Chapter 522: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 532 The Old Man: Delay Disaster Relief, Two Problems

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Lv Muzhi and Fan Jing had a long talk by Dianchi, after which the two temporarily parted ways.

Lv Muzhi returned to Zhengzhou, where famine had already begun to erupt.

On the streets of Zhengzhou, the usual bustle was gone, and refugees began appearing in twos and threes to beg on the streets.

As soon as Lv Muzhi got off the plane, he rushed straight to the largest relief station in the suburbs of Zhengzhou.

Liao Yaoxiang had long been waiting there, and at that moment he was directing soldiers to move grain.

On the open ground of the relief station, dozens of huge army cauldrons were steaming.

Hundreds and thousands of refugees held bowls and lined up in long queues under the soldiers' guidance.

"Commander Lu, you're finally back." Liao Yaoxiang wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly walked to Lv Muzhi's side.

Lv Muzhi looked at the long queue, in a bad mood: "The situation is worse than I imagined. Have all the relief stations been opened?"

Liao Yaoxiang sighed, pointing at the refugees surging in endlessly in the distance: "Over a thousand porridge kitchens have been opened across the province, and for now everyone can still eat two meals a day."

"But the refugees keep increasing. At this rate of growth, the stored grain will last only twenty days."

"Grain is currently being transferred from Hebei, Shandong, and Shanxi, and Sichuan and Zhongnan State have also shipped in rice."

Lv Muzhi walked to a grain transport truck, patted the sacks on it, and watched two soldiers pour rice into the large cauldron.

"The Old Man appointed me Director of Henan Relief, but didn't give a single cent or a grain of grain."

"He intends for me to solve it myself, while he sits on the side watching the joke."

Liao Yaoxiang lowered his voice: "The Old Man is too unrighteous. You just saved his Central Expeditionary Army not long ago. In my opinion, he should be made to take a big fall in Burma!"

Lv Muzhi shook his head: "Forget it. The Expeditionary Army is full of our old classmates. We can't watch them die in a foreign land. I don't regret helping the Old Man this time in Burma."

Liao Yaoxiang thought the same: if the Expeditionary Army in Burma wasn't saved, the loss would be Xia Guo's own national defense strength.

"Commander Lu, the disaster in Henan South is the most severe. The common people must avoid starving to death as much as possible, and at least have half a year's grain here with us."

"Our grain shortage is huge. Once grain aid fails to arrive, people will starve to death in large swathes."

"The Central Government can't just wash its hands of this!"

Lv Muzhi silently watched the common people squatting on the ground licking the bottom of their bowls, and a chill ran through his heart.

At the same time, inside the Hankou Official Residence, the atmosphere was very relaxed.

The Old Man sat on the sofa, holding a freshly translated battle report, a long-absent smile on his face.

Song Zhiwen and Liu Zhi sat opposite, likewise passing around the battle report.

"The Battle of Midway Island, the Americans fought well!" The Old Man slapped the table, excitement in his tone.

"Four aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy Combined Fleet were sunk. Their doom is not far off."

Song Zhiwen raised his teacup and echoed: "Yes, the Americans won a great victory at sea. Next they will increase their investment in the Asian theater and strike the Japanese Army's land forces."

The Old Man was in good spirits and asked: "How is the Hump Route coming along? Right now all international transport lines by sea and land are cut off. We're counting on this air route."

Song Zhiwen answered: "The Americans moved quickly. The Hump Route has been successfully opened. Initially, 200 transport aircraft will be equipped to transport War of Resistance supplies."

"These two hundred planes will take off carrying supplies from India, fly for a long time, and land in Kunming."

"By then supplies will flow endlessly. Inflicting a heavy blow on the Japanese Army on land will also be a matter of time."

The Old Man was very pleased and couldn't stop laughing: "Very good!"

Liu Zhi sat to one side. Although he laughed along, there was some concern in his eyes.

"The great victory at Midway Island and the opening of the Hump Route are certainly wonderful news, but the famine in Henan right now... doesn't seem too optimistic."

"Right now only Wei Yue holds the title of relief director there, struggling on. If the Central Government remains inactive again, I'm afraid..."

The smile vanished from Song Zhiwen's face. He glanced at Liu Zhi, thinking him a real killjoy.

The smile on the Old Man's face faded somewhat. He put down the battle report recording the Battle of Midway Island and fell into a brief hesitation.

Henan was the granary of the Youth Army and also a forward post in defending against the Japanese Army. The locality also regularly paid grain taxes to the Central Government.

By rights, the Old Man should take out money and grain for disaster relief.

But he felt Lv Muzhi had become alienated from him, and the Old Man felt very uncomfortable.

Plus, the Kong and Song families held the purse strings. Whether to spend money to buy grain from the central provinces for disaster relief was not for the Old Man alone to decide.

Song Zhiwen saw through the Old Man's thoughts and spoke unhurriedly.

"In my opinion, this matter need not be rushed. Let Lv Muzhi carry on for now."

"Since he's being so active—transferring grain and setting up relief stations—it shows he has grain in hand and isn't panicked at all!"

The Old Man raised his eyebrows: "You mean, let him shoulder it alone?"

Song Zhiwen smiled faintly, a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes: "This disaster comes with such ferocity. It's just a good opportunity to weaken the Youth Army..."

"Wait a few more months. When Lv Muzhi's money and grain are exhausted, the Central Government stepping in to save the scene would be even better."

As Song Zhiwen spoke, the Old Man thought, as if he had already seen the ending:

Once Lv Muzhi had poured all his family assets into disaster relief and people had starved to death, the Central Government could charge him with ineffective disaster relief, causing public resentment among the refugees to boil over.

Then the Central Government would produce special funds and grain to bail things out. Whose grace would the common people remember? Naturally the Old Man's and the Central Government's!

That way, Lv Muzhi would be weakened, the famine resolved, and popular support gained. Wasn't that solving two problems at once?

A smile appeared at the corner of the Old Man's mouth: "Zhiwen, your plan is indeed prudent and steady."

"The Central Government naturally won't just sit by and do nothing. It's just that the timing of intervention must be gauged well. Later is better, so as to show the Central Government's thunderous means."

Liu Zhi felt somewhat uncomfortable in his heart: "Wei Yue just saved the Expeditionary Army not long ago. For the Central Government to do this—isn't it not too good?"

Bringing this up, the old man felt somewhat embarrassed, inevitably carrying a hint of the farmer and the snake.

"One thing is one thing, Wei Yue and I, we were both doing it for the good of Xia Guo."

"But there is only one authority in the Central Government, you agree, right? I'm not trying to put Wei Yue to death either; he's still young, letting him take a fall is also good."

"Wei Yue saved me once in Burma; when he is powerless to carry out disaster relief, I can also reach out and save him once!"

The old man's words made Liu Zhi nod slightly.

"Here's what we'll do: you set out for Henan to collect this year's grain tax from the Youth Army."

Liu Zhi was stunned: "Collect tax? Me?"

The old man's tone turned cold: "The war in the Indochina Peninsula is imminent, and the Central Army will also send troops on a large scale to participate in the war; opening up the land transportation line will be decided in this battle."

"Sending troops to fight, which thing doesn't need money, doesn't need grain?"

"You go tell Wei Yue, the Central Army wants to fight, and the ration gap is very large."

"Although his place suffered a disaster, one thing is one thing, the grain tax still has to be paid."

Liu Zhi wiped his sweat, thinking to himself, why don't you go yourselves on this errand.

"Why not let Minister Song do the urging? I'm not sensitive to numbers like grain tax; if I collect the wrong amount, it's a crime I can't bear."

Minister Song hurriedly refused: "I have many things to do, and I also need to strive for more initiative on the Lend-Lease Materials matter; we can't let Wei Yue take the lead on Lend-Lease Materials again!"

——————

Outside a rice porridge shelter in Henan South bearing the sign "Youth Army Fourth Zero Five Relief Station."

Lv Muzhi extended a large ladle, stirring in the steaming pot of porridge, his brow tightly furrowed.

The porridge was a bit thin.

The official in charge of distributing porridge trembled in fright and hurriedly explained:

"Commander Lv... the grain depot reminded us to try to save grain as much as possible; we don't know when the next batch of grain will arrive, being able to hold out a little longer is better..."

"Nonsense!" Lv Muzhi threw down the large ladle: "Add rice! Cook the porridge thicker for me; if there isn't enough grain, I'll figure something out; you don't need to worry about it here!"

The official nodded repeatedly, running to the back kitchen with sweat all over his head to add rice.

Liao Yaoxiang watched this scene from the side, shook his head helplessly, and stepped forward a few steps.

"Commander Lv, continuing to eat like this is indeed not a long-term plan."

"More and more disaster victims are gathering; the bit of stored grain we have will eventually run out; we need to think of a way."

Lv Muzhi thought the same and asked: "Have Qiu Qingquan, Zhang Fei, and Yan Laoxi arrived?"

Liao Yaoxiang answered: "Zhang Fei and Yan Laoxi are already at the Zhengzhou Headquarters; only Qiu Qingquan hasn't arrived."

"It is said that the Kwantung Army has been moving frequently at Shanhaiguan recently; Qiu Qingquan is urgently arranging defenses against the Kwantung Army's southbound advance; he's afraid he won't be able to arrive until later."

Lv Muzhi nodded and was about to speak when a staff officer hurriedly ran over.

"Report to Commander Lv! General Liu Zhi has already arrived at the Zhengzhou Official Residence, saying he has waited for you for nearly three hours."

Liao Yaoxiang snorted coldly: "Liu Zhi? At this time, why doesn't he stay in Hankou? What is he running to the disaster area to do?"

Lv Muzhi walked out of the rice porridge shelter: "Since he's come, we have to meet him. Come on; he must be representing the old man."

Inside the Zhengzhou Official Residence, Liu Zhi on the sofa had indeed been waiting somewhat impatiently.

But the moment he saw Lv Muzhi, he immediately put on a smiling face, though the smile was very forced and uneasy.

"Wei Yue! You've made me wait so long!" Liu Zhi stood up to welcome him, looking kind.

"Recently doing disaster relief in Henan, can your body take it? I see your complexion; you've lost quite a bit of weight, haven't you?"

Lv Muzhi replied indifferently: "Thanks to the old man's blessing, I won't be tired to death."

After some greetings, Liu Zhi didn't know how to open his mouth.

Asking Lv Muzhi for money and grain at this time—wasn't that asking for a scolding?

Seeing this, Lv Muzhi directly took the initiative to say: "Commander Liu, your esteemed visit this time, we have truly been looking forward to it!"

"These million disaster victims are all waiting with open mouths; your arrival is simply a timely sweet rain!"

Lv Muzhi asked expectantly: "How much disaster relief money did the old man assign you? How much grain do you plan to transfer over?"

Liu Zhi's smiling face froze, he dryly coughed twice, appearing extremely embarrassed.

"This... Wei Yue, regarding disaster relief, the Central Government naturally has overall considerations; it can't be rushed, but..."

"I came this time not specifically for disaster relief, but there is some official business I need to discuss with you."

"Official business?" Liao Yaoxiang interjected from the side, "Isn't disaster relief also official business?"

Liu Zhi glanced at Liao Yaoxiang, mustered his courage, and said solemnly to Lv Muzhi: "Regarding this year's grain tax, the Central Government's meaning is that it must be handed in urgently."

"Wei Yue, you should know that there will be a big war on the Indochina Peninsula soon, and the Central Army is also actively expanding the army and preparing for war; everywhere lacks money and grain."

"At this time, please understand the Central Government's difficulties, Wei Yue, and settle this year's local grain tax as soon as possible."

The words had just fallen when Liao Yaoxiang slammed the table and stood up.

"Understand difficulties? Who will understand the difficulties of the old common people of Henan! The Central Government doesn't think of ways to do disaster relief, but actually wants grain tax from us?"

Liu Zhi's old face turned red, he waved his hands repeatedly, and his tone softened a bit.

"Henan's situation is special; the grain tax doesn't need to be handed over."

"But Hebei and Shandong, these two places, the taxes from these two places please hand in completely as soon as possible."

Lv Muzhi looked at him coldly: "The Central Government plans to wash its hands of this, right?"

"Does the old man feel that this Central Plains is already my Lv Muzhi's Central Plains alone? The disaster victims are also my Lv Muzhi's disaster victims alone?"

Liu Zhi sat on pins and needles, fine beads of sweat oozing on his forehead; he lowered his voice to advise:

"Wei Yue, everything has its order of importance and urgency; you must understand the Central Government's painstaking efforts."

"The United States won a great victory in the Battle of Midway Island; right now is a good opportunity to counterattack the Japanese Army; the Central Government is busy opening up the international transportation line in Burma."

"To the old man, military affairs are always first; if the international transportation line is not opened, the situation of the War of Resistance is in danger of being overturned."

"To understand the refugees' suffering, the old man deliberately cut his food expenses, not even meat appeared anymore. What you just said was really going too far."

Lv Muzhi directly snorted with laughter.

"General Liu, there's no need to say such empty words."

"The old man ate too much meat when he was young; now that he's old, he eats something light. I won't comment further."

"Now that the Hump Route has opened, the Kong Family and Song Family must be delighted, right? I estimate they're planning to use that route to smuggle and profit from the nation's calamity!"

"The common people can't even get porridge anymore. Even if the old man starved himself to death, that would still be wrong!"

Liu Zhi opened his mouth, wanting to say a few words in defense, but found he had absolutely nothing to say.

By the time he recovered, Lv Muzhi had already walked straight out the door.

"Wei Yue! What exactly are we going to do about the grain tax? I need to give an explanation!" Liu Zhi shouted from behind.

Liao Yaoxiang had not left yet and replied: "The taxes turned over to the Central Government have all been used for disaster relief on the spot."

"Since the Central Government keeps saying they care about the refugees, we will distribute this grain tax directly on behalf of the Central Government."

"Not only that. When you go back, tell the old man that these grain taxes for disaster relief are far from enough; the Central Government must allocate more money and grain!"

The Official Residence Gate slammed shut heavily, leaving Liu Zhi alone in the guest hall, staring blankly.

——————

After Lv Muzhi and Liu Zhi parted ways, he went straight to the Youth Army Headquarters.

Qiu Qingquan, Zhang Fei, and Yan Laoxi had already arrived.

"Yuan'an, is there any movement from the Kwantung Army?" Zhang Fei asked with some concern.

Qiu Qingquan had only just arrived and nodded, saying: "The devils' intent to destroy us has not died. Taking advantage of the Henan famine, their movements around Shanhaiguan are very frequent."

"I've temporarily assigned Chu Yunfei to watch over the Pingjin defense; for now there are no major problems."

"Over these two years, besides maintaining the combat effectiveness of the 150,000 Youth Army troops in Hebei, I have also done my best to expand another 50,000 Youth Army troops. This is the result of using the funds given by Lu Commander to the utmost."

"In addition, outside the Youth Army's sequence, I have organized local organizations at all levels to form 100,000 Civilian Corps soldiers."

"As long as the Kwantung Army dares to leave the pass, I will let them know that I, Qiu Qingquan, am not made of mud."

Yan Laoxi sighed from the side: "Two hundred thousand Youth Army troops guarding Pingjin, plus another 100,000 Civilian Corps soldiers—the Kwantung Army indeed needs to weigh their options."

Just then, the office door was pushed open, and Lv Muzhi strode in with Liao Yaoxiang.

"Lu Commander!" Everyone stood up in unison.

Lv Muzhi waved his hand, signaling everyone to sit down, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the several people.

"This time I've asked you to come, not to fight a war, but for disaster relief."

Zhang Fei was the first to express his stance: "Lu Commander, rest assured, when it's time to contribute money and grain, I absolutely won't say no."

Qiu Qingquan likewise agreed.

Yan Laoxi smiled wryly: "I will also do my best to contribute..."

Lv Muzhi looked at them with satisfaction.

"In my opinion, it's better to guide than to block."

"The refugees cannot all be crowded together drinking porridge; this pot of porridge will eventually be drunk empty."

"My idea is to evacuate some of the Henan refugees in a planned way to the surrounding provinces to make a living."

"This can both reduce the grain pressure on Henan itself and allow the refugees to find a way to live outside."

"Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi—these three places must all make room to accept a certain number of refugees."

"When the famine ends, those willing to return can come back to continue farming."