The sky was clear and blue, and the clouds were white and light. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoThe abundance of the Yangtze River and the scenery on both sides of the river are in full view, looking down on the river, only to see the turbid river water rolling in whirlpools, spinning, jumping, and dancing.

This is a fleet of the United Steamship Company, and since the liberation of Shanghai, many companies and enterprises affiliated with the Renaissance Society have surfaced to contribute to the revolutionary cause in an open face. The United Steamship Company was no exception, suspending the business of other customers and leaving the Reconstruction Society at its disposal.

This time, in addition to carrying a fixed number of passengers, there was also a Shanghai medical team, and the cargo hold was filled with cloth, medicine, food and other materials needed by the Hubei military government.

There is a saying about revolutions: revolutions cannot be made at will. Only when the revolutionary situation is ripe, i.e. when the rulers can no longer rule as before, and the masses of the people can no longer live as before, will the oppressed classes be able to act under the leadership of the revolutionary party and the revolution will come.

The first decade of the 20 th century should be regarded as a period of preparation and preparation for revolution, but in fact, it was also a historical stage in which various political conflicts and social contradictions at home and abroad intensified day by day, and the revolutionary situation gradually took shape. Among the factors that have contributed to the gradual maturity of the revolutionary situation, successive years of famine are undoubtedly one of those that cannot be ignored.

In 1901, "several provinces in the southeast were flooded"; In 1902, the Yellow River burst in Shandong, and a rare drought occurred in Sichuan, with tens of millions of victims. In 1903, the spring and summer drought in Zhili, "the wheat seedlings dried up", Zhejiang first and then drought, and the disaster apologized several times in the province; There is a relatively serious drought in Guangxi, because "the famine has lasted for many years", and the tragic phenomenon of cannibalism has occurred; 1904 year. The Yellow River once again broke through Lijin twice, Shandong was flooded in a wide area, and Sichuan once again had a major drought, "almost like a thousand miles of red land"; In 1905, there was a great flood in Yunnan, and there were "tens of thousands of families who escaped from the disaster" near Kunming alone. Guizhou Zhenyuan and other three halls and counties, "autumn harvest disappointment";

In 1906, major floods occurred in several provinces at the same time, and nearly 400,000 hungry people were in Hunan, and "no less than 30,000 people were drowned" near Changsha at one time; More than 7.3 million people were affected in Jiangsu, and "2 to 300 people starved to death every day"; In 1908, the Great Flood in Guangdong, "the disaster was several and millions"; In the 1909 Hunan flood, "there were no less than one million people in various places"; In the great water of Jiangsu, there are more than 270,000 displaced people in Haizhou and more than 110,000 people in Shuyin. There are more than 80,000 Ganyu, and the whole province can imagine it.........

"The market is sparse, the alleys are smokeless, and there are few left behind"; "The suburbs are cracked, the grass and trees are scorched, and there are almost thousands of miles of red land"; "There is no grain harvest, and people are displaced. miserable"; "Hungry look at each other, change children and eat"; "The living stand on their faces. The deceased was buried......

If you don't look at anything else, just looking at the words on these Qing Dynasty magistrates' recitals is enough to make people shocking and heartbroken. The continuous natural disasters have always loomed over the heads of the Chinese people, who have long been exhausted by the oppression of imperialism and feudalism, and have made their already exhausted lives even more desperate.

In a sense. These hungry and homeless people who have nothing to eat and drink are like countless powder kegs piled up at the foot of the temple of reactionary rule, and the slightest spark can cause a devastating explosion. Thirdly, there is a large number of hungry people who are left without food and clothing due to famine. In order to solve the immediate problem of food and clothing and to seek the right to live, they rose up one after another to directly carry out the struggles of "resisting grain", "resisting donations", "making trouble", and "grabbing rice", which became a clear sign of the impending storm and accelerated the collapse of the Manchu feudal rule.

Now, however, the situation has changed dramatically, and the serious famine, which had provided the opportunities and conditions for the development of the revolution, has suddenly become an urgent problem that must be resolved before the revolutionaries who are about to come to power.

Huang Xing's face was grim, mainly because some officials who had just taken over described extreme poverty in rural areas in some places, which greatly exceeded the original estimate of the Renaissance Association.

The situation of the people who were poorly clothed and hungry made Huang Xing deeply stimulated. As the director of the Yangtze River Basin Disaster Relief Committee temporarily appointed by the headquarters, he rushed to Shanghai and took a boat to Nanjing to have a deep discussion with Chen Wenqiang, who had just arrived there. In their minds, no matter what the difficulties, Chen Wenqiang may have a way better than ordinary people.

The river licked the strings of the boat, making a "crackling" sound, but it could not drown the sound of a man chanting poetry in English. It was a young man with a somewhat pale face, dressed like a returning international student, and next to him were several young men of his age.

"Mr. Huang, I know two of them." Zhang Zhonghua, Huang Xing's entourage and bodyguard, saw that he was looking at these young men in their prime with interest, so he said on the side: "When Shanghai was recovered, we were attacking the manufacturing bureau, and the Qing warship in the Huangpu River was still flying the dragon flag. ”

"Oh, what about later?" Huang Xing was stunned for a moment and asked with a smile.

"Later—" Zhang Zhonghua also laughed, glanced at these people not far away, and said: "Later, he was salvaged by the sailors on the Nanchen and sent a small boat to the shore. ”

Huang Xing couldn't help laughing, as if he thought of the embarrassment of these stunned young people turning into soup chickens. But then he nodded appreciatively, this is an era of passion, and there are young people rushing with enthusiasm in front of him. And revolution, this great term, has inspired many people with unimaginable enthusiasm and dedication!

"The establishment of a provisional government in Guangdong is a foregone conclusion, and most of the southern provinces have basically recovered, so I think it is only a matter of time before the Qing court is overthrown."

"The Beiyang Army is still there, and if it does not break through the last reliance of the Manchu Dynasty, the Manchu Qing Dynasty will not obediently abdicate and give way to the country."

"The Beiyang Army is known as China's strongest army, how can it be easy to break? It is not easy for the revolutionary coalition forces in several provinces to support them so far without being defeated. ”

"In my opinion, this may not be the case, although the Beiyang Army is strong, it lacks replenishment, and the Southern Revolutionary Army can come in a steady stream, and the balance of forces can slowly change."

"As long as the provisional government is established, the dragons have a leader, the order is unified, the Beiyang Army is defeated, and the Manchu Qing is overthrown, I think it is still very certain."

"You jumped into the river that day. As agile as a fish, it must be very sure, right? ”

"That day, the water was a little cold, and it was a little rushed, and my body didn't move, hehe, I didn't move."

……………….

Huang Xing watched the group of young people talking. They ridiculed each other again, and they couldn't help but smile, they were really envious, envious of their youth, envious of their more abundant time to contribute to the construction of the motherland, and envious of their ability to see China's prosperity and rise in their lifetime.

At this time, a young man walked over, bowed to Huang Xing politely, and said, "Hello Mr. Huang. ”

Huang Xing looked the young man up and down. The suit is very well-tailored, the boxy face gives people a sense of sincerity, and the slightly fat figure shows that this person is very good at maintaining his body.

"Mr. Huang, do you remember, we met in Tokyo, my surname is -" The young man introduced himself.

"Hah, I remember." Huang Xing nodded and said with a smile: "The director general of the Tokyo YMCA in China." The heroes who saved the American missionaries are still the descendants of the saints of Confucius. You've also returned home. ”

"Yes, yes, Mr. Huang's memory is really amazing." Kong Xiangxi said half complimentally, half sincerely.

"Sage Kong's family is also revolutionary?" Zhang Zhonghua looked at this guy in a suit and leather shoes curiously, and he couldn't see any connection between him and the sage and sage Kong Shengren.

"I attended the Progressive YMCA in Shanghai. Because I had studied mineralogy, I was sent to Daye Iron Mine to assist in the work. Kong Xiangxi said: "I didn't expect to meet Mr. Huang on the boat." ”

"Well, it's good that you're also going to join the revolution." Huang Xing heard that Kong Xiangxi had joined the peripheral organization of the Renaissance Society. immediately became happy and invited Kong Xiangxi to lunch.

Kong Xiangxi, who was generous and well-behaved, quickly won Huang Xing's favor, and Huang Xing found that he was involved in political science, economics and sociology, so he couldn't help asking: "Yongzhi, aren't you a master of physics and chemistry?" How do you know about the disciplines covered in the social sciences? ”

"That's right, Mr. Huang." Kong Xiangxi explains: "When I was at Oberlin University in Ohio, I first majored in chemistry, then changed to social sciences, and then entered the graduate school of Yale University to study mineralogy, so I got a master's degree in physics and chemistry. ”

"I see." Huang Xing nodded, a thought sprouted in his heart, but he was still a little hesitant.

The conversation gradually became enthusiastic, because there is now a common topic -- revolution, and although Kong Xiangxi is almost 30 years old, he still maintains the youthful appearance and vigorous heroic spirit of a young man.

They talked about the current situation, the past and the present, from Kong Xiangxi's hometown of Taigu to Oberlin University, and from the southern United States to Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Wuchang. When Huang Xing mentioned relief for the famine, Kong Xiangxi was able to put forward some reasonable suggestions, which made Huang Xing dispel the hesitation in his heart.

……………

"What should come is always coming, Yuan Shikai is finally coming out." Chen Wenqiang was thinking about the news he had just gotten.

The newspaper reprinted the news of a major newspaper in Tianjin, and Yuan Shikai, the assistant minister of the Manchu Qing Dynasty who had been reactivated but was stranded in the Tianjin Concession, wrote to the imperial court and put forward several suggestions for the current critical situation: First, immediately convene a parliament; 2. Cabinet of Organizational Responsibility; 3. Open the ban on the party; Fourth, the tolerant revolutionary party; Fifth, please go to war, and ask the imperial court to grant him full power to command the front military.

If the court doesn't give it, you will stretch out your hand and force it. Chen Wenqiang thought carefully and threw the newspaper on the table.

In fact, this is not the step he envisioned. The fierce battle of Wushengguan created momentum for the Northern Expedition, in order to let the Qing court use Yuan Shikai and make the Beiyang Army wear the head of control.

Although the current revolutionary situation seems to be very optimistic, the Revival Society cannot cover the sky with one hand, and conflicts with other revolutionary groups will erupt sooner or later. Not everyone agrees with compromise and negotiation, some of them are radical revolutionaries, and some are speculators who want to take advantage of the opportunity to make greater gains.

But it was also because of the existence of the United Front, and because of the cooperation with the constitutionalists, that the general trend of the revolution was ostensibly unstoppable.

As Yuan Shikai said in the compromise, "With hundreds of years of Pinghan, there is also the shape of rebellion." The governor of the former master's deeds, the envoy of the external power, the merchant associations of various ports, and many of them are also strong in the republic. I don't know why people's hearts are so obedient? Why is the country's strength so good? ”

People's hearts are scattered, and even if they have talent, it is difficult to clean up this chaotic situation. A few towns and strong armies, even if they can get some tactical victories, but in the entire grand strategy, they are already alone.

But if Yuan Shikai is forced to a dead end, the battle between the revolutionary army and the Beiyang army will be the result of both defeats, and it will even last for a long time. And the Beiyang Army is not only an enemy, but from another point of view, it is also an army that protects the country. Without the Beiyang Army, Japan and Russia in the three northeastern provinces would be ready to move, and Japan, in particular, feared China's stability, most hoped that China would fall into a long-term war, and most hoped that China's armed forces would be exhausted in the civil war.

The current war is no longer the theme, and the pressure on Wuchang has suddenly decreased, which should be a signal released by Yuan Shikai.

True, negotiations can be conducted in secret. Even if there is resistance from all sides, the Revival Society and the constitutionalists do not want to fight and the war will continue. This combined force can oppress other forces, and the finances, which will be a crucial bargaining chip, are in the hands of the Renaissance.

Since the war was going to turn into a big drama for the Qing court and others, Chen Wenqiang focused his work on disaster relief and local stability.

Through disaster relief, it may be possible to influence the government behavior of the great powers with the help of social forces; Of course, it is also the right thing to belittle the Manchu court, improve the image of the provisional government, unite the morale of the people, occupy the moral high ground, and crack down on the rich and unkind local tyrants and inferior gentry. However, these cannot be said too thoroughly at a meeting of today's level. As for the minutes of the meeting, it is natural that they will be quickly sent to the Guangzhou headquarters through the radio, so that action can be taken as soon as possible.

"During the reign of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, it was three parts natural disasters and seven parts man-made disasters, and officials embezzled money and ranched people's lives, and even used disasters as a means to promote officials and make money. In Shandong Province, which suffered the most from the 'Yellow Plague', those bureaucrats who were 'planning to protect the business' often gathered in one place and said: 'Why don't the Yellow River bless me and break up?' Because as soon as the Yellow River bursts, they can borrow river work, not only embezzle the money for the work, but also seek security, for this reason, they even do not hesitate to secretly destroy the embankments built by the common people, artificially creating famine. ”

The voice was loud, and Chen Wenqiang's thoughts were drawn by the indignation of a young official, "When exposing the Manchu feudal bureaucrats and inferior gentry landlords, we must also be wary of certain people who will be blinded by money and make mistakes. Therefore, I suggest that each provincial government set up a disaster relief inspector to ensure that the special funds for disaster relief are earmarked, and that the accounts of the funds used should be open to the public, and the distribution of disaster relief materials should also be based on the principle of openness and fairness, and the details of the distribution should be published on a regular basis and subject to the supervision of the media and the public. (To be continued.) )