Chapter Fifteen: Not Someone To Be Trifled With

  After the First Sino-Japanese War, the Qing government planned to build its first railway, from Beijing to Hankou. Unfortunately, the Qing government's treasury was empty and powerless to construct it. Later, Zhang Zhidong, the Governor of Hubei and Hunan, took charge and built a series of heavy industry factories in Hanyang, but they were later abandoned due to the tense situation in Northeast China.

  The Lu-Han Railway was the first to start construction, but its construction was built by China borrowing from powerful countries. The more than 100 kilometers of Lu-Han Railway completed in 1898 were thoroughly completed in the hands of Belgian people, and its opening also marked the beginning of the nightmare of imperialist powers exploiting China's railway rights through debt relations.

  The Qing government soon reached an agreement with Belgium to hand over the remaining sections of the Beijing-Hankou Railway to Belgian companies for construction. In order to speed up the progress, the contractor cut corners and used inferior materials, resulting in poor quality work. The piers of the Yellow River Bridge were frequently washed away by floods. By the time the entire line was completed, only about 1,214 kilometers of track had been laid, at a cost of over 40 million taels of silver, with an average cost per kilometer of over 30,000 taels of silver, which is even higher than the current highway construction costs in the autonomous region.

  After the inspection of the railway by Zhang Zhidong, Governor-General of Hubei and Hunan provinces, and Yuan Shikai, Governor-General of Zhili province, the railway was renamed to Beijing-Hankou Railway. The completion of the railway brought Beijing and Hankou closer together, and through Hankou's well-developed water transportation network, greatly increased the speed of commodity circulation between the two cities, strongly promoting the common development of the Yangtze River Valley and North China regions. After the Qing government redeemed the railway not long after the establishment of the Republic of China, the warlord wars in these years did not have much impact on the operation of the railway. However, when Hubei became part of an autonomous region, the fate of the railway had already reached a critical juncture.

  "The opening of a railway is quite important for the economic development of the areas along the line. In 1906, before the Beijing-Hankou Railway was opened to traffic, Luohe in Henan Province was just a small village with several handicraft workshops and some business shops. After the railway was opened to traffic, it became a transportation hub, and it can be said that the city was pulled out by the train."

  "Yes, the deepest impression on this road is Luohe! A small village in the past has become a small city with over 40,000 people today. The merchants coming and going from the south to the north have made the local industry and commerce develop very well. Located on the Beijing-Hankou Railway line, Luohe has become the distribution center for goods, agricultural products, and livestock in the eastern Henan plain. Except for taking waterways and official roads from Hubei and Hunan provinces directly to Beijing, taking the train is undoubtedly the best choice for merchants. Luohe's prosperity today cannot be achieved without the contribution of the Pinghan Railway!"

  The Railway Construction Bureau under the Transportation Management Department of the People's Autonomous Government organized personnel to secretly survey the Pinghan Railway, which was still in operation. After the autonomous region occupied Hubei, it did not become an obstacle to railway operations, but instead actively prepared for the use of the Pinghan Railway. However, this railway passes through Henan, Zhili, Beijing and other areas not controlled by the autonomous region, and the Battle of Zhili and Fengtian is being fiercely fought in the direction of Beijing.

  The autonomous region has a plan to conduct a comprehensive survey of the Ping-Han Railway for renovation, but there is no opportunity to propose it to Wu Peifu and others, so the Construction Bureau can only organize personnel to take advantage of the situation and conduct a two-month survey of the Ping-Han Railway. Now, the engineering and technical personnel have returned to Wuhan and are waiting in the conference room of the Provincial Committee for Governor Song Yangping and relevant transportation department leaders. Their inspection results need to be reported.

  "I've always been puzzled, why the Beijing-Hankou railway doesn't go in a straight line, passing through Kaifeng and Zhoukou to directly reach Beijing wouldn't be great? Moreover, these two regions are both very important cities, with developed industry and commerce, dense population..." Song Yangping raised a question that the investigation team members had previously asked, but as the investigation came to an end, all the causes and effects became clear.

  Zhoukou is one of the four famous towns in Henan Province, and it is the largest commodity and goods trading hub in eastern Henan. Its geographical location is very important. During the Qing dynasty, Zhoukou was also a well-known military stronghold throughout the country. Zeng Guofan once submitted a memorial to the Qing court, pointing out the importance of stationing troops in four places: Xuzhou in Jiangsu Province, Jining in Shandong Province, Linhuai in Anhui Province, and Zhoukou in Henan Province, especially Zhoukou, which is the gateway to eastern Henan and the capital.

  Since the mid-Ming dynasty, Zhoukou has been a water and land terminal. From Hankou to Zhoukou, from Zhoukou to Kaifeng, it is an old official road leading to Beijing, and from Kaifeng to Anyang and then to Beijing, it is also the best and most direct route, but the Jinghan Railway did not pass through here. The Luohe River, which replaced Zhoukou, was only a small village at that time, with a weak economy and a population of only a few thousand people, and had no value in building a railway. As for why Zhoukou was abandoned and Luohe was chosen, Yuan Shikai was a key figure.

  In 1901, the Qing government appointed Yuan Shikai as the Governor of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang. When he took office as Governor of Zhili, it was also the time when the Beijing-Hankou Railway resumed construction. Although Sheng Xuanhuai was the general manager of the Chinese Railway Company, in order to coordinate administrative management during the construction of the Beijing-Hankou Railway, the Qing government stipulated that the northern section of the railway would be supervised by Yuan Shikai and the southern section would be supervised by Zhang Zhidong, Governor of Hubei. With absolute power in his hands, if Yuan Shikai wanted to let the Beijing-Hankou line pass through Zhoukou, it should have been a matter of course. But why didn't Yuan Shikai advocate for the railway to pass through his hometown? Yuan Shikai had his own ideas. Moreover, as the Governor of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang with great power and prestige, if Yuan Shikai proposed modifications to the railway construction plan, Sheng Xuanhuai could only follow suit.

  In Yuan Shikai's view, many Catholic churches were built along the Lugou Bridge to Baoding railway line, which was the most intense area of the Boxer Movement. The Boxers burned down churches and destroyed railways while fighting against foreign invaders. This left Yuan Shikai with an impression that the railway lines were unsafe. Moreover, he believed that since the railway passed through Zhoukou, it was too close to his hometown Xiangcheng, making it easy for bandits to cause trouble in times of war, and there would be no peace within a hundred miles.

  So for the safety of his hometown, he suggested that the railway be moved westward by more than 100 miles. The railway supervisor and engineer had no choice but to follow suit, resulting in the Beijing-Hankou Railway passing through Luohe on the west side of Zhoukou, transforming a small village into a small city. Moreover, due to technical and financial difficulties, the Yellow River near Kaifeng was known as the "hanging river" or "tofu waist" of the Yellow River. If they had chosen to build a bridge from Kaifeng, not only would the investment have been huge, but the risk after completion would also have been extremely high. Therefore, Zhang Zhidong made another change to the Beijing-Hankou Railway, routing it through Zhengzhou instead. One railway line was altered by two people, leading to the development and rise of two regions: Luohe and Zhengzhou!

  "The current work focus is to sort out the survey data and come up with a practical renovation plan. Of course, I'm referring to the engineering aspect, as for other things, relevant departments will handle them! Our province strongly supports your work and hopes that you can complete the plan as soon as possible... Song Yangping didn't understand too much about technical aspects, all he knew was that the Ping-Han Railway is currently uninterrupted, but must be renovated in the future, otherwise, the railway network of the autonomous region will not connect with the Ping-Han Railway, which would cause a lot of trouble later on."

  In August 1927, the autonomous region's demolition of the concession and abolition of various privileges of powerful countries led to a standoff between the British fleet and the people's army of the autonomous region. The two sides soon returned to the negotiating table to resolve their differences through peaceful dialogue. Of course, the British side did not actually need any privileges; what they cared about was whether the Yangtze River basin would still be open to them and whether the vast Chinese market would be closed to Britain from then on. As for following the laws and regulations of the autonomous region, these were not things that should concern them.

  The autonomous region's consideration is to ensure that China returns to an equal footing with the powers, although it cannot dominate international affairs, but on its own territory, it must still be in charge. Just like the reform and opening up of later generations, the powers can set up factories, establish companies, and start businesses in the autonomous region, but the prerequisite is to abide by the laws and regulations of the autonomous region, especially that there will no longer be any consular jurisdiction or anything similar in the autonomous region, and on the contrary, the autonomous region can also give certain preferential treatment to foreign enterprises.

  The negotiations between the two sides were not formally concluded until early January 1918, when the People's Government of Mongolia and Britain signed a mutually beneficial agreement. The United States and France, which mediated the negotiations, also signed the agreement. This agreement was the first effective legal document reached between Outer Mongolia and foreign powers, abolishing the privileges enjoyed by foreign powers in Outer Mongolia and abolishing unequal treaties. It allowed citizens, companies and groups of various countries to engage in business, trade, tourism and other activities in Outer Mongolia, while requiring everyone to comply with the laws and policies of Outer Mongolia.

  It can be said that on the surface, the autonomous region seems to have lost a lot, just because of one Hankou concession incident. The autonomous region opened up the entire Yangtze River city, and the vast autonomous region seemed to welcome a large-scale dumping of foreign goods, which would inevitably bring great impact and influence to the industry and commerce of the autonomous region, but in fact it was not so.

  All along, the autonomous region has been exporting goods to Europe and America, from clothing accessories, food and sweets, household appliances, cars and ships. In short, except for airplanes and military weapons, everything that can be sold and made money is being dumped abroad. The autonomous region opens its arms to welcome investment from powerful countries, introducing foreign competitors will not impact the dominant position of local industry and commerce, but rather stimulate local companies to move forward bravely. After all, who dominates the Chinese market still depends on strength.

  In contrast, European and American companies operating in Hankou and Shanghai are mainly engaged in light industry, food processing, textile industry, banking and trade. Therefore, the regions they care about are still cities along the Yangtze River, especially Wuhan and Chongqing Wanzhou. To enter more areas, there aren't many large enterprises, but rather autonomous region-controlled companies such as AsiaMe Group, Asiastar Bus, Dongfeng Heavy Truck, Zhongzhou Special Automobile, China National Import & Export Corporation, China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company, China State Shipbuilding Corporation, China Minsheng Pharmaceutical Group and the three major pharmaceutical companies (Tian'an, Taikang, Taiji).

  Dozens of large state-owned group companies in the autonomous region, as well as countless private enterprises, have flooded the European and American markets with their products. This has proven that the autonomous region is not afraid of opening up to the outside world, but rather fears that major powers will close themselves off, which would be detrimental to the autonomous region.

  After the signing of the mutual benefit and mutual profit agreement, in addition to the enterprises of the powers in the autonomous region being subject to regulation and taxation, a more beneficial point is that the currency of the autonomous region, the renminbi, will be exchanged directly with the currencies of the powers in banks of various countries for the first time. The same gold standard monetary system is adopted, where one pound sterling is equivalent to 7.32 grams of gold, one US dollar is equivalent to 1.50 grams, one French franc is equivalent to 0.29 grams, and one Japanese yen is equivalent to 0.75 grams. After negotiation, the renminbi was agreed to contain 0.25 grams of gold, with one US dollar formally priced at six renminbi.

  After the currency exchange agreement, afterwards in US Citibank, UK HSBC, Japan Sumitomo Bank and other places, foreign currencies can be exchanged for RMB, which undoubtedly facilitates economic exchanges between each other. In other words, after a company in the autonomous region sells products in Europe and America and earns profits, it no longer needs to exchange them into gold in another country before returning home and then exchanging them into RMB to obtain real gains. Before this agreement, the autonomous region did not allow private individuals to hold foreign currencies except for gold and silver. After the agreement was reached, anyone can pay a certain amount of tax and bring their profits back to their company or home, or even deposit them in banks, as long as they are not directly circulated on the market, it is the freedom of citizens to keep gold or foreign currency.

  Foreign companies or individuals coming to the autonomous region can bring large amounts of cash or gold, because only RMB is allowed to circulate in the region. However, banks such as Agricultural Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank, People's Bank, Construction Bank, and Development Bank can exchange them for freely circulating RMB at full value, which will greatly benefit their investment and consumption. Through their influence, the impact of RMB will spread throughout China. With strong government credit and gold reserves, it is estimated that even before the region unifies the country, its currency system may unify first.

  However, reaching agreements with powerful countries and the like is not something that a province or a technical department needs to worry about. No matter what the outcome of the negotiations may be, one thing remains unchanged: the Pinghan Railway must be controlled by the autonomous region. This is an undisputed fact. Through the Pinghan Railway, the autonomous region can quickly control Henan, Zhili, and even Beijing. Putting aside its benefits to civil society, this railway has strategic value for the development of the autonomous government.

  Before the end of the Zhili-Fengtian War, it is impossible for us to discuss the issue of the Pinghan Railway. Let's talk about the situation in Guangzhou first! Yesterday, Chen Jiongming sent a telegram inviting our representative to come to Guangzhou to discuss important matters, but he did not specify what they were. However, after some thought, we can infer his intention: he hopes that we will recognize him, acknowledge his position as the commander-in-chief of the Guangzhou military government, or perhaps he has other purposes in mind...

  "Has the intelligence department got no news?"

  "For the time being, nothing!" Zhang Yusheng said to this point, handed a document to Zhang Yu and said: "Regarding the negotiation with Yan Xishan in Shanxi Province, substantial results have been achieved. He is extremely unwilling to give up his warlord dictatorship status in Shanxi, and even more unwilling to accept our negotiating conditions to abandon his warlord identity. Even the private property and family safety guarantees we promised, as well as a large sum of compensation, were met with outright rejection. In short, he does not believe that we dare to use force against him, or that we do not have the guts to challenge him!"

  "A challenge?" Zhang Yu smiled, stood up and stretched his waist before saying: "Dai Chengyong of the Second Army Group has been shouting all day about when they can also establish a mechanized force. I don't ask for an armored division like the First Army Group, but at least give them a mechanized infantry regiment to facilitate the long-term development of the army group in the future. Guess how I responded? I said, 'Dai Xiazi, listen up! If your armored vehicles make too much noise in Shaanxi and wake up Yan Laowei next door, then the task of cleaning up Shanxi will be yours...'"

  "I bet Dai Chengyong will immediately respond to you, he must say that it's even more necessary to equip them better, a mechanized infantry division is definitely not enough, like the Fourth Army pulling out a mechanized infantry regiment, this is just lively enough. But no matter whether they change equipment or not, the task of cleaning up Shanxi will be handed over to them!"

  "Yes! Military spending has been increasing year by year, and expenses have also increased. No matter how we plan, it feels like it's not enough. The army hasn't even moved yet, but the cost of food and grass is already skyrocketing. Zhang Yu said this, rubbing his chin thoughtfully and scratching twice before saying: "Is it because our military expansion has come too quickly, and doesn't match our economic strength? But even if we were to take the path of militarization, we haven't seen much of an impact on the economy from military spending... If we rule out this point, then there's only one reason left - the proportion of military spending in our budget is too low!"

  Zhang Yu said, getting more and more into it, "Let me calculate the accounts for you! Do you know how much expenses this army needs to consume every day? Just one takeoff and landing of an air force squadron costs several hundred dollars. A naval vessel going out for a spin consumes tons of heavy oil. Every day before dawn, I'm already calculating how many rice, flour, vegetables, and pork we need to eat away, how much ammunition and fuel we need to consume. Sometimes I even think about whether we need to expand again or replace equipment. One after another, the huge expense lists come crashing down like boulders. Several billion in military expenses is really not enough!"

  "I have always believed that military spending should not exceed 12% of GDP, which is a bottom line. We have maintained a ratio of around 6.8-7.3%, which is a very reasonable proportion. After all, we are currently in a period of major construction and need stability rather than military warfare. Last year's budget allocated 7.1% for the military, and this year the People's Army received over 60 billion yuan, even if part of it was mandatory spending for the Tai Shan plan, there is still enough money left to cover expenses!"

  "I find that I can talk to you about anything, but when it comes to money, problems arise." Zhang Yu didn't want to continue entangling himself in this issue, looked at the negotiation team and Yan Xishan's discussion results, shook his head and said: "It seems that Yan Xishan won't shed tears until he sees a coffin. Shouldn't we give him some color to see? After all, we are considered China's number one warlord, if others don't give us face, we have to find it ourselves!"

  "Take care of the Shanxi situation yourself, do we still need to mobilize the People's Army for a war to take down Shanxi? What I'm most concerned about is Chen Jiongming in Guangzhou. This turtle son has something brewing in his wine jar, inviting us over to discuss important matters. Is he planning to divide the world with us and become an emperor himself? Or does he have ideas about our autonomous region? But our intelligence agency hasn't detected any mobilization or gathering of his troops!"

  "Mind your own business, you handle the Guangzhou side. I've taken care of Yan Laowei, if things go well, I'll take care of Henan and Hebei along the way. Now that we have the two Hu, shouldn't we also have the two He?" After finishing speaking, Zhang Yu put on his military cap, patted his uniform, and prepared to leave the General Affairs Court.

  "By the way, Taishan base called again and asked you to go back. When you have time, go back and take a look."

  Zhang Yusheng was a bit worried about the Tai Shan plan, with an investment of nearly 10 billion yuan each year, it's not a joke. Every single RMB is earned by the autonomous region's factories through hard work, and the scale of the Tai Shan plan is too large, consuming too much money. As a predecessor who has been doing his job as a ordinary citizen, Zhang Yusheng still can't accept such a huge project in his heart. However, from Zhang Yu's performance, this kid doesn't have a serious attitude all day long, although he says he doesn't care about the Tai Shan plan, but in fact, he is very concerned about it.

  "Got it!" The words had barely fallen when Zhang Yu's office door was slammed shut with a loud bang. Working overtime every day, piling heavy tasks on Zhang Yu without getting any angry response really didn't know that Zhang Yu wasn't someone to be trifled with.

  PS: Regarding the suggestions from book friends in the review area, it is said that the domestic description part of this book is too small and the plot should be accelerated. As for this issue, just like some book friends suggested earlier that there shouldn't be too many technical things in the book, I will pay attention to these problems. The plot of the book will be changed to strive for unity as soon as possible. The real focus of this book is the great power game and the bloody war. Looking forward to your support and suggestions!