Bai Benhua, the mayor of Weinan, was awakened in his sleep, because the other party said that the presidential office reported to his home, and the little fire in his heart immediately disappeared, "Yes, yes, I will be there immediately." ”

Hurriedly called the driver and rushed to the train station, and the eastern sky was already showing the whiteness of the fish.

Entering the stationmaster's duty room, Bai Benhua immediately found the "main master", the black-faced man with an iron blue chin shave, but he didn't know who it was. Judging from the seat where he was sitting, the old man with long hair and another young-looking official were subordinates of the black-faced man.

On the way here, he kept thinking that it was the senior member of the center who came to inspect the disaster, the Ministry of Civil Affairs had come, the people from the Congress had also come, maybe it was the head of the Government Council, he didn't expect the president to come in person, even if there was a phone call from the President's Office in front, he still filtered out the possibility of the president, and the misunderstanding of thinking came in the small place of Weinan, how could the president come here?

Seeing his confusion, Shao Chong took two steps forward, "Is it Mayor Bai Benhua?" ”

"It's me. Who are you? ”

"My surname is Shao, and I haven't seen the president yet?"

Bai Benhua was taken aback, that's right, it's President Long! On that occasion, he went to the provincial capital to run errands, coinciding with the signing of the Sino-Japanese agreement on the end of the war, and the procession blocked the streets, and he saw the portrait of the president carried by the students.

"I've seen the president in a humble position." Bai Benhua was a person who had experienced the Manchu Qing Dynasty, his knees were weak, and he almost knelt down, and suddenly remembered that the new dynasty was not willing to kneel, and finally bowed to the president.

"It's too much to wake you up so early, sit." Long Qian looked at the official in front of him. "Your name is Benhua Bai? How many years have you been mayor? What were you doing before the founding of the country? ”

"Back to the words of the President. Bai Benhua, who was a lowly poster, served as the mayor of the city in July of the previous year. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, he was a small official of the Shaanxi Governor Yamen...... "Bai Benhua reported in a thick Shaanxi accent.

"Don't be nervous. It doesn't matter what you did before. You don't necessarily know these two, Duan Fang, Minister of Communications, and Liu Daoyi, Vice Minister of Water Resources. Speaking of which, Minister Duanfang also served as the secretary of the former Qing War Department. Aren't you in the same boat now? Mayor Bai, the disaster situation in Weinan is strict, and the center is very worried, can you briefly report on the disaster relief situation? ”

"Yes," Bai Benhua suppressed the shock in his heart and sorted out his thoughts, "Last autumn, the Wei River flooded Weinan. Seventy percent of the city's townships were affected. Thanks to the help of the garrison, the city was not flooded, and the railway was saved ......"

"We all know this, tell me about the current situation." Long Qian interrupted Bai Benhua's report.

"As of now. More than 95,000 people were affected by the disaster. A total of 1,105 people were killed or missing. Disaster relief began when the waters receded. A total of 2.3 million yuan in disaster relief funds allocated by the central and provincial governments have also been disbursed, and the army has also donated 300 tents, which have been put to great use. Last winter, not a single person froze to death or starved to death, and now the victims have basically been resettled. Since the beginning of spring, the reconstruction work has begun......"

"How many people are homeless? How were these people housed last winter? Long Qian asked.

"About 55,000 people are homeless...... "Mayor White was nervous when pressed by the president.

"How do these people survive the winter? How much can 300 tents solve? Well? ”

Bai Benhuali finally cleared his mind and explained the city's measures to resettle the victims in winter, Long Qian felt that he was quite dedicated, and finally asked, "Is the disaster relief money enough?" Are the accounts for the use of these funds clear? ”

"Clear, absolutely clear. If the President wants to check it, he can look at it now. The money is almost spent, and this spring's housing subsidy can only be pressed again and again......"

"I'm not going to check your account, but someone wants to check it. I forgot to introduce to you, this is Cao Minzhong, Minister of the Ministry of Supervision, and his people are sure to audit and inspect the disaster relief funds. Don't be nervous, you can be able to survive the catastrophe, and you can do your duty. The measures you mentioned to resettle the victims are also good, but I'm going to go to the resettlement site you mentioned to have a look. I have three requirements for you, one is the vehicle, can you find at least three cars? You can choose any type of vehicle. If that doesn't work, find a few horses. The second is that you have to be my guide. The third is not to reveal my identity, let alone engage in any reception. Do you understand? ”

"My subordinates understood."

"Then you go to the shunting car. I'll just wait here. Long Qian waved his hand.

Three cars arrived an hour later, two of them trucks.

"Chief, do you and a few leaders have a meal first?" Shao Chong asked.

The sky was already bright, and Long Qian looked at his watch, "It makes sense, I don't know where the next meal is." Let's go back to the train for a bite to eat. Mayor Bai, call your drivers to come and eat together. ”

The egg soup and flower rolls were ordinary, but the luxury of the special train shocked Bai Benhua and the four drivers. Bai Benhua gave an order, and no one was allowed to inquire about the identities of the leaders. So the four drivers, as well as Benhua Bai, felt cramped.

"Eat more. Especially these drivers. I'll have to work hard for you later. Long Qian ate quickly, a bowl of egg soup, two small flower rolls swallowed at a very fast speed, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and left everyone to go back to his carriage to find a map. Every time he went on a tour, he brought a lot of books with him, and maps were essential.

"President, they're already waiting outside." Shao Chong reported.

"Bring this map with you. The end side can not go. Kang Jiyong can bring a few people, wear civilian clothes, and the guards don't want to go. ”

"Understood."

Long Qian began his "surprise attack". More and more I find that the following situation is difficult to grasp, and all reports and summaries are all evaluations and praises. Even disasters such as floods, droughts, and locust bandits can be concealed. At first, I always felt that it was the "Manchu remnants" who were making trouble, and Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty was of course the Ming Jun, and he once said that the key to the rule of officials was at the county level, and he thought so. But there are definitely not a few mayors across the country like the one in front of him, who looks a little obscene and came from the old Manchu Dynasty, and the power of the old habits is greater. The speed of the construction of the Mengshan army was too fast, and Yan Zòng lacked the construction of a civilian ranks, and even officials like Wu Yong, who had taken refuge in him early, had some things on him that were unacceptable. And. Even his old partner who followed him to fight the world also underwent some changes he did not want to see after the founding of the People's Republic of China: he paid attention to pomp, liked the stars to hold the moon, and chased power and fame...... Before the establishment of the government, the simple, hard-working, and serious energy is becoming less and less. It's called bureaucracy, subjectivism, individualism, and so on. As long as a group has been engaged in it for a long time, these things that disgust the highest positions will inevitably breed, almost without exception, at least in the history of China. In known history, the brilliant founding leader of the country solved problems by means of movement, by mobilizing the masses. The effect he knew. Many of the founding emperors had the "bad deeds" of slaughtering heroes. Only Emperor Guangwu and Song Taizu did a better job in this regard...... The story of the once disgusting bird bow has become a little more understanding and sympathy after I sat in this chair, and sometimes it was a last resort. Unconsciously, I also stood in the position of the founding emperor to consider the problem. Long Qian has always reminded himself to jump out of the vicious circle of this thousand-year cycle. First of all, I can't think about things according to the emperor's thoughts. Rather, we should learn from the successful experiences of the world. Position yourself as a big civil servant, your position is temporary rather than hereditary, and respect your subordinates' pursuit of money and fame. Pay attention to system construction, and use a system that conforms to human nature to restrain people. So he set up a system of supervision, tried to keep power in check, and gave officials significantly higher salaries than the Manchus, in order to ensure that they lived a relatively decent life.

But to realize one's ideals, one must always solve the problem, and that is the question of who to rely on. The answer is obvious, he can only rely on the army, on the intelligence organs. As long as the army and intelligence organs are in their own hands, it doesn't matter if there is chaos in other places, and the ship will not capsize. It is not surprising that in all dynasties, all promising kings will hold on to military power. Because the army is the most lethal in the violent machine of the state, the intelligence organ is not worth mentioning compared to the army armed to the teeth. After the establishment of the Air Force, some people abolished the Ministry of National Defense and set up the Army, Navy, and Air Force, and there was a reason, but Song Jinguo, who had followed him for more than ten years and was relatively indifferent to money and power, immediately opposed it, and it was a stern opposition, believing that the personnel power of the army must be in the hands of reliable people, and the military power must not be allowed to get out of control. Song Jinguo obviously looked up to the Ministry of National Defense, and Song Jinguo undoubtedly trusted Wang Mingyuan, believing that the right to appoint senior military officers (above the brigade level) was in Wang Mingyuan's hands. This Jian yì hit its own vital point, so it vetoed the establishment of the Army, Navy and Air Force Department, and still maintained the existing system. Why didn't Song Jinguo trust Fang Shijun and Shang Fengchun? This is a question worth pondering. Song Jinguo was the first to approve of Long Qian's adjustment of the positions of several military commanders, so what was he worried about? The adjustment plan did not consult the opinions of those generals, but they all carried out the orders issued by the Ministry of Defense without exception, including Feng Guozhu, who had been promoted to marshal, and left the prosperous city of Nanjing to take up his post in the bitterly cold northwest, and did not complain. He admits that, at least for now, they have shown no signs of dominating one side of the other. But what about later? Especially when he left the presidential palace after six years? Will the army be obedient as it is now?

Long Qian sat in the off-road vehicle that Bai Benhua had brought, and his mind kept thinking about these things that gave him a headache. His deep thinking aggravated the worry of Bai Benhua, who was sitting in the front row, the mayor of Weinan, who was not from a real brand, was very worried that the president had heard some bad rumors in Weinan, otherwise why would he bring Cao Yanwang from the Ministry of Supervision?

The off-road vehicle is a small car that has not yet been sold publicly by Shandong Automobile Group the year before last, with a high chassis and suitable for the road with poor road conditions. In terms of comfort, it is not as good as the three sedans produced by the group. The cool morning breeze of early spring blew in through the car body, which made Long Qian's somewhat hot head sober up a lot, put aside those troublesome things, and focused on watching the scene outside the car. The remnants of the raging flood were still there, and most of the houses in a village passing by were still soaked in mud, with only traces of human activity in a few households on the high ground, and Long Qian ordered to stop.

A crowing rooster brings a little bit of life. Long Qian strode in front of the meteor, followed by Bai Benhua and Kang Jiyong. Facing an old man who came out with a dustpan, Long Qian said loudly, "Hello, old man." ”

The old man obviously didn't understand Long Qian's greeting, and Bai Benhua used Guanzhong Township as a translator, "Old man, this is the chief from the Jingshi, ask about your living situation." ”

The old man was frightened by the two weighty words of the commander of the Beijing Division, and he was a little at a loss.

"Old man. I knew that there was a big flood in the Wei River, and the above sent me to understand the situation and see what difficulties the villagers had in their lives. It's the busy season of spring ploughing, how to arrange this year's livelihood? ”

The old man finally understood, thought about it, and asked Long Qian to wait for him to come into the house and sit. Long Qian refused, "It's good here." I see that many of the houses in your village have been finished, and the villagers have not yet returned to their homes, is there anyone in the village who is suffering? Is the loss big? ”

Speaking of big water, the old man came to the topic. "It's all offended to God. This time, Emura suffered a lot. Two dead," he held out two wizened fingers, "running slowly, thanks to the army." It would be bad if there was no army. I'm afraid I'm going to kill half of them. It is not easy for countrymen to save some money. I can't bear it. It was the officers of the army who dragged them away. The army is good. ”

"And where do the people of your village live now?" Liu Daoyi asked.

His Hunan accent didn't even understand Bai Benhua, but Long Qian "translated" it to Bai Benhua, and Bai Benhua "translated" it to the old man.

"I still live in a neighboring village." The old man pointed to the west, "The work in the field has not been left behind, and everything that should be planted has been planted." That's it," he said, pointing to the blistered village, "and the government said it would help them build new houses, and I don't know if it can be relied on." ”

"He is your mayor, the former county magistrate. You let him speak. Long Qian pointed at Mayor Bai.

The old man understood this sentence, "Ah, it's the county official!" Kowtow to you. ”

Bai Benhua hurriedly helped the old man, "If you don't like this, you must not do this." Now it's a republic, and this mayor is doing things for the people. ”

"Thank you, Master Bai. The people from our government are good, they have come several times to count the population, send food and carbon according to the capitation, and also give money and cotton clothes. If it weren't for Master Bai's rule, I don't know how many miles of drowning, freezing and starvation would have been carried out in the big water this time. No, you must kowtow to Master Bai. ”

"If you want to thank you, thank you President Long, it's the president who asked you to do this." Bin Ben Hua blessed the heart and skillfully changed the subject.

"That's, that's. The president wants to be thankful, put aside in the past, so many soldiers can save people? I've lived for almost seventy, and I've never seen soldiers like this, and they're all good offspring. ”

"Uncle, Mayor Bai is right, the government is for the people. So you don't have to thank him. Uncle, you have seen a lot, there has never been such a big disaster in the history of Weihe. ”

"Last year's rain was too rapid, I didn't expect it to break." The old man pointed in the direction of the upstream breach, "I heard that the army sent troops up the river embankment, but it still didn't protect it...... has harmed more than a dozen good offspring in vain. I heard from the people in Liujiawan downstream that their arms were still tied together after they were fished out. ”

Long Qian had read the rescue report of the 19th Brigade of the 7th Division, and those officers and soldiers who sacrificed their lives were posthumously awarded to the martyrs, and those who should be commended were commended. However, the breach of the Wei River should not be, indicating that there are big loopholes in the river defense management. The Ministry of Water Resources and Shaanxi Province have people who have been taken off the black yarn, but now is not the time to pursue these, Long Qian changed the topic and asked the old man in detail about his life and production, and it sounded that the government's work was still effective.

"Mayor Bai, it's right to put production first. Time waits for no one. But this year, in any case, we must do a good job of rebuilding the houses in the flooded villages, and I will give orders to help you with all my might. But the government should take on the main job, understand? ”

"...... Chief, I assure you that the reconstruction of the Green Willow Camp will satisfy you."

"Not to satisfy me, but to satisfy the villagers. Well, let's not bother them, let's go. Shao Chong, "

Shao Chong took out a red envelope, "Grandpa, this is a little condolence money that the president asked me to pass on to you." You can take it. ”

"The president? Does the president know that they have suffered a disaster? ”

"Of course. The president has always cared about you, and the army was sent by the president, otherwise, who can command the army? ”

"Ah, his old man actually knows that they have suffered a disaster?" The old man pinched his wallet and shouted, but Long Qian and the others had already walked away.

"Mayor Bai, it seems that you are still working hard. Not bad. Long Qian praised Bai Benhua.

"Don't dare, don't dare, it's all a matter of subordination." Bai Benhua was furious, trying to restrain himself from revealing his true feelings.

"That's right. That's what the government does. I hope you really understand that your money is not given by me, but by them. Let's not go to the south, let's go to the north of the road. Long Qian was still worried that this was a pre-made situation, and decided to take a look at the north of the railway. This time, the Wei River broke in Weinan, and both the north and south sides were affected.

"Okay, where does the president want to look?"

"Let's get in the car, we'll talk about it when we get there."

Long Qian's inspection of the disaster area in Weinan lasted for two days. I visited two resettlement sites and a village that was being rebuilt. The troops also participated, and Long Qian met with the battalion commander who led the team and had a long conversation with him, and all kinds of facts satisfied Long Qian. The next night, he stayed at the Weinan Municipal Government Guest House. That night, he received an urgent telegram from Beijing, saying that the British envoy had already landed in Tianjin, and Fang Shengyuan judged that the British government must be wooing China, and hoped that Long Qian would return to Beijing to preside over the overall situation.

Long Qian sent a telegram back to Fang Shengyuan, instructing him to talk to the British first. If you don't have sincerity, you're gone. There are two must-see places on the trip to the northwest, and there is no hurry to return to Beijing. (To be continued......)