Chapter 78 The Actor

  In the traditional Chinese concept of Zhongyuan, earth-shattering events have been taking place one after another. This is because the Chinese people have suffered unprecedented contempt, and what is called the central government still insists on implementing the decisions of imperialist powers. Such a major event is like a large meteorite falling from the universe to China, which will stir up waves even in the most stable and orderly places, such as the "Western Frontier".

  "The dockworkers in Fangchenggang Port have calmed down now, but Zhanjiang Port is the most severe..."

  "What I care about is what our students think and whether they have done anything extreme."

  Zhang Yu had just returned from the China Aviation Group's flight test base, where he was busy with the follow-up testing of two prototype aircraft. Unexpectedly, on the day of the full-load experiment, his older brother called him to hurry back home. Zhang Yu knew it couldn't be a trivial matter, as his brother wouldn't bother him otherwise. It was likely that something big had happened or was about to happen, which is why he was in such a rush for him to return. As soon as he got in the car, he asked Yan Ran, who was driving, but Yan Ran's evasive answers clearly didn't satisfy him. He decided it would be better to take a look at the file report his brother had sent him, which would allow him to truly understand the situation.

  "Unbelievable, I've only been away for a short while and China has become so lively, it's simply unbelievable!" After browsing through it a few times, he couldn't help but laugh. "Oh my god, Xu Shichang that old man thinks he's someone important, saying something is scrapped just means it's scrapped. If it wasn't for him crying and begging us to send people to attend the conference back then, I wouldn't have even bothered with him."

  "Commander, this is just the beginning, take a look at some of the content behind!" Yu Ran reminded Zhang Yu very carefully, letting him speed up and see that the content behind was even more wonderful.

  As expected, Zhang Yu looked up and was about to stand up, but ended up hitting his head on the car roof, realizing he was still in a speeding car. "Xu Shichang, that old man, dared to lay hands on students and even caused student casualties. Is he trying to start a fight?"

  Zhang Yu looked at him, and directly said a sentence that made the driver in front of him and Yu Ran both stunned. Yu Ran was shocked with his eyes wide open, while the driver instinctively stepped on the brake, resulting in Zhang Yu, who never liked to wear seatbelts, having an intimate contact with the back of the front seat. If the chair back wasn't so soft, I'm afraid his head would have been cracked open by now.

  "How did you drive..."

  "It's nothing, I scared you guys. Go directly to the People's Armed Forces Department and inform Zhang Yusheng that we will meet in Conference Room 2." Zhang Yu didn't blame the driver, and after the car started quickly, he looked at the report again and said to Yu Ran, who was focused on sending a message: "Notify the Third Division to enter third-level combat readiness!"

  "Third level?" Yu Ran asked in surprise. This was the first time, and probably the last time, after all, this third-level war readiness state wasn't a joke.

  The combat readiness state of the People's Army is the same as in later generations. The third-level combat readiness refers to the tense situation when there are major abnormalities in the surrounding areas, and it is possible for the People's Army to pose a direct military threat.

  After entering the third-level combat readiness state, the main work of the troops will be to immediately conduct combat mobilization, strengthen combat duty and communication guarantees, and be able to execute combat tasks at any time. The troops on duty will closely monitor the enemy's movements and grasp the situation in a timely manner.

  All leaves, convalescence, family visits, transfer to civilian work, and retirement will be suspended. The troops' garrison will begin to control personnel from going out, make preparations for gathering troops, and recall personnel who are outside.

  Additionally, unsealing, inspecting, repairing, and supplementing weapons, equipment, and combat materials will also be carried out, and if necessary, the first line of fortifications can be unsealed. Revising combat plans, conducting pre-war training, and carrying out logistical, equipment, and other guarantee work at all levels are also part of this.

  In short, the third-level war readiness means to prepare for battle. The Third Division in Shaanxi Province was put into a state of third-level war readiness, which is the closest force to what is called the "Central Plains". Relying on the combat effectiveness of the Third Division, it can rush to Beijing within a week through Shanxi. Before that, the Third Division had always been in a state of "rest" and its main work was to unite with local residents and promote social order development, etc., so Yu Ran was extremely shocked.

  "The overall situation in the autonomous region is very good, with no demonstrations or protests taking place. However, the anti-imperialist sentiment among the masses remains extremely high. From the number of petitioners received by governments at all levels over the past ten days and the new ones coming in, the number of visitors and letters received in these ten days has already exceeded the total of previous years..."

  "Our business units are currently operating normally, the mood of workers and businessmen is relatively stable. Since we only have one university at present, the mood of students is relatively calm, and many students feel that there should be a better way to solve it rather than holding futile demonstrations..."

  "All foreign workers in the autonomous region have not received special treatment so far, and they all came to China for at least two years and their relationship with the masses has been very harmonious. What is most worrying is that many Germans who are about to come to work in the autonomous region will be affected or not."

  "The Germans have never played a role in the peace talks, on the contrary, they are even more miserable than us. We believe that no one will be unfriendly to those who are already pitiful and have apologized for the unpleasantness caused by the German Empire to China before, but rather we should help each other now..."

  Zhang Yu had not yet arrived at the conference room, but Zhang Yusheng, as the Secretary of the Autonomous Region, was already discussing with many people present. Although he hadn't expressed any views, it wasn't hard to infer from the conversation that the autonomous region was in a relatively good situation, but these were only limited to the current situation, and no one knew whether the fires in eastern China would also ignite the "remote" west.

  "Oh, everyone's here early?" As soon as Zhang Yu entered the conference room, he was met with a hubbub of discussion. It wasn't until someone reminded them that they finally stopped their restless chatter. "Since it's an extraordinary time, we must also do something extraordinary. Today, gathering you all in our People's Armed Forces Department's conference room is also a kind of performance for the outside world, but I hope this will be the last time."

  Holding a high-level meeting on the military base that symbolizes violence, making outsiders think that the autonomous region is also ready to use troops to deal with problems at any time. However, as Zhang Yu said, this is the last performance for outsiders, the last show for the so-called central government.

  "My intention is very simple, to directly break away from that crappy Central Government and we will independently stand on our own. Whatever actions Xu Shichang takes are irrelevant to us, and we also resolutely deny the resolutions made by the Paris Peace Conference powers, absolutely refusing to accept Japan replacing Germany's rights in China."

  "How to respond to the unreasonable refusal of China's demand for restoration of national sovereignty?" Someone immediately asked back, and this question was also what many people wanted to ask. The source of the influential demonstration event was that imperialism did not give a suitable answer to China.

  It's not easy to recover national sovereignty, and the most important point is that even the United States does not support the return of China's sovereignty. The slight inclination towards China on the Shandong issue was only to punish Japan for its excessive arrogance in the Far East, but ultimately it was still suppressed by the voices of Britain and France, and finally stood on the unified front of the powers. Therefore, China is absolutely isolated and helpless. If demonstrations could solve problems, then this problem would no longer be a problem.

  "I've only just realized that while money isn't omnipotent, having no money is utterly impossible. But when bad luck strikes, it's precisely when money becomes utterly useless - alas!"

  "What does it mean?"

  The emergency meeting was halfway through, and during the break, Zhang Yu found his brother to discuss how to deal with the issue. Of course, this was also the time when the autonomous region would make its final judgment on the incident. As Zhang Yu had been staying in China Aviation for a long time recently, he naturally didn't understand the situation well enough. Sometimes, political aspects still needed to be consulted with Zhang Yusheng.

  "What I mean is that this matter is clearly influential and far-reaching, but it has no effect at all. The autonomous region is currently in a period of rapid economic development, what is needed is peace and stability, not war. Of course, this matter cannot be solved by war either, nor is there any need to start a war..."

  Through the window of the rest room, Zhang Yu-sheng saw a small square under the building where many government cars were parked. At this moment, they were discussing matters related to their fate, while on the street, it was still bustling with cars coming and going, and further away, there were even more beautiful scenes... If such prosperity could continue or be even greater in scale, China would not have ended up like today.

  "Big brother, you're going around in circles, my head is getting dizzy no matter how smart I am." Zhang Yu took big strides forward and backward, directly moving Zhang Yusheng's body to face himself, and asked very seriously: "I just want to ask you, how should this matter be resolved? Don't keep beating around the bush with me?"

  It's clear that Zhang Yu is a force to be reckoned with, not allowing even the slightest bit of sand in his eyes. In other words, he basically settles scores on the spot, unlike Zhang Yusheng who thinks things through carefully and considers the bigger picture and long-term interests. This is also what Zhang Yusheng worries about most when it comes to his younger brother - if one day Zhang Yu really becomes the highest ruler, and doesn't change some of his habits, who knows how many people will be harmed.

  "Let's sit down, don't we have a 15-minute break? Let's have a good chat." Zhang Yusheng motioned for his younger brother to sit down, poured him a cup of tea, and after they both took a sip, Zhang Yu slowly calmed down before saying: "As soon as I entered the Military Department, I heard that you want to put Shaanxi's Third Division into third-level combat readiness. Do you really want to fight? Who are you going to fight? Who would be willing to fight with you? What benefits will you gain from fighting?"

  Zhang Yusheng raised a series of questions, each one leaving Zhang Yu speechless. Zhang Yu could only sit there sipping tea, furrowing his brow in deep thought, and not responding to his big brother's questions at all.

  At the Paris Peace Conference, the great powers simply rejected China's request. Why did they dare to reject it? Why did they want to reject it? There are only two reasons for this: Firstly, China is poor and weak, with a large population and vast territory, but warlords are in power, people are struggling to survive, industry, commerce, education, etc. are all very backward. As strong powers, why can't they bully the weak and give up their various privileges? Secondly, Japan is currently the strongest country in Asia, and during the war, it has already occupied Germany's interests in China. The great powers respect the strong and bully the weak, how could they let Japan withdraw voluntarily? Give up the fat meat that has already been swallowed? If you want to blame someone, blame us Chinese for being too weak.

  "If it were in our time, how could we tolerate this? But you tell me, what should we do? Can't just sit back and watch as coastal provinces are on the verge of chaos..."

  "We? We just need to control the emotions of the people in our district, and for those who are protesting elsewhere, what they need is rationality rather than impulsiveness. If problems could be solved simply by protesting, wouldn't China, with its population ranking first in the world, also be the world's number one power? Only when such wasted passion is transformed into patriotic enthusiasm can we truly solve problems. Screaming hoarse and shouting oneself mute is useless; it's better to focus on developing and growing oneself steadily, so that one day we can avenge past humiliations."

  "Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai... countless places and people, can they calm down for a moment? You won't tell me that those people are the ones you mobilized to march and protest?" Zhang Yu finally thought of an explanation that could make his brother so calm after wandering around for half a day.

  "Take a look at this survey report first! The people we've been worried about haven't appeared, and the ones we've always admired have left no trace..."

  As he spoke, Zhang Yu-sheng pulled out a letter from his pocket, which was also the report he mentioned. The envelope contained only one list of names, similar to the aviation talent list that Cao Gui-chuan had brought to Europe earlier. These were people that the Revival Party wanted to find, but this domestic version did not yield good results.

  "After Hunan went through that far-reaching Protection War, the people who should have been at the normal school had all vanished. Later I organized a search team alone and spent a lot of manpower and resources but still couldn't find them..."

  Zhang Yu was browsing the list when Zhang Yusheng slowly told him about his private life. "Later I realized that this world is no longer the same as ours, even the First World War is different from us. Can those people still be enthusiastic? Although Russia had a proletarian revolution, can their ideas enter China? Can proletarian ideas affect China? Is red really going to appear in China? With these doubts, I am more worried about those who have not appeared, so I planned this big movement."

  "Was it really you who orchestrated the parade and demonstration? You waited for a long time, thinking they would appear on schedule, following the steps you could anticipate, but they didn't show up because those people probably perished in the war of law enforcement. So, are you trying to have our party replace that red party..."

  After reading the list for half a day, Zhang Yu finally understood his brother's painstaking efforts. Perhaps there was another list on his brother's body - a list of people who should be eliminated. Those with the surname Jiang or Mao would not appear on it, but if they did, they would likely become members of a special flower register. Since Zhang Yusheng had already established that he would not permit other party factions to exist in the future, it was best to strangle them in the cradle. To prevent any resurgence, it was better to eradicate them completely. Therefore, the Red Soviet must be eliminated, lest their ideas mislead the people of the country in the future.

  "I did this for the greater good, since that party no longer exists, we can't just let China remain ignorant and wait until we complete the great unification step by step, who knows when that will be. So I studied that party well, went deep into the masses, united with intellectuals, launched this mighty demonstration movement, with the same purpose as in another time and space, to awaken the nation, blow new winds to places we haven't reached yet, so that unification has a mass foundation, naturally it's much faster and more effective."

  "I think you didn't just learn a little, but completely copied. The Revival Party was established from the beginning according to your idea, your experience, and your plagiarism, and expanded. Except for the two words 'Revival' and 'Communist' being different, I really can't find any difference between them." After finishing speaking, Zhang Yu folded up the list and handed it back to Big Brother, then said word by word: "Military personnel don't ask about politics, what you do I won't manage, but I hope you won't plagiarize too much, or else when the time comes, you'll also harm me. After going through a decade of chaos, I don't want it to happen in our party..."

  After finishing, Zhang Yu was about to leave, because he thought this meeting was actually unnecessary. The screenwriter and actor were himself, the director was also himself, and the most ridiculous thing was that the audience would still be himself. With that kind of free time, it's better to go back and discuss helicopters with Sikorsky or talk about jet propulsion with Cohen. In short, there was no need to continue this dullness here.

  "By the way, you'd better pay attention to your tone. Xu Shichang is not going to cooperate with your play, and it's already caused casualties, this isn't a joke." Before leaving, Zhang Yu reminded his brother for the last time, that his thoughts and actions were flawless, but still needed some restraint. "Also, I'll let the Third Regiment stand down from combat readiness!"

  "Wait, it's better for the Third Regiment to remain on high alert for now. Otherwise, this play won't have a perfect ending."

  "So you're saying I'm also one of the actors? You knew I'd do it without hesitation, so you didn't even give me a script and just let me go on stage?" Zhang Yu quickly walked back, staring at his brother while pointing to his own nose.

  "Everyone is the king of their own world, everyone plays a role in the whole world. Life is like a TV series, no script, no director, no producer, but it's live every day. You just have to play multiple roles on some days." Zhang Yusheng replied calmly to Zhang Yu's questioning, but seeing that Zhang Yu still looked unconvinced, he added: "You said so yourself, I'm in charge of domestic politics, you're in charge of industry and military..."

  "Whatever... forget it!" Zhang Yu was about to argue some more, but thinking about it, he felt it didn't matter and instead immediately put on a smile, flattering him with all his might: "Then can you give me the Best Actor award for this play? Otherwise, I'll let you experience what it's like to become an actor without any reason!"