, no one could escape the scrutiny of the people. But the current situation is that transparency is not possible, and information transmission is slow. Even after the widespread use of mobile phones, there were still sky-high fines for selling a few kilograms of celery! There were still many people who abused their power to do whatever they wanted!

The third issue, of course, is education. Zhang Yinghao never forgets the current shortage of modern scientific and technological talent in China. Even those who can recognize a complete set of characters are considered talented in Zhang Yinghao's eyes. Being able to read allows one to accomplish many things.

Zhang Yinghao's first document on education was that the first order of business after the establishment of local government departments was to immediately establish a school. Not to mention a primary school per village committee, but at least one per town, and a middle school per city. This was a top priority, something that must be done well. Zhang Yinghao believed that once the school was built, teachers would undoubtedly be available.

Zhang Yinghao wasn't about to wait for teachers to come to him. After gaining a foothold in Chengdu, he quickly began recruiting literate individuals and rehabilitating those young Manchu men and women, especially women. These literate individuals had a basic cultural foundation and, after simple training, were ready to become teachers. However, Zhang Yinghao already had candidates for principals of these schools: disabled veterans who had received a brief training program. These soldiers were Zhang Yinghao's most trusted figures, and the Forward Party should also be responsible for their future well-being.

That's how things work: one thing leads to a whole series of other things. With the abolition of the likin tax, several bureaus had to be established: the Agricultural Bureau, the Industrial and Commercial Tax Bureau, and so on. While some of these comrades could be transferred from Guang'an, many still needed to be recruited from the public. Many of those recruited were children of wealthy families, and they needed to undergo training and transformation before they could take on the posts. Training, training, this was a topic that wouldn't stop for years.

Despite a severe shortage of manpower and resources, Zhang Yinghao still mobilized personnel to establish the Mining Bureau, the Water Conservancy Bureau, the Land and Resources Bureau... He initially established the framework for these bureaus. As for future implementation and whether they could fully function, it was up to the leaders within these bureaus to exercise their own initiative. Zhang Yinghao wrote down on paper the departments he could think of, and after establishing his proposed bureaus, he instantly felt that although small, they were fully functional. With these things completed, Zhang Yinghao prepared to devote himself to teaching.

Zhang Yinghao now fully understands a truth. In his previous life, he read countless time-travel novels, even some set in the Qing Dynasty. The protagonists in those novels could travel back and forth between the present and the past, or possessed so-called data machines or a base. Zhang Yinghao's initial thoughts were similar to those of these protagonists, but after working for a year, he realized that fantasy was only fantasy, not reality.

As a member of the time travel group, Zhang Yinghao's initial idea was to use his advanced knowledge to come up with a lot of black technology. But in fact, he later killed Ying and the United States, and reached the pinnacle of life, and was admired by the world. But in fact, he later killed Ying and the United States, and reached the pinnacle of life, and was admired by the world.

In fact, this is totally unworkable. At any time, it is always people who control the machines and equipment. As long as the people are unqualified, no matter how good the machines and equipment are, they will not work.

Without organizational development and a talent development system, relying solely on the power of cutting-edge technology is bound to fail. Personal strength is reflected in three aspects: physical condition, attitude, and tools. Individuals with good health have an advantage over those with poor health, those with a positive attitude have an advantage over those with a negative attitude, and those with superior tools have an advantage over those without or with inferior tools.

For example, if two people duel, generally speaking, the one with good health has a greater chance of winning, the one with a positive attitude has a greater chance of winning, and the one with good hands has a greater chance of winning.

The man with a gun has a better chance of winning than the man with a stick.

The strength of a family is reflected in harmonious family relationships, family members working together for the family, and a complete home with all necessary electrical appliances and other equipment.

A nation's strength is reflected in its organization, ideology (goals), and tools. While the organization itself is essential, a large, well-disciplined organization naturally demonstrates greater power. However, any organization will inevitably spread outward, and to prevent a loss of combat effectiveness, it must be unified by ideology (goals). Only with a high degree of unity in ideology (goals) can an organization achieve unprecedented strength. Even with the first two elements, without good tools, there's no way to defeat the enemy. Therefore, mastering the machine is essential.

For a country, these three things are actually indispensable. Any time traveler who wants to build an unprecedentedly powerful country, organizational construction, ideological construction, and industrialization construction, if any one of these three is missing, the country will be lame and not truly strong. No matter how these three are built, it is actually a human problem.

For example, the Kuomintang and its army were very powerful organizations. When the Anti-Japanese War was won, there were hundreds of thousands of party members and a so-called 8 million-strong army. Unfortunately, their ideological and political education was poor, and their industrial development was also poor, and they were eventually driven to Taiwan.

The former Soviet Union was the worst offender in terms of ideological development. While Marx, Lenin, and Stalin were all closely connected, Khrushchev subsequently launched a full-scale opposition to Stalin, even issuing a secret report. The result was the overthrow of the mythical Stalin, and ultimately, a complete breakdown of the Soviet Union's ideological development. Consider that in 1989, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union boasted 1948.9 million members, a flawless organizational structure, and the world's second-largest industrial power. Yet, it still collapsed.

So, industry is essentially just a tool. Once problems arise with organization and ideology (goals), no matter how good the tool is, it's useless. Only when the first two are good can the tool be effective. Taizu once said: "If the line is wrong, the more knowledge you have, the more reactionary you become." This is exactly the truth.

Zhang Yinghao now fully understood that the key to everything was still the people, so he planned to return to training. He knew that even if he leveraged his foresight to develop industry and build a strong military, the end result would likely be the same as the former Soviet Union, India, or Mexico. This was not Zhang Yinghao's original goal.

Zhang Yinghao had previously covered a lot of ground during the Guang'an training, but he had also grown considerably over the past year. Therefore, he was able to cover more content. He also planned to selectively address topics within Marxism.

Just as Zhang Yinghao began preparing for a new training session, Fushun was struck by the greatest storm in millennia. As many salt workers rose to work in the salt wells, they learned that all the productive wells had been seized by a revolutionary army. Everyone began to cry out in despair, some hysterical, some gloating, and some bewildered.

People couldn't understand why someone who was so friendly yesterday had become a complete stranger today. The child who had been so cheerful and affectionate yesterday, calling out "uncle" and "auntie," was now fully armed and acting like a stranger. If it weren't for the same voice, they would have been almost unrecognizable.

However, such a large-scale operation to seize salt wells occurred. Although many salt wells had their own comrades in charge of the situation, there were still many salt wells that were not taken care of. Therefore, many salt workers who did not know the truth were instigated by the hysterical remaining salt merchants and supervisors to try to attack the salt wells.

However, those who dared to incite the salt workers at this time were few and far between. In fact, many of the participating salt merchants and supervisors were confused about what Ouyang Jun and his men were up to, but instinctively they still wanted to retake the salt wells immediately. Most of those who wanted to retake the salt wells were not the true owners of the salt wells, but rather supervisors or those who were completely incited by inexplicable emotions.

Chapter 169: Thanks for the tip and more chapters!

The entire Fushun area felt revived, a sense of unrest and turmoil. These salt wells affected the livelihoods of countless people, and countless people were confused, unsure of what would happen next. Fortunately, however, preparations had been made. All salt workers at the salt wells controlled by the revolutionary army were prohibited from leaving the area today, and production continued.

The salt workers who participated in the attack on the salt wells were eventually persuaded to return under the threat of force from the revolutionary army and the efforts of relevant staff. When no one knew what was going to happen, everyone was patiently waiting for the time of the final outbreak, and everyone was waiting for an answer.

Many remaining salt merchants and supervisors have now organized themselves and are secretly organizing a strike, especially the well-informed supervisors. Many of them already know that many salt merchants and supervisors have been arrested. These supervisors are well aware that the revolutionary army's target is the salt wells. The most important people in the salt wells are the salt workers who are familiar with the environment.

They believed that as long as they controlled the salt workers, they would have negotiating power. Otherwise, they would likely be fired. After all, a new emperor changed his officials, and the job of overseer was lucrative. They weren't the only ones eyeing it; many others wanted to take the position, but it was doomed to fail.

Suddenly, the Forward Party broke the news. Several salt merchants and supervisors had been arrested, and a public trial was planned for Caishikou. The people who passed on the news were all pre-arranged "insiders." So, once again, people flocked to Caishikou to watch the excitement unfold.

Ouyang Jun held a public trial to expose all the ugly faces of the salt merchants and supervisors to the public, to lay a solid mass foundation for the subsequent salt industry reform and land reform, and to establish the authority of the Forward Party and the Revolutionary Army in Fushun at one time.

When the crowd arrived at Caishikou, they saw a platform. Behind it was a strange flag shaped like a bow and arrow, suspended from a wooden structure. Many people already knew what the flag meant. Beneath the Party flag was a banner that read: "Public Trial of Fushun's Corrupt Merchants, Landlords, Bullies, and Evil Gentry."

By the time Caishikou was packed with people, it was only around eight or nine in the morning. The base had ample experience and experience with public trials, but this one was organized in a hurry, so armed soldiers were stationed everywhere to prevent any unexpected incidents.

Many salt merchants, gentry, and landlords were now being dragged to a small building across from Caishikou to watch the public trial. Those present were all innocent of any wrongdoing, and many had even donated money to support education and build bridges and roads. The reason these people hadn't been arrested and sent to labor reform was actually the result of a meeting between Ouyang Jun and his group. After all, having too many enemies was always a problem.

The result of Ouyang Jun and his team's discussion was that if some of these people really had no evil deeds, and the base really needed to buy horse bones at a high price, these people could not be pushed into the enemy camp all at once, and some people still had conditions to cooperate.

After a while, the host on the temporary platform at Caishikou began to speak: "Dear fellow villagers, today we are holding a public trial.

The purpose of the congress is to bring those bad guys who have committed crimes to public trial and give everyone justice. Fellow villagers, some of us may not know us yet. We are the team of progressive party members, the team that protects our people, and the soldiers of our poor people. We are here to support our people.

Team formed.

Most of you fellow villagers are locals from Fushun, and some have come from other places seeking a living. You will join us in publicly trying these ruthless villains. This time, we will make them feel the pain of being a villain. Our Progressive Party and the revolutionary army it leads are determined to restore order to Fushun. Bring up the first person we will try.

At this time, two revolutionary soldiers brought a man with disheveled hair and a tall hat onto the platform. This man had a face full of flesh and was very tough. Although his hands were tied behind his back and his feet were chained, he stood straight.

The moment this person turned around, many people in the audience actually gasped, and someone exclaimed: "Bully Qiao Tianxi." After shouting, this person actually covered his mouth instantly. Obviously, if this shout had been made under normal circumstances, it would have brought him disaster.

At this moment, the escorting soldier suddenly kicked Qiao Tianxi's knee and shouted, "Kneel down."

Qiao Tianxi had his mouth tied up. He groaned and knelt on the ground, struggling for a few times. He didn't stand up, but his back was still straight.

The host continued, "Today, we are holding a public trial here to try these evildoers who have bullied us for years. Needless to say, everyone knows exactly what they've done! Today, the villagers have taken the initiative to expose Qiao Tianxi's evil deeds. We will decide Qiao Tianxi's charges based on their revelations." File shared via Baidu Netdisk: "Historical Military Aid…"

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The crowd erupted in excitement upon hearing the host's words. While many knew some individuals had been arrested, this was the first time they had seen the real people. Furthermore, Qiao Tianxi was no ordinary person; he represented a large group of individuals who controlled the salt monopoly in Fushun. If they were to point out the issue, they might not even know who they had offended or how they had died. The audience looked at each other in bewilderment, no one daring to speak.

In fact, the people in the base were not surprised by this phenomenon. Faced with this dull situation, Ouyang Jun was not anxious, and neither was the host. After all, some things still needed to be said. If they were not said clearly, the doubts in people's hearts would not disappear.

"Fellow villagers, don't be afraid that these bad guys will retaliate against you in the future. Qiao Tianxi has been defeated, and he will never be able to stand up again. Now that our Forward Party and the Revolutionary Army have come to Fushun, our team will not leave. There will always be a team here to protect you."

This is when all the preparation comes in handy. After all, unless there's a genuine hatred, many people will minimize the severity of the situation, and the struggle sessions will likely fail to achieve their purpose. Only those who have been persecuted would be willing to eat their flesh, drink their blood, and sleep on their skin. Only these victims would be brave enough to stand up and expose the crimes of these evildoers. Normally, these victims are weak and unable to retaliate. Now, even if they perish together, as long as they can avenge their nemesis, even death is worth it.

So the victim who had been in the conversation earlier shouted to the crowd: "We want to expose Qiao Tianxi, we want to expose him."

The crowd erupted in a commotion. Although many people were afraid to expose Qiao Tianxi's crimes, they still hoped someone would. Hearing someone else expose Qiao Tianxi's crimes, they were instantly excited. After all, everyone knew that the first person to speak out would bear all the brunt of the criticism, while the second person would receive less attention. Later, when everyone knew that the person was about to sink, no one would mind giving him a second kick.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw four or five people, a mix of men and women, young and old. The crowd automatically parted, and these people entered the center of the field. Someone in the crowd recognized these people and said, "They are from the Niu family."

These people had been spoken to by relevant personnel before, and they were also the ones who had suffered greatly from Qiao Tianxi. They had been under the protection of the soldiers before, but now when they arrived at the scene, one of the middle-aged women saw Qiao Tianxi and screamed. She climbed up the platform with her hands and feet, rushed to Qiao Tianxi, and with one hand she grabbed Qiao Tianxi's neck and slapped him with the other hand, crying and cursing: "Qiao Tianxi, you bastard, you have to suffer this day? God is merciful, you have ended up in such a situation! It's retribution! Haha!!"

At this time, two female comrades came up and forcibly pulled the woman away. The woman still refused to give up and turned around and shouted: "Come and beat this bastard. Today I will avenge your father and your brother."

In fact, she didn't need to shout, an old lady had already climbed up and was punching and kicking Qiao Tianxi. The soldiers didn't dare to pull these elderly people apart, so they could only separate them from each other. But now the onlookers were also excited, and they shouted: "Well done, beat Qiao Pa Pi to death!"

Seeing that the situation was getting heated, the host quickly shouted, "Stop fighting now. Clearly explain your grievances. If Qiao Tianxi is truly guilty of a heinous crime, he will not escape death."

At this moment, Qiao Tianxi struggled hard. He finally understood that these people were really going to kill him, and that his backers were no longer reliable. However, Qiao Tianxi's struggle was in vain. His hands were tied and his mouth was sealed, making it impossible for him to speak.

In reality, gagging people was a necessary measure. Many public trials in the base area had not been conducted without gagging, leading to numerous incidents. Furthermore, if Qiao Tianxi had shouted, "Are you rebelling?" Brothers might have remembered these people and retaliated, which would have been a major problem. Therefore, the charges against those on public trial had already been investigated, and their crimes were punishable by death. The gagging was simply to avoid unnecessary trouble.

After hearing the host's words, the others gradually stopped crying. The old woman and the middle-aged woman continued to cry. Then a young man who looked to be about thirty years old stepped forward and said, "Let me tell you."

As he spoke, he took two steps forward and said loudly to the crowd: "My fellow villagers, many people here recognize me. My brother is Niu Dazhuang, I am Niu Erzhuang, this is my sister-in-law, and my parents and nephews and nieces. We came here when Sichuan Salt was introduced to Chu, and have lived in Fushun for decades. Many people here have relied on our food for generations.

We make a living by working in the salt wells. Not only do we have to work from morning till night every day, but we can't take leave even if there is something going on at home. Not only do we not get paid for taking leave, but we also have our wages deducted.