"Not necessarily?" Leng Tiefeng said in disbelief, "Is it possible that you can still untie this knot?"
In Leng Tiefeng's view, the current situation in Baotou is indeed a deadlock that cannot be untied.
The reason why the situation in Baotou is said to be a dead end is ultimately about money, because the money and materials collected by the Chahar Independent Regiment from Guisui and Baotou are limited, and the discounted price is only worth more than one million. This money,
Not only to support the operation of the soon-to-be-established anti-Japanese democratic government in Baotou, but also to spend a considerable amount of money to recruit troops and expand the size of the Chahar Independent Regiment, so there will not be a big surplus at all, and it is not even enough.
For the part that is not enough, Baotou’s commercial tax subsidy is still needed.
However, now, the Baotou Chamber of Commerce has proposed compensation worth five million yuan, and also requested a five-year reduction in business tax. This is simply threatening the life of the Chahar Independent Group. Leng Tiefeng really can't think of any other way to do this.
To untie this knot? Should we follow the previous practice in Pucheng, liquidate the treasonous behavior of these merchants, and then suppress them?
Unfortunately, Baotou is not Pucheng, and the merchants in Baotou are more upright than those in Pucheng.
The merchants in Pucheng defected to the Japanese shortly after the fall, but many merchants in Baotou withstood the pressure and insisted not to cooperate with the Japanese, and secretly gave a lot of help to the 35th Army in the already difficult situation.
Because of this, Cai suffered huge losses, especially the two century-old companies such as Fuzihao and Weizihao.
Therefore, Yao Dahai proposed to compensate Baotou merchants for their losses in order to gain widespread support.
After the news spread, not only the democratic parties sent telegrams expressing concern, but even Yan'an also sent telegrams asking Xu Rui to act prudently. At this time, if Xu Rui dared to act like he did in Pucheng, he would be risking the world.
Such gross misconduct will not only attract the reviling of the world, but also serious punishment from Yan'an.
In short, Leng Tiefeng felt that the current situation was impossible to solve.
Xu Rui smiled and said: "If the economic benefits of Baotou are compared to a cake, then the cake is only this big."
Xu Rui stretched out the thumbs and index fingers of his left and right hands, folded them together to form a circle, and said: "The cake is only so big, it is not enough for ourselves or the merchants in Baotou. At this time, if we and the merchants in Baotou only have this cake in their eyes,
, then the two sides will definitely fight in the end, and both sides will suffer losses!"
"Who says it's not?" Leng Tiefeng said, "The question is what should we do?"
Ma Fei also became interested and asked: "Yes, what should we do?"
"There is only one way at this time." Xu Rui said, "That is to make the cake bigger."
"Make the cake bigger?" Leng Tiefeng and Ma Fei looked at each other with confusion on their faces.
Xu Rui clasped his hands together, forming a big circle, and said: "At that time, the cake will be this big. We will cut off a large piece ourselves first, and the Baotou merchant will cut off one piece. Both families can be full, and even
There is still a surplus. If that were the case, would the two families still fight over uneven distribution? Of course not."
Leng Tiefeng frowned and said, "But the question is, how to make a big cake?"
"This is a good question." Xu Rui nodded and said, "Veteran, let me ask you again, Baotou used to be a small village outside the mouth, how did it develop into what it is now?"
Leng Tiefeng replied: "It seems to depend on the tea trade with Russia."
"It's not like that, it's just that." Xu Rui said, "The reason why Baotou can develop is the re-export trade of tea to Russia and the European continent. From Shanxi to Baotou to Kyaktu, and then to Russia and Europe, it is the Siberian Railway
Before it opened to traffic, it was the busiest tea road in the world!"
Leng Tiefeng shook his head and said: "But now this tea road has declined."
Xu Rui said: "Then have you ever thought about why this tea road declined?"
Leng Tiefeng replied: "Didn't you just say that because the Siberian Railway is open to traffic! From then on, tea from China's coast can go directly to Vladivostok by sea, and then be transported from Vladivostok to Russia via the Siberian Railway, and then distributed from Russia to European countries.
The tea road in Baotou was not only slow but also cost more to transport, so it completely declined."
"Veteran, you are right! Because the cost of sea and railway transportation is much lower than that of land transportation by animal power, the Baotou trade route will decline rapidly." Xu Rui hit the joint hard and said, "But now,
Because the Japanese Kwantung Army occupied Chita, the transportation artery of the Siberian Railway has been cut off, and the Chinese coast has also fallen. In other words, the tea road from the Chinese coast through Vladivostok to Russia has been interrupted!"
Leng Tiefeng's eyes lit up and he said excitedly: "In other words, the tea road in Baotou will have a second spring?"
"That's right!" Xu Rui said cheerfully, "In its heyday, the tea road in Baotou generated hundreds of millions of taels of silver every year. We do not seek to return to the level of its heyday, even if it only recovers one-tenth of the level.
, Isn’t this difficult? That’s tens of millions of taels of silver per year, and even if you only charge a business tax of 1 in 10, it’s still a million dollars!”
Leng Tiefeng's eyes dimmed, he shook his head and said, "But it's not easy to clear the tea road, right?"
"Nothing in this world is easy to do!" Xu Rui waved his hand and said, "But can we stop doing it just because it is not easy? Of course not! Just talk about resisting Japan, everyone will fight against it.
We know that it is not easy to defeat the Japanese, but can we not resist because the resistance against Japan is difficult? Of course not!"
Leng Tiefeng nodded and said: "That's right, retreating when faced with difficulties is not our style."
Xu Rui waved his hand and said: "Immediately send someone to summon all the merchants in Baotou to the regiment headquarters."
"Okay." Leng Tiefeng said excitedly, "I will send people to notify you one by one."
"By the way, we need to find a few reporters!" Xu Ruihu said again, "We can't do this by ourselves. I'm afraid we have to rely on the power of public opinion. Otherwise, Hu Zongnan can ruin a big event.
After all, if the Baotou Tea Road wants to be restored, it must transport Huguang tea through the Guanzhong Trade Road."
After a pause, Xu Rui continued: "Didn't Xiang Xiang of the Central News Agency want to interview me several times? Let her come over tonight and let the matter of dredging the tea road out of her mouth.
Once the impact is caused, Hu Zongnan has to weigh the consequences if he wants to do something bad."
…
Baotou, Hongyun Restaurant.
Hongyun Restaurant not only operates catering business, but also operates accommodation. It is a famous time-honored restaurant in Baotou.
When Yao Dahai returned to his room, he saw the lights on in the room next door. His eyes immediately lit up. He went up and knocked on the door twice. After a while, the door opened and a graceful figure wearing a white floral cheongsam came out of the room.
As he walked out of the door, Yao Dahai's eyes fell on the other person's delicate and beautiful face, and he was suddenly absent-minded for a moment.
This beautiful woman is, of course, the crony flower Xiang Yingxin who came with a mission.
However, Yao Dahai didn't know that Xiang Yingxin was a nepotism and had a mission. He also said that she was really a reporter sent to Suiyuan by the Central News Agency, so he used his utmost diligence during this period. Unfortunately, King Xiang was interested and the goddess was ruthless.
, Xiang Yingxin has always been lukewarm towards him and has no expression at all.
However, Yao Dahai did not give up.
Therefore, when he saw the light in Xiang Yingxin's room was on, he immediately went to knock on the door.
When Xiang Yingxin opened the door and saw Yao Dahai, she immediately frowned slightly. Yao Dahai's smell of alcohol made her even more disgusted. She frowned and said, "Commissioner Yao, are you okay?"
Yao Dahai chuckled and said: "Miss Xiang, it's such a nice night, why don't we go out for a walk?"
"It's not convenient today." Xiang Yingxin refused without hesitation, "I will go to the headquarters of the Chahar Independent Regiment later for an interview."
"You want to be interviewed?" Yao Dahai frowned immediately after hearing this and asked, "Did Xu Rui agree to be interviewed by you?"
"Well, Captain Xu has already agreed." The topic came up with Xu Rui, and Xiang Yingxin's pretty face finally had some sparkle. It had been said that she had been in Baotou for several days, and she had asked for it several times during this period.
An exclusive interview with Xu Rui was rejected, and Xu Rui refused to even meet her.
But just now, Xiang Yingxin received the invitation unexpectedly.
After receiving the invitation, Xiang Yingxin was overjoyed. When Yao Dahai knocked on the door just now, she was applying makeup carefully in front of the mirror. Her purpose of coming to Suiyuan this time was to assassinate Xu Rui, so the interview was just a means.
, her intention is to get close to Xu Rui and strive to stay by Xu Rui's side.
Therefore, it is very necessary to dress yourself up in a charming way.
It has to be said that Xiang Yingxin's skills are really good. When she went out just now, Yao Dahai was really stunned by her beauty. Even now, she is still in a daze.
Because of this, Yao Dahai was inexplicably enjoying Xu Rui's food.
"What's the point of interviewing Xu Rui?" Yao Dahai said unhappily, "Miss Xiang, why don't you interview me? I've been in Suiyuan for a longer time and know more about the situation in Suiyuan. What can I provide?
I will definitely give you more powerful information than Xu Rui. For example, right now, Xu Rui is facing an unprecedented crisis."
Xiang Yingxin didn't want to say more to Yao Dahai, but as soon as he heard that Xu Rui was in trouble, he immediately became interested and asked: "Captain Xu is facing an unprecedented crisis? What's going on?"
"Want to listen? Okay." Yao Dahai laughed and said, "Come to my room and we will talk slowly."
Since Xiang Yingxin debuted, she has relied on sacrificing her beauty to win the support of men, so there is no psychological barrier to sacrificing her beauty to get the information she wants from Yao Dahai. She raised her wrist and looked at her watch, and found that she was far away.
There was still almost an hour before the dinner started, so he readily agreed and said, "Okay."
Seeing Xiang Yingxin agreeing so happily, Yao Dahai's heart almost melted.
At that moment, Yao Dahai shook his hands and said: "Miss Xiang, please come quickly, please come quickly, please come quickly."
