Restarting life in Siheyuan

Chapter 448 No Money in Pocket
"This is the situation. You have to quickly arrange for someone to pick you up. One hundred and twenty people are coming this time, which should be able to ease the pressure here."

Song Yan couldn't hide his joy. "You came at the right time. We can all serve as grassroots cadres. I will make arrangements in a while. Now we are more confident."

This is the first time that the autonomous region has faced the current difficult situation since its establishment. There are large troops pressing in from outside, and there is a shortage of money and people from within. Since the confrontation with the other side, the channel for trade with Hong Kong through the southern port has been completely cut off, and a large amount of timber and minerals are all stranded in Pagang.

There are ways to deal with wild vegetables. Hong Kong is using its domestic purchasing network in the southwest to transport them across the country. The cost will just increase a little, but compared to the huge profits, this is nothing.

But there is no way to deal with timber, which is an important source of income for the autonomous region, with an estimated annual income of no less than 600,000 yuan.

If the autonomous region does not build on a fuss, self-sufficiency will no longer be a problem and a small closed-loop business ecosystem can be formed.

"These people must be deployed as soon as possible to form combat effectiveness, and the movement westward must be accelerated, otherwise the autonomous region will be trapped."

Food is not a big problem now. The key is the huge expenditure on infrastructure. Without foreign trade, this cannot be maintained at all. Hong Kong cannot have the spare capacity to support this side. It is accelerating its expansion with great fanfare and has already started taking loans.

"Well, we have now advanced more than 200 kilometers to the west. Most of the tribes along the way are waiting and watching. The few that resisted were taken away by Lao Yang to build roads. It is estimated that we will be able to reach the seaside next year."

"It's a bit slow. The current situation in the autonomous region is unlikely to last until next year. If it can't be resolved by the end of this year, there will be serious financial problems."

Song Yan was also aware of the current situation, but there was really no other way. There was no main road leading to the west, and the existing small roads were completely impassable. This side had to be opened up while completing the barely accessible conditions. Without large machinery, it would be too difficult.

"We will try to speed up. If that doesn't work, we will consider air transport. The airport can already take off and land fighter jets, but the runway is not long enough, so cargo planes cannot take off and land."

Zhu Xuefeng laughed and said, "You are only thinking about heading west. What a stupid idea you came up with. Even a prodigal son wouldn't do the air transport of timber and minerals. Oh, by the way, have they taken the fighter jets away?"

Song Yan blushed, "They flew away. The runway was only half completed, but they couldn't wait to force takeoff. Fortunately, they are good at it. The runway is just long enough. Now they are continuing to expand it. I heard from Yang Maosheng that it will be completed in September or October."

There is no plane even though the project is completed. According to news from Hong Kong, there will be no chance of success this year.

"Where are the tanks? Have they been taken away as well? When I came here, I saw that the bridge was still under construction. It doesn't look like it will be completed in a short while."

"It has also been transported away. They said the bridge will be operational in the second half of next year. I don't know how they got it there. There are still many capable people in China. We have racked our brains but still can't figure it out."

"Forget about that, let's think about our business first. This is crucial, to open up the lifeline. The construction of the port will take a long time, which is really a headache."

We had originally intended to develop secretly and open up a lifeline when we had time, but we didn't expect that we would now be directly exposed under the nose of the government army, and the trade routes in the south had been cut off ahead of schedule.

Zhu Xuefeng tapped on the table. When the three of them had discussed in the capital, they all agreed that there would definitely be a war. However, there were two ideas on how to solve the trade route. After discussing them several times, they felt that they were not mature enough, so they had not made a decision. Now they could only put them forward for discussion. Zhu Xuefeng sat up straight.

"I have two ideas. Let's see what you think. One is to negotiate with the South. We will definitely fail to reach an agreement the first time. Then we will fight them hard and negotiate again. Let them agree to maintain the status quo and open the port."

Song Yan was thinking about the feasibility carefully. Zhu Xuefeng continued, "The second is to concentrate our efforts on expanding the road to the west. The troops should change from conquering to protecting the road. Internal construction should be slowed down. Priority should be given to opening up the lifeline to ensure that tricycles, tractors and trucks can pass through. As for gathering the tribes, villages and small cities along the route, we can put it aside for now."

"As long as they don't affect our transportation lines, we can first reach a peace agreement with them. At the same time, we can absorb their labor force and provide them with food and wages."

"Personally, I think the first option is not easy. We will definitely have to fight. We are confident that we can repel them, but it is difficult to make them suffer a great loss or be beaten hard. According to the intelligence we have received, six fighter jets have been dispatched from the Mandele Military Airport. It seems that they have learned the lesson of underestimating the enemy last time."

As he said this, he glanced at Zhu Xuefeng. Zhu Xuefeng knew that he was sad to send away the fighter jets and bombers, but he still had space of his own, and no one would be able to operate them even if he gave them to you.

"Go on, don't let your imagination run wild."

"In this situation, we can only repel the enemy, but we cannot expand our victory. It is unlikely that the enemy will make such concessions. They are unlikely to allow us to grow stronger unless we hurt them and scare them."

Zhu Xuefeng nodded in agreement. It would be very difficult to inflict a painful blow. After another expansion, the autonomous region now had 3,000 armed personnel who had participated in combat, and 3,000 new recruits who had been trained for less than half a year.

There is no shortage of conventional weapons, as the spoils from last time are enough. After exchanging airplanes and tanks, some conventional weapons and some ammunition were also supported. As for purchasing, the autonomous region does not have the funds now. Arms have always been a big consumer of money. As the autonomous region has developed to this day, most of the conventional weapons come from seizures, and the rest are provided by Zhu Xuefeng.

"Go on, I've thought about all this."

"This second plan is more in line with the idea we decided on at the beginning. It is indeed the most convenient and efficient, and it can also win without fighting. However, there are also several problems."

"It's okay. You guys know some things best here. I'm far away in the capital and I definitely don't understand the actual situation as well as you do."

"One is that many places here were once ancient kingdoms, so they have a certain degree of national cohesion, and the people are tough and will not listen to reason. This is why we have annihilated many places in the process of westward expansion. These people fight when they can, and run away when they can't. They hide in the mountains. Our troops have no way to deal with them. If you move forward, they will make trouble from behind."

Building an ancient country, that was a thing of the past. The area north of Jiesha that we occupy now was once the site of the remnants of the ancient Toungoo Dynasty, which was our vassal until the Ming and Qing dynasties. Over the past thousands of years, the civilization has degenerated to the point of relying on the weather for food, farming has been lost, and there have been constant wars. If Zhu Xuefeng hadn't led the team here, this place would have been in chaos for decades.

"Well, this situation is indeed very troublesome. Guerrilla warfare is something our predecessors have used many times."

"So it took us almost a year to advance more than 200 kilometers. There are very few Chinese people there, and the work is more difficult than here. In order to solve this problem, we have formed a 500-man mountain commando team and are stepping up training."

"This will really become a guerrilla war in the mountains. Chasing them all over the mountains, even if it is effective, it will not last long. There are many mountains in the west. If this gets out of hand, it will become a protracted war."

"I think we still have to rely on the local people and let them personally experience the changes we bring to them, which will help them improve their lives. Without their mass base, this crackdown can only be effective. Have you forgotten the crackdown on bandits when China was just liberated? This cannot be rushed. Let's talk about other issues first."

Song Yan was troubled by this for a long time, and after several military meetings, he decided on this plan. It was slow to take effect, but there was no better way. "Another thing is that we are now in a standoff with the south, and it is difficult to withdraw a large number of armed personnel to protect the road. In addition, this road stretches for hundreds of kilometers, and too many people are needed. If the autonomous region focuses on this side, the construction over there will probably be completely stopped. There is not enough labor, and many projects cannot be stopped."

"One is the dam power generation, one is the airport construction, one is the cooperative highway and railway dual-use bridge, and the other is the continued widening of the road connecting the two sides. These all take up a lot of labor. In addition, countless fertile fields have been reclaimed this year, and there is a serious shortage of manpower for these."

There is still a shortage of people. The jurisdiction now has a population of over 600,000 and an area of ​​nearly 90,000 square kilometers, which is quite a lot. However, there are really few people scattered in these vast plains and forests, and there are still large areas of uninhabited areas.

"If all else fails, we'll have to deal with the military threats from Mogok and Mandele first. This war is definitely going to happen, so you need to be more prepared."

As for the stockpiled goods, they can all be solved by taking up space. However, this is not a long-term solution. He can't always be a porter for the autonomous region. This is not his intention. The autonomous region can only rely on itself in the end.

Finally, Song Yan reported on several teams sent to study. This was also very difficult. To study, one must have a certain cultural foundation. For the autonomous region, it would be a life-threatening task, and this was a shortcoming.

"The pilots barely picked out six people, three of whom were from Yang Maosheng's clan. The ground crew picked out thirty people, which accounted for half. The navy picked out forty people, which accounted for more than a third. The telephone bureau picked out forty people for training, which accounted for a quarter."

There is no way around it. Jie Sha has just been taken down, and his loyalty cannot be guaranteed. The Yang family has taken advantage of the large number of educated people, and they are ready to take off.

"Commander, except for a few soldiers and their families who came with us, it is difficult to find those who are both loyal and educated. Pilots and the navy also have physical requirements. It is really too difficult."

"I know that everything is difficult at the beginning, but the situation will change in the future. We are running education and night schools now. In a few years, everyone's cultural level will be improved. We will talk about it then."

Knowing that Song Yan was worried that the Yang family would occupy too many resources in the future development, forming a monopoly and becoming difficult to eliminate, there was really no other way. He could only hope that the Yang family would remain loyal. Zhu Xuefeng was very satisfied with the Yang family, who had made huge contributions in the early stage and were actively cooperating now. They deserved to get some benefits for their selfless efforts. As for the future, he would observe and the most important thing now was to solve the problem at hand.

"However, the Yang family occupies a large number of resources in key locations like this, so we must be on guard."

Song Yan couldn't help but remind him again, so Zhu Xuefeng had to comfort him.

"We should be on guard, but they are wholeheartedly committed now. We haven't even established a firm foothold yet, and if we think about targeting them, who will take the initiative to approach us in the future? I know what's going on, don't worry too much, let's just leave it at that for now."

"The second and third batches of trainees should also be screened faster. Now that the population base is large, as long as their family background is clean, their character is good, and they have family members here, the loyalty requirements can be appropriately relaxed. No one is born loyal to you. Loyalty needs to be cultivated."

Song Yan also understood that with hundreds of thousands of people under his rule, the number of those who were absolutely loyal to him could probably be counted.

"As long as we can bring them hope in life, they will be recognized. In order to protect all this, loyalty will naturally arise. Let's stop here. Let the small army slow down its westward advance and guard against Mogok and Mandelo first. We will consider the westward advance later."

Song Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Zhu Xuefeng slowed down his westward advance. Apparently there was a backup plan that he didn't know about. Otherwise, the lifeline was not just talk. Now the sea to the west was the hope of the autonomous region.

"What's the situation in the north now?" Just as he asked the question, there was a noise at the door. Xia Gong pushed the door open and reported, "Yang Maosheng is here and is waiting outside."

Zhu Xuefeng hesitated for a moment. "Let him in. Let the next person wait outside first."

Zhu Xuefeng took a sip of tea and it felt a little cold. Song Yan quickly got up and wanted to change the water. Zhu Xuefeng said with a smile.

"There's no one else here. There's no need. I'll do it myself."

"We have now reached the border in the north and have explored a road, but it is full of high mountains and is difficult to travel. Troop carriers cannot pass through. Xiaojun drove a helicopter to explore the way, and the small team climbed over the mountains and ridges below."

"Just figure it out. If we have helicopters, we don't need troop carriers. We'll only have about ten people, so two or three helicopters will be enough. Oh, and how many of you know how to fly a helicopter?"

Song Yan touched his head awkwardly, "There are many people who want to learn, but only two of them have really learned it. Once, a test flight almost went wrong, so Xiaojun didn't let anyone else practice. In the end, he only taught two people, who can only drive, not use weapons."

"He doesn't even know how to use weapons, so how can he teach others? When the time comes, don't carry missiles and reduce the load. A heavy machine gun will be enough."

Song Yan still doesn't understand what the mission for the second half of the year is. He is just exploring and training as required.

The door opened, and upon seeing Zhu Xuefeng, Yang Maosheng hurriedly greeted him, "Your Highness, you have worked hard on the journey. I am sorry to be late."

"Okay, get up. You must have had a hard time coming all the way from Jiesha. Sit down and talk."

Yang Maosheng is supervising the storage of early rice in Jiesha. The early rice here is harvested much earlier than in the north of China, and can be harvested in late June or early July.

"How's the harvest this year? The food problem should be solved."

"The climate is suitable this year and the harvest is good. We have only counted less than 3,000 acres so far, and the average yield per acre is 430 kilograms. It's a bumper harvest."

"Have they all been put into storage?"

"No, there are too many fields. We mobilized everyone a few days ago and finally completed the rush to harvest. Now less than 10% of the rice has been stored, but the food problem has definitely been solved. We have negotiated that we can provide them with at least 350 tons of rice by then."

Zhu Xuefeng had rushed to harvest Jingxi rice in Beijing, and he knew very well that the rice yield per mu in the 400s was about 600-200 jin, or 300 to 800 kilograms. It was incomparable with the 900-430 kilograms in later generations. One reason was the lack of fertilizers, and the other was the poor variety. The kilograms here were already higher than most places in the country. This place is truly a treasure land.

(End of this chapter)