1905: Beer Hall Speaker

Page 120

Zhao Yan swallowed a mouthful of food and laughed, "It's nothing, it's just that I got a little tipsy drinking with Lao Wang last time, and we messed around a bit last night. I didn't expect it to result in someone dying again."

"You have no idea, those two kids in front of me barely learned to walk, and they were already driving me crazy. Now another one is coming. I'm having a headache."

"Governing the country is not as troublesome as taking care of children, and there are also wedding banquets. How can I have time to hold a banquet? I even have to eat on the kang (a heated brick bed)!"

Zhan Tianyou ignored Zhao Yan's outrageous remarks and laughed, "Many children bring many blessings. This is a blessing for the head of state and the country. Like father, like son. The head of state's son will surely be an outstanding person in the future."

Zhao Yan's lips curled up slightly. After all, he was happy whenever someone praised him, whether it was his apprentice or his own son.

"Alright, Lao Zhan, let's get down to business. Tell me about the situation in the Northeast. If you have any documents or photos, that would be even better."

“The four northeastern provinces have made a lot of moves in the past two years, and the results they have presented are quite respectable, but I am not willing to believe them too easily, so I am asking you for more reference.”

Zhan Tianyou took out his briefcase from under his arm and handed it to Zhao Hao, who opened it and looked at it carefully before taking out all the documents and photos.

Zhan Tianyou laid out the documents one by one on the table for Zhao Yan to see, while also giving an introduction.

There are data and records about how many roads Zhan Tianyou built, how he built them, how much money he spent, how many people died, which section of the road was the most difficult, where bridges needed to be built, and where mountains needed to be cleared. There are even many photos to corroborate this.

All of this was in Zhan Tianyou's own head; he only took out the documents and photos to make it easier for Zhao Yan to understand.

Zhan Tianyou personally oversaw and intervened in everything, and he was the one who made all the major decisions and signed them off.

Zhao Yan listened with great satisfaction, nodding frequently, and didn't ask any more questions. He simply listened to Zhan Tianyou's explanation.

Zhao Yan was always uneasy about those former bureaucrats, and he would relentlessly probe their backgrounds. Sometimes, he would ask more questions and say more than the officials would say in their performance reports.

But when Zhao Yan encountered an official with a professional background like Zhan Tianyou, he felt much more at ease. Basically, he would just watch and listen once, and if there were no obvious problems, then it was fine. After all, Zhan Tianyou was a professional, while he was an amateur.

Even if the document data is unreliable, the photos are still reliable. After all, there's no Photoshop these days, so what the photo shows is what the place is like.

Zhao Yan even personally led his troops through many places that were once wild and primitive, but now they have all been transformed into fertile fields traversed by railways.

Especially the Yalu River Bridge. Zhao Yan suffered greatly when he crossed the Yalu River, and now seeing the acceptance documents and photos of the Yalu River Bridge, he is filled with emotion.

"If we had this bridge back then, the Japanese would never have had a chance to hold onto South Korea. I would have razed them to the ground long ago!"

"And this railway, if it had been built by then, I wouldn't have led a few thousand cavalrymen to the steppes, I could have led several infantry divisions there. Would the Russians still dare to be arrogant then?"

Zhao Yan looked at the photos and sighed repeatedly. He probably wouldn't need these railways in the photos, but the future generals of the National Defense Force would definitely be able to use them. Their future combat conditions in Northeast Asia, both internally and externally, would be much better than his own before.

Chapter 201 New Challenges

After discussing his original field of railways, Zhan Tianyou also introduced the construction in other areas, after all, nearly 80 million yuan was invested, along with 3.7 million free laborers in reform camps, and in the end, more than a million Manchus died from exhaustion.

It certainly wasn't just the construction of these few thousand kilometers of railway; there were also supporting projects such as highway construction and environmental improvements along the route.

Manchus whose identities had been verified from all over the country were gathered in the Northeast to participate in strategic development. Zhao Yan, with an extremely perverse sense of humor, sent them back to their hometowns to help them build up their communities.

After such a costly round of development, Northeast China has laid the foundation for future revitalization. The central government has invested so much and laid all the necessary infrastructure. Even if Northeast China declines a hundred years from now, it cannot be said that the central government has wronged them.

After all, the policies and resources they are currently enjoying are unparalleled in the country, even Hunan, the birthplace of the Uprising, does not receive this treatment.

But that's all there is to it. If we invest any more, the other provinces will rebel. Zhao Yan can't possibly use the entire nation's resources to create a "Northeast Special Zone."

With the central personnel appointments complete, the future development of Northeast China will depend on the efforts of the local governments.

"What a fruitful achievement! Old Zhan, you've truly accomplished something remarkable this time. From now on, everyone in the four northeastern provinces will have to respectfully call you Old Zhan!" Zhao Yan concluded with satisfaction.

Then he continued, "You must have heard the news. The central government has transferred you back this time to promote you to the position of Chief Infrastructure Officer in the Prime Minister's Office. From now on, let your subordinates worry about the specific local matters. You will be in charge of the overall situation and be responsible for strategic matters."

"This Northeast Strategic Development Working Group is also going to be disbanded. From now on, the development of the Northeast will depend on their own abilities."

Do you have any objections to this arrangement?

Zhan Tianyou said, "I don't have any objections, but I'm a little worried. I feel that I should keep an eye on things myself so that I can feel at ease when things are being done."

Zhao Yan comforted you, saying, "Each generation has its own mission. You're already forty-nine this year, almost at the age of knowing your destiny. How many more years can you withstand the trials and tribulations? Serve two more terms as the head of infrastructure, and by then you'll be sixty years old."

Trust in the abilities of your subordinates, give them opportunities to achieve success, and let them carry on the legacy from generation to generation; only in this way can a nation develop.

Zhan Tianyou said with relief, "That's right. I'll be fifty next year, and I don't know how many more years I have left to live. It's time to give up the opportunity to the younger generation."

"Being able to personally plan and witness the thousands of kilometers of railway rising from the ground in Northeast China during my lifetime is enough to make me feel fulfilled."

Zhao Yantong shared the same sentiment: "Yes, I'm thirty-five this year. My work is not yet finished, but my temples are already graying. I don't know how many more years I can hold on."

In this day and age, fifty or sixty years old is considered a long life, and living to seventy or eighty is considered a happy death. If you're healthy, everything is fine, but if you get sick, you can't even find an antibiotic.

"Let's not talk about those things anymore, Lao Zhan. Your next task is very important. The core of the First Five-Year Plan is the improvement of the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway Line, as well as the completion of the Longhai Railway Line and the Beijing-Shanghai Railway Line. These are major events that cannot be delayed."

There were only a little over three years left; by May 1913, everything would be decided.

Zhan Tianyou's face regained its confidence and assertiveness: "Don't worry, Your Majesty! With me here, there shouldn't be any major problems. I can't guarantee that it will be completely completed."

"But it is definitely possible to basically open the road to traffic and complete the main project."

Completely perfecting a railway and basically completing its construction are two different things. For example, the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway is still not completely perfect.

The main body of the Beijing-Guangzhou railway has been completed, and all the necessary roadworks have been finished. In theory, once connected to the grid, Harbin in Northeast China will be able to directly reach Guangzhou.

However, there are actually many stations along the way where you need to transfer or take a detour. The most important ones are the Yellow River Railway Bridge and the Yangtze River Railway Bridge. The Yellow River Railway Bridge on the Beijing-Guangzhou line is expected to be completed and open to traffic in the first half of this year, but the completion of the Yangtze River Bridge is not even guaranteed by the end of the year.

Building bridges is often more troublesome than building roads, and the same is true for the Longhai Railway and the Beijing-Shanghai Railway. The Longhai Railway runs east to west and was originally planned to detour through Shanxi, but Shanxi refused to comply and demanded that Shanxi Province also have a railway.

Out of necessity, considering the transportation of coal resources in Shanxi, the Longhai Railway planned a new main line to extend northward through Shanxi and then directly to Ulaanbaatar in northern Mongolia.

This adds to the difficulty; just thinking about how many tunnels need to be dug and how many bridges need to be built along the way makes one's scalp tingle.

The Beijing-Shanghai railway line also needs to cross the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers and pass through the Huai River basin's water network when heading south, which is also fraught with troubles.

Zhan Tianyou frowned, thought for a while, and then shouted out his path dependency: "If the leader gives me another five million reform battalions, I dare to swear a military oath!"

"Huh?" Zhao Yan was stunned and quickly waved his hand, saying, "Old Zhan, you should hold back. The reform camp is a special product of a special period, not a normal thing! This thing is easy to use, but it can't be used all the time!"

“When you’re doing engineering work, you have to act like you’re doing engineering work properly. You’re the chief of infrastructure, not the chief of purges. You need to distinguish between what’s important and what’s not.”

Zhan Tianyou was a good guy in every way, but I don't know where he learned this bad habit from, he always liked to use free labor and treated people's lives like screws on the rails.

The railway network around Northeast China was extensive, but countless lives were lost along the way.

People in Northeast China have even started to celebrate Thanksgiving properly, with people burning paper money for the railway tracks in an attempt to appease the spirits of the deceased.

"Alas, what a pity!" Zhan Tianyou smacked his lips, feeling somewhat unsatisfied: "Then let me take away the 2.2 million reform camp members from Northeast Province. I am comfortable using these people. The construction of so many tunnels and bridges on the Longhai Railway will be incomplete without them."

Zhao Yan only agreed to half of it: "The last 1.3 million Manchus can be taken away by you. After you build the road all the way to Xinjiang, you can let whoever is left settle down in Xinjiang and live a peaceful life."

The remaining Han Chinese prisoners cannot be dealt with any further; they will be exiled to the northern grasslands to become free people and contribute to the frontier regions.

"The reformatory system will become smaller and smaller in the future, and the national judicial system will gradually become more standardized. We can no longer continue to act recklessly."

While Zhao Yan was in charge of the central government, he had already noticed some very bad signs from the reports and documents submitted from below. The first one was the matter of Yan Bicheng from the Korean province arresting people in the reform camp to earn head fees. Considering that the Koreans were insignificant and Yan Bicheng was a meritorious general, Zhao Yan turned a blind eye to it.

However, the judicial trial data reports submitted by many provinces within the Great Wall were quite alarming, with almost all of them showing serious crimes and frighteningly high conviction rates.

There are reasons for this, both from the public and from the government. The public is very nervous about illegal and disorderly conduct; they either don't commit crimes at all, or if they do, they commit serious crimes.

Since going to a reformatory is the only option anyway, and it's a matter of life and death, it's better to take the opportunity to settle scores and get revenge quickly than to be tortured to death for some trivial matter!

In many civil cases, suspects start by committing minor offenses, then, feeling it's not worth it, they simply continue to commit more serious crimes to make their crimes worthwhile.

The government lacks professional judicial officials, and few of them understand the law. They all follow the old procedures, or simply apply a one-size-fits-all approach: if someone breaks the law, they are sent directly to a reformatory.

The current Republican government's judicial system lacks sufficient flexibility in sentencing, proving that sending all ordinary criminals to political prisons is not feasible. In the future, it is necessary to create a prison system, improve the sentencing system, and separate civil and criminal cases. Criminals should also be able to go to jail instead of gambling their lives in reformatories.

They're just petty thieves; there's no need to push them to robbery and murder. Petty theft doesn't warrant killing criminals to silence them; it's unnecessary.

The special political punishment that existed in reform camps during a special period will gradually disappear in the future. Unless someone in the country dares to rebel, it won't constitute a political crime, and Zhao Yan won't be so unreasonable as to label you a political prisoner.

The reform camps will not be abolished, but they will exist on a small scale, specifically for special crimes such as political crimes and corruption.

Zhan Tianyou felt it was a great pity. These workers who were willing to risk their lives and spend money were truly top-notch. Anyone who used them would know how amazing they were!

"Your Majesty, without the reform camp, the railway construction costs will be unbearable. After all, hiring people costs money!"

Zhao Yan said irritably, "So you know that hiring workers to build railways costs money? This is proper infrastructure construction. Your previous methods were all heretical!"

"The government is undertaking these infrastructure projects not only to build those facilities, but also to develop the private economy, to employ workers normally, and to ensure that people along the route also enjoy the benefits of the government's fiscal expenditure, so that the pie can be shared."

"We can't just give money directly to people so they can get something for nothing, but it's okay to let them earn money through their labor, thereby developing the local economy and stimulating the local market."

"We need to create jobs, do you understand?"

Zhan Tianyou shook his head: "I don't worry about things like the economy and employment; those are other people's business. I only manage infrastructure."

Zhao Yan nodded: "The government has already announced that during the First Five-Year Plan period, it will allocate 700 million yuan to invest in the infrastructure sector. If that's not enough, then we'll continue to issue bonds. We'll do it even if we have to sell our possessions."

"The predecessors built the roads so that the successors could run on them; the predecessors planted the trees so that the successors could enjoy the shade. Don't be reluctant to give them up. With such a large country as China and a population of 400 million, it is impossible for it to remain an agricultural country forever."

"We can't support so many people or make this country strong just by farming. We need to rely on large-scale infrastructure projects to piece together the fragmented country into a complete, ultimate form, so that all our power can be used smoothly."

We need to attract a large number of people from rural areas to cities to provide labor for infrastructure and industrialization. Through continuous stimulation and development, we can enhance national strength and raise the income and living standards of the people.

"The First Five-Year Plan is not just about infrastructure construction, road building, and industrial development. I also promised the world that every Chinese person would have a set of clothes and a bowl of rice every day!"

"I wouldn't dare say we're completely fed and clothed, but at least we must prevent people from freezing to death or starving to death!"

Zhan Tianyou nodded: "The emperor's grand ambition is truly astounding. No emperor in history has ever dared to say such a thing."

Zhao Yan sighed: "Alas, I only dare to say such things because I rode the wave of human industrialization."

"But to be honest, the Chinese people's hard work and perseverance are absolutely worthy of this uniform and this bowl of rice, and the value of their labor far exceeds this!"

"Leave a way out for yourself, whether you're an emperor or a head of state."

There's a saying in the financial world: never try to earn the last penny. The same applies to governing a country: never take away the last piece of cloth or the last grain of rice from the people!

"If we can achieve this, no matter what storms China may face in the future, as long as the people still have clothes to wear and a bowl of rice to eat, China will never fall."

Zhan Tianyou's eyes were complicated. This was the first time he had heard such a profound yet simple strategy for governing a country. If you were to say that "governing a large country is like cooking a small fish," any official would know it, but if you were to ask how to implement it in practice, they would be vague.

Zhao Yan made it very clear and direct for you: just make sure you don't touch the last piece of clothing or the last bowl of rice that ordinary people have left.

"Your Majesty, I have heard the story of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in Buddhism, who said that he would not become a Buddha until the hells are emptied. But today I know that Ksitigarbha is nothing more than that, and in the end he is still petty."

He, though a Bodhisattva, only knows how to sit idly in hell, wasting his time. But you, a mere mortal, truly desire to shoulder the heavy responsibility of cleansing the human world!

Zhao Yan said, "It's all up to human effort. I just want things to turn out the way they should be."

"I want to make this world look like the one I know. I want to see what home looks like before I die. That's all."

Zhan Tianyou didn't quite understand what Zhao Yan was talking about. He didn't know what the world Zhao Yan was familiar with looked like, nor did he know where Zhao Yan's home was.

All he knew was that when Zhao Yan said these words, his gaze was so deep it was almost frightening, and his brows revealed a rare sense of helplessness and even dejection.

Chapter 202 Local Petty Thoughts

"Let's stop talking about these trivial things and get down to business."

"Old LeBron, I have no doubt about your professionalism. I am confident in entrusting the infrastructure field to you."

"But there's one thing you need to be extremely careful about: keep a close eye on whether the money is being used where it's needed!"

With a worried expression, Zhao Yan took out a document jointly issued by the Audit Department and the Supervision Department in 1909 and presented it to Zhan Tianyou.

Zhan Tianyou's pupils contracted as soon as he saw the title on the cover of the document: "Your Excellency, what is this?"

Zhao Yan lowered his head and let out a deep sigh: "These are the corruption cases and the officials involved that were investigated in various provinces throughout last year. Those who are included in this document are at least municipal-level officials at the department level."

The remaining smaller cases were handled locally by the respective provinces; those officially listed by the central government were all major cases, involving at least 50,000 yuan.

"Last year, a major case occurred in Hunan. I dealt with the audit department severely, and afterwards they joined forces with the supervisory department to thoroughly clean up the finances of various provinces."

Finally, there were many shocking revelations. Corruption in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang, Central Plains, and Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia regions was appalling, especially in the infrastructure sector. In the most outrageous cases, 70% of infrastructure funds ended up in officials' own pockets.

Zhan Tianyou asked, "So, what do you mean, Your Excellency?"

Zhao Yan gritted his teeth and said, "I've made up my mind. From now on, the core projects planned by the central government will no longer go through local procedures. You'd better take care of things and clean up these messes yourself."

If people's hearts can't withstand the test, then I'll simply stop trusting them. From now on, the central government won't worry about infrastructure development in the provinces; let them fend for themselves.

All nationwide infrastructure projects were personally overseen by the central government.

"Your most important task is not to keep an eye on the project's progress and quality, but to keep an eye on where the money is going!"

"Remember this: as long as the money goes where it's supposed to go, things will naturally be done well and efficiently. But if it goes where it shouldn't go, no matter how much effort you put in, it's all in vain!"

"I understand." Zhan Tianyou nodded emphatically. When he was working in Northeast China, local officials didn't dare to touch the infrastructure funds because every penny required Zhan Tianyou's personal signature.

No one dared to do anything under the nose of the imperial envoy. Moreover, the Northeast region had only been a province for a short time, and the local bureaucratic system and interest groups had not yet taken shape, so there were few who dared to take advantage of the situation.

However, it was inevitable that Zhan Tianyou would no longer be able to personally handle every matter, nor could he personally review and approve every single payment and every project. Therefore, there was bound to be some room for manipulation.

The areas inside and outside the pass are quite different. The eighteen provinces inside the pass are all old and established provinces, the genuine eighteen provinces of Han China. Which one of them doesn't have a local interest group and local political forces?

The five-year plan ostensibly allocated over 700 million yuan in national construction funds, but in reality, including later supplements and bond issuances, the amount was at least over 1 billion yuan.

With such a massive investment, even Zhao Yan himself wouldn't believe he could be as pure and innocent as a white lotus flower. But at least he had to ensure that the majority of the investment was used where it was needed.