Episode 17 Shameless tricks

"The message of the second page of the Soviet newspaper Izvestia of October 5:

"In the early hours of yesterday morning, the troops of the Ming Empire suddenly crossed the border of the Ming and Qing dynasties without declaring war, and within an hour, hundreds of airports, army barracks, cities, and residential areas in the Qing Dynasty were bombed on a large scale without warning. Railways, roads, bridges and railway stations, including a large number of civilian facilities, were also bombed on a large scale without warning. It is estimated that between 10,000 and 15,000 Qing commanders, fighters and civilians were killed in the unwarned bombardment.

In the ensuing large-scale armed attack, the Ming Emperor's ** army crossed the border and occupied thousands of towns and rural settlements, about 100 settlements were reduced to ashes in the fighting, and it is rumored that 1 million people were left homeless by the Ming army's attack. It is observed that these people who have lost their homes have no water and food, and can only watch the tanks of the Ming Emperor's ** team run over the homes where their ancestors have lived happily for generations.

On the morning of the start of the war of the Ming Empire, a number of Southern Ming cities, mainly Nanjing, set off a large-scale anti-war mass movement. The demonstrative masses of workers shouted anti-war slogans, resolutely opposed the war waged by the aristocracy and the big bourgeoisie, and shouted that both the Ming and Qing armies were composed of workers and peasants, and that they were all class brothers. They called on the soldiers of the Ming army not to turn their guns on their class brothers, but to unite against the common enemy, the nobility and the exploiters of the big bourgeoisie.

Subsequently, the demonstrative working class was brutally suppressed by the aristocracy and the big bourgeois police. The police force used high-pressure taps, sticks and other violence to drive away and beat the demonstrators for a long time, resulting in more than 10 innocent people being injured and dozens arrested.

"'We don't want war,' Zhangsan, a citizen of Nanjing, complained to reporters, 'and it's not right for the authorities to do this, they started the war without letting us know about it beforehand or consulting us, and we don't like such a government.'" At the same time, another citizen, Lisi, also said to the reporter with grief: 'We pay them taxes, but they repay us with a high-pressure tap. Is this what we want to be a constitutional state? Now the lie has been exposed, everything is a lie. Citizen Angu also complained loudly to reporters that they had come to a peaceful rally, but he did not expect that under the brutal repression of the authorities, he was drenched in water and now sneezed, so that he had to ask the company for leave to rest tomorrow.

According to the analysis of a well-known revolutionary leader of the opposition in Nanming, the government is now in an embarrassing situation of opposition throughout the country because of this unpopular war. The empress, as the number one aristocracy and big bourgeoisie, has been declining even among the nobility and big bourgeoisie who have always 'loved' her. In favor of this war, only a very small number of big arms dealers who made war profits. 'The war of aggression is unpopular,' said the revolutionary leader with confidence, 'and after this incident, the foundations of the rule of the Southern Ming imperialism were seriously shaken, and the good days of the aristocracy and the big bourgeoisie were soon coming to an end. The era of revolution is coming, so let's wait and see. ’

- reports the newspaper's correspondent in Nanming, Alexander Ivanovich-Ivanov. ”

……

In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Secretary to the Minister took the telegram and read it twice for the Minister, word for word. Minister He Ziguang sat on the sofa, squinting his eyes and listening to the article of the Soviet official newspaper sent back by the Ming ambassador to the Soviet Union, carefully pondering the words and sentences in it.

"So...... Didn't use the word 'aggression' directly? ”

He asked, raising his eyes.

The secretary replied:

"Yes. Didn't use it directly. But in the final quote of the interviewee, the term 'war of aggression' is used. Oh, and there's another word, 'Nanming imperialism'. ”

He Ziguang nodded, and slowly said to himself:

"'Imperialism' is nothing...... The Soviet Union has always called a war in which it did not participate in an 'imperialist war'. The Great War in Europe, they called it the 'Imperialist War'. The question is...... It's been the second day of the war, and newspapers around the world have done a lot of reporting on the first day, grabbing news and doing follow-up reports...... Only the Soviet Union has dragged on until today before an article is published. And...... It's not a front-page headline, it's a sub-headline.

"Also...... Nor in Pravda, the number one party newspaper, but in the No. 2 party newspaper, Izvestia...... Does it show that Stalin was still very entangled? Is he using this article to test our attitude and see how we will respond...... There is no doubt that on the first day of the war, the Soviet top knew about it. But they didn't write until the next day...... That is, yesterday Stalin hesitated all day, not knowing how to define our attack on the Northern Qing ......"

"My lord," said the chancellor's secretary, laughed, "Stalin must have felt very sudden. So far, the newspapers of the three major sub-Soviet parties have been full of denunciations of fascism, and their attention has been in Spain. I suddenly found out yesterday that there was a mess on the back buttocks, hehe...... The consternation can be imagined. ”

The minister nodded and smiled:

"Yes, the attitude of the USSR is crucial. It can be said that the attitude of the Soviet Union has a bearing on the final extent of our war of reunification. Is it a big win or a small win? Will it only be a conservative victory, or will it completely eliminate the Manchus and unify China? The Soviet Union had more influence on the war than Japan. It can also be said that the Soviet Union was much more affected by the outcome of the war than Japan. Japan also has the option of sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight, while the Soviet Union and China share a long land border...... Stalin certainly did not want to see a unified China. ”

"Your Excellency, you mean that the Soviet Union may intervene?"

"It doesn't have to be armed intervention," the minister said lightly, "but it is quite possible to support the Northern Qing." This is their usual modus operandi: practical support begins with moral support. No, the first tendentious report has already come out. ”

He Ziguang stood up and slowly paced to the window. Outside the window is the lawn, and beyond the lawn is Changping Road Street. On the opposite side of the gate of the Imperial Bank is a sign with these words:

Buy patriotic bonds and support the War of Unification - you will personally participate in the rescue of the people of Jiangbei

A long procession came out of the gate of the bank, forming a long line, turning two corners, with a total length of twenty or thirty meters.

Next to the team, there was really an anti-war man holding a sign and giving an impassioned speech. He spoke with great engagement, waving and stomping his feet at the citizens queuing up to buy war bonds. However, there is a steady stream of new citizens joining the ranks.

There was also a circle of people listening next to the anti-war speakers, some clapping, some boosing, and others just hurried by, glancing, shaking their heads, and making "sb" in their mouths. A reporter taking pictures. In the distance, two policemen with their hands behind their backs and batons are staring at the place, and if they find any physical conflict, they will immediately go over to "brutally suppress".

He Ziguang looked across the street at the crowd buying war bonds, thinking of this article from Izvestia. He suddenly discovered a problem: he couldn't find a complete truth sentence from the article. Instead, I found out the truth of two "half-sentences".

One sentence is: "In the early hours of yesterday morning, the army of the Ming Empire suddenly crossed the border of the Ming and Qing dynasties without declaring war and launched a lightning armed attack on the sovereign state of the Qing Dynasty. "The Northern Qing Dynasty is not a sovereign country, so only the first half of this sentence is correct.

Another sentence reads: "The police force used high-pressure taps, sticks and other violence to drive away and beat the demonstrators for a long time, resulting in a total of more than a dozen innocent people being injured and dozens of innocent people arrested." It is true that the police used high-pressure taps and sticks to disperse the crowd, and it is also true that more than a dozen people were injured and dozens arrested, but the crowd was quickly dispersed, and there was no "prolonged drive and beating." And the people who were arrested were not "innocent", they all participated in the group fight, and they were the worst among the people who fought in the group.

However, these two half-sentences of truth are put together, and they can barely be regarded as a complete truth.

He Ziguang turned around and ordered:

"Help me connect with Shen Ge Lao, and I'll hear his opinion on this report."

……

In the printing carts of the attacking units of the Ming army, the printing presses were constantly printing new leaflets, that is, the "Order to Save Civilians". This order was signed by Empress Zhu Yourong, Minister Shen Rongxuan, Chief of General Staff Zhang Zhaoxian, Army Chief of Staff Tang Yunsheng, and People's Guard Commander Xiang Xiaoqiang, jointly guaranteeing that if any Qing army held civilians hostage, all officers above the rank of captain of this unit would be executed.

On the reverse side of the leaflet, the Ming military offered a high bonus price: all Qing troops who voluntarily surrendered to the Ming army in a structured manner, the entire army enjoyed the treatment of "rebel officers and soldiers", did not enter the prisoner of war camp, and directly issued a Ming "green card", and immediately enjoyed the same treatment as Ming citizens. Commanders who take the initiative to lead their troops to surrender will also receive rewards ranging from 500,000 to 100 Mingyang:

Bring a soldier over, a one-time reward of 500,000 Mingyang.

If you bring a division, you will be rewarded with 100,000 Mingyang at one time.

If you bring a brigade, you will be rewarded with 50,000 Ming Yang at one time.

If you bring a group, you will be rewarded with 10,000 Ming Yang at one time.

Bring a battalion over, a one-time reward of 3,000 Mingyang.

Bring a company over, and a one-time reward of 1000 Ming Yang.

Bring a platoon, a one-time reward of 300 Mingyang.

If you bring a class, you will be rewarded with 100 Ming Yang at one time.

……

If the "Order to Save Civilians" is a ruthless move to Xiaoqiang, then this "uprising bonus" is another ruthless move made by Shen Rongxuan.

What is the concept of 500,000 Mingyang? One ounce of gold is equal to 50 Ming Yang, and these 500,000 Ming Yang is equivalent to the purchasing power of 311 kilograms of gold. What can be bought with 311 kilograms of gold, this 500,000 Mingyang can be bought.

Even for the elite class in the Qing army, the army commander level, 500,000 Ming Yang is definitely attractive enough, enough to support him to give up everything on the Northern Qing side and pull the troops to take risks.

And what about 100 Mingyang? It is equivalent to 62 grams of gold, more than one or two gold. 100 Ming Yang is no less attractive to a squad leader in the lower echelons of the Qing army than 500,000 to a military commander.

For Nanming, the deal is very cost-effective. The wealth of the Southern Ming Dynasty, especially the wealth of the people, was incomparable to that of the Northern Qing Dynasty. Although 500,000 Ming Yang is a large amount, it can be exchanged for a Qing army and surrender without a fight, which is definitely a cost-effective deal for the Ming army with a tight force. Even if all the more than 700 divisions of the Qing army were "bought" in this way, Nanming would not go bankrupt. A division is 100,000 Mingyang, which is only 70 million Mingyang. And the last time the Netherlands paid more than 100 million.

……

In Beijing, Emperor Guangwu looked at the leaflet sent back by telegram, and was so angry that he gritted his teeth and scolded:

"Shameless! Shameless! It's just outrageous! …… He also said that it is shameless for us to hold the people hostage, and you buy it directly with money, which is even more shameless than us holding the people hostage! Shameless! …… How can there be such a shameless government in the world? You can't do this if you're not bad for money! ”