However, Xiang Xiaoqiang discovered that he seemed to be the only one who had this feeling of "fear of becoming a national sinner." No matter in the royal family, cabinet, or headquarters, few people felt that they were "traitoring the country." Because everyone felt that even in the
During the Northern Ming Dynasty, there was no actual control over these places, and they were only theoretical territories. There are not many Han people living in those places now. Southern Xinjiang is full of Uighurs, Manchuria is full of Manchus, and
The Ming Dynasty never recognized the Manchus as Chinese.
Therefore, except for Xiang Xiaoqiang, the people of Ming Dynasty in this era did not seem to have much emotional baggage towards the Western Regions and Northeast China. Their emotions were concentrated in Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Zhili, Anhui, Henan and other traditional "
The "Chinese Homeland" is on the way. As long as some of the Western Regions and Northeast China are given away, these real "Chinese Homelands" can be taken back at the least cost and as quickly as possible. Whether it is cost-effective or not, at least there is no big moral problem.
…
"That's it." At 12 o'clock at midnight, looking at the Christmas Eve fireworks outside the palace, Zhu Yourong said quietly to Xiaoqiang while holding champagne, "You are a man and I am a woman, maybe because of this... we look at problems differently.
...You may pay more attention to what the war will make us gain...and I may pay more attention to what the war will make us lose..."
"Rongrong..." Xiang Xiaoqiang looked around, lowered his voice, and boldly used his nickname to say, "At the beginning, we all advocated that we would be done with the battle until the Yellow River, but you are jumping on the edge and saying, 'Until the Qing Dynasty is destroyed, the troops will never be withdrawn.'"
...Aren't you afraid of fighting? Why are you afraid of continuing to fight now?"
"Come on," Zhu Yourong stared at him and said, "Then you must remember what I said about the purpose of our Northern Expedition."
Xiang Xiaoqiang was startled and opened his mouth to say:
"Of course it is to return to our homeland and unify China."
Zhu Yourong shook his head gently:
"I didn't say that. I said that our Northern Expedition is not for land and resources, nor is it to improve the strategic situation... Our Northern Expedition is so that the people in the North no longer need to flee south."
"Ah...yeah, what's the difference?"
"Let's face it, our war is for people, not land."
"But people have to live off the land."
"Hold on, people are always more important than land."
Xiang Xiaoqiang sighed:
"I understand what you mean... We are a country with less people and more land. The Ming Dynasty does not lack land, it lacks people."
Zhu Yourong smiled and said:
"That's not what I meant. Whether there are fewer people and more land, or less land and more people, people are always much more important than land.
Xiang Xiaoqiang also smiled and said:
"I'm afraid that the majority of the people don't think so."
Zhu Yourong stopped smiling and said:
"Yes, you are wrong. The majority of the people will think so. Now our Ming army has 2.3 million, including 350,000 female officers and soldiers. More than half of the families have relatives serving in the army. Compared with those in the Northeast and Western Regions,
Land, they hope that their relatives can return to them safely. In this war, although we have annihilated and captured more than one million Qing troops, the casualties of our soldiers have also been close to 100,000, of which 40,000 were disabled for life.
"... I went to the hospital to visit the injured soldiers... Many of them were blind, and many more suffered burns... You also know that we have a high degree of mechanization, and tanks and armored vehicles all have gasoline engines... Once they are
If hit, a fire will immediately break out. At that time, the people inside will have to crawl out desperately... You know better than me... Many people's
Their faces were burned and twisted into a ball, like ghosts... These originally handsome young men will spend their lives with faces that are neither human nor ghost... You say, no matter what you send them
What's the use of medals and solatium payments?...I held their hands, but they just lay there with dull expressions and no reaction...
"They knew it was me, but to them, it didn't matter who was next to them at this moment... Their relatives were crying next to them... In the reports of the reporters, they all said that these were touching tears.
.But I know that in the hearts of those wives and mothers, they must be cursing me and those of us who signed to start the war...
"Come on, why do you think the state exists? Is it to better protect its citizens?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang hesitated and said slowly:
"The state...it is said that the state is...a unique organization of class society, the product of irreconcilable class contradictions...it seems to be...a ruling machine for one class to suppress another class..."
Zhu Yourong slowly opened his eyes and looked at him, saying in disbelief:
"Come to think of it...who taught you these extreme ideas? You...you weren't educated in the Soviet Union, were you?"
"Ahem," Xiang Xiaoqiang coughed dryly and forced a smile, "How could it be... you were just joking..."
Zhu Yourong passed by, looking at the champagne in his hand, staring at the rising bubbles inside, and said nothing for a long time.
After a while, she said softly:
"But... when I told those soldiers that because of your efforts, so many compatriots have ended their suffering forever and never have to risk being pierced by wires to flee south again, they all shed tears... Stand up for it, if I
I told them at that time: If the country has received so much land and resource tax revenue because of your efforts, will they still be moved?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang was speechless for a moment and had nothing to say.
"That's right," Zhu Yourong said emotionally, "Land and resources are valuable. But people are priceless. There is only one situation where it is worth sacrificing human lives to fight a war. That is to save more people.
."
Xiang Xiaoqiang finally found something to say:
"Then the people in southern Xinjiang and Manchuria are not human beings?"
"Our blood is only worth shedding for our compatriots. Are our compatriots there?"
"..."
Xiang Xiaoqiang cannot tell Zhu Yourong. He also knows that the debate between the two is not based on the same set of values at all. Therefore, the result cannot be determined at all. However, he knows that Zhu Yourong's way of thinking will be very serious once it is amplified.
Danger. Such as
If you are very strong and can win with certainty, this kind of thinking can be called virtue. It not only embodies the "humanism" of Western Enlightenment thought, but also embodies the "humanism" of Chinese Confucianism. Summarized by Confucius' thoughts, it is: humanism
More precious than anything else.
However, when one is not strong enough and faces the threat of a powerful enemy, this kind of thinking is likely to become the spiritual support to promote compromise, appeasement, betrayal, surrender and other behaviors. For example, Marshal Pétain of France and Wang Jingwei of China, they both
They are heroes of their own nation. However, they later cooperated with the invaders and formed a puppet government. The reason why they took this step was not because of how bad their personal conduct was, but because they were at the crossroads of history.
He also thinks like Zhu Yourong:
——The purpose of war is to protect the people. If the war cannot protect the people, but instead makes the people bleed into rivers, then it is better to end the war. As for whose rule the people are under, it is a secondary issue.
But Xiang Xiaoqiang can't tell Zhu Yourong these things now. Even if he tells her, it won't change anything. The agreement has been signed, and he is also a participant. Besides, Ming Dynasty is indeed very powerful now, even if it is thrown out to Nan
Xinjiang and Manchuria are still very powerful. This
It is not an unequal treaty signed by others who brought a gunboat to their door and pointed a gun at Ming's head. It is a transaction where Ming and others sit on equal terms and conduct fair and voluntary transactions. In this kind of treaty, both parties get what they need.
It can indeed bring great benefits to Ming Dynasty.
As for whether what you gain and what you lose are worth comparing together, it depends on which value system you use to look at the problem.
…
Xiang Xiaoqiang was suddenly scared. He wanted to confirm whether Zhu Yourong would make the same choice as Petain and Wang Jingwei if one day Ming Dynasty occupied a similar crossroads.
He took a deep breath, held the wine glass, looked at Zhu Yourong, and asked solemnly:
"Your Majesty, do you think so: war is to protect the people. If the war cannot protect the people, but makes the people bleed into rivers, then it is better to end the war. As for whose rule the people are under, that is a secondary issue?
"
Zhu Yourong thought for a while and said:
"I...I agree."
Xiang Xiaoqiang trembled in his heart and secretly said bad.
Zhu Yourong lowered his head and said softly:
"If...if one day, the people don't want me to be their monarch, I won't rely on it. As long as this is their true wish. Really, if the people vote, the result is that they are willing to abolish the monarch and implement a republic.
If so, I will really abdicate peacefully."
Xiang Xiaoqiang took a breath and sweated. Unexpectedly, this girl actually thought about this. He quickly smiled and said:
"No, no, don't think too much. That's not what I asked... I mean, what if the new ruler is a foreigner? What if if you accept the rule of a foreigner, you can stop fighting and bloodshed?"
Zhu Yourong suddenly raised his head and said:
"Ah? How could you ask such a question? You still have to ask, but of course you can't accept it. It will definitely be fought to the end. Even if I go into exile, I will fight to the end... Haha, thank you, why do you suddenly ask such a stupid question?
"
Xiang Xiaoqiang breathed a sigh of relief and felt relieved. He chuckled and said:
"Hey, it's nothing, just ask, just ask."
Damn it, why did I forget how fierce this girl was during the Battle of Nanjing? Although human life is precious, there are always things more important than life in the world.
…
Japan's efficiency is very fast. The agreement was signed on the 25th and the evacuation of overseas Chinese from Beiqing began on the 26th. Instructors, consultants, observers in the Qing army, as well as technicians, engineers in the Beiqing factory, and
Their family members began to bring them back to the country one after another under various excuses. At the same time, ferries continued to shuttle across the Tsushima Strait, and Japan began to send more troops to North Korea.
The Soviet Union is not idle either. The three major military districts of the Soviet Army in Asia - the Central Asian Border Defense Military District (Central Asia), the Transbaikal Border Defense Military District (northern side of Mongolia), and the Far Eastern Border Defense Military District (Far East) - have all begun to enter a state of alert.
In particular, the Far East Border Defense Military District has the highest level of alert and is almost on the verge of war. Because Japan will soon attack Manchuria, and the Soviet Union will confront Japan here.
In the Ming-Soviet Agreement, it was expressly stipulated that the Soviet Union could not directly send troops. Instead, after the Ming army destroyed the Northern Qing regime, the area designated in the agreement would be peacefully transferred to the Soviet Union. But now, military trains are frequently moving on the Soviet Union's Trans-Siberian Railway.
, not only increasing troops to the two border military regions in the Far East and Lake Baikal, but also increasing troops to the Central Asian Border Defense Military Region. Although the increase is not as large as the two military regions in the east, they are increasing troops after all.