Chapter 299

When Germany in Europe was preparing for the final blow with all its might, the Republic of China ushered in a huge test. First of all, there was the drought in North China, and at the end of 1917, there was little precipitation in the five provinces of Zhi, Re, Sui, Chacha, and Lu, and since 1918, it has been even more difficult to see a cloud in these five provinces. At the same time, southwest and east China have been rainy since the beginning of spring. In the four provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Guangdong, flood control is extremely tense.

At the end of April, heavy rain fell in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and lasted for more than ten days, and the flood peaks rolled down, and there were many dangerous situations along the Yangtze River basin.

On April 28, Sun Baoqi, President of the Republic of China, strictly ordered the provincial governments along the Yangtze River to make every effort to fight the disaster and ensure the safety of the people's livelihood and property. On the same day, Premier Tang Hualong urgently allocated 500 million yuan for disaster relief in the north and south.

On April 29, Fang Jianxiong, chairman of the Civil Affairs Committee, issued an emergency mobilization order to all the national defense forces and provincial reserve forces, demanding that all units ensure the safety of the Yangtze River embankment at any cost.

On the 30th, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce in Shanghai held a meeting of all representatives to call on industrial and commercial people to respond to the government's disaster relief. Those who have money contribute money, and those who have power to contribute. Gu Heng, president of the Eurasia Group, said at the meeting that the Eurasia Group will donate funds and materials worth 80 million yuan for disaster relief. On behalf of Nantong Dasheng Group, Zhang Jian's brother Zhang Jing donated materials worth 50 million yuan for disaster relief. Sheng Xuanhuai donated 30 million yuan, and shipping giants Yu Qiaqing and Zhang Jingjiang each donated 10 million yuan.

The actions of these giants have driven the trend of private donations, and in just one day, the total value of donations and materials raised is more than 330 million. In response to the call of the Federation of Industry and Commerce in Tianjin, the branch raised more than 120 million donations and materials on May 1. Not to be outdone, the Central China Branch raised 150 million yuan in donations and materials in Wuhan on the same day.

The Wehrmacht garrisoned along the river. Under the command of Fang Jianxiong, they successively went to various places along the Yangtze River. While fighting floods in the south, drought fighting is also going on in the north. Whether it is fighting floods or droughts, local government officials must go to the front line to organize disaster relief and resettle the affected people.

In the spring, the seedlings are struggling with thirst, and there is a long queue at the well at the edge of a field. A couple carrying the water carefully walked to the edge of the field a hundred meters away and laid it down. Two old men in the field carefully poured water on each wheat seedling with a wooden scoop. Each seedling has a scoop of water, which is instantly absorbed by the land, leaving a shallow mark.

The couple went back to carry the water, and the two children, one older and one younger, walked along the ridge. The eldest girl was eleven or twelve years old, and the younger boy was six or seven years old, and she was carrying two clay pots, and she staggered over.

"Grandpa, grandma, it's time to eat." The girl shouted, and the old man in the field answered. Keep watering.

Fang Jianxiong, who was dressed in civilian clothes, was on the road by the field at the moment, and when he saw the scene by the well, he turned over and dismounted, threw the reins to the guards around him, and strode towards the well. The wheels creaked. A bucket of water was wrenched up and put down.

Fang Jianxiong raised his eyes and looked around, there seemed to be only one well within a radius of two miles. Immediately, his face became gloomy. When he turned to leave, he suddenly heard an exclamation: "Grandpa." Grandfather. Following the sound, an old man collapsed on the edge of the ridge, ragged and unconscious.

The couple carrying the water dropped the bucket and ran over in front of Fang Jianxiong in a panic. Fang Jianxiong subconsciously followed, and when he walked to the old man, the old man had already woken up, and struggled to say to his son: "I'm fine, just rest for a while, don't delay watering the ground." ”

Fang Jianxiong didn't speak, and after watching the son embarrassed for a while, he still insisted on saying to the old man: "Dad, you better go back and rest first, we can do the work in the field." The old woman next to her interjected, "Old man, go back and rest for a day without delay." ”

"Guys, I'll ask you something." Fang Jianxiong stepped forward and said with a smile.

Seeing that Fang Jianxiong was neatly dressed, this family looked a little afraid. The man stood up and spoke cautiously: "This gentleman, what do you want to inquire about?" Fang Jianxiong pointed to the well and said: "This is a radius of two or three miles, how can it be this well?" Didn't the government of the town help you dig a well? ”

"Yes, this well was paid for by someone from the town." The man who answered was shocked by Fang Jianxiong's strong aura, and subconsciously bent down and replied in a low voice.

"No, this piece of land has hundreds of acres of land, how can it be a well? Isn't it a well of fifty acres? Fang Jianxiong asked again, the family stopped talking, closed their mouths and took a few steps back.

In the end, the old man on the ground struggled to stand up, and with the support of the old woman, he arched his hand and said, "This gentleman is a senior official from the county, right?" Fang Jianxiong said with a smile: "Old man, I am an official from the capital who specializes in investigating the drought situation in various places. I would like to know that according to the Cabinet decree, during the drought period, wherever there is a severe drought, there must be a well for every 50 acres of land. Also, the old and the young are given 20 catties of food per month, and the young and strong are given 30 catties per month, have you received them? ”

The old man shook his head blankly, the smile on Fang Dashuai's face instantly froze, he lowered his head and laughed twice, and said to the guards beside him with Sen Sen's cold air: "Leave a hundred yuan and send a signal flare!" ”

After saying that, Marshal Fang walked on the main road, a red signal flare was vacated behind him, and after a while, smoke and dust were billowing on the avenue, and a team of cavalry swept over, led by Qi Erzhu.

"These bastards, they dare to touch disaster relief funds and food, they are really bold." Fang Jianxiong spit out a breath of turbidity on his back, sneered and scolded, Qi Erzhu heard and said angrily: "Fu Shuai, the little one will take someone to go, take the county magistrate here, just like in the play, peel the skin and fill the grass,......。 "Bang, Qi Erzhu was kicked by Fang Dashuai on the buttocks, he didn't dare to cry out in pain, he had to laugh.

"You're legally blind! Officials are corrupt, there is an investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption, there is a court case for trial, and what are the soldiers involved in? Pack up your team and go back to Beijing. Fang Jianxiong turned over and whipped away. In fact, Fang Dashuai was not at peace in his heart at this moment, he did have the impulse to enter the county seat just now and chop up the officials headed by the county magistrate. But no, because that is illegal, Fang Dashuai can't take the lead in breaking the law.

When he returned to the capital, it was already dark the next day, Fang Jianxiong first went to see Zhang Binglin, the director of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, and talked about what happened to him in the countryside. ”

"Why did you say that, sir?" Fang Jianxiong felt a little proud in his heart, with his power, pinching a county magistrate to death was no different from pinching an ant to death, but he just didn't overstep his bounds. Law is law, an important symbol of modern civilized society.

Zhang Taiyan is so annoying, he doesn't know how to be a sycophant at all, and in the face of Fang Dashuai's question, he smiled and said: "Fu Shuai, I want to speak, I know it, why bother talking about it." Zhang said goodbye! Saying that he was about to leave, he walked a few steps and stood up and turned around and said, "Fushuai, it seems that it should be you who is leaving, this is my home." ”

This time it was Fang Jianxiong's turn to laugh, and he arched his hand and said, "Mr. Zhang, Fang is waiting for good news." He strode out.

Early the next morning, when Fang Jianxiong was still having breakfast in the courtyard to deal with official documents, the independent ** official was visiting, and when he saw him, he smiled and said: "Fu Shuai, I am here to thank you, thank you for setting an example for the people of the world." ”

Fang Jianxiong got up with a smile, and after greeting the tea, he waved his hand and said, "Brother Juesheng, this is a bad word." The state makes laws to be obeyed, otherwise what is the use of laws? No matter how great the power of the individual is, it cannot hinder the justice of the law. In our country, there have been too many ugliness of power and law, and since I have seen it, I will not repeat the mistakes of the past. Do you still remember the two major assassination cases at the beginning of the Republic of China? Tao Huanqing's death, Chen Yingshi was the most suspicious, but Sun asked Chen Yingshi to investigate, and you saw the results. Isn't the death of Song Yu's father the same? The people of the country respect power, and this bad habit should be corrected now! ”

Fang Jianxiong never expected that this case would cause violent repercussions around the world. The case involved nearly 100 officials from all over the county, and the Independent Commission Against Corruption urgently dispatched to report to the media after initially ascertaining the facts of the case, which was already the end of May. The amount of stolen money involved in this case is as high as more than 8 million yuan, which is the first fraud case in the Republic of China since the Republican Party came to power.

After the whole process was reported in the newspaper, the academic circles in Beijing and even the whole country launched a vigorous discussion. The core content is that after Fang Jianxiong discovered the fraud case, he did not use the power in his hand to take down the county officials resolutely, but the Independent Commission Against Corruption came forward to investigate, and then the court tried it.

In the process of reporting on this case, the Washington Post commented: "In the case of Tongguò, we are pleasantly surprised to see that China is undergoing astonishing changes. Their leaders, as they used to be, no longer use their power to solve the problem of justice. I have to admit that under the general environment of this country, this is a leap forward!

The British Times said: China's leaders are telling the people of this ancient civilized country how to treat the law. Here I must apologize, because before that, I used to assert that Fang was a dictator. Now I retract this statement and solemnly apologize to Chairman Fang.

The reaction at home has been more far-reaching than the reaction of Western countries, and the Ministry of Education has included the case in its textbooks. Many years later, this case was frequently turned over as a legal basis, and it was brought up countless times in the court, and he kept repeating a sentence recorded by the reporter when interviewing Fang Dashuai: "From the date of the birth of the Republic of China, no right should be, no, it cannot be above the law!" Otherwise, it will be a regression of Chinese civilization! ”

On May 25, 1918, the temporary tranquility of the European land was once again shattered, and the German defense line in the eastern French theater was covered by 1,000 large-caliber artillery pieces of the American army. This kind of behavior of 500,000 troops daring to equip thousands of large-caliber artillery pieces is not an ordinary loser in the eyes of the expeditionary force, but an extreme loser!