1905: Beer Hall Speaker

Page 30

All eyes turned to Zhao Yan, who knew he had no way out and any weakness would lead to a series of devastating consequences.

Zhao Yan said through gritted teeth in a deep voice: "Pass on my order to take control of the entire Beijing-Hankou Railway management organization. All Chinese employees must return to their posts immediately, or they will all be punished for treason!"

"Expel all foreign personnel from the railway management agency, and order the provisional government to establish a railway department to take over all railway lines within the revolutionary army's controlled areas!"

"Yes, Führer!"

Zhao Yan continued to issue orders: "Pass on my order to immediately seal off all concession areas, including Hankou, Jiujiang, Guangzhou, and Chongqing, regardless of where they are or what country they belong to, seal them off!"

Remember, not a single grain of rice, drop of water, or piece of coal is allowed to enter the concession area, and no one is permitted to have any communication with the concession area! Surround and trap them!

The provisional government has established a Committee for the Handling of Enemy Property, specifically to handle this matter!

"Furthermore, instruct the Provisional Government's Ministry of Commerce to immediately impose a commercial embargo on the powers that participated in the blockade of our revolutionary army. Within our controlled territory, they shall not be allowed to sell a single match, a drop of kerosene, or a single nail!"

"Yes, Führer!"

Hearing that Zhao Yan had finally retaliated, everyone was invigorated. These were the great powers, who wasn't afraid of them? But it was precisely because they were afraid that everyone sought out a leader who wasn't afraid!

If even the leader is afraid and remains weak, then what kind of leader are you? It's useless to come to you. If you're afraid, then I'm afraid too. It makes no difference whether you're here or not!

Those present were all core high-ranking members of the revolutionary army. To say that they were completely unafraid of the great powers would be nonsense. Although they were afraid, they felt more resentment and humiliation. Therefore, Zhao Yan was the leader because everyone believed that Zhao Yan was not afraid and had a solution!

What Zhao Yan is now offering is a reciprocal counterattack. Although he hasn't completely broken ties with the foreign powers, at least he's retaliated. This is much better than the Qing Dynasty, which didn't dare to utter a single word.

The great powers had always kept their options open, not completely forcing the revolutionary army into hostility. They seemed aggressive, but in reality, they had always kept a back door open, just waiting for Zhao Yan to bow down and admit defeat.

The channels for negotiation between the great powers and the revolutionary army have always been open, but unfortunately, this channel is not a door, but a dog hole. Unless Zhao Yan's brain has been eaten by zombies, there is no way he would crawl through this dog hole.

Similarly, Zhao Yan did not completely break ties with the foreign powers, leaving a last shred of ground uncrossed, waiting for an opportunity in the future to resolve the issue peacefully.

Both sides have used every means except direct declaration of war to make things difficult for each other. Zhao Yan is unlikely to back down, and the great powers are even less likely to back down.

The only way to break the deadlock is on the battlefield. Whoever gains the advantage on the battlefield, whoever has a better chance of winning, will be able to hold their head high.

"Zhu Jing!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Looking at the map, Zhao Yan waved his hand and said, "I'm sending a division and two brigades, a total of 40,000 men, from the front lines to advance eastward into Jiangnan. There's only one objective: to take Shanghai!"

"Can it be done?"

Zhu Jing didn't immediately agree, but instead asked, "Which division?"

Zhao Yan said irritably, "The First Division of the Revolutionary Army! Is that even acceptable?"

Zhu Jing quickly lowered her head: "No, no!"

At this critical juncture, Zhao Yan would never assign the First Division, the absolute main force, to Zhu Jing, unless the Central Plains battlefield was no longer needed.

"The Second and Third Brigades are hereby abolished from their provisional designations and incorporated into the regular formation. The two brigades shall be immediately formed as the Second Division of the Revolutionary Army!"

"Zhu Jing is relieved of his posts as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army Headquarters and Chief of Staff of the First Division of the Revolutionary Army. He is immediately transferred to the Second Division of the Revolutionary Army as Acting Division Commander, with the rank of Colonel remaining unchanged!"

"Your mission is simple: seize Jiangnan and bring your troops to the gates of Shanghai! Now that the situation has changed, we must change as well. If there are logistical problems, then we must continue to expand our logistics."

"I haven't had time to deal with Jiangnan's money bag before, but now I absolutely have to get my hands on it!"

"I can only allocate this many men to you. Although the Second and Third Brigades are temporary units, they are originally from the Eighth Division. The entire Second Division has 40,000 officers and soldiers. I'm entrusting them to you!"

"I hope to see a steady stream of money, supplies, and equipment from Jiangnan being sent to the Central Plains battlefield!"

Zhu Jing placed his fist on his chest, his right fist clenched over his heart, and said with utmost solemnity, "Please rest assured, Your Excellency, the Second Division will never fail your expectations!"

Zhao Yan corrected him, saying, "It's not my expectation, it's the expectation of the revolution, it's the expectation of the country and the people!"

Zhu Jing: "Yes, Your Majesty!"

Previously, Zhao Yan thought that one battle would decide the fate of the world. He believed that Hubei and Hunan were enough to wear down the Qing Dynasty. In the original timeline, Sun Dapao's abilities had also brought down the Qing Dynasty. He thought that there should be no problem with him.

Therefore, Zhao Yan was in no hurry to take action against the Jiangnan region. He was afraid that, like the Taiping Rebellion, the prosperous Jiangnan region would be reduced to a wasteland, which would be too painful.

However, plans can never keep up with changes. Zhao Yan was too assertive and completely offended the great powers, causing the Qing Dynasty to suddenly receive a huge gift from the server, which immediately put them on the defensive.

While others merely refused the foreign powers, Zhao Yan defrauded them, which led the powers to blacklist him.

What goes around comes around.

But Zhao Yan still had a tenacious spirit. He refused any passive change. No matter how difficult it was, he had to maintain his initiative. A swindler is not far from death once he falls into a passive position, so no matter what, he had to persevere.

Zhao Yan looked at everyone present, raised an eyebrow, and began his impromptu speech again:

"Gentlemen, imperialism has never given up its desire to destroy us! We have clearly stood up, and we have already roared our own voices!"

"But they think our knees are still weak, even after we stand up; they think we are still numb, even after we have started to roar!"

“They still want us to kneel down, they still want us to be slaves. I, Zhao Yan, will not allow this to happen, China will not allow this to happen, and countless great Han people will not accept it!”

"If I had never seen the light, I could have endured the darkness; if I had never stood up, I could have accepted kneeling; but we were once the absolute number one on this planet, we once had a glory that shook the ages."

History forbids us to kneel, our mission forbids us to bow our heads. The Han people are the most perfect people, we are the masters of the world, and the future belongs to us!

"A little hardship at this moment, how can we give up? I will never accept a victory gained through weakness, I will only accept a complete and utter end!"

"Either achieve complete victory, defeat all the invincible, and conquer all who dare to defy you! Or suffer utter defeat, fighting to the last man, the last bullet!"

"I, Zhao Yan, stand with you all. If you perish, I, Zhao Yan, will not live on alone!"

"Even if this war lasts until the end of the world, even if we shed our last drop of blood, even if the last Han Chinese dies, I will never compromise!"

The entire arena erupted in a frenzied roar: "Fight! Fight! Fight! Never compromise!"

Zhao Yan began to raise the stakes wildly at the poker table. This time, his opponent was not the weak and incompetent Qing Dynasty, but the imperialist powers at the height of their power.

If you survive this ordeal, you'll naturally achieve great success; if you don't, you'll have to wait for the next uprising or revolution a few years later.

In short, Zhao Yan could not accept an imperfect ending. He would rather fail completely than accept a victory achieved through compromise.

Chapter 54 The front is in dire straits, but the rear is in dire straits!

The front lines were engulfed in gunfire, while chaos reigned behind the lines.

In Wuhan, Hubei, the interim government's Prime Minister Zhang Mingqi has ordered the area to be designated as one of the first core industrial zones, and has mandated that Hubei not only supply military provisions to the front lines, but also ensure a stable supply of steel and cement for bridge and road construction in the rear.

The rear area of ​​Changsha had already begun conscripting laborers after the start of spring to begin the construction of the Beijing-Guangzhou Highway, which was of course also Zhao Yan's instruction.

Poor Wuhan had to supply steel for both the war effort and the road construction in the rear. With the Hanyang Steel Plant being so small, it probably wouldn't even be enough to fill a gap in the roof!

Zhao Yan originally wanted to plan to extend the Beijing-Hankou Railway line southward to connect Changsha and Guangzhou, but even Zhao Yan himself found this idea ridiculous. In the end, he could only settle for second best. If the railway couldn't be built, how about building a highway?

However, the reality is harsh. You don't have that much steel to build a highway. Highways consume almost as much steel as railways, and even more cement.

China's current weak industry simply cannot withstand a project of this scale unless all materials are imported. The great powers will not blockade the materials used for road construction; in fact, they will encourage it, since a well-constructed road will make it easier for them to plunder.

Even so, the provisional government couldn't come up with any more money. Zhang Mingqi repeatedly begged Zhao Yan to slow down, saying that the rear couldn't hold on any longer. The revolutionary army had now expanded to 300,000 men, which was even more outrageous than inflating a balloon.

The provisional government was nearly emptying the national treasury with military spending alone. With attacks on four fronts and hundreds of thousands of troops engaged in constant artillery fire on the Central Plains battlefield, it was a miracle that the provisional government hadn't gone bankrupt.

The taxes paid by the various rebellious provinces are not even enough to fight a war, let alone build roads. That's just wishful thinking!

Zhao Yan isn't going to build a road that's only six or seven meters wide, but a national highway that's often fifteen meters or more wide!

The first phase of the project, the road from Changsha to Yueyang, must be open to traffic by the middle of the year, even if it's just a rammed earth road, it has to be built first.

Establishing a modern road supply line that runs directly from the rear to the front lines was crucial to the success or failure of the Northern Expeditionary Army, even more so than several divisions.

Transporting large quantities of military equipment and supplies from Changsha to Wuhan was too slow and costly; it simply couldn't be done without a proper road.

We can't rely on the Tea Horse Road for all the logistics of a large army, can we? It was unsustainable even in ancient warfare, let alone in the modern era of firearms.

Now the Northern Expeditionary Army and the Beiyang Army are locked in a stalemate in Handan. Zhao Yan, risking the collapse of the front line, has transferred two brigades to form the Second Division to fight south of the Yangtze River, in order to obtain more logistical supplies.

Although there are only about 150,000 people fighting on the front line now, they need the support of several million people behind the scenes, and the money and food consumed every day are tens of thousands of taels of silver to keep up.

Both sides were locked in a war of attrition. The Qing army clearly had many routes to outflank the Northern Expeditionary Army. They could have gone south through Shanxi to enter Guanzhong and outflank the Northern Expeditionary Army's rear, or they could have gone south through Xuzhou and then marched along the Huai River and the Yangtze River directly to Hankou and Xiangyang.

The Northern Expeditionary Army could have taken these routes, but neither side did because they couldn't withstand the pressure; they exhausted all their strength on the main front lines.

If they had the resources, who wouldn't want to launch a long-range attack behind enemy lines and rout the enemy in one fell swoop? The reality is that it's completely impossible. It's already quite an achievement to hold out on the main battlefield without collapsing. If they want to try anything fancy, sorry, there's no money or supplies left!

The Qing army's logistics line traveled all the way through the plains, unlike the Northern Expeditionary Army which had to cross mountains and valleys. The military aid sent by the foreign powers landed directly at Tianjin Port and was then transported by train to the front lines.

The Northern Expeditionary Army's external aid needed to be secretly delivered from the ports of Guangdong and Guangxi, then traveled over mountains and valleys to Changsha, and from Changsha it still had to continue to Wuhan, and only after arriving in Wuhan could it take the railway line directly to the front line.

Maintaining 300,000 troops along the Handan line is about the limit for both armies. They can only replenish their forces as they are lost. It is not realistic to continue to send more troops. The railway line can't hold up. They can only maintain this number of troops. Moreover, the finances can't support more troops fighting.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Old Zhang, I've never asked you for anything all these years, but this time you have to give me a hand!" Lu Zhaoxuan's eyes were full of sincere pleading.

However, Zhang Mingqi refused decisively before the other party could continue speaking: "I can't help at all! I'm already in dire straits myself. We discussed this beforehand, so why are you trying to shift the blame onto me?"

Before Lu Zhaoxuan could even bend over, Zhang Mingqi knew he needed to poop. It was about the road construction. The two had already divided the responsibilities beforehand: Zhang Mingqi was in charge of starting the construction of the Changhan Line, which is the section of highway from Changsha to Hankou.

Lu Zhaoxuan was in charge of the Changsha-Guangzhou line, which was responsible for the entire construction of the road from Changsha to Guangzhou. The Changsha-Hankou line had relatively low road consumption, about 300 kilometers long, and the cost was borne entirely by Hunan Province, as Hubei Province was fully focused on industrial development and could not afford to contribute.

The Changguang Railway, on the other hand, was much longer, at least a thousand kilometers long, and that wasn't all. It traversed mountains and valleys along the way, making the costs incredibly high. Hunan bore 20% of the costs, Guangdong was responsible for 50%, and the rest was supplemented by the provisional government.

Zhao Yan treated Lu Zhaoxuan and Zhang Mingqi, the two provisional prime ministers and deputy prime ministers, like construction site contractors, demanding that the Changhan Line be initially opened to traffic by the end of June, starting as an unpaved road and gradually paving it later.

The Changguang Line must be opened to traffic by the end of the year. It will be a dirt road, and the roads will be blocked where there are rivers and mountains along the way. The roads will be gradually paved and bridges will be built in the future.

Zhao Yan's thinking was simple: you don't have the ability to build railways, and you lack the resources to build highways, so let's build dirt roads first, just as a roadbed. In short, the road must be open to traffic.

After the task was assigned, the provisional government did not have a Ministry of Transportation at the time. It was useless to set one up in an emergency, as the new department could not bear such a heavy burden.

In the end, the burden could only be shared by the two giants of the provisional government, Zhang Mingqi and Lu Zhaoxuan, as only the two of them had enough ability and prestige to shoulder this responsibility.

Before the Changsha Uprising, Zhang Mingqi and Lu Zhaoxuan were the kind of officials who were neither high-ranking nor low-ranking, only able to act with authority locally. Once they reached the central government, the bigwigs would have a hard time even remembering their names.

However, after the Changsha Uprising, Zhang Mingqi and Lu Zhaoxuan were recognized by the outside world as revolutionary heroes. As the premier and vice premier, along with the Hunan officialdom, they single-handedly supported the entire rear area of ​​the Northern Expedition, and withstood the pressure without collapsing.

This skill alone made the world look at them with new eyes, regarding them as figures like Xiao He and Chen Ping. Not to mention that they were also veterans of the uprising. Whether passively or actively, they genuinely participated in the entire Changsha Uprising.

Zhang Mingqi and Lu Zhaoxuan are now the leading civilian officials of the revolutionary army, and no matter what, no one who comes later can compare to them.

But with great power comes great responsibility. Zhao Yan trusted his subordinates, but he didn't treat them like human beings; he treated them like livestock.

In 1906, the national highway was about 1,500 kilometers long and about 20 meters wide. Even if it was just an unpaved dirt road, what an engineering feat it was! It was almost comparable to the Qin Dynasty's Great Wall project!

Changsha, as the rear area, needed to coordinate local taxes, recruit soldiers, raise military funds, transport money and supplies, and also find time to govern the local area and clarify government affairs.

That wasn't enough; Zhao Yan even arranged for them to build roads, which was really inhumane. But there was no other way; the situation was changing too fast, and the original plan was no longer feasible, so they had to work desperately to come up with a new one.

Zhao Yan doesn't listen to any reasons or excuses from his subordinates. If he thinks something can be done, you have to do it for him. If you can't, you can expect to be eliminated.

In Hubei, the homes of more than 130 officials have been confiscated, and their assets have all been used for military expenses. The convicted officials and their families have also been sent to the battlefield in Hebi to fill gaps.

It was a clear case of confiscation of property and exile to the army, and to the front lines no less! Zhao Yan was only showing leniency because of Zhang Zhidong's influence; otherwise, the punishment would have been far worse.

Driven to madness, Zhao Yan sealed off all the concession areas and sent troops to completely surround the foreigners' territories. He also ordered a complete ban on foreign goods, declaring that anyone who bought foreign goods before the ban was lifted would be considered a traitor!

He was ruthless internally and even more domineering externally. When Zhao Yan issued orders, his subordinates dared not complain at all. Even officials in provinces like Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Guangdong, and Fujian obeyed obediently. After all, this man was too ruthless, clearly leaving no way out for himself or others.

If Zhao Yanruo only applied high pressure internally and compromised externally, his subordinates would definitely be dissatisfied and cause trouble. But now he treats everyone equally and is not afraid of anyone.

Zhao Yan has been in the business for so long that he has completely established his reputation as a man of his word. He has done everything he said he would do, even when dealing with foreigners. Who would dare to disobey such a ruthless person?

This illustrates the importance of credibility; if you say you'll kill the whole family, you must kill the whole family, not a single one can be spared.

Under Zhao Yan's intimidation, no one in the revolutionary military's administrative system dared to cause any trouble. Although the system and the people were still the same, the efficiency and style of work were completely different.

Of course, there were no drastic changes. The provisional government had not yet reached the level of "serving the people," and it could not even be considered a modern government system. It was still mainly based on the original Qing Dynasty system.

The only change was that the provisional government was actually doing its job. Each department started working according to its original responsibilities. The departments of Revenue, Personnel, Justice, Works, Rites, and War each performed their duties and did what they were supposed to do.

That kind of change is enough. As long as you do what you're supposed to do and do your best, no one will think that it won't change anything.

But once everyone got to work, they managed to support the army's northern expedition and launch attacks on all sides. This was something no one had expected. It turns out that when we unite and work diligently, we have such great power.

Chapter 55 Highway Construction Commences

The two brothers, Luo Ming and Luo Liang, stared blankly at the mountain peak in front of them, carrying hoes and picks. In front of them, an official with a shiny bald head stood on a high platform and spoke to the crowd with an iron megaphone.

"You have traveled thousands of miles to Hunan to support the revolution. The Führer is aware of your intentions, but unfortunately there are already too many people on the front lines, and there is no room for more!"

"The leader did not want everyone to have come all this way for nothing, and everyone would be unwilling to accept that. So the leader specifically ordered the establishment of a construction corps so that everyone would have something to do."

"The first thing the construction corps did after its establishment was to build roads, all the way to Guangzhou, carving roads through mountains and building bridges over rivers!"

"Two taels of silver per month, paid in full! Not a penny deducted, not a penny less! Three meals of dry rice a day, and one meat dish every three days. After completing five years of service and retiring, you can participate in the civil service examination and receive bonus points!"

"The infrastructure construction corps enjoys the same benefits as active-duty military personnel. Although the standards are lower than those of front-line combat troops, the advantage lies in safety!"

"Everything we deserve is here, everything we are entitled to is here, and the leader promises that we will not treat everyone unfairly!"

"Enough with the small talk, let's get to work!"