Chapter 48 of the First Part: Special Chapter on Fishing for Abalone

  The entire city of Beijing during the Shunzhi period had already inherited the layout of the Ming dynasty, and also added some new features. The entire city of Beijing is now outside the Imperial City, with the Red, Yellow, Blue, White Banners and the Border Banner. Except for the Plain Yellow Banner which belongs to the Imperial City, the other seven banners are all around the Imperial City.

  When the dawn had just passed, the rooster that reported the dawn blew the horn of heaven, and the sun lazily stuck out its lovely head from the eastern horizon. A thin fog shrouded the entire Beijing, which was rare to see a foggy day in northern cities. The military camps outside the city, which were densely surrounding the entire city of Beijing, had already transmitted the sound of the army's wake-up horn and the sound of morning exercises everywhere. With the rise of singing voices in the army, a brand new day opened a new curtain.

  Yu Yonglong stood outside the military camp with a dark and gloomy face, watching the soldiers coming and going for training. Not a single good word was spoken, and whoever he saw would be scolded again for not being trained properly. A command from the General Command came down, and Lü Jun took away all the horses that could be ridden or walked in the entire army, big or small. He also replaced the soldiers who could ride horses. The warhorses captured in the Battle of Baoding were basically taken away by him alone, and he said "I'm just following orders" afterwards. He ran happily to Hohhot, and Li Dingguo, an old man from the First Army Group, also took his troops away without bringing anything. He invited the Navy's Servant Lang to go to Northeast China to dig up the old roots of Manchuria, leaving only his own troops here to surround this half-dead Beijing City. They still had to take care of tens of thousands of prisoners. When they first surrounded Beijing, there were still people running out from inside, but after more than a month, not even a mosquito wanted to run out now. The Eight Banners' sons also had extremely strong adaptability, and now they could still sleep soundly inside the city of Beijing. From time to time, they would tease their own troops on the city wall.

  Wu Shuang walked out of his own military camp at this time. Facing Yue Yulong, he said, "Bao Gong, I have some good news to tell you today. Originally, this news was supposed to be told to you yesterday, but the top said that it could only be told to you today. Hehe, I also had no choice." After finishing speaking, he rubbed his eyes and dug out a piece of eye dirt. Looking at Yue Yulong's eager expression, he continued, "Yue Yulong, listen to the order! The Fourth Order of the General Command: Due to the stubbornness of the Manchu people in Beijing who refuse to surrender, the General Command has decided to launch a strong attack on Beijing. The specific battle plan will be decided by each unit, but one thing to note is that the Imperial City of Beijing must not be damaged. Signed, Commander-in-Chief Zhu Xiao. March 8th, 1958."

  Yue Yulong's face, which had been gloomy for tens of days, finally revealed a rare smile. He took the command and looked at it again and again, laughing as he walked towards Wang Hu and said "Haha, Wang Hu, we've finally got our chance. Haha. I see these Manchu people, they're still so arrogant, damn it, they know they're trapped inside but still dare to make fun of me. Now let's see how I'll beat you."

  Wang Hu said in a bad tone, "I know about this matter, but take another look and pay attention to protecting the imperial city heritage. This is where our emperor will live, it can't be destroyed. It's also hard to attack."

  Yue Yulong listened to Wang Hu's words and suddenly shouted, "If our emperor dares to live in the Golden Hall, I'll blow this place up today!" He said to the two people, "Don't say anything else, let's not worry about these things for now, discussing how to attack is more important." Then he ordered the guards outside, "Get the commanders, chief of staff and political commissars of the 7th and 8th armies to come over for a meeting!"

  Lei Feng hadn't arrived yet, but a loud voice had already come from outside. "Tai Ge (also a fellow defender) how did you have the leisure to come here and hang out today? Aren't you usually taking a few old guns to the royal hunting grounds to hunt? When are you going to bring back a tiger for me to drink?"

  Liu Tai also said with a smile, "Lei Dabao, don't be unhappy here. Just because you're guarding those two city gates, I'm not sure if I'll let you go to my imperial hunting grounds. You're just having a good time every day, playing cards at home with He Lanxing and Zhang Shun." Turning his head, he glanced at Leng Yunfei and Xie Bo, saying, "We don't have such leisurely elegance." After finishing speaking, he bowed to Lei Dabao in an affected manner, saying, "I admire you, I admire you."

  Yue Yulong's face turned iron-green again as he looked at Lei Feng and Liu Tai, who were originally under his management. "Not bad, huh? Some people are hunting, some people are playing cards. Haven't seen anyone fighting." You two can continue arguing, but this time you're not participating in the battle. You can go back, those who want to hunt can go to the hunting ground, and those who want to gamble can go to the casino.

  Lei Feng and Liu Tai heard that there was a battle to be fought and had already forgotten Yue Yulong's sarcasm. They smiled and said, "Commander, we brothers are just bored with no battles to fight, so we're just joking around. You can let us off."

  Wu Shuang also looked over and advised, "Alright, alright, stop showing off here. Let's sit down and have a meeting."

  Yue Yulong glanced at Wang Hu with a hint of his eyes, and Wang Hu stood up, picked up the document from the table and read it out loud: "The General Command has decided to launch a comprehensive attack on Beijing starting today. At that time, no one will be allowed to enter or leave the city gate."

  Yu Long glanced at everyone present and looked at several people's excited eyes, saying "This meeting mainly discusses how to take down Beijing City."

  "Lei rose to his feet, saluted the crowd with a military salute and said, "I think we should launch a direct attack. Now that Beijing has been besieged by us for a month, it has become completely demoralized. The head of Emperor Shunzhi hanging on the gate has made them numb. Moreover, we have not sent any food or vegetables to the city, and I think they are almost at the end of their tether. If we attack, just a few charges will be enough to finish off those Eight Banners soldiers."

  Liu Tai also stood up and said, "I think we should now adopt two forms of attack, mainly offensive and psychological warfare. Beijing has been besieged by us for several months. Even if their morale is strong, I think it's about to collapse. If we move them with emotion and reason, I believe these thousands of people will immediately collapse within three days."

  Yue Yulong glanced at several military chiefs and said, "Those who agree with the first opinion can express their views, and those who agree with the second opinion should also give a reason. Now let's have a free discussion on this issue. Anyway, we've been besieged for a month, so it doesn't matter about this time. Who will speak first?"

  After a fierce debate, most people tend to the second plan. After all, the orders and requirements under the General Command must be executed.

  As the heavy artillery in the rear thundered, and a flying boat dispatched by Blue Sky appeared, the Battle of Beijing officially began. The artillery had no major problems at this time, under the cover of strong firepower support from the guns. Our soldiers started a fierce attack with the prepared siege equipment, the huge body of the flying boat floating above the city of Beijing cast a large black shadow in the sunlight, dropping batches of flyers from above.

  The contents of the flyer were written in both Chinese and Manchu, saying the same thing: "Surrender and you will not be killed, resist and you will die." The impact of the flyer began to show a strong reflection. These besieged Qing troops were fine when they didn't attack, but as long as there was still a glimmer of hope in their minds, now that the flyer had been distributed and the troops had officially attacked, all psychological hopes were ruthlessly destroyed, leaving only fear of waiting for death and a sorrowful atmosphere. Now seeing "surrender and you will not be killed" was like grabbing onto a lifesaving straw after falling into water. One by one, they put down their weapons and gave up resistance. The battle was proceeding in an orderly fashion, with the resistance getting smaller and smaller, and the slow opening of the four city gates. Beijing City, the capital of the Ming Dynasty and the symbol of the short-lived Qing Dynasty, had firmly fallen into our hands. Leaving behind the necessary troops to garrison the Imperial City and maintain order in Beijing, Yue Yudong had already taken the Manchu nobles' captives out of the city.

  At the same time, the whole of Changsha was also busy. The emperor and officials from various government agencies took turns flying to Beijing by airship, while other office materials were transported overland. China finally had half of it unified again.

  Zhu Xiao gazed at the Beijing city residents and military officers who had come to welcome him, his eyes once again becoming moist. He couldn't help but think of the scene when he left Changsha, where the citizens had bid farewell to government officials.

  Zhu Xiao waved his hand to signal for everyone to calm down and said, "Fellow countrymen, we have finally achieved victory! On behalf of the Emperor of the Chinese Empire, I declare that Beijing will be our capital from now on. Additionally, I would like to announce another matter. The Chinese Empire will build a new imperial residence, and we will no longer reside in the Forbidden City. From now on, anyone can visit the Forbidden City for free, where they can see the place where the Emperor used to live. If you're willing to pay 50 yuan, you can even sit on a replica of the dragon throne."

  He continued without waiting for the crowd's reaction, "Also, the eunuchs and palace maids left over from the previous dynasty will be granted Chinese Empire nationality. They can choose to leave and start new lives or apply to stay in the newly established welfare institution for former imperial staff, where they can receive care until their death. The Chinese Empire will no longer have eunuchs and palace maids; instead, we will adopt a new female official system. Female officials will be recruited from among the people, with a term of three years. After three years, they can choose to stay on, be promoted, or leave and return to their hometowns. The salary for female officials will be based on an annual salary system, starting at 2,000 yuan per year."

  Zhu Xiao looked around at the crowd's reaction and continued, "If anyone is interested, you can go back and think about it. Starting tomorrow, a registration office will be set up outside the imperial city."

  The news Zhu Xiao mentioned yesterday has become the headline of Imperial Daily and various local newspapers. The Imperial Daily published an article titled "Golden Hall Enters People's Homes". Newspapers all over the country have been vigorously promoting it, causing people from all over the country to rush to Beijing whenever they have some free time. The ordinary people in Beijing see that those who come from afar are not only better off financially than themselves but also fully support the work of the new government.

  All national institutions have moved to Changsha. The new government office has also been selected and normal office work has begun. Telegraph lines from Beijing to all parts of the country have also been officially opened. Just as people across the country were immersed in a sea of joy, Zheng Chenggong led the Pacific Fleet to engage in fierce battles with Japanese pirates near the Diaoyu Islands outside Taiwan waters.

  At this time, Zheng Chenggong's fleet was no longer the original Pacific Fleet. The three ironclad warships that had been launched in the past few months were all equipped to the Pacific Fleet. Now there are more than 200 large and small ships.

  The first to spot the Japanese pirate's shadow was a fisherman working in the nearby waters. After spotting them, the fishermen immediately evaded the pirates' search and returned to lead Zheng Chenggong step by step towards the pirates' fleet. At this time, the smoke emerging from the new ironclad warship had already startled the Japanese pirates, who had already raised a flag signal: "What fleet are you? We are the fleet of the Emperor of the Great Empire of Japan. You have entered our territorial waters, please leave immediately."

  Zheng Chenggong gazed at the banner, his anger burning like a raging fire. The Diaoyu Islands were originally part of Great China's territory, when did it become this small island nation's turn to point fingers and lecture us? Originally, they were just the offspring of Qin dynasty's Xu Fu's search for elixirs, now they dare to ask our Great China for land. This is truly preposterous! He turned to the people beside him and said: "Hoist the flag signal, this is the territorial waters of the Chinese Empire, we are the Pacific Fleet of the Chinese Empire Navy. Please immediately withdraw from our fleet's line of sight, you Japanese pigs who have invaded our territory. Otherwise, we will prosecute you for the crime of aggression. Open fire without exception."

  After the flag was sent out, the opposite fleet immediately transmitted a chirping bird language. Zheng Chenggong didn't think and just frowned, saying "Don't form any formation to deal with such rubbish. With their few wooden ships, do they want to sink our fleet? Pass down the order, except for the logistics supply ship, all other combat ships will carry out indiscriminate attacks until all ammunition is exhausted."

  As the flagship fired its first shot, all warships of our Pacific Fleet opened fire on the Japanese fleet. The ironclad stood at the forefront and unleashed a fierce bombardment. After more than an hour of slaughter, over 40 Japanese ships sank with no survivors. Our side had zero wooden warships severely damaged, with the rest intact and undamaged, while personnel suffered over 50 minor injuries and no other casualties.

  The message was relayed to Beijing through the Naval Command, and the Imperial News Department officially held a press conference to announce that all members of the Pacific Fleet were collectively awarded Second-Class Merit, while warning Japan's rogue behavior. It is hoped that the Japanese Emperor and Shogunate can control their emotions and troops, and not take any further aggressive actions against our country, otherwise we will launch a full-scale war.

  I just heard that the Diaoyu Islands defenders are once again rushing to the front lines. Although I am lying in a hospital bed, I still feel uneasy and have difficulty sleeping and eating. I'm borrowing my friend's laptop to continue writing about the Japanese issue on top of what I had previously written. I would like to pay my highest respects to those who are heading to defend Diaoyu Islands. Although I don't have your courage, I am also a man with a sense of justice. When I am capable of securing my own livelihood, I will fight and work together with you all. Sincerely wishing you a safe journey. I will be discharged from the hospital the day after tomorrow, thank you everyone for your concern.