Chapter Ninety-Seven: Responsibility

  If the Paris Peace Conference was a temporary redivision of the spheres of influence among the imperialist powers, then the subsequent Washington Conference was a supplementary conference to make up for the uneven distribution of spoils at the Paris Peace Conference. Although the Paris Peace Conference adjusted the relationship between the major powers in Europe, it did not clearly demarcate the colonies and spheres of influence in the Far East and the Pacific, and the contradictions in Northeast Asia, China, and the Pacific region were extremely sharp, with those between Japan and the United States being particularly intense.

  To resolve the contradictions among the major powers, especially the unresolved naval power ratio between the major powers after the Treaty of Versailles, a relatively stable imperialist system had not been established, especially on the issue of interests in China. As one of the dominant forces at the Paris Peace Conference, the United States sincerely invited Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, and China to participate in the conference, and formally sent an invitation telegram to the Beiyang government on April 17, 1922, along with relevant documents submitted by the US ambassador to Beijing. The countries agreed to hold a formal meeting on May 10.

  After the news spread, the Beiyang government took a very positive attitude. Although they knew that the conference would be dominated by the United States, Britain and Japan, who mainly wanted to discuss disarmament issues, there would also be discussions and consultations on Far Eastern and Pacific issues. The large-scale civil rights movement in China last year had a profound impact on the powers, while also causing the international prestige of the Beiyang government to plummet to an unprecedented low. Although more than a year has passed, many places in China have restored their reverence for the powers, but the shadow in their hearts still lingers, so the powers must make a clear break with each country's interests in China, and they also need the witness and consent of the Beiyang government.

  "This time, the Beiyang government did not notify our side, including the Guangzhou military government. It seems they wanted to make a good impression on the powers, but I heard that the plenipotentiary ambassador this time is actually Gu Weijun. That such a nationalist can still be entrusted with important tasks shows how deep his roots are within the Beiyang government, it's really beyond my expectations." After finishing speaking, Zhang Yu took a sip of tea and smiled at Zhang Yusheng, wanting to know what his big brother thought about this matter.

  "This conference is just another scramble for spoils, but this time the interests of sea power and China are on the chopping block. Why? Sea power refers to who controls the vast four oceans, with the Atlantic and Pacific being the focal points of contention. The realization of interests depends on fist strength, and naval power comparison negotiations are just a euphemism for dividing up the ocean's sphere of influence. What I find most interesting is that the Romanov dynasty has been restored, so why doesn't America invite Russia to attend as an observer? Alas, humans are the cutting board and I am the fish meat, and tragically, China has become the fish meat once again."

  "I've figured out the nature of these countries, what's this about being a civilized great power? Look at America, France, England, even Belgium is still jumping around like a sparrow in the mountains, making the most noise but having no real substance. The British and Japanese are shameless, trying to get an advantage, they're bound to end up badly. But this...” Zhang Yu said, taking out a document from his desk drawer and handing it to his older brother, while also tossing over a cigarette: “When do you and your wife plan on getting married? Better hurry up, I won't have much time before I have to head back to Xinjiang again.”

  "What? You're going back to Xinjiang? Back?" Zhang Yu Sheng threw away his cigarette, he didn't have the habit of smoking and was currently in a romantic relationship, his girlfriend, a nurse, hated him smoking as it was bad for his health. He picked up the file, opened the seal, took out the documents and browsed through them before saying: "What do you mean by going back to Xinjiang? Are you counting that time I brought you on board to visit?"

  At this point, Zhang Yu Sheng put down the file and made a gesture to signal Zhang Yu to come closer. He asked mysteriously: "I'm asking you, Zhang Yu, what's so special about that ship of yours? What are those containers carrying? How advanced is your flying boat, can't it fly anymore?"

  "I don't know, I tried to restart the control system but it failed. The problem is that the containers of our era and now are different, space transportation has very little restriction on cargo weight and volume, so our container is a standard 300-ton container, even if we can open the rear cabin of the spacecraft to allow normal loading and unloading of the container, do we have the ability to transport a 300-ton container?"

  "As for what's inside the box, I don't even know myself. It's like when Southwest Airlines takes your luggage - can you open it and see what's inside? Besides, I'm not capable of opening those boxes with different passwords and multi-layered protection."

  "Why?"

  "Are you a pig or are you not intelligent? The outer space transportation environment is much worse than the Earth's atmospheric transportation environment, and it's similar to our current container usage. We must consider the safety of storing them separately in space ports or star city ports, especially with certain functions such as anti-radiation, anti-small meteorite impact, anti-large temperature difference change, and anti-theft. I didn't expect that the last item would stump me, and there's no clear indication on the cargo list what's inside. 325 containers of varying weights, total weight 83850 tons, bound for 12 space ports... In the misty smoke, Zhang Yu slowly recalled past events, while Zhang Yusheng listened with increasing confusion."

  "Then you have to think of a way to open those boxes, or else we'll just let them sink into the desert? Leaving treasures unused and not taking advantage of benefits, are we still human?" Zhang Yusheng became more and more anxious, picked up the cigarette on the table and was about to take a puff, but looked at it and thought for a moment before putting it down. "I said you're always so capable, right? Things are dead, but people are alive, living people can't be suffocated by urine!"

  "I've thought about it, but the key is that we need to take many steps. First, we need to find a way to open the rear cargo door of the ship, otherwise those large boxes are stacked on top of each other, with over 300 boxes piled up, and the cabin space is already very small. We need to get it out first, and then think about how to open them one by one. I should be able to make the flying ship open its rear cargo door, we need to set up a lifting platform that can withstand 300 tons of cargo, and then install a crane on top of it, put the boxes on a large tractor-trailer, and then pull it to our destination..."

  "Right! Zhongzhong Shipbuilding Group already has a 400-ton gantry crane, and Amet's special vehicles can also produce large elevating platforms. As for the tractor, don't worry about it at all. Didn't they use our big trailer to transport the large turntable from Hechi to install the power station? I think the most difficult thing is that box body protection measure you mentioned, which even has a password! You guys were really something back then!

  Zhang Yusheng teased and waited for Zhang Yu's answer after taking two sips of bitter tea. But all he saw was Zhang Yu smoking and thinking deeply, almost to the point of scratching his head and ears."

  "If you really think it's that simple, then I don't have anything to say. Why don't you take a look at the file I gave you? I'm still waiting for your response. We can discuss that issue later when we have time. When I have time, I can also take you back there to visit again, maybe it will be useful for governing the Loess Plateau environment. But opening those boxes is indeed not possible for now." Zhang Yu said, letting his brother look at the file first, and then he continued to frown and think deeply about this difficult problem. It had been some days since he last thought about that period of his life, and he felt like he had completely integrated into this society now, almost forgetting that there was still a "unknown wealth" belonging to him in the Taklamakan Desert.

  Just as Zhang Yu was thinking about the problem, Zhang Yusheng across from him was also thinking about it. After quickly browsing through the files, he thought one after another, and the study room fell silent for a while before he broke the silence, putting down the files and saying: "Strategic reserves are essential for every country. Although we are currently only an autonomous region, we also need to establish our own strategic reserves. We currently have only one grain reserve bureau, and only established reserve warehouses in cities at the municipal level, which is clearly not enough... I didn't expect that this issue would be raised by your military, and I really find it a bit hard to believe."

  "This is still not enough, the People's Army having a navy and air force is equivalent to a very large-scale expansion. And then the army wants to expand again, I'm thinking that the constantly growing People's Army will eventually become a thorn in the side of domestic warlords and powerful nations. Don't look at our current good relationship with them, if we really start a unified war, they'll probably be the first to oppose and intervene against us. The possibility of sending troops is small, but temporarily cutting off trade with us and severing our maritime trade lines is highly likely. We can't rely too much on overseas resources anymore... oil, copper mines, rubber, etc."

  "In addition, the troops are now scattered over a wider area, and although the number of personnel has not changed much, the logistical pressure brought about by the increasing size of the region is constantly rising. Our troops in Xinjiang, Gansu, and Shaanxi rely almost entirely on supplies from Sichuan and Guangxi, and the long supply lines are prone to unexpected situations at any time. If a large-scale war breaks out, the consequences would be even more unimaginable. Therefore, I have been thinking of establishing a material reserve system for the military, but since the military can interact with society to a great extent, why not combine the two to do this strategic reserve work?"

  Zhang Yu said, pulling out a map from his desk drawer with many areas circled in red pen. He began to explain his thoughts, pointing at the marked regions: "You know that for our previous military operations, we established logistics bases in Xinjiang Urumqi, Gansu Jiuquan Lanzhou and Tianshui, as well as Shaanxi Xi'an. They all played a huge role in various anti-banditry and security actions over the years. But my idea is, what if we have a conflict with the Russian Empire? If we were to launch an eastern campaign, how would we solve the logistical problems for our troops? What about natural disasters within our territory? Distant water can't put out nearby fires!"

  Currently, the industrial strength of Shaanxi, Gansu and Xinjiang is still relatively weak. In recent years, the autonomous region's key work in these three provinces has focused on maintaining stability, winning over the people, liberating agriculture and developing transportation, among other areas. Apart from grain and cotton, which can be purchased by the military, if a strong heavy industry foundation were to be established locally, the military would no longer have to rely on the old districts for supplies of fuel, ammunition, medicine and so on.

  "I also know that the drought in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces has been severe over the past two years, and it is impossible for the military to purchase enough grain and meat on the market. If they insist on buying locally, it will only drive up prices, while relying solely on supplies from Sichuan is limited by the transportation capacity of the Sichuan-Shaanxi highway, not to mention the extremely high transportation costs. If there were a better strategic reserve system in place, these problems would not exist, or at least they wouldn't be so severe."

  Zhang Yu-sheng nodded and pulled out a pen to sign his name on the plan, although he had only browsed through it once. He already had enough reason to push for its immediate implementation.

  "Are you not going to take a closer look?" Zhang Yu pulled a long face, looking at his older brother in surprise and adding: "This is a large-scale project that will cost around 10 billion yuan, near Suiyuan and Shanxi's Shaanxi Yulin, Yan'an and Xi'an, Gansu's Jiuquan, Lanzhou, Tianshui, Yinchuan and Guyuan, Xinjiang's Hami, Urumqi, Korla, Kashgar, Yecheng, and Hetian. Fourteen large strategic reserve centers will be built in these areas, and some important areas will also establish medium-sized reserves. This thing is not like repairing highways or laying railways, which have low risk and high returns. It's clearly a losing deal, and you're so stingy that you don't even bat an eye?"

  "Actually, I wanted to tell you that since we're going to do it, let's do it big. Why not include Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi as well? Who says these areas will definitely be stable and won't have any unexpected events? Honestly, I've already had someone working on this idea for a while now. The reason I strongly supported your western expansion plan was to prevent the Haiyuan earthquake in December 1920, which would have been a nightmare for tens of thousands of people. Fortunately, it didn't happen! But the Washington Conference reminded me that it seems like we've delayed world history, and some things still require vigilance. Who knows if this earthquake will also be late?"

  "Could we have saved tens of thousands of people from the disaster that occurred back then? You probably don't know that Wu Mountain has an elevation of over a thousand meters. If an earthquake were to occur in the ocean, how many people could we save with just our two legs? A landslide caused by the earthquake could isolate the disaster area and turn it into an isolated island. If you can give each rescue worker a pair of wings, then I have nothing to say." Zhang Yu finished speaking, flipped the file to another key point, looked up at his brother who was in high spirits today, estimated that he would directly sign and issue it, threw it over, and waited for its return.

  "Don't think I've done nothing. Apart from telling the locals that an earthquake would occur here, I've done everything I can. When we just took down Gansu, do you remember how many batches of our political work teams there were? Why was a small and insignificant Haiyuan made a major work focus? In recent years, haven't you seen that many people in charge of public construction projects in Gansu and Shaanxi are from the surrounding areas of Haiyuan? And I can tell you very clearly, the 8.5-magnitude earthquake caused such a huge disaster not because it buried so many people at the time, but because Haiyuan's external transportation was cut off, all the food in the county was eaten up, and when it came to the point where people were eating each other, there was still no one coming to rescue. Of course, the lack of medical assistance is also a major reason why tens of thousands of people died... The thatched huts and earth walls may have collapsed, but they wouldn't crush many people to death. The key is that countless people starved to death..."

  "So you used some tactics? The highway from Baoji to Yinchuan was built so well, and it turns out that you also made a contribution to it. And I just thought of it now, the Second Division had a regiment that went deep into the Wu Mountains to sweep away bandits, and at that time many hunters around Haiyuan voluntarily helped guide them. In order to establish a model of supporting the military and government in that area, Zhuang Jiaming awarded them a commendation from the General Staff Department. I said why they were so enthusiastic, it turns out that your political work team had already won over their hearts. However, at that time I didn't pay attention to this small Haiyuan having such a story, and you never mentioned it to me either... Zhang Yu's implication was that he was somewhat dissatisfied, that such a huge disaster still had to be covered up."

  "Haven't I already done that? The military's task was heavy back then, and I've invested a lot of effort into it. Do you know how big the primary school in Haiyuan is? Do you know how many supplies are stored in the steel-concrete warehouse of the Grain Reserve Bureau in Haiyuan? How many large-scale 'shelters' does Haiyuan have now? Why would a small county like Haiyuan build a civil airport there? Even bigger cities like Pingliang don't have one... The government uses public projects to do this, with very sufficient and popular reasons. Would it be useful to just send the military there to wait around? It's better for us to take the lead in doing prevention work." Zhang Yu looked at the file that Zhang Yu had thrown over earlier, another big-budget project.

  "No wonder China Aviation Group is going to launch a blimp, you're as excited as a kid. When you said the elementary school was built big enough, I assume you meant that the green space and playground are large enough? In case of an emergency, it would be the best place for evacuation and government rescue efforts to unfold. If needed, it would also be convenient to drop supplies from the air. Now that there's no earthquake, but you're keeping up with the times, building a civilian airport as a backup, I estimate that after its completion, it will be even more convenient to assist disaster victims, reducing the destructive power of disasters and giving you even more confidence. So today, if I didn't come up with a strategic reserve plan for you, you'd probably still be hiding and concealing things."

  Here is the translation:

  "Speaking of which, Zhang Yu suddenly remembered something and immediately opened his eyes wide with anger, asking Zhang Yusheng who was seriously reading the report: "I said when the People's Army wanted to establish an air force, I was wondering what you were so enthusiastic about at the time? Then came the establishment of the Civil Aviation Company, and my god, two companies with nearly 100 million yuan in investment, and you didn't even bat an eyelid. And then there's this thing about civil aviation transport blimps, under the guise of diversifying transportation methods to better develop China's aviation industry. I think you're preparing for a future where disaster relief has more reliable options. When will your little abacus stop being used on me? Am I so worthless that you can use me like this, utilizing me and discarding me at will? You used me as a 'technical genius' in the US, then pushed me to become a warlord after returning home, and during the civil rights movement, you turned me into an 'actor', and now you're directly treating me as a 'tool' to play with."

  "You're not much better, are you? Don't think I don't know anything. You're in charge of industry and the military, but during Spring Festival, when there were drunk driving accidents, I didn't say a word about you. I know that the People's Army has always been a glorious image, blending with the people, and I know you can't lose face like that. The People's Army back then wouldn't have lost face either. You did what you wanted to do, just like how you developed mechanized land forces and underwater naval forces - I didn't ask about those things, but instead strongly supported them. Weren't we also able to work together to complete the restructuring of large enterprises? Wasn't that all for the sake of giving you better support and help? If possible, in the future, you can also make use of me." After finishing speaking, Zhang Yu Sheng scribbled his signature on the report and handed it back to Zhang Yu.

  "I wasn't just a little excited earlier, was I? Don't be angry with me. Although I'm the kind of person who least wants to have sand in my eyes, I'm not someone with a dark and narrow heart. As long as it's for the sake of better realizing our shared dreams, you can use me however you want."

  Zhang Yu finished speaking and smiled as he looked at the signature of his elder brother on the document. With this signature, the large-scale recruitment action of the army officially entered the government's work cycle. For soldiers who meet the requirements and are recruited into the corresponding troops, they need to establish soldier files, eliminate their original household registration, verify and give preferential treatment to military families, etc., which all require coordination with the government. The military cannot take care of the soldiers' families on its own, and in the future when the soldiers retire and return to civilian life, the government will bear even greater responsibilities. Of course, the government should originally bear a lot of responsibility and obligation, especially in certain critical moments, it is necessary to play a leading role.