Section 109: The Indoctrination of Concept X

“Who are our enemies, and who are our friends? This remains our foremost question now and for a long time to come.”

“In your work, you will encounter all kinds of situations. When confiscating the lands of landlords and wealthy families, they will weep and wail; some soldiers caught violating military discipline will offer their own excuses; officers during battle will have their own thoughts. It is natural to sometimes feel sympathy when witnessing this. As ordinary individuals, you may feel this way, but as military-political officers, you must carry out your duties resolutely.”

After dinner, in the largest tent, Wang Luo addressed dozens of revolutionary officers and soldiers who had fought bravely in previous battles but had been wounded, many left disabled.

Though their combat effectiveness had declined, they remained courageous and willing to fight. Other soldiers respected them, so Wang Luo established the role of “military-political officer,” assigning them responsibility for logistics and political work within the army.

“As military-political officers, when sent on missions, you must submit separate reports to the main camp. To do this, you need to quickly master at least several hundred commonly used military characters. This will enable you to record the merits of frontline soldiers, the losses and captured supplies during battle, understand the official documents and orders issued by the camp, and track the flow of materials. This will be your work in the future. Even if I assign clerks to assist you, you must be able to understand the documents yourselves to avoid being deceived.”

This demand was challenging for soldiers who had only attended a few simple classes and could recite a few slogans. But difficulties must be overcome.

It was evident that although many found reading and writing daunting, most were pleased to receive such an assignment.

Originally, after being wounded, their best fate would have been to return home and live out their days in peace. But now, they seemed to have obtained positions of authority no less than their former status.

“Though this role does not require you to participate directly in combat, your understanding of the camp’s ideology must be the highest in the entire army.”

“You have been wounded; some have lost parts of their bodies. In this situation, you must learn to rely more on your mind.”

“Formulating a plan is one thing—quite simple. Look at the map to compare enemy and friendly forces, analyze intelligence reported by scouts, and the plan is mostly done. But ensuring the plan’s success is another matter entirely.”

“As officers, you can issue orders and expect subordinates to execute them without considering their opinions. Military orders are as unyielding as mountains; bargaining is not allowed. But as military-political officers, when issuing orders, you must consider how much support the orders will receive and how much opposition they might encounter.”

“First, be firm in your stance. Do not simply compromise for the sake of success. Some things must be done even at the cost of life.”

“At present, our grand objective is to save the countless hardworking people who till the land yet go hungry. For them to survive, they need food; to get food, they need land. Thus, the land held by landlords and magnates must be redistributed to the peasants.”

“This principle is fixed and non-negotiable. Whoever opposes us, we defeat and kill. Landlords and magnates hold vast lands and will not give them to us, so we kill them and seize the lands. If the emperor and the court support the landlords, then we kill the emperor and overthrow the Han regime.”

“Having established this grand principle, the methods of execution can vary. In smaller-scale battles, consider how strong the support is and how to provide channels for supporters to exert their strength; how large and determined the opposition is, and how to hinder their efforts. All these must be taken into account.”

“For instance, if a landlord fears our power and is willing to hand over land, he can be spared and allowed to keep his property other than land; soldiers serving Han are also peasants suffering hardships like us, so we must strengthen propaganda to help them see the true nature of landlords and the Han court. If they are willing to switch allegiance, we welcome them; if not, after defeating them, we must explain these truths clearly and try to incorporate them as much as possible.”

“I believe most people are reasonable. Even if a few are misled by landlords and the Han court, through extensive observation and education, they will eventually see the truth.”

“At this time, we must also recognize another enemy— the Yellow Turban rebels.”

“The Yellow Turbans are not only our enemy but the enemy of the people. Some may not understand this because the Yellow Turbans also oppose the Han court. Some even think we should temporarily ally with them against the Han. I say here that such thinking is gravely mistaken.”

“Why? Because what the Yellow Turbans do is not for construction, not to help people survive or live better. They lead the people down a path of death. There may or may not be gods in the world, but gods do not care about ordinary people—there is no connection between gods and any of us.”

“The Yellow Turbans are a band of frauds, using gods to deceive and mislead everyone. Yet they neither organize people into trained units, nor provide weapons and armor for their followers, nor command battles.”

“They do not produce; they fail to acquire supplies from the Han court, instead dragging countless others into their downfall, pushing those who might have survived to the brink of death. Many poor souls, deceived by them, blindly march to their deaths for their own happiness.”

“Defeating them early is the only way to prevent more people from dying due to their deceit. We must save those they have misled, then organize those who dare to oppose the Han court to fight for the right cause, fully prepared, with clear purpose and battle training, rather than blindly going to their deaths.”

“When you return to your respective tents, explain all this clearly to the officers and soldiers of your camp. I will make a record of today’s talk, and each of you will receive a copy before you leave. This is your first task.”

Seeing the bewildered faces of the military-political officers, Wang Luo smiled.

They did not need to understand everything immediately; as long as they earnestly studied and memorized, and often spoke of these ideas to other officers and soldiers during their free time, the general concepts would take root. Then, by repeatedly explaining to others, they would gradually grasp and internalize these thoughts as the core and most important part of their ideological system.

From there, the ideas would spread further, with military-political officers teaching newcomers. Eventually, through the army’s continuous growth and repeated victories, these thoughts would become instinctive to the force.