Episode 151 Twilight of the Empire

"Today is an extraordinary day, February 2nd. We will remember this day. ”

On the evening of February 2, in the broadcast room of the Jinling Broadcasting Company, Xiang Xiaoqiang took the speech and solemnly read it on behalf of the Ming military:

"On this day in history, there have been many great events. On February 2, 1421, the Ming Empire officially moved its capital to Beijing. The first batch of Ming people landed in San Francisco, USA, becoming the first batch of Chinese in American history. On February 2, 1895, the Japanese army occupied Weihaiwei. On February 2, 1937, that is, today, the Ming army advanced rapidly to the north in southern Liaoning, and the recovery of Lushun, Jinzhou, Pulandian, and Wafangdian.

"With the train, our army advanced 12o kilometers north in one day and met almost no resistance. More than 80,000 Qing officers and soldiers went south like a tide from the north and took the initiative to surrender to our army. According to this degree, our Ming army can advance to Shanhaiguan within a week. …… Yes, the situation of 1644 is about to be repeated. Unlike 300 years ago, today's attacking and defending sides inside and outside Shanhaiguan have exchanged venues.

"Since 1644, the Ming Dynasty has never recaptured as much land from the Qing as it does today; Never before have so many people been liberated from the iron heel of the Qing as today; Daming's own situation has never been as safe as it is today. It's the beginning of February, and spring will begin in two days. Relying on the bloody battles of the Ming officers and soldiers in the front, and relying on the hard work and dedication of the Ming people in the rear, after four months of war, the Manchu regime was about to be completely defeated. Now even in Beiming, most of the people have been liberated. We are confident that in the spring of 37 we will completely eliminate the Manchu regime and end the war.

In the past, in the Northern Ming Dynasty, a poem by Shelley was secretly and widely sung: If winter comes, will spring be far away? …… In the long dark night, many people rely on this sentence to support their faith, and it is this sentence that brings hope and makes people believe that one day, everything will be fine. However, generation after generation has passed, people's situation has become worse and worse year by year, and all aspects of Beiming have also approached hell year by year. It has come to understand that they are not facing a winter, but an ice age.

"But even the Ice Age has an end. …… If winter comes, will spring be far away? This widely circulated question, today we can finally give an answer: spring is not far away, spring is coming! …… The Ice Age, which has frozen the north for nearly 300 years, will melt this spring. …… This year's spring will be the real spring.

"Today, our beloved Empress Majesty has also moved back to the palace from the Purple Mountain Fortress. For more than 12o days and nights, His Majesty watched every bit of progress of the war here, and shared weal and woe with the soldiers here. Now, on behalf of all the officers and men of the Ming Army, I would like to say to Your Majesty: You have worked hard. In this year's spring season in Beijing, we will ask you to revisit the Forbidden City of the former emperor and revisit the Mausoleum of the Thirteen Emperors of the Northern Ming Dynasty on the outskirts of Beijing.

"Well, today is February 2, 1937, and there are a lot of important things. Today is three days before the beginning of spring. I, like everyone else, will remember this day. Good night to all. ”

……

Beijing, the supreme command of the Qing army. Guangwu was in his room, guarding the radio, listening carefully to the radio in Nanjing. He turned his voice to a minimum. Although he is the emperor, even if the national ban on listening to the radio can't ban his head, he is still subconsciously afraid that the courtiers outside will hear these things.

These days, it is estimated that more than 9o% of the radios in Beijing have been confiscated. In the entire Qing Dynasty-controlled area, it is estimated that at least 7o% of the radios were confiscated. Although the execution power of the following localities is far less than that of Beijing, and the Qing Dynasty is now embattled and officials have their own agendas, the task of confiscating radios has been carried out relatively smoothly.

On the one hand, the radios of this era are very large and not easy to hide, and there are not many people who have radios in the Northern Qing Dynasty. On the other hand, it is profitable to seize radios. The Qing Dynasty had already negotiated with the Soviet Union, and all the radios confiscated by the Qing Dynasty would be sold to the Soviet Union at a discount. In order to ensure the enthusiasm of the following execution, Guangwu promised not to sell a share of the income from the imperial court, and all of it was given to the officials in charge of the local government. The more radios each officer confiscates, the more money he shares. And in this era, the radio, as a large item in the home, is still very valuable.

When the Qing Dynasty Radio Station was first established, the radio was regarded by the imperial court as an excellent propaganda tool and a symbol of the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty and the strength of the people, and was vigorously promoted by the government in the people, using administrative means to force the people to squeeze money from between their teeth to buy, and once the radio was purchased, it was necessary to buy more batteries every year. Governments at all levels have also increased the price of radios and batteries, making a lot of money. The price of radios and batteries in the Qing Dynasty also hit the highest in the world, and was described by foreign media as "the poorest people in the world finally listening to the most expensive radio in the world." ”

In any case, at the end of the twenties, the Qing Dynasty announced that it had "basically popularized" radio. In this regard, it has indeed passed Britain, the United States, France and other countries. This also gave the Qing Dynasty absolute pride capital. The Qing government wrote this into primary and secondary school textbooks as ironclad evidence that "the Qing Dynasty was superior to the Southern Ming" and was ready to be instilled from generation to generation. The phrase in the foreign media, "The poorest people in the world have finally heard the most expensive radio in the world," was also repeatedly praised in the Qing Dynasty, and was regarded by the people of the Qing Dynasty as "the exclamation of foreigners at our fast exhibition."

But the Qing court was proud for a long time, and something was wrong immediately. It turns out that the radio is a thing that can not only listen to your own station, but also listen to other people's stations. Especially the Nanming Radio Station in the south, those big mouths dare to say anything, plus the same language and the same species, the people in the north understand it, and listen to those words that are both "rebellious" and very "exciting" every day, and their brains are confused. Is this worth it?!

At that time, Emperor Xuantong issued an edict to prohibit listening to radio stations outside the Qing Dynasty, prohibiting the private installation of short-wave components, and prohibiting private connection and random pulling of various antennas. In the Qing Dynasty, "shielding stations" were also set up on some high mountains near Nanming to artificially interfere with the radio signals transmitted from the south and artificially deteriorate the short-wave signals. Since then, the Qing Dynasty has tightened its grip on radio. But no, after all, there was no total ban on radio as it is today. After all, the word "radio" occupies an important position in the "proud history" of the Qing Empire.

But today, in order to save the shaky power, Emperor Guangwu had to personally issue a comprehensive ** order on the radio. As an ambitious emperor, he gave such an order, and his heart was also very painful. and those orders to confiscate "controlled items" made him even more ashamed. This is tantamount to admitting that the Qing Dynasty is almost over. This is tantamount to making the Qing Dynasty, which has always boasted of being "superior to Nanming", afraid of its own people. This is tantamount to tearing the skin with the people under his rule, and trying to see the poor dagger.

In the water pavilion of the summer resort, Xiang Xiaoqiang once "complimented" himself: the Qing Dynasty did not even control the people's kitchen knives like Meng Yuan, and it was better than the barbarians of the Mongols, so they could be regarded as "semi-barbarians". And today, I don't know if Xiang Xiaoqiang's kid will hide in Nanjing and snicker, and within a few months of laughing, the Qing Dynasty has fallen from a "semi-barbarian" to an "all-barbarian", even worse than Meng Yuan.

……

"Alas...... Yonggui......" Guangwu said slowly in a slow voice, "I have always trusted you...... You're telling me the truth...... Today's Qing Dynasty ...... Has it fallen to the point of Mengyuan back then? ”

Yonggui, who was kneeling on the side, suddenly sweated like rain, and the "deer bumped" in his chest, even if he had always been able to speak well, he didn't know what to say.

Guangwu was silent for a while, and then sighed slowly:

"The brutality of the year...... At worst, it is only the kitchen knives of the people, not like today's Qing Dynasty, even wrenches and screwdrivers must be controlled...... You say, is the Qing Dynasty now more than ...... More unbearable than Meng Yuan? ”

Yonggui was sweating on his head, but he suddenly caught inspiration in his mind. He knelt on the ground and said carefully:

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty does not need to be sad. Everything Your Majesty has done is after all for the sake of social tranquility, the safety of the people, and the Qing Dynasty. Your Majesty, times are changing, and so is the definition of 'danger'. At the time of Meng Yuan, what could be used to kill people was nothing more than knives, scissors, axes and other things. Of course, Meng Yuan will only confiscate these few things. And in today's science and technology exhibition, what can be used to kill people with weapons, but knives, scissors and axes? Screwdrivers, wrenches, alcohol, gasoline can kill. Your Majesty, Meng Yuan didn't have such a wealth of killing tools at that time. If there were, Meng Yuan would be cleaner than what the Qing Dynasty had confiscated. ”

After hearing these words, Guangwu sighed lightly, leaned back in the seat, and said with a wry smile:

"Alas...... Eternal precious...... Hearing what you said, I really feel better...... Go down. ”

Yonggui stepped back.

Guangwu stood up and slowly paced to the map, his eyes wandering aimlessly. The terrible thought that had appeared several times before now jumped out of my mind:

…… What if that day comes...... Where to go**?

Important Statement: "All texts, directories, comments, pictures, etc., are published or uploaded by netizens and maintained or from search engine results, which are personal behaviors and have nothing to do with the position of this site.

To read more of the latest chapters, please return, and if you support Daming 1937, please go to major bookstores or online stores to buy and read.

Copyright (C) 2008-2009 All Rights Reserved Black Dragon