When foreign countries smear and attack China, they always like to say that we have a series of shortcomings because we have "no faith", and even some Chinese people have been brainwashed by this, thinking that this is exactly the case.
But it is clear that what foreign countries think of as beliefs is only narrow, religious beliefs, and what we believe in is probably broader and more universal than religion. For example, some netizens have summarized the major events of "God's favor for China" at 16 critical moments since the 20th century, some of which may indeed have the coincidence of "God's favor", but many of them are because the Chinese people are determined to defend the country and turn the tide when the country is in danger, so that the Chinese nation can now move towards great rejuvenation.
· Regain lost ground and lay the foundation for today's development
Since the beginning of the 20th century, there have been many key moments, which may have been inconspicuous at the time, but looking back, they have indeed changed China's future, first of all, at four key points in time, we have resolutely safeguarded the territorial integrity of mainland countries.
The first time was in 1909, when Zhang Renjun, the governor of Liangguang, recovered Nanhai Zhudao. In May 1909, Zhang Renjun sent Li Zhun, the commander of the Guangdong Navy, to lead a fleet to Hainan Zhudao to inspect, at that time, France, Britain, Japan and other powers were eyeing the South China Sea Islands on the mainland, and Japan had also invaded Dongsha Island, and built a railway, dormitory, etc. on the island, under Zhang Renjun and the Qing government and Japan negotiations, the two sides made it clear that the Dongsha Islands are China's inherent territory, and the Qing government funded the acquisition of the facilities built by the Japanese on the island, and the Japanese left the island. Therefore, although Li Zhun went to "inspect" this time, he was also ready for battle.
Li Zhun inspected the South China Sea all the way, recorded the scenery of the South China Sea, surveyed and mapped some important islands, and left a stone tablet on the island where the Qing Dynasty patrolled here, and also renamed the Xisha Islands, proving that the Nanhai Zhudao Islands are the inherent territory of the mainland.
The second time was in 1910, when Zhao Erfeng suppressed the Tibetan rebellion and recovered Tibet. In 1905, the "Batang Rebellion" broke out in Batang, Sichuan, and after Zhao Erfeng resolved it by force, he began to "change the land and return to the stream" in the Xikang area, which violated the interests of the Tibetan high-level, causing the high-level rulers of Tibet to become pro-British and conflict with the Qing government.
In 1909, Zhao Erfeng, who served as the Minister in Tibet and the Minister of Sichuan-Yunnan Frontier Affairs, invaded Tibet, occupied four tribal areas such as Jiangka and Gongjue all the way, and reached Jiangdazong, until February 1910, Zhao Erfeng entered Lhasa and deprived the 13th Dalai Lama of his title, and then pacified the whole of Tibet, and implemented policies such as changing the land and returning to the stream, abolishing the Tusi system and temple privileges, developing agriculture and animal husbandry, handicrafts, transportation, post and telecommunications, etc., and consolidating the Qing government's rule over Tibet.
If these two "capable people" had not appeared in the Qing government at that time, I am afraid that Nanhai Zhudao and Tibet would have fallen into the hands of the great powers, and it would have been more difficult for the government of the Republic of China and even New China to recover the lost territory.
The third and fourth are the resoluteness of our party's leaders and generals, that is, the rapid crossing of the river in 1949 to liberate Nanjing and the liberation of the whole of China, and the early launch of the campaign to liberate Hainan Island by Han Xianchu in 1950.
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Communist Party and the Kuomintang fought a three-year war of liberation, and at that time, the Soviet Union and other powerful countries actually believed that it was in their interests for China to "divide the river and rule". Dividing the river would effectively turn China into two countries, like North Korea and South Korea today, which would be in the interests of the great powers, but not the interests of the Chinese people.
Therefore, Chairman Mao did not listen to Stalin's "opinions" at all, and launched a campaign to cross the river, "crossing the river with a million heroes," liberating Nanjing, Hangzhou, the three towns of Wuhan, Nanchang, Shanghai, and other important places in one fell swoop, creating favorable conditions for the liberation of the whole of China, and also laying the foundation for China's development today.
In 1950, our army planned to liberate Hainan, but considering that the mainland's naval strength was very weak at that time, many soldiers of the People's Liberation Army were "landlubbers" and had no experience in crossing the sea at all, and Hainan Island was an island that was "easy to defend and difficult to attack." Chiang Kai-shek also excluded Xue Yue, who was feared even by the Japanese invaders, as the commander-in-chief of Hainan's defense.
However, this matter was resolutely opposed by Han Xianchu, the commander of the 40th Army of Siye, who believed that Gu Yu must start a campaign to liberate Hainan Island before that.
Although this was a conclusion that Han Xianchu had reached by consulting the fishermen with their experience and from factors such as the weather at sea, looking back, the United States launched the Korean War shortly after we liberated Hainan Island, and if we had not launched a sea-crossing operation in advance, then US warships might have sailed to the Qiongzhou Strait to prevent us from liberating Hainan Island.
Even Chairman Mao once lamented that if Hainan becomes the second Taiwan two months later, then this will cause us great trouble, and we will probably lose not Hainan Island but the entire vast South China Sea and Nanhai Zhudao. Perhaps, this is indeed "God bless China".
· Fight bloody battles to leave hope for the Chinese nation
In the humiliating 100-year modern history, we have failed many times, but we have also won victories in some key struggles and battles, leaving great hope for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
For example, in 1912, the abdication of the last emperor Puyi brought about a peaceful transfer of state power, and the victory of the Protectorate Movement led to the complete defeat of the Hongxian Empire. At that time, the mainland had been reduced to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, and the imperialist powers were eyeing us; if the Qing royal family had taken refuge in the imperialist powers, and if the Hongxian Imperial System had succeeded, then I am afraid that China would have repeatedly "tossed" between the feudal imperial system and democracy, and the national situation would have become even more chaotic, and the consequences would have been unpredictable.
Another example is the Zunyi Conference in 1935 and the Xi'an Incident in 1936, which were undoubtedly quite critical turning points for the Chinese nation. The Zunyi Conference corrected the "leftist" mistakes and saved the party, the Red Army, and the Chinese revolution at a critical moment, and was a life-and-death turning point in the history of the Communist Party of China.
The Xi'an Incident laid the foundation for the establishment of the anti-Japanese national united front, which was a turning point for China from division to reunification. After that, Chiang Kai-shek abandoned the strategy of "fighting outside the country must first secure the interior", which also allowed the Chinese people to truly unite to resist foreign enemies, and finally moved towards national victory.
In 1943, the victory of the Shipai Defense Battle, known as China's "Battle of Stalingrad", provided an important guarantee for the protracted war of resistance of the Nationalist government, allowing the Nationalist government to persist in the war of resistance and allowing the Chinese people to finally usher in victory.
In May 1943, the troops of the 3rd and 5th Theaters of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army confronted the Japanese army at Shipai and prevented the Japanese army from advancing westward into Chongqing at a huge cost.
Shipai is an inconspicuous town on the south bank of the Yangtze River, but it is the gateway to Chongqing, and once Shipai is lost, Chongqing will face a serious threat, and at that time, the Nationalist government had moved its capital to Chongqing, which meant that the Japanese army could take the Nationalist government directly.
Under his leadership, the Kuomintang army fought bloody battles from May 25, and they were not afraid of the Japanese army's equipment superiority and firepower suppression, and resisted the Japanese charge again and again, until June 2, when reinforcements arrived, the Kuomintang army began a counteroffensive and achieved a decisive victory.
In this battle, the Kuomintang army lost about 14,000 people, and the Japanese army also lost more than 13,000 men, and the Kuomintang army won the victory at a huge price, keeping the Nationalist government in Chongqing, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.
In addition, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were also several key victories. For example, in 1969, after the United States informed the mainland that the Soviet Union would use nuclear weapons against us, Chairman Mao proposed a "limit change" plan, which caused the Soviet Union to abandon this crazy plan.
After the Sino-Soviet relations and the Zhenbao Island incident, the Soviet Union was desperate to launch a "surgical nuclear strike" against the mainland, and after learning of this news, the United States informed the mainland of the news by publishing a relevant report on the front page of the "Washington Post."
After learning of the Soviet Union's crazy plan, almost all the high-ranking generals on the mainland said that if this was really the case, then we would launch a counterattack against the Soviet Union, but Chairman Mao proposed to drop our atomic bombs on US military bases, while the entire Chinese people rushed to the Soviet Union en masse, as long as the Chinese are, wherever they are, it is China.
The terrible thing is that both the United States and the Soviet Union thought that if things really developed to that point, Chairman Mao would really dare to carry out this plan, and in the end the Soviet Union still dispelled this crazy idea. It can be said that the chairman's courage and wisdom have once again saved New China.
Of course, after the turbulent years, the smashing of the "Gang of Four" was also a major victory, which put the mainland's development on the right path again, and was a very crucial moment in the history of New China.
· God bless China and give the country time for development
In addition to the efforts of the mainland people themselves, since the beginning of the 20 th century, there have indeed been some key moments in which there is an element of "God bless China" -- or coincidence, which has bought time for the mainland to achieve victory and achieve rapid social and economic development.
For example, in 1918 we became the victor of the First World War. In the First World War, we were able to become the victorious powers, mainly because we stood on the right side. Although we were treated by the defeated countries at the Paris Peace Conference, it is conceivable that if we had become a defeated country surrounded by the great powers and coveted by the imperialists, we would have suffered even worse fate.
Look at the defeated countries of World War I, Turkey lost 71% of its territory, Austria-Hungary collapsed...... Once we are "defeated", then we will definitely be completely divided and disintegrated by the great powers.
For example, in the more than ten years of the Anti-Japanese War, Japan failed to find oil fields in Daqing, and the Yellow River did not freeze. Oil is a very important strategic material, and Japan is a country that is very short of oil and other energy resources, so one of the purposes of Japan's invasion of the mainland is to occupy our resources.
Since 1931, Japan has been looking for 14 years in the northeast region, spending a lot of manpower and material resources, but failed to find any oil fields, even if they have found oil in the Daqing area, it is also oil with large sulfur content, not suitable for exploitation at all, and finally missed the opportunity to discover the Daqing oil field, but also let Japan identify China as an "oil-poor country".
Until 1959, once discovered, the Daqing Oilfield became one of the top ten oilfields in the world, completely taking off the hat of the mainland's "oil-poor theory". It is conceivable that if Japan had been able to obtain a steady stream of energy from the mainland, the history of World War II would have been rewritten.
It is similar to the fact that the Yellow River does not freeze, because if the Yellow River freezes, then Japan's various war resources deployed in the north and south of the Yellow River will be rapidly integrated, and its combat capability will also be greatly enhanced.
For example, in 1947, our army won the victory in the Battle of Menglianggu, completely annihilating the integrated 74th Division, one of the "five main forces" of the Kuomintang, and completely reversing the situation in Shandong. In this battle, the 74th Division was surrounded in Menglianggu for three days and three nights, not a drop of rain fell, and one of the reasons for the destruction of the 74th Division was the lack of water. At that time, there were many superstitious people who believed that this was the death of the Kuomintang.
After entering the new century, there are also several very important key nodes, which can be said to be God helping us. For example, 9/11 in the United States.
Before the "9/11" incident, George W. Bush was preparing to increase the containment of China and completely contain China's rise, but after the "9/11" terrorist attacks that shocked the world, the Bush Jr. administration focused on counter-terrorism and carried out global anti-terrorism cooperation with China.
Similarly, the annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea to the Russian Federation in 2014, the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, and the new round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in 2023 are similar. To a certain extent, since the beginning of the 21st century, whenever the United States wants to concentrate its firepower on China and contain China's rise, there will always be some major events in the world to divert the attention of the United States and make the United States have no time to take care of us.
This has given us a huge strategic opportunity to work hard and develop rapidly to achieve our current position. It is clear that we are very close to realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and we will soon be able to see this exciting day. And this is not only "God blesses China", but also the result of self-reliance and hard struggle of all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation.
The Qing Dynasty's recovery of the islands in the South China Sea: expelling the Japanese accidentally touched the reef