"Second Miss, just listen to my advice!" A middle-aged man urged Kong Lingjun, "The master said, let's put away the food in Sichuan first, wait until the news is over, and now the chairman of the committee will say this
Bian is very dissatisfied. It is said that both Zhang Qun and Dai Li have complained, so some people must be dealt with here."
Kong Lingjun smoked a cigarette, played with a tea bowl, and listened to the middle-aged man's words and said disdainfully, "I say Uncle Li, you and my dad are just too timid. How many people in Sichuan are involved with the price of food now?"
Right? From the central government officials to the local government agencies, even the county heads, township heads, and town heads are all seeking profit in it. It can be said that according to the wartime regulations, all the current Sichuan officials are pulled out and killed.
There was a mistake in killing, and there was a leak in killing every other one. Besides! Where have the food prices reached now? Isn’t it too early to withdraw now? Besides, let’s ask our Kong family to withdraw, and their Song family’s
What? Have they withdrawn?"
The middle-aged man shook his head and said, "They... haven't moved yet."
Kong Lingjun clapped his hands and said, "That's it, isn't it? The enemy can't move, and I can't move. Let me tell you, Uncle Li, the grain from various places has not been confiscated yet, and didn't my father say that? In addition to the confiscation, there are also
If you buy 6 million quintals, the price of this grain will at least double! If you sell it now, you will suffer a big loss, so don’t move it! You must not move it!”
The middle-aged man sighed, "The master has strict orders... It won't be easy for you to explain when you go back."
Kong Lingjun smiled and said, "I will go find my mother and my third aunt when the time comes. After all, the Chairman is my third uncle. Could it be that he will kill me? Don't worry." He stood up and said, "Then if nothing happens, I will."
Went to fight dogs." After saying that, he left in a swaggering manner. The middle-aged man looked at Kong Lingjun's back and shook his head helplessly.
On June 8, 1941, the price of grain in Chengdu rose to 150 yuan from less than 50 yuan at the beginning of the year, and it was rising every day. Due to the soaring price of grain, farmers and businessmen were extremely reluctant to sell, leaving valuables without a price.
market, which caused food prices to rise again, creating a vicious cycle with no end.
In order to prevent the price of food from rising too fast, Chiang Kai-shek personally appointed Lu Zuofu as the director of the National Grain Bureau, hoping to use Lu Zuofu's talent in business to turn the tide. Lu Zuofu was the boss of the Minsheng Company that had led the ship transportation during the retreat, but in the White House
However, he did not have much prestige in the party, let alone die-hard cronies. Facing the food crisis in Sichuan, he was completely helpless. Chiang Kai-shek had no choice but to personally write a "Report to the Compatriots in Sichuan Province for Implementing Food Management" not long after.
"Book", in addition to urging wealthy businessmen and landlords to sell, it also asked all localities to solve the food shortage problem through methods such as "banning hoarding" and "donating military ration campaigns", but these methods also had little effect. The amount of food obtained through this method throughout the year was only
Just one hundred thousand stones.
On June 25, the price of grain in Sichuan successfully exceeded two hundred yuan and continued to rise linearly. At this time, the land tax collection led by Kong Xiangxi began to be fully implemented. The food on the market became even more scarce. Finally, in July
On the 4th, a riot broke out.
The riot was very simple. It was just some people who couldn't buy rice and started robbing in anger. After all, people can't starve to death. The riot was quickly quelled, but the political circles in Chengdu experienced an earthquake.
At this time, Sichuan officials were divided into several factions. One group was the old man of the original Sichuan warlords, the other group was Zhang Qun and others who entered Sichuan forcefully, and the other group was originally from the Sichuan army, but later took the initiative to defect to Chiang Kai-shek and returned to Sichuan.
people, headed by He Guoguang.
He Guoguang was born in a military academy and was originally a Beiyang general. He later joined Chiang Kai-shek and became chief of staff during the Jiang-Gui War. Since he was a classmate of Liu Xiang and others, he joined the Communist Party to help Liu Xiang and others encircle and suppress the Red Army. He slowly
Manchu began to become an important figure in the Sichuan Army, and because he was trusted by Chiang Kai-shek, he became an important pawn for Chiang Kai-shek to insert himself into Sichuan. After Liu Xiang died of illness, Chiang Kai-shek's initial idea was to make He Guoguang the chairman of Sichuan Province, but was rejected by everyone in the Sichuan Army.
Wang Lingji objected. He even said that He Guoguang dared to go to Chengdu to take office, so he welcomed him with machine guns and cannons. He Guoguang smiled bitterly and said: "I am a married daughter. I have to go back to my parents' home temporarily to have the house swept away. I have to leave after all. What's wrong with this?"
Why bother." In the end, Wang Lingji left Sichuan to fight the war, and Wang Zanxu, another general under Liu Xiang's command, became provincial chairman.
But this incident made He Guoguang hate the two kings. One forced him not to be the chairman of Sichuan Province, and the other robbed him of the chairmanship. Later, Jiang Jie and Zhang Qun, who became the chairman of Sichuan Province, were both giants.
As a super person, he naturally dare not feel any resentment.
After this riot, He Guoguang immediately impeached Chengdu Mayor Yang Quanyu for his incompetence, put the "Chengdu Affordable Rice Sales Office" under his own control, and appointed one of his nephews as the director to take over the power of food supply. On the surface, it was
The rice is supplied at a reasonable price, but it is secretly mixed with sediment and impurities, and massive corruption is committed from it.
But how do ordinary people know who is in charge of this sales office? Chairman Chiang Dare not dare to scold, but the mayor of Chengdu dares to scold. After all, Yang Quanyu is a scholar and seems to be easier to bully. Suddenly the public opinion is full
Damn it, Yang Quanyu is so angry that it’s okay to make money in the grain business. Everyone is doing it, but if you do it in my name, you get the benefits and you bear the bad reputation. This is your fault! He screamed
When he was going to meet with Jiang to file a complaint, He Guoguang saw that Yang Yuquan actually dared to go against him. He immediately contacted Zhang Qun and brought the matter of Yang Yuquan's food hoarding to Jiang's face. Jiang, who was already worried about the food problem in Sichuan,
The agency immediately decided to kill him as a warning to others!
——Shuikou Town, Qionglai, Sichuan
Shuikou Town is located in the northwest of Qionglai City, 20 kilometers away from Qionglai City. It has a mild climate, fertile land, abundant rainfall, luxuriant trees, and rich products. It is a treasure land.
A group of people walked on the mountain road in the midsummer sunshine. A middle-aged man in a long robe and a mandarin jacket sat on a sliding pole. Two coolies were carrying the pole. A strong man in a military uniform was walking beside him, constantly giving the man in the robe a hand.
The mandarin fan was fanning.
The middle-aged man asked, "Captain Lu, please stop fanning me. I'm not hot. Please take a rest. How far is it from Pengjiaying?"
Captain Lu looked at it and said, "Isn't it tiring? It's really hard for Commissioner Ren to come all the way from Chengdu. It's not far. It's just around the corner. You see, in fact, it's already here.
The fields all belong to that Peng Tianlu, and this Peng Tianlu is not an ordinary person. He has over a thousand acres of fertile farmland, and has more than 10 mills. He has hundreds of swords and guns at home, and it is said that he is related to Master Peng."
Commissioner Ren turned sideways and asked, "Mr. Peng? Where is Mr. Peng?"
Captain Lu smiled and said, "He is Peng Huanzhang, Commander Peng, from the 164th Division. It is said that before he went out to Sichuan to fight against Japan, he came to have dinner and drinks with Peng Tianlu. At the reception, he also persuaded Peng Tianlu to invest in the fight against Japan and save the country. Peng Tianlu was also a generous person.
, and immediately spent 200,000 yuan to buy airplanes for the National Government. It is said that Chairman Chiang Kai-shek later specially issued a commendation order to him, but I have never seen the commendation order, and I don’t know whether it is true or false.”
Commissioner Ren touched his beard and said, "I seem to have heard of this. It should be true. If so, his family has a lot of wealth."
Captain Lu nodded and said with a smile, "It's quite a lot!"
The group of people came to Pengjiaying quickly and saw a group of people waiting outside the camp gate for a long time. A man in his fifties, dressed as a landlord, held his hands and said, "Peng Tianlu, Pengjiaying, has been waiting for the commissioner for a long time. The commissioner has been working hard on the road."
Already."
Commissioner Ren walked down and returned the salute and said, "Chief Peng is the best security guard in the world who has been personally commended by Chairman Chiang Kai-shek. I am honored to do so. I will interrupt you this time."
Walking into the village, Commissioner Ren said, "Chief Peng Bao, from what I've seen along the way, the grain harvest here is much better than in other places."
Peng Tianlu said with a smile, "Thanks to the Chairman. The main reason is that our place relies on water sources, so it is better than other places."
Commissioner Ren asked again, "I don't know... is there any kind of black soil? I heard that Peng Baozhang started his career through this."
Peng Tianlu said without hesitation, "There are some. Commissioner Ren, would you like to take a bite later?"
Commissioner Ren shook his head and said with a smile, "Forget it, I'm not interested, but the taxation of this black soil is different from that of food. This..."
Peng Tianlu smiled and took out a small yellow croaker from his sleeve and stuffed it into Commissioner Ren's hand and said, "Commissioner Ren, don't worry, I'm sensible. In fact, the harvest we have here is the ones that look good outside, but are actually very poor. This
It’s such a new year, and the landlord’s family doesn’t have much food left.”
What surprised Peng Tianlu was that Commissioner Ren had no intention of accepting it. He raised his glasses and said, "Chief Peng, have you not received the news yet? Just three days ago, Mayor Yang of Chengdu was shot. You
Do you know the reason?"
Peng Tianlu was surprised. Yang Quanyu was the mayor of Chengdu. In his eyes, he was already a very high-ranking official. He didn't expect that such a high-ranking official would be killed. But he smiled after thinking about it. He was a local snake, so naturally
I also know who is the real tiger in Sichuan. How much food can Yang Quanyu swallow? One thousand dan? Two thousand dan? If nothing else, the food hoarded by Meifeng Bank is no longer 100,000 dan, let alone the real one.
The Wang family and Liu family from Sichuan, and the Kong family and Song family from outside.
Peng Tianlu took a breath and said, "Is it because of the food?"
Commissioner Ren nodded and said, "Yes! From Chairman Chiang to Chairman Zhang to Minister Kong and Minister Lu, they all attach great importance to the food this time. Chief Peng, let me tell you the truth, I came with a mission this time.
If I can't complete the task, I don't have to go back to the meeting." As he said that, he looked at Peng Tianlu meaningfully.
Peng Tianlu touched his beard, rolled his eyes and said, "So how much do we have here this year? You tell me the number first, and I will help you collect it according to the number you said."
Commissioner Ren nodded with satisfaction and said, "Your Babao has 5,382 acres of registered land, with a population of 176 households and 824 people. Every household's continued application is listed in the book. You can do it yourself. Captain Lu will accompany you."
You go, but remember, the food collected must be of the best quality. If it is found to be old or inferior food, then not only my head will not be saved, but yours will not be saved either!
Peng Tianlu touched his neck and smiled and said, "Don't worry, by the way, how much does my family want? As the caretaker, I have to be the first to pay in order to convince the villagers."
Captain Lu stretched out his thumb and said with a smile, "Chief Peng Bao is very particular!"
Commissioner Ren looked at it and said, "Peng Baozhang, your family is a big family, with a lot of land, so naturally you have to pay a lot. Your family has to collect 150 shi of fine grain. I believe it won't put any pressure on Peng Baozhang, right?"
Peng Tianlu said with a wry smile, "It's a lot of pressure! I've already told you that the landlords don't have any surplus grain now. You said it was requisitioned, but what about the purchased grain?"
Commissioner Ren smiled and said, "It's easy to calculate, it's still 150 Shishi! But you can't give the food to me, but have to hand it over to the town. This is because I'm afraid the loss below will be too great."
Peng Tianlu shook his head helplessly and said to the servant next to him, "I heard it all, go and get ready. Come, Commissioner Ren, I will take you to collect it from house to house first. Let's go, let's start with this house, Xiao Zhishun! Big Xiao!"
Come out! It’s time to collect food!!”
Peng Tianlu led people into a farmer's house and shouted that the farmer's house was a standard poor farmer's earthen house with a thatched roof. A thin farmer came out, wearing tattered clothes, with panic in his eyes. When he saw Peng Tianlu, he hurriedly
He lowered his head and said, "Here you are, Chief Peng Bao. Didn't you pay the rent a few days ago?"
"Damn it! What you paid was the rent for cultivating my land, and now it's the tax that the commissioner came to collect! Can this be the same? Well, let me see how much it should be for your family." Peng Tianlu said as he turned over the pages.
The brochure said, "Your family should pay one stone and six liters for the collection and purchase. Don't pay. I didn't remind you. You have to send it to the collection point in the town. Be more prepared. Don't be in trouble when you don't have enough. Also, you need to pay."
It’s refined grain! Don’t use the bran skin you eat to pass it off!”
Xiao Zhishun said with a bitter face, "Bao Zhang, why are there so many? This year's harvest is not good. I'm afraid we won't have ten shi of food this year. I paid you two more shi. This... I'll pay you so much again."
Our family has nothing to eat."
"Hey! Diaomin! You think we don't know how to count. After this, you still have six stones more!" Commissioner Ren interrupted him and said.
Xiao Zhishun glanced at Commissioner Ren and said, "Sir, you can't calculate it like this. I can't move this tax grain by myself. I have to ask someone to transport it with me. I'm afraid I will have to pay a small 2 dan in the end, and I can only fill in the rest."
It can feed two people, but there are five people in our family..."
"Shut up!" Peng Baozhang saw that Commissioner Ren's face was wrong and said, "Now is the critical moment of the anti-Japanese war. The country is in danger. Why are you still calculating your calculations? Besides, half of what you paid was bought by the country.
The country will pay! By the way, Commissioner Ren, I haven’t asked yet, how much subsidy will be given to the other half of our food?”
Commissioner Ren hummed, "This subsidy is based on the price of grain, which is 30 yuan per stone."
"Did you hear that? 30...30 per stone?" Peng Tianlu exclaimed in surprise, "This...this...the price of food in the countryside is now more than 180 yuan!"
Commissioner Ren said angrily, "This price is based on the price at the end of last year. Besides, it is not normal for the current grain prices to be so high. After the national grain harvest is raised, it will naturally come down. Is there anything strange about it?"
!”
Peng Tianlu took a deep breath and said nothing. Can the price of food come down? It would be good if it does not continue to rise.
Xiao Zhishun understands that there is nothing to argue about. It would be good if the government is willing to subsidize it, which is better than taking it away for nothing.
"Sir, it's not that I don't know that the Japanese are coming and the country is in trouble. In fact, as long as the officers in front of us can have enough to eat and win the battle, it doesn't matter if we are in difficulty. It's just... we have to survive anyway, just eat chaff and drink.
It's okay to survive. Sir, can you mention it to the higher ups and give us some relief?" Xiao Zhishun continued.
"Come on, what are you talking about? The food will be delivered within a week. If it can't be delivered, don't blame me for being rude!" Chief Peng drove Xiao Zhishun home and smiled at Commissioner Ren, "They are all unruly people. Let's go to the next house!"
