Section 61: Preparation of Public Opinion

"Direct conscription of the militias of the communes. Not only do we have to replenish the troops, but as soon as the main forces of the army leave, Lingao will fall into a vacuum. The people will think that we have run away with the team, and the hearts of the people will be fluctuating. Besides, it is also necessary to prevent other shili from taking advantage of the situation. For example, Liu Xiang or foreigners. "The east gate blows the rain and says.

"In addition to the commune's militia, the workers of the factories should also be armed as a team to protect the factories." He Ming said: "Once the operation begins, except for a small number of naval units, the army and navy will all be dispatched. Lingao's main base must be defended by a certain number of troops. This part can only be dominated by the militia. ”

"All the patriarchs should also mobilize, and seeing that the patriarchs are all in Lingao and personally fighting in battle, the mood of the people will be much more stable. And it can also be used as a reserve for zuihou. Pan Da, the head of the engineer who returned from Sanya to prepare for the transport of explosives, said, "In addition, it is necessary to fortify the important facilities in Lingao. In particular, it is necessary to fortify Bopu and Mayuan, which are our key points, to prevent the enemy from smuggling and landing with small forces."

Wei Aiwen said contemptuously, "You look down on them—"

"Strategically to be contemptuous, tactically to be emphasized. If the enemy uses tactics such as make-up assaults, it can be considered a disastrous killing a few veterans. Panda said.

He Ming said: "If the enemy is determined enough and has a few resolute and daring generals to command, it may not be impossible to adopt the tactics of infiltration and surprise attack -- there is no shortage of precedents in history."

Soon, the operational and mobilization plan was sent to the Executive Committee, and after a number of additions and amendments, it began to be implemented in earnest.

A second-level mobilization order was subsequently issued. An orange warning is communicated to all units. The entire mobilization machine of the traversal group began to work.

When Liu Youren returned from his own field - soon to be sown in the summer, he went to see for himself the state of the soil and the newly built drainage and irrigation canals - and after gaining the full trust of the Liu family in the first year, Xun Suji began to propose to him some expensive agricultural projects in the second year.

These projects are mainly farmland water conservancy, and the land of the Liu family is relatively concentrated, and it is conditional to carry out large-scale water conservancy construction. For this reason, Tiandihui and Delong have launched a special water loan. Since the beginning of winter, Liu Youren has mobilized his clansmen, tenants, and long-term workers to build the first drainage and irrigation canal under the guidance of the Tiandihui.

After a winter and a spring of construction, the canal was finally completed. The canal built in accordance with modern agricultural standards, together with the supporting gates, reservoirs and branch canals, is not as good as the United States, Taiwan and foreign treatment projects and the transformation of the field, but it is also the first among the main customers of the Tiandihui.

Liu Youren looked at one place after another and felt very satisfied: according to Xun Suji, if this canal is built, the moisture content of the land can be maintained to a certain level, and if there is too much water, it will be drained away, and if there is less water, it can be irrigated. As long as there is no major flood or drought, a bumper harvest can be guaranteed.

Of course, this is not bragging, Liu Youren has been to other counties, and some counties also have channels built by officials, which can indeed be used by all the people. Now he has his own land, which makes Liu Youren excited and incredulous for his boldness.

The project was very costly, except for the manual work, which was basically solved by himself, all the materials were ordered from the Australians, and everything was not cheap, and the gray powder that turned into mud when it met with water and dried like stone cost 50 bills and 1 pack. Even the yellow sand, gravel, and bamboo used in the project are handled by Australians, and the price is calculated in kilograms. Although Jishu's guidance is free of charge - because he is a key customer of the Heaven and Earth Society, he has already paid the service fee.

He could not have paid for the project himself, even if he could not do it with the strength of the clan, and most of the project money was used by the loan of the Delong Bank, and the mortgage was the land in his name.

If this year's harvest is not good, he will be ruined if he fails to repay his first loans in the fall.

In the past, he would not have dared to make such a big bet, but now he is full of blind trust in everything that Australians do. I feel that Australians have a reason to do anything, and they will not fail in anything. All in all, you will definitely not lose by following them.

Now he is more enthusiastic about promoting the marriage of Liu Meilan and Xun Suji. He already had a vague thought. If you don't marry them now, you may not be able to do it in the future.

He changed his clothes and went back to his place. Liu Guangbiao has already arrived. He was holding a newspaper he had just bought from Dongmen City.

Liu Youren has developed the habit of reading "Lingao Times" every day, and he knows that although this kind of Australian thing is not the newspaper of the Ming Dynasty, it has something similar -- that is, it can see the recent trends and policies of the Australian people, and even the trend of power changes within the Australians.

For example, recently, the number of times the Senate has been mentioned in the newspaper is significantly more than that of the Executive Committee, although Liu Youren does not know what the Senate or the Executive Committee is, but he knows that this is the main ruling yamen of the two Australians, and the Senate is mentioned a lot, indicating that the Senate has begun to take charge of power.

It's a pity that I don't know anything about the political system of Australians, otherwise, maybe I can still drill in it......

Liu Youren took the newspaper and opened it casually. The newspaper is a folio in four pages. Lingao Times wrote vigorously and vigorously in the four regular scripts. There is also a line below that he does not quite understand the meaning of the small print "public release".

The front page of the newspaper was about the news of the fourteenth meeting of the Standing Committee of the Senate, and he skimmed it cursoly, and when he saw that there was a report on Zuihou; “…… When he solemnly protested against the various unfair treatment ...... of our trade personnel stationed abroad," his eyelids jumped.

Then he turned to the back, and there was an article about the Ming Dynasty's harsh policies on overseas business travel. This kind of article was rare in the past, but it has often appeared since Zhangtian, and the content of the article is all about the disadvantages and addiction of the Ming Dynasty. And it's generally the content of the situation. For example, before and after Zhangtian, the newspapers published many articles about the disadvantages of the Ming tax system, and the changes, evolution, and disadvantages of taxation in the Ming dynasties were clearly written, and a large number of "confessions" of the grain poors were also published -- nothing more than confessions of how they made trouble in enslavement and self-enrichment.

What does today's article mean? He took a closer look. Putting down the newspaper, I felt a little inexplicable. He was aware of the fact that the Ming Dynasty had always regarded merchants who went to trade or even settled overseas as "outcasts". But he didn't know that the weishenme Australians were suddenly interested in this? They are not the people of the Ming Dynasty.

But one thing he knows is that articles like these in the Lingao Times have always been a signal of what Australians are prepared to do.

However, there is no clue in these articles. Liu Youren decided to ignore it for the time being. Take care of the important things at hand first.

"How are the preparations for the marriage of Meilan and Chief Xun?"

"Back to Uncle San's words: Meilan's eight-character post has been sent a few days ago." Liu Guangbiao originally proposed to marry Liu Meilan to an Australian out of personal revenge, but seeing that the Australians were getting more and more powerful, their attitude was also very different, and they became very enthusiastic, and they were even more cold to Liu Meilan's family.

"Well, that's good. Has the eight characters of the chief been sent back? ”

"Not yet." Liu Guangbiao said, "When they marry Australians, they usually ask the office to agree." The chief said that the officials of the office had not yet approved the application -- and according to the chief himself, there was no birthday in Australia. ”

"Nonsense, how can it be possible without a birthday?" Liu Youren reprimanded, "Don't they claim to be descendants of the Great Song Dynasty? Why don't you even have a birthday?"

"According to Master Zhang, they really don't want this there, that is, they don't need their parents' orders and don't need matchmakers......"

Master Zhang is Zhang Youfu, the county's No. 1 "Australia Pass" talent, everyone will ask him whenever they have trouble dealing with Australians when they don't understand.

"This is too child's play, isn't it, is it possible that you don't even have a birthday?" Although she is married to a granddaughter of a clan, she is also a girl from the Liu family, so she can't be so hasty.

"You go and talk to Chief Xun, you still need a eight-character post, and even if you don't have it, you have to get a meaning."

"Yes, nephew understood." Liu Guangbiao hesitated, "This, do you want to ask someone to join the eight characters?" ”

"Please, of course. Nothing can be omitted about the number of rites. Liu Youren set the tone, "This matter must be done as soon as possible." It's about to be summer in a blink of an eye, so will we have a happy event in the summer? Go ahead. ”

"Yes," Liu Guangbiao agreed, but instead of retreating, he took a step forward and whispered: "My nephew has news, I don't know if I should tell it or not-"

", what should be said about an uncle and nephew handed down from an ancestor, say it quickly"

"I heard from one of the former long-term workers in our Zhuangzi -- he is now working in an Australian factory -- and that the Cantonese government will soon be mobilizing troops."

"This is true," Liu Youren couldn't help lowering his voice.

"Seriously" Liu Guangbiao nodded, "What kind of 'mobilization' are the Australians doing in every factory, forming militia and preparing to defend the city." I heard him say that their factory has recently switched to firearms. ”

"The official army is coming," Liu Youren nodded

"Uncle San, what should we do?" Liu Guangbiao asked in a low voice.

Liu Youren thought to himself, the imperial court wants to use troops against Lingao, which is really a bit unreasonable. Australians are doing a good job in Lingao, the county lord is also doing a good job as an official, and the people are also very lively, seeing that life is getting better day by day, why doesn't the court give everyone a good life? Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little resentful.

"This group of officials is ready to use the heads of ordinary people as promotion charms again." He said.

Liu Guangbiao glanced at the clan uncle a little frightened. Can my uncle say this kind of rebellious words?

"Third uncle, now is not the time to say this. As soon as the imperial court soldiers arrived, the Australians did not collapse immediately, they would have fled by boat, what should we do? Do you want to run for your life with them......"

"In your opinion, can the soldiers of the imperial court outfight the Australians?" He asked rhetorically.

"This-" Even a small rural landlord like Liu Guangbiao, who has only been to the capital of Qiongzhou, can of course see the gap.

"In my nephew's opinion: Australians are swift with firearms and highly disciplined. The people of the court are incomparable. Liu Guangbiao said, "However, there are many people in the court, and the Australians may not be able to resist it." ”

"Your concerns are justified." Although Liu Youren said this, he actually disagreed. He had seen the power of the Australians' artillery, and even if the imperial army came in the tens of thousands, it would only increase the number of casualties in front of the Australians' artillery.

How it ends depends on whether the regiment trained by the Australians dares to fight the officers and soldiers to the end.

He pondered for a moment, "You have gathered all the elders of the clan house, and I want to talk to them. In addition, you should first fortify all the grain in the storehouse, except for a third of it."

Whether it is the Australians or the imperial army, a war will inevitably have to collect food from the people. This is what Liu Youren is worried about. In Australians, heaven and earth will help them grow grain and build canals, even if they want to produce their own grain, it is a matter of course, and they know their own details. Fortunately, Australians are reasonable, they will not levy taxes at will, and there will be no things for their subordinates to fill their pockets in the name of skillful projects, and the burden will not be too great. As for the imperial army, if it is attacked to Lingao, it cannot but be embellished. Otherwise, if the officials and troops want to attack the village, they will not be able to withstand the village by themselves.

"Also, you hurry up and repair the wall, and stock up on ash bottles, rolling wood and masonry. Bows and arrows and firecrackers should also be inspected, and they should be repaired as soon as they are broken......"

"Uncle San, a wall like ours can't stop the cannons of the Australians......"

"You're really confused," Liu Youren glared at him. Liu Guangbiao immediately understood that this armament was not to defend against the Australians, but to deal with the men and horses of the imperial court.

As soon as the army of the imperial court arrives, whether it can defeat the Australians is another matter, it must be certain, and there will inevitably be many small groups scattered to "collect grain" everywhere. This kind of grain collection has gone from simply collecting grain to the point where officers and men take advantage of the opportunity to loot everywhere. If the village and people are unlucky, there is even a danger of being slaughtered - anyway, when the time comes, once a "thief" hat is worn, there will be no Qingtian lord who has eaten enough and has nothing to do to redress his grievances. The head may even be able to impersonate the enemy leader.

The stockade was well repaired, and at most the officials and soldiers extorted some grain, wine and meat, and they would not be looted and killed.

"Yes, my nephew understands," Liu Guangbiao quickly responded. He asked again:

"What about Meilan's marriage?"

Liu Youren closed his eyes and muttered for a moment, and suddenly opened them as if he had made up his mind:

"Do"

The news that the imperial army was about to crusade against Lingao quickly spread throughout the county like a gust of wind. The atmosphere in Lingao suddenly became tense. Originally, the Executive Committee had no intention of keeping it secret -- this kind of secrecy could not be kept, and it was better to let everyone know slowly than to cover it up and let everyone guess. Ding Ding's propaganda department was the first to take action, and he had already prepared a whole series of articles, ready to blow the wind from small to large to create public opinion. What Liu Youren saw was just the beginning. Below he has also prepared a series of articles:

"The Unfair Treatment of Overseas Chinese in Guangdong", "The Ming Government Confiscated, Expelled and Killed the Property of Our Overseas Chinese for No Reason", "Close-up: Overseas Traveler Chi Chen Returned to China, Served the Country with No Way, and Was Persecuted", "Close-up: Calling for Heaven and No Way - The Tragic Situation of the Expelled Australian Nationals", "The Incompetence of the Imperial Court, Exhausting the People - Commenting on the Defeat of Liaodong", "Outsiders in Foreign Wars, Insiders in Internal Fighting - Commenting on the Government's Expulsion of the People of Australia and the Song Dynasty for No Reason", "How Zheng Zhilong Exchange the Blood of the Ming People for the Black Gauze Hat of the Ming Dynasty - Commenting on Zheng Zhilong's Fu" ...... The latter few commentaries were later compiled into pamphlets and widely distributed in the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, there are more lethal things, that is, several "articles by special commentators of this newspaper" written by Ding Ding himself: "Advice to the Guangdong Government to Rein in the Precipice", "Is it tolerable or unbearable", and "Don't say anything unpredictable".

In addition to dancing and writing, Tintin stepped up his promotional activities. Puppet shows such as "Trial" and "Promised Land" began to tour the county on a large scale. The puppet troupe of the Ministry of Culture and Propaganda has expanded to two sub-troupes, one performing and one rehearsing, so that there is a troupe touring outside at all times. The student drama club of Parkview Green Education Park also began to rehearse the plays of these two plays. Tintin also organized some live newspaper dramas for students to perform on the streets.

Wei Aiwen ordered the whole army to hold a "yesterday, today" theme class meeting, so that the soldiers who had been trained in the political propaganda department could show up and talk about the differences between the new army and the Ming army, so that the soldiers could fully appreciate the differences between the old and new armies.

The General Directorate of Political Security and the Police Headquarters have strengthened internal control over the streets and alleys to prevent them from infiltrating Lingao to inquire about intelligence and spread rumors. Of course, if there are any internal disgruntled elements who try to talk nonsense, the State Administration of Political Security is not opposed to adding more free labor.

The Senate urgently adopted an additional budget for the military industry. The Planning Institute announced the start of the construction of a grenade workshop to replace various miscellaneous grenades in the past.

"It would be too ugly for our grenadiers to go into battle with an arquebus." Lin Shenhe said, "Now that the chemical level has come up, it should be solved." ”

The lethal power of the grenade, although limited, played a decisive role in the increase of firepower of the infantry. The Jishu personnel of the 1st and 2nd Weapons Design Institutes and the Mechanical Department believe that the industrial and chemical level at this stage is quite enough for the manufacture of grenades.

After discussion, Lin Shenhe, Li Yunxing, Bai Yu and others decided to imitate a mature product that is relatively safe to carry and use under a simple and crude production process - the Type 67 wooden-handled grenade, to be precise, a simple wooden-handled grenade prepared for the militia during the civil/revolutionary period.

The production of this grenade has been simplified, and the materials have been made as available locally as possible. As for the production equipment, it was simplified to the fact that only seven people were needed to transfer and produce, and grenades and mines could be made in any location, as long as raw materials were available. It is a typical product of the idea that all people are soldiers.