Courtyard House: I Rely on Time-Space Trade to Build a Nation

July 1954, northern Shan State.

Wang Yaowu stood on a hillside, looking at the distant, rolling mountains.

Behind them was the newly built garrison, simple but tidy.

The potatoes have been harvested, and corn has been planted in the newly cultivated land, where it is growing well.

Li Guohui ran up from the foot of the mountain, holding a letter in his hand.

"Commander Wang, someone has delivered a letter to you over there."

Wang Yaowu took the letter, opened it, glanced at it, and frowned slightly.

"People from the Shan State G Army?"

Li Guohui nodded: "Yes, they want to see you."

Wang Yaowu remained silent for a while.

He had heard about the Shan State's G Army.

This group, mainly composed of Kachin and Shan people, had been operating in eastern Shan State for several years. They fought against government troops and landlords, shouting slogans loudly but living a hard life.

Recently, the government forces have been able to free up resources and have launched a fierce attack on them, relentlessly pursuing and fighting them.

Many people died, and the rest retreated to the northwest, which happened to be the territory inhabited by the Kachin people.

Historically, this group eventually escaped to the border of Yunnan Province in the 1960s and was settled within Yunnan Province by the People's Republic of China.

Therefore, after inquiring about the news from Zhao Dongliang's side, Wang Yaowu did not dislike this unit.

"What do they want from me?"

Li Guohui said, "I heard they want to negotiate. They said they know about our battle with the government forces and said we did a great job."

They know how we treat our people, and they said it's what they want to do too. They feel we share common goals and want to cooperate.

Wang Yaowu thought for a moment and nodded.

"Let's set a time to meet."

Three days later, the two sides met in a mountain valley.

Six men from the Shan State's G Army arrived, led by a Kachin man in his thirties named Zao Dan.

Thin, dark-skinned, with wary eyes, but when he saw Wang Yaowu, he lowered his head.

"Mr. Wang, I've heard so much about you."

Wang Yaowu waved his hand, gesturing for them to sit down.

"Speak, what do you want from me?"

Zao Dan looked around and then spoke.

"Mr. Wang, we've been chased by government troops for two months, and hundreds of our brothers have died. The rest of us retreated here, but we have no food or medicine, and we won't last much longer."

He paused.

"We heard that things are different here. You distribute land to the people, teach them how to farm, teach their children to read, and provide free medical care. We've inquired about it, and it's all true."

Wang Yaowu remained silent.

Zao Dan added, "We don't want to fight you. We want to... work for you."

Several people nearby nodded in agreement.

Wang Yaowu looked at them.

"If you work for me, you have to follow my rules."

Zao Dan asked, "What rules?"

Wang Yaowu said:

"First rule: you are not allowed to rob ordinary people. If you don't have enough food, I will give it to you."

The second rule is that no one is allowed to keep anything for themselves. Weapons, ammunition, food, and medicine will all be collected and then distributed uniformly.

Article Three: You may attack whomever I tell you to attack. If I tell you not to attack, you are not allowed to lay a hand on anyone who starts trouble.

Zao Dan was stunned.

"Are all items to be collected together?"

Wang Yaowu nodded.

"Take it. Hand over your guns. Hand over your ammunition."

After the troops have completed their training, I will assign you all standard uniforms, and we will be responsible for your logistical support.

Zao Dan remained silent for a moment, then looked at the people around her. They exchanged glances, and finally Zao Dan nodded.

"Mr. Wang, we believe you."

Over the next few days, members of the Shan State Army arrived in small numbers.

More than two thousand people came in total, but less than a third of them were armed; the rest were the elderly, women, and children.

The number of troops, which Wang Yaowu had learned of, was clearly inconsistent with the fact that the enemy had tens of thousands of soldiers. It was obvious that the enemy was also in the probing phase.

Some women and children were sent over first, but Wang Yaowu didn't care. "Once they're given to me, they're no longer yours."

Once people get used to living here, others will naturally follow.

Wang Yaowu instructed Zhao Baoguo to arrange food and lodging, and also transferred a group of medical personnel to change dressings for the wounded and treat and administer injections to the sick.

After one injection of penicillin, the child's fever subsided the next day.

The child's mother knelt on the ground, pulling on Wang Yaowu's trouser leg and refusing to get up.

Wang Yaowu helped her up.

"No need for that. Just live a good life from now on."

When the news spread, many Kachin and Shan chieftains in the vicinity became restless.

Because many of the Shan State military personnel are their ethnic group, they initially believed that Wang Yaowu's claims of providing farming and free medical care were just rumors.

Now, news has been confirmed by members of the tribe that Zao Dan has joined Wang Yaowu, and the news quickly spread to several northern states.

Several Kachin chieftains sent people to investigate, and Shan chieftains also secretly sent people over.

Wang Yaowu had Li Guohui receive them, and he took them to see the crops in the fields, the people receiving medical treatment at the clinic, and the children studying in the temporary school.

After a few days, everyone who went back said the same thing: it's different over there.

Two weeks later, the chieftains of Kachin State and Shan State took the initiative to propose a meeting.

The negotiation was held in a Kachin village.

Wang Yaowu, along with Zhao Baoguo and Li Guohui, met with more than a dozen chieftains.

The chieftains got straight to the point.

"Mr. Wang, we know about what's going on with you. Everyone speaks highly of you, and we'd like to cooperate with you as well."

Wang Yaowu looked at them.

"How do we cooperate?"

An elderly chieftain said, "We are self-governing and not under the government's jurisdiction. If you protect us, we will provide you with land and manpower. When war breaks out, our people will fight alongside you."

Wang Yaowu thought for a moment and then shook his head.

"Autonomy is possible, but the Panglong Agreement cannot be completely copied."

The chieftains were stunned.

Wang Yaowu said:

"The Panglong Agreement was made by the British, and it's different from what we have now."

We'll order a new one.

First, you can manage your own territory, but militarily you are under my unified command.

Secondly, in agriculture, I will provide you with high-yield seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides. We will split the harvest between us, with us taking 30%.

After giving us 30%, if you still have surplus grain that you want to sell, we will also buy it at the market price.

Third, I will send doctors and teachers over to treat your illnesses and teach your children to read.

But you must send someone to ensure their safety; we don't have many such talented people.

If these people suffer losses, you'll have to wait a long time until we recruit new talent before we can send them over. You'll be the ones who suffer in the end.

Fourth, I can provide the salt, cloth, and farm tools you need at reasonable prices.

If you suffer a disaster and run out of food one day, we can lend you some, but you will have to pay it back later.

The chieftains looked at each other and whispered among themselves for a while.

The old chieftain then asked, "What if we govern ourselves, but the government comes to attack us?"

Wang Yaowu said, "I'll block them. But we will recruit soldiers from your village every year, entirely on a voluntary basis."

The old chieftain was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Mr. Wang, we believe you."

In the days that followed, Wang Yaowu was extremely busy.

Several villages in Kachin and Shan states joined in one after another, and the area under their control expanded more than twenty times.

The population increased from 60,000 to 400,000, and the mobilized armed forces exceeded 30,000.

Of course, the core issue is the three thousand men that Zhao Baoguo brought over and the ten thousand men that Li Guohui is currently compiling.

The new recruits were mostly local militia members and chieftains, with weak combat capabilities, but fortunately, they were familiar with the terrain and understood the languages ​​of the various ethnic groups in the area. Therefore, Wang Yaowu arranged for some instructors and grassroots cadres to train the local militia.

Zhao Baoguo's side became even busier.

The firearms were all collected and were mostly scrapped. We applied to Yunnan Province for a new batch and then distributed them. Even a single bullet had to be registered.

At this time, Wang Yaowu adopted the methods learned from the Republic, with extremely strict rules that did not tolerate the slightest cheating.

The people below were not used to it at first, but after receiving food and ammunition a few times and seeing a doctor a few times, they gradually accepted it under the guidance of their instructors.

The medical team became the most popular people.

When the penicillin ran out, Zhao Baoguo sent a telegram to Zhao Dongliang, and the next batch of supplies was soon transported from Yunnan Province.

When the chieftain's family or clansmen fell ill, the doctor would come to their door and cure them with just one injection.

Meanwhile, the first batch of abundant potatoes became Wang Yaowu's key product for winning people's hearts and minds; there were just too many of them.

Why not just have the instructors follow the guide, leading the team carrying sacks of potatoes?

Provide relief to those families facing difficulties.

Putting aside everything else, at least the sanitation workers and teachers should come again.

Besides the guards sent by the chieftain, many young men spontaneously followed and protected him.

Those chieftains, who used to only recognize guns, now have smiles on their faces when they see Wang Yaowu.

After all, the farm tools, refined salt, matches, and other items they could obtain through fair exchange in a short period of time were goods they couldn't normally buy.

Not to mention medical staff, teachers, and instructors, who have seen tangible benefits.

Wang Yaowu knew in his heart that these people were not submitting to him, but to the things that could cure diseases, the food that could fill their stomachs, and the salt that could be traded.

But that's enough.

One day in July, Wang Yaowu received a secret letter.

It was transferred from Yunnan Province, and the signature is Zhao Dongliang.

The letter was short, only mentioning one thing: Zhao Ping'an was about to accompany the leader to Yangon to meet with the Prime Minister of Shan State.

Wang Yaowu held the letter and looked at it for a long time.

Li Guohui, standing nearby, asked, "Mr. Wang, what happened?"

Wang Yaowu handed him the letter.

Li Guohui's expression changed when he saw it.

"Minister Zhao is going to meet with the Premier? Then what about us here..."

Wang Yaowu waved his hand.

"It's alright. Let them talk, we'll do ours."

He stood up and walked to the window.

"Pass down the message: don't make any moves recently. Our people on the government side are not allowed to cause trouble."

Li Guohui was stunned for a moment.

"What if they come and attack?"

Wang Yaowu said, "Then fight, but don't chase. Just hold your ground."

Then, I decided to go to Yangon to meet this Prime Minister U.

"Commander Wang!" Li Guohui

"They hate us to the core right now. It's too dangerous for you to go there."

"My mind is made up. It's settled then. I'll make the arrangements for the next two days, and I'll depart in three days." Wang Yaowu waved his hand.

"Sir, you can't go! What if you go and never come back?"

"Then we'll never come back!"

"Minister Zhao, you entrusted this matter to me; I should give you a result, not just a problem. Even if I never return, it will still be a solution!"

Li Guohui choked for a moment, then nodded and turned to leave.