Chapter 66 It's Just A Small Matter

  "Commander, latest telegram! And it's a personal letter from Commander Tang, forwarded by the General Staff Department!"

  Yu Ran quickly caught up with Zhang Yu, who was about to enter the classroom of the Basic Tactics Class at the Kunming Military Academy, saluted him and handed him an urgent telegram. These days, Zhang Yu had nothing to do but wander around, almost touring the entire military academy.

  "What's up with Tang Renhui?"

  Zhang Yu knew that the first division was stationed within Xinjiang, after Zuo Zongtang led his troops to conquer Xinjiang from the Qing dynasty. The Qing dynasty declined and the Republic of China rose, but the entire region including Gansu and Qinghai provinces became a land without effective government management. Local feudal lords, ethnic minority forces and other groups basically replaced the functions of the government, each having their own sphere of influence, private armies and subjects who paid taxes to them, forming one small kingdom after another across the vast northwestern territory.

  The People's Army marched into Xinjiang, but the powerful military struggle was not with the enemy. What needed to be struggled against were the large local forces. Through mediation and persuasion, some of these forces would submit to government control and implement various policies. However, there were inevitably those who absolutely did not want a unified country, as they needed a divided situation to pursue greater personal gain. The new government supported by the People's Army was to carry out land reform, tax-free peasants, equality for all, democratic science, etc., which went against their wishes, so naturally, the People's Army had its enemies.

  After a brief moment of contemplation, Zhang Yu took the telegram and calmed down. The content was simple, just an inquiry. "Tang Renhui needs authorization, needs the power to decide life and death..." Muttering to himself, Zhang Yu closed his eyes and pondered for a while before saying: "Immediately send a telegram in my name to the General Staff Department, approving Tang Renhui's various military actions!"

  Yu Ran immediately wrote down the words spoken by Zhang Yu and turned to prepare for sending the telegram, while Zhang Yu was still holding the telegram in a daze on the spot. A written order is easy to issue, but as for the first one, various military actions are also simple, but the results brought about by the action are difficult to predict.

  Gansu, a poor and vast land, has been plagued by small and large disturbances from ancient times to the present. Han, Tibetan, Dongxiang and many other ethnic groups live together in this province, but the relationship between them is not harmonious. The agricultural and pastoral economy determines that the province will have a very strong feudal land system, whoever has a lot of land has money and grain, otherwise they can only become lower-class people. Of course, due to economic interests, different ethnic groups must fight each other, whether it is malicious looting or mutual invasion, in short, due to the difference in strength and economic income between different forces, any means can be adopted.

  Xinjiang, with its vast and diverse land and multi-ethnic composition of different beliefs, has never stopped the conflicts between ethnic groups and religious factions. Uighurs, Hans, Kazakhs, Huis, Xibes, Manchus, Uzbeks, etc., like Gansu, are also inhabited by dozens of ethnic groups. What is different from Gansu's chaotic situation is that each of their ethnic groups has its own religious beliefs and values, and although large-scale ethnic troubles have not been as intense as those in Gansu, small-scale ones have been frequent.

  So, the two most important provinces in the northwest have many similarities, of course, there are also some differences. Both provinces are inhabited by multiple ethnic groups, due to long-term lack of unified government management and uniform education, so scientific cultural literacy, civilized moral habits, etc. are not comparable. However, overall, Gansu's problems are easier to solve, after all, they only caused one disaster after another because of poverty and natural disasters. If the economic income problem of each ethnic group and family can be solved from the root, letting them have the ability to support themselves and their families, and have the ability to pursue a happy life, who will still make trouble?

  The situation in Xinjiang is different, surrounded by several divided areas. Although Russia and China are neighboring countries, the governments of both sides have no power to govern many places in the northwest, forming a vast vacuum zone where various ethnic groups can develop freely. Due to the long-term lack of unified and powerful government management, people's awareness of national harmony, territorial unity, and sovereignty integrity is very weak.

  The global war has made the Russian government, which is not very good in terms of industrial strength and economic conditions, unbearable. They have no choice but to let millions of people use human wave tactics to rush onto the battlefield, using plunder and exploitation to make up for their lack of strength. However, a world war is a contest between major powers, and small countries can only engage in minor skirmishes. But the Slavs are not convinced and want to try out the horrors of war. As a result, this war, which has been going on since 1914, has lasted for over five years, enough time to turn the fat into thin, the thin into miserable, and the miserable into dead.

  Russia has a large population and vast territory, four years have passed and hundreds of millions of young people have died, they are so poor that they only have people left, and it doesn't matter if more people die. However, the fifth year arrived and the war still hasn't ended, instead, because the Allied Powers added another main force, namely America, the strengthened Allied Powers began to clamor for a full-scale counterattack, striving to defeat the Central Powers as soon as possible. Little did they know that their important ally Russia had long been on its last legs, last winter their capital Moscow began to experience food shortages, and now all the shops in Moscow no longer sell even a single loaf of bread, not because they don't want to sell but because there's nothing left to sell.

  However, within Xinjiang, although the various major forces were divided and occupied, they were relatively stable. These major forces also seized the opportunity to make a fortune in war and smuggling into Russia became their first choice for getting rich. Of course, before the People's Army came, it was not called smuggling, but rather open and legitimate trade.

  After the People's Army arrived, everything changed. The poor were to be turned over, killing and arson were against the law, border trade was allowed but had to be registered and supervised, and some commercial goods had to pay taxes. These were unimaginable in the past. Even with the new government vigorously promoting economic development, building roads and bridges, rescuing the weak, many agricultural products were given a protected price by the government. The masses began to become loyal supporters of the government, bringing real benefits to many poor people but causing traditional local tyrants to lose their footing.

  Zhang Yu folded the telegram and put it in his chest, muttering to himself as he walked: "Occupying the mountain as king, blocking the road and collecting fees, openly defying the people's government is still light. Actually thinking of armed rebellion and dividing the land, this is a bit too much!"

  Kunming Army Academy is the second military academy established by the People's Army after the People's Military Officer Specialized School located in Liuzhou, and since its establishment on May 23, 1915, it has provided thousands of excellent officers for the growth and development of the People's Army.

  The site selection of the school went through considerable twists and turns. Initially, many people suggested that the school would be one of the most important military academies in the future, so it was necessary to establish it in Guangxi with a better foundation in the autonomous region. Of course, some people also hoped to establish it in Sichuan or Shaanxi. Some people also suggested Kunming, Yunnan. After a series of investigations, it was finally decided to locate the school in Kunming and expand it on the basis of the original Yunnan Military Lecture Hall.

  Yunnan Military Academy is a famous military academy in modern China, originally established by the Qing Dynasty to train new-style land forces and strengthen border defense. Along with Tianjin Military Academy and Fengtian Military Academy, it is known as one of the three major military academies in modern China. The school is located in the center of Kunming City, surrounded by the sparkling Dianchi Lake, with clear water and lush greenery, willows, birdsong, and fragrant flowers. The entire campus has a beautiful landscape and pleasant scenery, and after expansion, the campus has become even larger, with many new facilities added to the original four buildings in the east, south, west, and north.

  The academy is different from the Liuzhou Officer Candidate School, which focuses more on the command-type professional talents that the People's Liberation Army lacks. Therefore, the school's clear training goal is to cultivate military command and management talents for various branches of the army, while also accepting in-service officers for further study. Of course, there are also some non-command type professionals.

  When the school was first established, it was given great hope and expectation. It is hoped that graduates of command-type majors will be able to play an important role in grassroots military, political, logistics management, and military agencies in the future, so the requirements for their training are naturally very high, in order to achieve the dual ability of "being able to command in wartime and manage in peacetime". For military officers who have come to study and improve, targeted education will be adopted according to their branch of service, position, strengths and weaknesses, with the goal of improving various abilities such as military command, combat, and troop management, of course, with some emphasis.

  Command-type students have certain requirements in terms of cultural foundation, physical quality, political literacy, and personal temperament. All levels of commanding officers in the army not only need to understand the necessary operation and use of weapons and equipment but also learn how to lead troops, manage, correctly face various situations, and reasonably handle them. They must also be good at organizing and commanding, that is, as the backbone of the people's army in the future, the requirements for any student are strict and high.

  "A robust physique, a good temperament, an unyielding character, a strong willpower, and a faithful faith... being an excellent commander is not something that can be easily accomplished!"

  Zhang Yu walked slowly past each classroom, every step filtering through various thoughts in his mind. Over the past few days, almost every teaching building's corridor had his footprints. He didn't enter the classrooms to disturb the students' studies, nor did he let anyone accompany him. It was as if he had urgent matters to attend to and could only be found after a long search, but he indeed thought of many things in his slow pace.

  "Non-commanding students are also required to be very strict, with good political qualifications, strong technical skills, robust physical fitness, and solid professional foundation..." Walking to a classroom outside, he heard a former teacher of Gongda University, now a faculty member of the Army Academy, enthusiastically and intently teaching students about explosives-related knowledge. The loud voice made Zhang Yu shift his thoughts to non-commanding students, and after standing still in the corridor for a long time, he smiled and continued to stroll slowly.

  The climate of Kunming, which is like spring all year round, is warm and pleasant no matter the season. The autumn wind cannot blow down the green leaves on the trees, and the winter cold cannot disturb the green grass. In this city where it's always spring, people will lose their anticipation for spring, their longing for summer, their melancholy in autumn, and their confusion in winter. They will also forget the passage of time as the seasons change. Unbeknownst to him, Zhang Yu spent the last day of September at the military academy, from his initial casual strolls when he first arrived to his recent timely speeches and open exchanges with the students. As the days went by in a blur of black and white, he was immersed in the beauty of returning to school, unaware that the world had quietly welcomed a brand new October.

  History is always being verified repeatedly, but history will not simply repeat itself.

  When Zhang Yu was still "loafing around" in the newly established Army Academy, on the other side of the Pacific, Zhang Yusheng, who had secretly gone to the United States to handle matters, had already completed his mission. In the next few days, he would have important arrangements, such as "recruiting" some excellent talents trained by the Asia-America Group back to China. These people, after years of struggling and grinding in the intense but invisible battlefield of commerce, especially in a country like the United States where commodity economy is thriving, had learned a lot from their work and were absolutely reliable in terms of ability and loyalty to the cause of rejuvenation. They were exactly the kind of talent that the autonomous region urgently needed.

  "I heard you're another genius in our group after Zhang Yu?"

  Holding a fairly detailed personnel file, Zhang Yusheng looked at the person in front of him again and again, not tall, healthy wheat-colored skin, bright and spirited eyes, jet-black shiny hair... standard oriental male characteristics, Zhang Yusheng really felt that the person in front of him was no different from others, and even more ordinary.

  His younger brother, Zhang Yu, was touted as a genius, and the reason for this was naturally crystal clear to Zhang Yusheng. However, Zhang Yu's appearance did indeed have a somewhat unconventional air of genius about him - namely, his height, which was close to 1.9 meters, making him stand out like a crane among chickens. But the person in front of him now was just an ordinary person who would be impossible to pick out from a crowd, and yet he was being called a genius? This left Zhang Yusheng thoroughly perplexed.

  "This is all nonsense they're talking, Prime Minister, you mustn't believe their lies. How could I possibly be compared to the Commander-in-Chief?!" Zhang Yu-sheng thought that ordinary people's speech was indeed very ordinary, just like all the Chinese employees in the group, who already spoke Mandarin but still with a bit of non-standard accent.

  "Perhaps geniuses all have some areas that are not gifted, such as language." Zhang Yu-sheng said to himself in his heart, after thinking for a while, he said: "Rao Cong, I plan to let you return to China for development. The US side was originally a training ground, and you already have enough ability. I hope you can consider returning to China for development! If you agree, just sign your name on this document, and then you will formally leave the Asia-Mei Group employee identity. After returning home, there will be more important positions arranged for you..."

  "Premier, I...I!" Hearing that he had qualified to return home, this made the person who was just numb a moment ago suddenly turn 180 degrees and immediately smile and sign his name on the document.

  Regardless of whether he is a genius or not, for Rao Cong who has already reached the level of senior technician, Zhang Yusheng is a must-have. It's really a waste to leave such a good talent in the United States to assemble cars, inspect cars and provide after-sales service for Americans. The American branch of AsiaMe Group was originally an experimental unit for graduates of vocational schools in autonomous regions. Every year, two batches of graduates from major technical schools in autonomous regions come to the United States for internships, and most of them will return home after completing their internships.

  The reason for this is not that there are too few industrial and mining enterprises in the autonomous region to accommodate so many students for internships, but rather because there are too many and the requirements are too strict, so they have no choice but to let the students join after a long period of time. Coming to the US side for an internship, on the one hand, the production scale here is very large, and most of the cars sold in Europe, the United States, and other parts of the Americas will be assembled and tested here, and some are also produced locally, so there are sufficient positions for graduates to practice.

  There is another reason why the AsiaMe Group itself was founded by Chinese people, and the company should prioritize taking care of Chinese people. As the autonomous region flourished, many overseas Chinese who worked at AsiaMe for some time and had gained work experience all moved back to China one after another, resulting in fewer and fewer Chinese Americans within the US. On the other hand, blond-haired and blue-eyed Americans within the group were becoming more and more numerous. In order to let graduates gain experience by traveling to the US, as well as to maintain a certain number of Chinese employees within the group, that's why people like Rao Cong had to travel across the ocean, study hard, return home after completing their studies, and fulfill their mission. But Zhang Yu Sheng didn't expect that among this batch of students, there would actually be a "genius", so he naturally wanted to take a look for himself before feeling at ease.

  Rao Cong, whose ancestral home is in Xinglongchang, Chongqing, was the son of a landlord family. Like many rich young men, he had received some education and began traveling abroad at an early age to try to get into a prestigious university for further study. However, soon after, he became extremely interested in cars, the highest technological achievement of modern industry at that time, and joined a company as a small worker. After being sent back to China to study for a period of time, he came to the United States with a large group of fellow graduates for an internship. During this time, he naturally read many books, asked many teachers, studied scientific theories in depth, and practiced them thoroughly. His clever mind and diligent work ethic quickly allowed him to complete his work faster and better than his peers, earning him the reputation as a genius.

  Rao Cong arrived before Zhang Yu Sheng had already started packing his bags, ready to leave the United States at any time. However, before that, he still needed to communicate with Tang Gui Yin once again. Just as he finished packing, there was a knock on the door.

  "Premier, this time you came and went in a hurry. Our group has undergone tremendous changes. I had planned to take you around to see the first villa complex, the first office building, and the first high-end residential community launched by our Hongyuan Company when we have some spare time..."

  "It goes without saying that my identity is now different from before, and this time I came to the US a bit hastily. Zhang Yu-sheng gestured for Tang Gui-yin to sit down first. This old man who had been running around for the healthy development of the group was very tired, and Zhang Yu-sheng felt that he owed him a lot. "Uncle Tang, the domestic situation is also developing well, you don't have to wait until retirement to move back home with your family, the motherland welcomes your return at any time, and the autonomous region government needs you at any time!"

  "Needless to say, I have never forgotten that I am a Chinese and the fallen leaves return to their roots. To be honest with you, when you asked me to lead the inspection team back to China at that time, I had already been reluctant to part with my motherland's beautiful mountains and rivers..." Tang Guishan said this as his eyes began to well up with tears.

  "Every time a large group of young people from our motherland arrive, they are the hope and future of our country. Our company takes great care to nurture them like our own family members, passing on the nostalgia and concern for our motherland that us old folks have, fearing that they might not learn or experience enough. But every time we see them off, it's a heart-wrenching pain like being stabbed by knives, actually we also want to return home, but clearly now is not the right time..."

  As the first attempt by a conglomerate to go global, AsiaMalls was destined to sacrifice the interests of a large number of people in its development process. In the information age, many people in big companies rely on email, transoceanic phone calls, international flights and so on, while this backward era cannot be compared with the information age, and the only quick way to communicate is by telegram.

  But for important matters that require the presence of key figures, transportation is limited to taking a boat, enduring wind and waves, and spending precious time on a voyage lasting ten days or half a month. As a result, many issues are handled directly by the top leader of the group's branch, which means that many people have to stay abroad for years, a kind of torture like having one's heart dug out.

  "By the way, it's about time our private enterprise goods transport fleet is almost arriving in San Francisco. I took a look at your exhibition plan and I'm really satisfied, it's very good! Whether our national enterprises can enter the international market depends on your upcoming exhibition!"

  Before Zhang Yu-sheng arrived, he had already made preparations to welcome the end of the war at any time. Indeed, the end of the imperialist countries' mixed war was not a good thing for the autonomous region. More importantly, the industrial system of the autonomous region must begin to adjust. The days of not worrying about sales and orders lining up are about to pass, and the days of post-war reconstruction will come at any time. How to properly handle the transition issue, the People's Autonomous Government had to prepare for the rain.

  "We will definitely do a good job in this exhibition, and of course, we also believe in the product quality and corporate reputation of our participating enterprises. If we can gain a certain market share overseas, it will be very beneficial to the healthy development of the enterprise." As Zhang Yusheng stood up, Tang Guishen said finally: "In short, please rest assured, Mr. General Manager, we will definitely make this exhibition show the style of our private enterprises, show the perfect result of combining wisdom and diligence..."

  "Good words don't need to be repeated, I trust you." Zhang Yusheng patted Tang Guixin's shoulder and bent down to pick up his suitcase, making a gesture to leave. However, he didn't forget to remind him: "Looking at the latest batch of orders from various countries that the group has received, we have already entered another ** period. But after this wave of orders subsides, I'm worried that this war is actually nearing its end, and the war may end at any time. The group must come up with a plan to prevent a sudden wave of cancellations from various countries!"

  "We have already made corresponding adjustments, and the orders for spare parts returned to China have also changed accordingly. I myself believe that the war is actually not far from ending, and the group's production strategy and production line adjustments need a certain period of time to complete the transition, but we will definitely make thorough preparations."

  Once the war is over, the belligerent countries, especially the three major powers of America, France and England, will no longer need large quantities of heavy trucks. Due to the devastating power of war, a impoverished Europe will inevitably lead to a significant contraction in the car market. The American Motors Group must make reasonable adjustments, such as whether to promote various types of passenger cars that are popular in the US to the European market, allowing the group's products to diversify; or whether to build factories locally, setting up plants in each country in Europe to reduce production and transportation costs, thereby reducing car prices and promoting sales. Of course, based on the second measure, the group can also choose to cooperate with governments and banks of various countries to promote installment purchases, loan purchases, etc., which will not only promote their own national revival but also bring benefits to American Motors itself. However, all this is still too early to say, after all, the war is still ongoing.

  Although New York is located in the temperate continental climate zone, it does not have a strict continental climate. In winter, the Labrador Current passes through, and in summer, the Mexican Gulf Stream passes by, plus its coastal terrain, so at any time, it's always uncertain when it will rain. Zhang Yusheng arrived on a gray and drizzly day with light rain, but left amidst a heavy downpour. This trip to the US can be described as "rushing through wind and rain".

  Zhang Yu-sheng was still on his way back home by ship across the Atlantic when many big things had already happened domestically.

  PS: Friday is here, went to bed early, this week has been exhausting.