Two hours later, He Guoguang sent a telegram back, but not about Liu Xiang's military expenses, but about the Hanyang Iron and Steel Plant, in which He Guoguang said that the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway was in urgent need of a large number of steel rails, and requested that the steel production of the Hanyang Iron and Steel Plant be restored immediately, and that it be placed under the control of the Resources Committee to facilitate the development of the southwest.

Yang Yongtai took the telegram to see Chiang Kai-shek, and Chiang Kai-shek read it and asked, "What do you think?" ”

"The Hanyang Iron and Steel Plant has not produced steel for a long time, and it would be nice if it could be restored, but the management authority should be in the hands of the bandit headquarters." Yang Yongtai said quietly: "This is because the pig iron produced by the Hanyang Iron and Steel Plant is also supplied to the Hanyang Arsenal. ”

This anti-bandit headquarters was established in 1932 to coordinate and govern the work of suppressing bandits in Henan, Anhui, Hubei, and Jiangxi; this anti-bandit headquarters has very great authority, and it not only has to manage the military, but also the party affairs of the four provinces are also under his control; the party affairs work reports of each county and city are directly sent to the general party and government offices of the anti-bandit headquarters, and all the official expenses of the four provinces are concentrated in the anti-bandit headquarters, which are allocated by the anti-bandit headquarters.

Chiang Kai-shek saw that Yang Yongtai did not answer, he knew Yang Yongtai's purpose, he was paving the way for the Department of Political Science to intervene in the development of the southwest, after the establishment of the headquarters of the four provinces to suppress bandits, Yang Yongtai won the party and government power of the four provinces in one fell swoop through the party and government department, and wiped out the CC forces. Chiang Kai-shek was clear about their fight, but he had no intention of stopping it, and even deliberately provoked it in some cases, intentionally or unintentionally, and then he would balance it. China's thousands of years of history have long proved that when the power of a subordinate is too great, the position of the monarch is difficult to maintain, and only by dispersing power in the hands of subordinates can the monarch effectively control power. But this is not suitable for the development of the Southwest, at least at this stage.

"When did the Hanyang Iron and Steel Plant stop making steel? How much money is needed to resume steelmaking? Chiang Kai-shek asked.

"Steelmaking was stopped in 1925, and as for how much money was needed to restore it, it will be known after investigation." Yang Yongtai does not have any information on this yet.

But as soon as Chiang Kai-shek heard this, he immediately made a decision: "The Hanyang Iron and Steel Plant will be handed over to the Resources Committee and asked them to resume steelmaking as soon as possible. ”

Yang Yongtai secretly regretted it in his heart, he knew that he had made a mistake, 25 years of production was suspended, and the funds needed to recover it were probably not a small number, but then he thought, could it be that there would be money if it was handed over to the Resources Committee? So he tentatively asked, "How much money should be allocated to them?" ”

When Chiang Kai-shek heard this, he turned his head to look at him, and said with a smile: "It's okay, let them figure it out for themselves." You draw up a telegram to send to Weng Wenhao, and another copy to Zhuang Wenge. ”

"Yes, Chairman," Yang Yongtai agreed, turning and leaving. Instead of handing the telegram to the secretary's telecommunications office, he took it himself to the office building across the wall.

The space was small enough to accommodate all of Chiang Kai-shek's staff, who worked in office buildings across the walls, including the telecommunications office.

After Yang Yongtai handed over the telegram to the telecommunications office, he did not go back to his office, but went to Lin Wei's office, and Lin Wei was a little surprised by his arrival; Yang Yongtai was a relatively upright person, and most of the people who could communicate with him among Chiang Kai-shek's staff were Zhang Qun and Huang Ying, who were originally from Beiyang political science, and after Zhang Qun went to Wuhan, he was relatively lonely among his staff.

Lin Wei didn't put the accident on his face, after Yang Yongtai came in, after the two exchanged two words, Yang Yongtai asked: "Weiwen, what do you think about the matter in Yucheng?" ”

"It's a good thing, but it should be reported in advance, otherwise the commission will not be so passive." Lin Wei said quietly.

"Yes, they are too impulsive," Yang Yongtai sighed and said, "After Tian Songyao's defeat, what is Liu Xiang going to do next?" ”

"Oh, his plan is here, he has drawn up a three-way attack plan, attacking from the southeast, west and three sides at the same time," Lin Wei said and shook his head, to be honest, he was not optimistic about this attack, not because the deployment was not good, but because he was worried about the combat effectiveness of the Sichuan army: "Jiang Xianyun and Xu Xiangqian are fierce, and the Sichuan army is negligent in training, I am afraid it will ......." ”

"Brother, you don't understand this," Yang Yongtai smiled slightly: "As long as they attack and suppress, no matter whether they win or lose, it will be beneficial to the central city." ”

"Oh, what do you mean by that?" Lin Wei was a little surprised.

"It's not easy to understand, win, the chairman's henchmen are gone; defeated, Liu Xiang had no excuse to prevent the Central Army from entering Sichuan. Hu Zongnan had been waiting impatiently at the northern foot of Daba Mountain. ”

Lin Wei nodded suddenly in realization, but then frowned again: "Isn't the Southwest Development Task Force already in Sichuan?" Isn't Zhuang Wenge already gaining a foothold in Sichuan? ”

"Well, standing up is standing up, but it's not enough, he shouldn't have agreed to Liu Xiang's conditions, now the central government has to approve the transfer of every soldier from other provinces into Sichuan, Sichuan is actually still a country within a country, and the mistake of Zhuang's Cultural Revolution is not small." Yang Yongtai said disapprecantly.

"I don't see it that way, the Cultural Revolution entered Sichuan in just half a year, and he took Yucheng and the surrounding sixteen counties from Liu Xiang, and he has done his best." Lin Wei shook his head and retorted: "And I believe that as long as the time comes, he will definitely be able to take the whole of Sichuan." ”

"Not necessarily," Yang Yongtai bowed lightly: "Zhuang Wenge used to pretend to be a pig and eat a tiger to fight the light in the dark, but now that he is in the open, others are also on guard against him, and it may be difficult for his methods to work again." ”

"Hehe, Brother Changqing, I don't have the same opinion as you," Lin Wei said with a smile, he is different from Yang Yongtai, Yang Yongtai punches and kicks the Blue Coat Society, which can be described as making enemies on all sides, but he is friendly with all sides, wandering between various forces, the news is naturally better than Yang Yongtai, after Zhuang Jihua and Liu Xiang's conditions were reported, Chiang Kai-shek actually approved it, for this he had talked to He Jinhan, and He Jinhan told him that with his understanding of Zhuang Jihua, he dared to agree to such a condition, there is only one explanation, He already had a way to deal with the local forces in Sichuan, and it was with this in mind that the chairman of the NPC Standing Committee approved it. What surprised Lin Wei the most was the demeanor of He Jinhan and Deng Wenyi when they talked about the Zhuang Cultural Revolution, which was a comprehensive expression of trust, admiration and jealousy: "Zhuang Cultural Revolution has been in Sichuan for half a year, and there are less than 1,000 people in his hands. ”

"Hmm," Yang Yongtai also felt that what he said just now was a little excessive, so he hurriedly covered it up. It can be seen from Zhuang Jihua's bargaining just now that Chiang Kai-shek's trust in him is beyond imagination, and it is difficult to speculate on his future development: "Weiwen, there is one thing I don't understand, the work plan for the development of the southwest has never been reported, and it is only after it has been made that the central government will posthumously approve it, and we don't know what they will do in the future, and their finances have never been reported to the central government, which is very abnormal." ”

"Well, I don't understand it either," Yang Yongtai's question, Lin Wei also thought about it, but he is a military staff, and the development of the southwest is strictly a government affair, and it should be under the management of the Executive Yuan or the Government Affairs Office, so he is not easy to ask, so he snorted: "Brother Changqing, you are asking the wrong person, you, the chief master, are confused, I will understand." ”

Yang Yongtai was silent, Lin Wei looked at him, in fact, he still admired Yang Yongtai's talent, this person not only writes fluently, but also thoughtful and resourceful.

"Brother Changqing, you don't have to worry about this," Lin Wei persuaded: "The chairman must have already made arrangements, just look at who are in Yucheng." ”

Yang Yongtai was noncommittal after hearing this, what he was worried about in his heart was this, except for He Guoguang, the rest of the people in Yucheng were all from the Huangpu family, plus that Zhuang Jihua, what would happen in the future, who knows.

"Weiwen, see if Sichuan can also be included in the headquarters of the four provinces to suppress bandits, and change it to the headquarters of the five provinces to suppress bandits." Yang Yongtai pondered for a moment and asked.

Lin Wei understood as soon as he heard it, it turned out that you were eyeing the territory of Yucheng, and..., I'm afraid you are also eyeing the funds of the Southwest Development Team.

"Is this what the chairman meant?" Lin Wei pretended not to understand and asked.

"No, it's my idea, the chairman is just worried that the remnants of Zhang Jiangxu, who fled to Sichuan, will resurrect, and some of our subordinates want to be in front of the committee." Yang Yongtai said quietly: "As I said just now, after the defeat of the Sichuan army, the central army is bound to enter Sichuan, which requires the central government to implement the overall planning, not only Sichuan, but also Shaanxi, the communist party in northern Shaanxi is also very serious, if these two communist parties are combined, the harm to the country is more serious than Jiangxi Zhumao." ”

"Changqing, have you thought about it, we only control one-fifth of Sichuan, Liu Xiang and they don't even agree to the entry of the central army into Sichuan now, let alone hand over the government affairs of Sichuan Province to the central government." Lin Wei reminded, but in his heart he was very dissatisfied with his proposal, the New Political Science Department headed by Yang Yongtai is now very popular, and it is already a big move, which has caused dissatisfaction with the CC Department, the Blue Coat Society and some elders in the party, and now it is a little too hasty to meddle in the Sichuan-Shaanxi ,....,.

"The suppression of bandits should be divided into three parts military and seven points political," Yang Yongtai said with a twinkle in his eyes: "Even if government affairs are not included in the central government's overall management, party affairs can first be incorporated into the central government's unified formulation." ”

After thinking about it, Lin Wei couldn't help but persuade: "If the committee agrees, it is not impossible, but the party affairs have always been the responsibility of the Central Party Department, will they agree?" ”

Lin Wei means that your Department of Political Science has already taken the four provinces of Henan, Anhui, Hubei, and Jiangxi, and then taking Sichuan and Shaanxi, which is equivalent to declaring war on Chen Lifu, and the relationship between the Chen brothers and Chiang Kai-shek is special, if you really want to fight, you Yang Yongtai may not be an opponent.

But Yang Yongtai didn't know whether he didn't understand or didn't take the Chen brothers to heart at all, he waved his hand indifferently and said, "It's okay, as long as it's beneficial to the country." ”

Since this is the case, Lin Wei knew that it was useless to persuade him, and after Yang Yongtai left, he sat on the chair and pondered for a while, then grabbed the phone on the table and called He Jinhan. After a few idle sentences, Lin Wei turned the topic to the main topic.

"Junshan, Yang Changqing is now interested in Yucheng."

"Oh, what does he want?" He Jinhan's voice on the phone was very calm: "Southwest development or the regime of Yucheng?" ”

"I'm afraid of both," Lin Wei said with a low chuckle.

"Hehe, his hand is too long," He Jinhan laughed on the phone.

"I heard that you and Zhuang Wenge are close friends," Lin Wei said after considering his words: "Junshan, you say..." ”

"Brother Weiwen, I thank you for the Cultural Revolution," He Jinhan in the microphone interrupted him without any hurry: "Don't worry, the principal will never hand over the management of the southwest development to him, and he can only get the party power in Yucheng at most, but that is something that Chen Lifu wants to worry about; The development of the southwest cannot be carried out without the Cultural Revolution, it can only be his. He Jinhan paused on the phone and then said: "I think Yang Yongtai's good words are probably coming to an end, Brother Weiwen, it's best to stay away from him." ”

"Oh, you Blue Coat Society want to fall Yang?" Lin Wei wondered in his heart, although the Blue Coat Club is very powerful, most of them are juniors in the Huangpu department, and bigwigs like He Yingqin and Liu Zhi have never participated, so they should not have the strength to fall Yang.

"Do you still need us to pour him, Chen Lifu is afraid that he can't bear it anymore, if he provokes the Cultural Revolution again, ,...。" Then there was a tsk on the phone.

"Zhuang Wenge made a big show in Yucheng, but" Speaking of this, Lin Wei's voice was lowered an octave: "Junshan, the chairman of the committee has never talked about his funds, and he has never approved funds for him, so much money does he have?" This is not my sole speculation, I am afraid that the whole of Nanjing is speculating. ”

"Brother Weiwen, don't ask, I know, but I can't say it, and I don't dare to say it." The voice on the other side of the phone suddenly lowered sixteen degrees.

Lin Wei was dumbfounded, when it was decided to implement the development of the southwest, he was dealing with the affairs of the 29th Army of the Northwest Army in North China, and when he returned, the matter had already been decided; Similarly, Yang Yongtai was not in Nanjing, but camped in Nanchang, and the only people in the whole of Nanjing who really knew the purpose of the southwest development were those people that night, and only those people who knew the source of funds that night, and no one dared to reveal it, not only because of the discipline of secrecy, but more importantly, because there was Chiang Kai-shek's face in it.

When they were camping in Nanchang, the staff talked about the source of funds for the Southwest Development Task Force, and they all found it strange because Chiang Kai-shek had not approved a penny for the development team, and the development team had never asked the Ministry of Finance for funds.

A mystery, it's really a mystery, after Lin Wei put down the phone, he decided not to try to solve this mystery anymore, what He Jinhan didn't dare to say must be related to the supreme leader, and it was best not to solve such a secret.

When someone in Nanjing made up his mind, Zhuang Jihua was in a dilemma, the four main roads in the southeast and northwest started at the same time, the county magistrates did a very good job, there were tens of thousands of people on each line waving the hammer at the same time, the technicians of the four engineering headquarters were all tired like dead donkeys, and the students who had not yet grown the hair on their mouths had already commanded thousands of people, and there was an endless stream of migrant workers, and the wages of five catties of rice a day made the migrant workers go forward and back, so that the prepared rice had already been distributed, and had to be converted into money. Unexpectedly, the migrant workers were even happier, the rice was not easy to keep, and the money was easier to collect, so they put it in their pockets and went to the construction site the next day.

Zhuang Jihua was satisfied with the progress of the project, and then he turned his attention to the Chengdu-Chongqing railway. Asking Chiang Kai-shek for the Hanyang Iron and Steel Works was the result of his deep thought, and the construction of the railway required at least two basic materials, sleepers and rails. Sichuan is now full of forests (Sichuan's forests were destroyed during the Great Leap Forward), but the railroad tracks are difficult to say, there are no steel plants in Sichuan, and the planned Yucheng Iron and Steel Plant will take two years at the earliest, so all the rails must be transported from outside the province. There are only a few places in other provinces that produce steel, Shanghai and Shanxi, and the amount is not large, and the Hanyang Iron and Steel Plant, which was once known as the largest steel mill in Asia, has stopped producing steel.

In addition to the railroad tracks, before the Yucheng Iron and Steel Plant was put into operation, the steel needed to make both guns and guns had to be transported from other provinces to Shanghai, which made Zhuang Jihua impossible to be satisfied with anyway. The capacity of the Sichuan River has reached saturation, and the equipment waiting for transportation at the Wuhan Shanghai terminal has been lined up for a month.

"Two ways," in the face of Zhuang Jihua's inquiry, Lu Zuofu suggested: "Clean up the Sichuan River route, and add ships, especially transport ships with large cargo capacity." ”

"There is no problem in buying a boat, please draw up a plan, buy as many ships as you want; As for the matter of cleaning up the route, I have asked my friends in the United States to hire a few divers to blow up the reefs on the Three Gorges route, but in order to clear the route, we must first do a good job of investigation and find out the distribution of reefs on the route. Mr. Lu, can you please recommend one. Zhuang Jihua asked.

"Yes, the company's dispatching inspector Shaotong is a shipping expert, and he is very familiar with the Sichuanjiang route, so he can lead a team to survey the Three Gorges route." Lu Zuofu reported the candidate without even thinking about it.

"Okay, please ask him to lead the team, please form an expedition team with Mr. Shen, the funds will be provided by the development team, and there will be protection, the escort team will send people to protect, you and Zaitian for specific matters, I will go to Nanjing for a meeting recently." Zhuang Jihua said after thinking about it.

Everyone is very busy now, and high-level cadres like Zhuang Jihua are even busier, except for Li Zhilong staying at the base to coordinate various matters, Teng Jie went to the counties to set up anti-corruption bureaus, and Hong Junqi went to the counties to inspect the merger of the military service center and the regimental defense station, and by the way, inspected the road construction projects in various counties. Zhuang Jihua is even more lacking in skills, He Guoguang doesn't seem to want Zhuang Jihua to specialize in the front, he put forward a huge urban construction plan, the content is: rectify and expand the highway of Linjiangmen-Daxigou-Shangqing Temple, expand the highway from Chaotianmen to Caiyuanba, erect street lights in the city, etc., Zhuang Jihua does not want to care about this plan from the heart, but in order to show respect for He Guoguang, he had to devote part of his energy to participate, but then he received a telegram from Weng Wenhao, asking him to go to Nanjing as soon as possible. The Resources Committee has several major decisions to consult with him.

Zhuang Jihua knew that the Hanyang Iron and Steel Plant must be included in these major decisions, and he really needed to consult with them about matters outside of Sichuan.

(To be continued)