Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 97

Britain did indeed achieve this, seizing control of the Indian subcontinent from Muslim faith and then discovering that they had created a religious faith that sustained Indian national consciousness—Hinduism.

It was only then that Britain realized that Hinduism was actually more harmful to its colonial rule than Islam. This was because Muslims, like the British, were foreigners, while Hinduism was a native culture. In other words, while Muslims calling on Indians to resist British colonial rule posed little threat, if Hinduism were used by Indian nationalists to oppose British colonialism, then British rule over the Indian subcontinent would be in danger.

Thus, the British began to back down, once again turning to appease Muslims to suppress Indian nationalism. The partition of Bengal was a manifestation of this policy, but not the whole story. After the Earl of Minto became Governor-General of India, although he indicated that he would reconsider the partition plan for Bengal, he did not abandon the policy of Muslim-controlled Hinduism formulated by Sir Curzon.

As Sir Edward Fitzgerald led a delegation to Ghettohar to begin negotiations, Aga Khan established the Muslim League in Dhaka, declaring its mission to be: to pledge allegiance to the British government, to defend the political rights of Muslims, and to prevent sectarian conflict.

It's obvious to everyone that this national organization could only be established with British support. This also means that the Muslim upper class, who had previously opposed the partition plan of Bengal alongside Hindus, has sided with the British on this issue.

Indian nationalists use Hinduism as a bond to maintain national consciousness, which actually creates a major flaw: religious conflicts lead to internal contradictions and fierce clashes between ethnic groups.

In an effort to further awaken Indian national consciousness, Indian nationalists have been relentlessly reinforcing Hindu doctrines into the minds of the masses. This has provoked discontent among Muslims and Sikhs, who believe that those nationalists advocating for Indian independence are not only demanding Indian independence but also attempting to replace the British with Hinduism and suppress other religions.

The formation of the Muslim League was not initially accepted by all Indian Muslims because its aims were clearly not what lower-class Muslims sought; they needed land, not political rights for Muslims. Frankly speaking, these so-called political rights for Muslims were simply a matter of the British relinquishing a few government positions to upper-class Muslims—what did that have to do with lower-class Muslims?

However, radical Hindus immediately turned their criticism towards the Muslim League, arguing that Muslims should not form their own organization and should instead join the Congress Party as individuals to advocate for India's independence. But everyone knows that the Congress Party is ruled by Hindus, and Muslims can only be ordinary members.

These radical Hindus attacked the Muslim League while also labeling Muslims as foreign colonizers like the British, forcing even Muslims who initially did not support the Muslim League to retaliate against Hindu radicals. This allowed the Muslim League to gain control over the political leanings of Indian Muslims.

The religious conflict between Hindus and Muslims also spilled over into the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Labour Party of India (Labour Party), causing a loss of mutual trust between the two sides and creating an opportunity for the British. The British seem to have mastered the art of instigating internal strife.

Thus, Lin Xinyi, who was negotiating with the British on railways, tea plantations, jute, and other industries, was forced to intervene in this political negotiation. On January 16, when Edward Fitzgerald entered the hotel conference room with his assistant, he suddenly noticed Lin Xinyi's presence and approached him, saying, "Are you here at this time to represent the Indian people in these negotiations?"

Lin Xinyi shook hands with Sir Fitzgerald, then shook his head with a smile and said, "No, I just heard that Sir Fitzgerald's art of conversation is outstanding, so I came here today to observe and learn. You wouldn't object, would you?"

Sir Fitzgerald glanced at the Indians on the other side of the conference table and noticed that the two who had argued most fiercely the previous two days were absent today, replaced by two newcomers. He was somewhat curious; could the Chinese really suppress the sectarian conflict among the Indians? If so, the threat level posed by this Chinese man to British India would increase even further.

Chapter 342 The Demands of the Indian People

“…1792年东印度公司发行了有息的印度公债为700多万英镑，1799年增加到1000万英镑…1858年印度公债上升到7000万英镑。也就是说，从1800年到1858年印度支付给英国的贡赋，不计算利息的话就已经超过了1亿英镑，算上利息，仅前三十年印度就支付了7亿英镑的贡赋。

In 1859, the East India Company handed over the administration of India to the British King. However, the £6950 million in interest-bearing bonds issued by the company and the £1200 million in company capital became Indian government bonds. But this money was not paid by the British King or the British Treasury; it was paid by the Indian people. To this day, we are still paying interest on these government bonds.

Therefore, it is clear that the right to govern India should legally belong to the Indian people, since it was we, not the British King, who paid for the purchase of India.

After 1859, Britain's military expenditure in India exceeded £4000 million. We believe this money should not be borne by the Indian people, as they did not authorize Britain to conquer them. After 1859, Britain mobilized Indian troops for overseas operations, incurring military expenditures exceeding £1000 million. This should also not be borne by the Indian people, as we did not authorize Britain to do so, nor did we intend to conquer other peoples and regions.

In conclusion, £14150 million of India's current interest-bearing government bonds should be purchased and sold. The validity of the remaining £9000 million in Indian government bonds should also be subject to review by the Indian people before principal and interest payments can be made. Until the Indian Parliament is established and reviews these bonds, they should be frozen.

The relationship between Britain and India must be reassessed after the convening of the Indian Parliament. However, we maintain a fundamental position that if Britain considers India as part of the British Empire, then the Indian people have the right to have their own representatives in the British Parliament, and that the Indian mainland, like the British mainland, must elect its members according to population proportions.

If Britain does not consider India as part of the British Empire, but merely as a territory under the same British monarchy, then the Indian Parliament should be equal in status to the British Parliament, and should become the highest authority in India…”

Harry Singh read the People's Committee's decision to the British across the table with a blank expression. He couldn't feel a single bit of excitement. In the past, he could only maintain order on the streets when the Deputy Royal Advisor went on tours. People wouldn't even give him a second glance. He would feel extremely honored to be able to say a word to the other party, as if his ancestors' graves were emitting auspicious smoke.

But now, he could sit on equal footing with this knight, and even refute him in such a condescending manner. Seeing the shocked and angry expressions on Sir Fitzgerald's and the Englishmen around him, he realized that his past awe of these Englishmen was ridiculous. They, too, had moments of helplessness.

As the Sikh across from him finished reading three whole pages, Sir Fitzgerald could tell that he was a soldier. However, he had no time to investigate which regiment the Sikh had been in, because the other party had put forward a condition that was clearly unacceptable to the British Indian government, no, to the British Empire.

For a long time, Indians only dared to demand political rights and beg for debt relief from the British Empire, but no one dared to bring up the old debts of British rule over India. Everyone knew that bringing up the old debts would be tantamount to directly denying the legitimacy of British rule over India, which would mean that the two sides would completely break off relations and would no longer be able to sit down and negotiate.

At this moment, Sir Fitzgerald quickly regained his composure. He turned his gaze to the young man sitting idly to the side and said to the Indian opposite him, "If this is what you want, then all you will get is war. Are you really prepared for that?"

Harry Singh calmly turned to the next page and replied: "The Indian people will never yield to power. If the British Empire attempts to impose war on the Indian people, then we will join the British people and the people of the world to bury this filthy and shameful empire. The Indian people firmly believe that justice will prevail this time."

The Englishmen who accompanied Sir Fitzgerald were all outraged by these words. One of them finally couldn't help but blurt out, "This is the greatest humiliation for the British Empire, and you will pay the price for it."

This time, Harry Singh stopped looking at the papers in his hand and looked up at the British man, blurting out, "No, it is precisely because we humiliated the British Empire on the battlefield that we are able to sit here."

The British were momentarily stunned. They suddenly remembered that it was their defeat on the battlefield that had forced them to come and negotiate peace. Threatening these people with war would obviously not frighten them.

Sir Fitzgerald knew the negotiations could not continue; every second he stayed was a further loss of face for the British Empire. He rose and said coldly, "We came with the sincerity of peace, but received only the greatest malice. The British Empire will not accept any threats. I think this negotiation can end now. General Lin Feng, may we speak privately for a few minutes?"

Seeing that everyone in the room was looking at him, Lin Xinyi tilted his head and glanced at the knight, then finally stood up, straightened his clothes, and said, "I am not a general, and that title is not suitable for me. If the matter between you and me does not involve the people of India, then I may have a few words with you. Otherwise, I will not speak with you alone."

Sir Fitzgerald glanced at the Indian man opposite him, then at his assistant, before speaking: "Of course, I just want to talk to you about something that doesn't involve official business."

Lin Xinyi nodded slightly to the Indian representative, and Harry Singh and other representatives nodded back before leaving the room. Soon after, the knight's assistant also left the room, and both sides waited in the corridor outside the meeting room. Both the Indians and the British had solemn expressions. They all knew very well that whether the negotiations had truly broken down depended on the conversation between the two people in the room.

After everyone else in the room had left, Sir Fitzgerald turned to Lin Xinyi and asked, “What exactly do you want? We have already made the greatest concessions on the border issue. Are you still not satisfied and are you trying to have some unrealistic ideas about Indian territory? Your country is facing the threat of the Russians, or do you want to provoke an even more powerful enemy for it? Are you prepared to let China be crushed for the sake of Indian freedom?”

Faced with the barrage of accusations from the knight, Lin Xinyi calmly replied: "Whether it is China or India, they are both super-large population countries. Such countries cannot be conquered from the outside unless internal strife occurs. Therefore, I do not believe that Russia plus Britain could conquer China."

Perhaps if you unite, you can indeed occupy most of China and kill a large number of Chinese people, but you can also truly awaken China. Even if three-quarters of the Chinese die in this war, we will still have 100 million people who can be reborn. I believe this war is not a bad thing for China.

For me, if China cannot be reborn from this war, then I hope they can die a glorious death. As long as the British Empire and the Russian Empire go to hell together, and the peoples of other parts of the world are liberated, I believe we will eventually be able to revive with the support of the people of the world.

Moreover, is Britain capable of attacking China alongside Russia now? Therefore, your threats are nothing but bluff; I don't think they will have any effect on me.”

This guy is really crazy. Hearing that the other side didn't care at all about the losses China would suffer in the future war, the knight couldn't help but curse inwardly. He was now disgusted and hated by this inexplicable war, which was making a mess of the entire Indian subcontinent.

The knight understood that the other party had a very accurate assessment. It was impossible for the British Empire to join forces with Russia to attack China, because even if they won the war, it would be a defeat for the British Empire. Moreover, with the situation in Europe becoming increasingly turbulent, the British Empire was even less likely to focus its efforts outside of Europe. At present, balancing Europe was the focus of the British Empire's diplomacy.

The British Empire is currently facing its greatest crisis since the Napoleonic Wars, with global order spiraling out of control. Considering that during the last Napoleonic Wars, the British Empire was forced to recognize the independence of the thirteen North American colonies, is it now possible that even India will be lost?

A terrible thought flashed through the Jazz's mind, and he couldn't help but shudder. However, he quickly dismissed the dangerous idea and calmly said to Lin Xinyi, "This is just your personal opinion, not the opinion of all Chinese people. I believe there are still rational Chinese people."

Lin Xinyi nodded, then smiled and replied, "That's right. Just like your threat of war, Sir, it's your personal opinion. Rational British people would not support continuing this war."

After a long silence, the knight finally lowered his tone and said, "Neither the British government nor London can agree to the Indians' demands. This will only lead to a breakdown in negotiations, which I believe is not in the interests of any party. For the sake of peace, you should not incite the Indians to make such unreasonable demands."

Lin Xinyi looked at the knight with surprise and said, "I don't understand what you mean, sir. I didn't say a word in this negotiation. Your accusations against me are clearly unfounded. Whether the demands of the Indian people are legitimate depends on how the Indian and British people view them, not on how you or I view them..."

Chapter 343 Chaos

Sir Fitzgerald didn't want to waste time arguing with Lin Feng; he was all too familiar with that kind of thing. From this perspective, this Chinese man was truly no stranger to British bureaucracy. Perhaps he should suggest that intelligence officials start their investigations with domestic students studying abroad; that might allow them to determine the other party's background more quickly.

After a moment of silence, he made a gesture indicating no further argument, and then said, "This stalemate won't benefit anyone. What exactly do you want? You need to give us some terms before we can continue talking, right?"

Lin Xinyi chuckled and said, "According to publicly available survey data from British India, in North India, a family of laborers without land, consisting of a husband, wife, and two children, earns no more than 3 rupees a month. This income is barely enough for them to survive in a normal year."

According to your survey report, 60% of the population in this land lives in abject poverty. If their children don't work as child laborers to earn money to supplement their family income, then someone in the family will definitely go hungry. From north to south, almost every rural area has a large number of farmers on the verge of bankruptcy, heavily indebted, and with no hope for their future.

Therefore, I believe the demands made by the Indians are perfectly reasonable, and I lack the power to suppress the resistance of those desperate Indian farmers, nor would I use it here. If, sir, you consider the Indians' desire to survive a luxury, then their demands are certainly excessive. Conversely, I cannot imagine where these demands are excessive.

If the British Empire wants even Indians to starve, would you still abide by your agreements with us? In my view, India can survive without the British Empire, but without India, the British Empire dies.

How could we possibly abandon a vibrant, reborn India to embrace a decaying, dying empire? Even if you were in my position, you wouldn't make such a shortsighted move, would you?

Sir Fitzgerald gave Lin Xinyi a deep look. He knew the negotiations had failed completely. Forcing him to stay would only provoke further demands. He could only coldly utter a polite remark, "Whether the British Empire is dying or not, I believe time will tell. You are too young to understand the power an empire represents. I hope you won't regret your rudeness today. Your arrogance caused you to miss the hand of friendship extended by a great empire. Even Hannibal couldn't defeat Rome."

Lin Xinyi grabbed the hem of his clothes and shook it, still smiling as he replied, "So, Rome's choice is war? Then I'll wait and see."

Sir Fitzgerald refused to utter another word, gave a stiff, slight nod, and then turned and strode out of the room. Watching the Englishman leave, Jadin couldn't help but ask Lin Xinyi, who was slowly walking down the corridor, "Did the negotiations break down?"

Watching the British figures depart from the courtyard, Lin Xinyi said calmly, "It's just a halftime break. Let's continue with our work and let the British have their headaches. We should publish the People's Committee's proposals to the British and demand that the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League clarify their positions. Whether they stand with the Indian people or want to become accomplices of British colonialism, it's time for them to make their stance clear..."

The Congress Party, which was initially furious about the formation of the Muslim League, fell silent after seeing the Labour Party's proposals regarding the British Indian government. Frankly, the Congress Party was actually more angry with the Labour Party than with the Muslim League, because the Labour Party had completely undermined the Congress Party's political stance of seeking self-government from Britain and dealt a heavy blow to the Congress Party's main supporters—the Indian landowning class.

Although some radical members of the Congress Party held a positive view of the Labour Party's path of armed struggle, and some even joined the People's Committee of India, the mainstream of the Congress Party was still moderate. They consistently stated that they would stand with the British Indian government and oppose all violent actions. They even donated money to the British to suppress Indian farmers who were colluding with the Chinese. At this point, they did not oppose the British using violence.

However, the Congress Party's attacks on the Labour Party had little effect, because even the British army failed to eliminate the Labour Party-led peasant guerrillas. Instead, these peasant guerrillas joined forces with the Chinese to wipe out a large part of their own army, leading to unrest throughout India.

At this point, the moderates of the Congress Party dared not be too hostile towards the Labour Party, because in the hearts of the lower classes, the Labour Party had a much higher reputation than the Congress Party. They were no match for the Congress Party, which could incite them with religious beliefs. They could only get the support of the landowners, but the Labour Party had the support of most Indian farmers. In a confrontation, the landowners, who were fewer in number, would obviously suffer, since the farmers were now organized and no longer a disorganized bunch.

Previously, landlords used caste and land division to control farmers in villages, and even villages were often antagonistic and distant from each other. Most Indian villages were actually composed of one caste, similar to the clan-based natural villages in China. Relationships between villages were far from friendly due to competition for water and land.

However, the Labour Party has now mobilized farmers in the countryside to carry out land reform and reorganized the village organizations, abolishing a large number of feudal obligations and relationships. As a result, landlords can no longer use caste and land to threaten the personal safety of farmers. Farmers naturally turned to the farmers' associations that allocated them land and enthusiastically supported the Labour Party.

In this situation, any attempt to oppose the peasant associations and the labor party based on caste and religious beliefs would encounter the same problem: would the landowners actually reclaim the land distributed to them by the peasant associations and the usurious loans they abolished? Even if the landowners could deceive a small number of people, they couldn't fool the majority.

Everyone knew that once the landlords were driven out of the farmers' associations, everything would return to normal. The landlords wouldn't give away their property to them for free based on caste or religious beliefs. If the landlords could really do that, they could have done so before the Labour Party came, but the fact was that no landlord was so merciful.

Therefore, when radical Hindus incite Hindus to attack Muslims, many farmers follow suit without hesitation. However, when those same Hindus incite them to attack members of farmers' associations and the Labour Party, many farmers either publicly oppose them or leave in silence; only a few will join in, hoping to profit from the destruction.

However, the peasant associations and the labor party's counterattack was also quite swift and brutal. They often did not give local landowners any chance to defend themselves. Landowners and Brahmins in the surrounding areas of the attacked region would be arrested and forced to denounce each other, or else they would have to pay for the lives of the murdered farmers.

Under such retaliation, few landowners were willing to confront the Labour Party directly; if they had such courage, they wouldn't have been under British rule for so long. The working class, bound by class interests, was clearly much more united and larger than groups bound by caste and religious beliefs.

The Congress Party was powerless to confront such an increasingly powerful political force, nor could it accept or oppose the other party's political propositions this time, so remaining silent was the best course of action. However, this incident further exacerbated the division within the Congress Party. Radicals believed that the moderates had completely abandoned the Congress Party's founding principles, and that even advocating for India's autonomy by appealing to the British should not have been met with silence on these issues; this was clearly a betrayal of the Indian people.

As for the Muslim League, Agha Khan declined to comment on the Labour Party's position, not wanting to displease the British, but also unable to oppose the cancellation of Indian government bonds and the convening of the Indian Parliament, and also unable to comment on India's position in the British Empire, any of which would anger the British.

But Agha Khan's troubles didn't end there. Soon, some Muslims advocated that the All-India Muslim League should stand in solidarity with Moroccan Muslims against the European Christians turning Morocco into a colony. Agha Khan once again rejected this proposal. Consequently, Muslims in Dhaka and elsewhere quickly organized an anti-All-India Muslim League movement, demanding the establishment of a genuine alliance to speak for the Muslim world, rather than acting as lackeys of the British.

Soon after, an organization called the World Muslim Mutual Aid Alliance was established, claiming to unite Muslims worldwide to overthrow colonialism and restore the independence of Muslim countries. The British Indian government immediately declared it an illegal organization and ordered its ban. However, the People's Council of India accepted the organization, stating that the Indian people and Muslims worldwide shared a common goal in opposing colonialism.

Faced with the internal divisions within the Muslim community, the Congress Party quickly recovered. While the moderates did not voice their support for the World Muslim Mutual Aid League, they also refrained from launching an attack. The extremists, on the other hand, argued that the World Muslim Mutual Aid League at least represented a Muslim perspective, and that the All India Muslim League was merely deceiving the lower-class Muslims on behalf of the British.

This unexpected situation eased the tensions between Hindus and Muslims, but exacerbated the conflict between the Muslim lower and upper classes. This was undoubtedly bad news for the British Indian government. While they had used the Muslim League to divide the Indian population, the World Muslim Mutual Aid League had triggered another crisis. Egypt, North Africa, the Near East, and the Middle East are all Muslim-majority regions; if the Muslims in these areas were to unite, the entire region connecting the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean would be thrown into chaos.

In order to avoid unpredictable consequences, the British Indian government reduced its support for the Muslim League. This made even the bureaucrats and landowners in the Muslim League dissatisfied. They felt that the British were just playing with them, stirring up conflict between Muslims and Hindus and then abandoning them.

As for the British negotiating team, they returned to the south bank of the Ganges on January 20th, and Sir Fitzgerald immediately returned to Calcutta, where he was soon summoned by the Earl of Minto. Although he already knew that the negotiations had broken down, he couldn't help but ask the Sir what he had seen and heard in Gettyhal.

The knight pondered for a long time, then said to the earl with deliberation, "Throughout world history, there have been many figures who possessed the courage, intelligence, and will to challenge the world, and who were able to transform that will into the direction of their entire nation's progress. Even the weakest nation, once it has such a leader, will unleash astonishing energy."

I see that the Chinese man is becoming the leader of the Indians. If we don't bring him back to China as soon as possible, we will not be facing the power of the Chinese, but the subterranean fire that was originally hidden beneath this continent.

This fire will truly bury the British Empire, just as Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii, swift and irresistible…

Chapter 344 Congress Party

On February 10, Colonel Haig finally could not hold out any longer and decided to retreat to Guwahati on the left bank of the Jamuna River. With the surrender of General Robert Cunliffe Lowe's troops, not only did the British forces disappear completely west of the Teesta River, but even the Assamese guerrillas on the right bank of the Jamuna River became active.

With the support of the so-called People's Liberation Army of Bihar, these Assamese guerrillas began to blockade towns on the right bank of the Jamuna River and launched attacks on logging companies and tea plantations. This tactic kept the British army busy. The guerrillas were not actually very strong, but under the tutelage of the Chinese, they began to use the complex local forests to maneuver against the British army.

The British troops soon realized that they were not actually fighting, but playing hide-and-seek with the guerrillas. However, they risked becoming prey for the guerrillas if they were not careful, which caused the morale of the British troops to plummet. Meanwhile, the People's Liberation Army of Bihar began to cross the Teesta River. Although the number of soldiers was small, they launched a propaganda offensive.

Indian soldiers in the British army were the first to lose heart. They felt that their allies had been defeated and that they were trapped in this salient, effectively surrounded by the Chinese and local guerrillas. The Chinese propaganda sounded quite tempting: if they laid down their arms and surrendered, they would be sent back south of the Ganges and would not have to lose their lives in the jungles of Assam.

For Indian soldiers who had just become professional soldiers, such political propaganda was indeed very tempting. After all, even the British had surrendered, and their defeat was only a matter of time. Why should they risk being sniped by guerrillas every day as they trekked through the jungle? Laying down their weapons now would not only allow them to leave the battlefield sooner, but they also wouldn't have to worry about any punishment. After all, there were plenty of prisoners of war, and there was no reason to target only those who resisted to the end.

Indian soldiers began to surrender voluntarily during battles and were indeed treated well and sent away. By late January, the surrender had progressed from individual soldiers to entire squads and platoons of Indian soldiers, and even British soldiers were joining in, because the Chinese had not only sent Indian soldiers as propagandists, but also British soldiers.

At first, the British soldiers were very aware of their role as aggressors. They believed that the local natives would not let them go, so they always fought tenaciously on the battlefield until the very end. They would only lay down their weapons when there was no hope left. This was in stark contrast to the Indian soldiers, who were only relatively tenacious when they had the upper hand.

However, as the Chinese army's policy of treating prisoners of war well began to spread, some British soldiers, who had been captured twice in Tibet and Darjeeling, quickly shared their experiences with their comrades. As a result, British soldiers believed that surrendering to the Chinese was relatively safe, at least they did not have to worry about being retaliated against after laying down their weapons.

In addition, the Chinese army's political propaganda on prisoners of war meant that while British soldiers who laid down their arms were treated well, they also had to undergo political education. This political education might have been difficult for the British to accept at first, but it was easier for the Indians to accept. After all, Indian soldiers in the British army were the most oppressed at the bottom, and the British soldiers at least had Indians to bully.

However, after suffering repeated defeats on their side, the British soldiers finally began to seriously listen to Chinese political propaganda. Those who don't understand the mindset of the victors are easily killed. If the Chinese were suffering repeated defeats on the battlefield, they naturally wouldn't bother with such propaganda. But the soldiers from the British mainland, unlike those from their overseas colonies, held authority in high esteem. Therefore, faced with Chinese political propaganda, a few British soldiers genuinely felt that staying to fight the Indian people was better than returning to be oppressed by their superiors.

Lin Xinyi immediately assigned these British soldiers who had turned to the people's side to the propaganda department to spread propaganda among the British soldiers in Assam. The appearance of these British propagandists was a significant blow to the morale of the British troops. In addition, the guerrillas blocked supplies to the city, and the army's food supplies gradually became insufficient. Colonel Haig then decided to retreat.

Of course, Calcutta's inability to send troops to quell the rebellion against the Indian People's Committee led Colonel Haig to believe that his persistence on the north bank of the Jamuna River was meaningless. He and his men continued to hold on because they still hoped for a counterattack from Calcutta; after all, how could the British Empire so easily concede defeat?

However, Calcutta did not immediately send troops to counterattack. Instead, it sent a negotiation team to negotiate. Upon hearing this news, Colonel Haig and his men were greatly disappointed, and the retreat was officially put on the agenda.

With the guerrillas blocking the roads, it was clearly a difficult task for the British troops to gather from various villages and towns and then cross the Jamuna River. However, Colonel Haig, having learned from his escapes at Darjeeling and Sirisigou, accomplished the mission. From February 6th to February 10th, more than four battalions of British troops successfully crossed the Jamuna River and withdrew to Guwahati.

However, Colonel Haig's successful evacuation meant that the area north of the Jamuna River was left to the Chinese and guerrillas, and guerrilla groups began to rise along the banks of the Brahmaputra River to resist the British. The British control over the region was greatly reduced, and the isolated princely state of Manipur was shaken.

For Calcutta, the two defensive zones at the foot of the mountain, originally intended to defend against the Chinese, were completely breached. Lord Kitchener and the British generals were in a state of panic and began to readjust the defensive lines. Some British officers thought it would be better to abandon the area north of Nagaland. If they wanted to maintain a garrison there, they would face the same difficulties as Colonel Haig, being heavily blockaded by local guerrillas, and losing far more supplies on the road than the troops themselves.

Faced with the dire situation in Calcutta, the Prince and Princess of Wales finally decided to end their visit to India and prepare to return to Europe. As a former naval officer, Prince George was well aware that his and his wife's presence in Calcutta had tied down too much British military force, and their departure would allow Lord Kitchener to focus his efforts on dealing with the aggressive Chinese.

Of course, such a departure was seen by Indians as a hasty retreat, and a deep crack appeared in the prestige of the British Empire. Even members of the Congress Party began to feel that Britain could not remain powerful forever.

Dadabai Naroji, a London-based founder of the Indian National Congress, also read the political platform published by the People's Committee of India in the newspapers. Although he did not endorse violent revolution, he partially agreed with the People's Committee's political platform, believing that without cancelling the debts that should not have been imposed on the Indian people, India's wealth would continue to flow out of the country, and the Indian people would not be able to escape poverty.

It was at this time that he received a letter from the moderates of the Congress Party, hoping that he could return to India to take charge. This was partly to mend the rift between the moderates and the radicals, and partly to prevent the radicals from dominating the Congress Party.

As Indian nationalist movements and mass movements continue to develop, radicals have gained increasing public support. As a result, radicals are demanding that Tilak become the president of the Congress Party's annual conference, or that they leave the Congress Party to form a new party and join the People's Council of India.

The mainstream of the Congress Party opposed joining the People's Council of India (PCI), which was formed by the Labour Party. They believed that the PCI's incitement of violent resistance against British rule was illegal, and joining the organization would cause the Congress Party to lose its legitimacy. Furthermore, the PCI incited peasants to rebel against landlords, which was unacceptable to the mainstream of the Congress Party. Faced with the Labour Party's invitation, the mainstream of the Congress Party naturally opposed accepting it.

However, the current surge in nationalist movements has given the extremists a lot of public support, and the moderates are finding it difficult to control the situation. After all, the Congress Party is now just a club party for the upper elites. If it is abandoned by the people, all their efforts over the past 30 years will have been in vain.

The Congress Party was able to demand autonomy from the British Indian government because they believed they represented the power of the Indian nation—a claim the Indian people had never denied, as no other political group was willing to speak on their behalf. This was also why the Congress Party initially resented the Labour Party and the Muslim League, as they were vying for the Congress Party's right to represent the Indian nation.

For example, the biggest crisis facing the Congress Party right now is that the Muslim League has siphoned off a portion of the support from the Muslim population, and the People's Council of India (PCA), led by the Labour Party, has siphoned off the support of millions of people in North India. If the extremists were to break away from the Congress Party at this time and form a new party to join the PCA, then Congress Party supporters across India would be split.

Therefore, no matter how much the moderates disagreed with the radicals' views, they absolutely could not allow the radicals to withdraw from the Congress Party, as this would severely damage the Congress Party's foundation. At this point, they could only turn to the highly respected Congress Party veteran, Dadabai Naroji, to salvage the situation. Naroji decided to return to India because he felt that it was indeed not the right time for the Congress Party to split.

Although London dismissed the political declaration issued by the Indian People's Committee, deeming it mere wishful thinking on the part of these Indians, the young MP Winston Churchill addressed the House of Commons on the matter: "...Never yield, never compromise, we must let those Chinese and Indians know that the British Empire will never back down."

British officials in British India found that the problem was not whether they should retreat, but whether the Chinese and Indians were willing to stop advancing. In the Rajmahar Hills and the outskirts of the Jodhpur Plateau in Bihar, peasant resistance was escalating. The most oppressed in this region were the indentured laborers on opium plantations and the destitute hill dwellers; the development of the colonial economy had plunged those excluded from it and the lowest strata of society into a nightmare of ever-decreasing living standards.

The Labour Party members from the north brought their experience in instigating peasant uprisings from the northern tea plantations and villages to this region, quickly attracting a large number of indentured laborers and hill dwellers to join the guerrillas and beginning to seize local grassroots governance. This was the biggest problem the British Indian government had ever encountered, even more troublesome than the guerrillas themselves.

A British police officer was responsible for managing an area of ​​200 to 300 square miles, while the lowest-ranking Indian policemen received only 4 to 5 rupees a month—clearly insufficient to fight armed guerrillas. The encroachment on grassroots governance led to tax revenue losses and increased anti-colonial sentiment, further worsening the situation in Bengal.

In contrast, the tax resistance in Punjab was far too mild. The Punjabi farmers were unlikely to venture to other territories to disrupt social order, allowing the British to concentrate their forces on dealing with these tax-resistant farmers. Furthermore, the Punjabi landowners were unlikely to unite, and once the British gained the upper hand, they began to submit to British rule.

For example, the clergy at the Golden Temple even claimed that the peasants who resisted the British were a group of thieves. They even thanked the British army for maintaining local order, which prevented the Golden Temple's property from being looted by the peasants. These clergy members have clearly deviated completely from the original meaning of Sikhism and become accomplices of the rulers.

By March 1906, the tax resistance movement in the Northwest, which the British considered unruly, had been almost quelled. However, the resistance of the Bengalis, whom the British considered weak, intensified. British government officials believed that at least ten million people were no longer under the government's control.

Chapter 345 The Turning Point for the Russian Army

Throughout February, the Russians fought against the Chinese trenches in the Liaoxi Corridor, sending in a company of soldiers almost every day. The number of shells the Russians were unleashing on the Chinese positions was also increasing. By March, the Russian army discovered that only a few thousand of the 80,000 shells that had been delivered the second time had been left.

Before the war, apart from the Kwantung Fortress area, the Russian army in South Manchuria possessed approximately 300 artillery pieces and 24 rounds of ammunition. At that time, the Russian artillery was not yet made of alloy steel, so each artillery piece was equipped with 800 rounds of ammunition for regimental artillery pieces of 87mm or smaller. Once these 800 rounds were used up, the artillery pieces could be taken back for repairs.

Russian Army Minister Kuropatkin initially believed that this ammunition reserve was enough to take down not only the Chinese, but even the Japanese. However, the current outcome has surprised the entire Russian army. With nearly 11 shells fired, the Russian army has only advanced about 9 versts from the Suizhong front.

Since the start of the war, 24 Russian infantry battalions have been completely rendered combat ineffective, while the South Manchurian Army Group centered in Shenyang has only 122 infantry battalions. However, although the Russian army is making difficult progress at the Shanhaiguan Pass, good news has come from the Baikal Cossack Brigade commanded by Major General Pavel Ivanovich Mishinko.