Chapter Fifty-two Let's Talk

  "The Shu Road is difficult; it's harder than climbing up to the blue sky. However, from today on, the hardships of the Shu Road will no longer exist..."

  When the hoofbeats of pack horses on the ancient Shu Road and the shouts of horse drivers still echoed on the postal road, when the majestic passes and sword-like peaks still stood proudly to greet the wind and rain, when the turbulent Jialing River roared loudly... Yesterday's history has become ancient, today's new road no longer has what is known as "yesterday", the brand-new Sichuan-Shaanxi highway has left the difficulties of Shu Road to the departed river waters.

  December 23, 1918 was a special day for both Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces. After the joint efforts of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians, the highway from Chengdu, the ancient city of Ba-Shu, to Xi'an, the ancient capital, was finally completed. Although this road is not as spacious and flat as a cement road, it is much smoother than the ancient horse trail. Although there are no magnificent bridges and tunnels to ensure traffic performance, compared to the old path that wound along the cliff edges, it has been greatly improved. Of course, the majestic Qinling Mountains still wind through it, and the Sichuan-Shaanxi Road had to twist and turn like a long snake up and down the mountain. To truly make Sichuan and Shaanxi connected, one would have to wait for an even better road to be built, but for now, having a gravel road connecting the two provinces is not bad.

  "I knew you were back, so I rushed to Guangyuan to wait for you! How does it feel to return from the distant Xinjiang desert to the beautiful land of Bashu?" As soon as Zhang Yu received the first division's partial report on their return journey, he immediately set off from Guangxi and bounced around on the highway for several days before arriving in Guangyuan to prepare to welcome Tang Renhui back from afar.

  The First Division clashed with Tang Jiyao's troops on October 8, 1917, and fought for over a year, covering nearly 5,000 kilometers, from the low-lying Bose Basin to the high-altitude Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, then entered the vast basin of the Heavenly Kingdom, crossed the Qinling Mountains straight down to the ancient capital Xi'an, followed the Silk Road into Gansu and entered the vast desert, finally capturing the beautiful Urumqi.

  At around 6 pm on January 4, 1919, a dark green jeep was already covered in a thick layer of dust, but the humming noise and whirring wheels finally brought Tang Renhui to Zhang Yu's face. The crisp military uniform still had sharp corners, and the shiny leather shoes emitted dazzling light. Tang Renhui's habit of being clean remained unchanged.

  A dusty Jeep stopped in front of him, and Tang Renhui stood upright, saluting. Zhang Yu saw every detail, especially Tang Renhui's eyes filled with bloodshot and dry lips. In more than a year, the person standing in front of him had changed, matured.

  "I've prepared a welcoming feast for you..." Zhang Yu returned the courtesy, waving his hand to signal a lieutenant behind him to respectfully present a cup of clear water to Tang Shilang, while another person presented a new military uniform. Seeing Tang Renhui's eyes brimming with tears as he finished drinking the cup and received the new uniform, Zhang Yu turned around without daring to look into his eyes and said: "You go wash up first, we'll meet again in half an hour!"

  In a simple campaign tent, an aluminum alloy table frame covered with a wooden board became a dining table. There were no big fish or meat on it, but all kinds of vegetables: tender green lettuce, fresh green pea shoots, white and crispy bean sprouts, golden potato shreds... The whole table was filled with home-cooked dishes, which Zhang Yu had specially prepared as a welcoming banquet for the senior military officer who had traveled over 10,000 kilometers.

  "Don't worry, I've arranged for your deputy and guards. Let's eat first, this meal has been left since noon, just warmed up a bit, let's make do with it!" After finishing speaking, Zhang Yu served Tang Renhui, whose hair was still dripping wet, a steaming bowl of white rice, then watched as he devoured all the small dishes on the table with gusto. Until Zhang Yu had served him his fourth bowl of rice, when the last strand of white radish was swallowed into his mouth, this whirlwind battle finally came to an end.

  After dinner, Zhang Yu still didn't ask Tang Renhui any questions and took him to a small hillside. The surrounding scenery gradually came into view. In the distance, the majestic mountain peaks emitted a faint black color, and more of them were still shrouded in the vast white mist, making it impossible to see the summit. The nearby mountains were lush and green, with gurgling rivers flowing between them, and patches of fields.

  "Lao Tang, do you think the color of our motherland's mountains and rivers is more green or more yellow?" After a long while, Zhang Yu finally asked his first question. Looking at the lush mountains and clear waters of Bashu, Zhang Yu suddenly yearned for the vast desert with its solitary smoke rising straight up.

  "Green is the tenderness of life, yellow is the arrogance of life. The great rivers and mountains of our motherland need beautiful scenery to adorn them, but they must also have their own character. Of course, I still like the wildness of life the most, that endless desert..."

  "Is the automatic rifle useful? I want to hear the most sincere answer."

  Zhang Yu suddenly turned around and looked at Tang Renhui, asking seriously.

  "It can be said to be useful, but also not very useful." Tang Renhui squatted down, still gazing at the distant mountains, his eyes fixed on them as he spoke: "The performance of the automatic rifle is excellent. We started from Guangxi and fought all the way to Xi'an Ancient City. Its power is great, with continuous firepower and so on. It can be said that its performance is quite good. But after passing through such a delicate environment, when we arrived at the Gobi Desert with flying sand and scorching heat, this gun didn't work very well... it's a bit prone to jamming..."

  Zhang Yu knew that some problems couldn't be rushed, and some things shouldn't be done too hastily. He had originally thought he would get a very embarrassing result, but Tang Renhui's answer slowly calmed his anxious heart. "Have you ever thought about letting the troops return to defend? After such a long time of fighting, nearly a hundred soldiers have been lost, and the combat effectiveness and morale of the troops shouldn't be ideal!"

  The first division, judging from its number, is the trump card of the People's Army. Although it is a trump card, it cannot be treated as a robot. The army is after all composed of a group of people, everyone has flesh and blood and emotions. Being away from home for so long, even the iron warriors' mentality should have some fluctuations. Moreover, the later expedition to Di Hua's battle was originally beyond the initial combat plan. The soldiers have done their best and should get some returns, such as going back home to take a look.

  "Yes, many warriors, including many officers, want to return to their hometown and take a look, even if it's just a glance. Letters can only alleviate the situation for a while, but cannot solve the long-term problem." As he said this, Tang Renhui slowly stood up, turned around and faced Zhang Yu, saying: "But we are soldiers, the slogan of defending our home and country has been shouted countless times, and now that we finally have an opportunity, we absolutely will not let it go easily. Fulfilling the revolutionary army's promise is a responsibility that cannot be shirked by you, me, or any soldier."

  "I heard you've started smoking? I have a pack here, want to try some?" Zhang Yu pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. After the land reform in Yunnan, many places stopped growing opium and switched to tobacco instead, and many places in Guizhou did the same. The processed tobacco products were all high-quality goods that sold very well. Zhang Yu didn't smoke himself, but always kept a pack on him.

  "Spending the whole day with those who speak unintelligibly, I've long since developed a smoking habit. Among men, smoking is the best way to communicate, regardless of whether you know each other or not, as long as everyone starts sharing cigarettes and chatting, everything can be discussed! Moreover, people from Shaanxi are especially good at smoking, if you can't handle it, it's best not to visit a farmhouse as a guest, their water pipes are as 'grand' as a farmhouse meal..."

  Tang Renhui himself was a soldier, where he could understand and discuss with local people how to get rid of poverty and become rich, ensure people's safety, and implement policies smoothly, etc. He knew a bit about using force, but if you asked him to decide which family should have more land, that would be his death sentence. So wherever he was, he was always a good guy, and when the political workers asked for his help with something, he would do it, and just accompany them to smoke and chat together.

  "So what do you want most now? I can give you a certificate of merit or something like that, but I'd like to hear your opinion."

  "Commendation order? I don't think it's necessary. From the start of our expedition to my return, how many people have paid with their sweat for this long march? Every bullet and every grain we used on the front line is extremely precious. And actually, our troops haven't fought any big battles until now. The ones who are truly exhausted are the logistics personnel. They are the ones who should be commended. Before this road was fully restored, the treacherous and rugged highway didn't intimidate them. Instead, they continuously delivered large quantities of supplies to us. If the three major logistics supply bases in Jiayuguan, Lanzhou, and Tianshui can scale up to their current size, it's all thanks to their efforts. They are the real heroes!"

  When it comes to this, Tang Renhui took a few heavy puffs of smoke. The troops had not sacrificed many people in the expeditionary war, but on the vast logistics supply line, many heroic men had fallen. Tang Renhui really didn't have the psychological preparation to strive for the award certificate. "If we talk about awards, the First Division, Second Division and tens of thousands of workers should all receive commendation certificates, especially those who have left us. Of course, building the controlled land in the fastest and best way is the best return for them!"

  "This will be taken care of, go back and find Zhuang Jiaming, you two write a report together, I'll consider how to reward you. Don't worry about the government side, those who sacrificed, injured, disabled, etc., they will all receive the best care and compensation. You can go back now, someone claiming to be Tang's sister has been waiting for you for a long time! Bringing her here from afar is my reward to you." After finishing speaking, Zhang Yu played with his lighter, slowly leaving, leaving behind a stunned Tang Renhui.

  "However, if one day you also have to take the battlefield and become a commander. How will you view the issue of logistics supply? No matter how many people you lead."

  After a long silence on the mountain ridge, Zhang Yu asked Yan Ran, the captain of the guard team following behind him. The captain, who was very skilled in combat and had never been asked such a question by Zhang Yu before, perhaps only thought that after being sent out as an external officer, he would slowly accumulate military achievements and experience to rise up the ranks. But now Zhang Yu asked him this question, whether there were other intentions, temporarily unknown. However, Yan Ran was an honest and down-to-earth person, and he answered the question very sincerely.

  "I attach great importance to this issue. Without ammunition, the combat effectiveness of troops in today's era can be considered zero. Without food, troops have no sustained combat capability. Without medicine, wounded comrades cannot receive medical treatment, which is not only a loss of combat effectiveness but also a blow to morale. Therefore, I believe that those who attach importance to war and the military must also attach importance to logistics supply..."

  "Have you ever thought about how to achieve absolute security in logistics transportation? Of course, it's impossible to be absolutely secure, but comprehensive security can be achieved. What I mean is, have you ever thought about what kind of method can make your own security more complete?"

  "No, Commander. Our army's current supply mainly relies on long-distance transportation by railway and waterway, followed by motorized transportation, and some areas rely on human and animal power for auxiliary transportation... And then there are those like the First Division, who rely on logistical support bases to fight, with the scale of battles and tactics determined by the support situation of the base. Of course, the supply of the base also relies on the methods I mentioned earlier to accumulate."

  Yu Ran's words still couldn't quite hit the nail on Zhang Yu's heart, but this response already made him feel pretty good. "Yes, our current transportation is restricted by land due to the limitations of the combat zone. In better conditions, we can rely on railways and waterways with large transport capacity, but in poorer conditions, we have no choice but to rely on human and animal power. Actually, the sky above our heads and the land beneath our feet are all within the scope of logistics support work, not necessarily relying solely on land transportation like now..."

  "The commander means we need to improve our supply method, by air, land and underground?"

  "As the war continues to evolve, future battlefields will not have obvious regional characteristics like they do now. Oceans, land, and skies can all be battlegrounds, regardless of whose territory it is. Of course, there will be more invisible battlefields emerging, with warfare transitioning from close-range and long-cycle to fast-paced and multi-domain... All these will pose great challenges to the logistics of military forces."

  Zhang Yu let Yu Ran sit down, and the two sat on the ground, looking into the distance and exchanging words slowly.

  "Military operations produce biological assets that are highly consumable, military training and troop life support generate fixed material demands, both of which form a changing demand for logistics. However, the characteristics of logistics remain single, it cannot disappear, only increase demand. The contradiction between the holding party and the demanding party is precisely the difficulty of logistics, which lies in overcoming the four contradictions of quantity, quality, time, and space. Therefore, logistics must follow three major laws."

  "Commander, what are the three major laws? Is it that by following the laws, good logistics transportation can be achieved?"

  "The first is that resolving the imbalance between supply and demand is the fundamental reason for the emergence of logistics. Not only human life, scientific experiments, military operations, etc., but also the production of various material demands, different types but essentially the same, military and civilian are actually two brothers in logistics, with some minor differences. The second is that the direction of logistics is determined by the price of goods." Zhang Yu had always been skeptical of the second law, but after speaking out, he saw a calm reaction from the other side, which seemed to be very much in agreement.

  "The direction is determined by price, do you agree?" Zhang Yu asked in surprise.

  "I..." hesitated for a moment before saying: "When I was studying management at Gongda, Director Zhang gave us a lecture on modern logistics and transportation management. He said that the market is controlled by an invisible hand..."

  "Wait, you're a soldier, what's the point of learning management? Do you want to be a manager in some company after you get out, or just recharge your batteries?" In the People's Army, there are many people with cultural quality and learning ideals who have the opportunity to enter university to study, it's just that others are extremely enthusiastic about science and engineering, I didn't expect that there would actually be an alternative person by my side.

  "I didn't have the foundation to study science and engineering, did I? It seemed like I was a bit better at liberal arts, but I didn't have the brains to study finance or accounting, so I had to settle for studying management." Yu Ran said this and looked straight into Zhang Yu's eyes, finding that he wasn't even slightly angry or dissatisfied. Only then did she relax and continue: "The market says that our society has many discriminatory economic problems that can be solved by the market itself. The market system is a decentralized decision-making, voluntary cooperation, and voluntary economic exchange organization form. The market mechanism is also the most effective way to solve human economic problems. Goods themselves flow from low-value areas to high-value areas, thereby determining the overall direction of material value."

  "It's like the potatoes in this market have become cheaper, so many people will buy them. As a result, the merchants make money and then massively purchase potatoes again, and the direction of logistics is established. However, what the merchants didn't expect was that the farmers would raise the price of potatoes, so the price of the transported potatoes has increased somewhat, but there is still some market demand..."

  "It seems like that's what it means, but not entirely." Yuran was never good at studying anyway, so it's better to give an ambiguous answer when she's not sure.

  "Is military logistics also a kind of logistics, does it also follow the second law?" Zhang Yu stood up and thought carefully about the changes in military supplies orders obtained by the autonomous region since the start of World War I. After a moment of contemplation, he discovered that indeed there was some truth to it.

  "Yes, during World War I, both sides greatly exemplified this second law. Whatever materials were cheap and practical, the next month's order would certainly skyrocket with a string of numbers. If something was extremely crucial and had to be used, the price would still be high, but the order would still produce a string of numbers, resulting in large-scale purchasing, and the price would actually decrease... Although war is fought with human power, material resources, and financial resources, it is still governed by economic laws."

  "Commander, you just mentioned three laws but only explained two, what's the third one?"

  "The last one, you may not believe it. Its content is that modern science and technology are the conditions for logistics to survive and develop." Zhang Yu said, patting Yanran's shoulder and saying: "How about it? Are you a little dissatisfied in your heart? I'll tell you, after logistics achieved standard transportation, what did our logistics method become? The era of manual carrying and animal-drawn transportation has long passed. More efficient forklifts, cranes, elevating platforms, etc., have greatly increased the efficiency of logistics, and costs have also been reduced a lot. Of course, there are still many problems in this regard. Science and technology are constantly developing, and there will always be ways to make logistics simpler and more convenient."

  Zhang Yu glanced at his watch and felt that the couple had been given enough time to talk privately, so it was time to prepare to leave. As soon as he stood up, Yu Ran asked: "The surface of the water is speeding along, the cars on land are rolling, and the underground pipes are surging, but what about in the air? Commander, doesn't air transportation seem a bit difficult?"

  "Right! However, the Germans can use airplanes to bomb France and use airships to drop bombs on London. Why can't we learn from them? You should go study management science when you have time, it will be very helpful for our military logistics." As he said this, Zhang Yu suddenly turned around and said to Yu Ran: "If you really learn the skills, maybe there will be a position for you in the Logistics Equipment Department, kid!"

  "But the Germans are using hand-thrown bombs, which have a small load, slow speed, and insufficient ceiling. They cannot be used in our vast western mountains...and their production cost far exceeds their use value..."

  Yu Zhang heard Yu Ran say from behind that airships are not useful, and after a few sentences, he didn't hear anything good. In fact, Zhang Yu had thought about using airships to solve some problems, but the terrain conditions in the west, the limited performance of airships, and their high cost made him think airplanes were more suitable.

  "Did I say that I was going to develop airships? With the money we have, it's better to equip the soon-to-be-established China Aviation Industry Group. Those two should be done nagging by now, it's time to head back. Let's notify the others and have an early dinner, we'll head back to Chengdu tonight!" After finishing speaking, Zhang Yu leisurely walked towards the tent specially prepared for Tang Renhui.

  After completing the control of important provinces in the west, what awaits the autonomous region is further consolidation of governance. Each province has its own characteristics that need to be treated differently, and there are also their own problems waiting to be solved.

  For Xinjiang and Gansu provinces, the only means or method that the autonomous region can currently adopt is to strengthen military control. The chaos caused by soldiers and bandits has been a common occurrence in these areas since ancient times, and their long-term lack of unified government management has brought great suffering to people's lives, while also leading to various difficulties hindering future development. Therefore, what the autonomous region government can do is to restore peace to these areas, and with less war, there will be more popular support. Once the environment returns to calm, it will be the time for the autonomous region to develop and build, that is, stability is the theme.

  Shaanxi and Sichuan provinces have always been major grain-producing provinces and populous provinces. Shaanxi has experienced long-term war, leading to a difficult life for the people, while Sichuan has also experienced a period of war, resulting in poor living conditions. After restoring production and order, they gradually carried out effective land reform to liberate social productive forces. More importantly, they won over the hearts of the people, laying a good foundation for the new government and the people. Carrying out infrastructure construction on a certain scale can also effectively accelerate social development. In short, these two provinces with important positions cannot afford to be careless at all. Therefore, being down-to-earth is the theme of the two provinces.

  The natural environment of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces has inevitably imposed severe restrictions on their development, with rich natural resources but difficult transportation construction, and social conditions have become increasingly poor due to the prolonged division by warlords. Human factors can be gradually eliminated, allowing positive guidance for social development, but the harsh natural conditions indeed require long-term hard work. For these two provinces, confidence is more important than anything else. Without the confidence to overcome adverse conditions and develop vigorously, it is impossible to achieve social progress and development of productive forces. Therefore, the work of these two provinces must adhere to this theme.

  It is not Zhang Yu's job to effectively change the predicament of these six provinces and realize a beautiful blueprint in China's vast western region, which will be done better by Zhang Yusheng who is responsible for internal affairs. There will be his own struggles, including today's conversation that has already ended, no matter with whom.