Chapter 459: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 469 I'm Not Delicate, I Have Plenty of Strength and

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Yan Laoxi was caught off guard and not too pleased by Lv Muzhi's temporary price hike.

But after looking at He Yingqin and Chen Cheng's expressions, he still quickly adjusted his mindset.

Since the money had already been spent, he absolutely could not end up pleasing neither side.

To prevent the Central Government from moving against him, Yan Laoxi could only hold Lv Muzhi tighter!

"Commander Yan? Don't tell me this one army's rations are too many, and there are difficulties?" Lv Muzhi asked.

Yan Laoxi waved his hands repeatedly: "One army? That's just the rations of three divisions, how is that enough? The Youth Army are meritorious ministers; I've decided to add another division's rations, supplying four divisions' worth monthly!"

Upon hearing this, He Yingqin and Chen Cheng's faces were cloudy and uncertain.

The Central Government merely symbolically allocated some rations to the Youth Army, not even enough for one division.

Since the Youth Corps was established, the Youth Army's rations had always been self-raised by Lv Muzhi.

If the Central Government moved against Yan Laoxi, wouldn't that be cutting off Lv Muzhi and the Youth Army's rations?

Not giving the Youth Army grain and pay, and not allowing others to give them either—how harsh would that sound if it got out!

This Yan Laoxi, entangled with Lv Muzhi's Youth Army, really couldn't be moved for the time being.

Lv Muzhi laughed heartily: "Commander Yan is truly a pillar of the state; the stability of North China cannot do without your contributions."

"Since Commander Yan is so kind, if Wei Yue declines again, it would seem like standing on ceremony."

"If the Japanese Army returns to Shanxi, I certainly won't sit idly by."

Yan Laoxi rubbed his hands: "What about the matter of the garrison troops?"

Lv Muzhi patted Yan Laoxi's hand: "Commander Yan, don't be anxious; the details can be discussed further..."

He Yingqin knew that he had come empty-handed, and staying longer would only bring self-inflicted humiliation to the old man, with no meaning at all.

He stood up and politely took his leave: "Wei Yue, since you have distinguished guests here, we'll return first."

Lv Muzhi stood up, with a look of regret, and tried to persuade him to stay: "Leaving already? Won't you sit a while longer..."

"Alas, since that's the case, please convey my regards to the old man, and take care of your health..."

The next evening, Chongqing, Nanshan Official Residence.

He Yingqin and Chen Cheng reported everything that had happened in Beiping to the old man in full detail.

Especially when mentioning that Yan Laoxi actually gave Lv Muzhi money and grain in public, the old man was both anxious and angry.

"This Yan Laoxi is truly outrageous!" The old man slammed the table hard.

"And Wei Yue, now he completely disregards the Central Government's strategy!"

Chen Cheng whispered on the side: "Wei Yue mentioned the matter of condolence money; not issuing rations isn't a big deal, but the dead are paramount, and the condolence money issue has a huge impact in the military. If it's not issued, I'm afraid..."

The old man snorted coldly: "Not issue? Why wouldn't I issue it? My money still needs to repay Western European loans!"

"Most of these loans were led by Lv Wei Yue; how much debt has the Ministry of Finance taken on?"

"These days, representatives from France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, and other countries come to the door every day to urge repayment. Our army just finished the winter counteroffensive, the national treasury is empty—can't we use the Youth Army's condolence money to make up a bit of the deficit caused by Lv Wei Yue?"

He Yingqin said: "The Central Government also used a lot of these loans; the Central Army's condolence money was issued, but only the Youth Army's was not. Indeed..."

Lady Song, sitting on the side, put down her coffee cup and took up the conversation:

"The matter of money is secondary; the key is that these disobedient forces must have a way to be brought under control."

"I've been talking with Lv Wei Yue's wife Zhu Sanxiang lately; those arsenals of the Zhu Family in the Southwest have become too large in scale."

"I proposed to her that the Ministry of Finance invest capital to buy shares, and the Central Government send personnel to station at the factory to help her manage it."

After hearing this, the old man's expression eased slightly, and he nodded: "Furen is absolutely right. Now that the Japanese Invaders have weakened somewhat, I want to take back military power step by step. For disobedient forces, it's time to start uprooting them."

Just as several people were discussing how to peacefully reclaim power, Dai Li rushed in anxiously.

Dai Li looked flustered and whispered a few words by the old man's side.

The old man's eyes widened instantly, and then anger turned into a resounding slap.

Smack!

Dai Li was struck so hard his head turned to the side, but he didn't dare raise his head.

"I told you to monitor the arsenal; who told you to provoke her?!"

At this moment, at the main gate of the Southwest Arsenal Headquarters, it was packed with people.

Today was May Day International Labor Day (a statutory holiday of the Republic of China); the factory should have stopped work to rest, but now it was crowded with people.

Zhu Sanxiang had also changed into a neat set of dark blue work clothes, her long hair tied back, looking heroic and spirited.

Li Baoguo, Regimental Commander of the Guard Regiment of the arsenal, wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking at the dense crowd outside the factory, his heart pounding.

"Furen, this... this won't be going too far? The Military Statistics Bureau people are watching from the building across the street."

Zhu Sanxiang sneered coldly, raised her hand, and glanced at her watch.

"Let the Military Statistics Bureau people watch; I've never cared about them monitoring the factory."

"But my parents-in-law took a plane abroad today, and on the way to the airport, a traffic accident occurred, causing them to miss their flight. This cannot be tolerated!"

"Have the two elders been sent home?"

Li Baoguo nodded: "They've been sent home already. The elders weren't injured, but the automobile they were riding in blew a tire and hit a streetlight. The brothers checked, and there were nails on the road, but it can't be proven that the Military Statistics Bureau people did it."

Zhu Sanxiang adjusted the loudspeaker with both hands and said in a low voice to Li Baoguo: "I don't care whether they're from the Military Statistics Bureau or not; I only recognize one thing: any accident is inseparable from the Central Government!"

"My son has already been sent abroad, and the two elders had an accident. What face do I have left to see Muzi?"

Li Baoguo asked: "Are you really going to wrestle with the Central Government?"

Zhu Sanxiang looked at the sea of people below the platform: "Just have the Guard Battalion brothers maintain order; leave the rest to me!"

"I'm no delicate young lady—I've got plenty of strength and means!"

Zhu Sanxiang then turned the loudspeaker volume to maximum and shouted loudly: "Dear fellow workers! The May Day International Labor Day celebration parade activity now begins!!!"

The factory gates slowly opened.

A full ten thousand workers had gathered at the Southwest Arsenal Headquarters.

These workers came from various industries—textile mills, mines, steel mills, automobile factories, arsenals......

Different industries, but all were properties of the Zhu Family.

The workers formed neat square formations and surged onto the streets in a mighty procession, holding banners, celebrating May Day Labor Day.

To the front, back, left, and right of the worker formations were several thousand elite soldiers of the Arsenal Guard Battalion; they too were part of the Youth Army, just with different assignments, each fully armed, responsible for maintaining order at the scene.

Not only did the workers march in the streets, their fruits of labor would also be displayed together.

The textile mill workers carried the cloth, finished garments, and uniforms they had produced;

The steel mill workers used trucks to haul the steel ingots and iron ingots they had smelted;

The mine workers hauled the ore they had mined;

The automobile factory workers drove trucks......

Most surprising of all, the fruits of labor the arsenal workers brought onto the streets were the various weapons produced by the arsenal!

The Panzer III Medium Tanks, Type III Self-propelled Guns, T Light Tanks, and various other tanks fresh off the assembly line, not yet fully painted, were driven onto the streets by the workers of the arsenal Tank Department.

There were also the workers of the Light Weapons Department, holding various weapons they themselves had produced—rifles, submachine guns, machine guns......

The roadsides were packed with onlookers pointing and gesturing at the worker parade.

"Good fellow, so many Iron Turtles? This Lady Zhu is truly a heroine among women!"

"Right, she's the wife of that Lu Commander—how could she be ordinary?"

The parade slowly advanced through the Core Defense Zone of Chongqing; the police and military police along the route could only stand aside.

A military policeman nudged the police officer in the black hat beside him: "Shouldn't we do something about it?"

The police officer watched a Panzer III Medium Tank pass before him, pointing at himself and asking: "We go handle it? With my baton?"

On a high-rise building by the street, a Military Statistics Bureau agent said to another agent: "This show of force—could they be staging a military coup?"

The other agent shook his head: "Probably not... I see their gun barrels are all open, no bullets inside, though whether there are shells in the tanks is hard to say......"

Inside the Nanshan Official Residence, the old man interrogated Dai Li: "Does the Military Statistics Bureau have anything to do with the traffic accident involving her parents-in-law, Lv Wei Yue's parents?!"