Chapter 10: The Most Awesome Demolition
PS: Some people say that the concession is the most powerful nail household in the Republic of China era. I've been thinking about this chapter for a long time, but couldn't come up with a good title, and the content isn't written well either. I hope you all won't mind. Also, winter is coming, I wish everyone a healthy body and no colds!!
"Wuhan is the largest city in Central China, divided into three parts by the Yangtze and Han rivers. Convenient transportation conditions and a thriving market environment make this beautiful river city full of vitality at all times."
The Emergency Response Team of the Foreign Affairs Department of the People's Government of Shaoyang arrived in Wuhan on the first flight on August 15th. On April 19, 1926, the 8th and 10th Divisions of the Second Army Group cooperated to quickly capture Xiangfan and Wuhan. Afterwards, following the old method of controlling new areas by the autonomous region, after three months of military control, the people's governments at all levels in Hunan and Hubei provinces were established one after another, followed by the vigorous implementation of various policies benefiting the people, strengthening government functions and building infrastructure.
Wuhan's Tianhe Airport was officially put into use in April 27 years ago, originally intended to be provided for the air force, but later due to some reason, the People's Liberation Army Air Force planes never arrived at the two lakes region. However, the construction of the airport and infrastructure has not stopped, and Tianhe Airport also quickly entered service with the help of the air force, soon becoming another major aviation hub in the autonomous region. At that time, those who came and went by plane were either businessmen trying to open up new markets or government officials rushing to Hubei on business, such as Xiao Nai Tian and others.
"From Liuzhou to Wuhan is over 860 kilometers, which is even closer than going to Chengdu. However, the four-hour flight felt like half a year had passed. Before disembarking, Xiao Naitian stretched his limbs in the cabin and then led the way down the aisle, but unexpectedly saw a group of special people outside the apron."
The ones who came to the airport to welcome Xiao Naitian and his party were Hubei Provincial Governor Song Yangping and some other officials. It was an honor for Xiao Naitian and others that the provincial governor personally came to the airport to greet them, but the real reason was that the task force had handled a major incident just after the Shanghai Bloodshed Case broke out, in the afternoon, many people rushed into the Hankou concession, if it weren't for the quick response of the 8th Division of the Army stationed here and the Consular Guard who persuaded the crowd to retreat with guns drawn, bloodshed would have been unavoidable.
After the Opium War, Hankou was officially opened to trade, with an area of about 2.2 square kilometers being designated as the Hankou Concession District. The district has a variety of European-style buildings, including Gothic, Rococo and Baroque styles. Five countries, namely Britain, Russia, France, Germany and Japan, each have their own territories within the concession, making it one of the largest concessions in China after Shanghai and Tianjin. As with all concessions, the Hankou Concession District has its own administrative system and laws independent of China, and is a de facto state within a state. Many foreign powers also set up consulates within the concession.
"Song, the provincial governor, it's really hard to recognize you after all these years!" At the banquet ceremony, Xiao Naitian did not show any abnormality, and later Song Yangping invited the leader of the handling group, Xiao Naitian, to ride in his car back to the Provincial Party Committee. As soon as he got on the bus, Xiao Naitian started arguing with Song Yangping.
"You're not bad either, you've become the head of a special treatment group, and your future prospects are great! In short, we self-taught cadres from Workers' University can't compare to those of you who graduated from regular colleges."
At first, Song Yangping was a part-time student in the Department of Economics and Administrative Management at Industrial University. As a cadre from a small county town, he couldn't compare to those diligent students at the university. As soon as he entered the campus, he studied hard. Xiao Naitian was the top student in their class, so it was natural that Song Yangping would ask him questions from time to time. Over time, the two became friends.
Not long after graduation, he was transferred to work in the city, while Xiao Naitian had already gone to Paris for a meeting. Now, Xiao Naitian is in a high position at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Song Yangping has also become the governor of Hubei Province, a new province in the autonomous region, thanks to his own ability, and the gap between them has finally narrowed a bit.
"The Shanghai Massacre is highly valued by the top, and the Hankou Concession issue itself is a major trouble spot. The top hopes to solve the problem once and for all, without any worries afterwards. With the military as backing, don't be afraid of any interfering forces."
Xiao Naitian and his old classmate chatted for a while before getting down to business. Those who can be appointed as provincial governors to lead the rapid development and construction of Hubei Province are all hardliners within the government system, and they have the ability to grasp the development situation, layout, and control of new areas. Song Yangping is an official who has risen from the grassroots level step by step, so he is not afraid of any power and has excellent work abilities. This is what Xiao Naitian needs, and it is also what Hubei's future development needs.
"At present, the work focus of our province, including Hunan, is on infrastructure construction. The Ministry of Education, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Land and Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Water Resources, and Ministry of Commerce are all conducting research in the two lakes region, especially on basic highway network construction and main railway projects. It's at this critical juncture that such a thing happened..."
Song Yangping was grateful that his old classmates could inform him of the purpose of this trip, and after learning about the attitude of the people's government, he also made further arrangements for work. The various constructions within the province, especially the projects supported by China Railway First Group and Second Group, were divided into many sections and started construction simultaneously, including the railways from Wuhan to Ankang and Guilin to Wuhan. Just in Hubei Province, these two railway projects have driven employment for 300,000 people.
The densely laid-out basic highway network project, because almost all of them are participated by private enterprises from the old districts, they have good business models, technical teams, and engineering equipment. Although it does not greatly promote local employment, their daily consumption is enough to stimulate economic development along the line. It is precisely because of this that competition has begun between Hunan and Hubei, with each trying to develop its foundation first, who will start the industrial construction boom first, and who will become another economically powerful province in the autonomous region.
Song Yangping is very confident and capable, but the governor of Hubei Province is a veteran official who was formerly the mayor of Nanning City in Guangxi Province. In order to surpass him, Hubei Province must quickly resolve the issues with the powerful countries, especially the Hankou Concession problem. Upon learning that someone has been sent from above to handle it, Song Yangping is extremely welcoming. He hopes to free Wuhan, an important city in Hubei and a future industrial hub, from the shackles of the powerful countries as soon as possible, which will undoubtedly provide a better foundation for development.
Due to the unified planning of Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang into Hubei Province, they are collectively known as Wuhan City. Among them, Hankou is the most economically developed area in Wuhan.
As early as the Ming Dynasty, Hankou was known as one of China's four major towns along with Zhuxian in Henan Province, Foshan in Guangdong Province and Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province. Overseas it was also referred to as "the Chicago of the East". Port trade was extremely active in this town, with a large volume of goods flowing through here from all over Central China. After being designated by the Qing government as a treaty port, various foreign powers set up factories and opened businesses in Hankou.
The British, Russian and other foreign businessmen set up many tea factories in Hankou, among which the most famous ones are Shun Feng and Xin Tai. There were also many foreign firms in Hankou, with the largest number of banks being British, including Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, Mercantile Bank of India, etc. France had Banque de l'Indochine and Banque Franco-Chinoise, Russia had Russo-Asiatic Bank, Japan had Yokohama Specie Bank, etc. Many banks were involved in import and export trade business, including tea, cotton, yarn, etc.
So great a stake, the Hankow district is necessarily an extremely important city in the eyes of the powers, yet the various actions of the foreigners have harmed the development of Hankow, especially the source of all evils - the concessions, which are a poisonous tumor that must be eradicated for the autonomous region.
"The issue of negotiations with the powers will be fully handled by our special delegation. In addition, I hope to have an official participate in our midst as a special representative of Hubei Province, and also to quickly dispatch personnel to contact various aspects of the concessions..."
Xiao Naitian and others were sent to the hotel to rest. After lunch, Xiao Naitian again briefed Song Yangping on the work arrangements. According to his plan, it would be best to start negotiations with representatives of Britain, Japan, and other countries in the afternoon on issues such as revoking concessions, canceling unequal treaties, etc. Although the autonomous region will not recognize concessions, privileges, or unequal treaties regardless of the attitudes and opinions of the powers, and will not acknowledge that the powers still have various privileges on Chinese territory, they are negotiating with them to try to secure the release of those detained in the Shanghai concession.
On August 18, 1927, the Emergency Handling Group of the Foreign Affairs Department of the People's Autonomous Government began negotiations with representatives of Britain, France and Japan at the Hankou Hotel in Wuhan. After nearly three days of negotiations, the differences became more serious, and the representatives of the powers categorically disagreed with the demands of the autonomous region and insisted on not releasing the detained personnel of the Shanghai Beach Bloody Incident.
On August 22, the special task force sent a note to the French and Japanese ambassadors in the concession area, hoping that all parties would return to negotiations as soon as possible, and the autonomous region reserved further action. On the same day, tens of thousands of people began a massive demonstration outside the concession area, demanding the abolition of unequal treaties, the abolition of various privileges in China...
"The above instructions allow us to take shortcuts!"
After several days of negotiations, Xiao Naitian, who had already experienced the strong mouths and faces of the powers at the Paris Peace Conference, felt that he could no longer tolerate it. The negotiations seemed to be like China begging the powers to come and talk, with each side's demands being too high and unable to compromise, so they simply extended the negotiations indefinitely before canceling them directly.
"I have already contacted the garrison troops, and the 8th Division is gathering. Wu Donglin has stated that he has obtained authorization from the Group Army and General Staff Department, and will strictly follow the orders of the Emergency Handling Team. Of course, we will also satisfy the decisions or requirements of the Provincial Committee. Currently, our Provincial Committee meeting has unanimously decided to formally issue a positive decree to deal with the concession problem..."
Song Yangping had long been unable to bear the desire to eradicate the tumor, but without establishing a solid rule of the Revival Party in the two Hu regions and without receiving clear instructions from higher authorities, he did not act rashly. This time, both the military and the Foreign Ministry, which represents the high-level intention, have expressed their stance, so he has nothing to worry about.
On August 23, the People's Autonomous Government sent a telegram to all sectors of society and consuls of various countries in China. The meaning of the telegram was simple: it did not recognize the various treaties signed between the governments of various countries and the Manchu government; it did not recognize the privileges of various countries in China; the legitimate interests of various countries in China could be guaranteed, but concessions must be abolished... Unlike this strong medicine, a decree issued by the Hubei Provincial Committee was even more violent.
"Opinions on Handling Illegally Circulating Currencies within the Region", "Strive to Build a Harmonious Rule of Law Society, Vigorously Promote New Social Trends" and other guiding opinions, requiring all regions to strictly enforce relevant laws and regulations. First, enterprises that have not been approved by the autonomous region but have set up factories or currency exchange businesses in the province will be rectified one by one, and will be uniformly registered with the administrative department for industry and commerce. Thereafter, they will conduct industrial and commercial operations in accordance with the tax laws, company laws and other relevant laws and regulations of the autonomous region. Once there is a violation, they must accept severe legal punishment.
What was even more severe was the crackdown on the illegal circulation of foreign currencies. Within the autonomous region, only the renminbi could circulate freely; all other currencies such as pounds sterling, US dollars, marks, francs, yen, gold and silver had to be exchanged within 15 days. Moreover, before the Autonomous Government People's Bank and Auditing Office completed their review of the qualifications for business operations of various foreign banks and money shops, they strictly prohibited all banks from conducting exchange transactions.
There is another "killer move" decree, which is the joint application of Hubei Province and Sichuan Province for the management of the Yangtze River channel has been approved, and a Yangtze River navigation patrol team will be established soon. Equipped with patrol boats, they will be fully responsible for the navigation safety of the Yangtze River and its branch channels, cracking down on smuggling, unqualified operation, unauthorized entry and other behaviors. The Yangtze River channel in the autonomous region will be strictly managed. The approval of these decrees undoubtedly gives a loud warning to the powers that be, that is, "the Shanghai bloodshed incident is not small, but the unequal treaty issue is even bigger".
On the 24th, just one day after all the decrees were promulgated, under the strong support of the People's Autonomous Government, the provincial government organized more than a dozen departments including public security, labor and social security, health and commerce, industry and commerce administration, quality and technical supervision, safety production supervision, taxation bureau, etc. to conduct a thorough inspection of Wuhan City, with the public security department accompanying the inspection work, any violent resistance behavior will be regarded as armed rioting and severely punished.
After the decree was issued, all enterprises that were not registered with the Ministry of Commerce, not registered with the tax authorities, not audited by the quality and technical supervision department, and not approved by the safety production supervision department accounted for the vast majority. And most of these enterprises are run by foreigners. The move by Hubei Province is clearly aimed at targeting foreign powers.
Especially in the inspection of tea factories, textile mills and other factories, those who refuse to open their doors for inspection will be sealed on the spot; those who refuse to suspend production for rectification will be issued a notice of suspension of production; those who refuse to submit registration information and establish a legal representative will be ordered to close down. For factories with poor working conditions and poor treatment of employees, it is even simpler: they can only be suspended indefinitely until they meet the relevant standards, otherwise they will receive a notice of suspension.
Regarding the concession area, it's even simpler because there are no factories inside, only residential areas and some shops and banks. At around 2 pm on the 24th, a joint inspection team consisting of the Ministry of Finance, the People's Autonomous Government, the People's Bank, and other departments such as health and epidemic prevention, household registration management, industry and commerce, and administration will conduct inspections and audits on the living environment, household registration management, and industry and commerce within the concession area. Those that do not meet standards will be dealt with in the same manner as those factories.
The motorcade of the inspection team had not yet entered the concession when the armed forces such as the police station and consulate guard in the concession set up defensive positions to block the entry of the inspection team. The People's Autonomous Government's telegram had been issued for a long time, and paper notices were also posted around the concession, which means that the concession no longer existed at this time, and any force opposing the inspection team would be regarded as an armed riot against the people's dictatorship.
"Immediately send a telegram to the Eighth Division, the public security and armed police cannot handle them. Let the army come over to help, and take the opportunity to collect a batch of bulldozers, excavators, and road rollers. After the army opens up the passage, get the engineering machinery to move in and demolish all those walls and whatnot! Anyone who resists with force will be eliminated on the spot..."
Xiao Naitian was only a negotiator, but soon the autonomous government sent a telegram instructing that the provincial government and local garrison must follow Xiao's instructions on matters related to foreign powers. Therefore, as soon as this order was issued, under the current standoff situation and amidst the cheers of the masses, the People's Government had to establish its authority. The small concession could not contain the surging emotions of the crowd, nor could it stop the government from removing this festering wound.
From receiving the order to fully armed and departing for the scene, a company of the Eighth Division Reconnaissance Battalion quickly arrived at the scene in a convoy of Humvees. The mighty Hummer was equipped with a black hole-like heavy machine gun staring forward, while the soldiers of the Eighth Division inside were armed to the teeth, each equipped with an 08 automatic rifle and a pistol, with deadly bullets waiting eagerly in the magazine...
After the crowd was dispersed, the narrow street was immediately occupied by four Humvees lined up. Relying on the well-protected Hummer, the armed confrontation position of our side was quickly set up, and the artillery position not far away was also set up. Once a firefight occurred, just those four 12.7mm heavy machine guns on the Hummers, their appearance is to maximize the killing of cluster targets, suppress light weapons and damage lightly armored targets, in addition to firing ordinary ammunition, they can also fire armor-piercing shells, armor-piercing incendiary shells, explosive incendiary shells, with a range of 1500 meters and a rate of fire of 460 rounds per minute, enough to turn those armed resistance inspection teams into sieves.
There were nearly a hundred Type 18 rifles with firepower that could not be ignored, and at least nine snipers were aiming at the heads of those people with their sniper rifles. Later, on the streets where the crowd had dispersed, a fleet of bulldozers and excavators roared in, and a fleet of dump trucks was ready to transport garbage at any time, preparing for the largest-scale demolition operation of the early 20th century.
"Is one regiment's strength enough?"
"There's another battalion that's ready to depart, and if they really can't move with this armored vehicle, then the 8th Division won't have any face left to continue existing." Xiao Naitian glanced at the time, the final ultimatum telegram and paper notice had been submitted for almost an hour, and there were only 15 minutes left before action could begin. "Company Commander, if we force our way into those bastards' place, they'll inevitably open fire, so you'll have to lead the charge! If they dare shoot, then don't show any mercy, it's best if you can turn them into human sieves!"
On August 24, 1927, the largest-scale forced demolition in human history officially began under the assistance of the military's muzzles. Under the guard of a company from the Eighth Division, two excavators that had been modified to have sharp heads charged forward and quickly knocked down the walls of the concession, dispersing the crowd that was resisting. Then, excavators entered the scene, demolishing all obstacles blocking the concession area and the outside world. Later, dump trucks were used to transport away all the debris.
The inspection team quickly inspected the merchants in the concession under the guard of the armed police, especially conducting a large-scale financial clearance on British, French and Japanese banks. More frantic than the inspection team were the masses of people, hundreds and thousands of whom swarmed into the concession, freely walking through areas they had previously not dared to enter. The excited crowds cheered for the recovery of sovereignty, even if it was just a small Hankou or a small Hubei.
"When the demolition took place, no one resisted, they accepted any work arrangement by the government, acknowledged that the concession had been opened up and unequal treaties were null and void for the autonomous region, and would follow the law and government work arrangements within the autonomous region..."
After Zhang Yu Sheng finished speaking, he still had some worries in his heart. The crazy actions of the People's Autonomous Government and the military caused a great stir throughout the world. What kind of actions could be taken by someone who dared to disregard the interests of powerful countries like England, France, Japan, and Russia, and was as swift and decisive as thunder, were beyond imagination.
"I also think that this matter is not so simple, the Hankou concession problem may be that they have lost the initiative, no matter how hard they resist, they cannot withstand the government's toughness. After the event, many foreign companies and enterprises moved out of the two lakes area, the Shanghai Bund bloodshed incident, and the release of the arrested textile workers all illustrate this point." Zhang Yu looked at Xiao Naitian's brief report and continued: "They may have acknowledged the actions of the autonomous region, but they still have a vast territory to continue their rampage, controlling Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other provinces. Isn't Sun Chuanfang expressing support for the powers? These factories and enterprises were driven out by us, he must be very happy."
"Would that things were so simple! What we need now is peace, not war!"
