Chapter 107 Internal and external troubles

Why is penicillin so expensive? -- When such a news item appeared in the newspaper, it immediately detonated a new angle of reporting. The article said in a questioning tone: "China has a population of nearly 60,000 people, per capita annual income of more than 600 yuan, the new drug penicillin developed by Northern Pharmaceutical, the retail price of pharmacies in the market is as high as 150 yuan per injection, and the black market price is as high as 300 yuan, and the average family is calculated according to six people, the total annual income is 3,600 yuan. Taking Shanghai as an example, 80 percent of households have a per capita annual income of 2,000 yuan, while more than 90 percent of households in the country have an annual income of less than 1,000 yuan. So may I ask Northern Pharmaceutical, can the ordinary people afford such an expensive medicine? Excuse me, who made the money to buy medicine? ”

Although the article did not name names, the blade is well known to everyone. For a time, the opposition parties followed suit, all kinds of vague speculations came out in the newspapers, and the news media could be said to have no discipline at all most of the time. Words such as "the largest capitalist in China", "Fang's world" and "hard-earned money" have appeared in the newspapers, and in general, it is determined that the Fang family's industry, Northern Pharmaceutical, buys drugs at high prices regardless of the people's sufferings and earns black money.

With Fang Jianxiong's prestige and status, it would not have caused too many waves in China, but then the follow-up of foreign media detonated the condemnation of Northern Pharmaceutical in one fell swoop. The better ones questioned it, and the almost ones scolded directly. Those who plan to fish in troubled waters say that they should reduce the price of sales, and the foreign media are more neat, demanding that Northern Pharmaceutical stop the regulations on the sale of penicillin abroad for the time being.

So it is with the press. All kinds of rumors are flying all over the place. The common people are still very realistic, there are good medicines that can't afford to use, and there is nothing originally. But this medicine is life-saving, that's another concept. Because he was the first to write an article questioning Northern Pharmaceutical, the author Wang Zhaoming has a high reputation in the press circles, and he has a strong posture of not fearing power to ask for the people's lives.

With this article, the KMT's support among the people has increased. Not everyone feels that they should be taking advantage of others for nothing. The eyes of the whole world were focused on Beijing at this time, waiting to see how Fang Jianxiong would react. After all, Northern Pharmaceutical is the industry of the women of the Fang family, and Fang Jianxiong is the president. This matter cannot be avoided, and an explanation must be given to the people.

The Office of the Presidential Office announced shortly after the press storm began that President Fang Jianxiong would hold a press conference on the 30th, bringing Ms. Lu Bicheng, President of Northern Pharmaceutical. Gong Rui, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor of Beijing Medical University, attended the press conference. Deal with the media head-on. The Voice of the Republic of China radio will broadcast the press conference live, which is the first time that a live radio broadcast has appeared in China.

The fact that the venue for the event was at the Capitol was not too surprising because it had the best equipment in place. Surprisingly, Shanghai Phoenix Film Company actually obtained the filming rights on the spot, and then produced a documentary to be released nationwide.

At half past eight in the morning, the Capitol was overcrowded, and more than 500 people came to the media. Ninety percent of MPs attended the hearing. Some media behind him said that this press conference was not just for the media. It also has the meaning of a question against the Diet.

There are many Kuomintang legislators who came to the National Assembly early, and the leader is naturally Wang Zhaoming, chairman of the popular fried chicken Kuomintang. In this time and space, without the opponent of Lao Chiang, Wang Zhaoming's momentum as the first person in the Kuomintang is unacceptable. This time, Wang Zhaoming's article went to the leader of the Republican Party, and successfully forced Fang Jianxiong to hold a press conference, Wang Zhaoming's personal reputation in the party has reached a higher level, and although he tries his best to hide the pride in his heart at this moment, the smile on the corner of his mouth can still be seen very clearly.

Surrounded by Wang Zhaoming were all members of the Kuomintang Congress, and the Kuomintang had a hard time in the past two years. During Sun Baoqi's administration, the KMT's top brass learned from the pain, held high the banner of people's livelihood, and concentrated on schools and the gentry class, and indeed achieved certain results. During the presidency of Tang Hualong, due to the economic crisis, private enterprises in the southeast coast were greatly impacted, and the Kuomintang repeatedly asked the government to bail out the market in the National Assembly and asked the government for relief many times, so it achieved good success in the general elections in various provinces. The number of seats in the National Assembly reached more than 120.

In the 1933 general election, in the face of Fang Jianxiong's unrivaled prestige and charm, the Kuomintang was defeated in the general election, and the number of seats in the National Assembly fell below 100. The other opposition parties are no better, and it can be said that Fang Jianxiong alone overthrew all the opposition parties. In the past two years, with the adjustment and improvement of the economy of the Republic of China, the new economic policies introduced by the government have achieved full results, and the life of the opposition parties such as the Kuomintang and the United Progressive Party has become even more difficult. The Kuomintang has only the old nest of Guangdong, and after the merger of the United Party and the Progressive Party, there is only one Jiangsu Province left. Other provinces did not resist and were the targets of crushing in the elections.

After struggling in pain for more than two years, the Kuomintang finally found an opportunity to fight back, and then made a big fuss about the price of penicillin, taking advantage of the covert help of foreign forces to stir up trouble. These high-ranking Kuomintang officials present had a fierce dispute before Wang Zhaoming attacked Fang Jianxiong. The issue of contention is whether or not to cooperate with foreign forces. In the end, at the insistence of Hu Hanmin and Wang Zhaoming, Liao Zhongkai's faction, which opposed one side, failed to gain the upper hand. This opportunity was too tempting for the KMT, and it was also an irresistible opportunity for the United Progressive Party. The reason is very simple, Britain, the United States, France, Japan and other powers have expressed their support, and even the Soviet Union has sent people to secretly contact the Kuomintang and the United Progressive Party to express their support for the two parties.

With the death of Liang Qichao, Zhang Jian, Tang Shouqian, Cheng Dequan and a number of other old people, the momentum of the United Progressive Party is much less than before. The current premier Xiong Xiling and chairman of the board of directors Wang Jitang hit it off immediately after contacting the KMT, and it can be said that the use of penicillin this time is a joint and unified action of the two parties, and has received financial support from various countries.

"Chairman Ji Xin's essay is worth more than 100,000 soldiers, directly forcing out the old commander of the Republican Party, and this move to ask for the people's life will inevitably be beneficial to the next year's general election." Kong Xiangxi, the Kuomintang's money bag, is now an ally of Wang Zhaoming. If Fang Jianxiong does not respond properly this time, the KMT may really be able to fight a turnaround battle in the next general election.

"Where is it, Brother Yong has a good reputation, and this condemnation of the Fang family is the result of the joint efforts of the whole party. Zhao Ming didn't dare to take credit! Wang Zhaoming, who was actually very proud in his heart, was pretending to be polite. As if seeing Fang Jianxiong's wolf bèi in front of reporters, Wang Zhaoming's heart was extremely happy. Liao Zhongkai on the side frowned and poured cold water and said, "Two, don't be too happy." Fang Fuguo is a scheming person, and this matter may not be as it seems on the surface. I always felt that there was something wrong with this? ”

Wang Zhaoming's heart was blocked by what he said, and he glanced at Liao Zhongkai who was always against him with dissatisfaction. This guy is a rising star in the Kuomintang, he is loyal, treats his colleagues well, does not dislike dirty work, and is an old scalper who works hard and complains, and can help anyone who has comrades in difficulty. Some people in the party jokingly called Liao Zhongkai "Liao's mother"! This kind of opponent with invincible character and morality makes Wang Zhaoming, a person who likes to stand on the moral high ground and guide the country, a headache.

"Brother Zhongkai is too worried, this time it is not my sole action, just the pressure of the great powers, Fang Fuguo will be difficult to deal with." Wang Zhaoming was secretly dissatisfied in his heart, but he was talking with a smile. In fact, because of Liao Zhongkai's words, his heart became a little bottomless. I used to suffer too many losses, but when I was reminded by Liao Zhongkai, I suddenly felt that something was really wrong. If you think about it carefully, it doesn't seem that there are any flaws, and the fact that you have secretly contacted various countries and collected a lot of money should not be leaked, right?

Fang Jianxiong's motorcade finally appeared, and reporters waiting outside the Capitol swarmed up, but the presidential guard formed a human wall in time to block the reporters. After Fang Jianxiong took office, the president's selected domestic Shanghai sedan drove directly to the front of the gate, and when the door opened, Fang Jianxiong, who had an indifferent face, appeared in front of the media reporters, looked at both sides with a smile, and waved his hand very gracefully. This murdered countless films, and the sound of puffs and puffs was incessant, and the flashing lights stinged their eyes.

Lu Bicheng, who was well-mannered, then came down, holding Fang Jianxiong's hand, and the two stepped inside together. Inside the commotion of the Capitol, because of Fang Jianxiong's appearance, it suddenly became silent, and everyone watched Fang Jianxiong calmly cross the sidewalk and walk towards the position of the rostrum, when there was a sudden snap, and a congressman subconsciously applauded. After hesitating for a moment, the councillor continued to applaud firmly, snap! Slightly stagnant, faint applause, like a boiling oil pan under cold water, the entire Capitol responded with applause, and then the applause filled the entire Capitol like a tide.

Although the media at home and abroad are questioning the penicillin matter, in the minds of the vast majority of the people, this does not damage Fang Jianxiong's personal prestige and reputation in the slightest. Without Fang Jianxiong's birth, there would have been no prosperity and strength of the new Republic of China, and there would have been no courage for the Chinese people to regain confidence and stand on top of the world.

It's strange to say, originally many Republican congressmen were also very uncertain, but after seeing Fang Jianxiong appear, they suddenly felt that it was no big deal. It seems that as long as Fang Jianxiong is there, the Republican Party is invincible.

Sitting in the seat of the ministers of various countries in the high place, the Japanese Minister Ariyoshi looked solemn, penicillin is too important for a country like Japan. What is exciting is that the world powers also have a mentality of ambition to win penicillin, instigating the opposition parties of the Republic of China to attack Fang Jianxiong and contribute money and efforts to deal with this business externally, and Japan is not the only country doing it. I don't know why, Youjiming's heart is very unreliable. (To be continued......)