Zhou Hexuan took out the film and asked his boss: "When will the photos be developed?"
The boss smiled and said: "Other people take at least a week to develop film. Zhou Shenxian develops film and you can get the photos by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."
Li Zongwu teased: "It seems that gods have to do things quickly."
"Dong dong dong dong dong!"
At this moment, the sound of gongs and drums suddenly came from the street.
When everyone went out to take a look, they saw some people in uniform carrying big red flowers along the street to promote the war, shouting: "It is your responsibility to fight the war, and it is an honor to serve as a soldier! The old woman Chen from Chengguan Town sent all four sons to the battlefield.
The county magistrate personally ordered the award! It is your duty to resist the war, and it is an honor to serve as a soldier! Old lady Chen from Chengguan Town..."
Nan Huaijin praised: "That old lady Chen is really a heroic mother."
The photo studio owner sneered: "Everyone in Fushun County is a hero."
"How do you say this?" Zhou Hexuan asked.
The boss said: "There is conscription in the spring and autumn every year, and we go from house to house to catch young men. My eldest son is only 14 years old, and he is also on the draft list this year. I spent ten yuan in cash to get through the relationship."
Qian Ji said dumbly: "It seems that minors, only children and students are not required to undergo compulsory military service, right?"
"Haha." The boss laughed dryly.
Zhou Hexuan was silent, his expression a little ugly.
Sichuan had the largest number of soldiers participating in the Anti-Japanese War. Although this statement makes Sichuan people proud, it hides the blood and tears of countless families.
Take Fushun County as an example. The county has a population of less than 400,000. In the eight years of the Anti-Japanese War, 35,000 people joined the army, which is equivalent to one-tenth of the people in the county who went to the battlefield. In addition, those who have served in construction projects in the past are also included.
Tens of thousands of strong men, excluding the old, weak, sick, disabled and women, it is estimated that more than 80% of the young and middle-aged men have served the country.
Are there really so many people who leave their homes to serve their country?
It's definitely not possible.
To put it bluntly, there are only three words: catch strong men!
This situation is extremely common in Sichuan. From the county magistrate, mayor to township magistrate, and security chief, everyone is an executioner. County magistrates and mayors have political achievements in catching young men, while township heads and security chiefs get money from catching young men, so they take the opportunity to extort money.
The common people are prospering in the national crisis, which is unconscionable.
Although rich households can spend money to buy young men to replace them, they have become the focus of bureaucratic extortion. For example, a rich farmer in Leshan County spent money to buy young men, but the township head repeatedly blackmailed him six times on the pretext of high income. During the holidays, he also had to pay
Give gifts and show respect.
The officers in charge of recruiting soldiers had another way of making money. They withheld the soldiers' housing expenses, food and accommodation expenses, and the money allocated was not enough for the young men to enter the new barracks. As a result, some young men who were about to join the army died of illness and starvation along the way.
According to Li Shaoliang, who was the commander of a certain regiment of the National Army at the time, he deducted 1.2 yuan from each soldier recruited, leaving 0.8 yuan as basic expenses. He had an income of at least 3,000 yuan per month, but this money needed to be paid by the officer who received the soldiers.
Share. He claimed that this method of deduction was very conscientious, he didn’t get much, and he didn’t have to pay for his housing expenses.
Henan is even more shameless
Mercury was in short supply in Japan for manufacturing arms, so the Chinese government banned the export of mercury. In order to obtain mercury, officers in Henan took advantage of the opportunity of sending young men to join the army, and asked the young men to carry supplies to Chongqing in exchange for mercury, and then the cadres who sent the troops returned with the mercury.
Henan often sold 50% of the recruits' mortality rate to a little mercury and sold it to the Japanese.
In 1943, the government promulgated the "New Military Service Law" and included students in compulsory military service.
Minister of Military Affairs He Yingqin and Minister of Finance Kong Xiangxi came up with a good idea. Young people of school age could pay 3,500 yuan to the government, which would defer military service for one year. At that time, there were about 40 million young people of school age in the country, and they felt that at least 30 million people were willing to pay.
, In this way, Kong Xiangxi has a budget income of several billion yuan every year, and He Yingqin also has a source of 10 million soldiers with unique characteristics.
At that time, the legal currency had not completely become waste paper. According to the market price, 3,500 yuan could be converted into 250 US dollars. Who could afford it except those from wealthy families?
This is the true background of "One inch of rivers and mountains, one inch of blood, one hundred thousand young people and one hundred thousand troops."
On the way home, Li Zongwu said: "Not far from where I live in seclusion, there was a family that suffered a severe drought a few years ago. Only two of the seven members of the family died. At the end of last year, one of them was taken away as a young man.
, there is only one blind old woman left in the family, and she has done a lot of evil!"
Nan Huaijin asked: "How is the old woman doing?"
Li Zongwu said: "She is dead. The neighbors and villagers are not rich, so each family gave her some food to live on. During the Chinese New Year, she couldn't figure it out and hanged herself."
Qian Ji said angrily: "How can this be? According to the military service law, an only son does not have to perform military service!"
Li Zongwu sneered and said: "Officials are very active in order to make meritorious service. If the soldiers are dissatisfied, they will arrest strong men. First, they will arrest beggars and homeless men, and then they will arrest such independent bachelors. Anyway, no matter how many people are arrested, they will not cause trouble."
Zhou Hexuan did not participate in the discussion, and the information he saw was even worse than this. Because 1940 was relatively good, but after 1942, the Kuomintang was absolutely lawless when it came to seizing young men. The young men ran away all the way, and the vacancies could only be replenished halfway.
I saw farmers, traders, fishermen, trackers... In remote places, everyone was arrested, including the elderly and children. They even went to teahouses and restaurants to arrest cooks and tea servers (outsiders).
In order to avoid military service, there are many ordinary people who pretend to be crazy or even self-mutilate, cut their fingers and poke their eyes.
It's not that the people are unpatriotic, it's that the mortality rate of new recruits is too high. Several percent of them may die before they even go to the battlefield.
Zhou Hexuan was too lazy to give Chang Kaishen advice or report these bad situations. Because Chang Kaishen knew the truth, but the government was rotten to the core. The central government had repeatedly ordered and could not do anything about it, and the middle and lower-level administrative systems had long been
It's out of control, or it has never been effectively controlled.
Only when there is a civil unrest, or if the appearance is really ugly, will Lao Chiang be caught as a model and severely punished. For those who arrest strong men to this extent in Fushun County, Lao Chiang not only will not punish, but will issue a commendation order to the county magistrate.
.
Until he returned home, Li Zongwu was still complaining: "Not only are the young men heavily arrested, but taxes are also very high. The common people can't fill their bellies. The government also calls on the country to tighten their belts and calls on civil servants to work with the common people."
Eat two meals a day, saying that this food can be saved to fight the Japanese. Fight the Japanese! If the Anti-Japanese War can be won, the Communist Party will definitely dominate the world in the future. If you don’t believe it, we will wait and see.”
Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "Brother Li, don't talk about state affairs, be careful that the walls have ears."
Li Zongwu didn't care: "He's coming to arrest me. I'm the same age as Einstein. Einstein is famous all over the world, and I'm famous in Sichuan. If Chiang Kai-shek comes to arrest me, then I will be famous again, and I will definitely be famous all over the country."
!”
Nan Huaijin said: "Mr. Zhou, you have the opportunity to meet President Jiang. You can reflect it when you see him next time."
"Well, I will reflect it." Zhou Hexuan didn't want to say more.
