Early January 1930.

The drought has been going on for two years, and there has been no snow for many days this winter, except for a few snowflakes at the end of last year. The cadres and soldiers of the Suiyuan Production and Construction Corps looked at the sky with sad faces. Originally, their mission was to provide enough food for the high-speed development of the Baotou Special Economic Zone, but a major drought every year allowed the Corps' 100,000 Tuntian troops to eat the relief grain transported by Zhili Province. If this year is still the same, can we let the big guys go to meet people, and now the young men of the Production and Construction Corps, when they see the working class in the Baotou Special Economic Zone, they all bow their heads and take a detour. Even Deng Xixian, the political commissar of the XPCC, who went to Beijing for a meeting, looked a little gray at the two-day China-G Central Economic Work Conference, and he couldn't always raise his head.

In Zhongnanhai, in the West Flower Hall, members and alternate members of the Politburo gathered together. An important meeting that has been going on for several hours.

"Comrade Xixian, in this three-year plan, you Baotou Special Economic Zone are the protagonists." Zhou Elai's brisk voice sounded in Deng Xixian's ears:

"In more than a year, the construction of your Baotou Special Economic Zone has made remarkable achievements, and a modern industrial town has been built day by day in the hands of your Baotou people.

Deng Xixian was slightly stunned when he heard this, although this was Zhou Elai's morale in terms of encouragement and Baotou, but he still cast a grateful look at Big Brother.

"But...... In this section, our economic work is not without its shortcomings. Zhou Elai's speech continued, but his tone was slightly dignified:

"Although the goal of our party is to establish a basic heavy industry and military industry in the north in a relatively short period of time, in order to ensure national security and national unity. However, this does not mean that we GCD people should ignore agriculture and rural work, and should ignore grain production and food security, which have a bearing on the livelihood of hundreds of millions of people. However, in agriculture and rural work, we have not delivered a good answer. There has been a decline in food production and the export plan has not been completed. What is even more serious is that there are famines of varying degrees in northern Shaanxi, Longdong, northwestern Shanxi, Suiyuan, and other places, and the phenomenon of peasants abandoning land and fleeing for famine."

Mao ZD also nodded slightly, and his eyes swept around the conference room, and the atmosphere was a little gloomy. Zhou Elai went on to say that of course, this phenomenon is not all our responsibility. The main reason is the continuous drought in the northwest, and Shandong and Zhili have also suffered disasters of varying degrees. However, it is true that our work in the year of the catastrophe was not in place, and we even ignored the problems of the rural areas and natural disasters until serious difficulties arose, and then we hurriedly remembered to organize disaster relief. However, they did not prepare enough food in advance, so that they ...... (Uh, a few dozen words omitted this time)"

Liu Qi nodded slightly, there were indeed too many things in the middle of the G last year, ignoring the countryside and drought...... It seems to be excusable. However, the disaster situation in the northwest has indeed reached the point where there is no time to delay. During this period, he also went to various places in the northwest to do intensive research, and what he saw and heard was really heart-wrenching.

However, when the victims in the northwest were hungry, they were in big cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, and Baoding. Food management is very lax, or rather...... Is there no management at all" Zhou Elai's tone was relatively slow, his eyes also wandered in the conference room, looking at the expressions of the committee members, and his tone had already let Shen Shen people take food as the sky, and our industrial construction is also based on food. At present, China is still a poor and backward agricultural country, and the only way for an agricultural country to develop industry, especially heavy industry, which has a large input and slow yields, is to export agricultural products in exchange for foreign exchange, and then purchase machinery and equipment from advanced industrial countries. Therefore, agriculture is the foundation of industry, and only when agriculture and grain are well managed can we succeed in the construction of our heavy industry."

Speaking of this, Zhou Elai picked up the teacup and took a sip of water, moistened his throat, and continued to say that last month, the border bank opened by Zhang Xueliang began to issue 'ocean bills', and the central government's 'silver dollar bills' can no longer go out of our party's jurisdiction. Therefore, if we want to 'import' industrial equipment in the future, we can only rely on real money or exchange agricultural products. The precious metals and foreign exchange that we now have in our hands are very limited, mainly the reserves of silver dollar bills and the gold and silver obtained from the land reform of Zhili. And the price of silver has plummeted in the international market, and the purchasing power of the silver in our hands has also declined. Therefore, it is imperative to implement strict planned management of food supplies. I propose the establishment of a Ministry of Grain in the central government, and in the future, the unified purchase and sale of grain will be implemented, private grain trading will be banned, and speculation will be strictly prohibited. The grain supply for urban residents shall be distributed according to household registration, and grain stamps, meat stamps, and oil stamps shall be issued at the same time...... We must strictly eliminate waste, and hoarding is strictly prohibited. In the coming period, grain work will become the top priority of our party's work, just like the construction of heavy industry."

The committee members attending the meeting could not help but be a little surprised, and from Zhou Elai's speech, they clearly felt that the central authorities were ready to use grain exports to raise foreign exchange for imported machinery and equipment. However, at present, the areas directly under the jurisdiction of China and G are not traditional grain-producing areas. Moreover, there are two "big food consumers" in Beijing and Tianjin. Historically, since the Ming Dynasty, Beijing's grain had to be mobilized from the south of the Yangtze River by Caoyun, and it was impossible to rely on the original supply of Zhili Pingyuan.

"Not only do we have to plan to supply food, but we also have to strictly manage other daily necessities. We may have a hard time in the next three years," Zhou Elai smiled indifferently, but this is an ordeal that must be experienced, only by passing this hurdle, our ** career can go to glory. Only then can the Chinese people straighten their backs in the world"

“…… However, we must be scientific in our grain management and absolutely ensure the supply necessary for the people's livelihood. And we GCD people must take the lead in enduring hardships, and we must not engage in specialization Starting from me and Comrade Runzhi, our supply must be the same as that of ordinary people, as much as the people eat, I will also eat as much as I, as long as our party members and league members take the lead in enduring hardships and taking the lead in saving. The masses of the people will definitely understand us and support us."

Zhou E stood up as he spoke, waved his hand vigorously, his face was also tense, and his momentum became stronger, the next three years are a critical moment for the development of China and the world, and it is also likely to be the most favorable opportunity for us to develop heavy industry and build a socialist motherland. After these three years, the imperialist countries, which are mired in the quagmire of economic crisis and are unable to extricate themselves, are very likely to take the plunge and launch a war of aggression, and then our northern China region and the Soviet Union may become the targets of imperialist expansion. If we can't grit our teeth and work hard for three years to develop heavy industry. When the time comes, it will be a man-made sword, and I will be a fish. ”

……

As for the news that China and G will take tens of millions of people in the "Soviet area" to work hard together, prepare to tighten their belts and work hard for three years, and use the money saved between their teeth to build a heavy industrial base. Wuhan's response was one of ridicule.

With a "snap", Chiang Kai-shek threw the report he had just received on the conference table. Relations between the North and the South have eased somewhat because of the ongoing warship and oil trade negotiations between the Soviet Union and the Kuomintang. The "North-South Exchange Foundation" led by Mao Renfeng and Bai Siwen has now been stationed in Beijing, and this "foundation" has collected this information through the left wing of the Kuomintang. Of course, this is not classified information, and sooner or later it will have to be made public.

"Hahaha...... These GCD people really want to figure it out. Where in the world is there a successful precedent for the development of heavy industry by starving the belly? Brother Fuwen, it seems that it is right that we will not go on the Northern Expedition for the time being. When they toss around in Beijing for a few years, they get angry and resentful, and if we go again, it must be overwhelming. ”

At today's regular meeting of the Military Commission, Chiang Kai-shek, who has always been unsmiling, rarely used Zhong G as a laughing stock and made a joke.

Luo Yaoguo also picked up the briefing he had just sent and looked at it carefully over and over again. The plan of China G to tighten its belt and set up a large heavy industry is just one of the contents. In addition, there are a large number of reports on the heavy industry plan of China and G, all of which Mao Renfeng, Bai Siwen and others heard from the mouths of the Kuomintang leftist bigwigs. Speaking of which, these guys really don't have a door, and they dare to talk nonsense......

It is different from the "big and empty" five-year plan of the national government. The three-year plan of China G is very meticulous and specific to the project. The "North-South Foundation" inquired about several key projects, namely, the Baotou Hongxing Iron and Steel Plant, the Red Flag Arsenal, and the Communist Youth League Aircraft Factory. China G plans to increase the production capacity of the steel plant from the original plan of 50,000 tons to 200,000 tons. Moreover, a considerable part of the increased production capacity is a special steel project that can be used for the military industry, and after the completion of the construction of the Red Star Iron and Steel Plant, it will be able to provide the gun factory of the Red Flag Arsenal with the barrel steel needed to produce 152 howitzers. The arsenal will comprehensively expand its production capacity, including machine rifles, various artillery, bullets, shells, gunpowder, and explosives, which will be several times more than the original plan, and it is estimated that it will be able to meet the combat needs of one million to two million troops. Perhaps it was because of the lessons learned from the Sino-Japanese Shandong War in the 17th year of the Republic of China, and the Communist Youth League Aircraft Factory was also built as a key point in China G this time. A full set of technologies and related equipment for aircraft building will be imported from the USSR. In addition, China and G also plan to send thousands of students to the Soviet Union to study industrial technology, and the Soviet Union will also send experts to help China and G build industrial enterprises.

"Hmm, it seems that Zhong G is still very serious about doing things, which is stronger than many comrades in our party." Putting down the briefing in his hand, Luo Yaoguo sincerely admired that they were so difficult now, there was a shortage of territory, resources, talents, and funds, but they still gritted their teeth and tightened their belts to develop heavy industry. Compared with them, if we don't make some achievements, I'm afraid that we will have no face to meet people. ”

"Hehe, in the end, it must be that Zhong G has no face to see people." Minister of Armaments Sun Ke smiled heavily and took over the topic:

"The territory of China G is too small, and all kinds of resources are not complete, they have steel but no rare metals, they have ammunition factories but no copper mines, and there are aircraft factories but they cannot produce aluminum alloys. After these heavy industry projects are completed...... If you really want to operate normally, I am afraid that a large number of raw materials will have to be imported. But what can they export? Will you have to tighten your belts then? And even if they can squeeze out the money to import, will the transportation line be guaranteed? Our navy will almost be up by then, and it will be easy to cut off their foreign trade. ”

Listening to Sun Ke's analysis, Luo Yaoguo couldn't help but nod. In the present era, it has always been easier to succeed in building a complete range of industries only in large countries with vast territory and abundant labor. A territory like China G is a "small country" in the world at best. In order to develop a full range of heavy industries, small countries generally have to rely on foreign trade to import resources, such as Germany and China's evil neighbor Japan. Nor will the Japanese get through the current difficult situation?

……

In the fourth year of Showa, that is, in 1929 AD. It was a depressing year for the Yamato people, who lived all day with volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis.

The "Shanghai Public Debt Crisis" and the "Battle of Shandong" in the previous year had completely stripped away the dignity of the so-called Oriental hegemon. This was followed by Emperor Hirohito of Showa personally leading the army and navy, and all the people worked hard for the revival of the national fortunes, and they worked hard for most of the year. It wasn't until the end of October of that year that the economy improved slightly...... It was time to catch your breath, but a global depression descended from the sky and knocked everything back to square one.

At present, Japan is said to be an "industrial country", but in fact, its main export is silk, which is an agricultural product. After the Meiji Restoration, Japan's silk industry developed rapidly, adopting the latest technology and the finest varieties, and soon left behind China, the overlord of the industry, to become the world's leading silk exporter. However, during the era of the Great Depression, the demand and price of silk collapsed almost overnight, and at the same time, northern China, the main market for Japanese industrial products, was almost completely closed due to the administration of the Central G. Only the Manchurian market, which is Japan's traditional sphere of influence, is still flooded with Japanese goods. Having lost markets for both agricultural and industrial products, Japan's already fragile economy fell to the bottom almost overnight. The whole country was also enveloped by a sense of panic and powerlessness. At this time, the army and navy put forward a new, seemingly crazy plan for arms expansion

"I would like to ask for your support for our proposal for a special government bond plan."

Several leading figures of the Imperial Army and Navy were sitting in the conference room of the Prime Minister's residence in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo, chewing iron and putting forward their suggestions word by word.

The object of their speeches was Prime Minister Yuyuki Hamaguchi, who was sitting in the middle of the conference room.

The once high-spirited, lion-strong imperial prime minister, in just over a year, has completely collapsed, and the whole person sits there listlessly, with his back bent, his hair and beard all snow-white, his eyes seem to be closed, he is not listening or is he simply asleep? Now his nickname is not "Lion Prime Minister" but "Wooden Man".

However, for such a prime minister who is like a wood carved clay sculpture, whether it is the army and navy or the Japanese long live in the palace, there seems to be no intention of replacing it. Maybe all they want is a "rubber stamp" prime minister? In the past year or so, Hamaguchi, who has collapsed, seems to have played such a role well.

"Oh, how many Treasury bonds are going to be issued this time? Want to do something? Hamaguchi muttered a few words, his voice very low, not asking a question or talking to himself.

"This time, the national debt is mainly used to secretly expand the navy." Senior Admiral Kantaro Suzuki, Chief of the Naval Command, replied loudly that we have received information from the Soviet Union that they have decided to abandon the two 'Karl Hutchis' that are under construction. Marx's class battleships. The Navy of the Nationalist Government of China will take them over, which means that in two years, China will have four super battleships, which will be a great threat to the Empire, so the Navy hopes to be able to secretly start building another Tosa-class battleship. ”

The "Tosa" class in Suzuki's mouth is actually based on the "Karl Class" provided by the Soviet Union. Drawings of battleships of the Marx class, built with slight modifications. The main thing was to expand the caliber of the main gun from 380 mm to 406 mm, while reducing some protection and the speed was slightly slower, only 26 knots remained the same as the "Nagato" class. The construction of one battleship of this class has already begun under the name of exporting to the Soviet Union, and now the Navy has proposed to add one.

"Okay, I've got it." Hamaguchi replied expressionlessly, "Is there anything else to do, don't skip words."

"Your Excellency, the Army hopes that the Empire will also implement the same rationing system as the Soviet Union and the China GCD, practice strict economy, and invest all the financial and material resources saved in the construction of the armaments industry. Aim to get the empire's steel production to reach 5 million tons within five years, at least the same as South China. ”

It was the Chief of the Army General Staff, Soroku Suzuki, and his proposal was to represent the entire Japanese Army.

“？” Hamaguchi was slightly stunned when he heard this, and nodded hurriedly and weakly, then ask the army to come up with a draft, and I will approve it immediately. That's all right, right? There are not many words" Seeing that the representatives of the army and navy all showed satisfied expressions, Hamaguchi said lightly, Ladies and gentlemen, do you still have any requirements, don't skip words.

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