Chapter Eighteen
"Quick, Dogzi! Let's go drag that landlord down and beat him to death. How detestable!" A peasant standing beside us said to one of our soldiers, pointing at the landlord in front.
This has happened many times where our actors were mistaken for real-life tyrannical landlords. Unexpectedly, the propaganda teams we organized had a great effect, and after I and Zhou Run revised and directed plays like "The White-Haired Girl" and "Taking Tiger Mountain", with some theater troupes joining in, the acting skills of the performers have been greatly improved, now they are performing more and more realistically.
As the performance continued to deepen, our warriors also helped the nearby farmers with farm work during their spare time in training. Now, the surrounding tens of miles of peasants are more and more supportive of us, with one telling ten and ten telling hundreds. The positivity of the struggle and the view of us have been greatly improved, and now many people are asking to join the army. Under the personal selection of several battalion commanders, the missing warriors were quickly replenished, and some soldiers in the hospital also returned to their units after being discharged from the hospital.
Good news also came from Yue State, after Zeng Yu Shu's half-month research, the first Wan Ren Di (rotary rocket launcher) has been successfully tested. During the test, it continuously fired shells and bombarded a small valley, with very good results.
Lei Feng also sent a telegram that his unit, after a day and night of fighting, had captured Jiangxi Province's Pingxiang, annihilating over 5,000 enemy soldiers and capturing over 1,000. The county magistrate of Pingxiang was killed on the spot, and over 10 million silver taels were seized from the treasury.
However, due to the rapid advance, there are still places behind that need to be deepened in terms of the people's loyalty after being received by the Xu Jin faction. I also sent him a telegram expressing no urgency to attack, but rather to solidify the rear, and to quickly get the Pingxiang coal mine operating. Additionally, other mineral resources in Pingxiang should also be developed and utilized together, as there are still many iron reserves in Pingxiang, and other non-ferrous metals that need to be constructed simultaneously. The specific details will be left to Xu Jin to handle, with the goal of quickly establishing various factory and mine enterprises to meet metallurgical needs, as well as setting up the most important military factories, so as to provide sufficient ammunition.
The road from Yue State to the main camp has been fully repaired. In addition, the road to Changsha is also being planned, and Xu Jin, that little boy, has now established a Supervisory Bureau to prevent local officials from embezzling funds, and he himself is in charge of it, making most of the local officials in the occupied area very diligent, not a bit sloppy, which invisibly adds another point to our government's prestige among the common people.
As I looked at the outline of party building sent by Zhou Lun, I felt a surge of excitement. Ah, what profound words! It can be said that it is a vivid portrayal of our army's discipline and ideological problems. Although the previous political work had some effect, the goals of the soldiers were still limited to a small level. There are still some "harmful horses" appearing in the army from time to time, and the rectification effect is not very obvious.
Finally, Aron said in the outline: "The Republican Party we are going to establish is a party that represents the fundamental interests of the people all over the country, the most advanced productive forces and the most advanced culture." I feel so familiar with this.
Finally I looked at Aron and said, "Aron, let's do it your way. Also send a telegram to headquarters, I think it's better to report to the old man too. What do you think?"
"Alright, I've already sent a telegram to the old man and haven't received a response yet," Aron said with a nod. After a moment of contemplation, he added, "Also, our first batch of party members should mainly consist of these high-ranking military officers and progressive-thinking soldiers. Later on, we must adhere to the principle of 'better fewer but better'."
In September, on a fine day, I led the first batch of 128 party members here as the deputy chairman of the party to take an oath. And held the first party congress, determined the party flag and party emblem.
Finally, I said to these military commanders: "Now it's already September 3rd. What I want to say is that the plan to take Nanjing from us has changed a lot. Now Shunzhi has learned about our situation and dispatched an army of 1.5 million troops led by Hong Chengchou, Minister of War, with three banners of Manchu, Mongolian, and Han soldiers, divided into two routes to attack Hubei Xiangfan and Anhui. The situation for the General Headquarters is now very severe. Wu Sangui's Xia Guoxiang's army is also fighting fiercely with our Peng Yingxiong's army in Sichuan. Zheng Chenggong of Fujian is preparing to attack Taiwan. The four major generals of Jiangxi and the governor of Jiangxi have dispatched part of their troops to fight against Fujian. Now it's a great opportunity for us to launch an attack, as long as we can occupy most areas of Jiangxi, the Qing army in Jiangxi will be like fish in a barrel. After ten days of training, I think new soldiers should also have some combat effectiveness. Now I order one battalion to lead the way and march towards Jiangxi, and hand over the newly arrived rocket artillery to your artillery company for use. Although the firepower is not as strong as that of the divisional artillery unit, you don't need to worry about the supply of artillery."
He stood up and said: "Yes." Although he looked very serious, the excitement in his heart could also be seen. After all, his own troops were the first battalion to complete the artillery equipment.
Zeng Qing and the others looked at each other with envy, knowing that although every regiment now has an artillery company in its formation, it used to be empty. After capturing five muzzle-loading cannons later, Zeng Qing even pulled a few rounds in each regiment. Now, the first regiment is suddenly equipped with rocket artillery. Zeng Qing said with a smile: "This time, your regiment will definitely not let us drink soup again."
I glanced at Zeng Qing. Zeng Qing also immediately clicked his tongue and didn't say a word. I continued, "After the troops set out from here, they must take the fastest speed and the smallest loss to capture Baisha Ridge, Xiushui area, and then go south to capture Jing'an, while the main force will go up to Tonggu and meet with you in Jing'an."
"Seriously standing up: 'Yes, I guarantee to win the war at the lowest cost.'"
September, the weather is cool and refreshing, not cold or hot, which is the best thing for our warriors. The vanguard has set out, and our main force is also advancing towards Tonggu County at the same time. Tonggu is a small county town in Jiangxi near Hunan. The garrison has only over 800 people, all of whom are Han Chinese bannermen. Our warriors have become experts in rapid marches, thanks to their previous training. They are fighting with their lives on the line, and the effects of their training have finally emerged.
On the evening of September 7, 1656, our troops arrived at a place 50 kilometers outside Tonggu County town. Along the way, our propaganda team and warriors helped the local people as much as possible during rest and camping, fighting against the landlords and distributing land. The members of the propaganda team performed several plays vividly. Some old people cried on the spot.
Following Zhou Lun's suggestion, I left a guard company behind to protect the members of the propaganda team, who followed our main force afterwards. This ensured that we could guarantee the consolidation of the occupied areas while also ensuring the rapid advance of our troops.
The military camp was set up on a low hill, and the camp had already lit a blazing bonfire. The soldiers were all drinking thick meat soup, and as I looked at these hardworking soldiers, my eyes couldn't help but get wet. For so long, I had been neglecting an important issue - the food for the soldiers. It was only natural that they should have enough to eat, but it hadn't occurred to me that we were ignoring this problem. Yet, the soldiers didn't have a single complaint. I thought for a moment and then turned to Little Tang: "Go get Zhou Zhengming to come to my tent, tell him I need to discuss something important with him." Zhou Lun lifted the flap of the tent and walked in, saying: "Ah Xiao, what's this urgent matter that you've called me here for?" I looked at Zhou Lun and said: "Ah Lun, we've been a military unit for so long, but today I realized that we've been neglecting an important issue." Zhou Lun looked at me with his wise eyes and said: "Actually, Ah Xiao, I had thought of this problem a long time ago, but because our base is in such a difficult situation, I didn't mention it." I looked at him and said: "Ah Lun, then tell me how you plan to solve this problem." Zhou Lun composed himself for a moment before saying: "Ah Xiao, now that our base's monthly income has been gradually increasing, we're making over 400,000 silver taels per month. Adding in the spoils of war, and with Old Lei's troops on our side, we have over 20,000 soldiers. If each soldier gets one or two silver taels per month, that's enough for a family of four to eat for a month. So the salary is still quite high - officers get a bit more, but even you and I only get five silver taels per month. Do you see? Even with this, our monthly expenses are only around 30,000 silver taels. It's still manageable." I nodded my head and said: "Alright, announce this to the entire division tomorrow morning before training. Tomorrow night, we must take down the copper drum... and together with Lei Feng, form a large revolutionary base that connects Hunan province." Zhou Lun nodded his head and said: "Alright, who made me your partner? Sigh!"
Here is the translation:
On September 8th at 5:00 pm, our battle officially began. This was the first county town we encountered since entering Jiangxi. The city wall of Tonggu had already shown signs of damage after years of war. Under the intense bombardment of Yuan Yongzhi's cannons (which were controlled to only hit the city wall and outside areas to avoid harming civilians), the city wall began to shake, and our soldiers quickly broke through it with wooden battering rams. At this point, the enemy had retreated and was preparing for street fighting. Occasionally, cold arrows would shoot out from corners, and there were no civilians on the streets, all hiding in their homes waiting for the war to end.
I rode my horse into the city and shouted: "The blocking team should retreat outside the city to avoid accidental injuries. Yitian Xing, send a battalion to surround the county government office and find the county official. Order him to command the Qing army to surrender. The second battalion of Zengqing should also retreat. The division's guard battalion will be in charge of local security work here, issuing an announcement to reassure the civilians, and all soldiers must follow the three main disciplines and eight points of attention. Those who violate discipline will be severely punished."
After an hour of street fighting, the battle had basically stabilized, and the county official was tied up outside the county government office. Some brave old men had come out and were active again. After reading our announcement to reassure civilians, they excitedly spread the news around, and the streets returned to their usual calm.
These old men had already become numb to war, and no matter what troops came, they didn't care. When we arrived, they hid, and when the battle was over, they came out again. I couldn't help but admire these people's adaptability to war.
I said to Tang Kefeng: "Little Tang, you are now the commander of the security forces here. Our division has withdrawn, and these matters will be left for you to handle." Little Tang nodded confidently and said: "Yes, Commander."
Tang Kefeng spoke to the increasingly gathering crowd outside the county government office: "Fellow villagers, we are the Liberation Army. You must have heard of our name. Our goal is to drive out those hateful Manchu Qing dynasty rulers for everyone, for us Han people, and send them to the dark mountains and evil waters. Why should they occupy our fertile land, why should they seize our sisters and relatives?"
Pointing to the announcement on the wall, he said: "This notice is not just posted for you to see, but it will be implemented in reality. I hope someone will supervise our soldiers. If there are people who harm you, tell me, and I guarantee that I will give you a satisfactory answer."
The crowd began to applaud, and Tang Kefeng gestured: "There's one more thing - the question of who will be the county official of Tonggu. I'll tell everyone, our Liberation Army policy is whoever gets the support of the people will become a member of the Tonggu County Management Committee. Tomorrow, we hope that those who are willing to serve as officials and are trusted by you will come forward, and we will keep our promise to let them manage everyone."
The old men were now enthusiastically applauding, and Tang Kefeng continued: "Now, everyone should go back to their normal lives. Those who need to eat dinner should go eat, and those without rice at home can come to the county government office to receive some."
The county magistrate election in Tonggu County was carried out enthusiastically on the second day. Many ordinary people sent their children to our military camp after watching the performance of our propaganda team, and some girls also asked how to join our propaganda team. I called for the selection of a few talented individuals from the propaganda team to come in. Then, based on the old principles, 780 people were selected to form an independent regiment to maintain local security and prevent some landlords with ulterior motives from rebelling. After more than half of the ordinary people in the city recommended, a woodworker, a former Ming dynasty scholar, and an enlightened landlord were finally elected to form a county administration committee. I formally issued them a letter of appointment and entrusted them with our basic policies to implement specifically. At the same time, we established a farmers' association representing peasants, a chamber of commerce representing merchants, and a handicraft association in Tonggu. The five martyred soldiers who died in this battle were also replaced. Standing on the damaged city wall, I whispered to myself: "Jiangxi, I have arrived."
