Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 83

Chapter 290 The Qing Dynasty is Doomed

The meeting convened by the Zhili Governor-General's Office ultimately decided to fight the Russian army. This essentially involved setting up defenses along the Great Wall. Feng Guozhang led the Second Division of the Beiyang Army to defend the Shanhaiguan line, while Duan Qirui led the Third Division to defend the section of the Great Wall between Rehe, Dushikou, and Shanhaiguan. The First Division of the Beiyang Army defended Beijing, and the Fourth Division was stationed in the area from Tianjin to Tangshan and Luanzhou as a reserve force. After returning to Shandong, Yang Shixiang quickly established the Fifth Division of the Beiyang Army, while Wang Shizhen returned to Beijing to train the Sixth Division.

After Yuan Shikai was appointed to lead the Grand Council, he reorganized the original Beijing Banner Standing Army and the Beiyang Standing Army. He gave the name of the First Beiyang Division to the original Beijing Banner Standing Army, changed the original First Beiyang Division to the Second Beiyang Division, kept the name of the Third Beiyang Division unchanged, and changed the Second Beiyang Division to the Fourth Beiyang Division.

After this reorganization and the recruitment of two new divisions, the basic structure of the Beiyang Six Divisions was formed. However, at that time, only the Second and Fourth Divisions of the Beiyang Army were truly powerful; the First and Third Divisions were slightly weaker, while the Fifth and Sixth Divisions were still in the process of training and establishing their organization. If it weren't for the Russian invasion, Yuan Shikai and the Beiyang generals would never have been willing to go to war with the Russians, because even a fool could see that if they had just given two years, the Beiyang Six Divisions would have become the most powerful military force in the country.

But now Yuan Shikai had no choice but to fight, because if he lost Zhili, his fundamental territory, or if Beijing fell to foreigners again, the Beiyang government would not only lose its foundation, but also the last vestige of the imperial court's authority. Without the court's prestige, he would no longer be able to force the South to provide funds and supplies to help him expand the Beiyang government's military power.

However, Yang Shixiang's views at the meeting still bothered Yuan Shikai. So after the meeting, he specially invited Yang Shixiang, Yang Shiqi and Tang Shaoyi to have tea together in the small flower hall to discuss the issues of Wuhan and the various foreign powers.

Yang Shiqi's viewpoint was quite clear. He directly advocated to Yuan Shikai, drawing on his brother's perspective: "The fact that Wuhan did this actually shows that they regard the Grand Tutor and the Beiyang Army as their biggest enemies, while completely disregarding Nanjing, Guangdong and Guangxi, Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi."

However, in my humble opinion, the biggest enemy of the "Grand Secretary" right now is Wuhan; everyone else is truly insignificant. Because only we and Wuhan possess territory, military power, and a sense of righteousness. There's no one else to contend with.

Tang Shaoyi then said to Yuan Shikai in a roundabout way: "Although the Grand Secretary and the Beiyang clique are now in a precarious situation, this may not be a bad thing. After this battle, the Grand Secretary will be the Grand Secretary and Li Wenzhong will be Li Wenzhong. From now on, the Beiyang clique and the Huai clique will only have a relationship and no further connection."

Moreover, the great powers valued strength above all else. The Boxers, who killed the German minister, were considered mobs, but the Hubei New Army, having killed so many British, was hailed as the Prussia of the Far East. Therefore, if the Beiyang Army wanted to gain the respect of the great powers and obtain their loans, it would be impossible without fighting and winning a battle against the Russians.

Tang Shaoyi's words resonated with Yuan Shikai, who sighed and said, "Indeed, the reason Wuhan was able to contend with the imperial court without being at a disadvantage is because of their merits in defending Tibet and recovering Shannan. Therefore, the whole world regards them as the protectors of the country, while regarding the imperial court as the court of foreigners. If it weren't for this, why would the imperial court be so constrained..."

Although Yuan Shikai's words were not yet finished, the three people present understood what the court meant by "letting loose their grip." When the Qing army pacified Sichuan and Zeng Guofan quelled the Taiping Rebellion, they also wiped out the local people. Although the scholars in Jiangnan tried their best to whitewash Zeng Guofan, saying that the people of Jiangnan were all killed by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, they were just taking advantage of the fact that the peasants killed by Zeng Guofan could not speak out. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom did not kill all the scholars in Jiangnan, which is why they left themselves with an indelible infamy.

Such things have happened countless times in Chinese history. For example, a person who wholeheartedly wanted to educate intellectuals was eventually described by scholars as a tyrant, who said he brought hell to the human world. In reality, he simply made these scholars experience the life of farmers. Then, these scholars, who claimed to be speaking from the farmers' perspective, described this life as persecution. They forgot one thing: their original purpose in opposing industrialization was to allow farmers to live such a beautiful rural life forever.

The teacher merely tried to show these people that the so-called idyllic rural life wasn't all that wonderful, and he was branded a tyrant. So, what's the difference between those intellectuals who reject industrialization and Lord Ye, who professed to love dragons but was terrified of them in reality?

However, some of the three did not agree with Yuan Shikai's words. It was not that the court did not want to act freely, but that it was really unable to defeat Wuhan. Moreover, Wuhan's retaliation was also very cruel. Those landlords and gentry who supported the court were not only deprived of their property, but some were even sent directly to labor camps to build water conservancy projects. As a result, more and more landlords and gentry began to flee from Wuhan.

Now, no one wants to provoke Wuhan because they are worried about the consequences of failure. The suffering of Henan landlords and gentry is a matter for the people of Henan. Why should they attract the people of Hubei and make trouble for themselves? Everyone wanted the Beiyang Army to wipe out the Workers' Party in Wuhan, but after the defeat of the Yi Army, the Beiyang Army became cautious.

With the Qing Dynasty on the verge of collapse, every bit of strength they possessed was their own capital. Who would risk their capital for the benefit of the Qing Dynasty or the landlords and gentry of Henan and Huguang? Unless the gains from capturing Wuhan could compensate for their losses and even generate a profit, no one would be so foolish as to risk their lives against Wuhan.

After the small meeting in the flower hall ended, Yuan Shikai saw the three of them out of the mansion. He then left with Yang Shixiang under the pretext of leaving, and when no one was around, he asked his confidant, "You didn't seem to say much just now. Is there something you're not comfortable saying?"

The corridor was lined with flowers and plants, and Tianjin was quite comfortable at this time of year. However, in Yang Shixiang's eyes, it was the end of autumn in the Qing Dynasty. He sighed and said, "Your Excellency, I think the Qing Dynasty is doomed."

Yuan Shikai paused, looking at him. Yang Shixiang, having said this, spoke more freely: "The new policies of the Huiluan era, after being disrupted by Wuhan, are definitely unsustainable. Governors and viceroys in various regions will inevitably use the new policies as an excuse to massively expand their local military forces. It is no longer possible for the Beiyang government to use the name of the court to unify the regions and then promote national reforms emulating Japan's Meiji Restoration. Because the Qing dynasty is now a shogunate, not an emperor, when the whole world wants to overthrow the shogunate, it is impossible to carry out political reforms in the name of the shogunate."

Yuan Shikai thought about it carefully and took his words to heart, so he asked, "So what do you think we should do next?"

After a moment of silence, Yang Shixiang said, "The shogunate is failing, so we need to put forward an emperor to win back the hearts of the people. The Qing dynasty is failing, so we must quickly convene a national assembly to rectify the people's hearts."

Yuan Shikai hesitated for a moment before saying, "But wasn't it Wuhan who suggested convening a parliament? Now the Manchu nobles are already very dissatisfied with me and Xiang Shuai's control over military affairs. If we convene a parliament to seize power from the Manchus, I'm afraid Beijing will be thrown into chaos first."

Yang Shixiang replied solemnly, "Xiang Shuai is already sixty-nine years old this year. It is rare for someone to live to seventy. How much longer does he have? The reason why the court can still suppress Wuhan to some extent today is because of Xiang Shuai's reputation. Tang Caichang, Tian Junyi and others are still too young. It won't be so easy for them to fully grasp the legacy Xiang Shuai left in Hubei."

But if Xiang Shuai leaves, will Wuhan still need to show deference to the imperial court? What channels of communication will remain between those people in Hubei and the imperial court? With this change in Wuhan, the power of the Manchus has essentially vanished. If the Grand Secretary insists on this point, we will inevitably be subject to Wuhan in every way, because there is no imperial court above Wuhan to restrain us.

The purpose of convening the National Assembly was to restrict Wuhan, preventing it from using the pretext of convening the National Assembly to resist the imperial court's orders.

After careful consideration, Yuan Shikai felt that Yang Shixiang's words made sense. So, after seeing Yang Shixiang off, he wrote to the court, once again requesting that a national assembly be convened as soon as possible to establish a constitution and that the bans on political parties and newspapers be lifted in order to unite the people and the public to fight against the enemy.

Previously, Empress Dowager Cixi had always ignored such petitions, but this time, under pressure from the Russian army, she finally relented and agreed to the Grand Council's plan to prepare a preparatory parliament. She also pardoned reformers like Liang Qichao and revolutionaries like Sun Yat-sen, but notably refused to pardon Kang Youwei. Cixi believed that Kang Youwei's instigation of Emperor Guangxu to surround the Summer Palace and kill her was an unforgivable crime.

Upon hearing this news in Japan, Liang Qichao didn't even have time to express his indignation on behalf of his teacher. Instead, he immediately instructed his students and servants to pack their bags and prepare to return to China to attend the convening of the National Assembly. In his view, the reform movement had finally seen a glimmer of hope.

Sun Yat-sen was greatly encouraged after receiving the news from his Japanese friends, but he did not intend to compromise with the Qing government. Instead, he said to the few remaining comrades around him with great enthusiasm: "The Qing government has lifted the ban on political parties, which seems to be an act of enlightenment. But this is ultimately just a temporary expedient for the Manchus. As long as the Manchus do not step down, they can take back power at any time."

Therefore, we must take advantage of the Qing court's convening of a parliament to openly and legitimately develop revolutionary forces within the country, expose the Manchus' conspiracies in the parliament, strengthen the power of our Revive China Society within the country, and create opportunities for the next revolution.

A comrade said to him, "Nowadays, the place in the country most inclined towards revolution is Wuhan, and comrades like Yang Quyun are there now. Perhaps we should unite with the Workers' Party and persuade them to join us in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty. With the support of the Workers' Party, and with the Russians advancing on Beijing, overthrowing the Qing Dynasty should be a matter of raising our voices."

However, the Japanese present disagreed. They believed that now was not the time to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, and that raising the banner of overthrowing the Qing Dynasty while the Russians were attacking Beijing would only benefit the Russians. They also did not agree to unite with the Workers' Party, because the Workers' Party was now too powerful, and if the Revive China Society went there, it would only be swallowed up by the Workers' Party.

Ryohei Uchida, who had secretly returned to Tokyo and provided Sun Yat-sen with funds and accommodation, suggested to the Chinese present: "Why don't we first contact various revolutionary groups in Tokyo, and then have the Revive China Society return to China as the leader of these groups? This way, we can strengthen the revolutionary party's momentum and avoid being overwhelmed by the Workers' Party..."

Chapter 291 Germination

During the Ming Dynasty, a water post station was established in the Tongguan Town area, named Tongguan Post Station. This place, along with Yudong and Mudong, was known as one of the three major water post stations in Chongqing. It was a necessary route from Chengdu, Yunnan, and Guizhou to Chongqing, and was therefore also known as the largest town in eastern Sichuan.

Generally speaking, the people of Tongguanyi Town were used to seeing merchants from the north and south coming and going, and ordinary peep shows would hardly arouse their interest. However, on the morning of May 27, 1905, the townspeople gathered at Dongsunba, seemingly expecting something.

As the sun rose high in the sky, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, "It's here! It's here! I see smoke..."

The crowd erupted in commotion. Soon, a dark dot pressed closer, gradually growing into a steel head and trailing a long body, appearing like a giant dragon. Hearing the distant blaring of a ship's horn, the onlookers held their breath, finding the creature utterly astonishing.

When Zhan Tianyou disembarked, he received a tremendously warm welcome from the crowd. Although the station was just a simple bamboo and wooden shed, the people stood on the hillsides and fields along the railway line to welcome them. Deeply moved, Zhan Tianyou said to those around him, "Who says the people of Sichuan don't like foreign things? They just don't like harmful foreign things. Without the support of the people of Sichuan, how could we have built this railway so quickly…?"

Hu Dongchao, a railway engineer who had recently returned to China, wholeheartedly agreed. Yang Shukan, the labor committee member of the Chongqing Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Committee, also chimed in, saying, "We Sichuanese are not ignorant people. How could we not distinguish between good and bad? We can tell whether the things brought by those foreigners are good or bad. To say that we Sichuanese are xenophobic is utter nonsense. Does it mean that Sichuan is filled with opium and that Christians are above ordinary people and Chinese officials? Such enlightenment is worse than no enlightenment at all."

Although Zhan Tianyou appeared relatively indifferent to politics, he agreed with Yang Shukan's proposition at this time. Although he advocated that construction should override political struggle, his experience in building this railway made him admit that it was impossible to wholeheartedly engage in construction without political victory.

If things were done according to the ways of the Qing Dynasty bureaucracy, this railway would probably still be in the planning stages. Construction wouldn't begin until the distribution of profits for the railway was clearly defined. After all, in the Qing Dynasty bureaucracy, whether something was done successfully wasn't important; what mattered was whether one understood the rules. The Qing Dynasty wouldn't collapse without someone doing the work, but if someone didn't understand the rules and broke them, wouldn't that make things difficult for everyone?

However, under the leadership of the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee, although even Zhan Tianyou felt that this independent action did indeed have the intention of rebellion, the committee was indeed capable of getting things done. For the Workers' Party, it was only natural that those who did not carry out revolution and do not get out; if you were not satisfied, then you could take up arms and resist.

If, initially, under the siege of the great powers and the imperial court, the Workers' Party treated the local gentry with some favor, and although the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee held local power, it did not directly abolish the powers of the local government. For example, the power to adjudicate cases and collect taxes still belonged to the local government, and the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee only sent people to supervise them.

After the defeat of the Yi Army in Wuhan and the subsequent retreat of the foreign powers, the Workers' Party began to strengthen its control over local areas. Even in Sichuan, after Wuhan ships could only reach Chongqing in March, the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee further tightened its control over the local areas, and adopted a suppressive stance against local gentry who were unwilling to cooperate with the Workers' Party or opposed the decisions of the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee.

The standards for this suppression were not arbitrary; rather, the Labor Party drew a line, and this line was used to determine whether local gentry could cooperate. In Sichuan, the general principles were whether or not to have a republic and whether or not to develop the economy. More specifically, it involved whether or not to convene a parliament, whether or not to resist foreign invasion, whether or not to abolish unequal treaties, whether or not to engage in economic construction, and whether or not to crack down on opium cultivation and trafficking.

Under this red line, those gentry who attempted to maintain local traditions while claiming to support the Workers', Peasants', and Soldiers' Committee, and secret society leaders who sought to rise above their station by creating chaos, were all subjected to strong suppression by the Workers', Peasants', and Soldiers' Committee. However, Sichuan was relatively isolated, so the anti-rightist campaign was not as widespread as in Nanyang and Xinyang.

Of course, this repression was also opposed by some local gentry and secret societies in Sichuan. Although these gentry who opposed the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee's repression may have expressed their dissatisfaction with the suppressed gentry in their daily lives and had conflicts with them on a regular basis, it did not prevent them from standing up at this time to speak out "fairly" and believe that the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee had overreached in the process of suppressing the gentry, which was obviously against the rules.

Although Zhan Tianyou had spent his childhood abroad and his time living in China was likely less than his time overseas, he knew that the so-called rules these gentry spoke of were actually quite unseemly. In short, these gentry didn't actually oppose the committee executing a few bad elements, but what they hoped for was to help the gentry class eliminate a few villains, not to abolish all gentry privileges. Their oft-repeated rule was essentially, "We govern the world with the scholar-officials, not with the common people."

Zhan Tianyou actually disliked this kind of rhetoric. Although the American system of ruling by plutocracy wasn't necessarily good either, at least the plutocracy could still engage in construction. These gentry, on the other hand, besides exploiting the peasants, opposed almost any system that was beneficial to social progress. Their famous saying was, "China has so many people, and illiteracy is everywhere. What do these people know about democracy and republicanism? If we allow these peasants to govern the country, the world will surely descend into chaos... Therefore, if China wants stability and peace, it must respect Confucius and have an emperor to govern everyone... Better to be a dog in times of peace than a person in times of chaos."

If he were to act according to his own conscience, Zhan Tianyou would not want to continue confronting these gentry. China was at least a century behind Europe and America; if it didn't accelerate its development, how could it catch up with the world's trends? He had seen Native American boots made of scalp hide in America, and he had seen Americans flaunting the heads of Australian Aborigines and Pacific Islanders as collectibles. If China failed to catch up with the world's trends, then the fate of these Native Americans and Pacific Islanders might very well befall the Chinese as well.

However, he remained acquiescing to the fact that the Labor Party was able to suppress the resistance of these gentry, thus ensuring that economic development was not affected. He did not want to clash with the gentry because he feared they might unite to obstruct economic development, not because he particularly liked these local tyrants who had carved out their own territories.

As for the discontent of those secret societies, Zhan Tianyou had no sympathy whatsoever. If there were any enlightened people among the gentry, he himself was one of them. The vast majority of secret societies were involved in crime, and none of the criminal activities they engaged in could be brought to the table. Whether it was trafficking children and women, selling opium, or robbing passersby, none of these could cultivate good people.

In Sichuan, the situation was so dire that without joining a secret society, even a normal life was impossible. This led to the emergence of strange organizations like the "Clear Water Brotherhood." What does "Clear Water" mean? It simply means, "I'm a member of the organization, but I don't do anything despicable. Don't bother me."

Regarding the suppression of secret society leaders who believed that rebellion meant becoming local tyrants, Zhan Tianyou unusually took a positive stance. He felt that if these people were allowed to oppress the good people in the countryside under the guise of revolution, then such a revolution was better off not happening at all. At least the Qing government knew to give ordinary people a break so it could collect taxes, but these scoundrels treated the peasants like their own cattle and sheep, slaughtering them at will.

Of course, maintaining this situation of suppressing both sides, simultaneously cracking down on the gentry and secret societies, actually placed the Workers', Peasants', and Soldiers' Committee in an extremely dangerous environment in Sichuan. No one was willing to support them anymore, and they could only rely on a continuous stream of aid from Wuhan. For example, the railway construction project would have been impossible for the Workers', Peasants', and Soldiers' Committee to complete without the large quantities of supplies, locomotives, and rails transported from Wuhan.

With these resources from Wuhan, the Workers', Peasants', and Soldiers' Committee was able to find new jobs for the proletarians in the countryside, thereby creating a class that supported them locally. Furthermore, with the opening of the railway and the maintenance of the Chongqing-Wuhan shipping route, the Workers', Peasants', and Soldiers' Committee gained even more supporters.

On a small wooden platform erected in Tongguanyi Town, Zhan Tianyou addressed the nation on the opening of the railway from Chongqing to Tongguanyi Town, saying, "...This 52-kilometer railway is just the beginning. In the future, we will not only build railways to Chengdu, Guiyang, and Kunming, but also to Wuhan and Xi'an. The difficult roads of Sichuan will no longer be so difficult..."

Zhan Tianyou's speech was warmly received by the local people. After having lunch in Tongguanyi Town, Zhan Tianyou, Hu Dongchao, and Yang Shukan took a walk along the river. Zhan Tianyou couldn't help but exclaim, "The scenery in Sichuan is truly beautiful. No wonder the ancients said: 'Don't go to Sichuan when you're young, and don't leave Sichuan when you're old.' It's a pity that I'll be leaving soon. The future development of Sichuan will depend on you."

Yang Shukan was aware of Zhan Tianyou's transfer. Railway construction in Sichuan was already on track; the most pressing matter was political work. After all, Xi Liang in Chengdu was constantly plotting to overthrow the Workers', Peasants', and Soldiers' Committee in Chongqing, and secret societies and some local gentry were also dissatisfied with it. This kind of work was meaningless to Zhan Tianyou, so after the Sichuan-Jiangxi Railway was completed, he submitted a report requesting to return and oversee the construction of the Yuehan Railway.

On this decision, Yang Shukan disagreed with Zhan Tianyou's approach. He believed that without a revolutionary regime, there was no point in discussing revolutionary construction. However, he wouldn't stop Zhan Tianyou, since his departure would allow the revolutionaries to fully utilize their abilities. Previously, Zhan Tianyou had been too lenient with his opponents.

However, Hu Dongchao was genuinely unaware that he had come to Sichuan to assist Zhan Tianyou's work, so he was quite surprised and asked where the other party was going. Zhan Tianyou frankly said, "Actually, when it comes to construction, Wuhan has much more than Sichuan, whether it's the Yangtze River Bridge, the Yuehan Railway, or the completion of the Yellow River Bridge in the north. However, the Railway Commission plans to have me take charge of the survey and construction preparation work for the Luoyang to Xi'an railway section."

Hu Dongchao became excited upon hearing this, "We're going to build a railway from Luoyang to Xi'an. Once the railway between Chengdu and Xi'an is completed, Sichuan won't have to travel along the Yangtze River and mountain roads to reach the Central Plains anymore."

Zhan Tianyou said with great anticipation, "More than that, the Railway Commission plans to extend the railway all the way to Lanzhou and Xinjiang. If this railway is completed, its importance will be no less than that of the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia..."

Chapter 292 Construction

In mid-June, Zhan Tianyou traveled by steamboat from Sichuan to Yichang. After his steamboat passed Yichang, he noticed that the Yangtze River banks downstream were undergoing dike repairs. After passing Songzikou, the number of dike workers on both banks of the Yangtze River increased significantly, and downstream from Huduhe, the south bank was filled with construction sites.

Although Zhan Tianyou had overseen railway construction projects and had directed the construction of tens of thousands of people in Chongqing, he was still shocked by the scene before him. The number of construction workers here clearly exceeded 100,000. Therefore, after arriving in Shashi, he refused to leave and went to meet Li Binghuan, the person in charge of the Jingjiang River management project, to inquire about the details of the project.

Li Binghuan was also very happy to meet Zhan Tianyou. He not only explained in detail the contents of the Jingjiang River management project that he was in charge of, but also invited him to give him some advice.

After listening to Li Binghuan's introduction, Zhan Tianyou exclaimed, "In the ninth year of Tongzhi's reign, the Songzi River breached its banks and became a river without being blocked. From then on, the pattern of four outlets on the south bank of the Jingjiang River diverting into Dongting Lake was formed. It is truly rare for the committee to have such great courage to start regulating the Jingjiang River."

Li Binghuan simply smiled and replied, "Actually, it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. We had been considering improving the rivers and lakes in Huguang for two years, but we hadn't yet entered the implementation stage because we were still in the surveying phase. Now that we have our own government, the construction has been accelerated."

Actually, launching this project now has its advantages. Because of it, the people of Changde and Jingzhou will understand why the Workers', Peasants', and Soldiers' Committee is a people's government. It also prevented a conflict…”

Li Binghuan's statement was not without basis. Although the Jingzhou and Yichang areas had submitted to the Wuhan Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Committee, the local troops and gentry did not entirely agree with some of Wuhan's policies. Changde on the south bank maintained an independent status, neither sending troops to help the court quell the rebellion nor accepting orders from Wuhan.

Initially, members of the Workers' Party, including Li Binghuan, advocated mobilizing the army to directly suppress these disobedient individuals. However, Tian Junyi believed that the people in these areas were not against the Workers' Party and the Wuhan Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee, but rather that they did not understand what the Workers' Party and the Wuhan Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee were trying to do. "Killing without teaching is cruelty, and taking things for granted without warning is tyranny," so Tian Junyi advocated calling on the people of both places to repair the Jingjiang River water conservancy project.

This was indeed a brilliant move. "Of the ten thousand miles of the Yangtze River, the most dangerous is the Jingjiang section," and the people along its banks suffered greatly from floods. The breach at Songzi in the ninth year of the Tongzhi reign, which was not dammed, essentially signified that the central dynasty had lost the courage and financial resources to manage local affairs. China is a unified civilization built upon massive water conservancy projects, which is why the Manchus, even during their conquest of China, relentlessly worked on the Yellow River to demonstrate their responsibility as the central dynasty. When they lost interest in managing the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, it meant the Qing dynasty's rule was beginning to lose legitimacy.

The call issued by the Wuhan Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee immediately received a response from the people on both sides of the Yangtze River. Not only the people along the Jingjiang section, but also those along the Wuhan section were happy to see it, since water flows downstream. In addition to repairing the Jingjiang dike, the first phase of the project mainly focused on establishing a flood diversion area east of the Hudu River and north of Huangshantou, and setting up an electric irrigation and drainage system within the flood diversion area to ensure agricultural production. The total investment was 300 million taels of silver.

When the Wuhan Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee began construction on April 10th, and by mid-May had mobilized 300,000 laborers from both sides of the Jingjiang River to participate in the project, the voices of opposition from both sides of the river to the Wuhan Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee immediately disappeared. Just by looking at the soldiers and civilians on the construction site, these gentry and military leaders knew that this was a force they could not contend with. Changde quickly established its own Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee and expressed its obedience to Wuhan.

When Zhan Tianyou left Shashi, he only gave Li Binghuan one suggestion: that many sections of the Jingjiang River could be straightened to speed up the downstream flow, which would be beneficial for flood control. Aside from that, he had no other suggestions. After all, he wasn't a water conservancy specialist, and the management of the Jingjiang River was handled not only by local experts familiar with the water conditions but also by water conservancy engineers hired from Germany; there was really no need for him to say more.

Upon arriving at Hankou Wharf, although the journey by boat had left him quite tired, he immediately went to the headquarters of the committee to report for duty, hoping to get back to his new work as soon as possible. After seeing the bustling construction scene of the Jingjiang River management project, he felt as if some force was pushing him forward, and stopping to rest at this moment would be a crime.

When Zhan Tianyou arrived at the committee office building near Hankou Park, Tian Junyi was discussing work with the members of the Labor and Economic Committee. The members were all complaining to him that the resources allocated to them were insufficient, and the main problem was steel and cement.

For example, Xie Zuantai, a member of the Industry Committee, complained: "Last year, Hubei's infrastructure construction used nearly 8000 tons of steel and 2.6 tons of cement, which was the total amount used throughout the year. But this year, the infrastructure construction in just the first five months has already used up the total amount of steel and cement used throughout last year, with half of that amount used in April and May."

Steel consumption for infrastructure construction this month is estimated to reach 1,000 tons, and this figure is still rising. Adding steel allocated to arsenals, shipbuilding, and other industries, steel consumption in June will exceed 16,000 tons, and is estimated to average 20,000 tons per month in the second half of the year. However, we can only supply a maximum of 12,000 tons of steel per month…

It's clear that relying on our own steel production capacity to meet construction needs is impossible in the short term, so we need to import large quantities of steel from abroad. At this point, is it inappropriate to maintain a 25% tariff on imported steel?

While other committee members were eager to secure their respective departments' share of steel, cement, and other supplies, some opposed lowering tariffs on steel products. They argued that imported pig iron cost around £5 per ton, while imported steel rails cost £6.25 per ton, which, at the current exchange rate of 7.5 taels per pound, amounted to 45.9 taels. The cost of each ton of steel rails at the Hanyang Ironworks was around 52 taels, and without a 25% tariff, they would be unable to compete with imported steel.

In fact, some committee members believe that a 25% tariff on steel is too low. Based on the US experience, steel tariffs should be raised to over 50%, which would attract domestic capital into the steel manufacturing industry and reduce the domestic steel shortage.

Faced with such a fierce competition for the allocation of supplies, Tian Junyi didn't feel a headache; instead, he felt full of hope. This showed that everyone genuinely wanted to get things done, which was why they were so unwilling to give in. In the Qing Dynasty's officialdom, people were only interested in allocating funds, not in competing for supplies. This was because acquiring supplies was not only difficult to resell, but also made it easy to be caught red-handed. Money was much better; it would disappear after spending a little more, and no one could find fault with it.

He was also relieved that he had already reached an agreement on the expansion of the steel plant, so the steel shortage was only temporary. He reassured the committee members, "What you all say makes a lot of sense, but we need to prioritize. The focus of the plan is not on the allocation of resources, but on the calculation of their usage. We are still novices in this area, so problems are inevitable. However, we cannot keep making the same mistakes. We need to compile and summarize the mistakes we have made in the past. Therefore, I suggest that a statistics committee be established to be specifically responsible for this matter."

No one would object to this suggestion. If the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee had initially seized power from the Governor-General of Huguang, everyone would have been full of confidence, believing that they would do a better job than the Qing government. After all, the Huguang Development Committee had done a good job, and many of its members came from there. They felt that many problems were caused by the Governor-General of Huguang holding them back, not by their poor planning.

However, once the Huguang Governor-General's Office was removed from the list, people realized that the problem could not be entirely attributed to the corruption and incompetence of the Qing officials. At most, the Huguang Governor-General's Office and local officials lacked execution ability. The real obstacles to the implementation of the plan were objective factors, such as insufficient investment in infrastructure and insufficient industrial capacity.

After the establishment of the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee, the issue of people's initiative was resolved, but it couldn't conjure up resources out of thin air. It was only then that everyone realized why the Hubei-Hunan Development Committee's plans were implemented best in Wuhan: in the past, they had invested funds in Wuhan's infrastructure, and foreign ships maintained the Yangtze River's shipping capacity, thus creating a situation of rapid development in Wuhan. However, areas outside Wuhan did not have such advantages.

To make a simple comparison, in 1904, the installed capacity of thermal power in Hanyang and Hankou was 2.5 kilowatts, generating 8250 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, while the installed capacity of thermal power in Wuchang and other areas of Hubei was only 0.5 kilowatts.

In 1897, Baoshancheng Company set up a power plant in Changsha to provide lighting for 400 electric lamps, but by 1904, Hunan's power generation was negligible.

Of course, apart from some open cities, most parts of China were dark on the power map at this time. The thermal power installed capacity in Wuhan accounted for about 9% of the national total, so the development committee's construction plan in Wuhan could be implemented because the energy problem there had been solved.

Tian Junyi quickly continued, "To meet the ever-increasing demand for steel, expanding the construction of steel plants is fundamental. However, expanding the construction of steel plants requires ensuring the supply of raw materials, and ensuring the supply of raw materials requires convenient transportation. Therefore, the steel needs for production materials and transportation construction must be given priority."

Now that the Russians have begun further aggression against our country, we cannot afford not to arm ourselves, so the steel supply to the arsenals must be met. Secondly, regarding the steel demand for consumer goods, I think this can be addressed last. Of course, I am not against importing steel, but I believe that imported steel should be subject to unified management and approval by the Planning Commission. This is to ensure that our limited foreign exchange resources are not wasted…”

The meeting adjusted the production and living needs of the areas under the jurisdiction of the Workers', Peasants', and Soldiers' Committee. After the meeting, Tian Junyi saw Zhan Tianyou waiting in his office. He warmly welcomed him and said apologetically, "Originally, I should have let you rest in Hankou for a few days, but the closure project of the Yellow River Railway Bridge has begun. We hope that an experienced engineer will join this project to ensure the smooth completion of the railway bridge construction..."

Chapter 293 Anti-American Trend

Zhan Tianyou could understand Tian Junyi's meaning. Although a group of students who had studied abroad brought back a lot of advanced railway bridge construction technology, Chinese engineers still lacked experience in building unconventional tunnels and super-large bridges. Considering the future construction of a bridge across the Yangtze River, this railway bridge across the Yellow River was naturally the best project to accumulate engineering experience.

However, besides accumulating engineering experience, ensuring that China could manufacture qualified bridge building materials was also a key point. The Yellow River Railway Bridge is over 3000 meters long and uses a steel structure. Although the Germans took over the construction of the bridge from the Belgians, they did not believe that the Hanyang Ironworks could produce qualified steel beams. Therefore, they insisted that all the steel beams be produced in Germany and then shipped to China for assembly.

Although the Workers', Peasants', and Soldiers' Committee had not yet been established, Tian Junyi negotiated with the Germans for a long time and finally decided that the Hanyang Ironworks would manufacture one-third of the steel beams, but they had to be inspected by German engineers. Although this did not reduce the cost of the bridge and even increased it, Zhan Tianyou believed it was worthwhile because China could not use all imported steel for its future bridges. Given China's scale, it would be unaffordable to build bridges entirely with imported steel in most areas.

However, while gladly accepting the new task, Zhan Tianyou couldn't help but ask about the current situation, "There's something I'm still very curious about: what are the committee's considerations regarding the Russian invasion and the anti-American sentiment in various places?"

To Zhan Tianyou's question, Tian Junyi answered the first one without hesitation: "Regarding the Russian invasion, we naturally advocate resistance to the end. As long as the Russians do not withdraw from our territory, we will absolutely not negotiate peace with them. On this issue, we will monitor Beijing's actions. As long as they resist Russia, we will provide material support. However, if Beijing attempts to make peace with the Russians, then we will naturally not recognize their right to sign agreements on behalf of the Chinese people involving territorial concessions and reparations. As for the anti-American sentiment in various places..."

When this issue was raised, Tian Junyi hesitated deeply. In May 1905, negotiations between China and the United States to renew the Treaty Restricting Chinese Laborers in the United States were moved to Beijing. This treaty had been in existence for 10 years. As a supplement to the U.S. Chinese Exclusion Act, Roosevelt promised during his re-election campaign in 1904 to continue restricting Chinese laborers from coming to the United States, which led to the negotiations in 1905.

Why did this treaty not trigger an anti-American movement in the past decade, but cause such a big problem this time? It's not that Chinese intellectuals are only now aware of this matter, but rather that the "Treaty Restricting Chinese Laborers in America," signed ten years ago, only restricted Chinese laborers from going to the United States, but did not restrict Chinese people who were doing business or studying. However, this time, the extended treaty treats all Chinese people are regarded as Chinese laborers going to the United States, which is why this treaty negotiation has aroused dissatisfaction among intellectuals.

In particular, the treaty's attempt to prohibit Chinese citizens with residency rights but no official status in the United States from leaving the country and then returning to the United States sparked great controversy among overseas Chinese in the United States. Regardless of whether these overseas Chinese were royalists or revolutionaries, they were united in their opposition to Beijing signing the treaty. Kang Youwei and Sun Yat-sen were also forced to issue statements of opposition.

The protests originated in Guangzhou and Shanghai, and soon a situation arose where business and academic circles joined forces to appeal, and citizens responded. Businessmen and citizens in Shanghai and Guangzhou launched a boycott of American goods, which was also a major crisis for Wuhan, because Wuhan had just signed an industrial development loan with American and German banks. As a result, public opinion was quite critical of Wuhan, which improved the reputation of the imperial court considerably.

After hesitating, Tian Junyi still honestly said to Zhan Tianyou: "Of course we support the people's opposition to the oppressive policies of American imperialism, but I think American imperialism will not cancel or modify the treaty because of our opposition, because we lack the means to counter the United States."

The boycott of American goods does demonstrate the people's spirit of resistance against imperialism, but the scale of trade between China and the United States is not enough to shake the United States' foreign policy. The United States' exports account for less than 5% of its domestic trade, and its exports to my country are far lower than its exports to South America and Europe.

We live in an era of imperialism, and the cries of the weak cannot make the strong feel guilty. If we want the United States to change its foreign policy, China must first become strong. I support imposing high tariffs on luxury goods and cotton imported from the United States, but I oppose indiscriminate boycotts of American goods because we cannot produce oil and lack certain non-ferrous metals needed for certain industries.

Indiscriminate boycotts will only slow down our construction progress, allowing the United States to further oppress us. Of course, the committee won't be so outspoken; we will request diplomatic negotiations between Beijing and the United States, but we will not halt our construction efforts over such an issue.

Although Tian Junyi's answer did not entirely meet Zhan Tianyou's expectations, he understood that Tian Junyi was telling the truth: China at present could not shake American foreign policy at all, nor could it even make the Americans feel uncomfortable. He could only take his leave and focus his anger on his work.

When Zhan Tianyou and Tian Junyi mentioned the anti-American trend, Franz Krupp was also discussing the matter with Karl Siemens in the German Club. He was somewhat worried about the national consciousness shown by the Chinese and feared that Germany would suffer the same treatment, after all, the Germans did not do anything good during the Eight-Nation Alliance incident.

Carl Siemens remained optimistic about the prospects for development in China. He told Krupp, "Since the German nation was able to unify and defeat France in the last century, there is no reason why a central kingdom that has been unified for thousands of years would be willing to become a second-class citizen of the world."

I recently read several of Father Richard Wilhelm's articles, and I discovered that the unique culture of the German nation that we have shaped over the past two hundred years was already accomplished by the Chinese 2000 years ago.

These past 200 years have been a dark period for Chinese culture, much like our own Dark Ages. However, the flame of civilization, once ignited, will eventually rise again from the darkness. Therefore, I do not believe it is appropriate to treat an ancient people in the same way one would treat an ignorant one. The British failure in Tibet undoubtedly proves that this ancient people are awakening from their slumber.

Krupp glanced at the young Siemens. He didn't think the young man had suddenly abandoned racism, nor did he think that ancient Chinese culture had won him over. What truly made Siemens have such a favorable impression of China was that Siemens' business in China had begun to turn a profit.

From 1901 to 1904, various countries invested approximately 100 million marks in Wuhan, with Germany alone contributing over 80 million marks. Siemens accounted for about one-third of the investment. Although Krupp also contributed nearly one-third, its steel business yielded slower returns compared to Siemens' main businesses in electrical machinery and communications.

Even in Europe, the electrical machinery and communications industries are still emerging sectors; the mainstream industries in Europe are currently steel and chemicals. However, the latter two require too much investment in infrastructure, making industrial relocation difficult. This is why Germany's steel and chemical industries have surpassed those of Britain. Britain's Industrial Revolution was completed too early, making it difficult to update the technology and equipment in its steel and chemical industries. British capitalists preferred to invest in the United States and Canada rather than upgrade their technology and equipment domestically.

However, the electrical machinery and communications industries are different. These two emerging industries require more technological investment than infrastructure investment, so the speed of research and development must exceed the speed of production to recoup costs. In other words, apart from the first company that can recover its costs, when later investors start to follow suit and produce, they will face competition from a new generation of products with better performance. As a result, it becomes unprofitable for the followers.

Therefore, for these two emerging industries, the key is to have a sufficient new market so that production can begin as soon as new product development is completed, recouping the investment, and then upgrading. In this regard, the United States actually has a natural advantage because it is a country with nearly 100 million people. The domestic market alone can recover the R&D costs of its new technologies, and it rarely needs to recoup part of its investment abroad.