Chapter 67 Harmony
"In order to carry out a revolution in a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country where the peasants are the main body, to transform a country that has been bullied for a long time and has no national sovereignty, and to revive a society with low cultural quality and diverse social customs, what kind of correct road should we choose? Let us be able to complete the transformation of the country and the revival of the nation at the same time as the success of the revolution."
For a long time, many Revival Party members have been puzzled by questions such as: What is the common aspiration for prosperity and wealth? What is social harmony and national progress? What is national revival and national strength? What is reviving the Han and Tang dynasties' grandeur and revitalizing the great cause of China... From establishing a foundation in a foreign land, gradually accumulating, then returning home, step by step, advancing slowly. As time passes, with the accumulation of strength, the Revival Party's undertaking becomes more and more flourishing, everyone feels that they are getting closer and closer to success.
But as the power expands, the ability increases, the region continues to expand, and the population continues to increase, the responsibility on the Revival Party also becomes greater, and the difficulties encountered become more and more numerous, with one being more difficult than the other. At first, it was only necessary to obtain a foothold, and for the small Revival Party in Guangxi, perhaps that would have been enough.
The young Revival Party poured a lot of energy into this rare experimental field, they worked hard in the field to practice their dreams, cultivating various ideas, spring and autumn year after year, the Revival Party harvested their growth, harvested their own stories.
Later, in order to gain better development space, Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces were successively incorporated, and the Revival Party brought even more surging revolutionary passion into it. Although there are many differences between Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces and Guangxi, and even the natural conditions of Yunnan and Guizhou are worse, and the situation is less favorable for the Revival Party to carry out various work, these difficulties were still overcome one by one, not because of anything else, but because there was always a dream of revival in their hearts.
The accession of Shaanxi, Gansu and Xinjiang provinces is not the first time that the Revival Party has been entrusted with an unimaginable heavy responsibility. If the Revival Party were a person, it would still be in its childhood dreams after less than eight years of establishment, but it has to bear the burden of nearly 200 million people, 99% of whom are poor and destitute farmers. More importantly, there are more ethnic groups, more different circumstances, more different beliefs and customs...
In past experiences, all members of the Kuomintang have firmly remembered the eternal experience that is to take the greatest interest of the people as the most important.
When the main body of society is poor peasants, the Revival Party has been steadily and orderly walking on the road of uniting the people and seeking welfare for the peasants. It vigorously carried out land revolution, abolished all agricultural-related taxes, and led the masses to build water conservancy projects to increase production and income. These experiences were gained through extensive practice, and they are also precious lessons learned by another party in a different time and space at the cost of countless blood and lives. Now that the Revival Party has borrowed them, it is only natural that the effect is surprisingly good.
When the main laboring masses of society gradually got rid of their impoverished lives, the Revival Party brought out its treasured method to lead the people in becoming rich. The treasured method is to strengthen infrastructure construction, establish light and heavy enterprises, use government investment to drive regional development and increase people's income, use technology, equipment, loans, policies and other measures to promote the development of private enterprises, promote social wealth accumulation and employment.
What's more important is that all the measures of the Revival Party are very effective. While the autonomous region has achieved prosperity, the Revival Party has gained a lot of growth experience, won the hearts of the people, and achieved remarkable achievements that are hard to let go of. Especially after the two major measures of land revolution and bringing wealth to the people, the establishment of a sound social security system, the promotion of rule of law construction and universal education, these three measures which were very effective in Guangxi Province at the beginning, also worked well in new provinces. The government, especially the Revival Party that dominates policies, has reached an unprecedented height in terms of prestige and trustworthiness in people's minds. Many people regard the cadres who wear red hats and go to the mountains and countryside to help with poverty alleviation as if they were their own relatives, and the technical teachers who wear blue hats and educate them with kindness and patience as even closer than their own family members.
The young Revival Party and the People's Army under his control are also young, they are destined to not be as simple as a factory or a machine, a machine can be used for six or seven years without breaking down, which is enough to prove its excellence, but if a group of people don't make a single mistake in six or seven years, it can only be said that this group of people are not human.
"I believe in one fact, which is that if a person can go through his whole life without ever making a mistake, it's absolutely impossible!"
Zhang Yusheng spoke on behalf of the government before attending the trial of the 'Eve of the Lunar New Year's Eve Drunk Driving Case', before the Autonomous Region Higher People's Court began to try the case, and before the prosecutors and defense lawyers were about to engage in a war of words... because among those prosecuted today, the vast majority are government personnel.
"But I also believe that if someone makes a mistake and doesn't dare to admit it, doesn't dare to take responsibility for their own error, then they are not worthy of being human." Zhang Yusheng stood below the judge's bench, in front of the stenographer, and spoke sincerely to everyone present: "Everyone is equal before the law. Since we have established laws, we must respect them, abide by them, and implement them, rather than trampling on them at will, no matter who they are!"
"Unable to withstand temptation, unable to bear the lure of gain, no matter how great or numerous his achievements for the country and nation, if he dares to trample on the dignity and justice of the law, he will inevitably receive due punishment, and be condemned by conscience and morality. As for the case of causing trouble, I believe that the law will restore justice to the people... At the same time, I also believe that our party and government are still the party of the people, the government of the people, after twists and turns, we will become more excellent, our party and government will become purer!"
The New Year's Eve incident brought down nearly a dozen high-ranking officials, all of whom were expelled from the party. Dozens of officials implicated in the case received severe warnings from the party committee... The entire case never affected the normal functioning of government work, nor did it affect the daily lives of ordinary people, and even less so the sun's rising and setting.
On October 25, 1919, a certain regiment of the First Division stationed in Alashankou, Xinjiang, was ordered to take action and wiped out a smuggling gang that had been lurking in the area for a long time, officially opening the curtain on the suppression of armed riot forces. On the same day, in the Bohu area on the south bank of Bosten Lake, the Second Regiment of the First Division and local forces clashed on a large scale, with the People's Army annihilating the evil forces at the cost of three martyrs and ten wounded.
The troops within Gansu also began to move, bringing into the scope of attack forces that had always opposed the government, resisted government policies and even armed resistance, regardless of ethnicity or family power. The Second Division's First Regiment set out from Tianshui in Gansu and headed west, passing through Lixian, Hadapu and other areas before arriving at the Ruoergai grasslands in Sichuan, eliminating all stubborn forces along the way. The Second Regiment stationed in Guyuan, Gansu (Ningxia did not yet exist) and the Third Regiment in Yinchuan also took action, with the Second Regiment moving from south to north and the Third Regiment responding from north to south, striking against the list of forces to be attacked that had been established long ago. This action naturally had a great impact on the eastern part of Gansu, where Hui people were the majority...
Although Shaanxi is indeed dominated by the Han ethnic group, as a Han people, there are also many contradictions between each other, especially in this ancient and vast Loess Plateau province, where many residual military forces, bandits, local tyrants, mountain kings, robbers, and feudal remnants of rural gentry are entrenched.
The First Division was in charge of Xinjiang, the Second Division mainly focused on Gansu, while the Third Division focused on Shaanxi. When the strong winds of crackdowns swept through Xinjiang and Gansu with great force, the Third Division did not idle around either. They set out from Xi'an, Yulin, and Yan'an, three important cities in Shaanxi, with each starting point using a main force regiment as the key strength to launch lightning operations against remaining forces in various places. The three regiments of the Third Division almost reached Baotou, an important city on the opposite bank of the Yellow River in Suiyuan, but were stopped by the rapid waters of the Yellow River. If not for this, they might have taken down Baotou and even Hohhot, incorporating Suiyuan into the autonomous region's jurisdiction as well. However, due to restrictions such as logistics supply and their own military strength, they halted at the banks of the Yellow River.
Shaanxi was controlled by the People's Army after they took over Xi'an at the end of February 1918, and its major cities and towns were gradually brought under control. By mid-1918, the People's Army had eliminated the larger factions within Shaanxi province, laying a foundation for the establishment of governments at all levels and the implementation of policies. However, in some remote areas, control was limited, and hidden dangers still existed within controlled areas. It wasn't until this recent large-scale purge that Shaanxi can be considered truly clean.
Unlike Gansu and Xinjiang, the important cities in these two provinces, such as Tianshui, Lanzhou (formerly known as Gaolan), Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Guyuan in Gansu, were controlled by the People's Liberation Army with limited strength. The First Division was also the same in Xinjiang, which had been renamed Urumqi, Dihua, Aksu, and Kashgar. Before October 1919, the army rarely took the initiative to launch a military attack, but instead existed as a political worker implementing a policy of gentle persuasion.
What can be changed, what can be persuaded, and what can be calmed down, time has already provided the best proof. The remaining stubborn forces can only be solved by violence, and using violence to control violence is often a good solution. For those who harm the people and endanger stability, if they are still tolerated, it will only lay hidden dangers for the future. Otherwise, when the time comes, there will be independence movements of this nation or that, and troubles between nations will arise again.
No matter which era or country, when it comes to hostile forces or potential hostile forces, they will be dealt with severely. This has nothing to do with the times and national conditions. Even if a country advocates democracy and the rule of law, when faced with such problems, the law has lost its original effectiveness, and the only reliable one is the military, this violent institution. Eliminating ethnic conflicts and preventing future separatist forces are just what the People's Army did in advance.
"We not only need to learn from the party's valuable experiences, making our road to revival smoother; we also need to learn from the government's various methods, making our development path more harmonious." All along, Zhang Yu has been plagiarizing future excellent technologies for the autonomous region's industrial development, and now it's Zhang Yusheng's turn to plagiarize future political experiences.
"A country, why does it need a fair and just legal system, why does it need democratic and just legislative institutions, why does it need a government that serves the people wholeheartedly, but more importantly, why does it need violent institutions like the military?"
Zhang Yu, when introducing the results of the ethnic policy to his elder brother, did not mention how many innocent people were killed or injured, nor did he say how many unjust cases there were. In order to maintain stability in the vast western region and for the future of the entire country, what lies behind fairness and integrity must be combined with iron and blood, violence, and darkness.
"So any country, any government is multifaceted, there are gains and losses, and sacrifices must be made in order to achieve gains. In short, for the benefit and stability of a wider population, nothing is impossible!"
Of course, while the People's Army is working hard for internal stability, the situation in other parts of the world is also changing constantly.
In October 1919, the overburdened Russian people finally erupted in a fierce anti-government armed uprising under the leadership of the Bolshevik Party. Soon after, the flames of revolution spread throughout the European region of Russia, and the newly risen Bolshevik Party quickly formed an "understanding" with Germany, allowing German troops to finally withdraw from the Eastern Front.
Prior to this, in mid-October 1919, the Saint-Mihiel offensive independently planned by the American Expeditionary Forces finally won a victory at the cost of great pain. At the same time as winning the victory, it also made the Allied forces realize the difficulties of not having unified command. The French army was struggling to hold on in Verdun, while the Marne River campaign launched by the British and part of the French army had little effect, and even led to a large number of deserters in the later period. As the rebellion situation within Russia became more and more intense, Nicholas II obviously had no power to turn things around, and Russia, except for not having formally withdrawn from the Allied Powers, was actually no longer posing any military threat to the German army. In this way, the German army could soon transfer its troops on the Eastern Front to the Western Front to fight against the Allied forces.
In the words of General Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces, the ultimate outcome of this unprecedented world war would be determined by the results on the Western Front. In other words, whoever gained the upper hand on the Western Front and delivered a blow that exceeded the enemy's endurance would win the war. However, at this time, the Allied forces were still fighting separately without unified command and coordination. Facing the surging German army, they had no room for retreat. The First World War had finally reached a point where only the bravest could emerge victorious.
In mid-November 1919, the German army launched its largest-scale full-line counterattack on the Western Front since the start of the war, also known as the third offensive action. With sufficient preparation, they once attacked to a place less than twenty kilometers away from Paris, which was more than ten kilometers closer than their achievements in another time and space, but the loss of over one million people was also tragic.
The French army, which was almost destroyed, and the British and American Expeditionary Forces, which were pushed to the brink of collapse, launched a strong counterattack, successfully dissolving the German army's third offensive. After that, they made a major decision: they finally formed a unified command mechanism, appointing Marshal Foch of France as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, commanding the three armies with a unified order.
The German army, unwilling to accept defeat, launched a larger-scale fourth offensive in early 1920. They concentrated large forces and launched a frenzied attack on Paris, aiming to connect the two salients of Amiens and Marne River. However, they were again repelled by the well-prepared American, British, and French armies, suffering heavy losses of hundreds of artillery pieces, thousands of machine guns, and over 100,000 casualties. In February 1920, the German army made a final desperate attempt, launching a fifth offensive, which was also unsuccessful. The failure led to the German army retreating to the Hindenburg Line, losing the initiative in the war.
From this, anyone can tell who the winner of the war is.
In March 1920, the German High Command still did not see the already established defeat, and the increasingly chaotic war had brought the German Empire to the brink of national bankruptcy. They intended to let the navy launch a desperate attack, which directly led to the mutiny of the sailors, which later evolved into the far-reaching Kiel port uprising, and the flames of revolution were rapidly intensified by the unbearable people and eventually spread across the country.
On April 9, 1920, the wheel of history turned a little more and returned to "the right track", and the first World War that was 17 months ahead of another time and space finally came to an end.
On this day, the revolution in Berlin, the capital of Germany, finally led to the abdication of Emperor Wilhelm II. The Social Democratic Party formed a provisional government, and the Weimar Republic, which had just taken office, signed an armistice agreement with the Allied Powers. The formal signing of the Compiègne Armistice Agreement marked the official surrender of the German army, bringing an end to World War I, which had lasted for five years and eight months, in victory for the Allies.
This war will be etched in the memory of history and humanity, with several major countries drawn into the conflict. The cruel war and negative effects brought unimaginable disasters to the entire human world. Even with a preliminary estimate that is somewhat idealized, the war resulted in nearly 60 million people losing their lives, consumed six trillion dollars in wealth, and...
Although the curtain of World War I has fallen, the real good show is actually still behind. The victorious countries and the defeated countries will all sing a good show for the world, but as for the autonomous region, the end of World War I may also mean that the spring of development has passed, and the passionate summer is about to arrive.
PS: Recently, the harmony has been a bit severe. I originally wanted to write about ethnic issues and government problems, but I deleted and revised them repeatedly. It's autumn, so I can only simplify things. Sorry.
Recently, the results of this book have really shocked me a bit. Although it feels not too good, after careful consideration, it doesn't matter if it's different. After all, we are people who advocate for a long-term battle. This book will definitely be very exciting and not too monotonous. I can only guarantee that to you.
Today, the kid has written a bit too much nonsense. Sorry again.
