Not to mention Zhu Xuefeng's New Year's dinner, Lao Kong finished his work and went home happily. The New Year's dinner was ready and the family was waiting for it. It was the most tidy family in recent years. Except for the sacrificed second child, The eldest brother and the third child are both back, which is very rare.
"Where's Xiaofeng, haven't you come?"
Lao Kong shook off the snowflakes on his body, stamped his feet, entered the house, glanced at the people at home, and found that Zhu Xuefeng was not there.
"Xiao Feng? Didn't you say that he and his younger brothers and sisters went to his hometown to celebrate the New Year? Are they back?"
Old Kong was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that Zhu Xuefeng had been sent out to perform a mission, and he But the careless person told Director Wang that the three brothers and sisters went back to their hometown to celebrate the New Year. Director Wang didn't know about the mission at all. Fortunately, Zhu Xuefeng was not here at this moment and said quickly.
"I don't know, but I met him and asked him to come to you. He also said that Zhenhua and Chaoyang were back. This kid thought he would come over for the New Year's dinner, but he didn't come to count. Yes, I guess he has arrangements."
Seeing Director Wang still looking at me with some suspicion, I felt a little guilty and greeted him quickly.
"Boss, third child, hurry up, I've been busy all day and I'm starving. You two, hurry up and set off the cannons. It's so lively outside, we can't fall behind...".
"Okay, let's set off the firecrackers now, Chaoyang..."
Li Zhenhua glanced at Huo Chaoyang. Both of them felt that Lao Kong seemed to be hiding something, but they didn't ask, picked up the firecrackers, Pushing open the window, he took out a long bamboo pole to see if there was no one downstairs. Li Zhenhua set up the bamboo pole, Huo Chaoyang quickly lit it, and the firecrackers crackled.
The sound of firecrackers echoed in the buildings and yards, which was very lively. The sound of firecrackers also came from the distance from time to time, and the whole city was shrouded in the joy of the festival.
Lao Kong and Director Wang each held a child, wrapped in thick cotton jackets, with only two pairs of smart eyes looking in the direction of the firecrackers.
Director Wang wanted to ask Zhu Xuefeng about it, but the sound of firecrackers was very loud, so he did not speak. The sound of the firecrackers gradually subsided. Director Wang put the child into the stroller and took it from Lao Kong. After carefully putting them into the stroller, the two little guys were honest and didn't make any noise. They just watched each other affectionately.
“It’s been a hard year, so let’s wait for the children to eat. You don’t have to be on duty today.”
“Knowing that the boss and the third child are back, Old Hao carried forward his style and took the initiative to stay on duty. Just go there tomorrow morning.”
“It’s actually not easy for Old Hao. Whoever is on duty next time will be on duty. We don’t need him to take care of us.”
Director Wang didn’t explain too much. Happy to greet everyone to sit down.
"Come on, come on, the eldest and the third child are back today. Our family is finally not like last year. It was just the two of us celebrating the New Year. Lao Kong, you have a drink with them."
Although there are only two of us. The four of them were quite lively. Director Wang looked at the two young men and then at the two little ones in the stroller, feeling happy.
"Boss, you sneaked back without saying a word this time. You can stay at home for a few days this time."
"That's right, if your mother hadn't called me, I wouldn't have known why you sneaked back today and didn't say hello in advance."
Li Zhenhua chuckled, "Why did you tell me earlier? I was also setting off. I only received the news the night before that I was asked to go home for the New Year. I hurriedly got in the car and had no chance to report, haha."
"What good thing can I do to let you go home temporarily for the New Year?"
They all have been in the army, so there must be a reason for this abnormality.
"Well, I received a temporary mission and will leave after the New Year. I estimate that we won't be able to come back for several years, so we were asked to go home in advance to celebrate the New Year."
"Brother, what mission is there? How many years will it take? Can you tell me, if it's confidential, I won't ask." Huo Chaoyang was very curious and couldn't help but ask.
Director Wang glared at Huo Chaoyang, "Look at what you are asking. I won't be able to come back for several years. The mission must be kept secret. You are about to graduate from the Naval Academy and you are still asking this kind of question."
“Actually, I don’t know the specifics, but we will gather together after the new year. What we are going to do, and we don’t know where we are. Come on, third child, you will graduate the year after next. You have decided where to go. "
The autonomous region is also celebrating the New Year happily. This time it successfully occupied Mandele, which was guarded by more than 10,000 people, which greatly boosted morale.
The Mandele garrison, which had been holding on for some time, could not wait for reinforcements. One night a year ago, after confirming that it was impossible to receive assistance, the commander-in-chief led more than 2,000 people. Relying on more than a dozen tanks, they forced their way eastward and successfully escaped with most of their weapons destroyed.
The remaining garrison collapsed. Under the temptation of the fleeing merchants, many troops directly mutinied and took the initiative to let the Northern Army enter the city. The remaining team of several thousand people actually had no organized and effective resistance. In less than a day, they all defected. and surrendered, giving Song Yan a big advantage.
"These people really have no will to fight. There are hundreds of cannons in the city. If we hold on tightly, we won't be able to attack them."
Song Yan originally wanted to arrange an elite detachment. The surprise attack caused chaos in the city, and they cooperated with the outsiders, but before the siege strategy could be implemented, the leading party who defected directly sacrificed the city.
Li Xiaojun and Song Yan were on a jeep, accompanying the large troops into the city. Looking at the chaotic city, groups of surrendered soldiers were being escorted and lined up to move. People were hiding at home and did not dare to go out, but Many businessmen groups who had fled from the south held banners of welcome, and they were scattered in groups here and there, looking disorganized.
“It’s not like he’s been beaten a few times in recent times. With such a cowardly general, of course this soldier can’t be strong-willed. Hurry up. If you clean up well today, you may still be able to enjoy the New Year’s dinner in the city. "
Song Yan nodded. He was under great pressure. There were twice as many prisoners as his own people. The people in the city and those who had escaped from the south were all making a noise.
"Collect all the weapons that surrendered to the army and bring them back to the military camp for guarding as planned. We have to ask Lao Yang's people to quickly bring in the food, organize and appease the merchants, and let everyone stutter first."
"Old Yang has made arrangements. Xiao Feng is leading a team of female soldiers to escort the food. It is estimated that the convoy will arrive in a few hours. This old Yang is very busy and will not be able to spare a day."
Faced with a powerful military threat, the autonomous region is now vigorously developing militiamen as reserves. In this siege and sniper reinforcements, the militiamen played a huge role. These people concentrated on training and participating in construction during the slack farming period, and participated in harvesting and planting during the busy farming period. They held slightly less than The salary of active-duty soldiers is quite satisfactory, which can be regarded as solving the problems of individuals and autonomous regions to a certain extent.
After nearly a year of stationing troops in Mandele, food consumption was very large. Coupled with the tens of thousands of people who fled from the south, food in the city is now very tight. This is why this team of tens of thousands of people One of the reasons for not being willing to defend was how to defend when hungry. Therefore, as soon as the troops from the autonomous region besieged the city, the morale here was low. Several times they took the initiative to attack and were surrounded, annihilated and blocked, and the morale was even worse.
After all, Mandele is an ancient city with a complete range of industries. Looking at the empty business district and withered factories, Song Yan has a headache. Yang Maosheng should take care of these. The sooner it recovers, the sooner the autonomous region will benefit. But now Yang Maosheng really has no time to do it. He just sent some deputies to deal with it. This city is many times larger than Jiesha, and he still has to face tens of thousands of people who have fled from the south. These people are all Yang Maosheng planned. It was useful, but at the critical moment, he was not there.
After Yang Maosheng arranged the supply and recovery of Mandele, he was heading west to the sea with a mysterious visiting team in high spirits, accompanied by the guards led by Xia Ligong.
Yes, the westward direction has been completely opened. The 200 vanguard troops and 200 militiamen have been successfully stationed at the seaside. Yang Maosheng and his people are exploring suitable port locations and the possibility of building railways along the line.
The visiting team proposed assistance in building a railway to the sea and a deep-water port, on the condition that the railway and port should ensure the normal transportation and loading of their goods in the future.
For Yang Maosheng, this is a good thing to take advantage of. His Highness has always had the idea of opening this railway. Unfortunately, the cost is too high and the human resources are not satisfied. Only now is there hope for a simple highway. Needless to say, railways.
Yang Maosheng, who always felt that he had suffered some losses in several cooperations in the past, was very satisfied this time. When he could not contact Zhu Xuefeng, he verbally expressed his agreement, and this led to the team inspection. .
"Mr. Yang, we have such a big cooperation matter this time. I wonder if the leader of the autonomous region will participate in our discussion?" In the convoy, Yang Maosheng was riding in a jeep with a middle-aged man. , more than 100 kilometers after leaving Pagang, the road condition deteriorated, neither smooth nor spacious. Along the way, people were digging into the mountains to build roads, and there were crowds of people.
"Our leader has many affairs and is not in the autonomous region now. Don't worry, your conditions are very sincere. I think the leader will agree. You don't have to worry about this."
< br>The middle-aged man is the main person in charge of the negotiations, Deputy Minister Qiao. He has dealt with the autonomous region several times, but he has never been interviewed by the supreme leader of the autonomous region. Every time he takes the initiative to visit, he is politely rejected. This mysterious leader is The country urgently needs to know all the information, but unfortunately, apart from knowing that his name is Zhu Wentao, there is not even a photo.
Thinking of the explanation given by the leader before leaving, I spoke without giving up.
“This cooperation is very important to both of us. If the cooperation can be successful, I think it will have a great promotion significance for your economy. Of course, it will also have a great impact on our foreign trade. It is a powerful supplement, so I am not worried that the two parties cannot reach an agreement, but we have some follow-up ideas for long-term cooperation and would like to meet with your leader to discuss it. I wonder if Mr. Yang can help arrange it.”
Yang Maosheng is also helpless. This request is very reasonable, but His Highness will never show up, at least not at this stage. He can only express his apology.
“It’s not that we don’t make arrangements. As I said just now, our leader is not in the autonomous region at all. As you know, we are now carrying out infrastructure construction vigorously, which requires a lot of funds and assistance. Our leader is looking for cooperation outside. "Partner, it's difficult to come back for a while, don't worry, I will definitely arrange for you to meet with the leader if I have the opportunity in the future."
Deputy Minister Qiao felt a little regretful, and pointed to the neat construction team outside the car window, and asked doubtfully.
"These people look more like soldiers and are very disciplined. Are they your prisoners? I find that no one seems to be watching over them. Aren't you afraid that they will escape?"
Vice Minister Qiao discovered it early. This is unusual. On the highway more than 100 kilometers away from Pagang, there are such concentrated construction teams every ten kilometers. They seem to be strictly disciplined, but there are no guards with guns to supervise them.
"You said them, they are not prisoners of war, they are labor exporters. We have an employment relationship, so of course we will not arrange guards."
Yang Maosheng did not disclose that these people are from the North Great, but Deputy Minister Qiao kept an eye out. When he passed by again, he carefully identified the identities of this group of people. What surprised him was that although they had changed their clothes, their accents still made him suspicious. Although they were far away and couldn't hear clearly, But it's vaguely Bangzi's language, and he understands Bangzi's language.
As the convoy continued to go west, it saw more and more construction teams. Vice Minister Qiao knew that he had discovered a great secret. There were too many people. According to his estimation, There should be far more than 10,000 people.
"Mr. Yang, I don't know what price you paid to hire these people. Is it convenient to disclose it? Don't they even take a break during the Spring Festival?"
Yang Maosheng also found that it was a mistake to choose the convoy to go west, but the helicopters were all transferred I went to Mandela, and even the pilots of the few spare ones left behind couldn't be found.
"This is not a secret. You can probably tell that these people are from Beibang. They build roads for us and we pay with grain. As you know, the grain harvest here last year was not bad. , although funds are somewhat tight now, food is still abundant. As for not having a break during the Spring Festival, we did not ask for this. They took the initiative to rush the work and wanted to get the reward for completing the work ahead of schedule."
"Oh, I understand. , they are short of food now. Speaking of which, we really have to thank you. The two grain transactions totaling 800 tons last year helped us a lot. I wonder if we can still provide it as usual this year?”
Seeing a large number of people employed to earn food, and it was obvious that these people were passionate about food, Lao Qiao was a little worried. Although the autonomous region only provided 800 tons last year, which was insignificant in the country's import share, the price Low cost and convenient transportation have greatly alleviated the difficulties in the southwest region. You must know that domestic transportation to the southwest is much more difficult than delivery here. When the Yunnan-Guiyang Railway is not connected, even if there is grain, it is difficult to transport it. The autonomous region It's much more convenient here.
"Our palace... obtained the consent of the chief over the phone. This year we will continue to open up farms and vigorously develop agriculture. According to our estimates, we should be able to provide you with two thousand to three thousand tons of food this year, approximately Twenty tons of sucrose, and if you have any needs, we can discuss it in detail."
"Great, great, thank you for your strong support, thank you."
Deputy Qiao. The minister was greatly surprised when he received this unexpected news. The southwest will do well this year. As long as the natural conditions do not continue to deteriorate, the southwest will be stable.
Not to mention twenty tons of sucrose. This stuff is now a strategic material and is urgently needed in the country. Well, with this news, the leaders should feel at ease.
After passing many small towns, Deputy Minister Qiao saw many men, women, old and young helping to build roads, and gained a better understanding of the autonomous region. The convoy bumped all the way westward on the simple roads. ….
…
Unexpectedly, Zhu Xuefeng saw the news coming from the autonomous region in the office and was a little surprised. Song Yan relied on just a few people to capture Mandele and the west connection so quickly. With the sea out of the way, the autonomous region finally has a window to the outside world, and we can speed up in the future.
What’s even more surprising is the domestic willingness to cooperate. In Zhu Xuefeng’s memory, this was something that only happened decades later. Now, an opportunity has come decades in advance. This is a major benefit to the country and the people. A good thing, it can break through the blockade to the greatest extent and get rid of the constraints of the Malacca Strait.
With nothing to hesitate, Zhu Xuefeng quickly drafted his own opinion.
Secure Mandela firmly. Now that we have won it, we must make good use of it, further strengthen exchanges with the country, and prepare for the comeback of the Southern Army. We must also pay attention to the harassment of the defeated army and restore Mandela. vitality and contribute to the development of the autonomous region.
Agree to cooperate with domestic port and railway construction, agree to the other party's additional requirements, and suggest that the other party consider port garrisoning and leasing seaports, etc...
As for requesting a meeting, Zhu Xuefeng originally wanted to go to the autonomous region, but he suppressed the thought. It was best not to reveal his identity. Maybe there would be his colleagues in the delegation.
"Send these back. I will be here these days and will pay attention to the news over there at any time."
Giving his opinions to the little girl, Zhu Xuefeng drifted away again. The beginning of this year Yes, everything went faster than planned.
Yang Maosheng read the urgent telegram in his hand and said to Vice Minister Qiao with a smile.
"Minister Qiao, our leader sent a message, agreeing to the cooperation project between the two parties, suggesting in-depth cooperation, and suggesting that you build your own port and warehouse on the seaside. In order to protect your own interests, you can station troops. Of course, the land is considered a lease."
This was the first time that Vice Minister Qiao was asked to garrison troops and rent a seaport, which was a bit surprising.
"Your leader really said that? Can we still station troops?"
"Of course, there is no need to question our sincerity. The leader said that in order to protect your interests, you are allowed to build a port on the seaside. Warehouses, military camps, and naval ships can also be stationed to thank you for your strong support for the construction of the autonomous region. We also agree to increase commercial activities on both sides. Everything can be traded in your currency."
"Sorry. "Mr. Yang, are you saying that we can use RMB to purchase your grain, sugar and other materials?"
Vice Minister Qiao couldn't believe it and wondered if he heard it wrong, but Yang Mao Sheng's words made him understand that happiness had really come.
“That’s right, Minister Qiao, our leader suggested that all bilateral trade in the future can be settled in RMB. This will greatly promote the exchange of needs and accelerate the economic and trade development between the two sides. We can also bear some expensive costs. It is inconvenient for transit trade for export..."
Vice Minister Qiao was simply stunned by this good news. You can also trade in RMB. This is the only autonomous region in the world, and the limited foreign exchange can be used elsewhere.
"You just said that you can still bear some..."
"Yes, you are right, this is our leader's decision, you don't need to question it, his decision is our autonomous region Of course, we will discuss the specific details when we return to Pagang City. This time you should go to the beach to investigate carefully and choose a suitable deep-water area to build a military port..."
Yang Maosheng actually did not understand the significance of agreeing to garrison troops and open the port, but His Highness solemnly proposed it, and he would definitely implement it unswervingly. (End of this chapter)