In late April of the 31st year of the Republic of China (1942), transport fleets sailing from the east coast of the United States and sailing around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa arrived at Yangon Port. With the arrival of a large number of industrial equipment and technical personnel, large-scale industrial construction began in Yangon.
Yangon, Mandalay and Yananqiang and other Myanmar cities were launched.
For a time, the whole of Myanmar became a bustling construction site.
At the same time, the production and construction corps of the Chinese Expeditionary Force has also been formally organized. More than 800,000 young men and more than 500,000 refugees who have arrived in Myanmar have been organized into 13 production and construction corps. The federal government of Myanmar is very happy to organize the production and construction corps in central and northern Myanmar.
, the Mengong River Valley has set aside tens of millions of acres of barren land for the Chinese to reclaim.
I don't really care about Yue Weihan, because there is almost no real barren land in Myanmar.
A barren land like the Hukang River Valley is actually very fertile, but no one has cultivated it.
In fact, the population of Myanmar at this time was less than 10 million. Except for major cities and narrow areas on both sides of a few large rivers, other places were very desolate, and the land set aside by the federal government of Myanmar for the Production and Construction Corps of the Chinese Expeditionary Force was
Most of it is uninhabited and barren land, so there has not been much conflict with the local Burmese indigenous people.
At the beginning, industrial construction went smoothly.
The construction of Mandalay Steel City, Yan'an Qiang Oil City and Yangon Comprehensive Industrial City has begun. With the arrival of large-scale engineering equipment aided by the United States, site leveling, road construction, bridge erection, water and electricity supply, etc.
Everything is proceeding in an orderly manner, and the factory areas of major factories have been drawn on drawings.
But in late May, unexpected problems suddenly appeared.
The first batch of building materials aided by the U.S. government was quickly used up. The United States suggested that the British Steel Company and cement companies in India should provide the subsequent building materials needed. However, Mr. Tan Kah Kee expressed different opinions. He believed that at this time, the National Government moved inland to
The factories in the southwestern rear area needed this order even more, so they insisted on handing over the order to the National Government.
Mr. Tan Kah Kee’s righteous deeds indeed saved the cement plants and steel plants that were on the verge of bankruptcy in the southwestern rear area. However, they also brought huge troubles to the “Nanyang Industrial Company” wholly owned by overseas Chinese in Nanyang. The Executive Yuan of the National Government at the time
Kong Xiangxi, Minister of Finance and President of the Bank of China, has set his sights on Myanmar.
Speaking of Kong Xiangxi, we have to talk about the four prominent families of the National Government!
The so-called four major families refer to Chiang, Song, Kong, and Chen. Among them, the Chiang family controls the state affairs and is the undisputed first family of the National Government. Although the Chiang family does not have many assets in their private accounts, it is
It doesn't mean anything, because the entire country belongs to the Chiang family, and there is no need for them to deposit money into their private accounts.
The Chen family, which ranks at the bottom, is somewhat unworthy of its name!
The brothers Chen Guofu and Chen Lifu devoted their lives to the education of the National Government. In their later years, the brothers had no money left. Chen Guofu could not even afford medical treatment. During the decades when the brothers served as ministers of education,
The Nationalist Government managed to run a decent education program with its limited financial resources.
The Chen brothers' education is truly a century-old plan.
A large number of great educators such as Cai Yuanpei, Hu Shi, Ma Yinchu, and Tao Xingzhi emerged during the era when the brothers served as ministers of education.
Therefore, ranking the Chen family at the bottom of the four major families is more like making up the numbers.
Among the four major families, the only ones who really buy and sell, manipulate finance, and line their own pockets are Song and Kong!
Especially the Confucius family. The head of the Confucius family, Kong Xiangxi, lived in Taigu, Shanxi Province. His ancestors once worked as a bank accountant. Kong Xiangxi inherited the advantages of Shanxi people who were good at business and had a unique vision. He once funded Sun Yat-sen, who invaded Japan. As well as the unknown Chairman Chiang Kai-shek, he enjoyed official career and finally completely controlled the economic and financial power of the National Government.
During Kong Xiangxi's tenure as Minister of Finance and President of the Central Bank, he amassed a large amount of family capital by manipulating finance and speculating on foreign currencies.
Although Chairman Chiang was dissatisfied with the Kong family's behavior of amassing money, he could only let it go.
On the one hand, Chairman Chiang also needs Kong Xiangxi to be his financial steward to raise military expenditures for him. On the other hand, Kong Xiangxi is also the brother-in-law of Chairman Chiang and the founding father of the country, Sun Yat-sen, because Kong Xiangxi’s wife, Song Ailing, is the eldest sister of the founding mother of the country, Soong Ching Ling, and Mrs. Chiang Kai-shek. , with this kind of relationship, Chairman Chiang really has to think twice before he wants to touch the Kong family.
Historically, the eldest son of Jiang went to Shanghai to severely crack down on comprador capital speculation. But when the Yangzi subsidiary of Kong Lingkan, the eldest son of the Confucius family, was finally found, the eldest son of Jiang immediately ceased operations. Mrs. Chiang killed Jiang with just one phone call. The eldest son recalled Nanjing, and a vigorous financial rectification came to an end.
At this time, the National Government had lost most of its sources of tax revenue, and domestic inflation had reached an incredible level. As the financial steward of the National Government, Kong Xiangxi went to great lengths to raise military expenditures to feed Chairman Chiang's 4 million army. After racking their brains, even with financial assistance from the U.S. government, they still cannot make ends meet.
After the U.S. government drastically cut its financial aid to the Nationalist government, Kong Xiangxi immediately became an ant on the hot pot.
The more than 80 million refugees who fled to the mainland need resettlement and relief. The government's huge bureaucracy needs to be fed. Chairman Chiang's 4 million army is a gold-devouring beast. However, the source of taxes is only a few provinces in the southwest. Now the United States If people no longer lend money, can Kong Xiangxi still sit still?
Therefore, when Mr. Tan Kah Kee extended a helping hand to the National Government, Kong Xiangxi immediately grasped the life-saving straw like a drowning man and refused to let go.
As a descendant of Shanxi businessmen, Kong Xiangxi has an unimaginable sense of business opportunities!
Myanmar's industrial construction has been fully launched, and there are obviously huge business opportunities in this process. Whether it is the construction of bridges and paving roads, the supply of building materials, or the operation of the entire industrial machinery after it is completed, huge commercial profits are hidden in every link. , if we can get a share of the pie, the financial difficulties of the National Government can be easily solved.
Therefore, Minister Kong Tai made a straightforward request to Mr. Tan Kah Kee to control Nanyang Industrial Company!
There was not much money in the government's account, but Minister Kong Da's appetite was not small, and he asked to take control of Nanyang Industrial Company.
The so-called Nanyang Industrial Company is actually an investment company founded by Tan Kah Kee, Zhuang Xiyan, Li Qingquan and other overseas Chinese in Nanyang. These companies are responsible for injecting capital to build the infrastructure of Myanmar's industrial base, and bear various subsequent additional investments, and pay a certain proportion. Invest in major companies in Yangon, Mandalay, Yan'anqiang and other places.
Therefore, Nanyang Industrial Company is actually a minority shareholder of Myanmar’s industrial base. As for the major shareholder, of course it is the Chinese Expeditionary Force.
Kong Xiangxi wants to control Nanyang Industrial Company, but he has no money, what should he do?
Minister Kong Da was so shameless that he actually proposed to use steel, cement and other cheap building materials as well as labor export deductions calculated on a per-capita basis to become a shareholder.
To put it simply, in the future, all building materials needed for the construction of Myanmar’s industrial base will be provided by the National Government at low prices. Refugees coming to Myanmar from the country, regardless of gender, age or child, will be converted into the Central Bank’s investment in Myanmar on a per capita basis. The industrial base will be built.
Afterwards, the Central Bank will become the controlling shareholder of Nanyang Industrial Company.
What's even more irritating is that the permanent representative was sent over before the character was even written.
This permanent representative was none other than Kong Xiangxi’s eldest son. Kong Ling, who was the executive director of the Central Trust Bureau of the National Government at the time, talked about Mr. Kong. This Mr. Kong was a wonderful man. Not only was he arrogant and domineering to the limit, but he was also lustful, especially fond of
***, who is older than him, has recently been having a heated relationship with "White Orchid", who is more than ten years older than him.
However, one thing Kong Lingkan inherited from Kong Xiangxi was his great business acumen.
In essence, Kong Lingkan is a second-generation ancestor through and through, but this second-generation ancestor is still very capable.
Mr. Tan Kah Kee is really at a loss to deal with such a hot problem. Accepting it will definitely not work. Isn't the Central Bank a free hand? This is what Kong Xiangxi did when he controlled the annexation of Bank of China and Bank of Communications. Mr. Tan Kah Kee does not want to suffer like this.
He was a mute, but he couldn't drive Kong Lingkan back, could he?
With no choice, Mr. Tan Kah Kee could only go to Yue Weihan and ask Yue Weihan to give him advice.
Yangon, Chinese Expeditionary Force Headquarters.
Pi Xiaocheng walked into Yue Weihan's office nervously and whispered: "Chief, the US government has replied, saying that Qian Xuesen is presiding over the wind shear plan for taking off and landing fighter jets on the aircraft carrier, and he cannot come back now.
The Americans also said that they can only come back after this issue is over."
"Wind shear plan?" Yue Weihan frowned and asked, "What the hell is this?"
"Oh, this is an atmospheric phenomenon." Pi Xiaocheng hurriedly explained, "It is the sudden change of wind speed in the horizontal and vertical directions. Wind shear, especially low-altitude wind shear, is the enemy of aircraft taking off and landing. The United States
The reason why accidents occur frequently during the take-off and landing of fighter jets from the Navy's aircraft carrier formations is that there is no good wind shear response plan."
"So, you really can't come back?" Yue Weihan's eyebrows instantly twisted into knots.
Qian Xuesen is the leader of future scientific research institutions in Yue Weihan's mind. If he cannot come back, what will this scientific research institution be like?
"Probably they won't be able to come back." Pi Xiaocheng said cautiously, "There are also Qian Weichang and Guo Yonghuai, who have not completed their studies and cannot come back for the time being. However, several universities such as Tsinghua University and Fudan University have expressed their opinions.
I am willing to move to Yangon, but the premise is that the name of the school cannot be cancelled, and at best it can be turned into Nanyang United University."
"That's no problem." Yue Weihan said, "The General Assembly will be the General Assembly."
Although building a comprehensive university will increase the financial expenditure of running a school, it can be regarded as making some contribution to China's education. As the saying goes, it takes ten years to cultivate trees and a hundred years to cultivate people. If a country and a nation want to be strong and strong,
, the most important thing is to run a good education, and Yue Weihan naturally knows this.
"Okay, I'll reply to them right away." Pi Xiaocheng said and hurried away.
As soon as Pi Xiaocheng left, Mr. Tan Kah Kee, who was described as skinny, arrived with his hind legs.
Seeing Mr. Tan Kah Kee's sad face, Yue Weihan couldn't help but asked with concern: "Mr. Chen, what's wrong with you?"
"Alas, I have encountered a problem." Mr. Tan Kah Kee sighed and said with a wry smile, "Loyalty, I know that you are busy with military affairs, so I will never bother you unless it is absolutely necessary. But this fact is really not a trivial matter.
I really can't handle it alone, so I have no choice but to come to you."
"So serious?" Yue Weihan stood up and asked Mr. Tan Kah Kee to take a seat, and poured tea for Mr. Chen himself, and then asked, "What on earth is going on?"
Mr. Tan Kah Kee immediately told the whole story.
"Hey, I thought it was a big deal." Yue Weihan said calmly after hearing this, "That's it? I'll have someone send a telegram to Minister Kong Da and ask him to take him back! The Central Bank wants to
We welcome buying shares in Nanyang Industrial Company, but you have to spend real money to buy shares, right? How much are these building materials worth? Refugees are deducted on a per-capita basis to buy shares. That’s why he figured it out. This is not a waste of money.
? There’s no door!”
Yue Weihan really didn't take this matter to heart. He even dared to refute Chairman Jiang's face. Why did he still care about Kong Xiangxi?
Although Kong Xiangxi was in charge of the Nationalist Government's purse and was responsible for the food and clothing of the 4 million soldiers in the Southwest Rear Area, Yue Weihan's Chinese Expeditionary Force was only a party in name only. It did not receive military pay from the national government, and was not subject to the national government.
Even if Yue Weihan doesn't give him face, what can Kong Xiangxi, the financial steward, do to him?
After sending Mr. Tan Kah Kee away, Yue Weihan asked Huang Jie to send a telegram to Minister Kong Da, and then the matter was dropped.
But at around three o'clock in the afternoon, a fierce quarrel suddenly came from outside the headquarters gate, followed immediately by two crisp gunshots, which alerted the guards of the headquarters. Hundreds of people suddenly
They poured out loudly, blocking the entire door. Yue Weihan, Wei Lihuang, Stilwell and other giants were also alarmed.
When everyone rushed to the gate, they realized that it was Kong Lingkan, the second generation ancestor, who had brought people to the gate.
Kong Lingkan, the second generation ancestor, was used to being arrogant at home, but he still had the same temper when he arrived in Myanmar. When he heard that Yue Weihan did not buy the Kong family's face, he immediately became furious. He and his men wanted to break into the headquarters to ask Yue Weihan for an explanation. After being stopped, he actually refused.
If he dared to use a gun, two followers were shot dead on the spot, and Kong Lingkan was also pushed to the ground and controlled.
When Yue Weihan came closer, Kong Lingkan was still struggling fiercely. While struggling, he shouted arrogantly: "My father is Kong Xiangxi, and my uncle is Jiang Wenzheng. How dare you attack me? I don't want to live anymore!?"
Yue Weihan was very angry and happy after hearing this. He dared to say, "My father is Li Gang". There is a historical origin.
"What is that? It's outrageous!" General Wei Lihuang obviously knew Kong Lingkan, the second generation ancestor, and immediately ordered the guards rudely, "Drag him down, beat him with thirty military sticks, and send him back home overnight." After that, Wei
General Lihuang said to Kong Ling coldly again, "Boy, if you dare to come to the expeditionary force headquarters next time to attack, you will be killed without mercy!"