Tea house, private room.

Chengshe I used the lid of the bowl to puff the tea leaves on the water surface and asked, "Xinyuan, after the sequel to "Laughing Karma" was written, did you create any new works?" ”

"I'm writing a book called "The Return of the Swallow." Zhang hated the waterway.

Cheng She smiled and said, "This name is good, it sounds like that kind of love again." ”

Zhang Hatshui shook his head and said: "Although it is about love, I want to write it more as a work that reflects reality." ”

When Zhou Hexuan heard Zhang Hatshui creating "The Return of the Swallow", he immediately remembered the opening poem in that part - "The red-eyed vicious dog is like a jackal and a tiger, and the human legs are dragged all over the ground", "The soldiers go to the bandits and slaughter the can't be exhausted, and there are three people left in a city, old and young".

Zhang Hatshui was not the kind of literati who made money by writing for entertainment, he had his own pursuits, and later simply devoted himself to creating anti-Japanese war and satire. It's a pity that his later realist works are not famous, but those who talk about love are more popular.

"It's good to reflect reality, is it written about the Northeast Anti-Japanese War?" I asked.

In fact, Zhang Hatshui was originally a reporter who wrote news articles, and Cheng She felt that his short stories were very good, so I encouraged Zhang Hatshui to write a long story, so "The History of Chunming Dynasty" was released, and it was out of control from then on.

Without my encouragement, there would be no "Chunming Foreign History", let alone "The Family of Gold Powder" and "Laughing Karma".

"It's not about the Northeast to resist Japan, it's about describing the story of the Northwest," Zhang said, "I went to the Northwest last year, and the two provinces of Gansu and Shaanxi are like hell on earth." The warlords there were rampant, arrested Dinglaf, and made the people's livelihood miserable, just like Shandong and Hebei ten years ago. ”

Cheng She was surprised: "What is the situation in the northwest? ”

Zhou Hexuan thought to himself: If the northwest is not so bad, how can the Red Army stand still?

"Do you know what is the largest crop in Gansu?" Zhang Hatshui asked.

"Wheat?" Cheng She, I guessed.

Zhang Hatshui shook his head: "Not really." ”

Zhou Hexuan sighed and said, "Poppy." ”

"Yes, it's poppies," Zhang said, with a sad face, "the most fertile land in Gansu Province is all used to grow poppies." Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, Dunhuang...... In the late Qing Dynasty, these areas belonged to the most developed agricultural areas in Gansu. When I arrived there last year, all I saw was poppy seedlings, and farmers in Gansu largely made their living by growing, processing and selling opium. ”

I was shocked and inexplicable: "How is it possible? Even if the local government does not ban smoking, it will not cause the whole people to grow opium. ”

"It's because the local government is encouraging." Zhou Hexuan sneered.

"Government encouragement?" Cheng She wondered.

Zhang Hatshui nodded and said, "The local government is indeed encouraging poppy cultivation in disguise. The central government in Nanjing called for a ban on smoking, and the local government in Gansu took the opportunity to 'ban and levy' and levy 'fines per mu of tobacco' on all farmers. For example, in Zhangye, the Gansu Provincial Department of Finance stipulates that the local government must pay a fine of 200,000 yuan per mu of tobacco every year, regardless of whether you grow opium or not. In order to increase the enthusiasm of local officials, the provincial finance department even gave the county magistrate a commission, from which the fine received by the county magistrate could be increased by 5%, and the local officials naturally collected the fine for the smoking ban. And no matter what farmers plant, they have to pay a fine for tobacco acres, so who else will be stupid enough to grow grain? ”

"How can it be!" Cheng She slapped the table angrily, "In the past, the peasants all grew opium, and if they didn't have food, they all had to starve to death?" ”

Zhang Hatshui said: "There is already starvation all over the place, and bandits are rampant. Gansu not only has fines per mu of tobacco, but also a variety of harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, such as 'firewood donations', and the people must pay a fixed amount of 'official firewood' on time. In some places, the trees were completely destroyed, and the people could not cut firewood, so they had to demolish their houses and hand over the timber to the government for donations. ”

"Zhu Shaoliang should be killed!" I gritted my teeth.

Zhu Shaoliang followed Lao Chiang during the Northern Expedition, and is now the chairman of Gansu Province and the director of appeasement, overseeing the military and political power in Gansu.

Zhou Hexuan shook his head and said: "Zhu Shaoliang should be killed, but the root is still in the Nanjing government, and Zhang Xueliang also has to bear some responsibility." Since the end of the Central Plains War, the warlords in Gansu have been scattered and initially controlled by the Northeast Army. But Zhang Xueliang only cared about digesting the territory of North China, and then encountered the Japanese invaded the Northeast, and Gansu couldn't take care of it at all. Later, Lao Jiang sent Zhu Shaoliang to take over Gansu, but Zhu Shaoliang wanted money and grain, and he had to raise a bunch of wolf-like local warlords under his hands. If he hadn't relied on opium to collect taxes, he would have been driven out of Gansu long ago. ”

"How does Mingcheng think Gansu should be governed?" I asked.

Zhou Hexuan said: "In fact, governing Gansu is very simple, nothing more than money and food. A few years ago, the warlords in Gansu rebelled, and Yang Hucheng was settled in the past, which shows how poor the combat effectiveness of the local warlords is. Whether it was Zhang Xueliang in the past or Zhu Shaoliang now, as long as he went to Gansu with enough money and food, those warlords would immediately bow down. After getting rid of the local warlords and seriously developing agriculture, Gansu will certainly be able to manage it well. The current bad situation in Gansu is all because of poverty, the government is poor, the warlords are poor, and the people are even poorer, so they can only rely on opium to live. ”

Cheng She smiled bitterly and said: "The money of the Nanjing government has been used to fight the civil war, how can it be used for the construction of Gansu?" ”

"Well, don't mention this kind of thing, let's talk about running a newspaper." Zhou Hexuan changed the topic and said.

Cheng She said to Zhang Hatshui: "Xinyuan, I decided to run a newspaper in Wuhan, and Mingcheng thought that I should run a newspaper in Chongqing. Where do you think it's better? ”

Zhang Hatshui was surprised: "Didn't you say in the telegram that you want to run a newspaper in Shanghai?" ”

"Shanghai is too dangerous, and the Japanese will inevitably invade within two or three years, and the Chinese army will not be able to hold it." As Zhou Hexuan spoke, he began to talk about the all-round and protracted War of Resistance, and came to the conclusion that Sichuan would be the rear of the War of Resistance in the future.

Zhang Hatshui said: "I don't know much about this aspect, since Mr. Zhou said that Chongqing is safe, let's run a newspaper in Chongqing." ”

Cheng She smiled helplessly: "You don't bother to think about it. ”

Zhou Hexuan sincerely advised: "Brother Cheng, believe me." ”

Cheng She thought about it carefully and said, "If Xinyuan is willing to go to Chongqing with me, then I will run a newspaper in Chongqing." ”

"It doesn't matter, it's the same wherever I live." Zhang Hatshui is very talkative.

"Then so be it," Cheng She said, "Let's go to Chongqing, I only have 20,000 oceans in my hand now, and it is definitely not enough to run a newspaper." How much are you willing to invest? ”

Zhang Hatshui said: "I used the royalties of "Laughing Karma" to buy a house, and now I have more than 10,000 yuan in my hand. ”

Zhang Hatshui has houses in Beiping and Nanjing, and there are still mansions in Beiping......

"I can invest 30,000 yuan, if it's not enough, I can invest 50,000 yuan," Zhou Hexuan finished speaking, and said to Zhang Hatshui, "Your house in Beiping is still sold, it's not safe." ”

Zhang Hatshui nodded and said, "I will make a move as soon as possible." ”

Cheng She said: "Mingcheng invests 20,000 yuan is enough, and the price in Chongqing is much lower, which is enough for us to run a newspaper." ”

Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "It's okay, just invest 30,000, I can ask for less shares, after all, you are specifically responsible for the operation." ”

The three quickly finalized the cooperation plan, and Zhou Hexuan invested 30,000 yuan, accounting for 40% of the shares; I invested 20,000 yuan, accounting for 35% of the shares, and served as the general manager; Zhang Hatshui invested 10,000 yuan, accounting for 25% of the shares, and served as the editor-in-chief of the newspaper.

The name of the newspaper is Libao and its headquarters is in Chongqing.