Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Chapter 284: The Nationalist government's economy is on the verge of collapse! Chu Yunfei makes a move, Chiang Kai-shek: Yongzhi, you've got to learn your lesson!

Jincheng, Shanxi.

The sun had already set.

After nightfall, there were a few places in the city with electric lights on.

There are no pedestrians on the streets of Jincheng.

In a dark alley.

A line of soldiers in gray uniforms of the Jinsui Army walked hurriedly.

Among them were some local officials wearing hoods.

These officials remained silent in tacit agreement.

It seems like he wants to maintain the last bit of "dignity".

Soon, they were escorted into a secret stronghold.

Bai Yongqiang, the captain of the Jincheng detachment, was standing next to Sun Ming at this time.

The entire stronghold was basically surrounded by people from the Jincheng detachment.

Let’s add the guard company led by Sun Ming.

More than a thousand people stayed in Jincheng City.

The purpose is to cooperate with Huang Baitao's anti-corruption work.

The last two weeks.

Sun Ming also witnessed Huang Baitao's work ability.

He was like a mad dog, biting every local official who showed a flaw.

In just two weeks, he actually arrested dozens of officials from Jincheng and surrounding areas.

"Section Chief Sun, can you give me a name?"

Huang Baitao looked down at Section Chief Sun of the Construction Department, who had been tortured beyond recognition, as if he was in a neurotic state.

"Who gave the order?"

Huang Baitao whispered in his ear: "If you are willing to speak out, I guarantee with my own character that I will give you a quick death and your family will not be implicated."

Sun Jian's eyelids drooped. He looked up at Huang Baitao and spat at him.

"You won't let any of them go. Don't think I don't know. You are all a bunch of idiots who eat human flesh and leave no bones. You are just looking for an excuse."

"Give me a name and I won't kill you."

"I am Commander Yan's man!" Sun Jian sneered, as if he didn't take Huang Baitao seriously at all: "How long do you think Sun Weimou can stay in southeastern Shanxi? Let me tell you..."

"Commander Yan?"

Huang Baitao had lost his patience at this point.

This was not the answer he wanted.

Since I can't get the name I want, I have to think of other ways.

Huang Baitao waved to his thin subordinate beside him.

The thin subordinate went up and whipped him twice without saying a word.

The whip fell on his body, and Sun Jian, who had been so tough just now, stopped talking.

"Ouch~!"

"what!"

The only sound in the entire room was Sun Jian’s screams.

Seeing Huang Baitao coming over with a frown on his face, Sun Ming smiled and said, "Brother Huanran, I've said it before, these people won't be able to find out anything, so just kill them as soon as possible. The more things get out of hand, the harder it will be to deal with."

Is Sun Jian one of Yan Laoxi’s men?

Although not, there is still some interest relationship between them and some Shanxi people in the Pacification Office and the Headquarters of the Second War Zone Commander.

Sun Ming is Chu Yunfei's most trusted subordinate and one of his close associates.

Naturally, he didn't want Chu Yunfei and Yan Laoxi to have a direct conflict.

But Huang Baitao doesn't care about these things right now.

The task Chu Yunfei gave him was to do this.

He has become a de facto "lone minister".

After wasting so many years, he needs a chance.

Need a chance to move up.

After Chu Yunfei extended the olive branch, he did not hesitate at all.

It was because he could see Chu Yunfei's courage.

You can see Chu Yunfei's determination to break the "rules".

Has the southeastern part of Jin become peaceful and prosperous because of Chu Yunfei's arrival?

Obviously impossible.

Sun Weimou spent half a year just sorting out the areas surrounding Changzhi.

He also killed a lot of people with the cooperation of Zhuo Tianyu.

After a beating, you should also give a sweet date.

If we keep killing people, who will do anything?

This is also the necessity for the birth of the Federation of Industry and Commerce.

As for places like Jincheng.

According to the gentlemanly agreement reached between Sun Weimou and others, they would not raise their butcher knives again.

But this place is so important.

The financial situation in southeastern Shanxi cannot withstand even the slightest loss.

When one dollar is enough to be put into practice, it is not enough.

Chu Yunfei naturally had no tolerance for the internal pests.

Jincheng will become a large transit point for communication between southeastern Shanxi and the rear area.

Batches of weapons and equipment were transported here, as well as batches of building materials.

Chu Yunfei even placed the Construction Corps here to build roads and expand the ferry.

In Chu Yunfei's mind, Jincheng's strategic priority is even higher than Changzhi area.

Jincheng will become a transshipment center and a tobacco production base.

This place has in fact become a key area for the Flying Tiger Honor Division to complete trade with the Soviet Union.

Once it was done, we maintained constant contact with the rear areas during the War of Resistance.

A steady supply of food and other supplies will be delivered to the front line.

Supplies from the Soviet Union in the north will also arrive one after another.

He, Sun Wemou, can kill people, and so can I, Huang Baitao.

Otherwise, why would Chu Yunfei send Sun Ming to do this with him?
Huang Baitao didn't care about Sun Ming's kind advice.

He sat on a chair nearby and waved his hand: "Don't worry too much. With so many people, there will always be someone who will speak up."

"Even if they didn't ask, their wealth would be confiscated to support the war against the Japanese."

Sun Ming nodded slightly: "That's what I mean.. Instead of wasting time here to interrogate them, why not kill a group of them first to scare them away? We have people with guns in our hands, how can these bastards still cause trouble?"

I originally thought Sun Ming would have some good ideas.

I didn't expect that it would end up with killing.

This made Huang Baitao feel a little dissatisfied.

Before leaving, Fang Ligong reminded him that the key to breaking the deadlock actually lies with Sun Ming.

However, the advice Sun Ming gave him did not seem that reliable.

If the problem could really be solved by killing, why didn't Sun Weimou choose to continue killing?
Huang Baitao raised his eyebrows and continued, "Your Excellency is attending a meeting at the Commander's Headquarters. Under such circumstances, it is better not to make a big move, so as not to affect Your Excellency."

Sun Ming said nothing after hearing this.

He just watched silently as Huang Baitao conducted a new round of interrogation on the officials who were sent there.

Build the Corps headquarters.

"Huang Baitao has arrested so many people since he first arrived. I heard that many of them are working for you. Aren't you in a hurry?"

Sun Weimou and Zhuo Tianyu sat at the small table.

The dishes were served and the two began to chat about serious matters.

Hearing Zhuo Tianyu take the initiative to talk about this matter, Sun Weimou also raised his eyebrows at this time: "This person has just arrived and seems to not know the rules. If he does this, who will work hard in the future?"

"Putting aside the question of whether he did anything or not, I'm quite curious, why did you have no reaction when he arrested your people?" Zhuo Tianyu didn't mind making matters worse and fanned the flames.

Sun Weimou smiled and said, "If it weren't for him, I really wouldn't know that this group of people dared to do these things under my nose. They dared to intervene in such things as repairing a broken road, expanding a ferry, and digging national defense fortifications. The death of a few people can serve as a lesson for them."

Kill a few people to scare the monkeys and then it's time to stop.

After checking so much, I have finally given an account of the tasks assigned by Chu Yunfei.

"You are so awesome, but these little brothers are suffering following you. People die all the time. If Huang Baitao really catches and kills them all, I wonder who you can use." Zhuo Tianyu's words were full of sarcasm, which could be regarded as a reminder.

After the Jincheng detachment was mobilized, Zhuo Tianyu guessed that this matter could not be as simple as just a few deaths.

Sun Weimou frowned and thought for a moment before he could no longer sit still: "This kid can't be so foolish, right?"

"Who knows?" Zhuo Tianyu shrugged, then picked up the roasted chicken leg on the table: "He has never been valued before, and now he has such an opportunity. If he really catches the eye of Junzuo, you know how fast he will be promoted. If there were no troops to lead him, what position would our Junzuo be in now? Can you tell me for sure?"

Seeing Zhuo Tianyu's greedy look, Sun Weimou himself didn't care much, but what Zhuo Tianyu said was exactly what he was worried about: "This is the Second War Zone. The position of Deputy Chief of Staff of the War Zone is actually high enough. It is estimated that he will be a corps commander next year."

Jobs belong to jobs.

But Chu Yunfei's actual status and power have little to do with his position.

his status.

He mainly relied on the officers and soldiers under his command, as well as the people in the southeastern Shanxi region.

It actually has nothing to do with whether he is the Deputy Chief of the General Staff or not.

Although the staff officer and chief of staff seem to be in high positions and have great power.

In essence, it is just a staff role, at best the third in command.

The chief officer’s mouthpiece, although he holds a high position, he does not have much actual power.

only.

The situations of the Deputy Chief of General Staff and Chief of General Staff in the theater are somewhat special.

This position can even be under the command of the theater commander-in-chief.

Commands corps commanders and army group commanders.

"Well, to be honest, we are both corps commanders now. Is any position that important?"

Zhuo Tianyu is now the commander-in-chief of the Agricultural Reclamation Corps, and Sun Weimou is the commander-in-chief of the Construction Corps and deputy chief of the general staff.

obviously.

Although he is called the commander-in-chief, in fact.

It's just a name.

Both of them knew exactly what level of position it was.

In the Second War Zone, he was not considered a senior general.

One of the little Karami, of their level.

There are at least sixty more in the whole of Shanxi.

"I actually don't understand why the Lord Commander would set up these two corps, and why Commander Yan agreed to it."

Before this, the two had been operating under the guise of the Shanxi Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army, and they also held concurrent positions under Chu Yunfei.

In fact, it basically represents Chu Yunfei.

As the identities of the two people came to the surface, many things could actually be said to be 100% certain to shake Yan Laoxi's prestige in Shanxi.

But not only did Yan Laoxi not interfere or obstruct at all, but he showed his support for them.

Sun Weimou was a cautious person. He suspected that Yan Laoxi was raising pigs, but Yan Laoxi did not have the ability to fatten the pigs and then kill them.

This forced Sun Weimou to think positively. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this kind of thing was really possible.

"Never mind that. Why worry about these things? Just finish the things you have on hand." Zhuo Tianyu quickly picked up the beef and stuffed it into his mouth, then picked up the wine cup on the table and put it into his mouth.

After chewing a few times, he continued, "What stage has the establishment of Jindongnan Industrial Development Company reached now?"

"The only one left is my old man, and he still doesn't agree."

"Why don't you agree to this?" Zhuo Tian was puzzled. "Hasn't the Bao's Company been integrated? Could it be that after the integration, your father's original things are no longer his?" Sun Weimou rolled his eyes. "You are talking nonsense. How can my father agree to something that you can see clearly?"

"He has been doing business for most of his life, but this is the first time that our superior has said that he will give us a share of the profits. But now that the war has come to this, do you know when we can get the money?"

Zhuo Tianyu frowned and thought for a moment before nodding: "That's true. You rich people do business for money, or you hoard land to become a landlord or something. Now you are not allowed to hoard land, nor are you allowed to buy land. Once the Industrial Development Company is integrated, you can't get the money back directly."

"What do you mean by making money?" Sun Weimou said anxiously: "We are a law-abiding and legal businessman. We pay taxes!"

"Does our boss care about such a small amount of money?" Zhuo Tianyu understood clearly: "You know that our annual pension costs more than 4 million national currency. Your family is considered a well-known business in southeastern Shanxi. How much tax can you pay in a year?"

"Four hundred thousand? Five hundred thousand? One million?"

Sun Weimou frowned slightly: "It's not about the money, it's that the devils are pushing us too hard. If most of the profits go into the public treasury, will the people below work hard?"

Zhuo Tianyu glanced at Sun Weimou who had barely touched his chopsticks. He had eaten heartily and was almost full. He patted his belly and said, "I don't know about that. Anyway, you have to worry about it. After I complete the land reclamation task this month, I will cooperate with you to build the road."

"Can't you give me some advice?" Sun Weimou glanced at Zhuo Tianyu and sighed.

Zhuo Tianyu was very single: "You are all staff officers with dirty hearts. There are some things you know you can't do, let alone stop your superiors from doing things. Without you, Sun Weimou, Southeast Jin is still Southeast Jin, and without me, Zhuo Tianyu, the Agricultural Reclamation Corps is still the Agricultural Reclamation Corps."

Sun Weimou nodded silently: "You are right about this. Even without me, Sun Weimou, Southeast Shanxi will still be in decline."

Second World War Commander Headquarters.

Regarding the specific participating troops and their corresponding deployment.

The discussion lasted another two days.

Details about the battle, as well as the weapons, ammunition, and resources needed to mobilize each unit.

Even related personnel transfers and adjustments.

In the end, everything must be put into practice.

It was summarized in a telegram and then sent to the Shancheng Command.

At this point in time, Chiang Kai-shek was actually very worried.

In order to strengthen the depth of the rear area of ​​the War of Resistance, the National Government decided to establish a new province.

That is Xikang Province.

Xikang Province is located between Sichuan and Tibet and is divided into three districts: Kangding, Ya'an and Xichang.

In terms of area alone, it is equivalent to five ZJ provinces.

The head of the Xikang Provincial Government was Liu Wenhui, the leader of the Sichuan Army who had a deep rift with Chiang Kai-shek.

The result of this exchange of interests was that Liu Wenhui named the widest street in Ya'an "Zhongzheng Street".

The purpose was also to express his firm support for the Central Government's war of resistance.

The Sichuan issue was resolved in just four months, rather than half a year.

As soon as Chiang Kai-shek returned to the mountain city, he saw the specially compiled telegram.

“The materials needed for the counterattack in the Second War Zone are as follows:

6.98 million rounds of 79 rifle bullets, 600,000 rounds of carbine bullets, 2.7 million rounds of heavy machine gun bullets, and 1.3 million rounds of light machine gun bullets.

There were 260 signal gun shells, 18,222 60mm mortar shells, and 13,600 80mm mortar shells.

75 grenade launchers and mm mountain artillery shells."

In fact, the things needed were endless, but there were only enough for two rounds of combat, and each unit had to fight for two months in a row.

But even this little thing was enough to make Chiang Kai-shek frown.

Since the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Nationalist government has lost 25 major cities, covering almost all of China's most productive areas.

The areas with high crop yields and concentrated industrial and mining enterprises fell into the hands of the Japanese army one after another.

The production and procurement of major agricultural products, including grain, have been severely hit.

Although most of the important industrial and mining enterprises in the southeastern coastal areas have been transferred to the rear, there is a shortage of raw materials, outdated production equipment and a shortage of skilled workers.

As a result, around 39, the country's industrial production capacity was in a state of rapid decline.

There is no income tax in the National Government’s tax system.

The main source of fiscal revenue for the country is customs.

However, important coastal cities such as Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao, Guangzhou, Shantou, Nantong and Ningbo fell.

The actual fiscal revenue of the Nationalist government was less than half of what it was before the war.

Although Chiang Kai-shek said that only the three provinces of Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou must not be lost.

We will surely win the war of resistance.

There is some truth to that, but he has not considered how much money is needed to support a war.

Just because he likes to look at data doesn’t mean he likes to calculate data.

Wang Zhaoming, who liked to calculate accounts and data in the National Government, had already established contact with the Japanese and could no longer be relied upon.

As for the financial power of the National Government.

When Song Ziwen was in office, he was still able to challenge Chiang Kai-shek and fight for military funds in order to maintain the development of national capitalism.

But he didn't know how to make money. "Draining the pond to catch all the fish" is an objective evaluation of the actions of Song Ziwen, an academician.

The same is true of his successor.

After Kong Xiangxi took office, he simply tried to cater to the people. Although he did make some changes, overall he was cutting off the source of the problem.

But who else can Chang Kai-shen use?
There are only a few who are capable, and you can count them on one hand.
Apart from these two, the Nationalist government couldn't even find anyone stronger than them.

So fucking fucked.

Chiang Kai-shek saw the report that Kong Xiangxi placed in front of him, which covered that the Chinese army's main combat supplies such as weapons, ammunition, aircraft, and fuel needed to be imported.

Chiang Kai-shek knew very well the character of these domestic bureaucrats.

The Nationalist government's arms procurement has always been shrouded in shady dealings.

Not to mention Germany’s arms trade, it’s normal that those things are expensive, after all, it’s not a foreign exchange settlement.

But this is the situation now.

The prices of weapons purchased by Kong Xiangxi and his men were still so high.

This made Chiang Kai-shek think of Chu Yunfei's previous telegram.

What about anti-aircraft guns?

Thinking of this, Chiang Kai-shek immediately sent someone to invite Kong Yongzhi, who was in charge of the financial power.

I want to hear him explain in detail why the financial loss figure is so large.

Kong Xiangxi seemed to be mentally prepared.

I brought a whole bag of documents with me when I came.

It's full of expenses.

The Nationalist government has always had a tradition of favoring teachers.

At the time of financial collapse, special funds were allocated to colleges and universities that moved inland.

Living allowances, education subsidies, interest-free education loans, and reduction of tuition and miscellaneous fees for college teachers and students.

All this was done because even the Nationalist government realized that preserving the education and culture of the Chinese nation was actually as important as defending this land.

They hope that the country's outstanding scholars and young students will persevere in carrying forward the nation's cultural and educational undertakings in the war environment.

"In addition, there are a huge number of refugees who need relief, and we need to support three million officers and soldiers, 11 million able-bodied men, both active and inactive, and pensions. Every day is a staggering expense."

How is the Nationalist government supposed to pay out pensions if the Refugee Relief Agency can’t even get enough staff?
Looking at the data in front of me.

Chiang Kai-shek sighed: "At present, public opinion in various countries generally believes that even if we have the best soldiers and the best commanders, our finances will hardly last more than half a year."

"The national finances are on the verge of collapse, but if we don't maintain such a large number of troops, we won't even be able to confront the Japanese. Now, Yongzhi, do you have any good ideas?"

Kong Yongzhi remained silent and said, "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Mr. Jiang, you should set up a public treasury and seek support from the people of the country as much as possible."

Chiang Kai-shek snorted coldly and slammed a copy of the Ta Kung Pao in his hand directly on the table: "Then you can take a look at this newspaper!"

Kong Yongzhi was horrified.

Chiang Kai-shek hasn't shown this attitude to him for several years since he became the Minister of Finance.

You have to know that Kong Yongzhi almost obeyed Chiang Kai-shek's every word.

From Chiang Kai-shek's perspective, there was basically no problem except that the money was made a little too much.

Legal currency reform, repayment of foreign debts, internal debt restructuring, and this time the establishment of a public treasury.

Tariffs, salt taxes and unified taxes met Chiang Kai-shek's military expenditure needs.

Fill other budget gaps and holes by issuing government bonds and other miscellaneous taxes.

In fact, according to the way the Sino-Japanese war was fought.

Logically speaking, the Nationalist government's finances would have collapsed in 38.

But under the manipulation of Kong Xiangxi, the economy managed to survive until the end of 38 before it was on the verge of collapse.

He has no shortage of abilities.

In 35, Kong Yongzhi teamed up with the Americans to defraud the Japanese of more than million silver dollars.

Silver dollars cannot be circulated in Japan and can only be used as precious metals. Needless to say, the main components of silver dollars are.

After the legal currency reform was completed, all the silver dollars were in the hands of the Japanese.

But now that things have come to this, even Chiang Kai-shek feels insecure.

Kong Xiangxi still wants to take action against the grassroots people, which is really too much.

Ma Yinchu pointed the finger at Finance Minister Kong in the Ta Kung Pao and exposed his corruption in military purchases.

Cooperating with the public opinion campaign are Blue Party officials from the Political Science Department.

The timing was very clever, and it's hard to tell whether CC had any assists here.

You know, it’s about the control of public opinion.

Chiang Kai-shek's control ability is not as good as that of the CC faction.

For a moment, even the old fox Kong Yongzhi was a little surprised.

He didn't even get any wind of the matter and yet he directly attacked the God of Wealth.

He didn't even have a chance to react, not even to clip his wings.
What is this doing?
Chiang Kai-shek was furious at this time: "Did you see that? How much is the balance of the Bank of China's legal currency this year?"

"Please calm down, Mr. Chiang. We are still in the process of settling the matter."

"Are you really planning to have only one national currency left?" Chiang Kai-shek grabbed the newspaper that Kong Yongzhi had put back on the table and slammed it hard on the table.

"The cost of raising military funds must not be borne by the people anymore. We need to find another way."

Without giving Kong Xiangxi a chance to refuse, Chiang Kai-shek frowned and sat on the sofa beside him: "I'm tired, go back and think about it carefully, I hope you will learn from this!"

Kong Xiangxi had no choice but to resign.

Who have you offended recently?
Just after returning from Guizhou, such a big mess happened.

This feeling made Kong Xiangxi feel like a thorn in his back.

His power was so great that even Chiang Kai-shek would change his attitude towards him.
After thinking about it, the only time I did nothing in the past six months was when I swallowed Chu Yunfei's gift.

That doesn’t make sense. Chu Yunfei is also from Shanxi.

I have helped him a lot, it's just four million US dollars.

The ones who attacked him this time were mainly the old guys in the Political Science Department.

Since the death of Yang Yongtai, they have basically become irrelevant.

Thinking of this, Kong Xiangxi came to his senses.
No wonder so many people are pushing this matter behind the scenes, most of it is Chu Yunfei's work.

Four million dollars is enough to hold a grudge?

Whenever I get the chance, I'll flatter my future uncle.

But when he thought of Chiang Kai-shek's attitude towards him, Kong Xiangxi couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Today, the confrontation between the Chinese and Japanese armies on the front battlefield has basically taken shape.

Chiang Kai-shek's slogan for counterattack has already been shouted out.

The Second War Zone was also the one he expected to be the biggest.

Yan Laoxi, Wei Lihuang, and even the Red Party all advocated a strategic counterattack.

He, Kong Xiangxi, stood in front.

They will only be torn to pieces by the powerful forces behind this group.

The Whampoa clique, the CC clique, and even the military leader Yan Laoxi all supported this strategic counter-offensive.

When Kong Xiangxi walked out of the official residence, he had already made up his mind that instead of adding to the trouble, it would be better to show weakness and make way for the group advocating anti-Japanese resistance.

That evening, a secret telegram was sent from the Ministry of Finance to the headquarters of the commander-in-chief of the Second War Zone.

The two sides held a new round of discussions on the materials needed for the strategic counter-offensive.

The military purchase quota given by Kong Xiangxi is also very interesting, 12 million national currency, not more, not less, just right!
(End of this chapter)