140 Blood Red, Snow White (1)

"We are Chinese!"

"We are Chinese!"

"China is my motherland!"

"China is my motherland!"

"I love my motherland!"

"I love my motherland!"

In a primary school in Beijing, children followed the teacher and read aloud from their textbooks. The class schedule of all schools under the rule of the People's Party basically followed the arrangement of the 21st century. Although the war in Beijing had not ended long ago, among various orders to be restored or created with the highest priority, the ranking of the education system was extremely high.

Li Hongqi was now a Chinese teacher in a primary school in Beijing and concurrently served as the principal of this school. This old master did not decline the request of the People's Party inviting him to work at all, nor did he behave affectedly or decling three times before accepting the matter of being the principal. He just told the cadre who came, "At my age, I can't be an official at all. I appreciate your kindness, but I have always been teaching. If you let me teach, I know how to arrange my time and physical strength. If you let me be an official, I know nothing about it. When the time comes, I'll mess around like a headless fly, which is bad for you and bad for me."

Just after reading the text, the bell for the end of class rang. Primary school students of various ages immediately became excited. No matter what era or year, the end of class could always make children feel happy.

Li Hongqi first packed up the books spread out on the podium, and then said calmly: "Class dismissed!"

"Stand up!" The class monitor shouted.

Amidst the rumbling sound of tables and chairs colliding, the children all stood up. Led by the class monitor, everyone shouted in a not-so-uniform voice: "Goodbye, teacher!"

"Goodbye, students!" Li Hongqi replied.

Then came a more intense rumbling sound, and the students ran outside almost in a swarm.

Li Hongqi tucked his teaching plans and books under his arm, returned to the teachers' office and sat down, only then slightly pounding his waist with his hand. After entering December, the temperature dropped sharply, and no fire had been started in the classroom yet. Just standing for 45 minutes like this made him feel very tired.

Young teachers immediately served tea. "Principal Li, drink some water!"

Beijing's schools were already considered very quiet compared to the outside. Even so, the thing teachers discussed most often was not how to teach well, but the war taking place in Tianjin, more than two hundred li away.

"Will it be the same as last time this time?" A teacher in his forties asked. He was a former Xiucai in the capital, and surprisingly a Bannerman of the Plain Red Banner. He was obviously quite fearful of the Eight-Nation Alliance entering Beijing more than ten years ago. Since the collapse of the Manchu Qing, no one liked to pay attention to Bannermen. Plus, although this person couldn't be said to be "spreading defeatist remarks," his daily fearful appearance made the young teachers in the same school look down on him.

"I say, Master Jin, you've changed your surname to a Han surname, so why do you still care about these things? The country gives you food to eat, so why do you always say such unlucky words?" The Dean of Studies, Ma Han, gave Xiucai Jin a mockery in a fluent Beijing accent. Ma Han was a Beijing local, and this person was surprisingly also a Bannerman. A few years ago, when he was starving to death, he had no choice but to join a factory opened by the People's Party in Beijing as an accountant. When the People's Party withdrew, this person insisted on leaving with the People's Party. He also served as an engineering soldier for a while. This time he returned to Beijing with the People's Party again and was arranged to teach in the school.

Xiucai Jin looked at Ma Han, who had also changed to a Han surname, with a look of disapproval on his face. But in these years, there was no way out without changing to a Han surname, just like Ma Han had a livelihood at least after changing to a Han surname. Before Master Jin changed to a Han surname, he couldn't find work for several years and lived entirely on his family's savings. Not only the two of them, but the Bannermen remaining in Beijing were basically all like this. Guys who didn't change to Han surnames and insisted on their Bannerman identity, whether during the Yuan Shikai period or now that the People's Party had seized Beijing, could only live off their own past savings at home.

"But the foreigners are powerful, even if..." Master Jin couldn't help but say.

"Slap!" Ma Han slapped the table fiercely. He glared at Xiucai Jin and shouted loudly: "Teacher Jin, I'm telling you this for the last time. If you are afraid, resign now, and go wherever you want. As long as you eat the government's food, teach well here! Teach whatever the government asks you to teach. Don't say things you aren't asked to teach; go back to your own home to say them!"

Pfft! Several young teachers couldn't help but snicker. Actually, no one was unconcerned about the current war situation. Seeing someone being scolded instead relieved the tension in these teachers' hearts somewhat.

Ma Han watched Xiucai Jin lower his head. He scanned the other teachers again. "If anyone among us is afraid, leave quickly. If anyone wants to kill enemies and serve the country, you can apply to join the army. But those who stay here, teach well. People say that everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the country. Since everyone has become a teacher, concentrate on teaching the books well and managing the students well! Other matters will naturally be the responsibility of other departments!"

After listening to Ma Han's scolding, the teachers all fell silent. One-third of them were originally from the army and came to act as teachers temporarily, while the other two-thirds were personnel recruited from society. Those from the army naturally knew that war was not decided by discussion, while the others didn't have much sense of belonging to the People's Party, the new master of Beijing.

Li Hongqi remained silent from beginning to end. He didn't even care what these people thought. In the entire city of Beijing, perhaps he was the one with the deepest relationship with the People's Party. His disciple Shang Yuan already held a high position in the top ten of the People's Party. In terms of the traditional teacher-student model, Chen Ke could also be considered a disciple who had attended his lectures in a sense. However, Li Hongqi never cared about this. Li Hongqi only had a sense of surprise as an outsider regarding the People's Party having such scale and strength in less than ten years. The old master never thought of using his relationship with Shang Yuan and Chen Ke to obtain anything. The People's Party quickly established Beijing's education system, allowing Li Hongqi to find a livelihood to eat for a considerable period of time; this was the thing he was most satisfied with.

As for the outcome of the war, Li Hongqi had his own ideas. But Li Hongqi didn't think he had any necessity to discuss this very private thing with others. Looking up at the sky outside the window, which was already covered with heavy clouds, Li Hongqi said: "It's going to snow. It's not cold when it snows, but it's cold when the snow melts. Let's hurry up and find a way to start a fire in the classroom."

The teachers in the office didn't quite understand what Li Hongqi meant. Everyone was trying to figure out what this old master, who gave up the position of Vice Curator of the National Library and was willing to be a primary school principal and teacher, exactly wanted to say.

Li Hongqi didn't let these people guess blindly either. He said: "Someone has to manage the fire once it's started. How do we arrange this shift?"

"Ah?" Hearing this question completely related to starting a fire for warmth, most people didn't understand what was going on.

"Commander Pu, should we send engineering troops to build a few temporary railways to transport coal?" The Logistics Minister barged into the headquarters and made a request. "It's going to snow soon. If there is no coal, many refugees withdrawn from Tianjin will probably freeze to death, and Beijing also needs to burn coal."

Actually, this place, Beijing, didn't lack coal. Muchengjian, Qianjuntai, Da'anshan, and even Mentougou had coal mines. According to the captured Beiyang data and the exploration of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army's engineering exploration troops, the coal mines in Mentougou were even very high-quality anthracite.

In terms of reserves and quality, the abundant coal resources could completely solve the fuel supply for Beijing and Tianjin. The only problem was the lack of dedicated coal transportation railways. In the Manchu Qing and Beiyang eras, control over water sources and coal fuel was an excellent way for the government at that time to amass wealth. The People's Party certainly didn't have this intention, but providing universal heating fuel to the Beijing-Tianjin area, and even to further areas, was a huge project.

Seeing Pu Guanshui look hesitant, the Logistics Minister immediately followed up with an explanation. "Handan Steel Plant has already produced iron. As far as we know, they have already used rails in the mining area themselves. We only need to lay a rail track from the Mentougou area now. No need for steel rails; just build a simple railway. It's enough if it can transport one or two thousand tons a day. When there are steel rails, we can replace this simple railway with a standard railway."

Pu Guanshui nodded slightly. This idea was very good. But...

The Logistics Minister continued: "Manpower is insufficient; we continue to use those people from the POW camps. And we also recruit people from Beijing locally. Anyway, with this simple railway, this war will be much easier to fight!"

Just as they were speaking, the telephone rang. Pu Guanshui picked up the phone. "What is it!"

"Report, a telegram from the troops in Qinhuangdao. The Japanese army is landing in large numbers in Qinhuangdao. The troops hope we can send troops to reinforce. The telegram will be sent to the headquarters immediately!"