Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 149

Faced with Zhang Xun's attempt to defend himself and limit the matter to the infighting within the officialdom, Tang Ben smiled and said, "Why does Lord Zhang need to argue? Even if Lord Zhang doesn't admit it, the testimonies of your close attendants have already proven that you have close ties with General Jiangning. Moreover, the slogan of your troops' uprising today is to massacre Jiangning City, and many people outside the city have suffered. This is not us framing your troops, is it?"

You say outsiders won't believe your plan to massacre the city in collusion with General Jiangning, but I think the people of Jiangning wouldn't dare not believe it. Your army has been defeated, but the entire city of Jiangning still exists. Commander Zhang, if you continue to refuse to cooperate, tomorrow I will have no choice but to ask the people of Jiangning to send representatives to publicly try you. I wonder if the people of Jiangning will believe you are innocent?

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xun, whose face had been ashen, suddenly lost all color. He knew very well that the other party was threatening him. If it were just officials interrogating him, even if everyone was afraid of Wei Guangtao, they would know that he was innocent. His plot to collude with General Jiangning to massacre Jiangning City was too absurd. Any official with a sound mind would know that this was a frame-up.

However, if the people of Jiangning were to publicly try him, the charge would become irrelevant, because the grudge between his Jiangning defense troops and the people of Jiangning was not light. As foreign troops stationed in a rich place like Jiangning, it was impossible for them not to have conflicts with the local people. Several cases were submitted to the Liangjiang General Police Office. Without certain connections, such cases would not reach the Governor-General of Liangjiang.

However, Zhang Xun, having previously held military power and backed by the powerful Beiyang Army, and with the court's lax enforcement of the law, coveted Wei Guangtao's position and plotted to oust him, hoping to establish his own independent power like Yuan Shikai. Although he belonged to the Beiyang clique, he was actually more senior than Yuan Shikai. It was only after Zhang Xun left Xiaozhan that Yuan Shikai truly seized sole control of the military training there.

Zhang Xun was actually quite uncomfortable with Yuan Shikai's self-proclaimed leadership of the Beiyang clique. If Zhang Xun hadn't left Xiaozhan, Yuan Shikai might not have become the leader of the Beiyang clique. Therefore, their relationship was difficult. Theoretically, Zhang Xun was a member of the Beiyang clique, but he was unwilling to acknowledge Yuan Shikai as his subordinate. Yuan Shikai could only send him south to avoid awkward encounters between them.

Zhang Xun also harbored little affection for Yuan Shikai, because Yuan had sent him south without offering him any benefits. If he had been able to lead a garrison south, Nanjing would have already been transformed, and he wouldn't be under Wei Guangtao's control. Because of his dissatisfaction with Yuan Shikai, Zhang Xun was inclined to demonstrate his unwavering loyalty to the Qing Dynasty, as this was precisely Yuan Shikai's weakness.

However, the South and the North are different. In the North, there may still be some nostalgia for the Manchu Qing dynasty, but in the South, even the gentry have little affection for the Manchu Qing. Especially after the Southeast Mutual Protection Pact, the gentry in the South generally believed that protecting China was much more important than protecting the Qing dynasty. Therefore, they looked down on Zhang Xun, who claimed to be a loyal subject of the Qing dynasty.

The image of loyalty that Zhang Xun cultivated for himself worked well in the north, but became a cardinal sin in the south. Moreover, the discipline of Zhang Xun's troops was even worse in foreign lands. At this time, the Qing army, especially the northern troops, which were relatively well-behaved in their homelands, became lawless and unrestrained in foreign lands, as if they were in a colony.

Therefore, Zhang Xun understood that the people of Jiangning feared and loathed him and his river defense army. They would most likely believe the accusation that he and the Jiangning general were plotting to massacre the city. At that point, which official would stand up to defend him? They would probably all be branded as his accomplices by the people.

Zhang Xun did not want to die, especially not in such an dishonorable way. He would not die for the Qing Dynasty, but would be nailed to the annals of history as a madman who acted against the tide of history. So when Li Yuanhong entered Jubao Gate, Domoto Keiichi had already made Zhang Xun confess honestly. Jiangning General Chengxun instructed him to carry out a purge of the unruly Han people in Jiangning City to prevent the revolutionaries from causing trouble in Jiangning.

Upon seeing the confession submitted by Domoto Keiichi, Qin Yuliu was filled with joy. He praised Domoto and prepared to leave with the confession. However, Domoto stopped him and asked, "Commissioner Qin, wait a moment. Shouldn't these confessions be printed as an extra edition overnight and distributed throughout the city to organize the citizens for self-defense?"

Qin Yuliu said with some surprise, "Wasn't Zhang Xun's troops already defeated? The Manchu Yangtze River Fleet has also turned against us. We have occupied Xiaguan Wharf and Wulong Mountain in the north of the city. Apart from the three battalions of river defense troops in Pukou, the river defense troops in the Jiangning area are no longer strong."

The Ninth Garrison and the privately-run Ji clan within the city are now under the control of the Governor-General of Liangjiang. The entire city of Jiangning has only seven thousand elderly and weak men; what can they possibly use to resist us? Is it necessary to disturb the people at this point? We only need to take the confession to the Governor-General of Liangjiang, and then he can issue an ultimatum to the entire city of Jiangning, and everything will be settled. Why create unnecessary complications?

Domoto Keiichi was somewhat taken aback by Qin Yuliu's naiveté. He now understood why Lin Xinyi distrusted these people. He could only remind him, "The Governor-General of Liangjiang is not a revolutionary. Our help in dealing with Zhang Xun and the Manchus of Jiangning is not to help him eliminate dissidents."

Our presence here is to further weaken the Qing dynasty's power in the southeast and strengthen the revolutionary forces. Zhang Xun and the Manchu city of Jiangning have suffered heavy losses, but this does not mean the revolutionary forces have grown stronger. If we do not use this opportunity to mobilize the people of Jiangning to join the revolution, then the biggest beneficiaries will be the gentry class represented by the Governor-General of Liangjiang. Nanjing has merely transferred from the Qing dynasty to the local gentry, which is of no benefit to us.

Only by awakening the revolutionary consciousness of the local people and allowing them to voice their demands before the local gentry take over the power vacated by Zhang Xun and the Manchu city of Jiangning, so that they can share in the benefits after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, can we have a truly supportive group in the local area whose interests are connected with ours.

Next, they will proactively help us restrain the power of the local gentry and foreign powers, thereby ensuring that the mouth of the Yangtze River is not cut off by the combined forces of the gentry and foreign powers.

Qin Yu was a special envoy sent by the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee. His political views were consistent with those of Song Jiaoren and Huang Xing, and were also similar to those of the Restoration Society and the Tongmenghui. This was the reason why the Workers' Committee sent him to Jiangning to contact the revolutionaries in the southeast and to preside over this incident. At this time, the Workers' Party did not yet have the power to bring the southeast under its control, so it was prepared to help the revolutionaries in the southeast obtain a territory in order to break the alliance between the Beiyang forces and the comprador class of the gentry in the southeast.

In fact, this proposal was put forward by Lin Xinyi after he arrived in Wuhan. At that time, the Central Committee of the Wuhan Workers' Party did not want to fight for any territory for the Tongmenghui and other revolutionaries. Not only did the two sides disagree on issues such as land revolution, but more importantly, most of these revolutionaries were ambitious but incompetent. The so-called help to acquire territory actually required a lot of specific work to be done by the Workers' Party.

Many high-ranking party members believed that if the Workers' Party was responsible for most of the specific work, why should the Tongmenghui, Guangfuhui, or other revolutionary parties share the spoils? They could simply bring the areas where the revolution had succeeded under Wuhan's rule. This was the main reason they ignored the revolutionaries' pleas for help.

However, Lin Xinyi criticized this situation after arriving in Wuhan, arguing that the current revolutionary targets of the proletariat and the bourgeoisie were the same: the feudal landlord class represented by the Manchu Qing dynasty. He further argued that the Chinese bourgeoisie lacked independence and was easily swayed by the powerful, meaning that if they could find no way out, they might very well side with the new landlord class interest groups.

For the Wuhan regime, located deep inland in China, its distance from seaports provided an inherent advantage in defending against foreign intervention. However, for China, which needed to industrialize, losing coastal ports was a disadvantage. To prevent domestic and foreign reactionary forces from uniting to blockade Wuhan, it was necessary to break their control over the Yangtze River waterway.

Therefore, Lin Xinyi believed that supporting the control of coastal areas by bourgeois revolutionary parties such as the Tongmenghui and Guangfuhui would be beneficial to Wuhan, because these bourgeois revolutionary parties also needed to break the control of the landlord class over the countryside, thus creating conditions for Wuhan to divide domestic reactionary forces.

It was under this guiding ideology that the Workers' Party formulated the plan for the Jiangning Incident. However, this time the plan was executed so perfectly that these bourgeois revolutionaries revealed their true nature again, attempting to separate the revolution from the masses in order to ensure their complete control over the revolution.

Domoto Keiichi, of course, could not allow Qin Yuliu to deviate from Lin Xinyi's plan. He knew better than anyone what Lin Xinyi's purpose was in devising the plan, and he did not believe that Qin Yuliu or anyone else was capable of breaking away from Lin Xinyi's plan and independently seizing control of Jiangning. Under Domoto Keiichi's obstruction, Qin Yuliu finally made a concession. Instead of immediately handing over Zhang Xun's confession to the Governor-General of Liangjiang, he took the confession out of the Governor-General's residence and printed thousands of extra editions overnight. He then had the revolutionaries in the city take the extra editions to the streets of Jiangning to spread the conspiracy between Zhang Xun and the Jiangning General, and why Zhang Xun's troops outside the city had attacked Jiangning the previous day.

That very night, news spread throughout the Ninth Garrison that Zhang Xun and the Manchus had conspired to massacre the city. By dawn, the officers and soldiers of the Ninth Garrison passed a resolution to control the forts inside and outside the city, including Zhongshan, to blockade and control the Manchu city. Then, the entire garrison submitted a petition to the Governor-General of Liangjiang, demanding the removal of the Manchu forces from the city and the dismantling of the Manchu city.

Meanwhile, the extra edition of the revolutionary party stirred up anti-Manchu sentiment among the people of Nanjing. At 10 a.m., the people of the city also sent representatives to submit a petition to the Viceroy of Liangjiang’s office, demanding the removal of the Manchus’ armed forces, protection of the citizens’ safety, and restoration of Nanjing’s old name, and no longer using the name Jiangning City as used by the Manchus, in order to show their break with the Manchus.

-

Chapter 534 Nanjing (2)

Upon receiving the petition from the officers and soldiers of the Ninth Division, Wei Guangtao, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, was bewildered and furious. Yes, under Nie Jigui's persuasion, he intended to side with Wuhan, but this side was conditional. As the military and political leader of Jiangsu, his decision to surrender to Wuhan with the military and political forces of Jiangsu was a choice of stance as a whole force. In other words, on the ground in Jiangsu, it was still up to him, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, to make the decisions.

This mentality is essentially the mentality of regional warlords, and it was also the unspoken social rule that allowed power groups like the Hunan clique, the Zhun clique, and the Beiyang clique to survive in the late Qing Dynasty. If you take away all my men, I'm not just surrendering, I'm simply abandoning them.

Therefore, after Zhang Xun's troops were easily defeated yesterday, Wei Guangtao was surprised by the strength of the Wuhan army. However, he then focused his energy on how to clean up the mess. One was to take over the defeated remnants of Zhang Xun's troops and make them his own help. The other was how to politely send the Manchus in Jiangning Mancheng out of the territory, thereby establishing his own monopoly in the southeast.

Wei Guangtao never imagined that the Ninth Division would bypass him and contact Wuhan directly; this was utterly against the rules. Therefore, when he received the Ninth Division's petition, he angrily vented to Nie Jigui, saying that he had misjudged Xu Shaozhen and that he would definitely give the Ninth Division a good dressing down once the people from Wuhan returned.

Nie Jigui had not anticipated this situation either, but he did not think that Wuhan had gone too far. Any force that aspires to unify the country would not tolerate the emergence of independent military and political groups in the region. The Manchus had only just entered the pass and stabilized the situation when they were already eager to begin weakening the regional powers. The emergence of regional military groups such as the Hunan clique and the Zhun clique in the late Qing Dynasty was actually a manifestation of the decline of central authority, rather than a precedent.

His only displeasure was that Wuhan hadn't informed him beforehand, clearly indicating a lack of trust from them, which frustrated him greatly. In fact, after the failure of the Hundred Days' Reform, he believed the Qing Dynasty was truly doomed. Therefore, he forbade his sons from holding official positions and sent his third son to invest in industry—a preparation for the family's survival in the face of the Qing's collapse.

The emergence of the Wuhan Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee was nothing short of a miracle in this era of unprecedented change in three thousand years. When no one could find a way out for China, Wuhan actually managed to forge a new path under the pressure of foreign powers. Although the series of policies implemented by Wuhan violated the traditional morality of Confucianism, even traditional scholar-officials like Nie Jigui couldn't help but hope that Wuhan could continue on this path in the face of the crisis of national subjugation and racial extinction.

Indeed, the gentry in various places did not agree with the ideas of laborism and land revolution advocated by Wuhan, and some even felt a deep hatred for them. However, after the invasion of Beijing by the Eight-Nation Alliance and Russia's undisguised attempt to annex Manchuria and Outer Mongolia, the sense of crisis of national subjugation had surpassed the loss of personal interests.

After all, the Manchu conquest of China had already taught the Chinese what it meant to lose one's country. The Western powers were far more distant from Chinese civilization than the Manchus. They had their own civilizations that they were proud of, so they would not absorb any Chinese civilization when they came to rule China. The Native Americans and the Ottoman Empire are examples of what China should learn from their mistakes.

Faced with the crisis of their own civilization's impending extinction, traditional intellectuals began to actively absorb new knowledge and culture from the outside world, regarding these things as a panacea for saving their own civilization.

This is why many intellectuals, despite not understanding scientific socialism, still actively requested to join the Labour Party and were willing to accept its reforms. They did not see these reforms as an infringement on their interests, but rather as a form of therapy to ensure the continuation of Chinese civilization in the new era.

It is precisely because of this idea that the Labour Party is full of vitality, because all members are trying to find a way to save the party from peril in theory. This is why Lin Feng, the pseudonym of Lin Xinyi, is highly regarded within the party. Outsiders think he is just all talk, but within the party, Lin Feng's ideas are new and different from the old traditions. Those who try to follow the old path cannot find their place in the party at all, because the current Labour Party is actually a pioneering organization led by a group of idealists.

Some people readily say that cadres decide everything, but they forget the first half of the sentence: given a defined political line, the political line shapes the organization, and the organization shapes the cadres—this process is irreversible. To emphasize that cadres decide everything without considering the political line is to treat cadres as saviors, believing that as long as cadres are capable enough, any task assigned by the organization will be successful.

But history has long told us that this view is wrong. From the Autumn Harvest Uprising to the establishment of the Central Soviet Area, to the victories of the three counter-encirclement campaigns, the heavy losses of the fourth, and the failure of the fifth, which ultimately led to the abandonment of the Central Soviet Area, weren't the same group of cadres doing the same work? Why did such diametrically opposed results occur? There is only one reason: the Central Committee moved from Shanghai to the Soviet Area, changing the revolutionary line formulated by the leaders. Cadres are merely the transmitters and executors of the organization's will; their personal abilities can only amplify or diminish the organization's power. But what truly determines the success or failure of the work is whether the organization has chosen the correct path.

Therefore, those who unilaterally emphasize the personal abilities of cadres are no different from small business owners in later generations who desperately try to create a company culture to make employees work hard for them. They don't understand organizational principles at all and only know how to engage in nepotism.

As long as one can follow the organization's lead and transform the organization's ideas into guidance for one's own work practice, one is a cadre needed by the organization. Cadres of the class vanguard need to constantly reflect on whether their class stance has changed.

While the Workers' Party may not yet meet the organizational standards of a class vanguard, it already possesses the discipline and unified ideology of a modern organization. This is why the Workers' Party's power structure is far more efficient than that of the old military and political cliques like the Beiyang clique. The Workers' Party, at least from top to bottom, shares the same ideology, whereas the Beiyang clique relies on personal relationships to forcibly execute orders. Although Nie Jigui harbors some resentment towards Wuhan, he believes China's future hope lies there. Therefore, he is unwilling to go against the tide of history due to such suspicions. He earnestly advises Wei Guangtao not to waver at this juncture, as doing so would only leave him in a precarious position between Wuhan and the Beiyang clique.

Nie Jigui didn't consider whether this matter would provoke the dissatisfaction of the Manchus when he was trying to persuade them. Even Wei Guangtao himself didn't think that offending the Manchu group would have any consequences. What the two of them were worried about was the attitude of Wuhan and Beiyang. From their unconscious consideration, it can be seen that even the literati who were Manchu officials now had no fear of the Manchu dynasty.

However, Wei Guangtao's anger towards Xu Shaozhen quickly turned into fear. In his view, the petition from the Ninth Division was nothing more than Xu Shaozhen contacting some officers and soldiers to curry favor with Wuhan. He did not believe that the entire Ninth Division under his nose could go to Wuhan. After all, this army was supported by him in Jiangsu and received money and provisions from the Governor-General of Liangjiang. How could he turn his back on him?

However, at 10 o'clock, the people of Jiangning gathered at the Viceroy's Mansion of Liangjiang to petition. Immediately afterwards, the Yangtze River Fleet, which had been moved to Xiaguan, refused to hand over the river defense camp and Wulongshan Fort to the Viceroy's Mansion. The Yangtze River Fleet was stationed in Zhenjiang. Although it was supplied by Jiangsu, it was still directly under Beijing. Wei Guangtao called on the Yangtze River Fleet to deal with the river defense army, which was also a test to see if the other side would obey his orders.

However, the Yangtze River Fleet has now rejected the orders of the Viceroy of Liangjiang, and the Ninth Division has expressed its desire for independence. This means that the military forces within Jiangning City are out of control.

After eliminating Zhang Xun's river defense forces, Wei Guangtao believed that his Governor's Guard, the Jiangnan Anti-Drug Squad, the Ninth Division, and the Yangtze River Fleet were now facing off against the entire city of Jiangning, with the Wuhan army providing backup. The situation seemed perfect. However, he suddenly realized that his only truly reliable forces were the Governor's Guard and the Jiangnan Anti-Drug Squad. The Ninth Division and the Yangtze River Fleet had become part of Wuhan's forces, and the strongest force in Jiangning had actually become the Wuhan side.

If the problem only lies with the military, then after resolving the issue in Mancheng, he could still rely on the system to dismantle the dissidents in the Ninth Division and the Yangtze River Fleet. After all, the great powers would not allow Wuhan to control the safety of the lower Yangtze River waterway. Therefore, after the Yangtze River Fleet expressed its pro-Wuhan stance, it could not stay in the lower reaches for long. Without the support of the Yangtze River Fleet, the Ninth Division would be an isolated force here, and as long as he controlled the money and supplies, he could divide and dismantle it.

But now the people of Jiangning are also in unrest, which is a more serious problem. The power of the system lies in its control over the people, and then using that control to acquire various resources. These resources sustain the system's existence. The army is merely a part of the system; it is supported by the system, and therefore, the army is inherently subordinate to it. When the army can obtain resources without relying on the system, it will inevitably establish a new system to replace the old one. Once the people of Jiangning unite with the Ninth Division and other armies, it means that the Viceroy of Liangjiang's government will lose most of its power. If the two sides can unite closely, then the Viceroy of Liangjiang's government will be immediately rendered powerless.

During the Wuhan Mutiny, the Workers' Party united the insurgent army and the people of Wuhan through the new system of the Wuhan Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee, which rendered the Governor-General's Office of Huguang a mere shell. This was a lesson from the past, and how could Wei Guangtao not understand it?

Despite his understanding, Wei Guangtao couldn't find a solution, or rather, the bureaucratic system of the late Qing Dynasty was unable to cope with the drastic social changes. The Qing Dynasty was the epitome of China's feudal system, which had a very distinct characteristic: the so-called "cessation of litigation and cessation of disputes." On the surface, it was to create a harmonious society and advocate tolerance, but in reality, it was a form of high-pressure rule over the lower classes. This was because all lawsuits revolved around interests, and if the lower classes wanted to fight for their own interests, the ruling class would inevitably have to concede. Therefore, the ruling class opposed the lower classes constantly petitioning and filing lawsuits.

This system became increasingly rigid towards the end of a dynasty. Officials refused to support any demands of the common people, resorting instead to suppression until popular uprisings erupted. At this point, the ruling class either used the army to suppress the uprisings, or, if that failed, the entire system collapsed. However, many officials preferred to incite uprisings rather than compromise with the people, because the troubles caused by the uprisings would be shared by everyone. Taking the people's side meant offending colleagues and superiors, which was an easy choice for them personally.

Most people believe that officials at the end of a dynasty were incompetent, but this is a misconception. It's not that these officials lacked ability, but rather that the rigid system forced them to choose what was most advantageous to themselves. For example, after the victory of the anti-shogunate faction, the personal integrity and abilities of these newly noble samurai were mostly inferior to those of officials during the shogunate period. As a result, even farmers began to miss life during the shogunate era, at least they didn't have to send their daughters to the city or overseas to become prostitutes to pay off debts.

Revolution is like a chemical reaction. Several originally stable substances undergo violent changes after mixing. The old form of matter is destroyed in an instant. If there is a catalyst as a stabilizer, then a new stable form of matter will emerge. The revolutionary party organization is the catalyst and stabilizer of the revolution. When the revolutionary sentiment of the masses is ignited, without guidance, it will become an indiscriminate destructive force. When the force is exhausted, the masses will lose their revolutionary passion. However, under the guidance of the organization, the revolutionary enthusiasm of the masses will become a stable output, climbing towards higher goals as each stage is achieved.

Rumors that the Manchus in the city were trying to purge the revolutionaries stirred up unease among the people of Jiangning. The people of the south never overestimated the Manchus' limits. Judging from the history of the Manchu rule in the south, the Manchus did not hesitate to use their swords to kill whenever they heard any rumors. For example, the early Qing dynasty's policy of relocating people from the border and banning the sea, the mid-Qing dynasty's literary inquisition, and even during the Opium War when British warships appeared on the coast, the Manchus would always kill Han people first to prevent them from siding with the British.

The more than 200-year history of the Qing Dynasty demonstrates one thing: they never considered themselves Chinese, but rather as the masters of China. They were well aware that they were conquerors, and the various massacres they perpetrated in China stemmed from their distrust of the Chinese people, who had been reduced to subjugated slaves. Therefore, when revolutionaries used Zhang Xun's confession in special publications, the people of Jiangning City had no doubts. Led by the revolutionaries, these citizens quickly gathered and petitioned the Viceroy of Liangjiang.

There were indeed many revolutionaries in Nanjing, because from Zhang Zhidong and Liu Kunyi to Wei Guangtao, they had all devoted a great deal of effort to education in Nanjing. However, contrary to their wishes, the majority of the students who were educated in the new learning style, who were trying to cultivate talents who understood the West for the Qing Dynasty, ended up joining the revolutionaries.

Although Wuhan did not show any aggression towards the southeast region after its independence, it exported a large amount of new culture and ideas to the region in terms of education and culture. In addition, the bourgeois revolutionaries in Jiangsu and Zhejiang also paid attention to education, so many schools in Nanjing became places for the spread of revolutionary ideas.

These students and young teachers had been organized early on to spread new culture and ideas to the army and citizens, which is why the Ninth Division had such a solid revolutionary foundation. When they received orders to spread the Manchu conspiracy to the people of the city, they quickly transformed from revolutionary propagandists into representatives of the citizens and organized a preliminary citizens' self-government committee. It was this citizens' self-government committee that petitioned the Governor-General of Liangjiang on behalf of the citizens of Nanjing. It can be said that under the organization of the revolutionaries, the revolutionary masses acted too quickly. Before the bureaucratic system of Jiangning City, headed by Wei Guangtao, could react, a revolutionary organization capable of restraining the citizens had already emerged in the city.

Wei Guangtao felt fear because organized and unorganized masses are two different things. With the latter, social order can be almost restored simply by driving the masses home, but the former is not so easy to deal with.

As Wei Guangtao had predicted, before he could devise a countermeasure, the Nanjing Citizens' Self-Government Committee had already held its first citizens' assembly in the square outside the Viceroy of Liangjiang's residence. The assembly decided to establish citizens' self-defense forces in the five districts of the east, west, south, north, and central areas to maintain the security of the city and apprehend saboteurs and Manchu spies. It also elected 37 people's commissars to take responsibility for the organization, leadership, logistics, weaponry, and funding of the citizens' self-defense forces. Furthermore, it resolved to send representatives to the city gates, military units, and artillery positions to request support. It also resolved to send representatives to the consulates in Xiaguan to inform them of the Manchu plot and the resolutions of the Nanjing citizens, in order to avoid misjudgments by foreign powers.

The series of resolutions by the Nanjing Citizens' Self-Government Committee had effectively replaced the decisions made by the Governor-General of Liangjiang. For Wei Guangtao, the situation was becoming increasingly uncontrollable, and how to solve the problem of the Manchu city in Jiangning had become secondary.

As for the Manchus in Jiangning Mancheng, their information was even worse than Wei Guangtao's. After receiving the ultimatum from the Ninth Division and the Nanjing Citizens' Self-Government Committee, the Manchus in Mancheng were naturally unwilling to lay down their weapons and allow the Han army to enter. At this time, they were also confused and did not know why Jiangning had become chaotic. However, they were skeptical about the conspiracy between the Jiangning General and Zhang Xun to raid the city. They only doubted the existence of such a conspiracy because they thought Zhang Xun was not good at keeping secrets.

As for General Chengxun of Jiangning, although he tried his best to explain that he had never given Zhang Xun such a secret order and wrote a letter to Wei Guangtao to explain, he still dared not order the Manchus in the city to hand over their weapons. After all, in the face of the surging emotions of the Han people, relying on the Manchus to protect themselves still gave them a sense of security, while handing over their weapons would be leaving it to fate.

However, the Manchus' high level of vigilance further aggravated the unease of Nanjing citizens. The original slogan of defending Nanjing turned into cleaning up the Manchu forces in Nanjing. The already organized citizens' self-defense force became impatient with those officials or groups who refused to express their support for the Nanjing Citizens' Self-Government Committee and attempted to resolve the problem with violence.

-

Chapter 535 Nanjing (3)

As a correspondent for The Times in Shanghai, Burland also had a primary job as a secretary in the Shanghai Municipal Council of the International Settlement. Of course, compared to this primary job, the identity of The Times correspondent in China could bring him honor and political prospects in his home country. This is the road to success that made Morrison famous in Britain.

However, Burland did not have the same adventurous spirit as Morrison. This Australian, who did not speak Chinese, dared to walk across the entire country, but he preferred to stay in the comfortable concessions of Beijing and Shanghai, living a life far away from the Chinese. Although as Hart's secretary, he had a deep understanding of Chinese politics and culture and spoke fluent Mandarin, Burland did not give the British public much opportunity to learn about China during his time in China.

Politically, the staunch anti-Germanist Burland lacked flexibility. He believed that containing Germany required Russia's power, and therefore Russia's actions in the Far East should not be criticized too much. However, Morrison, an Australian, was clearly more concerned about the balance of power in Asia. He did not want any country other than Britain to gain dominance in Asia, and therefore advocated for the containment of Russia's expansion.

Morrison's advocacy of uniting with Japan to contain Russia's expansion in the Far East clearly aligned with London's thinking, thus propelling the relatively junior Morrison to become Burland's superior at The Times. Morrison's flexible stance lay in his criticism of the Japanese army's inappropriate actions in Manchuria after Russia suffered significant setbacks in the Far East, laying the groundwork for postwar distancing from Japan. As the world's leading power, the British Empire's foreign policy was to balance the interests of all parties, courting the weaker to restrain the stronger, thus maintaining its position as an arbitrator and avoiding being embroiled in international conflicts. Previously, Russia's expansion in the Far East demonstrated its power to disrupt the balance of power in East Asia, so Britain naturally supported Japan and China. However, with Russia's defeat in the war, Japan suddenly became the disruptor of the East Asian power balance, and Britain should appropriately distance itself from it.

If Europe had not been in a state of conflict between two opposing camps, Morrison's proposals for East Asian diplomacy might have once again gained London's approval. However, the situation in Europe prevented London from provoking Japan. The British Empire at that time needed a peaceful East Asia, which is why Morrison's proposals failed to gain official recognition from London.

However, London was paying more and more attention to Morrison's opinions, to the point that Pland found himself, as a pure Englishman, less trusted in London than an Australian.

Furthermore, London's dissatisfaction with his work became increasingly severe, as London believed that the intelligence or reports on China submitted by Prandt did not reflect the true state of China at all, and that he seemed to have completed these investigations and reports on China by sitting in his study and relying on his imagination.

London's criticisms were not entirely wrong. As Jedd's former secretary, Pland had a close relationship with the customs, so his investigations and reports on China were almost entirely based on data provided by the customs. This was actually sufficient for China in the past, since the Chinese customs under British control knew China better than the Chinese court, because transaction data does not lie, and Chinese officials never told the truth.

However, with the emergence of the Wuhan Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee, the reports he submitted to London deviated more and more from the actual situation in China. This led to several misjudgments by London on the China issue and allowed the Germans' development in central China to exceed the limits that London could tolerate. As a result, London expressed its dissatisfaction with his work.

In order to avoid being fired by The Times, Pland desperately wanted to produce a high-quality report to salvage London's bad impression of him. The mutiny that broke out in Jiangning finally gave him this opportunity. After receiving a telegram from the Jiangning consulate, he immediately took the night train and arrived in Jiangning in the morning, ready to personally observe the mutiny up close.

The railway line from Shanghai to Jiangning had been envisioned by various countries as early as the second year of the Tongzhi reign (1863), but the Qing government only relented after the signing of the Boxer Protocol. However, Liu Kunyi was not enthusiastic about this railway, so it wasn't until 1903, with the mediation of Sheng Xuanhuai, that a railway construction contract was signed. However, after the Wuhan Mutiny broke out, in order to gain the support of the foreign powers, Wei Guangtao intensified his efforts to ensure the railway's construction. As a result, the entire railway was completed in April 1907 and officially opened to traffic in June. The entire journey now takes 8 hours, whereas previously it took 3 days.

Although Pland arrived in Jiangning immediately, he was still filled with anxiety when he got off the bus. He was worried that the mutiny would turn into disorderly violence and eventually become another xenophobic popular uprising. Such things are not uncommon in the East. He was not Morrison, who grew up in Australia, so he was still afraid of such unpredictable violent events.

To the British, who lived on the British Isles, Australians were practically savages. After all, these descendants of criminals had survived in the desolate Australian landscape by overcoming local spies and various poisons. That's why the British public saw Morrison's departure from the civilized world to live like a savage as a remarkable feat, something Pland never learned.

However, after Puland followed his friends from the consulate out of Jiangning Railway Station, his uneasy heart finally calmed down a lot. There were indeed many more Chinese people on the streets of Jiangning shouting slogans with great emotion, but these Chinese people did not have any violent aura, and there were no fights or brawls on the streets. The only thing that made him feel somewhat violent was a group of Chinese people blocking the street and forcibly cutting off the braids of passers-by.

Although the two rickshaws carrying him and his friend still attracted attention as they passed by these Chinese people, with some even giving them unfriendly looks, no one stopped them. When they reached the Xiaguan area where the consulate was located, the order was even better. In addition to the guards set up by the consulates, the Chinese Yangtze River Fleet also sent a detachment of sailors to set up a sentry post in the Xiaguan area to maintain order.

Upon arriving at the British Consulate in Xiaguan, Pland finally managed to obtain information about the general situation of the Jiangning Mutiny. It seemed that the Jiangning General and the Jiangnan Commander, both officials supporting the Manchu court, fearing the revolution, planned a large-scale roundup of revolutionaries within Jiangning. This angered the city's citizens and the pro-popular army. The Commander-in-Chief then arrested the Jiangnan Commander, whose troops subsequently rebelled but were defeated. Now, the citizens and the pro-popular army were demanding that the Commander-in-Chief arrest the Jiangning General and disarm the Manchus.

After listening to the account of the events given by the Chinese Yangtze River Fleet officer who had been invited by the consulate, Pland couldn't help but ask, "If that's the case, then it doesn't seem like a mutiny, but rather that the Governor-General quelled a rebellion, does it?"

To Pland's question, the Chinese naval officer seemed somewhat hesitant to answer, pausing for a long time before finally giving a vague reply: "If the matter ends here, then you are correct. However, the citizens and the army attempting to protect them do not approve of the Governor's handling of the situation; they intend to resolve it themselves, so the Governor has lost control. Nevertheless, the Citizens' Self-Government Committee and the army supporting the people have assured the consulates that as long as the various countries do not interfere, they will try their best to resolve the issue peacefully with the Governor."

Not content with simply interviewing a few invited friends from inside the consulate, Pland found someone to accompany him into the city around 2 p.m., hoping to see for himself what the Chinese were up to.

Compared to the morning, Jiangning City appeared much more orderly in the afternoon. Pu Lande noticed that the shops on both sides of the street had opened their tightly closed doors and were doing business, with red flags hanging at their entrances. These flags appeared to have been hastily made. After the establishment of the Wuhan Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee, it adopted the red flag as its symbol, to the point that the red flag has now become a symbol of revolution in China. Clearly, the people of Jiangning City believed that the district was a revolutionary site, which is why they hung so many red flags at their doorsteps.

Not only were red flags displayed throughout the streets, but people and soldiers marching by chanting slogans either carried a red flag or wore red triangular scarves around their necks. Students were also giving speeches to passersby. Puland stopped to listen; the speeches were essentially criticizing the crimes committed against the Han people by the Manchus since their conquest of China, and urging everyone not to forget their Han identity. Most passersby stopped and listened intently, completely unaware that this was a blatant challenge to the government's authority—unthinkable in the past in China. After all, any criticism of the imperial court was a crime, and even journalists hiding in the foreign concessions dared not attack the government so openly.

As Pulande drew closer to the Governor-General's Mansion in the city center, the streets became increasingly crowded. It seemed as if the entire population of Jiangning City had gathered there. The square in front of the Governor-General's Mansion was packed with people. This square, originally used to assemble troops for the Governor-General's inspection, had now become a large gathering place. The poor guards of the Governor-General's Mansion were squeezed at the entrance by tens of thousands of people and completely lost control of the situation.

Several temporary platforms had been erected in the square, and people were constantly going up to give speeches. Puland leaned closer to one of them and listened for a while. He realized that this was different from the student speeches on the street. Although some of these speakers criticized the Manchu court's persecution of the Han people, many of them were expressing their own grievances. For example, merchants were unhappy about the forced taxation and bribery, workers complained about their long working hours and meager wages, workers in state-run factories were angry that officials treated them like servants, and even soldiers were dissatisfied with their officers. Although these personal complaints and grievances seemed fragmented and somewhat out of place with the current grand popular movement, they were closer to people's lives and resonated with many people. As a result, the people around these platforms were more excited and agitated than the pedestrians listening to the student speeches, because they were truly participating in this movement.

Through this close contact with the Chinese people, Pland suddenly discovered that the emotions of the Chinese were incredibly varied, completely contrary to the fixed image of them as numb, timid, and shy that he had in mind. Here, these Chinese people would also shed tears for the suffering of others and express anger at injustice; they would respond to justice with enthusiastic applause and shouts of support. If Pland were to describe these Chinese people, he felt they were like passionate, idealistic French people.

Neither the British nor the Germans have ever been so passionate. The former are by nature detached, while the latter have stripped themselves of their emotions. Europeans all know that the rational French are the easiest to deal with, but when France is controlled by passion, it is a disaster for Europe.

Looking at the Chinese people around him, Pland's friend, who had accompanied him, remarked, "This scene is somewhat reminiscent of Maslenitsa in Europe, don't you think?"

Pland glanced at the Chinese people in the square, then turned to his friend and said, "Yes, this is a national celebration, a revelry to commemorate the revival of an ancient people. East Asia may not be peaceful from now on..."

While the British stood outside the Governor's Mansion observing the popular revolution up close, a heated debate was unfolding inside. Wei Guangtao, unable to tolerate losing control of the situation any longer, summoned Qin Yuliu and Xu Shaozhen to his reception room to express his dissatisfaction. "We could have handled things quietly, but now you're stirring up trouble outside, inciting the entire population of Jiangning City. What are you trying to do? That so-called 'citizens' self-defense force' even threatened to storm the private residence of Ji. What are you trying to do?"

Wei Guangtao was quite old and rarely handled specific matters anymore. He would delegate these tasks to his advisors or trusted confidants. Therefore, he rarely gave such long speeches to people. As a result, Nie Jigui, who was sitting next to him, was worried about Wei Guangtao's flushed face and feared that he might get too excited and suffer a stroke.

Xu Shaozhen was somewhat uneasy. As Wei Guangtao's subordinate, he still held his superior in awe. Although he had sided with the revolution under the persuasion of his subordinates, this inclination was actually a pragmatic choice. As an elite bureaucrat appointed by the court to study Western military affairs abroad, he realized after arriving that post-reform Japan was no longer a force that the stagnant Qing Dynasty could contend with. To learn from Western military systems, it was necessary to fundamentally change the ethnic contradictions of the Qing Dynasty, which was characterized by a small ethnic group confronting a large country; otherwise, it would all be in vain.

This idea wasn't just Xu Shaozhen's personal opinion. In fact, any intellectual who genuinely wanted to learn from the West how to enrich their country and strengthen its military would quickly realize that the old system of the Qing Dynasty, which fostered ethnic conflict, couldn't support a modern conscription system. Therefore, the Manchus who went abroad to study military affairs had no place to use their skills upon their return, and the Han intellectuals who studied military affairs needed to establish a nation-state if they wanted to put their knowledge to practical use. If Xu Shaozhen didn't want to be sidelined by his subordinates, he had no choice but to show tolerance for nationalism.

Of course, Xu Shaozhen only harbored dissatisfaction with the Qing system. He couldn't bring himself to turn his back on his superior who appreciated him. Therefore, under Wei Guangtao's rebuke, he immediately felt guilty and realized that he had indeed let down this senior official.

However, Qin Yuliu's revolutionary will was much firmer than Xu Shaozhen's. Faced with this situation, he simply raised his head and bluntly said to Wei Guangtao: "I don't understand what you're saying, sir. Aren't we sitting here today precisely because the Manchus have always oppressed the Han people, and the people can no longer bear it, so they have risen up to resist?"

The people's uprising is a manifestation of the upholding of civil rights, and this is the very reason why the old man accused General Jiangning and Zhang Xun's troops of conspiring to poison the people. The entire city of Jiangning hasn't surrendered yet! Why does the old man want to suppress the people's voices again? Such fickleness is disheartening.

I am aware of the incident where the Citizens' Self-Defense Force stormed the private enterprise. The Citizens' Self-Defense Force was patrolling the streets and arresting robbers, but the private enterprise came forward to protect these robbers. It is said that some of the robbers were actually soldiers of the private enterprise in disguise. They planned to take advantage of the chaos of war to plunder the city. Are these still soldiers?

Leaving aside the issue of the private military's discipline, this morning the citizens of Nanjing held a mass meeting and decided to completely break with the Manchus and no longer submit to their rule. The Ninth Division, the Yangtze River Fleet, and all troops stationed inside and outside the city, except for the Governor-General's Guard and the privately-run units, have all resolved to obey the citizens' assembly's resolution, announced the cutting of their queues, abolished Manchu supervision, established a soldiers' committee, and sent representatives to the citizens' assembly to discuss how to disarm the Manchu forces in Nanjing and how to handle the aftermath. The privately-run units are not only undisciplined, but they also show no intention of complying with the citizens' assembly's resolution. Therefore, the citizens' self-defense force must be disarmed to prevent them from betraying the citizens and acting as Manchu spies in the city. I think this is perfectly justifiable.

Wei Guang became even angrier upon hearing this, and pressed on, "My governor's guards have also not accepted the resolution of the citizens' assembly. Are you going to disarm them as well? Are you planning to dismiss me as well?"

After a moment of silence, Qin Yuliu coldly replied, "Why must Your Excellency misinterpret my meaning? I've already stated that this is a resolution of the Citizens' Assembly, not my decision. If Your Excellency believes you can suppress public discontent, then you are welcome to send your guards to disperse the citizens outside, and I will have no objection."

Seeing that the two sides were about to reach a stalemate, Nie Jigui had no choice but to speak up and smooth things over, saying, "We're all in the same boat now, why be so confrontational?"

-

Chapter 536 Nanjing (4)

The second floor of a restaurant not far from the Viceroy's residence in Liangjiang was requisitioned by the Ninth Division because it offered a view of the commotion in the square in front of the Viceroy's residence. Xu Shaozhen still had some favor to do for Wei Guangtao, but the revolutionaries in the Ninth Division, led by Zhao Sheng, had little affection for the Qing officials.

Although Xu Shao was highly respected in the army, the truly powerful force within the Ninth Division was the revolutionary group formed around Zhao Sheng. After the Ninth Division officially raised the revolutionary banner yesterday, the commanders of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Brigades immediately chose to resign, because they were all relatives appointed by the Governor-General and did not have much influence in the army.

If the Ninth Division had simply obeyed the Governor-General and Zhang Xun's troops in their fight, then naturally they could have continued to control the Ninth Division with the Governor-General's support. However, after Xu Shaozhen opened the city gates to welcome the Wuhan army into the city and expressed his support for the Nanjing Citizens' Assembly's resolution, the two commanders knew that there was no point in staying. On the contrary, they might be purged by the revolutionaries in the army under some pretext, since they were blocking the revolutionaries' path. Therefore, they voluntarily broke away from the army.

With the departure of the officials the governor had placed in the Ninth Division, the Ninth Division truly fell into the hands of the revolutionaries. Zhao Sheng rose to become the second most important figure after Xu Shaozhen. When Xu Shaozhen entered the governor's mansion for discussions, Zhao Sheng became the person in charge of the Ninth Division. He stayed on the second floor of this restaurant to observe the situation in front of the governor's mansion, in order to guard against any unforeseen events.

Zhao Sheng and his companions observed from the second floor for a long time. Li Jingcheng, Lin Shuqing, and other officers from the Ninth Division beside him couldn't help but express their admiration for the person presiding over the citizens' gathering in the square.

Li Jingcheng, who grew up with Zhao Sheng, bluntly commented: "The tens of thousands of citizens gathered in the square have changed from disorder to order. The high platforms everywhere look like propaganda platforms, but they are actually command posts. Now, even if the Governor's Office uses the guards to forcibly disperse them, it may not work. The citizens have been organized."

Lin Shuqing, a close friend of Zhao Sheng, nodded in agreement, saying, "To be able to organize the unorganized masses to this extent in just one day, Wuhan truly has a wealth of people. Such a person would undoubtedly be a great general in the army. And yet, we've never even heard of him, which shows he's not even considered a top talent in Wuhan. Looking at it this way, aren't the famous figures in Wuhan even more unfathomable? I think the world will ultimately belong to Wuhan."