Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 118

Therefore, when the Indian national movement was at its peak, the biggest demand of the Indian upper class, represented by the Congress Party, was to cancel the partition plan of Bengal, increase the proportion of Indians in the senior officials of the British Indian government, and give one or two Indians a position in the Deputy Royal Council. However, these upper-class people opposed violence and peasants' attempts to divide the landlords' land. They believed that peasants' resistance against landlords was the most immoral behavior in the world.

Because the Congress Party and the Muslim League exposed their true colors, farmers became disillusioned with Hindus and Muslim elites, and ultimately chose to embrace the propositions of the Labour Party of India and the Asian Democratic Revolutionary Alliance.

Economically, the Asian Democratic Revolutionary Alliance proposed land to the tillers; politically, it put forward the principle of national self-determination. Although these two propositions were not initially widely accepted—land to the tillers was opposed by the Indian landowning class, and national self-determination was not welcomed by Indian nationalists—these were not universally accepted.

The opposition of the Indian landowning class to the land-to-the-tillers policy did not resonate strongly with Indian farmers, as it was a direct struggle between the two sides, and few farmers would agree with the landowning class's viewpoint. However, the limited denial of national self-determination by Indian nationalists did cause considerable confusion. This confusion stemmed from the belief among some Hindu elites that while the Indian nation has the right to self-determination, other ethnic minorities within India do not, and Muslims, for example, strongly disagree with this view.

Thus, although the Congress Party and the Muslim League represented two major groups among Indians respectively, they could not suppress the voice of the Labour Party, which instead continued to grow stronger. Therefore, while the People's Council of India (PCH) included representatives from both the Congress Party and the Muslim League, the Labour Party consistently maintained leadership. However, the PCH's influence was primarily concentrated in Bangladesh, especially in North Bengal; its influence diminished the further away from Bangladesh it was.

After the lesson was over, while Lin Xinyi was answering some questions for the students, his secretary, Keshafral Kuji, rushed over to inform him that Charles Bell had come to Burnia again and wanted to meet with him.

Lin Xinyi then ended his conversation with the students and left the classroom with Kuji. On the way, he was quite curious as to why Bell, who had just left, had returned so quickly. In his view, Bell's communication with the British Indian government was merely a delaying tactic. The current situation was that Britain lacked the power to completely resolve the Indian issue, and he did not want to provoke Britain into a complete compromise in Europe so that Britain could focus its resources on India.

Although the British had little chance of getting a compromise in Europe, it was not impossible. If Germany could make concessions in the struggle for maritime hegemony, it was not impossible for Britain to betray France and solve the India problem first. After all, the Germans would not annex France, so if Germany defeated France again, it would only bring deeper hatred from France towards Germany. Britain would still have the opportunity to tie France to its war machine in the end, as long as Britain did not lose its dominance over the seas.

As for whether Germany will make concessions on the issue of maritime hegemony, it is difficult to make such a judgment. After all, in another timeline, Germany's development was blocked by Britain, France, and Russia. In this world, Germany's external environment is actually much better. At least the close ties between China and Germany have provided the possibility of development for Germany's Pacific colonies.

Previously, the Pacific colonies were a double-edged sword for Germany. Although the Pacific colonies had some raw materials to supplement the German economy, such as copra, guano, and timber, it was better to develop the African colonies than to build extensively for these materials. The African colonies not only had more valuable tropical cash crops, but were also closer to Germany, and had a large enough indigenous population to develop the colonies' resources. The Pacific colonies, on the other hand, lacked everything.

However, once the Pacific colonies were linked to China, a country rich in labor, the Germans quickly realized a cheap way to develop the Pacific colonies and the right way to open up the Chinese market. Utilizing China's cheap labor to develop the Pacific colonies, then selling these resources back to China as primary products to Germany, and then having Germany sell machinery to China, created a relatively efficient triangular trade.

The rapid development of the German Pacific colonies in recent years has demonstrated the effectiveness of this development model. As large quantities of timber, copra, and fish from the Pacific colonies flowed to China, the economies of the German Pacific colonies also developed rapidly, even provoking protests from Australia. This was because the migration of Chinese to the Bismarck Archipelago was transforming the German Pacific colonies into a new power capable of threatening Australia.

In the past, the Bismarck Archipelago was inhabited by only a small group of natives whose lives were unrelated to modern industry. A few Germans brought a modern lifestyle, but this did not change the social structure of the Bismarck Archipelago, given the very small number of Germans. However, the arrival of the Chinese was different. Although mainland China was far removed from modern civilization, this people were not incapable of accepting modern life; they were simply confined by Manchu rule.

Chinese immigrants to Australia and New Zealand have demonstrated a strong ability to embrace modern technology, to the point that white Australians have resorted to administrative measures to prevent Chinese competition. If the Germans had merely hired Chinese to establish plantations, the white Australian government wouldn't have been so agitated.

However, industrial cooperation between China and Germany led to the Germans hiring Chinese to build ports, cities, and radio stations on the islands, causing the German Pacific Islands to develop into a self-sufficient overseas military base. Coupled with Germany's naval development plans, this terrified the white Australians, who feared that Germany might use the Pacific Islands as a base to attack Australia in the future.

If Germany could alleviate these British concerns, then peace between Britain and Germany might be sustainable. However, this would be bad news for Asia and other non-European regions. A compromise between Britain and Germany would significantly reduce the probability of war within Europe, limiting any potential outbreak of conflict. Furthermore, unless the major European powers were crippled, the liberation of weaker nations worldwide would be greatly delayed.

Therefore, Lin Xinyi is currently keeping the British in suspense, making it difficult for them to make a decision. As a result, if the conflict in Europe intensifies, the British will have fewer and fewer means to deal with it.

Chapter 418 On the Spirit of Free Trade

The building used to receive Charles Bell and his entourage was a small red-brick building located in the garden. In front of it was a road, and behind it was a stream separated by sparse woods. John Morley didn't even need to look closely; he could guess by just smelling it that this place must have been a club for local Englishmen in the past.

Perhaps the British are creative in some ways, but conservative in others. Once a style is accepted by the mainstream, it is difficult to break away from, as is the case with the layout of the colonies.

John Morley loved English-style gardens, but he would tire of seeing the same monotonous scenery abroad. To him, the White Quarter of Calcutta was a replica of an English city, perhaps excellent for showcasing British culture to Indians, but rather rather dull for a visitor like himself who rarely made it to the East.

In contrast, this small garden here aroused his interest quite a bit. Perhaps it was because the city was too small that the natural landscape of India was preserved outside the road. He could see the layout of coconut trees and magnolia trees interspersed from the window. Because they had not been artificially pruned, the trees looked lush and green, which was much more vibrant than the street trees or garden plants in Kolkata.

John Morley's attention was drawn back when a group of people entered the drawing room. He immediately noticed the Chinese man, who looked much younger than some of the portraits described, but his every word and action quickly made people forget his age.

Frankly, East Asian faces are hard to remember, but John Morley believed he wouldn't fail to recognize this Chinese man, because a beast and a herbivore are indistinguishable. However, he also understood why Lin Feng in the portrait appeared much more mature than in real life; his demeanor naturally gave others that impression.

Just as John Morley immediately recognized the Chinese man, Lin Feng, Lin Xinyi quickly spotted an oddity among the British. The others were too reserved in front of John Morley, but he didn't expose Morley's pretense. He was simply curious about what tricks the British were planning to pull this time.

John Morley, having overheard Bell and Lin Feng's conversation for a while, understood that they weren't haggling, but rather stalling for time; clearly, the Chinese were waiting for something. Whatever they were waiting for, it wasn't a good sign for the British Empire. He had to interrupt Bell and Lin Feng's conversation and reveal his identity.

Lin Xinyi glanced at John Morley with considerable surprise. He hadn't expected that it wasn't a mere Deputy Advisor to the King who had arrived, but John Morley himself. News of his arrival in Calcutta had already been published in the newspapers; he was, in essence, the London envoy to lead the resolution of the Indian crisis. Had he known Morley would be here in person, he wouldn't have met with these British officials so soon.

Faced with this situation, he could only exchange greetings with John Morley again. Morley then asked him firmly, "You invited me, and I've come here, so now we can talk alone."

Lin Xinyi pondered for a moment, then had the others lead Bell and the others out of the room. Lin Xinyi and Molly didn't speak immediately; they both sized each other up. After a long while, Molly finally broke the silence, asking, "What exactly do you want?"

Lin Xinyi replied without hesitation: "London should know very well what we need. You invaded us, not just this time, but many times before. We fought against the invaders on our own land, and you ask me why? Isn't that a very absurd question? To be honest, I also want to know what London wants."

John Morley was speechless. From the perspective of the newly elected Liberal Party, it was now the Chinese who had invaded India. But if you count from the Conservative Party, then this war did indeed begin in Britain. As for the previous invasions of China, they were led by the Liberal Party, since the purpose of the war against China was to protect Britain's free trade.

However, times have changed. The British Empire has occupied overseas colonies beyond the limits of the British Isles' manpower and industrial capacity. For British industrial capital, defending free trade is no longer very attractive. Conservative policies that establish trade barriers to prevent emerging industrial countries such as Germany and the United States from competing with British industry are actually more supported by British industrial capital. This is why the Liberal Party has shifted to an anti-Boer war stance.

John Morley could only set aside history and tell the Chinese, “London simply wants to maintain a stable international order. I think your compatriots should understand that the British Empire has always exercised restraint and supported you on the Far East issue. This international order now safeguards the peace of the world and guarantees the integrity of your country. Disrupting this international order is not a good thing for your country.”

Lin Xinyi nodded slightly and said, "Although the current international order is not friendly to the East, I also admit that it is not the worst order for the East. Therefore, we have been exercising restraint, hoping to make some adjustments to the international status of China and India under the existing international order. But what we are seeing now is a perfunctory answer and a threat of force from Calcutta. Therefore, it is clear that we are not the ones who want to undermine the current international order."

John Morley took note of the Chinese answer, pondered for a moment, and then asked again, "What exactly do you mean by adjusting the international status of China and India within the framework of the international order?"

After thinking for a while, Lin Xinyi said, "In fact, I really admire the free trade policy proposed by your party. If you want the global economy to prosper and the people who are imprisoned by feudal lords to gain freedom, then defending free trade is an inevitable measure. Free trade will destroy the shackles on slaves, thereby giving them the ideas and power to resist slave owners."

However, your party has not truly implemented the advocacy of free trade, but has only paid lip service to it. In the end, the free trade policy has become a celebration for a small group of capitalists, who have deepened the oppression of people around the world instead of liberating their lives.

For example, your country's parliament actually allowed a group of opium traffickers to invade our country in order to sell opium freely. Your country's courts, on the grounds of destroying the foundation of free trade, recognized that the actions of a group of swindlers and thieves in stealing from the Kaiping Mining Bureau were legal. All of these facts demonstrate one thing: although your country was the first to propose free trade, it has never intended to actually promote this policy.

Therefore, Mr. Morley, I would like to know how your party intends to realize its political ideals—the right to defend free trade? Without clarifying this point, what exactly does your country mean by the so-called international order?

John Morley was somewhat surprised by the perspective offered, but considering that the other person was Chinese, he felt relieved. Regardless of how Europeans today denigrate the Chinese, at least a century or two ago, European cultural elites believed that there were only three true world civilizations: the Christian world, the Muslim world, and China.

Therefore, Europeans, Ottomans, and Chinese all have a global perspective when looking at things, which is something that other indigenous peoples do not possess. This is because these three civilizations had contact with each other long ago, while other indigenous peoples, limited by their own technological capabilities, did not have the ability to engage with the outside world.

The decline of the Muslim world and the rise of the Christian world are inseparable. China's decline was purely accidental. However, the European elites were aware that the rise of the Christian world did not stem from internal development, but from gaining access to communication with the East. Without such communication, Europe could not have achieved the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery.

After omitting the other person's age, it's quite understandable that a Chinese person would question the existing international order from a global perspective, given that China once established its own international order. The only problem was that after explaining for a while, John Morley realized that his understanding of the concept of free trade was not as profound as the other person's, which was quite an awkward situation.

To be honest, Lin Xinyi was somewhat disappointed with his conversation with John Morley. It wasn't because of Morley's narrow-minded view of free trade, but because of Morley's rigid adherence to rules. John Morley's free trade philosophy was actually stuck in the Opium War era. He could quote many famous sayings, but beneath these flowery words, one could not see much of his own thought.

"The Victorian gentleman" is indeed a fitting nickname. He might have been well-suited to his current position during the height of the British Empire in the 19th century, but in the 20th century, having such a man lead Britain would have been a disaster. They were so enamored with the prosperity of the Victorian era that they forgot the predatory instincts displayed at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Given that the other party was just a harmless big cat, Lin Xinyi had to find some direction for it: "...In my opinion, the premise of free trade is freedom, not trade, just like when Britain banned the slave trade. This did not hinder free trade, but defended freedom."

India and China support free trade on only one basis: free rather than forced trade. This freedom lies not only in the freedom to buy and sell, but also in whether workers are free to work.

Among the countries in Europe and America today, we believe that the least free country is the United States. This country not only deprived Native Americans of their land and wealth, but also cruelly oppressed people of color, women and children. They also imposed high tariffs to protect their domestic market.

Therefore, in order to uphold the spirit of free trade, the British Empire should have cracked down on American industrial products. American steel products have already posed a threat to steel manufacturers worldwide, and British steel manufacturers are no match for them. This has not only hindered the industrialization of India and China, but also caused British wealth to flow to the United States.

We are all well aware that both India and China have trade deficits with Britain, and without changing this, India and China cannot support the current international order. Therefore, adjusting the positions of India and China in the current international order essentially means rebalancing the trade deficits between Britain and India/China in international trade relations…

Chapter 419 Morley's Choice

Charles Bell and his group drank three large pots of tea in the next room before John Morley and Lin Feng finished their private conversation. When they left the room and watched John Morley and Lin Feng say goodbye, he then walked towards the door, seemingly indicating that the negotiations for the day were over.

So Bell and the others quickly bid farewell to Lin Feng and followed Morley's footsteps. On the way, Bell noticed that Morley, walking ahead, seemed somewhat dazed, which was nothing like the rumored description of Morley's personality. As a gentleman of the Victorian era, even if cannons were roaring around him, he shouldn't have shown any surprise.

As Bell pondered with curiosity what their private conversation had been about that could elicit such a rare expression from the supposedly exemplary gentleman, he remained silent.

Morley was indeed somewhat confused. Before meeting the Chinese, he thought they were at most waiting for the best offer, simply trying to take advantage of this rare opportunity to gain the most benefits. But after meeting the Chinese, he realized that he had underestimated them. What they wanted now was not some petty gain, but rather an attempt to demand a voice from the British Empire.

This was indeed an unexpected situation. Ever since the British Empire destroyed the Napoleonic Empire, it had become the rule-maker in Europe and even the world, and any adversary attempting to challenge it had failed until now. Although the current situation in Europe did not seem very optimistic for the British Empire, he had never considered what power in the East might be able to challenge it.

The actions of the Chinese today can be described as arrogant and conceited. It should be noted that even now, the British Empire's foreign policy has been tough, and its navy has even set its sights on simultaneously defeating the second and third strongest naval powers.

No matter how much other countries resented Britain's global dominance, none dared to directly demand that Britain revise the international order. The Americans merely wanted to retain their right to develop South America, while the Germans, being a bit bolder, only demanded the right to land under the sun.

Morley was truly surprised that a Chinese person would be so brazen as to discuss the issue of the new global order with him, even though they might not even be able to protect their own territory from being divided up by major powers.

At first, Morley was furious, because he found it unacceptable that the British Empire had been looked down upon by a Chinese man. But he quickly realized that the fact that the other man was sitting in front of him meant that he indeed had the right to disregard the British Empire; otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered to travel all the way from London to be here.

Putting aside the Chinese comments that were meant to provoke the British Empire's pride, Morley felt that what the other party said was actually quite true. Britain was now facing enemies all over the world. Apart from the Japanese, who genuinely wanted to form an alliance with the British Empire, the French were actually half-hearted about forming an alliance with Britain. After all, Britain was the second biggest adversary of the Franco-Russian alliance, and the size of the two countries' naval fleets was built with reference to the size of the British Royal Navy, with the aim of combining the strength of the two navies to suppress the British Navy.

Because of its fear of the Franco-Russian alliance, Britain had to shift its main source of food imports from Russia to Argentina. After the completion of the Industrial Revolution, although Britain's food production capacity increased, it could not keep up with the growth rate of Britain's population.

Wheat, a staple food in Britain, accounted for 4-5% of total domestic consumption around 1830. However, by around 1870, imported wheat accounted for half of total consumption, and by 1905, it had reached 80% of total domestic consumption. This wheat had previously come mainly from Russia and the United States, but in the 20th century, imports of Argentine wheat into Britain began to increase steadily.

The reason the British supported Argentine agriculture was actually out of concern for Russia and the United States, fearing they would be at the mercy of others in terms of food supplies. Compared to Russia and the United States, Argentina was unlikely to challenge the global order of the British Empire.

Therefore, what Lin Feng told him today was something London politicians had already noticed and begun to plan for, but this understanding hadn't become a consensus across Britain; it was merely a matter of a few politicians relying on their personal influence. Lin Feng's ability to see through Britain's overseas plans was already quite surprising to Morley.

Of course, what surprised Morley even more was that Lin Feng was able to formulate a new free trade order based on this idea, linking the interests of India, China, and Britain, thus establishing a framework for cooperation among the three parties. If the disputes between the two sides were disregarded, this would clearly be a new order beneficial to all three.

Britain has historically opposed industrial development in India because India was a major market for British industrial goods. The British went to great lengths to cripple India's cotton textile industry. If India were allowed to begin industrialization, where would British industrial goods be sold? The textile factory owners in Manchester were among the most steadfast supporters of opposing Indian industrialization.

The textile industry was a pillar of British industry, and textile factory owners wielded considerable influence domestically. Their opposition effectively blocked India's path to industrialization. Even today, India's modern industrial output lags behind Canada's, only comparable to Australia.

Jamshetji began planning the construction of a steel mill at the end of the last century, but the British Indian government and British banks refused to lend him money. He died in Germany in 1904 without raising the necessary funds. The rise of Indian nationalism provided the Tata family with an opportunity: 8000 Indians purchased £168 million worth of shares in the steel mill, thus launching the Tata family's steel empire.

However, facing India as it stands today, Moli suddenly realized that continuing to restrict India's development was probably not going to work. As Lin Feng said, "...India's agriculture can no longer support its population. The three major famines of the last century that took 2500 million lives in India are the best proof of this. If you want India to lay down its arms and live in harmony with you, at least you have to ensure that Indians can feed themselves."

Looking at industrial development over the past century, only industrialization has been able to absorb a large number of surplus agricultural workers. China and India joining the British Empire's industrial and free trade systems would not only not harm the international order established by the British Empire, but would actually make them active defenders of it, because disrupting it would be tantamount to breaking China and India's livelihoods.

Conversely, if Britain continues its current colonial trade system and refuses to protect free trade, then China and India will do everything in their power to break it, because the Chinese and Indians need to eat. If they don't let us eat, then even if the British Empire has many warships, we will bite it to pieces…”

Faced with such blunt truth, Morley was naturally speechless. Threats can be used against those who are afraid, but not against those who are fearless, as the British army has demonstrated in India over the past two years.

Before coming to India, Morley might have sided with the Lancashire textile factory owners, after all, they held the vote. But after seeing the situation in India firsthand, he had to revise his opinion. If the Indians were not given a way out, they would not give up their struggle against the British Indian government, which would be a more intense war than the Boer War.

Of course, Morley also acknowledged that if it were just the Indians on their own, this great war would have been impossible. However, with the Chinese joining in, the previously disorganized Indians now had a leader. Sir Kitchener, who had returned home earlier, aptly stated, "India's current problems are not merely Indian problems; without recognizing this, India's problems cannot be solved."

The Chinese did indeed propose a solution, and Morley could see that if this path were followed, Indian independence would be inevitable, because a developed India would not accept continued British rule. Therefore, he did not doubt the Chinese's intentions, as this was indeed a path beneficial to India.

However, Morley also saw an opportunity. Industrialization could not be achieved overnight, so he adopted the Chinese suggestion, which gave Britain a chance to breathe. As long as the European problem could be solved before India developed, Britain could then focus all its efforts on solving the Indian problem.

In any case, this solution is better than continuing the stalemate. Moreover, this solution results in relatively small losses for Britain, while it is a major blow to the Americans, but it is also in the interests of the British Empire. As the Chinese have said, American steel products have already posed a threat to the global steel industry. After all, American steel companies have almost entirely plundered their raw materials, technology, and labor, which constitutes unfair competition to the steel industry in other parts of the world.

When Morley returned to the hotel, he was already inclined to reach an agreement with the Chinese. Over the next few days, Morley and Bell held several consultations with Lin Feng, including individual talks and meetings with multiple people. The differences between the two sides finally began to narrow, and a preliminary consensus was reached.

On the other hand, although the Labour Party of India has consistently maintained a tough stance against the British Indian government, which has won them considerable support from Indian nationalists, the Labour Party itself has not been able to come up with any truly useful solutions to the current standoff with the British Indian government.

Although the Labour Party can gain public support by taking a tough stance, they are also aware that this long-term standoff is not actually beneficial to them. The British Indian government has the support of the entire British Empire, while they only have the support of tens of millions of Indian farmers. If they cannot give back to the farmers and instead make them make unlimited sacrifices to fight against the British Indian government, then they will eventually be abandoned by the farmers.

Lin Xinyi's proposal for a temporary compromise with the British to develop production and strengthen the Indian people naturally garnered the support of the majority. However, a small group opposed the compromise, hoping to fight to the end and drive the British out of India. Others worried that Britain was trying to divide and weaken the Indian people, similar to their previous proposals for the partition of Bengal and support for the Muslim League.

Chapter 420 India's Road to Independence

In order to resolve doubts and divisions within the Labour Party, Lin Xinyi convened an enlarged party meeting at the end of November, bringing together representatives from party branches across the country to Burnia.

The meeting was ostensibly for unifying the party's thinking, but in reality, Lin Hsin-yi raised a question to the party: Should India industrialize?

Facing more than 200 party representatives from all over India, about 70% of whom came from the Bengal region, Lin Xinyi spoke eloquently: "In the last 25 years of the last century, India experienced three major famines: 1877-1878, 1889-1892, and 1897-1900. The minimum estimated death toll reached 15 million."

The British said that the famine was caused by India’s rapid population growth, but India’s population growth rate never exceeded that of Britain itself, and after 1895, India’s population almost stopped growing.

The British also said that Indian farmers were too lazy; they didn't save when they were well-off, so they would inevitably suffer when they were poor. But anyone who has ever lived in rural India knows that Indian farmers have never been well-off. They work hard all year round, yet they can't even feed their own families.

The Congress Party argued that the poverty of Indian farmers was due to the government's harsh land taxes, which forced them to borrow money from usurers, and that the famine was caused by years of drought. Therefore, they blamed the famine on the British and natural disasters, without considering any responsibility on the landowning class.

However, a look at history will show that India before the 18th century was prosperous, and even in years of famine, there were no deaths of tens of millions of farmers as in the 19th century.

Why was India, which the British described as being in a period of ignorance and backwardness, more resilient to natural disasters than the civilized India governed by the British? The answer is actually quite simple. Before the 18th century, the Indian subcontinent had an extremely large handicraft industry. These industries supported a large population that was partially or completely detached from agriculture. Relying on these artisans, Indian villages could import food from other regions to feed themselves during years of famine.

However, after the British took control of India, British industry destroyed rural handicrafts, turning Indian villages into places entirely dependent on agriculture for survival. As a result, when natural disasters struck, Indian villages lost their ability to produce and survive. Furthermore, the usury and land taxes imposed by the landowning class and the British amplified the impact of natural disasters on rural areas, which was the fundamental reason for the increasing number of people dying from famine in 19th-century Indian villages.

We now know very well that the Indian landowning class and the British colonialists are actually in cahoots. Although the Indian landowners claim in public opinion that the British are charging too high taxes on land, making it impossible for farmers to survive, these landowners have never been willing to reduce the usurious loans to farmers or lower their own land rents.

We can also learn a lesson from the countless stories of peasant rebellions in 19th-century India: landowners instigated peasants to rebel against British colonists, but once the British colonists made concessions to the landowning class, they would inevitably betray the peasants to maintain the rule of this foreign colonial regime.

What does this show? It shows that the landlord class never really wanted to drive out the British colonists. They were merely using the peasants' resistance to fight for their own interests. Once their interests were protected, they immediately stood happily with the British colonists to oppress the Indian peasants.

Why couldn't Indian peasants overthrow the alliance between the landowning class and British colonists despite centuries of resistance? The answer is quite simple: the British colonists controlled a more advanced industrial system, and the peasants' small-scale production nature made them easily vulnerable to the dismantling of the landowning class. Under this double attack from within and without, Indian peasants were incapable of achieving an Indian revolution.

As your neighbor, China's Taiping Rebellion and Boxer Rebellion were also peasant-led uprisings against colonialism and the landlord class, yet they were still suppressed by a combined force of internal and external reactionaries. There's a Chinese saying: "Learn from the past to guide the future." Forgetting past experiences and lessons will only lead to more bloodshed and failures.

Therefore, for the Indian Revolution to succeed and for the Indian nation to regain its independence among the nations of the world, two things had to be accomplished. The first was to eliminate the landowning class, and the second was to establish India's industrial system. These two things were not isolated or contradictory, but rather complementary.

Eliminating the landlord class will lay the foundation for India's industrialization, and developing India's industry will consolidate the gains from eliminating the landlord class. Only with industry can India truly expel the British colonizers. Today, India doesn't even have a single modern steel mill; many rural areas still use wooden farm tools, while a single British battleship uses tens of thousands of tons of steel. Without developing Indian industry, how can we drive out the British…”

The conference lasted for three days. On the first and second days, Lin Xinyi did almost all the talking, while other party members could only ask questions. On the third day, the meeting finally reached a consensus, and the discussion on how to develop Indian industry became more active.

After the conference determined the direction for India's independence, some previous divisions within the party were suppressed. The armed struggle faction within the party, represented by Kumram Basu and Vinayak Damodar Sawaka, lost the support of most people at this conference, while the party's neutral pathists and supporters of the moderate struggle line united under Lim Shin Yi's propositions.

For example, Shamaji Krishnawalma, a new party member from outside Bangladesh, also shifted from the path of winning independence through armed struggle to the Indian Revolution path of developing while fighting.

Krishnawalma explained to Basu and Savaka after the meeting why his position had changed: "I think Commissioner Lin is right. It took the thirteen North American colonies eight years to win independence with the strong support of the French. Britain is much stronger now than it was then, and India is much richer than the thirteen North American colonies. Therefore, it is not easy for Britain to give up its rule over India."

Without foreign aid, it is impossible for India to win independence at a low cost. Although our Chinese comrades have helped us, they themselves have not yet escaped the oppression of imperialists, and the Himalayas separate China and India. It is clearly unrealistic for us to rely on China's help to win independence; India's independence must depend on the strength of the Indian people themselves.

Since independence must be won by the strength of the Indian people themselves, strengthening their strength is crucial. Land reform and industrial development are both aimed at strengthening the Indian people, which is precisely the source of power for armed struggle. Therefore, I support Commissioner Lin; armed struggle is not merely about fighting, but also about arming the people—a very important task.”

Nationalists like Krishnawalma shifted their stance, leading to a self-correction of the Labour Party's line, and negotiations between the People's Council of India and representatives of the British Indian government finally made progress.

The People's Committee of India abandoned its demand to completely cancel nearly £9000 million of Indian government bonds. Instead, it proposed an Indian Development Fund, based on the cancellation of £1200 million of East India Company bonds, with the British government injecting £3000 million into the fund for low-interest loans to Indian development projects.

The Indian People's Committee also put forward the first batch of development projects: water conservancy projects, road projects, some agricultural product processing plants, timber processing plants, etc. in northern Bangladesh.

This exchange wasn't ideal for London, but it was barely acceptable. While investors who bought the £1200 million worth of government bonds suffered losses, it brought good news to investors in over £2 million worth of Indian government bonds: if the war continued, the Indian government bonds would become worthless.

Regarding the status of the regions governed by the People's Council of India (PCH), the British Indian government agreed to elevate these regions to self-governing states, and the army led by the PCH was reorganized into the Northeast Frontier Force, responsible for border defense in the northeast region. The PCH also pledged not to deploy troops outside the three northeastern states, and that the army size would not exceed 25 battalions.

The three northeastern states refer to Bihar, Assam, and Nagaland. Nagaland was originally part of Assam, although Assam is more of a general term used by the British to refer to the region, and its ethnic situation is quite complex. Because the Labour Party advocates for national self-determination, the people of Nagaland have expressed their desire to form their own state, as their culture and customs are closer to those of Myanmar.

The British Indian government was willing to relinquish Assam because it was tired of guerrilla warfare in the jungles of the Northeast. Under Chinese training, these local mountain people had become a nightmare for the Indian military and police. Their operations to suppress them ultimately resulted in heavy casualties and failures, to the point that even the British themselves were unwilling to go to the mountains and forests of the Northeast.

In Bihar, although the British still controlled the plains near the south of the Ganges, which were relatively prosperous and had a railway line passing through them, giving the British Indian Army an advantage, the hilly and plateau areas north and south of the Ganges were completely under the control of the People's Committee of India and guerrillas. The British Indian government could only restrict the People's Committee of India from expanding militarily into the surrounding areas through administrative exchanges.

In early December, Morley returned to Calcutta. The Earl of Minto was somewhat surprised by the results he brought back, feeling that London's concessions might have been too great. However, Morley argued to him, "The Venezuelan crisis of 1895 demonstrated the Americans' power to us for the first time, proving that the Monroe Doctrine was not a joke."

Because we were embroiled in the Boer War, with the French vying for North Africa, the Germans for the Middle East, and the Russians trying to expand their influence in East Asia, we had to make concessions to the Americans.

But this doesn't mean the United States is now on equal footing with the British Empire. If it can use India and China to cripple the American steel industry, why not?

Chapter 421 India's Elites

In southeastern Uttar Pradesh, India, at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, lies the picturesque town of Allahabad. It is also a Hindu holy site, boasting ancient monuments such as Hindu temples and Ashoka's Pillar. During the annual Buddha's Birthday celebrations, tens of thousands of people come to worship, while the major festival held every 12 years draws over 100,000 visitors.

Although it is just a small city, there are quite a few wealthy people willing to live here. Therefore, in the area near the Ganges River, there is a garden area where dignitaries live. The most luxurious garden-style house costs as much as 1.9 rupees, which is an unimaginable figure for ordinary people in the city whose daily wage is less than 1 rupee.

This large house, named "Anand Palace," with 42 rooms, looks no different from an English manor. It employs over 50 servants to serve its owner, who is none other than Motilar Nehru, the city's most outstanding lawyer. Ten years ago, his monthly salary exceeded 2000 rupees; now it surpasses 8000 rupees per month.