Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 61

After receiving a telegram from Wu Luzhen on August 17, Lin Xinyi decided to first eliminate the British troops who were trying to cross the river. On August 18, Lin Xinyi led four companies out of Lhasa, one of which was a newly arrived unit. Lin Xinyi only left the commander, Qiu Ao, in Lhasa and withdrew all the soldiers.

On August 19th, Lin Xinyi's troops arrived at Chabalang, about eight or nine kilometers from Qushui Temple. They inquired with local villagers and found several mountain paths leading to the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. On August 20th, Qushui sent a messenger to Lin Xinyi, saying that British troops had begun crossing the river at the downstream ferry. That same day, Lin Xinyi left Liu Tong's company behind to guard the area, while he led three other companies across the Lhasa River to guard the exits of the mountain paths. He also dispatched guides and scouts to explore the terrain along each path.

On the morning of the 21st, Ronghepeng crossed the Yarlung Tsangpo River and arrived at the foot of what the locals called Gala Mountain. He immediately sent out guides and Gurkhas to find a suitable passage across Gala Mountain. In the afternoon, the guides and Gurkhas returned to the riverside camp with their findings and presented Ronghepeng with three routes for crossing Gala Mountain. Ronghepeng decided to split into two groups to cross Gala Mountain.

Meanwhile, Lin Xinyi also obtained information about the British reconnaissance routes. After discussing with officers such as Chen Youlong and Deng Yulin, he concluded that the British were most likely to choose only two routes. As for the other smaller paths, they could simply block the entrances to prevent the British from crossing. Therefore, they decided to set up an ambush on one of the easiest mountain paths. If the British did not take this route, they could use it to cut off their rear and launch a pincer attack.

Thus, the landmines brought all the way from the mainland could finally be put to use. The mission was arranged for Lin Xinyi and Deng Yulin to set up an ambush on the mountain road, while Chen Youlong would command the blocking of the mountain pass. Because only Deng Yulin's company had relatively complete ambush combat training, and this company consisted of Han Chinese officers and some veterans with combat experience, it was the one Lin Xinyi trusted the most. Although there was another complete new army company, because they had not been trained together, Lin Xinyi only dared to let them guard the mountain pass.

Gala Mountain is less of a mountain and more of a stone wall made of piled-up rocks. Although the straight-line distance from the Yarlung Tsangpo River to the Lhasa Plain is no more than 10 kilometers, the total distance traveled by climbing up and down is probably more than three times that straight-line distance. These rocks stand out abruptly, and apart from some grass and moss, not a single shrub can be seen on the mountainside. The summit is covered with snow all year round, making it an extremely desolate landscape.

As a member of the Royal Geographical Society who once traveled alone from Manchuria into northern China, then traversed the Mongolian Gobi Desert, crossed the Tian Shan Mountains, and followed the northern foothills of the Tian Shan Mountains to the Pamir Plateau, pioneering a route from Kashgar and India through the unexplored Muztagh Pass, Younghusband also found this place more desolate and unbearable than the Pamir Plateau.

The Maxim machine gun detachment of the 1st Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment following behind him had already handed over their machine guns and ammunition boxes to the Gurkha company. Only these mountain people who grew up in the mountains could endure the thin air of the plateau and bear the extra burden. The British soldiers were already swaying as they walked, after all, they had been fighting on the plateau for almost half a year.

After a short rest at noon, the British troops marched for another hour. The mountain path gradually widened, and the hills ahead began to slope downwards. The officers and soldiers in the column were invigorated, believing they were finally about to emerge from this rocky jungle. However, in a valley, Younghusband suddenly stopped. He looked around, sensing something amiss. He then summoned his Gurkha men ahead, preparing to have them send out a small team to investigate.

Through the binoculars on his rifle, Lin Xinyi had already spotted the British officer in boots with a large beard. After seeing him order the troops to halt their advance, he was even more certain that this was the commander of this British force. He adjusted his breathing, aimed at the man's mouth, and then pulled the trigger without hesitation.

“Sergeant Tapa…” Younghusband hadn’t finished speaking when he suddenly tilted his head and collapsed. The Gurkha sergeant in front of him hadn’t even realized what was happening before he saw a bloody hole in Younghusband’s left cheek. The British lieutenant beside him then cried out in terror, “Enemy attack! Enemy attack…”

The Gurkha soldiers, who had been parked on the mountain road, looked up and around, trying to find the enemy, when suddenly an explosion rang out from the right side of the mountain, followed by a tumble of rocks. Some soldiers were hit directly by the flying rocks; the lucky ones were killed instantly, while the unlucky ones were buried under the rocks or fell into the ravine.

Although the Gurkhas are skilled in mountain warfare, they have never experienced such a defensive situation. Their expertise in mountain warfare refers to attacking from steep cliffs while the enemy holds a position on a hilltop, not to an ambush like this, which lacks command and a clear objective.

The outcome of the battle was almost without suspense. The ambushed Gurkha company and the Maxim machine gun platoon of the 1st Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment quickly surrendered, dropping their weapons. However, the Gurkha company at the rear, under the command of a British captain, began to defend. The treacherous mountain paths also posed a problem for the attackers, even though the attackers were now the Tibetan army lying in wait.

Lin Xinyi could only shout at the enemy, demanding they lay down their weapons and surrender, because even if they didn't surrender now, they would surely freeze to death in the mountains that night. The British captain also tried to contact another British force to launch a counterattack, but he quickly realized that although the two sides seemed close enough to hear the shouts of neighboring troops, coordinating with each other was impossible, and if he retreated, his remaining morale would be completely destroyed.

While Lin Xinyi ensured his men occupied advantageous positions to prevent the British from retreating, he also summoned the Gurkhas he had brought with him and ordered them to persuade the Gurkhas to surrender. The Gurkhas remained steadfast, but the British captain wavered. Fearing the Gurkhas might betray him if they listened to their own people, he demanded that Lin Xinyi assure him he wouldn't massacre the prisoners before finally ordering them to surrender their weapons.

At the crossroads, Lin Xinyi accepted the command sword handed to him by Captain Easton. It was an 1897 infantry sword with a steel openwork half-basket guard, inlaid with a crown and the king's mark, fierce yet magnificent.

Captain Easton sized up the Chinese officer who had captured him, but found no rank insignia on him. He could only vaguely ask Lin Xinyi, "Sir, may I help the colonel first?"

Lin Xinyi glanced at the officer's body that had been moved aside and could only shake his head, saying, "Of course I won't refuse, but I think the colonel should be far from us by now. I hope that after you see the colonel's condition, you can help us persuade the other British troops to lay down their weapons, otherwise we'll have to wait until tomorrow to collect their bodies."

Captain Easton glanced silently around. He understood that Lin Xinyi wasn't lying. The valleys were bitterly cold; during the day, the sun offered some protection, but without campfires for warmth at night, many soldiers would freeze to death. And there was nothing to burn here. He finally saluted Lin Xinyi and said, "I need to see the colonel first, then..."

In the Battle of Gala Mountain, the British lost a company and a machine gun platoon, and then three companies surrendered. The Tibetan army suffered only seven or eight casualties, making it another great victory. Lin Xinyi escorted more than three hundred prisoners back to Chabalang, requesting that Lhasa send someone to take over the prisoners, while he went to meet with Wu Luzhen.

The two exchanged information and calculated the British troop strength. Lin Xinyi then said, "The main force of the British army is still in Gyantse. Their forces in the Nyaungsuo area should be between 2000 and 3000. They also have to protect the passage from Yadong to the Yarlung Tsangpo River. The British forces are too scattered. Now is the time for us to compete with them for control of the passage..."

Chapter 210 Grassroots Organizations and Myths

Wu Luzhen thought Lin Xinyi was referring to guerrilla warfare, and nodded in agreement, saying, "Indeed, using guerrilla tactics to harass the British army's long logistics line and further disperse their forces could create an opportunity to annihilate a portion of the British army next time."

Lin Xinyi shook his head and said, "No, seizing control is not just about guerrilla warfare, but also about rebuilding local governments. The current grassroots organizations in these areas are clearly not adapted to the requirements of people's war. We need to further concentrate local resources and power and bring them under the management of the Military and Political Committee. This is not just about making the secular and monastic officials within the temple obey the Military and Political Committee, but about implementing it on the level of the chapa (monastic leaders), making them understand that the temples and nobles are not the government, but the Military and Political Committee is."

In the current social structure of Tibet, although the Tulku and Langseng make up half the population, they possess too few social resources to easily rise up against the three major lordly classes that are allied with the Chapa. To check and balance these three lordly classes, the Chapa must be given more political power. In the past, the three lords offered the Chapa a glimmer of hope for upward mobility through the reincarnation of Living Buddhas and monastic practices. However, this hope was essentially a pipe dream, as high-ranking monks and nobles had to prioritize their own families before offering a few positions to appease the Chapa.

Therefore, to gain the support of the Chapa class, it is necessary to eliminate their feudal enslavement and provide them with a genuine path to upward mobility, such as through the military. The Dalai Lama's side is also making such attempts, but he has not yet convinced the three major monasteries and the nobles. Therefore, we can use the name of the Military and Political Committee to preemptively implement reforms to alleviate the burden on the Chapa class, thus ensuring their loyalty to the Dalai Lama.

Wu Luzhen listened with some concern and said, "Won't doing this strain our relationship with the local nobles and temples? Without their support, we might not be able to fight the British army while implementing reforms."

Lin Xinyi shook his head and said, "I think now is the right time, because we can label those who oppose reform as surrenderers and then break the deadlock directly by force. We also don't need to worry about the nobles and monks being of one mind, because they can't afford to offend two enemies..."

Wu Luzhen eventually left the task of establishing grassroots organizations to Lin Xinyi and then focused on reorganizing the army. With the arrival of the two batches of troops, along with the local Tibetan army and militia, his forces quickly grew to 10 companies, totaling more than 2000 men. Through the capture of British weapons and the weapons brought by the two troops that entered Tibet, this army could be equipped with at least 60% new weaponry.

However, these companies still need adjustments in personnel and weaponry to balance equipment and further strengthen organization. After all, Tibetans now make up nearly half the population, and without personnel adjustments, it would be easy for small groups of Han, Kham, and Tibetans to form, which would obviously be disadvantageous for military operations.

While Wu Luzhen was reorganizing the army, Lin Xinyi carried out political reforms in Qushuizong. Originally, a secular official and a monk official represented the government in managing temples and noble estates. The temples and noble estates then managed the local Chaba class. Duiqiong and Langsheng were managed by the above-mentioned classes. It was a pyramid social structure with layers of pressure.

What Lin Xinyi needs to do now is to bring local officials and nobles under the control of the Military and Political Committee, and then expel temples and noble estates from government affairs, allowing local governments to directly connect with the Chapa class, thereby weakening the control of temples and noble estates over the Chapa class. To achieve this goal, the excessive conscription of laborers must be prohibited.

Therefore, Lin Xinyi established the Qushuizong Military and Political Committee under the guise of managing local corvée labor and prohibiting the arbitrary and private assignment of corvée labor. After convening a meeting with local nobles and monks, he quickly gained their approval. At his insistence, a group of minor nobles and corvée laborers became the designated members of the corvée labor committee.

The corvée commission first assessed the local land output, then calculated a reasonable figure, converting it into a fixed tax, which was then distributed to individual corvée laborers when their duties were assigned. This avoided the drawback of distributing local corvée labor among a few major villages near the main road. The military and political committee reviewed the corvée commission annually and re-elected it every three years. Members were selected from nobles and the corvée class, and the military and political committee was not allowed to interfere with the corvée commission's collection of corvée taxes.

In addition, Lin Xinyi reformed the salaries of local officials. Each dzong (dyadhara) in Tibet was governed by a secular official and a monastic official appointed by the Kashag (Tibetan government) for a three-year term. The main task of the dzong was to transport a certain amount of grain and taxes to Lhasa as required by the Kashag; they could pocket the rest.

This income was especially important to the monk officials, because they did not own estates and their salaries were not high. So they worked hard to squeeze farmers to pay extra taxes or force farmers to sell their goods to them at prices below market value, and then they would resell them at higher prices on the market and keep the profits for themselves.

While nobles are generally more refined in their pursuit of wealth, they typically do not personally travel to remote monasteries to assume their posts. Instead, they entrust their official positions to their stewards. Compared to the nobles themselves, the stewards' greed is similar to that of the monks.

Another situation is even worse: the Kashag government directly leases the management power of the dzong to private individuals who are not government officials. These dzong owners must make a profit in addition to the rent, so the oppression is even more brutal.

What Lin Xinyi did was to directly promote local officials, set a fixed tax ceiling, and return the excess to the local government. Of course, it wasn't entirely donated to temples, but rather divided into three parts: temples, local construction, and relief for the poor.

The Tibetan army didn't actually have much local benefit; their main income came from state funding, with only food and some corvée labor requiring local expenditure. Therefore, in this direction of reform, the military and political committee led by the Tibetan army didn't need to consider as much as the Dalai Lama. In fact, these reforms were proposed by the Tibetans themselves, and Lin Xinyi merely offered a plan closer to the feudal era.

After prohibiting nobles and temples from having complete control over the Chapa class, they were given a portion of economic benefits as compensation. Although the high-ranking nobles and monks were dissatisfied with this reform because their interests were harmed, the lower-ranking nobles, monks, and Chapas truly benefited from it.

Given the severe treatment of the Kalon Shaza family by the Qing Dynasty's Resident Minister in Tibet and the two consecutive victories of the Tibetan army against the British, no one at the meeting of monks and laypeople in Qushui could stand up against Lin Xinyi. As a result, the military and political committee and the corvée committee of Qushui Dzong were quickly and smoothly established. Lin Xinyi also relieved some corvée laborers who had exceeded their service terms and gave them subsidies, further establishing the prestige of the military and political committee in Qushui Dzong.

Meanwhile, the captured British 2nd Gurkha Regiment underwent initial screening. The British were naturally sent to Lhasa, while the officers in the Gurkha were selected separately and persuaded by members of the Free Gurkha League who came from Lhasa. Through Lin Xinyi's continuous mediation, the opposition to the Rana family's dictatorship, the Seventeen Brothers' forces, and the Chandela forces eventually formed a relatively loose Free Gurkha League.

The alliance's political propositions were: to oppose the Rana family's dictatorial rule, to oppose British political manipulation, to establish a free constitutional monarchy of Gurkha, and to seek happiness for the Gurkha people.

After Lin Xinyi put forward this political proposition, most of the forces opposing the existing Gurkha regime joined the alliance and began to spread it to the Gurkha merchant community, which had previously been indifferent to its own country's politics.

The British Army's Gurkha officer group, composed of non-commissioned officers and junior officers, saw serving in the British Army as an opportunity to change their lives. Under the Rana family's rule, they had no chance of advancement. However, they were also well aware that they could only earn money in the British Army, and it was impossible for them to integrate into the British Army. After all, Gurkhas and Indians were irreconcilable enemies, and Gurkhas were a powerful force in suppressing the Indian Revolt of 1857. Although Indians themselves had religious and regional divisions, they would not speak well of the Gurkhas.

The upper echelons of the British Indian Army were British, and the middle echelons were naturally Indians. How could the Indians possibly allow the Gurkhas to rise in this army? They were always just cannon fodder to be sacrificed. So, the Gurkhas either gambled away their pay to avoid dying without enjoying anything, or sent money home to buy land to improve their family's social standing.

Although the members of the Free Gurkha League were still unaware of the concept of political commitment, under Lin Xinyi's guidance, they eventually grasped the key concern of these Gurkha soldiers: the land issue. The League promised these officers and soldiers that as long as they fought for the League, after overthrowing Chandela's rule, the League would promote land reform in Gurkha, distributing the land of the landowners who supported the Rana family to the soldiers and the people.

In less than ten days, one and a half of the three captured companies of the 2nd Gurkha Regiment expressed their willingness to fight for the Alliance, while the other half was still worried about their service. However, they had no good feelings towards the rule of the Rana family.

For Lhasa, the killing of Colonel Younghusband was undoubtedly great news. The Dalai Lama even considered using the colonel's head to make a ritual implement, but thankfully, the Qing official in Tibet stopped him, deeming such an insult to a British colonel irrational. This victory completely reassured the monks and laypeople of Lhasa, who all believed that British troops could no longer enter Lhasa.

On September 1, the Hankou National Daily published a news report that Colonel Younghusband had been killed by Tibetans. According to the report, the Tibetans fought a bloody battle, seized British weapons, and finally killed Colonel Younghusband in the melee, and captured the 9nd Gurkha Regiment.

At first, the British did not believe it, but the news published the entire structure of the Second Regiment and the names of its commanders, which led journalists from other countries to ask the British to verify the truth, making the British diplomats in China very embarrassed.

They couldn't admit that such a defeat was too absurd—a group of Tibetans armed with stones, driven by patriotism, stormed into British ranks, seized weapons, and defeated them—it was practically an Indian myth. But they also couldn't deny that if the story were true, denying it now would only further embarrass the British Empire.

Chapter 211 The British Indian Government's Countermeasures

For the Russians, the British setback in Tibet only fueled their confidence in conquering China. In their view, the Chinese were so weak; they had controlled Kulun with just a few hundred cavalry, while the British, mobilizing nearly four thousand troops, had failed to subdue a group of barbarians armed with stones and matchlock guns. The Russians felt the British strength was far too undeserved.

During their early invasion of Tibet, the British extensively reported on their conquest of the "barbarians," and there were war correspondents accompanying the British expeditionary force. Therefore, all nations were well aware of how backward Tibet's military was. As for the armies of mainland China, based on their experiences in the Boxer Rebellion, these nations did not consider them particularly useful, even if they were equipped with the latest rifles and cannons.

After all, the problems plaguing the Eight-Nation Alliance were never the Qing government's regular army, but rather the local militias. Compared to the government troops who didn't even know how to use cannons and rifle sights, it was the militias who constantly harassed and attacked the logistics that caused the Alliance a greater headache. Of course, the British army's poor performance in commanding the Alliance also earned them great contempt from the various countries, but no one expected the British army to be so incompetent.

There were initial concerns that Britain might intervene in the dispute between Russia and China, but now the general consensus in Russia is that even if the British army intervenes, it is not a big deal. The real concern is the British Royal Navy. However, the issue between China and Russia does not require the navy to resolve; the army alone is sufficient to handle the problems.

However, the lower and middle-ranking officers of the Russian army stationed in southern Manchuria felt deeply dissatisfied with the optimism of the St. Petersburg high command, especially the unfounded optimism of Army Minister Kuropatkin after his return from his visit to Japan, which suggested that Japan could not possibly launch an attack on Russia, and the laissez-faire approach taken by the Russian army in the Far East.

Unlike the chauvinists who occupy high-ranking positions in the army and navy, some wise junior and middle-ranking officers in the Russian military have always had a strong desire for change regarding the internal problems of the Russian military.

They believed that most aristocratic officers in the army were ignorant of military affairs, some didn't even know how to use a rifle, and their numbers were very small; some companies only had one officer—the company commander; many were old men who had held the rank of captain for more than 10 years. These old men's entire understanding of military affairs consisted of idolizing Napoleon and advocating that military principles were immutable. They believed that combat was a contest of soldiers' will, and that soldiers' will was manifested in hand-to-hand combat.

To cultivate the soldiers' fighting spirit, these old men treated them like medieval slaves. Beatings and starvation were commonplace, and soldiers being tortured to death was not uncommon. Soldiers were treated like dirt. Under such a military organization, Russian soldiers were not allowed any initiative other than obedience. This was the kind of soldier the Tsar needed: a group of mindless wooden figures.

What's alarming is that this isn't just a problem for officers; the Minister of the Army, the Army General Staff, and the Army Military Academy all subscribe to this principle of military organization. These relatively rational lower-ranking officers in the Russian army believe that the Russian army is not afraid to fight any country in the Far East, even if they unite, but at least the Russian army must first be prepared for war, becoming an army organized for war, not an armed slave group led by a group of aristocratic officers.

However, it's clear that the top brass in St. Petersburg are deaf to these voices, or rather, unwilling to hear them. After all, conquering China would bring these high-ranking officials honor and benefits, but reforming the Russian military would only offend people—a choice that's obviously not difficult to make. As for whether Japan would join the struggle between Russia and China, wasn't the purpose of conquering China precisely to prevent Japan from interfering in the conflict between Russia and China?

London was in an even more precarious situation, with the Liberal and Labour parties raising stronger questions about the Conservative Party's imperial expansion policies. They questioned whether the Conservatives were protecting India's security or trying to destabilize India's surrounding regions.

Balfour couldn't answer that question. The Conservative Party's policy of imperial expansion wasn't something he could reverse alone; in fact, without it, the Conservatives would have nothing left to attract voters. However, he could urge the British Indian government to resolve the issue itself, otherwise London would have to take over diplomacy regarding Tibet.

Balfour's telegram was quite clear to the British Indian government: once London took over diplomacy with Tibet, it would essentially be an admission that Tibet belonged to China, and the British Empire would engage in bilateral negotiations with China, leaving India and Tibet out of the picture.

The British Indian government clearly could not accept this outcome, as it effectively limited its power. Although the British Indian government was also composed of British citizens, they considered themselves equal to London, not subordinate to it. In fact, this tendency towards independence was not unique to the Indian government; similar separatist sentiments existed in Australia and Canada as well.

People considered themselves part of the British Empire, not just part of Britain. While they also believed that people of color in the colonies should not share the power of the colonial government, they felt they could share the honor and power of the British Empire with London because they were also subjects of the Empire, loyal to the same King.

Sir Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India, could not accept Balfour's order. It was not only an infringement on the authority of the British Indian government, but also cast a shadow over his personal future. He could not imagine that his advocated Forward Policy would ultimately become the biggest problem for India's security. Even more importantly, he could not allow the British to remember that he was the one who sent them to the gallows in Lhasa; who would trust him then?

Lord Kitchener, the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, also could not accept this outcome. Although he and the Governor-General had some disagreements, they shared the same stance on the Tibetan issue. As an Imperial General, Kitchener could not tolerate the British army suffering such humiliation. The Boers, at least, had the support of the Germans and were white, but the Tibetans had neither advanced weapons nor were they white. How could the British army lose to such a group of barbarians?

Baron Kitchener and Sir Curzon had a private, closed-door conversation. Afterward, the Baron, back at headquarters, summoned Major Philip Whitley and ordered him to take a battalion to Kalimpong, and then redeploy the local forces to support Brigadier General MacDonald. He told the Major, “This time we must crush the arrogance of the Chinese. We must not let those Indians think that the British Empire can no longer defeat barbarians, otherwise the unrest will spread from the mountains to the foothills.”

Major Philip Whitley was well aware of what Baron Kitchener was worried about. After Sir Curzon was re-elected as Viceroy of India, he proposed the partition plan for Bengal in December 1903, which aroused dissatisfaction among the Muslims and Hindus of Bengal. As a result, the radicals within the Congress Party advocated abandoning the idea of ​​asking the British for a reformed government and turning to Indian national independence.

Although the Congress Party was established in the 1880s, it accomplished almost nothing in the 20 years since its founding. The British never responded to the Congress Party, not even to the simple request to lower the age of civil service examination to 23.

1895年郭克雷在英国皇家委员会作证指出：印度民政、军政部门中年薪在1万卢比以上的官员有2388人，印度人只有60人；年薪在五千-1万卢比的官员有4172人，印度人只有535人。这是对印度人的露骨的种族歧视。

By 1904, Indians still held only 14-17% of middle and senior positions in the British Indian government. This situation naturally failed to satisfy Indian intellectuals. In April 1895, Tilak, a radical member of the Congress Party, published an article in his newspaper, launching a campaign to commemorate the Marathi national hero Shivaji and to raise funds for the restoration of Shivaji's tomb, thus igniting a wave of Indian nationalism.

In an effort to suppress Indian nationalism, Sir John Curzon proposed the partition of Bengal. After all, since Roman times, divide and rule had been the best policy for dealing with barbarians, as one British diplomat put it. In Bengal, Hindus and Muslims lived in harmony, and this British partition plan undoubtedly aimed to create two opposing social groups, thus naturally provoking fierce opposition from Indian nationalists.

Major Philip Whitley also abhorred Indian nationalism, so he was well aware of the strong opposition to partition in Bengal. And the problem wasn't confined to Bengal; the resentment of the frontier peoples in the Northwest Territories towards British rule and the voices of opposition to British capitalist exploitation in Mumbai were equally widespread.

However, these dissenting voices never led to armed revolt because the British military's suppression of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 made it difficult for Indians to commit to armed resistance against Britain. But now, the fact that a small region like Tibet had killed a British colonel could not fail to alarm the British military. If they did not retaliate quickly, the notion that the British might be finished would spread.

The major solemnly assured the baron, "When I get to the front lines, I will definitely capture that Chinese commander who dared to resist the British army and avenge Colonel Yang Hasben."

Baron Kitchener shook his head and said, "Just bring back his head so those Indians know what happens when they defy the British Empire. I don't need a living Chinese man..."

As the British Indian government prepared to send reinforcements to wash away the humiliation, in the Japanese Navy Headquarters, Vice Minister Saito handed a document to Minister Yamamoto and said, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent a document asking if we have been assisting the Governor-General of Huguang in training officers, and whether these military training programs are related to the military operations of the Huguang New Army in Tibet?"

Minister Yamamoto looked at the Vice Minister with a bewildered expression and said, "How could our navy possibly help the Chinese train their army? Are the officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs overreacting and sending this to the wrong target?"

Vice Minister Saito couldn't help but whisper a reminder: "We also have a Marine Corps School, which is said to help train marine officers for the Chinese. However, this matter has always been managed by the Naval General Staff. Should we ask the Naval General Staff about it?"

Minister Yamamoto initially wanted to say, "What's so difficult about that? Just go downstairs and ask." However, he quickly realized that the Naval General Staff had already moved out of the Navy Building, and now inquiring about matters concerning the Naval General Staff required a formal document. He could only helplessly say, "Send a document to the Naval General Staff and ask them what's going on."

Just as Vice Minister Saito was about to nod, Yamamoto suddenly added, "While you're at it, have someone ask him privately. Kawahara might not be willing to tell the truth just by using official documents..."

Chapter 212 British Army Operations

Brigadier General McDonald, stationed at the Nyaungsaw ferry crossing, did not witness any disturbances on the other side. Instead, on September 3, six Gurkha soldiers carried back Colonel Younghusband's body.

The six soldiers, looking dejected, reported to the brigadier general about the colonel's attack and death, and handed him a letter written by Lin Xinyi himself. The letter firstly condemned the British army's killing and looting of civilians during their entry into Tibet, arguing that they had brought war and massacres rather than peace to Tibet; secondly, it demanded that the British army immediately withdraw from Tibetan territory, otherwise the Chinese army would annihilate all the invaders on Tibetan soil, because the Chinese people were not lacking in the courage to defend their homeland.

Brigadier General MacDonald was an old-fashioned colonial general. What does "old-fashioned" mean? It means he was full of prejudice against the colonized peoples, believing they were incapable of ruling their own people or resisting the rule of the British Empire. He believed that force was the best means of dealing with colonial rebellions, but he lacked Colonel Younghusband's cunning nature and deep understanding of the peoples of the East.

Colonel Younghusband's view on Eastern peoples was that "it is unwise to tolerate even the slightest rudeness or offense from Easterners. As long as they can maintain politeness, courtesy, and even comradely friendship, everything is fair and can be discussed openly."

But if they show even the slightest sign of rebellion or betrayal (often manifested as arrogance and uncivilized behavior), the wise course of action is to stare the Easterner straight in the eye, and continue staring until he recognizes who he truly is and who the real master is.

Brigadier General MacDonald, however, believed that Colonel Younghusband was too lenient towards the Orientals. He argued that only the whip could teach the Orientals, who were only fit to be servants, how to properly treat white people. This is why, although he was the highest-ranking officer in the expeditionary force, the decisions were made by Colonel Younghusband and John Claude White, the Sikkim commissioner; the brigadier general was only responsible for military command.

With Colonel Younghusband's death and Commissioner White currently consolidating the rear and courting the Panchen Lama and Chancellor in Gyantse, Brigadier General MacDonald finally gained full command of the frontline troops. Unlike the Colonel and Commissioner, who consistently viewed the control of Tibet as the objective of this expedition, the Brigadier General saw the war merely as a means to uphold the dignity of the British Empire. Any indigenous people who refused to accept British leadership were an affront to the British Empire.

Although the enemy's act of returning the colonel's body was a gesture of courtesy, and the English letter brought back by the Gurkha soldiers showed that the enemy was not uncommunicable barbarians, the brigadier general still regarded this behavior as an insult to the British Empire. He not only rejected the suggestion to withdraw his troops in the letter, but also whipped the Gurkha soldiers who escorted the body back, believing that they had failed in their duty in the battle, which led to the colonel's death.

While whipping the Gurkha soldiers, the brigadier general also rescinded the colonel's policy of peaceful coexistence with the Tibetan civilians. The colonel, while alive, had given the army the following order: any Tibetans who dared to resist the imperial army must be ruthlessly destroyed, not only killed but also their villages burned down. For villages that showed compliance, fair trade should be maintained and riots should be avoided.

As a geographer who had independently ventured into the East, the colonel knew very well that the differences between the upper and lower classes of Eastern peoples were greater than the differences between whites and people of color. Just like the members of the Indian National Congress, they defended the interests of the landowning class even more steadfastly than the British Indian government, to the point that even the British themselves couldn't stand it.

Therefore, the conquest of Eastern peoples was essentially a conquest of their upper classes, since the lower classes of these peoples had nothing to lose and nothing to defend. Why would the British army invade those poor, destitute people? In reality, a small sum of money could easily be used to force these poor people to serve the British army, and this money was merely a portion of the wealth of the rulers of those Eastern peoples.

But for an old-fashioned colonizer like the brigadier general, why would he spend money to buy off people he could conquer by force? Moreover, Tibet is a sparsely populated plateau region where you can often go for miles without seeing a single person. Even if you offered money to buy supplies, Tibetans would generally not accept it, because for Tibetans, the cattle and sheep they graze are usually not their own, and they have no right to sell their master's livestock.

This put the expeditionary force under immense strain on its transport capacity, as they needed to transport not only large quantities of munitions but also vast amounts of grain. Tibet's grain-producing areas consisted of only a few river valleys and plains: one in Gyantse, one in Lhasa, and one in Shannan. When the expeditionary force captured Gyantse, they obtained over a hundred tons of grain and a large quantity of dried beef and mutton, which greatly alleviated the burden on their transport capacity, enabling them to continue their advance towards Lhasa.

However, the month-long stay on the banks of the Yarlung Tsangpo River caused the expeditionary force to run out of food. In order to attack Lhasa, Brigadier General MacDonald needed to increase his troops to make up for the personnel losses caused by the two defeats. So the brigadier general gave his soldiers free rein, not only requiring them to drive Tibetans to transport food and logs for the army, but also sending troops to search for food around the Nyaungso ferry crossing to support the expeditionary force's supplies.

From a temporary perspective, the brigadier general's actions did boost the morale of the troops. After two consecutive failures, the officers and soldiers of the expeditionary force had given up hope of entering Lhasa. Only the British still had the desire to retaliate against Lhasa.

Both the Sikhs and the Gurkhas were dissatisfied with the arrogance and rudeness displayed by the British, because they felt that the two defeats had nothing to do with them. They had only followed the orders of the British officers to carry out the mission, but they had become the biggest culprits for the defeats. This made them indifferent to the war.

Meanwhile, the Tibetans, who had maintained a fragile peace with the British expeditionary force, lost the will to resist after Gyantse fell to the British. Their only hope was that Lhasa would send troops to rescue them. In the eyes of the Tibetans, as long as Lhasa remained, Tibet would not be conquered. Therefore, although they gave up resistance, they did not completely surrender to the British, but merely coexisted peacefully with them.

After the Han and Tibetan troops in Qushui held off the British army, the Tibetans on the south bank of the Yarlung Tsangpo River began to rekindle their hope of driving out the British. However, when the British army tore off their mask of benevolence and began to conscript Tibetans as laborers and loot grain from temples and noble estates, the false peace between the invaders and the invaded was once again shattered.

On the evening of September 2, Lin Xinyi and Colonel Ronghepeng's body crossed the Yarlung Tsangpo River together, and then went to Gongga Dzong to join the radio unit and begin to establish the Gongga Military and Political Committee.

It took him a great deal of effort to persuade everyone to return Colonel Younghusband's body to the British army, because he believed that it was necessary to further demoralize the British army. Colonel Younghusband's fate was unknown, and his body was obviously less effective in proving the failure of the British surprise attack plan than a corpse.

From September 3 to September 8, although he established the Gongga Military and Political Committee, the temples and nobles in the Shannan region opposed extending this system to the entire Shannan region, which in effect meant opposing the political and economic reforms promoted by the Military and Political Committee.

However, after September 8, the British army helped Lin Xinyi persuade the Tibetans. After the British army began to further loot temples and noble estates in the controlled area instead of demanding a certain amount of food and labor, the conflict between the British army and the Tibetans intensified. Those monks and nobles who opposed the establishment of the military and political committee immediately became the target of public criticism.

On September 15, a large contingent of British troops carrying cannons entered Shannan territory along the Yarlung Tsangpo River. Shannan Jichiao, who was in charge of Shannan, finally yielded to Lin Xinyi and agreed to establish the Shannan Military and Political Committee. The most densely populated areas in Shannan were the three Dzongs of Nedong, Qonggyai, and Gongga, which were close to the Yarlung Tsangpo River. These three places were also Dzongs directly supervised by the Qing Dynasty's Resident Minister's Office in Tibet.

After Shannan Jiqiao surrendered to Lin Xinyi, Lin Xinyi quickly expanded the military and political committee, which included these three zongs, based on the Gongga military and political committee. He then handed over the task of establishing military and political committees for other zongs to the Shannan military and political committee, while he focused on dealing with the British troops who had invaded the Shannan region.

The British detachment that broke into the Shannan region consisted of four Sikh companies, half a cavalry company, and an artillery platoon, led by Major Peterson, totaling 674 men. In addition, there were about 300 Tibetans who had been captured and forced to serve as laborers.

Major Peterson had two tasks: one was to continue Colonel Jonghupeng's unfinished work in finding a passage to Lhasa, and the other was to obtain food supplies.

Initially, the detachment's operation went smoothly. They quickly found a new village more than 20 kilometers downstream from the Nyangsuo ferry crossing. They not only obtained some food from the village, but also learned from the villagers that there was another ferry crossing of similar size in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, about seven or eight days away. After crossing the Yarlung Tsangpo River from there, they could reach the Lhasa River Plain, although the distance was half again as far as from Quxu to Lhasa.

Major Peterson was naturally overjoyed. He sent someone to deliver the good news to the brigadier general, while he decided to go ahead and scout the route first, and if possible, take control of the ferry crossing.

This ferry crossing was located in Nedongzong, the seat of the Sannan Kichijo region. The advance of Peterson's detachment into this area naturally caused panic among the monks and lay officials of Sannan Kichijo. Unlike before, when information about the war relied solely on rumors, the Military and Political Committee had a dedicated propaganda department that publicized the crimes committed by the British invasion to the local populace. Now, the people of Sannan were well aware of the atrocities committed by the British along the way, and naturally, they did not believe that the two sides could coexist peacefully.

As a result, the officials in Shannan quickly obeyed Lin Xinyi's orders, not only assisting in the formation of the military and political committee, but also beginning to evacuate the people along the way. This caused Peterson's detachment to lose supplies soon after entering the broad valley plain. Although there were large areas of barley fields along the way, the British army obviously could not harvest and husk the barley themselves.

In order to obtain food supplies, Major Peterson had to disperse his troops to find Tibetan villages, forcing the Tibetans to harvest barley and husk and grind it, or directly seek out Tibetan herds as supplies for the troops. However, this further proved that the propaganda about the crimes committed by the British army was not a lie.

Chapter 213 Eat the middle first