Restarting life in Siheyuan

Not to mention Zhu Xuefeng's New Year's Eve dinner, Lao Kong finished his work and went home excitedly. The New Year's Eve dinner was already prepared and the family members were waiting. It was the most complete family gathering in recent years. Except for the second son who died, the eldest and third sons were all back, which was very rare.

"Where's Xiaofeng? Didn't he come?"

Old Kong shook off the snowflakes on his body, stamped his feet, walked into the house, glanced at the people at home, and Zhu Xuefeng was not there.

"Xiao Feng? Didn't you say he and his brother and sister went to their hometown to celebrate the New Year? Are they back?"

Old Kong was stunned and realized that Zhu Xuefeng was sent out by him to carry out the mission. He was careless and told Director Wang that the three siblings were going back to their hometown for the New Year. Director Wang didn't know about the mission at all. Fortunately, Zhu Xuefeng was not there at the moment, so he quickly said.

"I don't know either, but I ran into him and asked him to come find you. He also said that Zhenhua and Chaoyang were back. I thought this guy would come over for the New Year dinner, but he didn't come. I guess he has other plans."

Seeing that Director Wang was still looking at him with some suspicion, he felt a little uneasy and hurriedly greeted him.

"Big brother, third brother, hurry up. I've been busy all day and I'm starving. You two should set off the firecrackers quickly. It's so lively outside. We can't fall behind..."

"Okay, let's fire the cannon 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. They picked up the firecrackers, pushed open the window, and stretched out a long bamboo pole to see if there was anyone downstairs. Li Zhenhua held up the bamboo pole and Huo Chaoyang quickly lit it, and the firecrackers began to crackle.

The sound of firecrackers echoed in buildings and courtyards, creating a lively atmosphere. Firecrackers could be heard from afar from time to time, and the entire city was shrouded in festive joy.

Lao Kong and Director Wang each held a child in their arms. The two little ones were wrapped in thick cotton jackets, and only two pairs of bright eyes were looking in the direction of the firecrackers.

Director Wang really wanted to ask about Zhu Xuefeng, but the sound of firecrackers was too loud, so he didn't say anything. When the sound of firecrackers died down, Director Wang put the children into the stroller, then took the children from Lao Kong and carefully put them into the stroller. The two little guys were honest and didn't make any noise. They just focused on the friendly quarrel between the two of them.

"You've worked hard for a year, so go and prepare dinner for the kids. You don't have to be on duty today."

"Knowing that the eldest and third brothers are back, Old Hao has shown his style and volunteered to stay on duty. I can go there tomorrow morning."

"It's actually not easy for Old Hao. Whoever is supposed to be on duty next time will do it. We don't need him to take care of us."

Director Wang did not explain too much and happily asked everyone to take a seat.

"Come on, come on. The eldest and the third are back today. We are finally not spending the New Year's Eve with just the two of us like last year. Lao Kong, have a drink with them."

Although there were only four people, it was quite lively. Director Wang looked at the two young men and then at the two little ones in the stroller, and he was in a good mood.

"Boss, you sneaked back here without making any noise this time. You can stay at home for a few days this time."

"That's right. If your mom hadn't called me, I wouldn't have known you came back today. Why didn't you say hello in advance?"

Li Zhenhua chuckled, "Why did you say so earlier? I only got the news the night before I was to leave, telling me to go home for the New Year. I got on the bus in a hurry, so I didn't even have a chance to report, haha."

"What good thing could allow you to go home temporarily for the New Year?"

They have all been in the army, so there must be a reason for this abnormality.

"Well, we received a temporary mission and will leave after the New Year. We probably won't be back for several years, so we were allowed to go home and celebrate the New Year in advance."

"Brother, what mission will take several years? Can you tell me? If it's a secret, I didn't ask." Huo Chaoyang was very curious and couldn't help asking.

Director Wang glared at Huo Chaoyang. "Look at the way you ask this question. You won't be back for several years, so the mission must be kept secret. You're about to graduate from the Naval Academy, and you're still asking this kind of question."

"Actually, I don't know the details. We will gather after the New Year. We don't know what to do or where to go. Come on, third brother, you will graduate the year after next. Have you decided where to go?"

The autonomous region was also celebrating the New Year happily. The successful capture of Mandele, which was guarded by more than 10,000 people, greatly boosted morale.

The defenders of Mandele, who had held out for some time, received no reinforcements. One night before the New Year, after confirming that it was impossible to get help, the commander-in-chief led more than 2,000 people and relied on a dozen tanks to break out to the east. They managed to escape despite losing more than half of their armed forces.

The remaining defenders collapsed. Many troops mutinied under the temptation of the fleeing merchants and voluntarily let the Northern Army enter the city. The remaining several thousand people did not organize an effective resistance. In less than a day, they all turned against their own side and surrendered, allowing Song Yan to get a great advantage.

"These people really have no will to fight. There are still hundreds of cannons in the city. If they defend it to the death, we will not be able to defeat them at all."

Song Yan originally wanted to arrange an elite squad to launch a surprise attack, create chaos in the city, and then cooperate with the enemy from inside and outside. However, the siege strategy was not implemented in time because the guides turned against their own side and simply surrendered the city.

Li Xiaojun and Song Yan were in a jeep, entering the city with the main force. Looking at the chaotic city, they saw teams of surrendered soldiers being escorted and moving in a line. The people were hiding at home and dared not go out. However, many groups of merchants who had fled from the south raised welcome flags, and they were scattered in groups here and there, appearing disorganized.

"They are scared after being beaten a few times recently. With such a cowardly general, the soldiers certainly can't be tough. Hurry up. If we clean up well today, we may be able to have a New Year's dinner in the city."

Song Yan nodded. He was under a lot of pressure. The captives outnumbered his own people by twice as much. The people in the city and those who had escaped from the south were all in a noisy situation.

"Confiscate the weapons of all the surrendered soldiers and bring them back to the barracks for safekeeping as planned. We must have Lao Yang's men quickly deliver food and organize to appease the merchants so that everyone can have something to eat first."

"Old Yang has already made arrangements. Xiao Feng is leading a team of female soldiers to escort the food. The convoy should arrive in a few hours. Old Yang has a lot to do. He can't sit idle all day."

Faced with powerful military threats, the autonomous region is now vigorously developing militia as a reserve force. The militia played a huge role in the siege and sniping reinforcements this time. These people concentrate on training and participate in construction during the slack season, and participate in harvesting and planting during the busy season. They receive a salary slightly lower than that of active soldiers, but they are quite satisfied with it. It can be said that it has solved the problems of both individuals and the autonomous region to a certain extent.

After nearly a year of garrisoning troops in Mandele, a lot of food had been consumed. Coupled with the tens of thousands of people who had fled from the south, food was now very scarce in the city. This was one of the reasons why this army of more than 10,000 people had no intention of defending. How could they defend with an empty stomach? As soon as the autonomous region's troops surrounded the city, the morale here was low. Several times they took the initiative to attack, they were surrounded and blocked, and their morale was completely gone.

Mandele is an ancient city after all, with all kinds of industries and professions. Looking at the empty commercial district and dilapidated factories, Song Yan had a headache. These should be taken care of by Yang Maosheng. The sooner they recover, the sooner the autonomous region will benefit. But now Yang Maosheng really has no time to spare, and only sent some deputies to deal with it. This city is several times larger than Jiesha, and it has to face tens of thousands of people who fled from the south. These people were all planned by Yang Maosheng, but he was not there at the critical moment.

After arranging the supply and recovery of Mandele, Yang Maosheng, with a mysterious visiting team, was excitedly heading west to the sea, accompanied by the guards brought by Xia Ligong.

That's right, the road to the west has been completely opened up. The vanguard of 200 people and 200 militiamen have successfully stationed on the seashore. Yang Maosheng led his men to explore suitable port locations and the possibility of building railways along the route.

The visiting team proposed assistance in building a railway to the sea and a deep-water port, on the condition that this railway and port would guarantee the normal transportation and loading and unloading of their goods in the future.

For Yang Maosheng, this was a good opportunity. His Highness had always had the idea of ​​opening this railway, but unfortunately the cost was too high and the human resources were insufficient. Only now could he see hope for a simple road, let alone a railway.

Yang Maosheng, who always felt that he had suffered some disadvantages in several previous collaborations, was very satisfied this time. When he could not contact Zhu Xuefeng, he verbally agreed, which led to his leading the team to inspect the fleet.

"Mr. Yang, we have such a big cooperation project this time. I wonder if the leader of the autonomous region will participate in our discussion?" In the convoy, Yang Maosheng and a middle-aged man were riding in a jeep. After leaving Pagang for more than 100 kilometers, the road condition became worse. It was neither flat nor wide. People were digging mountains and building roads along the way, and there were crowds of people.

"Our leader is busy with many things and is not in the autonomous region right now. Don't worry, your conditions are very sincere. I think the leader will agree to it. You don't have to worry about that."

The middle-aged man is Deputy Minister Qiao, the main person in charge of the negotiations. He has dealt with the autonomous region several times, but has never been received by the highest leader of the autonomous region. Every time he took the initiative to pay a visit, he was politely rejected. This mysterious leader is something the country urgently needs to know, including all information about him, but unfortunately, apart from knowing that his name is Zhu Wentao, there is not even a photo of him.

Thinking of the instructions given by his leader before leaving, he spoke again without giving up.

"This cooperation is very important to both of us. If it is successful, I think it will greatly promote your economy. Of course, it will also be a powerful supplement to our foreign trade. So I am not worried that we cannot reach an agreement. However, we still have some follow-up ideas for long-term cooperation. We would like to meet with your leader to discuss. I wonder if Mr. Yang can help arrange it."

Yang Maosheng was also helpless. This request was very reasonable, but His Highness would never show up, at least not at this stage. He could only express his apology.

"It's not that we don't want to arrange it. I've already said that our leader is not in the autonomous region. As you know, we are now vigorously carrying out infrastructure construction, which requires a lot of funds and assistance. Our leader is looking for partners outside and it will be difficult for him to come back for a while. Don't worry, I will arrange a meeting between you and the leader when there is a chance in the future."

Deputy Minister Qiao looked a little regretful, and pointed at the neat construction team outside the car window and asked in confusion.

"These people look more like soldiers and are very disciplined. Are they your prisoners? I noticed that there seems to be no one guarding them. Aren't you afraid that they will escape?"

Deputy Minister Qiao had discovered this anomaly a long time ago. On the road more than 100 kilometers away from Pagang, there were such concentrated construction teams every ten kilometers or so. They seemed to have strict discipline, but there were no armed guards to supervise them.

"You mean them? They are not prisoners of war. They are foreign labor export personnel. We have an employment relationship with them, so of course we will not arrange guards for them."

Yang Maosheng did not reveal that these people were from North Korea, but Deputy Minister Qiao was wary. 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 he could not hear clearly from a distance, he could vaguely hear the Korean language, and he understood the Korean language.

As the convoy continued to move westward, it saw more and more such construction teams. Deputy 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 wonder how much you paid to hire these people? Can you tell me? Don't they even take a break during the Spring Festival?"

Yang Maosheng also realized that it was a mistake to choose to lead the convoy westward, but all the helicopters had been transferred to Mandele, and the few spare helicopters left behind could not even find the pilots.

"This is not a secret. I guess you can tell that these people are from North Korea. They built the road for us, and we paid them with grain. As you know, our grain harvest was good last year. Although funds are a bit tight now, grain is still sufficient. As for not taking a break during the Spring Festival, we didn't ask for this. They took the initiative to speed up the work in order to get the reward for completing the work ahead of schedule."

"Oh, I see. They are short of food now. Speaking of this, we really have to thank you. Last year, you made two grain transactions totaling 800 tons, which helped us a lot. I wonder if you can still provide us with it as usual this year?"

Seeing a large number of hired people coming to earn food, and it can be seen that these people are very enthusiastic about food, Lao Qiao is a little worried. Although the autonomous region only provided 800 tons last year, which is insignificant in the country's import share, but the low price and convenient transportation have greatly alleviated the difficulties in the southwest region. You know, it is much more difficult to transport food from the country to the southwest than to deliver it here. In the absence of the Yunnan-Guizhou Railway, even if there is food, it is difficult to transport it. It is much more convenient here in the autonomous region.

"We have obtained the leader's consent over the phone. This year we will continue to develop farms and vigorously develop agriculture. According to our estimates, we should be able to provide you with 2,000 to 3,000 tons of food and about 20 tons of sugar this year. If you have other needs, we can discuss in detail."

"That's great, that's great, thank you for your strong support, thank you."

Deputy Minister Qiao was very surprised to receive this unexpected news. He thought that the Southwest would be safe this year. As long as the natural conditions did not continue to deteriorate, the Southwest would be stable.

Not to mention the twenty tons of sugar, which is now a strategic material and is urgently needed in the country. Good, with this news, the leaders should feel much more at ease.

Passing through many small towns, Vice Minister Qiao saw many men and women, young and old, helping to build the roads. He got a better understanding of the autonomous region. The convoy bumped along the simple road all the way westward...

...

Unexpectedly, the autonomous region has achieved such remarkable results. Zhu Xuefeng was a little surprised when he saw the news from the autonomous region in the office. Song Yan took over Mandele so quickly with such a small number of people. The west was connected to the sea. The autonomous region finally had a window to the outside world, and it could speed up later.

What is even more surprising is the domestic willingness to cooperate. In Zhu Xuefeng's memory, this was something that would only happen decades later. Now, an opportunity has come decades earlier. This is a great thing that benefits the country and the people. It can break the blockade to the greatest extent and get rid of the constraints of the Malacca Strait.

There was no need to hesitate, Zhu Xuefeng quickly drafted his own opinion.

We must hold on to Mandele firmly. Now that we have taken it, we must make good use of it, further strengthen exchanges with the country, guard against the return of the Southern Army, pay attention to the harassment of the defeated army, restore Mandele's 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 stationing troops in ports and leasing seaports, etc....

As for requesting a meeting, Zhu Xuefeng gave up the idea of ​​making a trip to the autonomous region. It would be better not to reveal his identity, as there might be colleagues of his in the delegation.

"Send these back. I'll be here these days and keep an eye on the news over there."

After giving his opinion to the little girl, Zhu Xuefeng floated away again. This year had a good start and everything was going faster than planned.

After reading the urgent telegram in his hand, Yang Maosheng said to Deputy Minister Qiao with a smile.

"Minister Qiao, our leader sent a message, agreeing to the cooperation project between the two sides, suggesting in-depth cooperation, and suggesting that you build your own port and warehouse on the coast. In order to protect your own interests, you can station troops. Of course, the land is considered to be leased."

It was the first time that Vice Minister Qiao was proactively asked to station troops and lease a seaport, which was a bit surprising.

"Did your leader really say that? Can we still station troops there?"

"Of course, there is no need to question our sincerity. The leader said that in order to protect your interests, you will be allowed to build ports, warehouses and military camps on the coast, and you can also station naval vessels there to thank you for your strong support for the construction of the autonomous region. In addition, we agree to increase commercial activities on both sides, and everything can be traded in your currency."

"Excuse me, Mr. Yang, are you saying that we can use RMB to buy your grain, sugar and other materials?"

Deputy Minister Qiao was a little bit unbelieving and wondered if he had heard it wrong, but Yang Maosheng's words made him realize that happiness had really come.

"That's right, Minister Qiao. Our leader suggested that all future bilateral trade can be settled in RMB. This will greatly promote the exchange of goods and services and accelerate the economic and trade development of both sides. We can also undertake some transit trade that is inconvenient for you to export..."

Deputy Minister Qiao was simply stunned by the good news. Transactions can be made in RMB. This is the only autonomous region in the world where limited foreign exchange can be used elsewhere.

"You just said that you can still take on some..."

"Yes, you are right. This is the decision of our leader. You don't have to question it. His decision is the final decision of our autonomous region. Of course, we will discuss the specific details when we return to Pagang City. This time you should go to the seaside to conduct a careful survey and choose a suitable deep-water area to build a military port..."

Yang Maosheng actually did not understand the significance of agreeing to station troops and opening the port, but since His Highness had made such a solemn proposal, he would definitely implement it unwaveringly. (End of this chapter)