Dominate the Country

Huang Dingyou leaned over the table, reviewing the manuscript in his hand word by word. This is the first series of reports made by the Far East Newspaper after its official opening: all the summaries of "Soldiers".

The Yangtze River Publishing House upstairs thinks that the social influence of this series of reports is quite good, and the essence of the summaries can be sorted out to meet the standards of publication. Based on the concept of a literati, Huang Dingyou himself is very enthusiastic about this matter.

After three revisions, Huang Dingyou now holds the final draft in his hand.

Three days later, that is, the first day of the second half of the month, this manuscript will be handed over to Yangtze River.

Turning over a new page, a plain text with an unshakable power came into Huang Dingyou's eyes. This is the self-narration of a 30-year-old third-class sergeant.

The language is very plain, without the brilliant writing that makes people applaud, but only plain and unadorned, like a reef standing on the seashore, which can be washed away by the waves for thousands of years without feeling the beating and remains unmoved.

"On the fifth day of the seventh lunar month in the twelfth year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong, I was born in a poor peasant family in Zhangjinglou, Shan County, Caozhou, Shandong. My ancestors were all poor. My original name was Zhang Laisheng, and the name Zhang Jinlai was changed by my instructor after I joined the army.

My instructor is a good man. He said that my name is too unambitious. People only ask for this life, to build a house, marry a wife, give birth to a baby, eat well, dress well, and be comfortable. What do you ask for in the next life? Will you still be yourself in the next life?

The instructor is really a good man. He can read and write, never gets angry with others, has a bad temper, can shoot accurately, and can straighten people's bones. If he hadn't died, he would at least be a colonel now.

I never had enough to eat before entering the recruit camp. Our Shan County is a plain, very close to Guide in Henan, in the southwest corner of Shandong, The junction of the four provinces of Shandong, Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu. There are no mountains or deep forests, but all of them are land, but none of them belong to our family.

The days of "half a year's food with bran and vegetables" have been like this since I can remember. Most people make a living by farming, relying on farming for landlords as tenants, selling long-term and short-term jobs to make a living, and some make a living by doing small crafts and small businesses.

My father's name is Zhang Yongguang. He makes a living by doing small businesses. After settling down and starting a family, he still makes a living by selling small businesses such as knocking candy, selling needles and thread, thimbles, and making straw sandals by himself. My family has no land, so we rented five acres of land from the landlord in the village, and the rent was 40%. But our family had a debt from the landlord, and the interest was compounded. In addition to the rent, we also had to pay interest, and we had to pay 60% to 70% a year. My mother's surname is only known as Kong. Her mother's family is in Kongjiaji, Shanxian County, but I have never been to my grandfather's house because my mother is a widow who remarried. , my grandparents' family disowned my mother because they thought it was embarrassing.

I also have a brother named Huang Youtian, who is seven years older than me. He was born to my mother and her previous husband.

My father went out to do business, and he and my mother were the ones who took care of the family land. When I was ten years old, he was already an adult. In addition to working on his own land, he worked as a long-term or short-term worker for the landlord. Until I was thirteen, my brother was twenty years old and had not yet married. One day, when everyone was harvesting grain, someone called him to the edge of the field and said a few words. He came back and said a few words to my mother and left. He never came back since then. The family had no news of him, and no one knew whether he was dead or alive for more than ten years.

When I was a child, I didn't go to school much and couldn't read. I always heard people chanting "The Beginning of Man" and "Zhao, Qian, Sun, and Li". I knew there were Confucius and Mencius, but I couldn't write a single word. I have been I started herding cattle for the landlord when I was ten years old, to pay off my debts. From the age of ten to fourteen, I was at home, besides chopping wood and farming, I was herding cattle for the landlord.

In addition to me, my mother gave birth to two children, a boy and a girl. My younger sister died, but my younger brother is doing well now.

It was probably on August 15th, the twenty-fourth year of Qianlong's reign, when I was thirteen years old. I don't know what my younger sister ate, but she was poisoned. She had vomiting and diarrhea, and I had no money to treat her. I watched her die. After I turned fourteen, I went to Shan County to live with my cousin's husband. My cousin's husband was a good man and treated me very well. I worked as a porter for a wealthy family named Li there for two years, and then worked for a man named Yang for three years. I was almost twenty at that time.

That year, the emperor began to lead his troops to fight in Hubei. The Qing soldiers in Henan suffered a great loss, and people from Guide came to Shan County to recruit soldiers. The world was in chaos, and my father's business was robbed. Fortunately, he survived, but his capital was gone, and life at home became even more difficult. I went to Guide to serve as a soldier. At that time, Guide gave the selected people one tael of silver and one bushel of grain as resettlement allowance.

Not long after, my battalion went from Guide to Chenzhou, and then to Shahe. I stayed in Shahe for half a year, and I didn't see any fighting. There were only confrontations and small-scale conflicts on both sides, and the team was pulled back to Guide.

At that time, the emperor was leading his troops to attack Jiangnan. The levies in Guide City became more and more severe. When the emperor took down Hangzhou, the levies in Guide became even more severe. Soldiers and yamen runners also began to arrest people wantonly, saying that they were arresting bandits and rebels, but in fact they were extorting people. In those days, there were a lot of messy news, especially about suppressing bandits and cutting braids.

At that time, Guide's location was very special. To the east was the Shandong battlefield, to the west was the Lushan area, to the south was Anhui, which was relatively stable, but to the southeast was northern Jiangsu. So every day, a large group of food and wages passed through Guide, and a large number of wounded were often sent back. Some of the wounded died, while others survived but became useless. The Qing Dynasty didn't care about the remaining soldiers. Many people were driven out of the wounded camp before their wounds were fully healed, and they could only beg in Guide, which was very miserable.

Qing soldiers also often killed people. When the cells were full and they couldn't hold them anymore, they started killing people.

As long as the conscience is not completely bad, I can't stand it.

At that time, several fellow villagers in our team often got together to chat and vent their anger. We feel that it is bad luck to join such a team just to earn a living. How can we start this battle? Many of the people who were killed were ordinary people who were responsible for their duties!

There are people killing people all over the place, officials are eating, drinking, whoring and gambling, we can't stop them. However, we cannot lose people's conscience and do things that are harmful to nature.

When the Tatars took us to northern Jiangsu, we joined the emperor outside Yangzhou City. At that time, the army was still called the Fuhan Army. …”

…

The veteran interviewed by Far East News is a representative of the loyal and brave faction in the military, and he looks down upon those who return home to enjoy their lives after leaving the army.

"I used to just want to have enough to eat, and I suffered from being bullied in order to have enough to eat. When a wealthy family held a banquet, they would move tables and benches, sweep the floor, serve dishes and bowls, and do whatever was asked of them. Just like my grandson, I didn't do anything. I'm satisfied to be able to serve at the banquet, to have a bowl of leftovers and a few steamed buns dipped in oil and water.

But now I know that my thinking is wrong, because all I ask for is charity from others, and this is wrong. In fact, the leftover steamed buns I requested were earned through my labor.

So with these hands, many people like me can not only eat well, but also eat well, and no longer be bullied.

You can't kneel on the ground and act like a dog because of a mouthful of food.

Because everything I want can be obtained with my hands!

I don’t think that my inability to read in the past is because I am stupid, nor do I think that other people’s families have a lot of fish and meat, and my own family is destined to eat glutinous vegetables to fill their stomachs. The teacher taught me a lot of things. I know - princes, generals and ministers have a certain kind. I know that where there is a will, things can come true. If the cauldron sinks the boat, a hundred and two Qin passes will eventually belong to Chu. I know that the painstaking efforts will not be failed by man and nature. I know that if I lie down on the salary and taste the courage, three thousand Yuejia can swallow Wu.

I used to be illiterate just because no one taught me. I used to be stupid and was treated like a dog and a monkey by the landlord's son because my knowledge and experience were really too little. But people are always growing. They are not destined by God to remain the same throughout their lives.

I traveled all over the country with the army. I have seen mountains and seas. I know what a desert is, what a grassland is, and what a forest is. I have killed tigers, and I have seen dead whales. Only then do I realize that this world is so special. big. He was much, much bigger than I originally thought.

Of course I am no longer the ignorant country bumpkin I used to be. What haven’t I seen?

The landowner's son who used to laugh at me now sees me and he is a grandson. He is just a country bumpkin now. What the hell does he know?

My family’s life is much better than that of the landlord’s family.

In recent years, in addition to military exploits, my father and my brothers have purchased land and built houses, making the township rich. Now my family has 20 to 30 houses, about 100 acres of farmland, and a jujube garden outside, about 10 acres. In addition, my brother also co-operated with others to open a warehouse in the county, selling whale oil, cloth, candies and other groceries. My family is much richer than the previous landowners in the village.

This was not destined by God, I fought for it with my own life, and my father and brothers created it with their own hands.

I have also sponsored dolls in the school. I want more children to go to school.

There are still many poor people in the world, and not every child can go to school. But as long as those poor people are willing to work hard, they can be like me and have no worries about food and drink, and their children can go to school every day.

The emperor said: Knowledge changes destiny. I think this sentence is so right. It does not refer to the scholars who were elected in the pre-Qing Dynasty, but now the army must be literate when fighting. I just learned Chinese characters too late and failed both exams. I was punished if I wasted an opportunity, so now I am a third-level sergeant major.

I have helped poor people, I have chopped off the heads of those bastards who did evil things, Han people, bannermen, officials, and Rakshasa ghosts, there is no one I, Zhang Jinlai, am afraid of. I followed the emperor to the grasslands and saw with my own eyes the barbarians fleeing north and the Han Dynasty rising again.

Let me tell you, I have always believed that there is no better or better feeling in this world than defeating the enemy on the battlefield, cutting off the enemy's head, and watching the enemy kneel at your feet.

The world is full of opportunities, and people who have suffered in the past can turn over as long as they work hard. "When Zhang Jinlai said this call, his blood was gushing, and his whole body was filled with a fighting spirit that dared to fight against heaven and earth and overcome all obstacles in the world.

"There are three women in my room, and there is a lady in the room. In the past, I would have to be respectful when meeting her, and even looking up would be an offending noble lady. But now? Doesn't she have to serve me obediently and give me Doing laundry, cooking and giving birth to a baby? Are you pressed under me?

My life and my family’s life are getting better and better, all because of my contribution. "

Zhang Jinlai's status as a third-level sergeant major is not very lofty in the army. He has a simple face and does not have the nobility and pride shown by officers. He is just like an ordinary person. Even except for his straight back at that moment, he still missed a farmer. But it was such a veteran who had first-class military skills and failed to pass both the main exam and the supplementary exam. When facing a reporter from "Far East News", he said such proud and proud words. He is proud of everything he enjoys now. He broke the fate of one of the most ordinary farmers in China.

He really wanted to be in the newspapers, hoping that his experience could be seen by more farmers like him in the past, so that they could take the crucial first step.

When the war came, Zhang Jinlai from the Third Regiment of the First Brigade of the Guards Division was the first to sign up for the expeditionary force.

"Afraid? Afraid of death? That's all bullshit."

"I'm so happy, how can I think about anything else? Am I not also far away from home in Nanjing? Is there any difference between being a thousand miles away from home and ten thousand miles away from home? All I have in my heart is pride, honor and satisfaction."

"The court has given me a good life that I never dared to imagine. Although I have gained so much with my own life, I don't think my life is worth that much. So don't talk about sacrificing your own family for the sake of the public. What the court has given me is more than enough to exchange for ten of my lives. My life belongs to the court. Working for the court is natural and reasonable."

"Where the court wants to fight, then fight!"

"Those softies who are eager to retire and go home are not good birds! The court's money is spent too unjustly."

"Those bastards are all ungrateful cowards."

...

Huang Dingyou put down the pen in his hand. This is not the first time he has seen this text, but every time he sees it, he feels deeply moved.

Judging from the ideological level of this third-class sergeant Zhang Jinlai, compared with some rules and regulations and propaganda regulations that the newspaper received from the Education Department and the Press and Publication Administration, this veteran did not meet the "spirit of dedication" under the new requirements of the court.

But Huang Dingyou could easily see the traditional Chinese passion of "eating the emperor's salary and being loyal to the emperor" from the veteran's words.

It was this feeling that made Huang Dingyou ashamed.

He thought of what happened when he was in Zengmu Island. Why did he fall out with "Jinling News"? Although there were reasons for this and that, it was Huang Dingyou who got into trouble first.

At that time, he obviously did not have this sense of responsibility - eating the emperor's salary and being loyal to the emperor.

This was a deep stimulation to Huang Dingyou.

And when this stimulation was reflected on Huang Dingyou, it was one or two months since the newspaper opened, and Huang Dingyou's high enthusiasm for work and extremely responsible work attitude had always been maintained.

As a result, Huang Dingyou's position as editor-in-chief has been basically established.

My God, how old is he? He has already taken the position of editor-in-chief. The editor-in-chief of Jinling News is three years older than his father.

Huang Dingyou took a sip of the teacup at hand. There was strong tea in it, super strong. But it is definitely refreshing!

Huang Dingyou is not used to drinking imported coffee. Although it is indeed very refreshing, he still uses strong tea instead.

There are only three days left.

During these three days, Huang Dingyou will review these manuscripts again after work. Just check the punctuation and whether there are obvious typos.

In front of Huang Dingyou, a wooden book clip was opened and placed on the top of the bookend. The latter is said to be designed by the current emperor and is now popular throughout the country. Not only government agencies and schools have bookends, but everyone has bookends on their desks in newspapers.

——Written by Zhu Wo

The handwriting written by three red pens is bright and eye-catching.

This is Zhu Wo's sailing notes. The deputy editor-in-chief in charge of the humanities and geography section was a little confused. He was a little undecided whether to publish it or not. Because in addition to Zhu Wo's sailing notes, he also had Xie Qinggao's sailing essays.

It can be said that you can't have your cake and eat it too.

So this matter fell into the hands of Huang Dingyou, who had been appointed as the acting editor-in-chief by the president.