The conscription process was deducted layer by layer, and Chang Kaishen knew that it could not be solved.

It can be said that from top to bottom, as long as there is a chance to make money, there are almost no officers who do not eat and take cards. There may be such incorruptible officers, but they are definitely in the minority, and life must be difficult - because the salary is not enough.

Before the outbreak of the 918 Incident, the monthly salary of the generals of the Nationalist Army was 800 yuan, but in early 1932 it was suddenly reduced to 240 yuan; the second lieutenant of the national army was reduced from 42 yuan to 30 yuan; The private class was reduced from 12 yuan to 8.5 yuan. (All of the above are basic salaries, and the specific salary is determined by the position)

Why is this so?

Because of the national crisis, those who serve as soldiers must understand the country's difficulties, so the national government promulgated the "National Disaster Salary Chapter". From generals to ordinary soldiers, salaries were adjusted across the board.

Even if the military salary was reduced, it was normal in the early 30s, and the 7 yuan monthly salary of a private soldier was enough to live well - provided that the commander did not deduct it from it, and the state government paid it on time.

However, in the early days of the outbreak of the full-scale war of resistance, military salaries remained at the level of ten years ago, but prices were rising, making it difficult for officers with the rank of second lieutenant to eat.

In this case, the government first carried out the separation of food and wages, that is, the food of the soldiers was allocated by the government, and they no longer had to pay for it themselves. But it still can't meet the expenses, firstly, because the food in the army is too rubbish, and secondly, because other expenses are needed.

Therefore, during the Anti-Japanese War, military salaries rose several times, but the increase in wages was a joke compared to prices.

Let's take an example, from 1940 to 1942, the salary of a major in the national army was only enough to buy the soap and straw sandals he needed. By 1945, the salary of ordinary soldiers had risen to 900 yuan, but it was not enough to buy straw sandals, and the situation of officers was not far behind.

Even so, many troops are often in arrears, and the teams that can pay on time must have backers.

In this case, do you want the officers to be ethical and not corrupt?

Dream on!

Most of those officers who are not greedy have no chance to be greedy, and can only live a hard life by eating the pig food of the army.

And once there is a first time for corruption, there must be a second and third time...... And the more greedy you are, the more daring you get, the more and more abundant the tricks, and there will never be an end.

The corruption of the officers led to the lack of money for the drawing, and the strong men could only starve and die in large numbers. If you want the officers not to be corrupt, don't say anything else, please raise the military salary to a normal level, but the government has no money! So there is no way to solve this matter, unless Lao Jiang can conjure up money out of thin air.

We don't care how much money the four major families have made, even if they spit out all the money, it will be far from enough. The country is so poor that mortals have no power to return to heaven, Zhou Hexuan understands Lao Jiang's difficulties very well.

Think about how developed Japan is, robbing so many supplies in China and the South Seas, and the people can't eat enough in the middle of the war, and it's better to understand it when you look back and compare with China.

The Kuomintang could not do it, nor could it be replaced by the Communist Party, and the all-out war of resistance was a special period, and it was impossible to attack the landlords and capitalists on a large scale before victory.

That's why we have to call for peace, and it is the common people who suffer when they start a war.

The only thing Chang Kaishen can do is to crack down on smuggling, especially the smuggling of prohibited items to Japan. As for using Zhuangding to smuggle opium, Lao Jiang chose to turn a blind eye, he knew that it was completely impossible to ban this matter.

But face still has to be done.

In early July, He Yingqin held a meeting at the Chongqing Central Training Corps and summoned nearly 200 officers from various localities in charge of recruitment. Within 20 minutes of the meeting, the deputy commander of one military district, the chief and deputy commander of three divisional districts, and the chief and deputy commanders of 19 regimental districts were dragged away on the spot and handed over to a military court for severe punishment according to law.

He Yingqin took the opportunity to emphasize that in the future, if more than 20% of the strong men die on the way, they will be punished from the commander to the specific personnel. At the same time, it is not allowed to arrest strong men in areas other than their own jurisdiction, and once it is verified, they will be punished as such!

In addition, Chang Kaishen personally ordered that the Central Bureau of Statistics send people to inspect various places every month. However, whenever it is discovered that a strong man has been abused, the chief in charge will be suspended from pay and demoted, and the specific personnel will be punished on the spot.

After the meeting, the apprehensive recruits gathered for dinner, spitting bitter water on each other.

"Alas, I can't live this day."

"Yes, the strong man wants to escape, what can we do? If we escape too much on the way, we will be treated as death, and our lives will be lost. ”

"Let's take it one step at a time, it's not a big mistake to be careful."

"Brother Zhu, how much are you going to throttle?"

"Be conservative, let's do it."

"Thirty percent? That's not going to be crazy, I think it's at least fifty percent. Fifty percent is enough, so that the strong man can go to the new barracks smoothly. ”

"I'm afraid that the people below will be deducted again, and it will be difficult to handle something big."

"You're still too timid, I don't believe that the people of Zhongtong will really come to investigate. Even if they come, give some benefits, the people of Zhongtong are also people, I don't believe they don't accept money when they see it. ”

"I think it's still inappropriate, I heard that President Jiang slapped the table and scolded his mother. It just so happens that everyone is here today, how about we come up with a charter and set the rules of throttling at 40%? When something happens, everyone will bear it together, and we can't all be brought to justice, who will recruit troops to fight at that time? ”

"Forty percent is a bit less. If I am alone, I don't need a penny, and I will give up my family for the country. But the subordinates are still waiting for dinner, and the left and right sides need to be taken care of, and there is too little throttling to carry out the work. ”

"Lao Zhang is right, the Ministry of Military Affairs is not enough to pay salaries, so we can only find our own way. In this way, it will be sixty percent! ”

"Where's 60 percent? At least seventy percent. ”

"Seventy percent? You really want to drive all the strong men to death! No matter how much you detain, I will go back at most thirty and a half, and it is important to save my life. ”

"It's all forty percent, it's enough, it's enough."

"Forty and a half, absolutely not less."

"Forty and a half I agree, so let's say it."

“……”

More than 100 conscripts reached a secret agreement on the same day, and only 40 percent and a half were deducted in the future, but there were also a few greedy ones who deducted more than 50 percent.

This was effective until 1942, but it was no longer possible. Especially in 1943, prices rose to the sky, and even if the officers did not deduct a penny, it was difficult to ensure that the strong men entered the new barracks safely.

And the inspectors of the Central Bureau of Statistics sent by Chang Kaishen are basically useless. Most of them use the patrol work as a means of accumulating money, and eat the blood of soldiers together with the recruitment agencies. A small number of inspectors who are dedicated to their duties can only expose some particularly bad situations, and He Yingqin is embarrassed to arrest people under ordinary circumstances.

Even He Yingqin didn't dare to investigate too fiercely, because once the mortality rate was emphasized, in order to save his own life, the soldiers who sent the troops would inevitably be even more ferocious to catch strong men on the road to make up the numbers.

The drawbacks of catching strong men actually boil down to one word: money!