Soong Meiling handed cigarettes to the three guests present and lit one herself. This move made Chang Kaishen frown slightly. But she didn't take it seriously and asked: "What do Americans think of China's resistance to Japan?"
Mike Cowles: "Thanks to the propaganda of Mr. Zhou and Mr. Hu Shi in the United States, the American people have shown sympathy and support for China's war of resistance."
"I'm asking American officials and businessmen, what do they think?" Song Meiling said.
Wilkie laughed: "Businessmen only care about profits, while officials only serve votes."
Song Meiling said: "In other words, American officials and businessmen don't care about China's war of resistance, they only care about whether their interests are damaged?"
"Yes, most American officials and businessmen are not concerned about the war in Asia. Their focus is on Europe," Wilkie said with a smile. "How Mrs. Chiang wants to change this situation, I think you should go there in person."
The United States, as the first lady of China, gave a speech in Congress."
"Can I?" Song Meiling was confused.
Wilkie said: "Of course, and I think President Roosevelt would support it."
This was how Soong Meiling's trip to the United States was facilitated. After she gives a speech to the U.S. Congress next year, she will immediately win huge international reputation. Of course, there is also the scandal between her and Wilkie, which has become a household name in the United States.
, Soong Meiling was so angry that she took a bunch of newspapers to court. The lawsuit lasted for many years before being settled out of court.
In the eyes of American politicians, Soong Meiling is charming, smart, charming, and possesses all the advantages of Oriental women.
However, Roosevelt’s wife did not have a good impression of Soong Meiling. According to her recollection: “Lewis (the union leader) was making trouble at the time, and Franklin (Roosevelt) asked Mrs. Chiang: How would you deal with people like Lewis in China? Mrs. Chiang did not say anything.
, but quietly stroked her throat with his beautiful little hands."
This made Roosevelt's wife feel cruel, even creepy.
After chatting with Wilkie about the visit to the United States for a while, Soong Meiling relayed it to Chang Kaishen in Chinese and asked for her husband's opinion.
Chang Kaishen thought about it for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "This is a good thing, you can go there."
Soong Meiling immediately said to Wilkie: "I am willing to visit the United States and ask Mr. Wilkie to help contact President Roosevelt."
"Of course, I will make arrangements," Wilkie said.
Everyone chatted until evening, and Song Meiling stayed with everyone for dinner, and even went to the air-raid shelter in the meantime.
At around nine o'clock in the evening, the two Americans said goodbye and left. Chang Kaishen called Zhou Hexuan to the study and asked, "What does Mingcheng want to see me for?"
Zhou Hexuan put more than 20 photos of the disaster on his desk: "About the famine in Henan."
Chang Kaishen said with a smile: "The famine in Henan is purely a rumor. Please don't be deceived by some people with ulterior motives."
Zhou Hexuan said: "Ta Kung Pao has reporters in Henan, and there is more than one reporter. Those reporters all said that there was a major disaster in Henan, and the disaster was very serious!"
"Journalists inevitably exaggerate in order to gain fame," Chang Kaishen said. "I know there is a disaster in Henan, but it is only a minor disaster. Last month I ordered Li Peiji to provide disaster relief, and established the Henan Disaster Relief Committee, and the central government also reduced
Henan's military ration quota has been exceeded, and disaster relief rations have begun to be transported from Shaanxi to Henan."
Historically, relief efforts for the 1942 Henan famine did begin in September. However, local officials were afraid of being exposed and concealed the disaster in various ways, resulting in the central government not paying enough attention to it.
It was not until the end of October that Guo Zhongkai, who asked Zhou Hexuan for help in the previous chapter, completely broke out. At the National Political Participation Meeting, he took out elm bark, Guanyin soil, wild goose dung and other food eaten by the victims, cried, cursed and begged, and finally put things right.
It's a big deal.
Chiang Kai-shek allocated disaster relief funds to Henan three times in a row, but the phenomenon of corruption and expropriation was so serious that local officials still concealed the disaster and did not report it. The disaster continued and expanded.
In 1943, the Henan disaster was featured in Time magazine, which made Soong Meiling, who was visiting the United States, filled with shame and anger. Only then did Henan's disaster relief operations really get on track.
Zhou Hexuan sighed: "Chairman, you were deceived by Li Peiji."
"He doesn't have the courage yet!" Chang Kaishen said.
Zhou Hexuan said: "It's because he is cowardly that he lied to you. Can you recall under what circumstances he reported the disaster to you?"
Chang Kaishen immediately fell into memories, his expression a little gloomy and uncertain.
Starting in the summer of 1942, Chang Kaishen ordered the local tyrants to requisition grain. He also hated the big landowners deeply. He believed that whether it was military conscription or grain requisition, most of them were still poor people. However, the wealthy gentry and landlords tried to avoid it.
The tandem baojia chief refused to apply.
Therefore, at the Xi'an Military Conference, Chiang Kai-shek constantly emphasized the need to increase control over the wealthy gentry and landlords. At the same time, he listed the military grain issue in Henan as an important topic for discussion. He also scolded Henan Provincial Chairman Li Peiji for his unfavorable grain collection.
Li Peiji was timid and was afraid of being stripped of his hat. He originally wanted to report the disaster, but after being reprimanded by Chiang Kai-shek, he immediately denied that there was a major disaster in Henan and promised to complete the grain collection task in Henan in full.
Because of this, although the military generals and wealthy gentry in Henan kept reporting disasters, they were all considered by Chang Kaishen to be making a fuss out of a molehill, and were even suspected of taking the opportunity to avoid food requisition. After all, there are disasters every year in China these days.
It's a rare thing.
Then many newspapers began to report on the disaster. Chang Kaishen also realized that there might be a disaster, but he did not think it was a major disaster. He also asked He Yingqin to inquire about the situation. He Yingqin contacted the provincial chairman Li Peiji, who was there from beginning to end.
Denied it, and continued to ensure that the food collection task was completed.
Here we must wash our hands of Chang Kaishen. Later generations said that the government did not provide disaster relief but requisitioned grain. Most of them were quoted from Feng Yuxiang's memoirs: "Henan shouted that countless people starved to death. Under such misery, Chang Kaishen still called Henan
Grain collection. The Chairman of Henan Province had no choice but to say to Chang Kaishen: "The drought is too severe." Chang Kaishen banged the table and cursed: "There is no shame at all, no personality at all, just spreading rumors. I
I know that the whole province of Henan has a good harvest, but you say there is a drought!"
What Feng Yuxiang said is pure nonsense, and it was said after the founding of New China, which is politically correct.
Li Peiji, the chairman of Henan Province, not only did not say "the drought is too severe", but he was the most active in concealing the disaster and the most active in collecting grain, all just to complete the tasks assigned by Chiang Kai-shek.
Jiang was really deceived by local officials this time, or he preferred to believe that the harvest in Henan was good and selectively ignored the disasters reported by the generals and gentry.
Zhou Hexuan said: "The detailed disaster situation sent back by Ta Kung Pao reporters from Henan has almost been sent back to Chongqing. Judging from the contents of their telegrams, the famine in Henan this year may be no less than the Sichuan disaster in 1936, and it was also affected by the war.
, the harm is more serious than the Sichuan disaster. The grain collection task in Henan must be stopped immediately, otherwise it may affect the war situation in the Central Plains."
"You can summarize the news sent by reporters from Henan to me as soon as possible. "Ta Kung Pao" can resume publication tomorrow, but it is not allowed to report on the disaster for the time being."
After Chang Kaishen said this, he sent Zhou Hexuan away, and then immediately called He Yingqin, scolded him and said: "Immediately send a commissioner to Henan to investigate, without any delay or concealment!"
