Chapter 24 of Part One

  As soon as I walked into Zeng Qing's tent, I saw a young man dressed in Ming dynasty attire sitting uneasily inside the tent, talking to Zeng Qing with caution and occasionally glancing at the military map hanging on the wall. I walked in and sized him up before saying, "This is Shi Qian, the general who abandoned literature for martial arts." Shi Qian quickly stood up and said, "I dare not, I am Shi Qian. It's truly unforgettable that General has come to rescue me from afar. As long as I can do something for General, I will spare no effort."

  I smiled at Shi Qian's eagerness to express himself and said, "General Shi Qian, from now on, don't call me General anymore. We are all comrades." Zeng Qing chimed in from the side, "Yes, we are all called 'Lao' (a term of respect), you should also get used to it."

  Shi Qian looked puzzled and asked, "Does 'Lao' mean the head of a group?" I took over Shi Qian's question and said with a smile, "It can be understood that way. However, our meaning is still the lower-level officers addressing their superiors, this is just a form of address."

  Shi Qian nodded in understanding, and I continued, "Shi Qian, our army really lacks talented people like you. Take a look." I pointed to the map and said, "The Qing army has already approached Jiujiang, but our defense there is not very solid yet. Our warships have all been launched, and the soldiers are all former fishermen from the Dongting Lake area, who are skilled in water battles and very brave. However, we lack high-level commanders, and now that you're here, I've been greatly relieved of pressure."

  Shi Qian humbly said, "Thank you for your trust, General...Lao, I will do my best to contribute to Lao's great cause." I frowned slightly, it had been a long time since I heard someone say "my great cause", and now hearing it really felt awkward. I told Shi Qian, "Shi Qian, you've said something wrong, this is not 'my great cause', this is the great cause of all the people in the world. Look, the Qing dynasty has done nothing but evil since entering the pass. Although the Ming dynasty was also corrupt and led to Li Zicheng's rebellion, the Qing dynasty's ethnic hierarchy system put our Han people in an even lower position than their dogs."

  I looked at Shi Qian with a serious expression and said, "We must unite to drive out the Qing dynasty and establish the world's most advanced navy. We will conquer all enemies who invade us." Shi Qian kneeled down and said, "Shi Qian is fortunate to have heard Lao's teachings today, if I had gone to surrender to the Qing dynasty, I would truly be a sinner for eternity."

  I looked at Shi Qian seriously and said, "Shi Qian, listen to my orders. On behalf of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, I formally appoint you as the Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, with the rank of Lieutenant General." It seemed that before I arrived, Zeng Qing and Shi Qian had already discussed many things about us. Shi Qian learned our military salute and saluted me, although it didn't look very standard. I returned the salute and said, "Shi Qian, now your navy has entered the Yangtze River and will arrive at Jiujiang tomorrow. You must work with the First Division stationed in Jiujiang to turn Jiujiang into an impregnable fortress for the Qing army."

  Shi Qian nodded and said, "I will not disappoint Lao's trust." I turned my head to look at Zeng Qing and said, "Zeng Qing, you were also a fisherman's son and had good water skills. It's a pity that you're wasted in the land army. Now I appoint you as the Political Commissar of the Navy, you must do a good job with ideological education." Zeng Qing stood up and said, "I guarantee to complete the task."

  Winter has arrived, and I am at my new office in Nanchang. This was the former ancestral home of Song Yingxing, who voluntarily offered it as an office for the State Council and the Group Army. His reason was that he was old and could avoid the trouble of traveling back and forth. The original Nanchang Prefectural Government Office has been divided into three parts: one part has been converted into a new-style school, another part has become a new hospital, and the last part has been left to some elderly people and children who lost their loved ones due to war and chaos, and has been turned into a welfare institute. Looking at the icicles hanging from the eaves, I felt a chill of winter. After a month of construction, Nanchang has already shown signs of prosperity. Although it is not comparable to Yueyang and Changsha, which have been liberated for more than half a year, it is already much better than before, and the people's hearts are slowly turning towards us. The soldiers' harmony and fairness, as well as the local government's style of handling affairs, have left a deep impression on them. The security battalion responsible for maintaining order in Nanchang has been withdrawn to the military camp outside the city, and now the police department established ten days ago is in charge of maintaining order. Its members are composed of soldiers and officers with families or elderly people who were exchanged from various armies. Hong Chengchou launched an attack on Jiujiang half a month ago, but was repelled several times by the First Division relying on the help of natural terrain. I am still worried and have transferred Zeng Qing's Second Division to reinforce it. Now, only Lu Youde's Fourth Division is left in Nanchang to prepare for the attack on Yingtan area. A security guard behind me said, "General, put on your coat, it's a bit cold today. If you catch a chill, we will be criticized." I smiled apologetically and said, "Where? It's not you who will be criticized, but me! Haha."

  At this time, the people on the street were all shouting and looking up at the sky. "Look, a big bird! Look, there are five of them!" One of the people said, "It seems that heaven is also blessing us, the divine birds have appeared. I, old Pan, have lived for over 60 years and have never seen such a large bird before. From Emperor Chongzong's time to now, I've never seen anything like it. It looks like the Qing dynasty will soon be driven out of the pass." In the past, when the Ming dynasty was about to fall, there were also strange signs in the sky and great turmoil. Now they have appeared again." I walked over to the window and said, "Guards, quickly report that Song has said that Prince Yan has arrived."

  When Song Yingxing and I arrived at the military camp, five airships were already parked on the spacious parade ground. Song Yingxing looked at the airship and said, "I didn't expect it to be successful. As someone who has studied Western culture, I didn't think our technology would surpass theirs." I smiled and said, "Song Lao, you're wrong. Our country has always had many extraordinary people with special abilities. These foreigners are just learning from us. Our technology is still better than theirs." Song Yingxing nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, you're right as always. Let's hurry up and go see the king."

  Inside the spacious tent, a fire was burning and a group of people were gathered around it, chatting. Grandfather's figure was also among them, but he looked even more haggard and thinner than before. His hair had already turned white, and some of it had fallen out unintentionally. I walked up to him excitedly and called out, "Grandfather, you've lost so much weight!" Zhu Ao turned around, smiled, and said, "Ah, Xiao, what are you saying? Grandfather is old, after all. It's inevitable that he's become thinner." He stood up and walked over, saying, "This gentleman here is Song Changgeng. Mr. Song." I nodded silently without speaking. Zhu Ao stretched out his two hands and said, "Brother Changgeng, your great name has been heard for a long time. Today, I finally get to meet you in person, and it's not in vain!" Song Xing at this time had already knelt down and said, "Your humble servant, the Prime Minister of the Ministry of Politics, Song Xing, pays his respects to Your Highness." Grandfather quickly helped Song Xing up and said, "Brother Changgeng, what are you doing? Didn't Xiao tell you that we don't do this anymore? Civil officials use handshakes as a greeting, while military officials use military salutes. Since we want to establish a new country, we need to have new rules and etiquette too. Next time, you can't do it like this again, Brother Changgeng." Song Xing had always been facing young people like us, but now he was facing someone around the same age as him, so he didn't use the self-deprecating term "old" anymore. He said, "Brother Changgeng, how dare I be on equal terms with Your Highness?" He also said, "Your Highness, please forgive me for speaking bluntly. Brother Changgeng has been an official in the Great Ming dynasty for many years, but he has never seen Your Highness before." Grandfather smiled and said, "Brother Changgeng, do you remember the Jingkang disaster?" Song Xing was shocked and said, "Your Highness, could it be that you are a descendant of Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty?" Grandfather smiled but didn't deny it, saying, "It's been so many generations ago, let's not mention it anymore." He then said to me and Song Xing, "Come, Xiao and Brother Changgeng, sit with me." I looked around at the people who were present: Han Zhi, Xu Jin, Li Quan, Jiang Hao, Lei Ting, and Yi Tianxing had all arrived.

  Inside the small conference room of the military department. Grandfather said, "The situation on the side of the General Staff is still okay for now. Due to the lack of any dangerous terrain to defend, they have been stuck in a stalemate with the Qing army. Mingzhu has become somewhat anxious and impatient under the pressure of several imperial edicts from Shunzhi. I estimate that next spring will be the time for them to launch an attack. In this regard, we can still hold out. Xiaoying's Western Sichuan Army is also fine, after occupying Jianmen Pass, they have already connected our base in Sichuan and Hubei before we arrived. The only problem now is Lü Jun's troops, due to the difficulty of supplies, we have lost contact with them. The last telegram was that their Eighth Army had entered the Dabie Mountains area, I think it may be due to a signal failure that caused the loss of contact. As long as we can get in touch next year, we can use airships for supplies." Grandfather paused and said, "That's our basic situation. Now let Minister Han Zhi introduce other aspects of the situation."

  Here is the translation:

  Han Zhi stood up and nodded, "The specific situation with our military equipment is as follows. Our light machine gun and heavy machine gun production bases have been relocated to Panzhihua in southern Sichuan. The mineral resources here are very rich, making it suitable for local production. Our artillery base is still within Hubei province, and our headquarters has moved to Wuhan. We've already developed new rocket launchers, howitzers, and cannons, and the 4th to 7th armies have been equipped with them. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd armies will transport their equipment to Changsha by the end of this year. You can replace your old equipment yourselves."

  Han Zhi took a sip of water and continued, "Economically, our entire base has formed a large market. Merchants have organized local governments and established a general chamber of commerce under the guidance of Finance Minister Chen Hui. We've also set up textile factories in partnership with private investors to solve the food problem for tens of thousands of migrant workers from other provinces. A large cement factory has been built in Xianning, Hubei province. Our goal for next year is to build a highway from Hubei to Sichuan. In terms of transportation, we want to shorten travel time by one to one and a half months. The phrase 'Shu Dao Nan' (the difficulty of traveling to Sichuan) will become a thing of the past."

  Han Zhi paused and looked around before continuing, "In terms of oil exploration, we've built a small oil refinery in Jianghan Oilfield, but due to our limited metallurgical technology, we can't yet engage in large-scale production. That's all I have to say for now." Everyone applauded.

  Grandfather looked at me and said, "Ah Xiang, don't talk about the military situation here. Every soldier is brave and skilled. You are the main attacking force of the future. Let's talk about other aspects."

  I looked at Xu Jin and said, "This aspect is managed by Song Lao and Xu Jin." Song Yingxiong stood up and Grandfather said, "Long Geng, you can sit down and speak as well."

  Song Yingxiong nodded and sat back down, "I'll briefly talk about our situation. First, from a military perspective, we've established an ordnance factory in Changsha to produce hand grenades, landmines, and other equipment. The clothing factory in Yueyang has expanded twice and can now meet the needs of the entire army, including the 4th to 7th armies. Our match factory is producing matches that are selling very well, even in the Qing dynasty's palace."

  Everyone laughed at this.

  Song Yingxiong continued, "We've expanded our cigarette factory on the basis of the original Changsha tobacco factory and now produce 5,000 boxes of Zhonghua cigarettes per year. Most of these are sold through merchants' channels to Macau and then exported overseas. The rest is in high demand in Yunnan, Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces. Our match and cigarette factories have become our main sources of income and provide sufficient funding for government infrastructure projects."

  Song Yingxiong looked at Xu Jin and said, "Xu Jin, do you have anything to add?"

  Xu Jin stood up and said, "Our abundant funds have brought us great convenience. We've made significant progress in building various welfare facilities. Every county now has new-style schools from primary school to high school, all of which are free. We've also established a medical school and invited over 800 Western doctors from Macau to provide basic medical training. Our military academies include the Imperial Army Command Academy and the Imperial Navy Command Academy in Yueyang, as well as the Imperial Army Officer Academy in Nanchang, which is a short-term school for immediately supplying talent to the troops. We've also established the Changsha Flight Academy specifically for flight research and development."

  Grandfather looked around and said, "Good, very good. Ah Xiang's base on this side has set an example that we can follow. However, our personnel arrangements are currently a bit chaotic, which is why I came here this time. Everyone seated here is a Republican Party member. This is also our first national representative conference. I propose that to avoid wasting resources, each department should move its offices to Changsha or Wuhan for now. My suggestion is still to move to Changsha, as the situation here is more stable. Let's have Song Yingxiong continue to serve as Premier of the State Council."

  Song Yingxiong humbly said, "It would be better if Han Zhi took on this role."

  After the joint voting and party internal election, Song Yingxing took office as Premier of the State Council, Xu Jin as Vice Premier, Li Quan as Minister of Ship Design Department, Han Zhi as Minister of General Equipment Department, Jiang Hao as Minister of Metallurgical Industry Department, Chen Hui as Minister of Commerce and Finance Department, Huang De as Minister of Logistics Department, Grandfather took office as Commander-in-Chief of the People's Liberation Army, I took office as Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Commander of the First Group Army (including 2nd and 3rd Armies), Zhou Lun took office as Director of the General Political Department and concurrently as Political Commissar of the First Group Army. Peng Ying took office as Chief of Staff. Due to many unstable military formations, only so many appointments and elections were made for the time being. In the future, unified offices will be set up in all base areas.

  After dispersing, I looked at Grandpa and said "Grandpa, let's go out for a walk"

  I just got a message from netizens that there are pirated versions of my work in Wuhan and other places, sigh. I really don't know what to say.