"News from the second page of the Soviet newspaper "Izvestia" on October 5:
"In the early hours of yesterday morning, without declaring war, the Ming Empire's troops suddenly drove across the border between Ming and Qing Dynasties and launched a lightning-style armed attack on the sovereign Qing Dynasty. Within an hour, hundreds of airports, military barracks, and cities in the Qing Dynasty were attacked
, residential areas were bombed on a large scale without warning. Railways, roads, bridges, and train stations, including a large number of civilian facilities, were also bombed on a large scale without warning. It is estimated that about 10,000-15,000 people
Qing army commanders and civilians were killed in unwarned bombings.
"In the subsequent large-scale armed attack, the Ming Empire troops crossed the border and occupied thousands of towns and rural settlements. About hundreds of settlements were reduced to ashes in the flames of war. It is said that no one was left alive due to the Ming army's attack.
The number of people who have returned home has reached 1 million. According to observations, these people who lost their homes had no water and food, and could only watch the tanks of the Ming Empire army run over the homes where their ancestors had lived happily for generations.
"On the morning of the war in the Ming Empire, large-scale anti-war mass movements were launched in many southern Ming cities, mainly Nanjing. The protesting workers shouted anti-war slogans and resolutely opposed this war launched by the aristocracy and the big bourgeoisie.
war, shouting that both the Ming and Qing armies were composed of workers and peasants, and were both class brothers. They called on the Ming soldiers not to point their guns at their class brothers, but to unite against the common enemy - the nobility and the
The exploiters of the big bourgeoisie.
"Subsequently, the protesting working class was brutally suppressed by the aristocracy and the big bourgeois police. The police used high-pressure water taps, sticks and other violence to drive away and beat the demonstrators for a long time, causing a total of more than ten innocent people to be injured.
Dozens of innocent people were arrested.
"'We don't want war,' Zhangsan, a citizen of Nanjing, complained to reporters. 'It's wrong for the authorities to do this. They launched a war without letting us know in advance or asking for our opinions. We don't like this.
government.' At the same time, another citizen Lisi also said to the reporter sadly: 'We pay taxes to them, but they
Use high-pressure taps to repay us. Is this our ideal constitutional country? Now the lie has been exposed, everything is a lie." Citizen Wangwu also complained loudly to reporters. They came to gather peacefully, but they did not expect that under the authority's control
Under the brutal suppression, his whole body was soaked with water, and he was now sneezing, so he had to ask for leave from the company tomorrow.
"According to the analysis of a well-known opposition revolutionary leader in Nanming, the government has launched this unpopular war and is now in the awkward position of being opposed by the whole country. As the number one noble and big bourgeoisie, the Queen, even though she has always been 'loved' by her
Among the aristocrats and big bourgeoisie, the support rate has also been declining. Those who support this war have also been declining.
Only a handful of big arms dealers who made war profits were fighting. "A war of aggression is unpopular," the revolutionary leader said confidently. "After this incident, the foundation of imperialist rule in the Southern Ming Dynasty was seriously shaken.
The good days with the big bourgeoisie will soon come to an end. The revolutionary era is coming, let us wait and see.'
——Our reporter in Nanming, Alexander Ivanovich Ivanov reported.”
…
In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the minister's secretary took this telegram and read it to the minister twice, word for word. Minister He Ziguang sat on the sofa, squinting his eyes and listening to the Soviet official newspaper article sent back by the Ming Dynasty Ambassador to the Soviet Union, and pondered it carefully.
Read every word in it.
"So... the word 'invasion' was not used directly?"
he asked, raising his eyes.
The secretary replied:
"Yes. It was not used directly. But in the last quote from the interviewee, the word 'war of aggression' was used. Oh, there is another word, 'Southern Ming imperialism'."
He Ziguang nodded and said slowly to himself:
"'Imperialism' is nothing... The Soviet Union has always called wars in which it did not participate 'wars between imperialists'. In the European war, they called it 'imperialist wars'. The problem is...the war has already begun.
It’s the second day. Newspapers from all over the world published a lot of reports on the first day. They were all scrambling for news and doing follow-up reports...Only the Soviet Union delayed publishing an article until today. And...it wasn’t the front page headline.
, but a sub-page and sub-article.
"In addition... it is not in the number one party newspaper "Pravda", but in the number two party newspaper "Izvestia"... Does it mean that Stalin is still very entangled at the moment? Is he using this article to test our attitude? Let's see.
What kind of response will we make? There is no doubt that on the first day of the war, the top Soviet officials already knew about it. But they delayed writing the article until the second day... In other words, Stalin was hesitant all day yesterday.
, I don’t know how to define our attack on Beiqing..."
"Sir," the minister's secretary said with a smile, "Stalin must have felt very suddenly. So far, the three major party newspapers in Suburbia have been full of articles condemning fascism, and their attention has been on Spain. Only yesterday did I suddenly discover that the rear buttocks
There is also trouble on the side, haha... You can imagine the shock."
The minister nodded and smiled:
"Yes, the attitude of the Soviet Union is crucial. It can be said that the attitude of the Soviet Union is related to the final stage of our unification war. Is it a big victory or a small victory? Is it just a conservative victory, or is it the complete elimination of the Manchu Qing Dynasty to unify China?
?The Soviet Union had more influence on this war than Japan
It can also be said conversely that the Soviet Union was much more affected by the outcome of this war than Japan. Japan could also choose to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, but the Soviet Union and China have a long land border
Line...Stalin definitely did not want to see a unified China."
"Sir, are you saying that the Soviet Union may intervene?"
"It doesn't have to be armed intervention," the minister said calmly, "but it is very possible to support the Beiqing. This is their usual method: actual support starts with moral support. No, the first tendentious report has already
Come out."
He Ziguang stood up and walked slowly to the window. Outside the window was a lawn, and beyond the lawn was Changping Road Street. Opposite the Imperial Bank gate there was a sign with these words:
Buy patriotic bonds and support the war of unification - you will personally participate in rescuing the people of Jiangbei
A long line of people lined up from the bank gate, forming a long queue, turning two corners, with a total length of twenty or thirty meters.
Next to the team, there was actually an anti-war person holding a sign and giving an impassioned speech. He was very engaged in his speech, waving and stamping his feet at the citizens queuing up to buy war bonds. However, there was still a steady stream of new citizens joining.
in the team.
A circle of people gathered around the anti-war speaker to listen. Some applauded, some booed, and some just hurried past, glanced at it, shook their heads, and said "sb" in their mouths.
Type. A reporter was taking pictures. Two policemen in the distance were staring at this place with their hands behind their backs, touching their batons. Once any physical conflict was discovered, they would immediately go over and "brutal suppression".
He Ziguang looked at the crowd of people buying war bonds across the street and thought about this article in "Izvestia". He suddenly discovered a problem: he couldn't find a complete truth in the article. Instead, he found two "
Half a sentence of truth.
One sentence is "Yesterday morning, without declaring war, the troops of the Ming Empire suddenly drove across the border between the Ming and Qing Dynasties and launched a lightning-style armed attack on the sovereign country of the Qing Dynasty." The Beiqing was not a sovereign country, so only the first half of this sentence is true.
Yes.
Another sentence is: "The police force used high-pressure water taps, sticks and other violence to drive away and beat the demonstrators for a long time, causing a total of more than ten innocent people to be injured and dozens of innocent people to be arrested." The police used high-pressure water taps and sticks.
Dispersing the crowd is real
, it is true that more than ten people were injured and dozens of people were arrested, but the crowd was quickly dispersed, and there was no "long-term driving and beating". Moreover, those arrested were not "innocent".
He was a participant in a group fight, and he was the most powerful among those who fought in the group.
However, if these two half-sentences of truth are put together, they can barely be regarded as a complete truth.
He Ziguang turned around and ordered:
"Get me through Mr. Shen Ge, and I'll hear his opinion on this report."
…
In the printing trucks of each offensive force of the Ming army, the printing presses were constantly printing new leaflets, which were the "Order to Save Civilians." This order was signed by the Empress Zhu Yourong, the Chief Minister Shen Rongxuan, the Chief of General Staff Zhang Zhaoxian, and the Chief of Army Staff
Tang Yunsheng, commander of the People's Guard Xiang Xiaoqiang, signed five signatures, jointly guaranteeing that whenever Qing troops hijack civilians, all officers above lieutenant level in this unit would be executed.
On the reverse side of the leaflet, the Ming military offered a high bonus: any Qing army that took the initiative to surrender to the Ming army in an organized manner would enjoy the treatment of "rebellion officers and soldiers" as a whole and would not enter prisoner-of-war camps, but would be directly awarded the Ming "
Green Card" and immediately enjoy the same treatment as Ming citizens. Commanders who actively lead their troops to surrender will also receive rewards ranging from 500,000 mingyang to 100 mingyang:
Bring over a soldier and get a one-time reward of 500,000 mingyang.
Anyone who brings a division will be rewarded 100,000 mingyang at a time.
If you bring a brigade over, you will be rewarded with a one-time reward of 50,000 Mingyang.
Those who bring a group will receive a one-time reward of 10,000 Mingyang.
Those who bring a battalion will receive a one-time reward of 3,000 Mingyang.
Bringing a company over will give you a one-time reward of 1,000 Mingyang.
Bring over a platoon and get a one-time reward of 300 Mingyang.
If you bring someone to a class, you will get a one-time reward of 100 Mingyang.
…
If the "Order to Save Civilians" was a cruel move made by Xiang Xiaoqiang, then this "Uprising Bonus" was another cruel move made by Shen Rongxuan.
What is the concept of 500,000 mingyang? 1 ounce of gold is equal to 50 mingyang. This 500,000 mingyang is equivalent to the purchasing power of 311 kilograms of gold. Whatever 311 kilograms of gold can buy, this 500,000 mingyang can buy.
Even for those at the rank of military commander, the powerful class in the Qing army, 500,000 mingyang was definitely attractive enough to support him in giving up everything on the Beiqing side and taking the risk of his troops.
And what about 100 mingyang? It is equivalent to 62 grams of gold, which is more than one tael. 100 mingyang is no less attractive to a lower-level squad leader of the Qing army than 500,000 is to a military commander.
For Nanming, this deal is a very good deal. Nanming's wealth, especially the wealth of the people, is unmatched by the Northern Qing Dynasty. Although 500,000 Mingyang is a large sum, it can be exchanged for a single Qing army to surrender without a fight.
, for the Ming army with tight military strength
, that is definitely a cost-effective deal. Even if all the more than 700 divisions of the Qing army were "bought" in this way, Nanming would not go bankrupt. One division costs 100,000 mingyang, which is only 70 million mingyang. And the last time the Netherlands'
The compensation is more than 100 million.
…
In Beijing, Emperor Guangwu looked at the leaflet sent back by telegraph and was so angry that he gritted his teeth and cursed:
"Shameless! Shameless! It's simply too shameless! ... He also said that it is shameless for us to hold people hostage. You just use money to buy it, which is more shameless than us holding people hostage! Shameless! ... How can there be such a shameless government in the world? It is not short of money.