socalfunplaces Page 43
Page 43
But soon after Wu Zifu finished speaking, the representative of the central Ministry of Finance, which was issuing national bonds, took the stage and continued speaking. This representative spoke in a much more pleasant tone.
He proposed that national debt be freely circulated and allowed to be used to offset taxes. After such a welfare policy was introduced, people's expressions improved a lot. Some even felt that this was a kind of disguised currency. It could be freely circulated and could be used to pay taxes, so it was equivalent to paper money.
Moreover, it's a paper currency that earns interest, so you don't need to deposit it in a bank; you can use it while enjoying the interest.
This was a desperate measure by the central government to raise war funds. If it could issue so much paper money directly, the central government would certainly not pay more interest. However, the time was too short and there was no time to pay more interest, so it could only raise military funds through this disguised form of paper money.
Issuing legal tender can only be done after the war; otherwise, the current republican government's prestige and foundation are insufficient to support a national credit paper currency.
As for paper money pegged to gold and silver, sorry, the republican government simply doesn't have that much precious metal; if it did, it would use it for war first.
Wu Zifu played the bad cop, the Ministry of Finance representative played the good cop, and then the provincial governor came out to drink with them. With this combination of tactics, the Chinese community generously donated money.
As for the remaining foreign businessmen, they were still observing until they saw Vice Minister Wu Zonglian, which put their minds at ease.
Wu Zonglian, the Chinese Vice Foreign Minister, is already recognized internationally as a representative figure of China's "moderates." Although he is a moderate who likes to pass the buck in politics, at least he can communicate, which is a good thing!
Compared to the outspoken head of state Zhao Yan, and the tough-talking Wu Zifu from the southeast, foreigners preferred dealing with Wu Zonglian.
The vast majority of these foreign businessmen were dressed as diplomatic representatives from various countries, because only in this way could they obtain visas to enter China. If you applied for a diplomatic visa, Wu Zifu would not allow you to come at all; only business visas for investment purposes would be approved in small numbers.
Upon meeting Wu Zonglian, the representatives from various countries were all moved to tears. The British representative, unusually, refrained from making any harsh statements and simply told Wu Zonglian to name his price. As long as it wasn't outrageous, he would accept it all, on the condition that the land blockade against Hong Kong be lifted and that British merchant ships be allowed to dock in Guangdong and Guangxi for trade.
As for the other concession blockade issues, the British didn't even want to talk about them anymore; they were simply too exhausted. They decided to wait until the war was over before discussing anything further.
There are currently two factions in Britain regarding their attitude towards China: the hardliners strongly support Japan's recovery and are planning a future retaliatory war.
The other moderate faction advocated compromise in exchange for free trade and markets. The moderates did not want to fight, but rather wanted to do business while fighting. The Jewish financial elites in Britain did not care about right or wrong or imperial dignity; as long as they could make money, that was all that mattered.
Even wars were opportunities for them to make a fortune; they were instrumental in the Opium Wars.
The British representatives in Guangzhou are moderates; they don't care about those messy ethnic conflicts and national interests, they only care about tangible financial gains.
The blockade in Guangzhou costs them tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds every day. In fact, the upper echelons of the British financial groups are so jealous that they are bleeding with envy when they see the Germans get that 70 million pound order.
This meeting between the British and Wu Zonglian in Guangzhou was much more pragmatic. They didn't discuss anything related to national interests or war conflicts at all, and only talked about commercial interests.
The British representative agreed to underwrite war bonds worth 50 million taels of silver, but the interest rate had to be 7% for a five-year term. This amount was easily digestible for the Jewish financial magnates behind it.
The condition was that trade with southern China had to be opened. The British promised not to sell opium, but this promise was useless because China's domestically produced opium had begun to be exported back to Europe.
Wu Zonglian disagreed after hearing this. He said that the interest rates on government bonds are all standardized. If they are sold to foreigners at a 7% interest rate for five years, how can those Chinese who bought five-year bonds at a 3% interest rate understand this?
The British representative immediately compromised, stating that the interest rate could be set at three percent, but an order for at least seventy million taels of silver had to be placed with Britain.
After listening, Wu Zonglian immediately said, "Then let's just borrow 70 million and use it all to buy your products. The South China Industrial Zone in Guangzhou just happens to need funds for development."
Before I came here, the central government gave me full authority. Borrow as much money as you can, without any limit! Borrow as much as you can, based on your own ability. If we win the war, everything else is just a passing cloud. If we lose, there's even less to worry about. Let's all collapse and die for our country together!
The British were shocked by Wu Zonglian's enormous appetite, but they were also completely captivated by the profits behind the sky-high order. Capitalists don't care about national conflicts or anything like that; they only care about making money, especially Jewish tycoons, for whom profit is their ultimate pursuit.
This order cannot be given up under any circumstances. If the British government does not approve it, they have plenty of ways to lobby. Fighting is fighting, and making money is making money; they are two separate things.
The British struggled for only a few minutes before giving a preliminary agreement, with further details to be discussed.
Now it was Wu Zonglian's turn to be shocked. He was completely taken aback. The representatives of the foreign powers he had encountered before were all tough guys who single-mindedly defended national interests. How could they suddenly change today?
Dude, we're about to go to war! You're lending me money and selling me stuff, aren't you afraid of being accused of treason?
Chapter 79 Military Reserve Highway
November 20, 1906, northern suburbs of Guangzhou.
Guangdong Governor Zheng Limin attended and presided over the completion ceremony of the first phase of the Changguang Highway. At the ceremony, Governor Zheng Limin warmly received outstanding representatives from all levels of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and personally awarded them medals and commendations.
The Changguang Highway, which had been under construction for nearly eleven months, has finally been opened to traffic. Although it is just an unpaved dirt road and a discontinuous road that detours through mountains and breaks off over rivers, it is still the first inter-provincial national highway in China. At least it can be opened to traffic, right?
To build this strategic highway that connects South China, the Republican government mobilized 270,000 people to form a construction corps, spending a total of over 7.2 million taels of silver and grain to complete the road entirely by manpower.
A huge amount of money will be invested in the future to pave the national highway, straighten the winding roads, and gradually build up the missing bridges, but those are all things to be done later.
The Republican government central government also wanted to extend the railway from Wuhan to Guangzhou, directly completing the Beijing-Guangzhou line feat, but unfortunately, they lacked the funds and had to put the project on hold for the time being.
After the completion ceremony, the massive infrastructure corps will also face reorganization. Such a team, which has undergone long-term military management, must not be wasted at this critical moment of war preparedness.
The Ministry of National Defense has ordered the deployment of this infrastructure corps northward to the Northeast region to receive initial military training before participating in anti-bandit operations.
At this moment, the Luo brothers, Luo Ming and Luo Liang, were also discussing the orders issued from above. The orders were in principle based on voluntariness, but the vast majority of people did not have the right to choose for themselves.
Only a small number of brothers who enlist at the same time or only children who enlist are entitled to the right to choose whether or not to retire. If two brothers enlist, one of them can choose whether or not to retire. Only children can also do so.
The Ministry of National Defense still has some conscience; it won't fight to the point of annihilation, and it will try to preserve some of the people's lineage.
"Brother, don't try to persuade me! I still have a younger brother at home, don't I? I want to go to war too!"
"Second brother, don't be stubborn. Fourth brother is only ten years old, sixth brother is only three years old, and the oldest sister is only fifteen. If we're both gone, who will take care of all the chores at home?"
"Then you go back, I'll go fight!"
"Damn it, I've already risen to the rank of company commander, and you want me to go back to farming?"
"I'm a platoon leader too, why do you insist on making me go home? I never want to live that kind of miserable life again!"
"No, I'm the company commander, you have to listen to me!"
"Then I'll go find the Party representative and let him judge this matter!"
The two brothers argued fiercely, neither willing to back down. After all, neither of them wanted to give up such a good life. If they went back to farming, could they have three meals a day? If they went back to farming, could they grow enough land to earn two taels of silver a month for military pay?
Life in the construction corps was tough. Every day, they not only had to undergo military training, but also take turns working to repair roads, and attend literacy classes at night.
But even the hardship wasn't as tough as farming back home. At least there were three meals a day, two taels of silver in military pay every month, and uniforms and bedding were all provided free of charge. With such treatment, no one would want to leave.
Because of their youth and intelligence, quick literacy, hard work, and good training results, the elder brother, Luo Ming, was promoted to second lieutenant and entered the officer ranks, while the younger brother, Luo Liang, was promoted to sergeant and platoon leader. Both were given active-duty military ranks.
The most essential requirement is literacy. To be promoted to sergeant, one needs to know at least 500 commonly used characters, and to be promoted to officer, one needs to know at least 1,000 commonly used characters. The faster one learns, the faster one gets promoted.
The regimental headquarters originally wanted to recommend Luo Ming to participate in the military rank training and selection, but unfortunately this benefit was only available to the main force divisions, and none of the construction corps received it, so they had to give up.
Young people like Luo Ming, who can recognize thousands of characters in less than a year, are highly valued by their superiors and can even be considered geniuses.
However, as the population base grows, the number of geniuses also increases. The construction corps has been hiring many teachers and setting up military schools, just like the main divisions. The main subjects taught are Chinese and mathematics.
The construction corps mainly recruited young and middle-aged men aged seventeen to thirty. You don't know until you teach them, and once you do, you'll be surprised to find that there are quite a few geniuses who have emerged from the nearly 300,000-strong construction corps.
Over 90% of people don't learn much, but the remaining 10% learn extremely quickly. A very small percentage, especially young men around 17 or 18 years old, can learn things almost instantly.
The teachers all said it was a pity to waste these promising students; with a little guidance, they could have a great future in the imperial examinations.
However, the construction corps cannot provide such conditions. At most, they can only provide more time for off-the-job training and cultivate them as key personnel.
The massive infrastructure corps didn't ask the main force for many officers; it simply cultivated its own talent through self-reliance and hard work, growing into a force of nearly 300,000.
The corps commander Qin Yongwei has been personally promoted to major general by Zhao Yan and ordered to lead his troops north to aid the Northeast. He has performed so well that Zhao Yan can't help but like such a general. He only needs to provide him with money, food and military supplies, and he doesn't have to worry about anything else. He can pull up an army of 300,000 men and make it look very impressive!
After receiving the order from the Ministry of National Defense, Qin Yongwei also applied for exemptions for special groups within the Corps. After all, Qin Yongwei had developed feelings for this unit. When he was recruiting soldiers, he hadn't thought about fighting. He would recruit anyone who came, as long as they were of the right age and in good health.
As a result, many troops are composed of young and strong men from a province, a county, or even a village. The cohesion among the villagers is very strong, which also makes it easier to command them.
However, when it comes to war, this becomes somewhat inhumane, because it can easily destroy the future hopes of an entire village or county.
The Ministry of National Defense will certainly not approve large-scale retirements, but special permission has been granted for a very small number of only children and families with multiple brothers who have joined the military.
After the Ministry of National Defense issued special permission to all units, and after a day of discussion, only 77 people from the entire corps chose to retire and go home.
None of the remaining soldiers received special permission to retire, because everyone was smart enough to understand that, according to the Ministry of National Defense's orders and the interpretations of the Party representatives, those who went to fight in the Northeast would receive 50 mu of land as long as they participated in the war, and that land would be returned after the war was over. If they won, they would receive even more, and if they died or were maimed, they would receive additional land.
Furthermore, all the land given to them were cultivated lands within the Great Wall that had been seized from the Qing Dynasty. As long as they survived the battle, they would become small landlords, and if they died, their families could inherit the land.
More importantly, there is the tax exemption system for military personnel. The amount of tax that can be exempted is the amount of the official military salary paid in a year, and the families of those who died in battle can continue to enjoy a tax exemption for another twenty years.
This is a real opportunity for upward mobility. People at the bottom aren't stupid; they just haven't had the chance. Now that the opportunity has come, how could they not seize it?
Previously, the infrastructure troops had always been jealous of the extra looting income of the main force. Now that it's their turn to enjoy extra benefits, quitting now would mean all the previous hardships were for nothing.
Even if you only provide three full meals a day, let alone land, it would still be a great deal. At least you wouldn't have to worry about starving to death.
As for the risks of fighting to the death on the battlefield, to put it bluntly, even if a million people were wiped out and the entire army was wiped out, it would still not be as many people as those who die of famine and disease in China in a single year.
The casualty rate in war is actually not much higher than the abnormal mortality rate in people living at the bottom of society.
The reason why the Qing Dynasty was always so bad at fighting was because the Qing Dynasty was unwilling to pay its soldiers. They didn't even let them eat their fill of food, and their military pay was ridiculously embezzled. Who would fight so hard for you?
The two brothers, Luo Ming and Luo Liang, were both unwilling to give up this benefit. There were more than 120 able-bodied men from their village, as well as people from neighboring villages, totaling more than 270 people in the company. They were all fellow villagers, and none of them chose to retire and go home.
People of different generations have different social standings. Some people Luo Liang has to call his uncles, while others have to call him grandpa.
But everyone was determined to make this money, and no one could persuade anyone else. The most outrageous one was from Luojia Village, where his family had all starved to death and he was the only one left.
Even the battalion commander couldn't stand it anymore and said he would help him get more money after his discharge so he could go home, buy two acres of land, find a wife, and continue the family line. But he resolutely refused, saying that two acres was not enough and he wanted fifty or even a hundred acres. He said that he would either die or become a landlord in his life!
The biggest dream of Chinese farmers these days is not to overthrow the landlords, but to become landlords themselves. The vast majority of people do not hate others for exploiting them, but rather that they cannot exploit others.
Zhao Yan has given them this opportunity: if you dare to risk your life, I will give you the opportunity to exploit others; those who don't dare to risk their lives will just wait to be exploited by you.
With everyone in the construction corps united, they had no more scruples when faced with the temptation of land. If the entire village was wiped out, then the remaining family members would become landlords. If the only son was killed, then it was just bad luck, and they could try again in the next life!
On the third day after the completion ceremony, the construction corps began to break camp and head north. Watching the army march north, Wu Zifu was filled with regret. He had wanted to take advantage of the large-scale demobilization of the construction corps to pick up the ready-made ones to expand his Sixth Division. He didn't expect that less than a hundred people would be demobilized. It was a real pity.
Fortunately, the current combat readiness actions are very secretive, and the news of the Ministry of National Defense and high-ranking officials offering 50 acres of land as a reward has not yet spread widely. Otherwise, the surging tide of enlistment would have overwhelmed the military's recruitment stations.
Chapter 80 The Empire's Tien Tax!
"Run! Those damned National Defense Army soldiers are out in the countryside again!"
"Oh no, I'm so miserable!"
A squad of National Defense Army troops dressed in field gray uniforms began their tax collection campaign in the countryside on December 24, 1906, in the Guanzhong Plain.
Although it is Christmas abroad, for the landlords in Guanzhong at this moment, it is a disaster!
The large-scale deployment of troops to the countryside disrupted the peace and tranquility of the towns and villages. Even at the end of the year, when the snow was falling heavily, the National Defense Army still worked diligently in the wind and snow to collect taxes. Such spirit is very commendable!
But the local wealthy families and landlords suffered terribly!
The force that arrived in Lantian County to carry out the rural tax collection operation consisted of a large unit of 850 people, along with more than 60 government tax officials who assisted them.
The two hundred cavalrymen of the Big Head surrounded the town with lightning speed, guarding all the main roads and even sending lookouts to monitor the fields and hills where there were no roads.
The remaining infantry, carrying heavy machine guns and mortars, blocked the town's entrances and exits, and a large number of troops poured into the town.
The major leading the group sat imposingly on the platform in the town's threshing ground, not even glancing at the obsequious county magistrate and town mayor.
"Sir, it's just collecting taxes, why make such a fuss? We're all law-abiding citizens!"
"That's right, sir, just give us how much you want, and we'll deliver it to your door, won't we?"
The major turned his head and said, "Hmph, come to our door? You bastards, you only pay taxes when a gun is pointed at your head! The taxes you sent over for the second half of the year were so little, not even enough for the local military and government to eat and drink, not to mention the taxes that have to be handed over to the central government. We haven't seen a single penny."
"This time, the army is going to the countryside on orders from the central government. Paying taxes will ensure peace, while resisting taxes will quell the rebellion!"
"Don't worry, when the Nationalist army arrives, they'll provide money and supplies, but they won't kill anyone!"
"Ahem! Watch your words, Commander Deng!" This is the Party representative walking over.
"Hey, Party Representative, please take a seat!" Deng, who had just been so imposing and menacing, immediately gave up his seat when he saw the local municipal government party representative approaching.
The party representative sat down without hesitation and then reassured the local officials: "The country is facing a difficult situation, and we at the grassroots level must understand and support it, and this support must be unconditional. The will of the head of state is the highest directive!"
"Revive Han!" Upon hearing the leader's words, everyone present immediately stood at attention.
The party representative nodded and continued, "The old rules still apply: the poor will not be charged a penny, while the wealthy and powerful will receive a 30/70 split, with the central government taking 70% and the local governments taking 30%!"
"Everyone has a responsibility to revitalize the country. You are now county and town mayors of the Republic, so you must stand firm on your position!"
"According to the new tax system issued by the central government, those with less than ten mu of land per capita are exempt from taxation, while those with more than ten mu of land per capita, please gather here!"
The new tax system that the Republican government has come up with is very simple and crude: it is a clear case of robbing the rich but not helping the poor. The central government is not interested in the poor, but is very interested in the wealthy who own more than ten acres of land per person.
The standard of ten mu of land was also strictly calculated and approved, because currently the average number of people in Chinese households is more than five. Those with less than fifty mu of land per household are almost all poor people who cannot get enough to eat, and we cannot continue to extract blood from this group.
In those days, the output of ten acres of land was barely enough to feed and clothe one person. In the north, the grain harvested from one acre of land and stored in the granary was at most less than 100 jin, or about 50 kilograms. Note that this refers to the grain that can be stored after being dried.
If we calculate based on an agricultural miracle, taking other crops into account and even at the highest possible level, one mu (unit of land area) would yield 60 kilograms of grain per year. For 50 mu, that would be 4 tons of grain. This standard is considered a miracle without chemical fertilizers.
Then, for a family of five, which is the minimum standard, it is equivalent to 600 kilograms of grain per person per year!
It sounds like you're on the path to a comfortable life, right? But in reality, no one can actually achieve that standard!
Even based on the most ideal data, 600 kilograms of grain, without any other side income (traditional non-mechanized farmers can't do other side jobs while farming), is equivalent to an average income of 6.5 taels of silver per person. A person would need to consume at least 3 taels, or even 4 or 5 taels, per year, so this amount of food expenses is not excessive.
Then the remaining two or three taels of silver must be used for expenses such as clothing, medical care, and funerals.
Based on the most ideal data above, a family of five with fifty acres of land can barely afford to eat their fill, have clothes to wear, be buried when someone dies, have a couple of tables for a happy occasion, and get some medicine to comfort someone who is sick.
It's understandable that the higher-ups use the most ideal data to infer standards, but in reality, most Chinese households have more than five people, and some families even have five children, not to mention adults and the elderly.