Chapter Eighteen: Longing for It (Please Collect)
"My goodness, Chen Kuoming's appetite is too big!" Zhang Yu slammed the telegram on the table in anger, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one quickly, taking two strong puffs before saying: "I've already asked the General Staff Department of the People's Army to formulate a plan for liberating all of China, I really didn't think that his appetite would be bigger than mine!"
When Zhang Yu left Liuzhou, the People's Autonomous Government, at the invitation of the Guangzhou Military Government, sent a working group composed of party and government officials to Guangzhou to participate in the talks. Although it was a secret talk, Chen Jiongming, who was also the Grand Marshal of the Guangzhou Military Government, still warmly received the working group. Wang Zhengting, who had previously worked with the Autonomous Government's Paris Peace Conference delegation, including Cao Guiquan and Xiao Naitian, also participated in the reception work. After the superficial courtesy, the first talks between the two governments' representatives quickly began.
Apart from some cooperation during the War to Protect the Nation, the autonomous region and the Guangzhou military government have always been separate. While the autonomous region was busy expanding westward and vigorously developing its economy, the Guangzhou military government was constantly staging a struggle for power and profit. After Sun Yat-sen's death, the contradictions intensified, and in the end, Chen Jiongming eliminated Mo Rongxin and won over Long Jiguang to become the military government's local emperor.
"He said he wants to form a united government with us and unify the military forces to launch a Northern Expedition to unify the country!" Zhang Yu-sheng had not expected Chen Jiongming to have such an idea, so after smoking a cigarette, he furrowed his brow and thought for a moment before saying: "The negotiations are still ongoing, we have no reason to refuse their reasonable suggestions. China's warlord infighting has gone on for too long, urgently needing the establishment of a highly unified and effective central government. But in my opinion, the Guangzhou military government has already become corrupt, Mr. Sun Yat-sen carefully organized the Kuomintang because it opposed Chen Jiongming's dictatorial rule, there is no longer any need to form a united government with them..."
In Zhang Yu's view, there is no need to form a coalition government. A poor and weak China does not need to follow the path of capitalist republicanism. In Zhang Yu's traditional feelings, he also believes that it is beneficial for a country like China with vast territory, rich resources, and large population to develop under a highly centralized central authority and a democratic system in name only. Whether this kind of politics is suitable or not, the new China that brings hope and rise to the people and the nation in another time and space is the best proof.
"Are we going to agree with him?" Zhang Yu extinguished the cigarette in his hand, waiting for Big Brother to give a definite answer.
"It's not that simple!" Zhang Yusheng said, handing Zhang Yu two special documents and continued: "Chen Jiongming considers Jiangxi's Long Jiguang to be his iron brother, we may not be able to persuade Yan Xishan, but Long Jiguang is a sure thing. In addition..."
About two minutes later, Zhang Yu carefully read the two documents and showed a rare smile, saying: "Jiangxi is indeed a good place. In fact, what we need most are more coastal provinces, especially Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang! I will let the Fifth Army Corps send troops to receive Ganzhou and Nanchang in Jiangxi as soon as possible. The Eighth Division of the Second Army Corps waiting for replacement in Hubei can wait a little longer. If Sun Chuanfang or Chen Jiongming makes any major moves, we also have reserve forces available for deployment!"
"Is light going to solve the problem of the Guangzhou military government? I reckon your appetite is not that small!"
Zhang Yusheng naturally knew that the People's Army had been making a lot of big moves recently, with frequent deployments of its main combat troops. Just by lingering on the major railway lines in the autonomous region for some time, one would definitely discover that many of the trains running on the railways were military convoys. As the saying goes, "soldiers and horses move before grain and fodder do", if the People's Army wasn't planning something big, it wouldn't have such frequent troop deployments and logistics transportation tasks during normal times.
"Yes, my original plan was to engage in a large-scale military operation with at least five divisions of troops without declaring war against various warlord forces. The basic goal is to target areas such as Mongolia, Shanxi, Henan, Chahar, Zhili, and Shandong. Of course, if I can gain your support, especially the support of the people's congress, I hope to resolve all issues at once." Zhang Yu's words were very direct and serious, without any joking intent.
"Resolve all problems at once?" Zhang Yusheng repeated Zhang Yu's ending words, smiled faintly and shook his head: "Do you mean to liberate the whole of China? Or is it just another routine expansion of the People's Army? But I feel that this time, you seem to be serious."
"But you must think clearly, the autonomous region currently has many undertakings in a critical period. The Tai Shan plan is only in its first few years? The future of the autonomous region's extremely important heavy industry and agriculture dual development areas, Hunan and Hubei provinces, have also entered a critical period. Although the development of Shaanxi and Gansu provinces has been slow, after so many years, they have now also entered a very critical moment. It can be said that in '28, '29 and even '30, if you really want to achieve something, the help provided by the autonomous government will be very little..."
Zhang Yu-sheng looked at Zhang Yu very seriously, meaning that he should take this matter seriously. Militarily, the People's Army had absolute strength to win the victory of the Liberation War, but the army was serving politics, and politically, Zhang Yu-sheng gave Zhang Yu and the army enough freedom.
But his words were also very clear, since the army wanted to launch a war, but the autonomous government at the critical moment obviously did not have the extra ability to support a larger-scale war, and the new regional government would naturally do its due diligence, but the expenses of the war needed to be borne by the military alone. In short, the army's combat operations need to be done with caution, and the autonomous government will not sponsor a single penny for it.
On May 21, 1928, at around 8 am, the Tenth Division of the Fifth Army Corps officially entered Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. The Jiangxi Governor's Office under Long Jiguang was soon replaced by the People's Military Government of Jiangxi Province. Long Jiguang and his family, including their property, were quickly transported out of Jiangxi to Wuhan via waterway. His troops surrendered their weapons and equipment, received demobilization fees from the People's Army, and disbanded on the spot. Jiangxi became another major province in the Yangtze River Valley that joined the autonomous region after Hunan and Hubei.
The merger of Jiangxi Province into the autonomous region is undoubtedly another major event after the domestic major event in which the Fengtian clique achieved final victory in the Second Zhili-Feng War. After the news came out, temporarily without discussing its impact at this time, there were quite a few comments from all over the country, with some saying that it was another great achievement of the People's Army to unify China step by step, while others called it a wise choice made by Long Jiguang under the coercion of the People's Army.
However, more people are concerned about the response measures of the Guangzhou Military Government. At first, Chen Jiongming was vocal in saying that the Guangzhou Military Government under the leadership of the National Party was not in line with the system. He used force to eliminate his opponents Mo Rongxin and the National Party, and due to limited strength, he wooed Long Jiguang, but now Long Jiguang has become a person in the autonomous region, just like Chen Tianhua in Hunan at that time. Faced with the aggressive attitude of the autonomous region, the Guangzhou Military Government, including Sun Chuanfang, who controlled the rich provinces of Anhui, Zhejiang and Jiangsu, has obviously become the next target for annexation by the autonomous region. Many people are waiting to see what will happen to the Guangzhou Military Government, which is in a precarious situation.
In the face of time, everything seems particularly powerless, because things themselves cannot decide when they will happen, but time can. When everyone thought that the People's Army would soon march into Chen Jiongming's "old nest" Fujian, Chen Jiongming took action first, but without the support and help of the powerful countries, and the Guangzhou Military Government did not have a unified and perfect military system and military-industrial complex. It was thought that Chen Jiongming would easily cross the Yunwu Mountain along the river and directly threaten the autonomous region's old nest Liuzhou, but unexpectedly, the Fourth Division of the People's Army stationed in Zhaoqing, with great difficulty, did not take down even a small team.
"Our main force is still in Wuzhou and surrounding areas. At this moment, the ones at the forefront are our troops."
In the steel and concrete works, a company of infantrymen were chatting idly, without having received orders to return fire. The sparse artillery fire from Chen Jiongming's troops fell on their positions sporadically, like scratching an itch. Not being able to open fire didn't mean the soldiers couldn't talk, especially in this bombardment, it was the first time for the officers and men of the 4th Division.
"Our Fourth Division has been in a state of disfavor since we returned from Hainan, neither the father nor the mother loves us. We are one of the main forces of the Fourth Group Army, but we can't compare to the Fifth Division. Of course, we must be stronger than those new recruits of the Twelfth Division. However, defending in this reinforced concrete fortification is really suffocating for our glorious Fourth Division..." A soldier nicknamed "Duck Egg" was fiddling with his magazine, taking out bullets and putting them back in, repeating this action many times, but still hadn't received the order to counterattack.
"I reckon our government is in urgent negotiations with the Guangzhou military government! But why doesn't that Chen Jiongming's mountain cannon stop firing? If they really want to fight, where are the charging soldiers? This battle is really ridiculous."
At this point, the monitor kicked the sniper's butt with one foot. The kid had been staring intently since the cannon fired until now. "I'm telling you, 18 Sniper, do you see anyone charging towards our position? Are you not afraid that your gun will misfire and hit the flowers and grass? We're using live ammunition right now, this isn't a drill!" The monitor said, pointing to the mountain artillery shells continuously falling from above. The "enemy" on the other side of the mountain had been teasing them for quite some time, but in People's Army exercises, they wouldn't fire artillery towards their own people.
Chen Jiongming's actions were soon rewarded, the 15th Division stationed in the Fifth Army, the Fourth Division and Eleventh Division defending eastern Guangxi, the three divisions gave Chen Jiongming the best "reward". The People's Army's most forward city, Zhaoqing, is only a few dozen kilometers away from Guangzhou, the core of the military government. With the assistance of the 11th Division, Chen Jiongming's troops stationed in Foshan were quickly defeated, and Chen Jiongming had long fled with his remaining forces to Chaozhou in western Fujian, where he was born and raised.
"Warlords are warlords. Whoever dares to step on their noses and faces will definitely end up in a miserable state!"
Sipping the hot tea in their hands, Shanghai businessmen who held the largest circulation of Shen Bao newspaper would chat about current events during their brief rest at a small teahouse on the street. The prosperity of Shanghai seemed unrelated to other parts of China, whether it was the Zhili-Fengtian War in the north or the recent troubles with the British concession and the autonomous region, including the conflict between the Guangzhou military government and the autonomous government just the other day. In the eyes of Shanghainese, these were merely topics for discussion at teahouses. If newspapers didn't report on these events, and only traveling businessmen shared stories, it's likely that no one would know that such a large country as China had experienced new developments.
"Chen Jiongming thought he was quite important, but didn't realize that the autonomous region was a steel plate, and he himself was just an egg, insisting on crashing into the steel plate. The result is obvious, his failure was inevitable." At this point, the tea guest patted the newspaper on the table, looked around at the people, and said in a low voice: "This People's Army seems to be invincible, Chen Jiongming is finished, but Sun Chuanfang has been pushed to the forefront. Judging from the situation, I estimate that Shanghai will eventually become part of the autonomous region!"
"I think the whole of China will be for the people's army, but that's good too. Except for the big landlords who control a lot of land and will suffer, every Chinese person will benefit. When farmers don't pay agricultural taxes, the government will even provide you with water conservancy projects. When workers have guarantees, in addition to medical insurance, there are also minimum wage treatments and other regulations. And when it comes to civil servants, their salary treatment will make you feel that corruption and bribery are not necessary at all. Of course, the most considerate ones are still the children, free education is a good thing that can't be found everywhere..."
"Is it really that good?" The little tea server had just arrived from the countryside and hadn't heard such news before.
"Absolutely true, my tea business has always been operating in both Hankou and Shanghai. Hubei has already become an autonomous region. The land reform there was completed long ago, and now they are vigorously constructing various projects. Highways have been built to connect every village, railways have been built to reach every city, and apart from these, the most impressive thing is those beautiful schools. I used to hear that in autonomous regions, the most beautifully constructed buildings were always schools, and now I believe this fact. Those houses are even more beautiful than the buildings in the foreign concessions, and one school is even larger than several streets put together!"
"But we've all heard that, whether it's a foreigner or anyone else entering and leaving the autonomous region, they need to get something called a pass? Can you come and go as you please? Is the autonomous region really that good?" The tea merchant's words quickly attracted many people to gather around and listen, some nodded in agreement, while others raised questions.
"Hehe, indeed, entering and exiting this autonomous region is restricted. If you're going in and out for business, you just need to register your personal information and what kind of business you're doing, and you can get a pass that allows you to enter and exit freely within the designated time. Many people also want to move into the autonomous region, but I haven't heard of anyone having any trouble with it - the People's Autonomous Government welcomes people from all over. After settling down and registering your household members' information, you become a member of the autonomous region, and you can enjoy benefits like medical insurance, social welfare assistance... most importantly, you can get free education for your kids, and if you don't want to be a farmer, you can also participate in job training..."
The tea merchant said, "You think the autonomous region is all good? Let me tell you, they promote new social morals there. No brothels, no opium dens, no street thugs, and no corruption. But what's really scary is the pressure of living in the autonomous region. The elderly, children, and disabled people are treated with special care, but if you're a healthy person, whether male or female, you'll feel tremendous pressure to survive. Unlike here, where we can still chat idly in a teahouse on a good day!"
"What's the meaning of this?"
"This pressure is huge, it's not that the prices in the autonomous region are high, they have many factories, most of the industrial goods we can see on Shanghai streets are produced by companies from the autonomous region, cars, watches, radios, sewing machines, bicycles, including my leather jacket and shoes, to be honest, even my underwear is made by clothing enterprises from the autonomous region. They have tens of thousands of factories and enterprises, competing with each other under legal supervision is quite fierce. Ordinary people's lives are also under great pressure, farmers compare who has higher grain yields per mu, workers compare who has more skills, officials compare who has greater achievements, soldiers compare who is more heroic... all these are directly linked to their income, if you want to get social recognition, you must learn to endure hardship and study diligently. The difference between a small enterprise and a large company, or between a mid-level technician and a senior technician, often lies in who can bear more pressure, who has a stronger desire to advance!"
"So, this autonomous region is not afraid to let the powers set up factories on their own turf. If they want to recruit workers from the autonomous region, they must follow the law. After eight hours of standard working time, overtime is allowed, but wages must be doubled, and holidays are tripled during standard working hours. However, the work efficiency of these workers is not something to brag about. Trained through specialized technical schools, they are much stronger than casually recruited workers. Just imagine that almost all industries in the autonomous region have strong players among tens of thousands of factories and enterprises. The powers' factories can't stay, even if the tax policies offered by the autonomous region are very favorable. Why? It's because they can't compete with others, or with the companies in the autonomous region that have been tempered through a thousand hammerings!"
"Yes, I've heard that many powerful countries' banks can't even compete with those in the autonomous region. The China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, etc., whether it's financial strength or management, are all unmatched by the banks of powerful countries. Now that the People's Bank of China has opened a branch on Shanghai Beach, I reckon the Industrial and Construction Banks will also rush to follow suit."
The speaker pulled out a one-yuan note from his pocket and stroked it, saying: "This money is worth much more than silver dollars. One hundred yuan in foreign currency can be exchanged for two thousand five hundred silver dollars, while one hundred yuan in foreign currency can only be exchanged for one hundred sixteen yuan in RMB. That is to say, one yuan in RMB can be exchanged for twenty-one silver dollars and fifty-five cents. The powers recognize this currency, and the banks in the autonomous region have sufficient gold reserves to guarantee its value, making it more convenient than silver ingots and silver dollars (yuan). Therefore, this popular RMB has been circulating in many provinces, and Zhejiang and Anhui are filled with large amounts of RMB. It is estimated that Shanghai will also become an occupied territory of RMB soon!"
"The food production in the autonomous region has always been relatively high, but they never sell their grain outside and instead import a large amount from the United States. One of the main reasons is that whenever they merge with a new region, they will undertake many massive construction projects, which often require tens or even hundreds of thousands of people to work on site, causing agricultural production to be delayed for one or two years. However, despite this, their prices are similar to ours. Recently, in our local market, one silver dollar could buy 18 kilograms of rice, while in the autonomous region, one jiao (a unit of currency) could buy 35 kilograms of rice, so the difference is actually not that big."
Working for a day, the money earned can buy 100 to 200 kilograms of rice. This kind of work is not common here, but it's quite common within the autonomous region. The basic salary of 30 yuan, 60 yuan, and 100 yuan per month respectively applies to ordinary workers, intermediate technicians, and senior technicians. Moreover, this doesn't include monthly bonuses, year-end awards, and red envelopes for festivals and holidays. So, working in a factory in the autonomous region for a year, which is more than ten months, as long as you work hard, you can earn around 300 yuan. Do you know what 300 yuan means? It's equivalent to about 100,000 kilograms of rice or 10,000 kilograms of pork. Can a farmer who works from dawn till dusk, facing the earth and with their back to the sky, earn such a high income in a year? If one can learn a good skill and become a senior technician, the annual income would be enough to make them a small rich man! This is also evidence of the region's industrial development. Without real strength, how dare they pay such wages?
The tea merchant pointed to the red Beetle parked at the entrance and said in a louder tone, "Does everyone know who produced this car? Some ignorant people think it's an American car, but in fact, it was made in our autonomous region. I haven't visited their factory, but tens of millions of cars are sold worldwide every year, including higher-end models like Magotan, Sagitar, and even trucks."
"You think growing crops, doing textiles and whatnot can make money from selling cars? This car is considered the cheapest, but even so, it's 547 US dollars, which is 3282 RMB or 70727 silver coins. The Shanghai-made Huai is even more terrifying, that can only be described as a sky-high price.
But let's get back to the point, do you think the factories and enterprises in the autonomous region will only make small profits from selling at such high prices? A single Beetle car must have at least 30% profit margin, not to mention those higher-end models. If you calculate it carefully, their annual production is measured in millions, and the profit from just one of these cheapest Beetle cars can cover the total salary of several workers. What about the others?
In short, the autonomous region has the capability to implement compulsory education for all, they have the ability to be militarily powerful, they have the ability to say 'no' to the great powers. Can Beijing, Northeast China, or even our own region do that? If you ask me, I hope the autonomous region can unify China as soon as possible, then we can finally see a brighter future!"
"Isn't Shanghai almost becoming an autonomous region?"
The little second smiled and poured the tea for the tea merchant, waiting for him to reveal more news about the autonomous region. At that time, not every household in Shanghai had a radio, let alone anyone willing to spend money on newspapers. In areas controlled by Sun Chuanfang and others, there was hardly any coverage of events in the autonomous region. Everything was tightly sealed off, with strict controls on entry and exit, requiring special permits. Foreign trade was also strictly regulated through specialized agencies such as the China National Import and Export Corporation, the former Asia-America Corporation, and the China Ocean Shipping Company. If it weren't for the two Hu provinces being incorporated into the autonomous region, many people would still be unaware of this powerful entity in the western mountains.
"It's hard to say, as the saying goes, people fear fame and pigs fear strength. The People's Army and the Autonomous Government have been making a big show recently, maybe someone can't take it anymore, or they're getting jealous. Further expansion of the autonomous region is likely to be very difficult, and this has just taken over Guangdong Province, handling concessions and whatnot is a small matter, the key is that there are still two places in Guangdong that are very tricky, one is Hong Kong, which has been occupied by the British for a long time, and the other is Macau, controlled by Portugal. If not handled properly, apart from not being able to satisfy the people, the British will also be dissatisfied. If it can be handled well, this will be beneficial for the autonomous region to incorporate Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other coastal provinces in the future. What to do? This is not something we can control, besides, where we are now is not even within the territory of the autonomous region."
"Not bad, it makes sense!"
People around began to discuss, although the autonomous region is powerful, but repeatedly challenged the bottom line of the strong, Chen Jiongming was defeated, never encountered setbacks before, whether the autonomous government would hit a nail this time, tea guests were not capable of predicting, except hoping that the autonomous region would unify the country as soon as possible, and build all of China into a rich and powerful one like the current autonomous region. Others, ordinary people can only wait with bated breath.
