The fact that Lei Hu was willing to take over the discipline of the army made Vézé feel a lot more at ease. The internal discipline of the Liberation Army was pretty good. At least before the official establishment of the Liberation Army, there was already a relatively systematic disciplinary supervision organization and a regular system. The key now was to find someone who could be trusted to be the main person in charge of this matter. Lei Hu was undoubtedly a good choice.
However, Lei Hu's next question left Vézé scratching his head. "What should we do with the Manchus in Beijing after we take over?"
Vézé had never cared about killing his enemies. Exterminating the Manchus was a matter of necessity. Vézé felt no pressure ordering the execution of hundreds of thousands or even millions of foreigners. But it wasn't like Vézé didn't know any Manchu friends, just like he had many Hui friends. A considerable number of these people viewed China as their number one priority. This would have a certain impact on Vézé's current decision.
After frowning and thinking for a while, Vézé suddenly laughed. Lei Hu looked at Vézé's expression and felt relieved. If he didn't have a solution, Vézé wouldn't have acted like this.
Vézé said, "After we take over the city, we naturally can't let the soldiers go. But as for the commoners, just ask them if they are Manchus or Han. If they insist that their ancestors are Han, we won't kill them. If they admit that they are Manchus, then we'll get rid of them. "
"Ah?" Lei Hu was frightened by this self-deceiving plan. Vézé had never been ambiguous in his actions, nor would he be hypocritical. But this method was really ambiguous and hypocritical. If the Manchus were willing to lie and admit that they were Han, it would be tantamount to letting them go. This was really not in line with Vézé's style.
"Tiger, I've said many times that we want to establish a modern nation-state. In fact, a modern industrialized nation-state only has one identity, and that is that you are a Chinese. It was just that everyone lived in different places in China, had different environments, and had different industries. We also talk about the theory of evolution. In fact, the first human ancestors were no different. The so-called nation was a group of people who gathered on the same piece of land and had the same way of life. In order to make it easier to rule, different ethnic groups came into being. With the Industrial Expo, these different lifestyles will be completely eliminated. Eventually, everyone's lifestyles and attitudes will become more and more uniform. At that time, all the so-called ethnic differences will disappear, "Vézé said.
"What does this have to do with the Manchu people?" Lei Hu didn't quite understand Vézé's theory, and he didn't want to discuss it. So, Lei Hu went straight to the point.
"Then let me ask you this. Will Beijing still be full of people after I deal with it?" Vézé also returned the discussion to the original content.
"Definitely!" Lei Hu answered.
"Who will admit it?" continued Vézé.
It was rare for Lei Hu to be at a loss for words. Yes, when the Manchus firmly admitted that they weren't Manchus, no one would admit that they were Manchus. In a sense, the Manchus in Beijing had been wiped out. After some thought, Lei Hu finally came up with a new reason. "But … but they will definitely think of a way to overthrow the new government."
Vézé laughed. "Before the Manchu Qing left the borders, they couldn't overthrow our new government. Now that those hardcore Manchus have left the borders, there aren't any people left in Beijing who are willing to admit that they are Manchus. How can they overthrow our new government? Your joke isn't funny at all! "
Although this logic was simple, Lei Hu really couldn't accept it in such a short time. He frowned and thought for a while before saying, "Then, Commander-in-Chief, why don't you just pardon the Manchus?"
Vézé shook his head. "Why should I pardon the Manchus? I don't have any reason to pardon the Manchus. I will also tell Ruan Xihao that he can't tempt them into saying that. If he admits that he is Manchu, he will be buried with the Manchu Qing. If he doesn't join the army, he will definitely admit that his ancestors are Han. Then why force them to say that they are Manchus? "
Lei Hu shook his head. "Commander-in-Chief, we treat them as Han, but they might not really treat themselves as Han. If they want revenge, it's the same as us giving them a chance. That's not appropriate. "
Vézé said, "They even have thoughts of revenge. If I'm afraid of revenge, how many families would I have to kill in Baise? I've personally killed quite a few people in Baise. Tiger, sometimes it's better to be a bit more broad-minded and compassionate. "
"If we are compassionate to them, I'm afraid they will be filled with resentment." Lei Hu retorted.
"Compassionate is not an equal exchange. It means that if I treat you well, you have to treat me just as well, or even better. A merciful heart only meant that one would not kill as many lives as possible. I won't let the Manchus off, but there's no need to kill all those who claim that their ancestors are Han. Killing the former is a concept. Not killing them is a form of mercy. We can't give up on our principles and ideals, but when it doesn't involve our principles and ideals, we should try our best to be compassionate. Next, you have to manage discipline. Principles and discipline can't be destroyed, but if you force everything under principles, it will certainly be difficult to do anything. Everyone can accept harsh discipline, but no one can accept a harsh individual. I believe you can understand this point. " Vézé's tone had already become very gentle towards the end, but there was an extremely heavy feeling in it.
Lei Hu thought for a while and finally replied, "Commander-in-Chief, since you say so, then I will do so."
Two days later, on the 1st of January, Ruan Xihao killed his way into the Forbidden City under the protection of the guards. Looking at the dragon throne in the throne room, Ruan Xihao sneered. "So this is the Forbidden City! It's just so-so! "
In Ruan Xihao's imagination, Beijing should be a dazzling city. At the very least, it should be much more dazzling than the new government's capital, Nanjing. But when he personally entered the city, Ruan Xihao discovered that he was wrong, and very wrong at that.
Beijing's streets were already regulated during the Yuan Dynasty. The main street was 24 steps wide, the side streets were 12 steps wide, and the alleys were 6 steps wide. At that time, one step was 5 feet, or about 1.5 meters. From this, it was estimated that the main street was 36 meters wide, the side streets were 18 meters wide, and the alleys were 9 meters wide.
If this standard was followed, then Beijing's city design requirements were only slightly narrower than the new government's. However, reality wasn't like this. By the Ming Dynasty, the main street was 25 to 28 meters wide, the side streets were 12 to 15 meters wide, and the alleys were 5 to 6 meters wide. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, the average street was only 9 to 12 meters wide. At the west end of the Iron Lion Alley in the eastern part of the city, there was a short street called Kuan Street. This street wasn't actually that wide. The reason for its name was probably because it was the widest street in the area at that time. At that time, the average alleys were only 3 to 5 meters wide. The narrowest alleys were only 55 to 65 centimeters wide.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, most of the streets in Beijing were made of loess. Only Wangfujing Street, Dongdan, Xidan, and Gulou Street were made of stone. Qianmen, Polishing Factory, and Xiheyan were made of clay or stone. In the middle of the road was a corridor for carriages and horses. On both sides of the road, there were all kinds of stalls, and pedestrians also walked on both sides. At that time, the road was high in the middle and low on both sides, like a gentle slope. The sidewalks on both sides took up about one-third of the road, and the corridor took up two-thirds. The loess used to pave the road was loose and dry. There was often a thick layer of floating soil on the road. When the wind blew, the loess would often fly all over the sky, even turning the whole sky yellow. Passersby would be blown all over their faces. There was little rain in the Beijing area, but once it rained, the rainwater would fall on the dirt road and mix into mud, blocking the hidden ditches. The mud would enter the moat with the rainwater, raising the bottom of the river. The rainwater on both sides of the corridor would even pour into the courtyard of the residents, and the mud would enter the hidden ditches, causing the hidden ditches to be dug up and blocked year after year.
Ruan Xihao had just arrived in Beijing from Nanjing. Although the city was full of corpses and the smell of blood was strong, he could still smell the strong, pungent stench of blood when walking on the street.
The loess road was not strong enough, and with the addition of heavy carriages carrying goods and people repeatedly rolling over it, it became even more uneven. Some citizens dug up the loess used to pave the road without permission and used it to make briquettes. The poor people at the roadside stalls would pour the leftovers on the road after eating, and the peddlers selling vegetables, chickens, and ducks by the roadside would inevitably throw some vegetable leaves and chicken feathers. There were even some citizens who urinated and defecated on the side of the street and in the alleys, causing the roadside to be covered with feces and urine, and the stench was unpleasant. The dilapidated and uneven streets also caused the passengers sitting on the donkey carts and mule carts to suffer from the bumpiness. It was no wonder that every time the emperor passed a certain section of the street, he would first pad the ground with loess and pour clean water on the street.
Under the attack of the Liberation Army, the economy of Beijing was extremely poor, and there was a lack of living supplies. In fact, the smell in Beijing had dissipated a lot, but even so, the disgusting smell was still extremely strong. Although Nanjing was originally not very good, the Liberation Army had urban planning, cement, and professional engineers. As the small river ditches used to discharge sewage were changed to sewage canals covered with cement prefabricated boards, the air in the city had been comprehensively improved. The sewage canals were fully greened, and there were even many tenacious flowers and plants. Although catching the flower thieves consumed a lot of police force, it was also greatly beneficial. Even if Nanjing was not fragrant, it had initially solved the problem of the smell disturbing the people.
Compared with the current Nanjing, which was full of green trees and wide and flat gravel roads, Beijing did not look like a capital city or a political center. It was more like a place to hide filth, a nest of a group of barbarians. Resisting the urge to sit on the dragon throne, Ruan Xihao ordered, "Search for the remaining enemies and arrest all the people in the city. There will not be any good people in this kind of place! "
While speaking, the communications staff officer sent over the order to Nanjing. The Liberation Army was not completely without infrastructure construction in the past few months. The army built a simple telegraph network along the canal. Although the network was not complete, the communication rate had improved a lot.
Holding the telegram for a moment, Ruan Xihao's expression became extremely strange. The chief of staff next to him asked, "Political Commissar, what's going on?"
"The commander-in-chief ordered to screen the people," Ruan Xihao replied.
This was supposed to be the order, and the chief of staff didn't think there was any problem. With a strange expression, Ruan Xihao continued, "The commander-in-chief said that the dragon throne is over there, and everyone should go there to enjoy themselves. That's not a big deal, but we need to write more than 400 words to express our feelings. "
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