Rise from eight hundred.

Chapter 1471 If you don’t listen to advice, you will be punished!

Although this New Year in Henan Province did not end in bloodshed, it did end amidst the undercurrents that the common people could not see.

Only the top military and political officials in Henan Province knew what kind of turmoil was stirred up by Deputy Commander Tang, who was in charge of disaster relief, during the seemingly peaceful New Year period.

First, the county magistrate and security chief of Yinchuan County, where the Zhoujiazhuang case occurred, both surrendered themselves and admitted that they were involved in the serious crime of corruption in disaster relief grain. The captain of the inspection team stationed in the county also pleaded guilty to the war zone headquarters and admitted that he had received 500 oceans.

The three were taken to the execution ground and shot that afternoon after they signed their names!

The theater command and the Henan Provincial Administration also jointly issued telegrams to the 20 counties affected by the disaster, stating that anyone who voluntarily returned the money and stolen goods and paid a fine for atonement would be forgiven for their past mistakes.

Just as the counties were still waiting and watching, an explosive piece of news reached their ears.

'Zhao Lijun, the major general inspector of the Military Control Commission stationed in Henan Province, committed suicide in his office. After a search, we found the account books related to the relief money and grain and a large amount of money. It can be determined that he committed suicide out of fear of punishment!'

  This news was like a wind from the northern region that chilled the hearts of these county governors. These officials knew very well who Zhao Lijun was. That man was a poisonous snake hiding in the dark, insidious and vicious. He was protected by the tiger skin of the Military Control Commission. Even Commander Jiang might not be able to force him to hang himself!

Maybe someone hung him up there personally!

Before people had digested this explosive news, the six branches of Hongfa Grain Store in Luoyang were raided.

It is said that it was Deputy Commander Tang who personally led the 15th Army to copy it, and he was extremely cold-blooded and ruthless. Anyone who dared to stop him was killed on the spot. Three of the six branch managers were killed directly.

Zhao Lijun, who was once thought to be the absolute boss, was dead, and the commander of the 31st Army Group did not come out to say anything. Now the county governors were completely panicked. Not only did they send telegrams to admit their mistakes, but they also had to grit their teeth and empty their family assets. Some even had to borrow money from local wealthy businessmen to pay the high "redemption money".

The specific amount was not disclosed until after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. The "redemption money" that each person had to pay was as high as 10 silver dollars.

"Three years as a clean magistrate, one hundred thousand silver coins!" Tang Dao's move was like cutting off the firewood from the bottom of the pot, and he got back all the money that these greedy guys had plundered from the people for many years.

If you ask if there is anyone who refuses to hand it over, Tang Dao is looking forward to such a person appearing, but the sad thing is that there is none.

With scum like Zhao Lijun and General Tang around, anyone who dares not to obey their orders basically has no chance to continue sitting in that position.

For the sake of county stability, Tang Dao, whose anger had not yet subsided, finally adopted the advice of General Jiang and asked the county officials to return the stolen goods and pay "redemption money".

After doing this in 20 counties, by the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, they had collected property worth up to 430 million silver dollars. If the gold, cash, calligraphy and paintings and antiques found in Zhao Lijun's secret room are included, the amount has exceeded 800 million.

But this is only part of the proceeds from this investigation!

General Jiang finally gave face to the emperor's disciple. The grain bags confiscated from the warehouse of the "Hongfa" grain store with the words "disaster relief" on them were not displayed to the public on the spot, but were transported by trucks to Zhengcheng, where the war zone headquarters was located.

But a group army commander with 60,000 soldiers under his command is not as easy to deal with as Zhao Lijun, who only relies on the scaremongering of the Military Control Commission.

If Zhao Lijun is a fox relying on the power of another, then General Tang is definitely a real tiger, and even General Jiang has to give him some respect.

Even when Commander Tang went to the theater headquarters, Admiral Jiang simply avoided him on the pretext of having a cold, and let Tang Dao, who had already returned to Zhengcheng, confront him.

They have been old enemies for a long time. The grudge they had in Xuzhou last time has not been resolved yet, and this is considered to be a new hatred. Both sides have also abandoned the practice of false flattery in official circles.

"You raided my grain store and accused me of embezzlement. Do you think you can bring me down with the evidence in your hand? Do you believe it? You and all your subordinates cannot leave Henan Province. After you 'committed suicide out of fear of crime', how could I find out the account books of embezzlement of disaster relief grain? All the county governors will testify against you. It is you and Zhao Lijun who conspired together. They were afraid of your power and had to do this against their will!" General Tang stared at Tang Dao and said in a cold voice.

General Tang, who was born in 1900, is only 42 years old this year. He is in his prime, with a slightly bald head. His sharp eyes, set off by a pair of thick eyebrows, make him look like an eagle or a wolf.

Most people would probably tremble with fear just by being stared at so coldly by him, let alone hearing him threaten them.

"Of course I believe it. Don't say that I only have more than 200 direct subordinates now. Even if my entire Four-Line Regiment is here, Commander Tang can wave his hand and 6 troops can wipe out my regiment." Tang Dao's face was calm, as if the man was not threatening him.

"In that case, the grain store will be unsealed, all confiscated grain will be returned, and each of the grain store employees who were mistakenly killed will be given 500 oceans as resettlement allowance. You will personally go to the home of the orphan and the widow to bow and apologize, and I will pretend that this incident never happened." General Tang continued in a cold voice.

"This is just your personal request, Commander Tang. Otherwise, why don't you listen to mine?" Tang Dao smiled faintly.

"If the difference is too great, I advise you not to tell anyone. As the deputy commander-in-chief of the First War Zone and commander-in-chief of the Shandong-Jiangsu-Anhui-Henan Border Region, for me to kill an army colonel who was guilty of corruption, perhaps I only need to send a telegram to the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs for reporting." General Tang coldly put his hand on his waist.

Although General Jiang was not here, he might have anticipated that these two tough guys would use weapons at the slightest disagreement. Before the two entered the meeting room, he had issued a military order. All their guards were left at the gate 30 meters away, and Tang Dao's pistols had already been removed.

However, General Tang is a lieutenant general and deputy commander of the theater. Even General Jiang is not qualified to take away his service pistol, so they can only let him bring it into the meeting room.

From the very beginning, he tried to use his official position and military rank to suppress the Tang sword and gain the aura advantage, and now he even touched the gun.

It can be seen that this person is not stupid and is very good at taking advantage of the situation.

It's just that he picked the wrong person this time.

"Commander Tang, please don't draw your gun. You have fought in the Battle of Xuzhou and the Battle of Jiangxia, and have seen many scenes of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. But what you have seen are basically corpses strewn across the fields after the war. As for a small regiment commander like me, all the battles I have experienced were in these mountains of corpses and seas of blood. In order to avoid making our relatives sad and our enemies happy, we'd better talk calmly." Tang Dao sighed slightly, and looked calmly at the general named Tang whose hands were stiff on his waist.

Perhaps it was not until this moment that he realized that the young man in front of him was no ordinary team leader.

General Tang disregarded human life and allowed his subordinates to exploit the people in his jurisdiction. He became one of the four major disasters in the eyes of the people of Henan Province: "floods, droughts, locusts and Tang, the four wastelands of Henan". But that doesn't mean he didn't cherish his own life.

Compared to his vicious reputation among the people of Henan Province, Tang Dao was known as the "devil" in the Japanese army. The bodies of the Japanese who died at his hands could be piled up into a section of city wall.

When it comes to killing Japanese, there are probably no more than one hand in China that can match the Tang sword, and this one hand does not include him, Tang.

"Then tell me what you think!" General Tang was silent for a moment, and finally took his hands away from his waist.

"Hongfa Grain Store must either pay a ransom or be closed down by the war zone. The photos taken by several Western journalists at the scene of the seizure will also be put on the headlines of newspapers in the United States and the British Empire!" Inside the war zone headquarters, Tang Dao's words were simple and almost rude.

"Are you threatening me?"

"How dare I threaten Commander Tang? I am just stating a fact! Of course, Commander Tang can choose not to follow my advice, but your teacher may not want to destroy the good impression of our Chinese theater among the allies at this time. In a country that even covets disaster relief grain, who can guarantee that the weapons made by its own people with their hard-earned money will not be resold by certain people?

If I were him, facing the possible loss of nearly 1 billion US dollars in military aid every year, I would have to kill my students, even my son!" Tang Dao lowered his eyebrows and smiled gently.

A chill struck General Tang, whose eyes were wide open. This was not the first time in his life that someone had spoken nonsense in front of him, but it was definitely the first time that someone had told him in an almost joking tone that his life might not be as important as he thought.

Judging from Tang Dao's tone, killing him would be as easy as killing a chicken.

Of course, these are not the most important things. Tang Dao actually had no respect for that person at all. That was the source of General Tang’s fear.

  The reason why General Tang can act tyrannically in Henan Province and get what he wants, and even the theater commander has to give him some respect, is all because of the existence of that person. Tang Dao doesn't even take that person seriously, so what is he!

"Just talking like this is a way to death. It is ridiculous for me to have a conversation with a reckless man like you." General Tang regained his composure.

"If I say that I am the light of justice and I am representing the moon to destroy you, would you find it funny, Commander Tang?" Tang Dao grinned.

  "Look, let's design a scenario like this: Commander Tang thinks I'm too reckless to be reasonable, but I'm so passionate about justice that I think you're a big scourge that I have to get rid of you. I lose my mind and kill you right now, and then lead my troops to break through the siege and escape back to Taihang Mountain. Don't doubt my ability and the ability of my subordinates, and don't doubt your death. Admiral Jiang, who was eavesdropping next door, must have been so excited that his hands were about to break!

After you die, you will naturally be wrapped in the national flag and buried in a grand ceremony, but it will be miserable for a hot-blooded middle school student like me!

Not only do I have to hide in the vast Taihang Mountains, but I also have to be on guard against anyone searching the mountains. Of course, unless the Second War Zone and the Japanese Army in North China cooperate to search the mountains, otherwise, with my skills and survival ability, there is a high probability that I will just be in the mountains enjoying the breeze and eating wild game, and from time to time someone will send me some old wine.

When the war is over, you have been dead for a long time anyway. Except for your family, who may still have some impression of you, others have probably forgotten you long ago. At that time, I will fly to the United States with Miss Laura. Tsk tsk! If there is no war in Hawaii, it would be so comfortable to sunbathe on the beach. Commander Tang may not know that Western women are very open-minded. They like to wear a kind of swimsuit called bikini on the beach. Everything is exposed. It doesn't cost money and you can feast your eyes. It's a good deal if you go there. "

General Tang was stunned!

He might never have thought that someone would threaten him so blatantly and even plan a way out for him.

It seems like a ridiculous statement, and it also says that the moon will destroy you. What the hell is this!

But the general named Tang, who reacted, had no urge to laugh at all. He just felt a little cold all over. He now believed that Tang Dao could do it. What Tang Dao said before had proved that he had no awe of the so-called powerful and wealthy.

General Tang even had reason to believe that Tang Dao had already arranged an escape route, and his elite troops should have been deployed long ago.

However, his 31-strong 6st Army was hundreds of miles away.

Moreover, as Tang Dao just said, if he died, apart from being wrapped in the national flag and given a grand funeral, how many people would chase after Tang Dao who was hiding in the mountains and forests to avenge him?

This was definitely a desperado who did not play by the rules. At this time, General Tang actually reached a consensus with the already dead Zhao Lijun.

"If you do this, your family and friends will be implicated. I don't believe you will do such an unwise thing." General Tang tried to keep himself calm.

But the slight shrinkage of his pupils revealed the fear rising in his heart.

The more powerful a person is, the more he values ​​his own life!

This is just like some emperors in ancient times who were destined to go down in history. At the end of their lives, they often became demented and even took those so-called "immortality" pills as big as pigeon eggs containing large amounts of lead and mercury as meals. However, the result was contrary to their expectations and they died much faster than normal.

Does that mean their brains are not working well because they are old? Obviously not.

They just can't bear to give up their throne of power and want to sit on it longer to try for that one in a billion chance.

  What if those imaginary legends come true in your life?

"So! I, the light of justice, am not actually qualified. For the sake of those around me, I must find a balance between light and darkness. Hongfa Grain Store must pay the price for this matter, otherwise I will not be able to explain to the tens of millions of people in Henan Province. What I just said is the bottom line.

Of course, the scene I just described was purely because I was a little drunk that morning, and I have forgotten it now. But the photos taken by Western reporters are real. They took a US transport plane back to Shancheng with Miss Laura the day before yesterday.

Your teacher may believe you but not me, but in front of a billion dollars in military aid, the same thing still applies: sons can be reborn, let alone students. Commander Tang, I advise you to be calm, disobedient students will basically be punished by teachers. "Tang Dao laughed and turned around and walked out of the meeting room.

Otherwise, he was afraid that he really wouldn't be able to control himself and kill this guy on the spot.

"You are really great, how come my hands are broken? Adjutant, show the guest out!" Admiral Jiang, who saw the Tang sword for the first time in the small conference room not far away, pointed at the Tang sword with his hand and also had a bad tone.

He didn't even intend to keep Tang for lunch and asked his adjutant to see him off.

Perhaps only his adjutant knew that Commander Chiang not only ate two large bowls of rice at noon, but also drank two taels of wine.

  A deputy commander who was not very obedient and extremely strong walked out of the headquarters with a face as ugly as if he had eaten a piece of shit. No matter who was the commander, wouldn't he be in a good mood?

The Tang Dao is truly the sharpest sword.

  Not only did it poke the heart, it also actually cut a large piece of flesh from someone!

On the second day after General Tang returned to his base, the "Hongfa Grain Store" finally surrendered and not only returned the 80 oceans illegally gained, but also paid 300 million catties of grain to the war zone in the form of grain, and promised to pay another 6 million catties before June!

Although these money and grains could not play a decisive role in the impending disaster, they did play a deterrent role. Several bloody heads, the cold corpse of a major general of the Military Control Commission, and the large grain store under the deputy commander of the theater all told those greedy people that Deputy Commander Tang was an absolutely ruthless person!

In fact, when the terrible drought really came a few months later and more than four-fifths of the land in Henan Province was harvestless, people realized that the disaster Tang Dao had talked about before was not an exaggeration!

When swarms of locusts came and ate up the last bit of food on the land, everyone was almost in despair.

More than 10 million people need food! Even if it is just one or two ounces of rice and flour to save lives every day, it would still require a million kilograms of food every day.

Fortunately, with Tang Dao's continuous publicity in the media, the Executive Yuan also attached great importance to it and allocated 4000 million in advance to purchase food. In addition to donations and self-raised funds from Henan Province, after nearly half a year of hard work, the food reserves shipped to Henan Province have reached million jin.

Money makes things easier. The Henan Provincial Administrative Office spent a lot of money to buy grain from the landowners in Henan Province. In half a year, it purchased and stored more than 6000 million kilograms of grain.

With external support and internal potential, the grain reserves of over 100 million kilograms finally made the military and political leaders of Henan Province breathe a sigh of relief.

At Tang Dao's suggestion, the war zone specially established a grain price inspection team to crack down on grain hoarding. Grain prices are uniformly set across the province every day. Those who dare to raise prices arbitrarily or sell inferior goods as good ones will either be arrested or pay a sky-high fine, you have to choose one of the two!

With the heads taken during the New Year period, the inspection team no longer dared to collect money, let alone be careless. Tang Shashen was stationed in Luoyang, the largest city in Henan Province. It was said that his knife had not seen the smell of blood for half a year, and he was anxious.

In such a disaster year, food prices were even lower than usual. The middle and upper classes could buy food, but the lower class people could only receive relief food. Although the quota of 4 kilograms per month for adults and 3 kilograms per month for children was very low, it was enough for the people to survive.

Even the bark, leaves and wild vegetables have become much less abundant because of the locust plague, which is absolutely intolerable.

Tang Dao simply organized a locust-eating event in several areas severely affected by the locust plague. If they couldn't be fried, they would be roasted over fire. The taste of that thing was indeed not very good, but fortunately it was also protein, enough to replenish the energy needed by the human body.

Seeing Tang Tuanzuo eating a whole plate of roasted black locusts by himself, the common people, who were starving every day but still had to fear the gods, also gave it their all.

It is said that in just one county in western Henan that was hit by a locust plague, tens of millions of locusts were eaten, which greatly alleviated the plague.

Of course, in the face of the might of nature, humans are ultimately insignificant. The disaster did not disappear because of human efforts. The drought that began in May even lasted until autumn.

Although the disaster is still continuing, the consequences it causes are much smaller than in the past. Many elderly, weak, sick and disabled people cannot survive it, but the number of people fleeing is much smaller than in the past.

Many places even wanted to build a shrine in his honor because of Deputy Commander Tang's wise decision.

Tang Dao was shocked. This was not a thank you, this was clearly an attempt to push him into the fire pit! It didn't matter now, but what would he do if someone brought this up later?

Even Tang Dao smelled some kind of conspiracy! Commander Tang has been unusually honest in the past six months, a little too honest.

Kind words of persuasion were useless, so Tang Dao could only use the trick used by the old bureaucrats. All the security groups in various places were razed to the ground. If any township dared to build a new one, no relief food would be given.

To deal with ignorance, you still have to use brute force.

When Tang Dao finishes this mission and sees Tang Shanhe again, Tang Shanhe will have already memorized many Tang poems.

Tang Dao was unable to stay at home for too long. By the end of 1942, the Four-Line Regiment, which had been shelved for nearly a year and a half, received a transfer order again.