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"In this filthy and decaying country, the only thing that can make people feel hope is probably the northeast, and in all aspects of the northeast can make people feel hope, and there are no sluggish Qing people here, only the kind of Chinese who are full of vitality and hope, perhaps, this is the real Chinese, and different from the Qing people who were enslaved under the Manchu Qing policy. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ”

Morrison's Diary

As a traveller, Morrison had trekked from Shanghai to Yangon eight years earlier, from Bangkok to Kunming two years later, and across the three eastern provinces the following year. In 1897, Morrison became a correspondent for The Times in China. In his more than 20 years as a journalist, Morrison was always present at the changes in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, and he had the sharp vision and broad mind of a journalist, and he reported many epoch-making events.

Of course, he has also witnessed the changes in all aspects of China in the past ten years, after the outbreak of the war between the Northeast and Russia, as a special correspondent of the "Times" in China, he immediately came to the Northeast, when the whole world is paying attention to the war reports on the front, he is more concerned about the Northeast, to be precise, the impact of the war on all aspects of the Northeast, which has been ignored by the outside world.

"Impact is impact, and there is nothing that cannot be recognized."

Faced with a question, an official at the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce admitted bluntly.

"How is it possible that war does not have an economic impact? War, of course, has an impact, and it is multifaceted. ”

Previously, many European and American media reported that the Northeast did not admit that the war had "affected" the economy, but only that the economy of the Northeast had completely entered a "wartime state". However, the statement of the person in the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce clearly denied the above statement. However, they also think. As a newly industrialized local government with a population of less than 40 million people, in the case of "rash war with foreign powers", it can only resolutely implement a state of war in order to seek victory in the war, unlike a large country like Russia, which has a stronger ability to resist the impact of war.

But his focus on the economy wasn't all he had. In fact, he also looks beyond the rest of the world to the Tohoku as a whole.

Over the years, as a journalist, Morrison has been to the Northeast many times, and it is precisely in his pen that the Chinese are clearly divided into Guannei and Guanwai, and in his writing, those Guanwai who have escaped the rule of the foolish people have been sharply transformed into "completely different races", and that kind of difference is not discrimination, but a kind of praise. In those people, he could not see the general insensitivity of the Chinese. And now, during the war, after coming to the Northeast again, Morrison has been hit by an unprecedented shock.

"In the settlements on both sides of the railroad, I could see armed Chinese civilians everywhere, unlike in the early days of the war, when fear of Russia caused panic across the Qing people. Despite being directly affected by the war, the population outside the border showed no fear. On the contrary, they are firmly on the side of the local authorities in the northeast...... Civilians, armed with arms, not only protected the railways and the logistics line of the Northeast Army, but also took a direct part in the war - the "clubs" of the settlements became field hospitals, where tens of thousands of wounded soldiers received the best treatment......"

Under the lamp of a lamp, Morrison writes his latest news story over the past month. He had been interviewing the cities and villages on both sides of the Northern Railway, and he was surprised to find that he was not in a region, but in a large military camp in which everyone became a part. Take the initiative to serve this war.

“…… What is the most impressive thing about the Northeast? Ten years ago, the vast grasslands in the Northeast were like the hinterland of Australia, all of which were terra nullius, and now those vast and fertile grasslands have now been completely turned into arable land, hundreds of millions of acres of arable land have been systematically reclaimed, and then subleased to immigrants in the interior, rather than a one-time sale, and a quarter of the harvest from the farm is paid to the state as land rent, a quarter is paid as a land tax, and two-quarters goes to individual immigrants. The seemingly onerous tax is actually 20%-30% lighter than that paid by mainland residents, and more importantly, after 10 years, the tenant can purchase the land at the initial price of the lease. In the past, many people ignored the use of hundreds of millions of acres of arable land, but according to official data, these arable land can provide more than 500 million yuan of income every year, although the ethnic groups in the Northeast are burdened with extremely heavy taxes compared to Kannai, Europe and the United States and other countries - in addition to direct land taxes, there are also invisible land rents and low official grain prices under economic domination, but it is in this interest that in the past ten years, the Northeast has obtained sufficient funds for industrial construction and armament construction......

When he writes about the taxes borne by the people of Northeast China, Morrison can't help but think of the ruddy-faced immigrants he came into contact with who were full of hope for the future, all of whom lived in well-established settlements where the rudination of the Kannai countryside was not seen, and why did they live so comfortably despite the relatively heavy taxes?

"15 yuan per person!"

Half of the output of 100 million mu of cultivated land in the three northeastern provinces is collected by the government in the form of taxes and land rents, and even so, the official grain prices set by the government are still 15 percent lower than those in the mainland.

"It's really like a worker ant......"

Morrison was most impressed by the people as workers and ants, toiling and carrying the unthinkable burdens of taxes in other countries, but on the other hand, he had to admit that without the heavy burden borne by the peasants, there would have been no industrialization in the Northeast, and no war in the Northeast, which had been waged in the past ten years. Billions of dollars in military spending, and millions of dollars a day now, are enough to bring down a country, but now, despite the economic impact on the Northeast, it is in Morrison's view that the economy of the Northeast is good for the Northeast.

“…… Iron and steel production is increasing rapidly, and hundreds of millions of yuan of military production are stimulating the industrial development of the northeast region. In addition to the traditional manufacture of military uniforms and the production of canned food and other munitions, the purchase of arms from the civilian sector is also stimulating the industrial development of Northeast China; only at the national defense procurement meeting in Binjiang City, military procurement officials issued orders for 5 million grenades and 1 million shells to civilian factories; now if someone asks what is the most profitable investment in Northeast China at this time, investing in factories is undoubtedly the most profitable and fastest return investment in the new century, although this military stimulus is short-lived. But the stimulus to the industrial economy of Northeast China is long-lasting......"

When he put down the pen, Morrison looked like he was frowning. He found himself increasingly unable to understand it all. To be precise, he couldn't understand the country anymore.

"What role will China play in the international arena in the future?"

As the consul general in Dalian, Zhu Erdian smoked his large pipe and sat on the sofa by the fireplace in the smoking room, at this time the "China expert" flashed a trace of worry between his eyebrows.

And beyond worry, there are more doubts.

Like most British diplomats in China, this Irishman, who came from a peasant family, is also a true "China expert", but completely different from other diplomats who claim to be "China experts". He has lived and worked in China for 26 years as an Englishman. I know more about China than I know about the UK.

Twenty-six years ago, at the age of 24, Zhu Erdian came to China, first as a trainee interpreter at the Beijing Legation, and then at various coastal ports to learn consular business. In 1888 he was promoted to librarian at the Beijing Legation and three years later became the secretary of the Chinese language. Ten years later, he was promoted to Consul General in Dalian.

After 1901, everyone knew very well that one day, the Dalian authorities would replace the Jingshi authorities, and Zhu Erdian, as consul general, was very likely to become minister to China in the future. Even the ambassador to China, as a British diplomat in China, knows very well that once China's regime changes as expected, then its diplomatic level with Britain will inevitably be upgraded to the ambassadorial level.

But all this was not in Zhu Erdian's consideration, and even as a British diplomat in Dalian, he did not pay attention to the ongoing war, although London was more concerned about the changes in the war, and his indifference was based entirely on one reason - he believed that the Chinese had won!

"China is just too big!"

Finally, after a long silence, Zhu Erdian said a practical problem to Morrison in an extremely helpless tone.

"In order to confront the Russians, we have to choose the Northeast as our alliance, and if the Northeast is a country, then this alliance is undoubtedly beneficial to Britain's Far East policy, but, my friend, we must note that after the end of this war, the Northeast will inevitably sound the clarion call for the unification of China, and when the time comes, Britain will have to face another reality-"

After a pause, Zhu Erdian expressed his doubts.

"After removing the Russian threat to the Far East and Southeast Asia, we will have to face the threat from China!"

"The Chinese threat?"

Raising his eyebrows slightly, Morrison said in a surprised tone.

"How is this possible? We're talking about China now! ”

Morrison's tone was extremely surprised, China would pose a threat to Britain? Is this a joke? Indeed, in the eyes of many, this is simply a joke, and China will challenge the British? Is it possible to challenge the world under British rule? Does China have such strength?

"My friend, I'm sure St. Petersburg had the same thought before this, they had questioned the question as you did, and of course they had laughed when they asked the same question, but now? We all know very well that it is only a matter of time before the Chinese win this war,"

Of course, as long as the Chinese defeat the Russian fleet, China will win this war, well, as for the war in Trans-Baikal, now for Kuropatkin, the only option is surrender, it is only a matter of time.

"But, but, we're talking about China now, maybe they can challenge Russia, but challenge Britain, it's simply impossible!"

Despite being aware of China's changes, Morrison still insisted that China could not challenge Britain, of course, because it was so weak that they might be able to challenge Russia with British support, but that did not mean that they had the ability to threaten Britain.

"Time!"

Taking a puff of his cigarette, Zhu Erdian said seriously.

"Time changes everything!"

This is exactly what Zhu Erdian is worried about, only in the northeast, in China, can we most intuitively understand the changes that have taken place in China, and that kind of change is amazing, and all this started ten years ago, in just ten years, China has undergone earth-shaking changes.

"Ten years ago, when you came to the Northeast, what was there in the Northeast?"

Zhu Erdian asked rhetorically, and then looked out the window, he seemed to be recalling Dalian ten years ago, when it was just a fishing village by the sea, but now, it is the second largest metropolis in the Far East, second only to Shanghai in the Far East, and in the strict sense, its urban scale and industrial economy have long surpassed Shanghai.

"At that time, there was almost nothing in the Northeast except soybeans and pastures, and there was no difference at all from the 17th century, but if you look at it now, what do you see? What do you see when you look out of the train? My friend, what we're looking at are factories that have been built in the last decade, and that's just a northeast! ”

Yes, just one Northeast, what if it were the whole of China?

If the Northeast authorities have the whole of China, what will happen to China under their leadership in the next decade? I am afraid that it will not be as simple as "turning the world upside down", when the time comes, the whole world will be shocked by the power of China, and what is more worrying is that the threat Britain will face at that time may even be greater than the threat posed to Britain by Russia now.

"Well, it's just a hypothesis, and besides, I want to ......"

After a slight pause, Morrison's brow furrowed.

"I think London knows very well that maybe in the future China is very likely to pose a threat to the UK, of course, any country has this possibility, but we have to see that for the UK, the threat from China is future, but the threat from Russia is real!"

"So ......"

With a helpless wry smile, Zhu Erdian took a puff of cigarette.

"We will support the Chinese to fight the Russians, and now, compared to the victory of the Chinese, I hope that the Russians can lose a little less, at least in this way, so that they will have the strength to contain the Chinese!"

[It's about to be 515, I hope to continue to hit the 515 red envelope list, and the red envelope rain will be able to give back to readers and promotional works on May 15. A piece is also love, and it must be better! (To be continued.) )