"Mr. Hei, you won't let us go back to Huoyang?" Zhang Zongyu squinted at the political commissar of the Liberation Army, Kurosawa Tsuyoshi. Before the Nian Army could reach Huoyang, the Liberation Army had sent people to stop them in Haozhou. "If you won't let us go back to Huoyang, where will we go?"
"All the people in Huoyang have been killed. We've already investigated this. All the young and old have been killed, "Kurosawa Tsuyoshi said frankly.
Even though he already knew this, Zhang Zongyu's face turned pale when the Liberation Army said it so directly. Tears welled up in his eyes. Kurosawa Tsuyoshi continued, "The Xiang Army captives have all been sentenced to death. If you're willing to join the Liberation Army, you can apply to participate in the execution. But we won't let you go back to Huoyang because we don't want you to start a massacre in Huoyang. "
"Who the hell is in Huoyang now?!" Zhang Zongyu clenched his teeth and squeezed out the words full of hatred.
Kurosawa Tsuyoshi stared at Zhang Zongyu fearlessly. He wasn't intimidated by Zhang Zongyu's murderous aura. He said calmly, "Most of the people in Huoyang are refugees recruited by the Xiang Army from Henan. According to our investigation, they didn't participate in the massacre. Chief Zhang, I don't know if you can see things from the perspective of the Liberation Army, but I hope you can understand one thing. In the eyes of the Liberation Army, you are the people of the new China, and the refugees in Huoyang are also the people of the new China. We won't agree to either side killing each other. In the new China, only we can decide who will die, and only we can decide who will kill. This is the power of the state. Other than the country, no one else has this power! "
Zhang Zongyu, Ren Zhu, and the others all had murderous looks in their eyes. They did not look angry or ferocious. They even looked a little calm. It was a strong will and will that could destroy all difficulties. Including murder.
Kurosawa Tsuyoshi was calm and collected. He looked calmer than the Nian Army's leader. His calmness was like a rock by the sea. No matter what kind of tide, nothing could move him. This had been discussed at the Party Committee meeting. The troubled times in the liberated areas had ended, and the first sign of the end of the troubled times was naturally that the state had taken over all judicial power. Moreover, the new government swept away the old rule that the imperial power was not limited to the counties. The Min dynasty was working hard to build a grassroots government.
In the past, Guangxi was also a mess. The Tu and Hakka clans fought each other fiercely. There was no lack of old Guangxi brothers in the Liberation Army, and these old Guangxi brothers were not soft-hearted at all in Guangxi. Not only did they send out the army to force the local villages and towns to personally dismantle the fences and earthen ramparts they had built. No one at the grassroots dared to think that this was still a time of chaos. If someone took advantage of the chaos to kill, the government would send out the army to suppress them. It would be better if they handed over the murderers honestly. The government would bring all the people in the areas where the murderers and the victims lived to watch the public trial and execution.
If they did not obediently hand over the murderers, the government could only arrest them and torture them. There was only one goal: the murderers had to be handed over for public execution. The people from other villages that passed by the village might have mysteriously disappeared. Some people had their eyes on them for money, some local clans wanted to show off their power in this land, and some "heroes" just wanted to kill someone in the spur of the moment. When the government was unable to penetrate the grassroots, killing someone was not a big deal. At most, the villagers would not dare to go to other villages.
After two or three years of strong suppression, and the public execution of forty to fifty thousand "heroes of Guangxi", the atmosphere in Guangxi changed. First of all, the villages dared to interact with each other. Within a few years, even the villages began to marry. China had a deep cultural tradition. Although people might not be clear about the dangers of marriage between close relatives, in fact, people had seen many cases. The result of the villages not interacting with each other was that there were more marriages between relatives, and the proportion of deformed children increased. When these man-made obstacles were swept away, the number of people exchanging marriages between the villages naturally increased.
With the success of Guangxi, the government became bolder in exercising state power at the grassroots level. Those who resisted the state could be killed. The phrase "the heart of a Bodhisattva can only be shown by using thunderous means" was even popular among the government. The people of Chinese were just that realistic. When the state dared to use violence to solve the problems of the people, the people immediately became peaceful.
The situation of the Nian Army was very extreme. As a local armed force with experience in war, instead of letting them run amok when they returned to their places and the government finally came to wipe them out, it was better to make things clear. This seemed cruel, and the conflict would intensify to a great extent, but this was the only way to be truly responsible.
The silent confrontation lasted for a while. Zhang Zongyu suddenly laughed coldly. "You want us to work for you?"
Kurosawa Tsuyoshi replied calmly, "It is your choice whether you want to join the Liberation Army or not. The new government has a new government's rules. If you want to fight, there will be plenty of places to fight. After we kill the bad guys in our country, we can still fight the foreigners. But in the new government, killing people is the government's business. No one can take this power away from the government's hands. Whoever takes it away, we will not let them go! The new government is the one who sets the rules now! "
"Are you sure you want to deal with the Nian Army?" Ren Zhu interrupted.
"We, the Liberation Army, will not treat people according to their will. What you do now is up to your Nian Army brothers to decide," Kurosawa Tsuyoshi immediately retorted. There were definitely people in the Nian Army who were not convinced, and the Liberation Army had no reason to treat the Nian Army differently. If they were to treat them one by one, who could stand it? When the Liberation Army was trying to get rid of the "Gang Leader", it was not just one or two clear reasons. Vézé withstood the pressure and got rid of the troublemakers. Those who felt that they should listen to the organization's arrangements could stay. Those who felt that they should not listen to the organization's orders could get out. If this was the case for internal cleansing, there was no need to be lenient to the troublemakers like the Nian Army.
Ren Zhu did not pester him. He said with a straight face, "Let's discuss it again!"
After Kurosawa Tsuyoshi left, Zhang Zongyu said angrily, "The Liberation Army really wants us to bow our heads!"
The heroes of Jianghu hated being shackled like this the most. They had always relied on themselves and were extremely disgusted with completely obeying other people's orders. And the Liberation Army had clearly told the heroes of the Nian Army that they had no choice but to obey. Zhang Zongyu and the others did not want to reason with the Liberation Army. The rule of Jianghu was that whoever had the biggest fist was the rule. The Liberation Army's fist was much stronger than the Nian Army's. The war had proved this.
Ren Zhu said, "Why don't we just accept it for now?"
The Liberation Army had sent a cavalry regiment to Haozhou to stop the Nian Army. The number of soldiers was not as large as that of the Nian Army, but the tall horses and the excellent equipment made the Nian Army see the strength of the Liberation Army. More importantly, the Nian Army was ready to join the Liberation Army. At this time, they were just trying to get better treatment for themselves. From this point of view, the conditions offered by the Liberation Army did not exceed the bottom line of the Nian Army. It was a basic rule to not let the Nian Army run around Huoyang and kill people to vent their anger, even in Jianghu. Huoyang was now not the Nian Army's territory, but the Liberation Army's. How could they allow others to do whatever they wanted on their own territory?
The other leaders at the meeting had no objection. The next day, the Nian Army reached an agreement with the Liberation Army. They were willing to listen to the orders of the Liberation Army.
The Liberation Army immediately made arrangements. The first was to reorganize the Nian Army. All the Nian Army who were willing to go home to farm would be settled in the military farms of the Liberation Army in Huoyang. The remaining troops were sent to the political commissars to reorganize the entire army.
Lei Hu also had different opinions. Some people thought that the Nian Army should be sent to the front line to fight. The Liberation Army was currently short of cavalry. The Nian Army had nearly 10,000 cavalry and horses, which would definitely be of great use if they were sent to the front line.
Lei Hu immediately rejected the idea. "These people will not be them after they make some contributions. Now the first task is to make them behave."
This was the case in Guangxi. There were both Tu and Hakka people in the local army. When the Liberation Army suppressed the local tyrants, it was the Tu and Hakka people who were suppressed. This caused a certain amount of chaos within the army. The Tu warriors were unhappy when they suppressed the Tu, and the Hakka warriors were unhappy when they suppressed the Hakka. At that time, there was even a small-scale rebellion within the army.
In addition to political education, the government's management rights were implemented equally for several years before a consensus was reached within the army. Everyone has to listen to the military commission, everyone has to listen to the government. Those who made contributions could only be promoted when they served the Party and the government. Those who thought that they had the capital to bargain with the Party and the government after making contributions had to be eliminated. Political power only existed when they served the Party and the government. This was the iron law of the Restoration Party and the Liberation Army.
Lei Hu's attitude was tough, and the other comrades did not dare to touch this political issue. But since this topic had been brought up, there was no way to avoid it.
The chief of staff asked tentatively, "In the past, the commander-in-chief said that the coronation ceremony would be held after we take Beijing. Now that Beijing is about to be taken, could it be that the commander-in-chief has forgotten about this? "
As soon as this question was raised, everyone in the Northern Expedition Command perked up. Vézé becoming Emperor and the official coronation were two different things. Vézé becoming Emperor was only a gesture of the new government. The official coronation would establish the country's system, and all the meritorious officials would have a new position. Their power, their rewards, and their status in the country would be different.
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