The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

Zhang Yinghao also knew that these comrades were inexperienced and felt constrained in their work. He did not criticize them, but he did not intend to stop there. However, some things had to be discussed at the meeting; it would be meaningless if a few people spoke here.

A meeting was held that evening, and many comrades returned exhausted. After Zhang Yinghao called the names of the heads of various departments one by one, he realized that the comrades here had indeed done their best, at least the relevant units had been established. Among those who came were the police chief, the head of the judiciary and the president of the procuratorate—the top leaders of the public security, procuratorial, and judicial systems—government officials, comrades from the Revolutionary Committee, and so on. The large conference room was packed.

With all these people in place at the county level, Zhang Yinghao felt that with a little effort, winning over the local people within six months to a year shouldn't be a problem. As long as the local people knew that these people were on their side and protecting their interests, they would naturally align themselves with the local government.

Zhang Yinghao glanced around and said, "Comrades, I am Zhang Yinghao, Chairman of the Progressive Party. Some of you may not know me, or have never met me. That doesn't matter. We have a common identity, that is, the Progressive Party. All of us here are members of the Progressive Party. Many comrades may be wondering why I have to emphasize this issue at the beginning.

That is, we, the Progressive Party, are a party dedicated to a better life for our poor people. This country is the people's country, and our Party members are the best members of the masses. In the future, we will govern the entire country. Currently, we govern Sichuan and Chongqing, while you are the ones who govern Batang County. Whether you are doing a good job or not, you know it, and so do the people of Batang.

We are a revolutionary party. I often say that who are our friends and who are our enemies? This is the primary question of revolution. If you forget this question, then you are completely lost. Who are they? You are in Batang County, so who are the enemies of the revolution in Batang County?

Tusi, landlords, monks, clans, foreigners. Now we can't leave these people out of the conversation, right? We are promoting land reform, in fact,

In order to solve the problem of chieftains, monks, land lords and the disintegration of the Shi clan. However, the situation was complicated at the forefront of the struggle, so the land reform work was not done thoroughly.

Because many of our enemies escaped.

I've said before, what's the purpose of a meeting? The purpose of a meeting isn't to raise questions, but to solve them. If we don't solve them, then the meeting is pointless. Where do the solutions come from? Why do we hold a meeting? We discover the problem. The solution to the problem comes from us. If we raise a problem, we won't be allowed to eat or sleep, and the meeting won't end until we have a solution.

Until the solution.

We talk about democratic centralism. What is democracy? It means that when faced with a problem, everyone shares their knowledge, conducts research, and then everyone pools their wisdom to come up with one or more solutions. Then everyone votes to decide which solution to use. During the problem-solving process, everyone can think of new solutions or adjust plans. This process can be repeated repeatedly, and any problem can be solved.

All of us here are new, and we have no experience managing a company. Why are you holding back on any questions? From now on, we should hold this meeting more often, and everyone can bring up their questions and brainstorm ideas.

Your problem is solved. From now on, we should form a tradition and a slogan within the Forward Party. I think it should be: Hold a Party meeting when something is unclear.

The purpose of gathering everyone here this time is to unify our thinking. Our Progressive Party is a whole, and the Party meeting is the highest form of exercising our rights. We are the masters of this country, and every decision of our Party concerns the interests of millions of people.

No one is allowed to act arbitrarily. Major issues in Batang County must be approved by two-thirds of the party representatives and no less than two-thirds of the party members before they can take effect. I want to emphasize here that no one is allowed to undermine our democratic centralism, and the Party Central Committee will never let anyone who violates discipline go unpunished.

We, the members of the Forward Party, must adhere to the principles of subordinates obeying superiors, localities obeying the central government, individuals obeying the organization, and the minority obeying the majority. Some people ask, "What if the superior is unreasonable?" Or, "What if the truth is in the hands of a minority?" What I want to say is that while there may be such people within our ranks, if we encounter a situation where the truth is in the hands of a minority, I believe our comrades are not fools who would refuse to correct their mistakes even if they know they are wrong. As for encountering unreasonable superiors, you can apply for arbitration, and they will certainly give you a response.

Zhang Yinghao began his speech by emphasizing that discipline is not aimless. He emphasized that principles should prevail in major matters, while interests should prevail in minor ones. In Zhang Yinghao's view, the best option is to first make one's stance clear and uphold principles. Only when Party discipline is strictly enforced can it be the most effective way to protect oneself and one's comrades.

"Okay, now that we've discussed discipline, let's get down to business. Chinese New Year is coming soon, so let's get these things done before it's over. The temples in Batang have a long history, and many local people have been controlled by them. Now, foreign missionaries have arrived and built foreign churches. These churches are incompatible with the local temples."

But when we arrived, their conflicts were temporarily covered up. During the Qing Dynasty, w thought m6 did not dare to offend foreigners. The people said that the temple was

So if the first batch of 1 and the eyes will see this fact, I choose the drinking monk

These revolutionaries actually consider foreigners as their old friends, are they old friends?

No matter which church the foreigners belong to, they will be charged with illegal entry if they are sent out of Sichuan.

What are your opinions on this matter?"

"Make sure to complete the mission."

Zhang Yinghao saw that the police chief Yi Qida R had different opinions and said, "Okay, then those who agree can express their opinions, and those who disagree can express their opinions."

reason."

After saying that, Zhang Yinghao raised his hand and said, "Let's continue as usual." Seeing that no one did not raise their hands, Hao did not care and the process continued as usual.

Question. The Chinese New Year is coming soon, and we must provide warmth and support. If our comrades have the conditions, can we go to the homes of the people to offer them some warmth and support?

We all know that this is the front line of the march into Xizang. When we advance in the future, this will be our forward base. Its importance is self-evident.

So after the New Year, the first thing to do is to get the support of Ji Diyuan + Si and the Kangding applicants. It is necessary to get rid of the landlord class, Tusi, and these

The reactionary and exploitative nature of these temples must be exposed, and these people must be completely overthrown, leaving them no chance to turn things around.

The second is that our comrades, except for a few remaining staff, must

All went to the countryside to help the people till the soil, plant crops, and help the farmers with their farming.

I have said long ago that we must stand with the masses and work with them.

Only when we work together with the people will the people respect us.

Only when you are a close friend will you support us.

People are not our own.

Third, after I return, I will plan to repair the road from Chengdu to Batang.

Roads. If you want to be rich, you must first build roads. You must also organize a large number of people to build all the roads.

Repair the roads, ditches and ditches, dig some ponds, build some water conservancy projects,

Reservoir, improve our water conservancy facilities here. It can be said that a lot of work

Waiting for you to do it, how do the masses recognize us? It is through these works

The masses think we are people who get things done, not the old officials who

Can you recognize us?

If we do these tasks well, we will be busy for several years.

After returning home, everyone should make plans and do their work well.

Do you have any questions, family?"

"Chairman, how do we deal with those temple issues?"

Zhang Yinghao glanced at the comrade who asked the question, and then said: "The temple

Ah, first of all we have to treat the people and the monks in the temples separately.

Regarding religious beliefs, our Progressive Party advocates freedom of belief.

We will not stop you from burning incense and worshipping Buddha. You can ask our religious department about this.

Comrades from the Management Committee. We expose the nature of temple exploitation, but we

Don't touch on religious beliefs, understand?"

"Chairman, could you please give me some details?"

"Let me put it this way, belief is your own business, who do you want to believe in?

It doesn't matter which Buddha it is, Bodhisattva. But let me make one thing clear: our Progressive Party is materialist, and our faith is theism, idealism. Therefore, all religious personnel are prohibited from joining the Party.

Those people go to burn incense and worship Buddha, and give small money to the temple. This is the people's freedom. And we cannot organize to stop people from burning incense and worshiping Buddha.

Buddha, but this does not prevent us from exposing the fact that these temples are now big landlords and the exploiting class. These are two different things.

The crimes we expose are not personal, but rather class-based. We are targeting the issue, not the individual. Anyone who makes a living by exploiting the land is our enemy, regardless of whether they are monks, Taoist priests, princes, or even the Qing emperor. It has nothing to do with their beliefs.

Don't worry, in fact, many of the predecessors of monks were members of the working class. Their countless scriptures also persuade monks to be self-reliant workers, rather than being lazy monks. Comrades who are interested can go and read Buddhist scriptures. I will not say more here. Everyone can criticize with confidence. The monks at the bottom are not having an easy time. Pay attention to disintegrating them from within. If that temple dares to resist with arms, we will directly suppress it with arms and show no mercy. Taking advantage of this meeting, it is rare for us to get together. Let's talk about our respective encounters.

Please give me some advice. Come one by one. If you don't have any questions, please introduce your work content.

"Chairman, when I was in the countryside a while ago, I saw a place that is particularly suitable for building a reservoir. If it is built, it can add at least several hundred acres of irrigated land. However, we don't have cement here, so we can't start the construction. I wonder if you can provide any help?"

"You're asking the wrong person if you ask me directly. You should report this to your superiors and ask them for help. Have you asked the local people about the places you visited?"

"No."

"Hey, you need to do more research. If you haven't done any research, isn't this just something you came up with on the spur of the moment? It's useless. If you could ask more questions of the local people and mobilize them, your problem might have been solved long ago. We, the Forward Party members, believe in not relying on others. If we rely on mountains, they will collapse; if we rely on rivers, they will dry up. We can only rely on our own labor and earn enough to feed ourselves. Okay, do you have any other questions?"

"Nothing."

"Next." "Chairman..."

After the meeting, public security authorities began deploying their forces, and relevant departments joined forces to detain all foreign church members. After screening, those found guilty were publicly tried and hanged, while those who had not committed any crimes were expelled from the base. As for protests from the embassies of these people's countries, that was no longer Zhang Yinghao's responsibility.

The church expulsions, which began in Batang, marked the beginning of the final campaign to expel foreign missionaries from Sichuan. In a short period of time, this movement swept across Sichuan and Chongqing. Previously, the Forward Party's control over local areas was limited in scope and strength, leaving many unimplemented and unimplemented, and naturally, some slipped through the net. Foreign missionaries were expelled from Sichuan and Chongqing, and would need to re-register to re-enter. However, Zhang Yinghao clearly did not want missionaries to return, effectively banishing them from the base. Even merchants entering the area were subject to registration and time limits. Failure to register within the time limit resulted in fines, and refusal to comply would result in expulsion. As for their complaints, Zhang Yinghao simply dragged them out.

Of the missionaries who traveled thousands of miles to the Qing Dynasty during this era, only a few truly came to spread the glory of God and, with compassion, to educate the people of what they considered to be uncivilized barbarians. The vast majority used the excuse of proselytizing to commit crimes and make money. While the kind-hearted locals ignored them, some ruffians and hooligans actively became their followers, and these, driven by the desire for money, committed extreme crimes. Therefore, even if many missionaries did nothing wrong, their reputation in the local community was almost universally negative. Otherwise, the Boxer Rebellion wouldn't have escalated to the point where anyone holding a pen would be killed. These people were simply despised and hated.

Therefore, Zhang Yinghao and his Forward Party eliminated all church forces in the liberated areas in one fell swoop, which greatly inspired the enthusiasm of the masses and intimidated the local temple forces.

Chapter 203: Sharing the beauty of the moon together across the world!

After hosting a performance to comfort the soldiers, Zhang Yinghao celebrated the Lunar New Year in Batang. He and his comrades made cabbage dumplings for a feast, then hurried back to Chengdu. Zhang Yinghao longed to spend more time with his comrades, understanding their concerns, but his work schedule kept him busy, and the time he had with his grassroots colleagues was dwindling, a time he cherished deeply.

This trip was a boon for Zhang Yinghao. He gained a wealth of insights into the realities of the region, paving the way for his future career. Zhang Yinghao had always known he wasn't particularly bright, just an average person, not much better than others. As he himself said, if he were to compete for power with the landlords and gentry, facing these rare and battle-hardened individuals, he wouldn't be able to match them. Zhang Yinghao could only rely on continuous learning and improvement to stay relevant in his future work.

Zhang Yinghao knew the saying: "Whoever revolves around things, others will revolve around him." Therefore, Zhang Yinghao knew that if he wanted others to revolve around him, he had to constantly lead them in their work. Work was an objective reality; if he kept working, others would follow him. Although he could only play a leading role, he often got things done.

In a past life, I once heard a saying: "When a Chinese person is led, they are like a dragon; when they are not, they are like a swarm of insects." While there is some truth to this, it's true that it applies everywhere. When someone leads, they know what to do, and when they do it, they achieve results. However, when a group lacks a goal, their energy is wasted internally.

Although Zhang Yinghao laid out a grand blueprint for Sichuan, it would have been impossible to accomplish without the dedicated efforts of the people of Sichuan. Through this journey, Zhang Yinghao gradually realized the fragmented and unsystematic nature of his own approach. Simply put, he simply did whatever came to mind. Without a plan, many things were overlooked.

For example, Zhang Yinghao and his team dug numerous ditches, but they didn't clean up or reinforce the river channels much. They also didn't reinforce the dikes and dams left over from the Qing Dynasty, which had long been in disrepair. Even bridges like Luding Bridge remained untouched.

Although Zhang Yinghao knew his comrades needed to gradually accumulate experience and were already doing quite well, he still felt pressed for time and wanted everything to happen immediately, moving in the direction he envisioned. Zhang Yinghao was only now remembering the concept of a planned economy. Only by making a plan for Sichuan as a whole could he escape the current situation and concentrate the province's efforts on a few key areas. Planning, in fact, means planning for action. When the Party makes plans, the people of the country naturally revolve around the Party and the plans.

With this in mind, Zhang Yinghao knew what he had to do. The Sichuan Plain was known as the Land of Abundance because of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System. Dujiangyan is the world's oldest water conservancy project, its design reaching near perfection. Since Li Bing and his son successfully completed this water conservancy project, the Chengdu Plain has been known as "the Land of Abundance." "Floods and droughts are controlled by the people, and there is no fear of famine. Food is abundant, and the world calls it the Land of Abundance."

The current situation is that no one has properly repaired Dujiangyan for a long time.

Water conservancy facilities, at most they just need a simple rest. People like Kui Jun, who want to make money, will not care about water conservancy facilities like Dujiangyan. After all, building these is a short-term money-burning thing. They will only make money from it. According to records, Dujiangyan needs to be repaired once a year. However, now that the Qing Dynasty in Sichuan is over,

After that, no one here cares about this infrastructure anymore.

This is also where the new government is not doing very well. Everything needs someone to take the lead. If there is no one to take the lead, the people cannot be organized, and then no one will do these jobs.

The current Feishayan is built by stacking pebbles in bamboo cages, and the top of the weir is at a relatively appropriate height to regulate the amount of water.

When the water level is too high, the floodwater will overflow the Feisha Weir through the Pingshui Channel and flow into the outer river, so that the amount of water entering Baopingkou will not be too large, thus protecting the inner river irrigation area from flooding;

At the same time, the water flowing over the Feishayan into the outer river created a vortex.

Due to the centrifugal effect, mud, sand and even boulders will be thrown over the Feisha Weir, thus effectively reducing the sedimentation around Baopingkou.

However, the bamboo cage that should have been clearly visible was now buried under the sand. Only in the area close to the river could one see some traces of the bamboo cage that had been soaked for a long time. The rest of the area was completely covered by sand and gravel, as if it were a completely naturally formed island in the water.

In fact, after Zhang Yinghao entered Chengdu, the two most important things he should do were to repair the Dujiangyan and build a road from Dujiangyan to Chengdu, and to build a Chengdu-Chongqing railway and road. However, it is not too late to do it now. Zhang Yinghao quickly issued an order after returning to Chengdu to mobilize the engineering corps to Dujiangyan.

Weir, strengthen the Dujiangyan.

Starting from March 1, 1902, the emergency repair work on the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, which had not been maintained for a long time, was carried out mainly by engineers and a large number of local people from Chengdu were hired.

For thousands of years, Sichuan Province has maintained the Dujiangyan Irrigation System using bamboo cages made of bamboo ribs and filled with stones. However, these ancient bamboo cage structures are unstable under the rapids of the Minjiang River, and despite the presence of sediment removal mechanisms in the inner river channel, siltation cannot be prevented. Therefore, regular maintenance is required to keep the Dujiangyan Irrigation System functioning effectively.

During the Song Dynasty, a system was established to shut down the river and conduct annual maintenance during the dry seasons of winter and spring, and during the farming off-season. This was called "Chuan Tao". During annual maintenance, the weir was repaired and the river channel was dredged. The depth of the dredging was determined by digging to the stone horses buried at the bottom of the beach, and the height of the weir was determined by reaching the water level on the opposite bank.

Now, during the dry season, it was a prime time to maintain the Dujiangyan Irrigation System. The local people of Chengdu had long awaited the revolutionary government's efforts to reinforce and repair the system. Steel plates, rebar, cement, wire, bamboo reinforcements made from locally sourced bamboo, steam engines, and winches were all delivered to the construction site.

The hired masses only did auxiliary work, while the engineers took on the heaviest and most dangerous work. A lot of this work was done by the machines that kept roaring.

Zhang Yinghao was delighted to see the current state of the engineering corps. He had long known that the development of the engineering corps was not much slower than that of the revolutionary army. The revolutionary army now had 200,000 troops, while the engineering corps was now dispersed throughout Sichuan for construction work, with the number of enlisted personnel exceeding 150,000. However, Zhang Yinghao felt that these numbers were still too few. Remember, during the Republic of China period, when Sichuan was plagued by warlords, the warlord army numbered only a few hundred thousand, and at its peak, it reached over one million. This shows how ruthless these warlords were.

The rapid expansion of the engineering corps was completely beyond Zhang Yinghao's expectations. However, when he thought about the current work, he realized that there were no excavators or bulldozers.

Zhang Yinghao was relieved that almost everything was done manually. Without enough machinery and manpower, nothing could be accomplished, whether it was cutting a path through a mountain or building a bridge over a river.

By March 20th, emergency repairs at the Dujiangyan Irrigation System were complete. Zhang Yinghao personally presided over the floodgate opening ceremony. A winch slowly lifted the riveted steel sluice gate, allowing the Minjiang River water to flow in. The Dujiangyan Irrigation System continued to irrigate the vast fields of the Chengdu Plain.

On April 1st, the existing Anlan Bridge across the river was reinforced with steel columns and rebar, eliminating the expensive toll. Simultaneously, a simple cable-stayed bridge was constructed on the Dujiangyan Irrigation System using steel columns, iron chains, and other materials, taking advantage of the Feishayan Irrigation System's geographical location. This bridge also offered no tolls. This prompted renewed praise from residents near Chengdu for the "new government." Even those who disliked the Progressive Party government were complimented by the revolutionary government's actions.

On his way back to Chengdu, Zhang Yinghao saw an old woman carrying a large bundle of firewood. He immediately ran over and called out to the old woman as he ran.

"Grandma, slow down, put it down, put it down, I am a revolutionary, come, I will help you carry it."

When the old woman saw Zhang Yinghao and the guards in military uniforms beside him, she immediately said kindly, "No need, comrade, I'll be home soon."

"Put it down. Come on, I'll do it. You're so old, and you're still out collecting firewood?"

As Zhang Yinghao was about to put the firewood on his shoulders, the guard stopped him and said, "Chairman, I'll carry it."

Zhang Yinghao didn't force her. He turned around, took the old lady's hand and said, "Grandma, can we go to your house today?"

"Okay, I'm home alone now. Come on, I'll lead the way."

Zhang Yinghao followed and said as he walked, "Grandma, where are your family members? Why are you still collecting firewood at your age?"

"I have two sons and a daughter!" "Oh, then why did they let you out?"

"You don't know, do you? My eldest son is a soldier in the new government, my second son is working on a road construction team, and my daughter is a nurse. My husband passed away early, and now I'm alone at home."

"Oh, you are a military family member!"

"Yes, it's for military dependents. Look, we're at my house." "Okay, we're here. Let's go in and have some water from grandma's house."

After entering the old lady's house, she immediately started to light a fire and cook. Zhang Yinghao saw this and took out a small bag of rice and said, "Grandma, our revolutionary army and our cadres have a rule that when we go to the local area, we cannot eat a single grain of the people's food. This is the food we brought with us. Could you please cook it for us?"

"Ah, comrade, I know our cadres are good people and bring their own food. But I am angry when you do this. No matter how poor I am, you can still have a meal."

"Grandma, you can't say that. We've already troubled you by coming to your house today. How can we eat your food?"