Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 137

What was even more intolerable to British diplomats was that the Germans could have private contacts with Wuhan, thereby influencing Wuhan's decisions to favor Germany, which greatly hindered British diplomacy in Asia.

After the British army in Wuhan recaptured Kulun and captured Upper Udinsk, the British had effectively recognized Wuhan's dominant position in China. Although many British people in China preferred to support Yuan Shikai, they also acknowledged that if Wuhan and the Beiyang Army went to war, Yuan Shikai would probably not have a good outcome, and Britain could not directly support Yuan Shikai.

Although Britain had previously withdrawn its consulate staff and expatriates from the Wuhan area, many British expatriates returned to Wuhan a year ago. The British took the opportunity to send a chargé d'affaires to protect the interests of the Wuhan expatriates. However, the Wuhan Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee refused to recognize the chargé d'affaires' diplomatic status, regarding him only as a representative of the British expatriates. Nevertheless, they did return the British consulate in Hankou to the chargé d'affaires.

The chargé d'affaires personally greeted Morrison at the station. To Morrison's surprise, the chargé d'affaires had actually come to pick him up in a car. Although there were already a few cars in Beijing at this time, most of them were for personal valuables brought into China and had no contact with the legation. Even many Europeans regarded cars as fashionable toys rather than proper means of transportation.

However, after inviting the two into the car, the clerk said to them as he drove, "Owning a horse-drawn carriage in Wuhan is extremely troublesome. Not only do you have to pay city sanitation fees, but you also need to build dedicated sewers for the stables. In some neighborhoods, horse-drawn carriages are strictly prohibited. Therefore, traffic in Wuhan has almost completely eliminated horse-drawn carriages. When you go out, you either take trams or cars, or rickshaws or bicycles. You almost never see people riding horses or in sedan chairs anymore..."

Sitting behind the two, Donald seemed quite pleased with this new mode of transportation. He stroked the leather upholstery and asked with interest, "I think cars are much more comfortable than horse-drawn carriages. But what country is this car from? How much does it cost?"

The chauffeur shrugged and said, “This is a German-made Mercedes, but it’s assembled in China. In Germany, it would cost at least 8000 marks, but in China, it’s 3600 silver dollars. With the license plate and other fees, it cost a total of 3800 silver dollars, which is about 380 pounds. That’s 20 pounds cheaper than in Europe.”

The price wasn't too expensive for Morrison; his annual salary was £500, enough to buy a car. However, he quickly noticed the car's flaws, saying, "Although it's much cheaper than owning a horse, it would be a real problem if it broke down on the road."

The clerk nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, a carriage can be repaired by a carpenter if it breaks down, but a car has to be sent to a repair shop, which is quite troublesome. However, new cars have a one-year warranty, so if they break down, the shop can tow them back for repairs, which isn't so bad. As long as you don't travel far, it won't be too much of a hassle..."

Morrison noted that there were already quite a few cars on the streets of Wuhan, and unlike Beijing, Wuhan's streets were very suitable for cars, being wide and offering good visibility. Pedestrians, rickshaws, and bicycles were not allowed to walk in the middle of the road. Of course, the main means of street transportation were still the trams that ran along the tracks. From this perspective, Siemens' description of the city was not an exaggeration.

Morrison and Donald eventually checked into a hotel not far from the consulate. It was a hotel built by the Germans, less than two years old, but it had already become a landmark building in Hankou, with a status comparable to the Six Nations Hotel in Beijing and the Astor Hotel in Tianjin. It mainly served the Germans.

Upon entering the hotel and surrounded by German-speaking people, Morrison couldn't help but frown and say, "It feels like I've come to Germany. Why are there so many Germans here?"

The clerk accompanying him into the hotel shook his head and said, "Because Wuhan is hosting the first Import and Export Commodities Exchange Conference in September, and there are quite a few Germans coming, I might not be able to book rooms for you in a few days..."

Chapter 489 Persuasion

Hankou Park was originally located on the outskirts of the city. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to find such a large open space to build the park. However, in just six or seven years, Hankou Park has transformed from the edge of the city into its center.

In the past, Hankou's prosperity was actually based on the development of a dock town along the Han River, since the calm waters of the Han River were more suitable for building docks for wooden boats. After Hankou was opened as a treaty port, foreign ships could reach Hankou directly, which led to the construction of docks along the Yangtze River and the creation of concession areas along the Yangtze River in Hankou.

However, the construction of the Luhan Railway once again changed the urban landscape of Hankou, causing the city to expand inland to the north. In addition, the construction of Zhanggong Embankment further improved the water system management in inland Hankou, thus enabling the city to expand from the riverbank towards Zhanggong Embankment, forming the new urban landscape centered on Hankou Park.

According to Morrison, the administrative and commercial center of Wuhan that rose around Hankou Park was actually somewhat like London's West End. In this respect, the city layout was very different from Berlin. This also shows that although the Chinese imported German technology in large quantities, they did not accept it wholesale without thinking.

His initial contact with Hitoshi Tada confirmed his view that the Workers' Party was a political group with its own independent views, and not, as some people speculated, a mere Eastern vassal of the Germans.

Although Morrison conducted an exclusive interview with the Labour Party under the guise of The Times, Minister Sadao and Qin Lishan had already made contact beforehand, clarifying Morrison's unofficial status as a special envoy. Therefore, Morrison was able to meet Tian Junyi without any obstacles after arriving in Hankou.

Morrison's visit to the Labour Party was ordered by the London Foreign Office, with the main purpose of clarifying the Labour Party's views on the US-mediated Far East peace talks and, incidentally, inquiring about the Labour Party's bottom-line requirements for a peace agreement.

From London's perspective, although China performed admirably in the war, it was still far from being able to independently defeat Russia. Britain recognized China's territorial integrity, referring to China's pre-war situation, but did not agree with China overturning a series of previously signed Sino-Russian border agreements, as that would trigger a series of problems between China and Russia and even destabilize the Central Asian region.

As for whether Russia will return its interests in China to China or transfer a portion of them to Japan after relinquishing them, that depends on the conclusions reached in the peace talks.

In Tian Junyi's view, the opinions brought by Morrison from the London Foreign Office were filled with imperialist arrogance. Clearly, London had not learned its lesson from the Indo-Tibet issue and still considered itself the master of the world, attempting to continue suppressing China's restoration of its rightful place in the world. The so-called restoration of the pre-war situation in China essentially meant continuing to treat China as a public colony of various countries.

Faced with the British probing, Tian Junyi had no choice but to take a firm stance, stating: "The Labour Party will not accept this, nor will it send anyone to participate in any mediation meeting. This war is an act of aggression against China by Russian imperialists. The Chinese people have only one position on wars of aggression: to eliminate the aggressors and drive them out of our territory."

When Russian imperialists invaded China, the Americans did not call for peace from them. But when the Chinese people began to rise up against the Russian imperialist invasion, the Americans hypocritically stepped forward to call for peace. Isn't that a huge joke?

Americans love peace so much, so why did they oppose British rule in the first place? Why did they invade the poor Native Americans, Cubans, and Filipinos? Clearly, President Roosevelt didn't want peace in the Far East; he merely wanted to save face for the Tsar and try to undermine the Chinese people's will to resist Russian imperialist aggression. Otherwise, he wouldn't have tried to mediate for the defeated Tsarist aggressors.

For Morrison, Tian Junyi's attitude was the worst possible choice. The reason he came to Wuhan to contact him was because the will of the Labour Party had gradually focused on Tian Junyi. Although there were other figures in the Labour Party such as Tang Caichang, Qin Lishan, and Cai E, they could only represent the thoughts of a part of the party. Only Tian Junyi had almost the entire Labour Party's approval and, at certain times, dominated the direction of the Labour Party.

Although Lin Feng and Wu Luzhen were well-known to the British, because they were far from China, British diplomats in China believed that although they might have good military talent, their influence on the Labour Party was not as great as that of Tang Caichang and Qin Lishan, and even less comparable to that of Tian Junyi.

Based on this assessment, the British actually contacted Tang Caichang and Qin Lishan, attempting to exert influence on the Labour Party through these two individuals, or to use the opportunity to divide the Labour Party. However, after actual contact, the British discovered that while Qin Lishan might hold a slightly higher position within the party than Tang Caichang, he too dared not disobey the decisions made in Wuhan.

To be honest, the Labour Party is quite un-Chinese. According to Chinese custom, the hierarchy is Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher. Tang Caichang, who was as famous as Tan Sitong, was actually a senior figure to Tian Junyi and Qin Lishan. According to Chinese tradition, he should have been the natural leader of the Labour Party. However, in reality, Tang Caichang was probably in the third or fourth position.

According to the rules of British political parties, or the principles of European political party formation, a party may have a core figure, but it also has various powerful figures. Ordinary party members determine their stance by the loyalty of these powerful figures to the core figure, but they do not directly pledge allegiance to the core figure, because ordinary party members have no contact with the core figure at all, so they naturally cannot see their loyalty.

However, the organizational principles of the Labour Party are rather authoritarian. Even ordinary members can only obey the party's resolutions, rather than pledging allegiance to a particular party leader. This is the main reason why Tang Caichang and Qin Lishan found it difficult to challenge the decisions made by Wuhan, because the party members below them would not fight against the decisions made by Wuhan for their sake.

However, while such authoritarian political parties do not conform to European values, they are quite in line with Chinese values. After all, Chinese emperors have always sought the effect of having all their subjects loyal to them, whether or not they could actually achieve it is another matter.

Therefore, British diplomats in China generally believed that Tian Junyi's relationship with the Labour Party was essentially similar to that of a monarch to his subjects. In fact, Yuan Shikai also attempted to establish a similar relationship of loyalty with the Beiyang clique, though far less effectively than with the Labour Party. Although the Beiyang officers and soldiers swore allegiance to Yuan Shikai, they generally still had their own system of loyalty. After all, loyalty to an individual is only shown to the person who can be seen; unseen loyalty cannot establish a subordinate relationship.

Tian Junyi's strong stance suggests that the Labour Party could become a destabilizing factor undermining peace in the Far East, which is clearly unfavorable for Britain. London's current view of China is much like that of a farmer towards his ox: work hard, eat little, and contribute to the world order established by the British Empire.

Morrison could only subtly persuade Tian Junyi through the translator: "I do not object to your views on this war. China is indeed a victim in this war, and the Russians who started the war should bear the responsibility for the war."

However, Russia is, after all, a major power. Even if it has suffered attacks at sea and on land, it is not something your country can defeat alone. Please think about this carefully. Refusing peace with Russia is morally disadvantageous for China. The current international sympathy for China may soon turn into sympathy for Russia, and then China will no longer be able to gain support overseas.

The continuation of the war between China and Russia is not good for either country, but it benefits one nation: your neighbor, Japan. If your country does not participate in these peace talks, and Russia and Japan reach a separate peace agreement, then consider this: wouldn't Japan harbor inappropriate intentions towards Manchuria?

Just recently, the Japanese even refused your troops entry into Fengtian (Mukden), seemingly treating Manchuria as their spoils of war. If peace cannot be reached between China and Russia, but reconciliation is achieved between Japan and Russia, then the Japanese might very well turn their ambitions into reality…”

Although Morrison carried out a secret diplomatic mission assigned by the British Foreign Office, there was no such thing as secret diplomacy within the Labour Party. The news of Tian Junyi and Morrison's first meeting was quickly relayed to the Central Committee members, who then discussed, judged, and made a decision on the British's intentions.

After reviewing the minutes of this conversation, the Central Committee members in Wuhan were divided on whether to participate in the American-led mediation meeting. Many members actually agreed with the British viewpoint: China alone would find it difficult to defeat Russia, and even independently expelling the Russians from China would be challenging. Furthermore, China had more than one enemy; reaching peace with Russia while in a dominant position would at least allow them to reclaim most of their interests in Manchuria. As for the disputes with Japan, that was clearly another problem.

Some committee members also believe that what China lacks now is time. For example, the railway from Chongqing to Chengdu has been completed. The completion of this railway means that Wuhan's control over Sichuan has entered a new stage. Even without using the name of the imperial court, Wuhan is already capable of suppressing the various local forces in Sichuan. This is because Wuhan can control the most valuable Chengdu Plain region of Sichuan and the Chongqing port leading out of Sichuan along the railway line. The local forces in Sichuan are separated and unable to resist Wuhan.

With Sichuan and Hubei under its control, the next step is to take control of Jiangxi, Anhui, Henan, Shanxi, and Inner Mongolia. Once the Yuehan Railway and the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge are completed, Wuhan's influence can extend to Guangdong and Guangxi. With control of Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, and Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan will open their arms to Wuhan. In that case, with most of the country under its control, the Workers' Party will no longer need to engage in any pretense or maneuvering with the Beiyang warlords and other local forces.

Based on this idea of ​​"stockpiling grain, building high walls, and delaying the declaration of kingship," most of the Central Committee members suggested that Tian Junyi accept the British proposal to send representatives to the American-led mediation conference to end the war with Russia first. If Wuhan were given a few more years to develop, most of today's problems would no longer be problems.

Although Tian Junyi disagreed with the other committee members' views, feeling that sending someone to this mediation meeting was a political loss, he had to postpone the vote in the face of the committee members' desire to end the war, stating that a decision should be made after the committee members returned to Wuhan. He was hoping to hear Lin Feng's opinion, who was on his way back to Wuhan, before making a final decision.

Chapter 490 On the Indian Ocean

To be honest, the northern Indian Ocean in August is not really suitable for sailing, because it is the season when the southwest monsoon prevails, the sea is constantly surging, and there are often strong winds and torrential rains. Although Lin Xinyi joined the navy, he also felt that the sea around Japan was too gentle, and compared with the waves of the Indian Ocean, it was about as different as the difference between a Japanese geisha and a gypsy woman.

Since the invention of the steam engine, winter sailing in the Indian Ocean has actually been the most comfortable. The calm Indian Ocean is like a sapphire, allowing people to enjoy its beautiful scenery without being bothered by wind and waves.

It's rare to see such a deep blue sea along the coast near the East Asian mainland, because continental rivers like the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers wash silt and sand from the land into the sea, making the mainland coast murky and turning it into a yellowish-brown muddy mess. Only around islands like the Japanese archipelago, which lack major rivers, can you see this kind of blue sea.

Having spent over two years inland, Lin Xinyi felt a sudden sense of relief upon seeing the vastness of the Indian Ocean. Frankly speaking, it's difficult to call either Tibetans or Indians truly continental peoples. The former are confined by harsh natural environments, like islanders on the mainland, while the latter lack a shared sense of national identity.

India's caste system, in essence, was designed to blur the ethnic differences between foreign conquerors and the native inhabitants, thus creating de facto ethnic oppression. This is also why the British were able to conquer India so easily; the upper-class Indian nobles did not consider the British their greatest enemy, but rather the lower castes. Compared to the consequences of being conquered by the British, the overthrow of their rule by the lower castes terrified them more.

The reason why Indian elites chose Hinduism, which was a blend of various local religions in India, as the carrier of Indian national consciousness was essentially because they were worried that the identification of different ethnic groups in India would undermine the sense of unity in India. However, choosing Hinduism also meant preserving the caste consciousness, which prevented the contradictions accumulated in India over the past thousand years from being vented, and ultimately strengthened the caste system and religious consciousness.

For nearly a year, Lin Xinyi devoted most of his energy to resolving internal conflicts. He ultimately realized that this was merely a temporary solution. To truly resolve India's internal problems and achieve a unified nation, it was necessary to first acknowledge India as a multi-ethnic country and allow each ethnic group autonomy, and then seek unity among them. In other words, the Soviet model was actually more suitable for India's revolutionary path to independence.

This was not just a whimsical idea of ​​his. After the three northeastern states underwent ethnic identification and established autonomous regions, the internal strife within them actually subsided. Meanwhile, in other Indian states outside the three northeastern states, the previously vigorous Indian national movement quickly fragmented after the British adopted a policy of gentle appeasement and division. This was because the caste system and religious differences limited the unity of different social classes in India. In particular, the upper classes, having received the bait offered by the British, quickly turned to cooperation with them.

If it weren't for the Labour Party's insistence on guaranteeing the independence of the three northeastern states, even some members of the Indian People's Council were considering relinquishing the independent armed and administrative powers of the three northeastern states and attempting a peaceful struggle with the British in the Constituent Assembly of India.

After all, in the eyes of most Indian elites, India is no match for the entire British Empire. Although the Indian people had previously defeated the British army on the battlefield, Britain had not used its full strength.

Continuing down the path of armed struggle, India may eventually achieve victory, but what will it leave behind? As a British officer put it, "Britain may withdraw from India, but by then the country will not have a single grain of gold or a single virgin."

The reason why India's elites opposed Britain's promotion of Indian national consciousness was not because they felt the miserable situation of the Indian people being oppressed, but because they themselves felt oppressed by Britain. They were seeking liberation for themselves, not for the Indian people; otherwise, they would not have relied on Hinduism to unify Indian national consciousness.

Therefore, after repeated research and exchanges with his comrades, Lin Xinyi finally concluded that India obviously could not overthrow the three mountains of imperialism, capitalism, and feudalism from within. Only in the great trend of the complete collapse of the global colonial order could India have the opportunity to get rid of the colonial fate of being controlled by the British Empire. Only when the support of British imperialism was lost could the Indian people have the opportunity to overthrow the two mountains of capitalism and feudalism in their country.

The center of Asian revolution remains in East Asia, and India will become its strongest supporter. This is because only after the liberation of East Asian peoples can they turn around and support the independence of Southeast Asian and South Asian nations. This is why Lin Xinyi is currently on this ship. Although he feels there is still much work to be done in India, he also has to admit that if a breakthrough cannot be made in East Asia, India's revolutionary path will be difficult to continue.

Sharing a cabin with Lin Xinyi was Shamarji Krishnawalma. Like most Indian elites, Shamarji studied law in Britain. The discrimination he experienced during his studies in Britain and the miserable lives of the Indian people he witnessed after returning home ultimately led Shamarji to become a nationalist who opposed British colonial rule.

Amid the tide of the Indian national movement, Shamaraj was also subjected to surveillance and persecution by the British Indian government. However, the emergence of the People's Committee of India provided Shamaraj with a refuge. After secretly sneaking into Bihar from Mumbai, he quickly became a member of the People's Committee of India and soon joined the Labour Party of India, which advocated the path of armed struggle.

Shammagi was leading a delegation of over 300 Indian businessmen to Wuhan to attend the First International Trade Fair, ostensibly as the head of the Bihar Business Delegation. Lin Xinyi, disguised as a businessman, infiltrated the delegation and left India. Although relations between the British Indian government and the People's Committee of India had improved after an agreement was reached, and the British Indian government had announced the withdrawal of arrest warrants for a number of Indian nationalists and Chinese, Lin Xinyi was not so naive as to believe that the British would seize the opportunity not to detain him.

On a rocking ship, it's not really suitable to do anything. Lying on the ship and chatting is the only feasible activity. Of course, this requires passengers who have adapted to the waves of the Indian Ocean. Many passengers are so seasick that they can't even drink water, let alone have the energy to chat. However, for Lin Xinyi and Xia Maji, the waves didn't have such a big impact. They got used to it after a day on the ship.

For Shamarji, this opportunity to chat with Lin Xinyi alone was truly rare. Although Lin Xinyi did not mind talking with party members, his work in India was simply too busy. In addition to his political work, he was also responsible for party work and education, so few people had the opportunity to consult with him alone and discuss revolutionary theories.

Although Shamarajiva shifted from nationalism to class struggle theory, his understanding of socialist theory was indeed poor. On the contrary, he was more familiar with British parliamentary politics. The root of his previous Indian nationalism lay in his identification with the British Bill of Rights during his studies in Britain. According to this bill, he believed that the Indian nation and the British nation had the same rights, that the British nation should not place itself above the Indian nation, and that the Indian nation was loyal to the British monarch, not Britain.

Essentially, the Indian national movement, led by the Indian elite, sought equal rights with the British people within the framework of the British Empire, rather than a complete break from British rule and the establishment of an independent nation. This naive idea prevented the Indian national movement, led by these elites, from making any significant progress until the British adopted the partition plan for Bengal. This brought some radical nationalists advocating complete independence from Britain to the forefront. The combination of these radicals and the mass movement led to the massive outbreak of the Indian national movement since 1903.

However, while radical nationalists advocated for complete independence from British rule, they failed to propose a feasible plan for establishing an Indian state. This shortcoming was filled only with the emergence of the People's Committee of India, which guided India's national movement toward a climax of national self-determination.

Shamaraj sought advice from Lin Xinyi on numerous issues concerning the establishment of an independent Indian state. What seemed like a hopeless independence movement to Shamaraj seemed to Lin Xinyi to have a blueprint that could be followed step by step. Shamaraj felt as if he had returned to his student days in London, gaining new and exciting knowledge every day.

However, once the ship entered the calm Strait of Malacca, he finally asked Lin Xinyi the question that had been bothering him the most: "At the last Central Committee meeting of the Party before you left India, you gave the Party members several pieces of advice. One of them has always puzzled me: you said that peasants are not the proletariat, that we should ally with peasants, but not rely on them."

Why do you make this judgment? Looking at a series of past revolutionary movements, wasn't it precisely because of the support of the peasants that we were able to defeat the British encirclement and blockade, and establish the semi-independent three northeastern states? Even you yourself have said that India is a predominantly agricultural country, and without the support of the peasants, the Indian Revolution could not have succeeded…”

Finally able to stand at the bow of the ship and enjoy the scenery, Lin Xinyi became a little more serious when he heard the question. If the questions raised by Xia Maji could be answered by history, then the discussion about the worker-peasant alliance was still controversial in the 21st century. Therefore, he pondered for a long time before answering Xia Maji seriously.

"Because peasants are small private owners, although we can divide them into several classes: poor peasants, middle peasants and rich peasants, their values ​​are naturally inconsistent with those of the proletariat."

For example, the idea of ​​getting rich through labor is a typical peasant worldview, because only through labor can peasants acquire more land and thus rise from poor peasants to middle peasants, rich peasants, or even landlords. However, the proletariat cannot have such thoughts, because no matter how much the proletariat works, they cannot divide the factory into parts that can be attributed to their own independent labor. Therefore, the proletariat pursues distribution according to work.

Under the combined oppression of imperialism, capitalism, and feudalism, the proletariat and poor peasants, middle peasants, and even rich peasants and landlords could temporarily form an alliance. This alliance was not because the class interests of both sides were aligned, but because they had a common class enemy.

When faced with this common enemy, peasants will naturally become staunch allies of the proletariat, because supporting the proletariat is protecting their own interests. However, once the common enemy is weakened, the contradiction between the proletariat and small private owners will escalate. The society led by the proletariat needs to publicly own the means of production to meet the needs of all workers, but the goal of small private owners is to become wealthy through labor. What is becoming wealthy through labor? Isn't it simply taking possession of the means of production and then exploiting the labor of others?

Therefore, peasants are allies of the proletariat, but not the proletariat's reliance; the proletariat can only truly rely on itself…”

When Lin Xinyi answered Xia Maji, he couldn't help but think of a certain expert surnamed Wen from later generations. This expert advocated guaranteeing small-scale private ownership in rural areas as a reservoir for the cities. On the surface, this gave migrant workers who couldn't stay in the city a place to retreat. In reality, he stood on the side of bureaucratic capitalism and called for maintaining the alliance between bureaucratic capitalism and small-scale rural private owners since the reform and opening up, in order to suppress the urban proletariat. As long as small-scale rural private owners exist and as long as the value of getting rich through labor can continue to deceive people, then the urban proletariat will never mature.

Migrant workers are not essentially the proletariat; they are merely small-scale private owners working in cities. The development of bureaucratic capitalism attempts to transform these small-scale private owners into a true proletariat. Experts like Wen Jiabao worry that this will lead to a surge in the power of the Chinese proletariat. They argue that once the support of rural small-scale private owners is lost, bureaucratic capitalism will be utterly unable to withstand the resistance of such a massive proletariat. These experts seem to be speaking well of the farmers, but in reality, they are merely protecting private ownership. They are not worried about the farmers' survival, but rather that once the farmers lose their status as small-scale private owners, they will join the proletarian resistance.

Chapter 491 The Waves of Revolution

On August 27, Lin Xinyi's ship arrived at Shanghai Taikoo Wharf. As soon as he disembarked, he could see a five-story square building that looked like a castle standing on the opposite side of the wharf street. Compared with the low buildings around it, it looked like a crane standing among chickens.

Of course, the reason this building had such an effect was because the French Concession developed relatively slowly. The prime locations on the Bund in the British Concession to the north had long been occupied by major trading companies, so Swire Group was forced to expand into the French Concession. Naturally, compared to the brick-and-mortar buildings on the Bund in the British Concession to the north, this Swire Group building, using the new building material of reinforced concrete, appeared much more imposing.

However, these seemingly impressive buildings have almost nothing to do with Chinese people. Just stand on the Bund pier and look at the passersby, and you will find that all those who are well-dressed and hold their heads high are foreigners, as if they are the masters of this place.

If you don't look closely, Shanghai is actually no different from Calcutta. The concessions were essentially white areas of Calcutta. Chinese people, like Indians, appeared as servants or laborers. Occasionally, there were a few people wearing suits, but they didn't have any airs of being masters. They knew who the real masters were here.

Of course, Shanghai is not without change compared to three years ago. At least now, Shanghai's intellectual circles have become the main promoters of revolutionary theory. Three years ago, only a few progressive intellectuals in Shanghai were spontaneously carrying out anti-Manchu propaganda and spreading the spirit of freedom and equality from Europe and America. They could only hide within the concessions and cautiously expound their views. Outside the concessions, Shanghai County remained stagnant.

However, today, the intellectuals in Shanghai County outside the concessions are more radical than those inside the concessions. The victory in the war against Russia is stimulating the political enthusiasm of the Chinese people and making them realize the weakness of the court. Neither Wuhan nor Beiyang will attribute the victory to the court. On the contrary, they attribute the previous defeats in the war against Russia to the Manchus and the court controlled by the Manchus.

Therefore, the Chinese people who had previously lived under the oppressive rule of the Manchu Qing dynasty finally dared to voice their dissatisfaction with the court. After all, they were now protected by the powerful figures of the Han and Beiyang governments. Officials loyal to the Manchu court were losing their authority. Not only were the people opposing them, but even the local constables and yamen runners were beginning to shirk their orders.

In the past, the Manchu cities established by the Manchus in various places were used as spies to monitor local areas and as a means of suppressing local forces. However, now these Manchu cities have become prisons for the Manchus. The Manchu cities in Jiangning and Hangzhou had previously threatened to dismantle their own cities in defiance of the National Assembly's orders, but with the continuous victories in the war against Russia, the Manchus in these two places lost control of the localities. The Governor-General of Liangjiang and the Governor of Zhejiang announced that they would no longer provide the Manchus with rations and pay until the Manchus surrendered their weapons and dismantled their cities.

The actions of the Governor-General of Liangjiang and the Governor of Zhejiang were merely going with the flow. After all, with the Wuhan army capturing Upper Udinsk, Wuhan's military strength had gained an overwhelming advantage over the rest of the country, and the Manchus had no chance of turning the tide. Continuing to resist would only result in more people being buried with the Manchus.

The reason why the Governor-General of Liangjiang and the Governor of Zhejiang were the first to express their opinions was because they were located on the banks of the Yangtze River. If Wuhan went downstream, they would be the first to be attacked. Realizing that they could not stop Wuhan's military advance, it was crucial to first state their position. At the very least, they could not let Wuhan think that they were loyal subjects of the Manchus. Otherwise, if Wuhan sent troops to attack them, even the locals would not support them.

The change in the stance of Han Chinese officials in the Jiangnan region naturally led to a period of leniency in public opinion. If the court had relaxed its control over public opinion under pressure from Wuhan, then now local officials dared not express their political stance before the outcome was decided, resulting in a complete loss of control over public opinion.

In a region where the small-scale peasant economy is beginning to go bankrupt under the economic invasion of imperialism, radical rhetoric is obviously more likely to win the support of the people. After all, for someone who cannot see tomorrow, what he wants to know is what to do tomorrow, not how to maintain the status quo, since the status quo can no longer be maintained.

The victory in the war against Russia further fueled the emotions of the radicals, making more people who saw no way out feel that revolution was much better than maintaining the current regime. They believed that Wuhan after the revolution would be able to defeat the Russians, while the regime would only cede territory and pay indemnities, making everyone a slave to foreigners.

At this moment, anti-Manchu sentiment and revolution became firmly intertwined, and the influence of the Tongmenghui (Revolutionary Alliance) began to rise rapidly in the south. After all, in terms of specific revolutionary policies, the Tongmenghui was more radical than the Labor Party. Even a foreigner who came to Shanghai at this time and stayed for a few days could feel that the revolutionary sentiment of the Shanghai people was about to reach its peak.

On the 29th, Lin Xinyi boarded a ship belonging to Wuhan Yangtze River Shipping Company bound for Wuhan. Just the day before, new news came from the north: the Russian army had abandoned its defense line from Siping to Changchun and began to retreat towards Harbin.

The Russian army's retreat was less a withdrawal and more a flight of escape. Kuropatkin, attempting to stabilize the front line around Siping, suddenly discovered that Chinese troops were massing on both sides of Changchun. Clearly, the Chinese were trying to capture Changchun and encircle them between Changchun and Siping. By this time, the Russian army had completely lost morale. The Russian troops stationed in Changchun were the first to flee, followed by those at Gongzhuling. Finally, the Russian troops at Siping also refused to hold out any longer.

Even Kuropatkin's own troops refused to continue covering the rear of the army. Previously, everyone believed that as long as they broke contact with the Chinese and Japanese forces, they would be safe. Under this understanding, Kuropatkin could still command his troops. But now, with news of the Trans-Siberian Railway being cut off, everyone knew they had lost European support. Holding out was now crucial for survival until the end of the war; being surrounded by the Chinese and Japanese forces was clearly unacceptable.

Supplies in the Changchun, Gongzhuling, and Siping areas were scarce, and some supplies were stored in Harbin. Therefore, if the Chinese and Japanese armies cut off contact with Harbin, the nearly 300,000 troops would be lucky to hold out for a month. Although Harbin still had more than 200,000 troops, they were simply unable to spare any resources to rescue them in the face of the Japanese offensive. Therefore, whoever could escape from this encirclement would survive longer—this was the thinking of the fleeing Russian troops.

The collapse of the Russian army was extremely unexpected for both the Chinese and Japanese armies. Although Fu Cixiang insisted on putting pressure on Changchun, he also admitted that he was not capable of taking Changchun because of insufficient supplies. All he wanted was to put pressure on the Russian army in Changchun so that the Russian army's defenses in Siping and other places would be exposed.

However, no one expected that the Russian soldiers' psychological endurance had reached its limit. The risk of attacking Changchun caused the Russian soldiers to finally collapse. At this point, even Russian generals, including Kuropatkin, could not stop the Russian army's rout in Siping. As a result, the war in Manchuria tilted further towards China and Japan. In this battle, at least 150,000 Russian soldiers were surrounded by China and Japan and laid down their weapons.

By the end of August, the Russian army had only two strongholds left in Manchuria: the Port Arthur fortress and Harbin. No matter how you looked at it, the Russian forces in the Far East had lost the ability to turn the tide. Their only hope now was that St. Petersburg would reach a peace agreement with China and Japan as soon as possible, thus avoiding the humiliation of forced surrender.

On the morning of September 2nd, Lin Xinyi's boat arrived at Hankou Wharf. A light mist hung over the wharf, but the air was crisp and clear. As he stepped aboard, Tian Junyi strode up and warmly embraced him, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, Comrade Lin Feng. Without your efforts in Tibet and India, we wouldn't have had the opportunity to advance the revolution..."

Behind Tian Junyi were Central Committee members such as Chen Tianhua. Lin Xinyi greeted each of these members before saying to Tian Junyi, "If it weren't for your outstanding performance, we wouldn't have been able to hold on in India."

Ultimately, we only restrained a portion of the British power, while your efforts prevented the British from gambled with the fate of the British Empire. Therefore, Asian revolutions are mutually supportive and mutually reinforcing; attempting to confront an established global colonial system with the strength of a single nation is not only foolish but also irresponsible to the people.

Lin Xinyi's statement relieved the other committee members, who were still somewhat worried about whether Lin Feng's return would lead to any conflict with Tian Junyi's committee. After all, in the early days of the party, Lin Feng had spearheaded the party's revolutionary path, while Tian Junyi was more like an executor of his revolutionary theories. However, after the Wuhan Uprising, the party's size expanded rapidly. Before the uprising, the Workers' Party had fewer than 10,000 members nationwide, half of whom were in Hubei. Today, the party has over 300,000 members, with 190,000 of them from Hubei. These new members almost all regard Tian Junyi as the party's leader. This wasn't a problem before Lin Feng's return, but it has become a problem after his return.

The word "revolution" has existed in China for a long time. The Book of Changes (Yi Jing) contains the famous saying, "The revolutions of Tang and Wu followed the will of Heaven and responded to the people." However, in ancient China, revolution referred to the change of the Mandate of Heaven, a change of dynasty. The revolution at the end of the Qing Dynasty, on the other hand, was an old word with a new meaning, referring to the French Revolution, which spoke of overthrowing the Mandate of Heaven and creating an era of common people.

Although the revolutionary party created a new concept for the word "revolution," not all members of the revolutionary party were people who wanted to eliminate the old world and create a new one. For example, Sun Yat-sen and Yang Quyun had a falling out over the position of president of the Revive China Society, and some of their supporters even turned against each other because of it. This actually shows that they had already fallen into the old traditional thinking. Party members were not loyal to revolutionary theory, but to the revolutionary leader.

The Tongmenghui (Revolutionary Alliance) failed to resolve this issue after its establishment; instead, it exacerbated the internal struggles within the revolutionary party. The Restoration Society almost completely withdrew from the Tongmenghui's joint actions, operating solely under its own name to recruit revolutionary comrades in Zhejiang and other regions. The Workers' Party, from its inception, was more advanced than these revolutionary parties because Lin Feng established a nearly complete theoretical framework for party building, army building, the workers' and peasants' movement, and the establishment of political power. This significantly reduced internal strife within the Workers' Party.

Now that Tian Junyi and Lin Feng are standing together, how should they be ranked within the party? This is a major problem for everyone, as they are unsure whether the two will continue their close relationship in the face of power. However, judging from their current interaction, everyone can at least breathe a sigh of relief for now. Both Tian Junyi and Lin Feng have shown humility at this moment, putting the revolution first, which has eased many of the concerns of the others.

Chapter 492 Reporting Work

Tian Junyi wanted to take advantage of Lin Xinyi's return to convene a meeting of the Party's Central Committee as soon as possible. After all, the situation in Manchuria had changed so much. The contradictions between China and Russia had begun to ease, but the conflict between China and Japan had begun to escalate. Although Japan had agreed to allow Chinese troops to enter Fengtian City, the Japanese army still implemented a conqueror's policy in the occupied areas of southern Manchuria. This made the Chinese people in southern Manchuria increasingly resentful of Japan, and even guerrilla groups that specifically attacked the Japanese army emerged.

Under these circumstances, the mediation meetings chaired by the United States are gaining increasing support from Japan. After all, the loans to Japan are now mainly from American bankers, and most of the overseas resources that Japan uses for the war also come from the United States. In other words, once Japan loses the support of the United States, it will be unable to continue the war.

Because of Japan's change of stance on the mediation conference chaired by the United States, the Beiyang government and other domestic third-party forces began to favor sending representatives to participate in the mediation conference as soon as possible, in order to avoid Japan and Russia reaching a peace agreement under the mediation of the United States, thus leaving China with nothing in this war.

This is not an unfounded worry, but a lesson learned from the principle of consensus among the great powers. The Boxer Protocol was essentially an agreement imposed on China by the great powers after they reached a consensus. The Qing court could not express its own opinions in the negotiations, and could only express its agreement or disagreement.

Although the resistance in Wuhan eventually led the powers to agree to reduce the total indemnity by 20% and make concessions on tariffs, the entire negotiation showed that China had almost no ability to resist the united front of the powers unless it gave up and stopped trying to maintain the status quo, and fought the powers to the end until they withdrew from China on their own.

However, that would be a nightmare for the current upper class. Even if the powers eventually withdrew from China, they would still lose their status and property. Just like when the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing, those once illustrious families were destroyed or wiped out by the foreign powers' armies. When the powers left Beijing, these families quickly declined. So what would be the point of such resistance for them?

During the Wuxu Coup, Censor Wen Ti submitted a memorial attacking the reformers, saying, "The purpose of the Preservation Society is to preserve China, not the Qing Dynasty." In fact, with a slight modification, this statement also fits the mentality of the Beiyang government and the landlord class at that time. The mobilization of the whole nation to continue the struggle against the great powers was essentially to protect the common people, not the elite.

After all, China has a population of 400 million. It would be difficult for the great powers to completely eliminate these 400 million people. However, it would be possible to eliminate the influential elite class among these 400 million people, thereby erasing the Chinese people's will to resist. After all, the global colonial system established in the past two or three hundred years was precisely the result of Europeans eliminating the resistance consciousness of the elite classes in various countries, thereby establishing the current global colonial order.

Therefore, after Empress Dowager Cixi issued the edict declaring war on the foreign powers, the powers immediately focused their attacks on the north and agreed to a Southeast Mutual Protection Pact with the governors-general of the south. The strategic thinking displayed by the foreign powers during the Boxer Rebellion also reveals that they never considered the common people of China as targets for conquest; they consistently aimed their conquest at China's elite.