Zhou's mansion was bustling with activity. As soon as Liu Xiang left, He Yingqin came to visit the next day.
Since the Xi'an Incident, He Yingqin has been regarded as the most popular person in the military, at least on the surface. In fact, during the incident, he served as the "civilian fort" Yu Qian, which made Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Meiling very unhappy.
Happy.
When Chiang Kai-shek was detained, Soong Meiling was frightened to death and wrote a letter ordering He Yingqin to cease the war immediately. He Yingqin acted as Commander-in-Chief on behalf of Chiang Kai-shek. While letting the army march towards Xi'an, he contacted the Sichuan Army, the Gui Army and other local warlords, and also invited Wang Zhaoming to
Return to China and take charge of the overall situation.
The general idea is to ask Zhang Xueliang to release the people quickly, or beat them if they don't. It doesn't matter if Chiang Kai-shek dies, and Wang Zhaoming will succeed him as the head of state.
Could Chiang Kai-shek be happy about this? He wished he could just shoot He Yingqin.
But you have to save face. Especially after Chang Kaishen returned to Nanjing, he publicly praised He Yingqin many times and said that he was able to escape safely because of He Yingqin's military pressure on Zhang Xueliang.
Although He Yingqin kept his position as Minister of Armament, he was very aware of his situation. Half a month ago, Chiang Kai-shek sent him to Sichuan to discuss the reorganization of the Sichuan army. He Yingqin worked very hard and wanted to make achievements immediately.
For many days, He Yingqin inspected various departments of the Sichuan Army. In the past two days, he came to Chongqing again.
Once he arrived in Chongqing, he discovered that the most famous person here was not Liu Xiang, but the powerful Zhou Shenxian. Not only were people talking about it in the streets, but even the top soldiers in Chongqing's army praised Zhou Hexuan when they mentioned it.
In this situation, He Yingqin felt that he had to go to the dock. Maybe Zhou Hexuan could give him a nice word one day.
Zhou Hexuan greeted him with a smile: "The visit of Minister He really makes the humble house shine!"
"You are so polite, Mr. Ming," He Yingqin sighed, "I have been traveling around Sichuan for the past half month, and there are stories of Zhou Shenxian circulating everywhere. I am so impressed that you have achieved such a level of human being!"
"I'm just trying my best," Zhou Hexuan said helplessly. "The drought in Sichuan is still very serious. The weather is not good, the spring rains are not coming in various places, and the spring grain harvest is a foregone conclusion. I only hope that the central government can allocate disaster relief funds as soon as possible."
He Yingqin sighed and said: "China is plagued by internal and external troubles and disasters. When I return to Nanjing this time, I will definitely ask the Chairman to provide disaster relief as soon as possible."
"Thank you very much." Zhou Hexuan said with cupped fists.
The central government's relief to Sichuan was connected with the reorganization of the Sichuan Army. Chiang Kai-shek ignored the disaster in Sichuan, forcing Liu Xiang to bow his head. Historically, Liu Xiang initially agreed to reorganize the Sichuan Army, and Nanjing immediately allocated 1 million yuan for disaster relief.
After Liu Xiang actually started negotiations on army reorganization, Nanjing allocated another 12 million yuan in disaster relief funds. The local disaster situation actually became a bargaining chip in political negotiations.
He Yingqin praised Zhou Hexuan and suddenly said: "Ming Gong, I am here to visit you this time because I have another important matter."
"What's the matter?" Zhou Hexuan asked.
He Yingqin smiled and said: "The coronation ceremony of King George VI of the United Kingdom will be officially held on May 2 this year. The Nanjing Central Committee has decided to send Minister Kong Xiangxi as a special envoy to attend. I received a telegram two days ago saying that the British royal family invited Ming Gong to attend by name.
Dadian, I am here to deliver a message to you this time."
Yes, our prince of stuttering is about to be crowned. As a friend, we really should go and congratulate him.
"When will we set off?" Zhou Hexuan asked.
He Yingqin said: "The Central Committee will soon hold the Third Plenary Session of the Fifth Central Committee of the Kuomintang, and I will rush back to give a report. Once Minister Kong finishes the session, he will probably be ready to leave, which should be at the end of March or early April."
Zhou Hexuan nodded and said, "I will definitely go."
"I would also like to ask Mr. Ming to leave as soon as possible. The central government has decided to appoint you as the deputy envoy," He Yingqin explained in detail. "Minister Chen Shaokuan is also the deputy envoy. This time he will drive a Chinese warship over. All members of the mission will be on the warship. In principle, they are not allowed to be alone.
action."
"Understood." Zhou Hexuan smiled.
Chen Shaokuan is the current Minister of the Navy of the People's Republic of China. He has been scolded by the common people because he was ordered to "no firing and no retaliation" in all wars. Chen Shaokuan himself is also depressed. He feels that he is just a decoration. He has resigned at least three times in the past few years.
four times.
As for the special envoy Kong Xiangxi, his mission is not just to congratulate the British King on his coronation. He also has to go to European and American countries to negotiate, buy guns from the Germans, and seek loans from Britain, France, the United States and other countries to prepare for the upcoming all-out war between China and Japan.
Historically, the gains were pretty good. Kong Xiangxi not only obtained a large amount of German arms, but also received a US$15 million loan from Roosevelt and was allowed to issue 30 million pounds of bonds in London, which gave China's finances, which were stretched in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, a breather.
By the way, the French are very stingy. The United Kingdom and the United States both agreed to help, but the French refused to relent, and no financial agreement was reached. In the end, they deserved to be given an advantage by the German Nazis.
At noon, He Yingqin had a meal at Zhou's mansion and immediately took a boat back to Nanjing for a meeting.
"Are you going abroad again?" Zhang Leyi asked.
Zhou Hexuan nodded and said: "It's still early. We won't leave until April. I will go to Nanjing after the Lantern Festival."
While he was talking, Xiao Lingjun ran in quickly: "Dad, Dad, look at the Spring Festival couplets I wrote!"
Zhou Hexuan picked up his daughter and praised: "The spring breeze encourages all things, and the new rain moistens the harvest. Not bad, not bad, who taught you to write it?"
Xiao Lingjun smiled and said: "Aunt Fu taught me. She said it should be a good omen and hope there will be enough rain in the coming year."
Meng Xiaodong walked in with couplet paper and a brush: "Brother Xuan, you are the head of the family, and I want you to write the Spring Festival couplets for the gate."
Spring couplets are equivalent to making wishes. Zhou Hexuan thought about it and wrote: The rain moistens China, and the people will be prosperous; the east wind will prosper the earth, and the country will be strong and safe.
"Post it." Zhou Hexuan felt a little depressed and felt that he could only write Spring Festival couplets to comfort himself.
In the yard, the servants are busy, and laughter and laughter can be heard from time to time. Finally, you can feel some of the spirit of the New Year.
"The lantern is crooked, hang it to the left!" Liao Yaquan commanded with her slightly bulging belly showing a proud look on her face.
Liao Yaquan was pregnant again, which made several other women very unhappy. Because Zhou Hexuan felt that he had enough children, he had been taking contraceptive measures. Who knows how he won the lottery. Now that Liao Yaquan is pregnant again, other sisters are also pulling Zhou Hexuan to have a baby.
I have to make another one.
Cui Huifu came over and asked, "Do you want to invite the opera troupe to sing during the Chinese New Year?"
"It's not necessary, you can just celebrate at home," Zhou Hexuan said, suddenly remembering something, and immediately called Yu Peichen over, "You go contact the relief association and ask them to invite theater troupes to perform at several porridge restaurants to make the victims happy.
Wait. Our major construction sites will be closed for two days on New Year’s Eve and the first day of the Lunar New Year to allow the construction companies to prepare the New Year’s Eve dinner.”
"Okay, I'll go right away." Yu Peichen left happily. She likes to do this kind of thing.
The Spring Festival of 1937 is coming, and next year’s Spring Festival will be spent with the Japanese bombing.
