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Text Chapter 483 The Wind in Central Asia (2)

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    May 1919, Baotou.

    There are crowds of people inside and outside Baotou Railway Station, including herdsmen, traders from inbound areas, soldiers stationed here, and industrial workers from all over the country and even those who have returned from studying in France.  They crowded together, all eyes fixed on the Luzhai, which was covered with colorful ribbons but blocked in the middle of the railway.  A train headed north and stopped in the south of Luzhai.  To the north of Luzhai is the Bao-Kuo Railway, which was completed last year, and to the south is the Zhengzhou-Jiaozuo-Taiyuan-Baotou Railway, which was reconstructed and extended based on the original Zhengtai Line.  The two railways could have been merged last year, but due to the rush to transport Russian supplies and later delays in the construction of the steel plant, it has been delayed until now.  "Yancheng, don't be in a daze" Tang Shaoyi, who came specially to attend the merger ceremony, waved to Zhan Tianyou and handed him the red silk rope that controls the train whistle.

    Zhan Tianyou couldn¡¯t help but feel sad when he took the red silk.  Since Yang Qiu inspected the area four years ago and located the Baiyun Mining Area, Baotou has been classified as a steel and coal base in the north of the Republic of China. Hundreds of thousands of residents and builders have come here to build railways, dam and power plants, and lay telegraph lines.  After four years of hard work, tens of millions of dollars spent, and more than a hundred tons even used on guns, not only has Baotou, a former border town, turned into a medium-sized city, but the railways have finally been confirmed to merge today!  Although both lines are still single lines, and the double-track construction has to be slowed down a lot because other railways have to be given priority, their merger still means that after the Middle East Railway left by Russia, the country finally has a second railway to the north.  The main road also means that you can start from Hankou and reach Kulun directly without changing trains.

    ¡°In addition, the first Wuchang Bridge across the Yangtze River in China is being constructed with the help of American engineers, and the merger of the Southwest Railway trunk road with the Beijing-Hankow Line is just around the corner.  At that time, you can take a train from Zhennanguan in the south of Guangxi to Harbin and Kulun in the north!  More than seven years of hard work cost a total of nearly 1 billion yuan.  Using a total of more than 4 million laborers, including the half-military and half-civilian construction corps, and using thousands of kilometers of railway lines left by the Qing Dynasty, Tsarist Russia and Japan, a large-scale national three-vertical and three-horizontal trunk road finally began to take shape.

    He thought of Yang Qiu who was far away in Paris, and still remembered his expression when he saw him in Hankou and heard him say that he would complete the national main railway line within twenty years.  At that time, he thought he had seen a lunatic. Like Sun Yat-sen, he was a lunatic who talked about running horses, but now it seems that he is actually the stupid one.

    The reconstruction of the Beijing-Hankong Line and Jinpu Line began in 2013, and the main line of the Southwest Railway was fully expanded in 2012.  As long as the main roads in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are repaired, the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge is built and the Jinpu Line is merged, the two vertical and two horizontal lines will be initially completed. All that is left is to expand the single line into a double line, extend it based on the main road, or build a branch line.  The most difficult challenges are the Longhai line from Lianyungang to Ili Balkhash Lake, and the 3,000-kilometer Northern Xinjiang artery from Jiamusi and Hailar and then across the prairie to Xinjiang. The former's western line has been under construction for three years, and the entire line started last year.  .  It is expected to be opened to traffic in 1925, and the latter has also been put on the government's agenda.

    Three vertical and three horizontal!

    Once completed, the north and south are interconnected and the east and west meet, a mobile China will be revealed to the world!  When 40 million compatriots like Europe and the United States can leave their homes and take trains to move around, what a spectacular scene it will be!  Not to mention anything else, the railway in front of us can allow Mongolian cattle and sheep to continuously enter the inland, and can also quickly send salt and iron tea back to the Mongolian grasslands. How much can it reduce the cost and time of human transportation!  There is a railway.  The number of trains suddenly increased from few to thousands!  First, 2,200 modified trains were brought back from Russia, and then Europe received 4,500 trains that did not even need to be modified. In the blink of an eye, the biggest problem restricting railway transportation was solved.  Of course, it¡¯s not time to celebrate yet. Germany alone in Europe had 15,000 trains before the war, while a country as big as China had less than 10,000 trains.  And compared with the entire national railway network, this is only the first step. But since it is the first step, why can't we imagine extending the railway to every city, or even every village and town?

    "Sincerity? Sincerity!" Tang Shaoyi had tears in her eyes when she saw Zhan Tianyou holding the red silk.  Knowing that he was overly excited, he patted him quickly and said with a smile: "If you don't do anything, the auspicious time will pass."

    Zhan Tianyou slapped his forehead and laughed loudly: "Look at me, I have forgotten it." After saying that, he and Tang Shaoyi pulled the red silk together.  "Woo" The melodious whistle was fluttering in all directions in the strong wind, and the ancient land of Hetao seemed to be suddenly awakened by the whistle.  The sound of firecrackers and cheers suddenly exploded, and the golden lion danced wildly.  The waist drum is noisy!  Under the gaze of tens of thousands of pairs of eyes, the locomotive spewed out steam, smashed into Luzhai, and rolled towards the north.

    Tang Shaoyi was also very excited when he saw the train, but there was still a place waiting for him today, so as soon as he finished cutting, he took Zhan Tianyou and ran to the state-owned Baotou Steel Plant.  Most of the coal mining processing and steelmaking equipment moved back from Yekaterinburg stayed in Baotou.  The Ministry of Industry organized the whole country to work together, prepared two years in advance and spent another year in construction to finally build this steel plant, with a designed production capacity of 1.5 million tons of crude steel per year.scale.  Although the Ministry of Industry predicts that it will take at least one year to reach the designed production capacity, and it is impossible to develop into a comprehensive large-scale industrial group such as Chongqing and Hanyang, which is mainly positioned in metal smelting and rough processing, but with the ignition of the steel-making furnace  , the national steel output is just around the corner.

    Seven years seems like a long time, but isn¡¯t the sound of a gunshot in the year of 1911 still ringing in your ears?  So this grand scene made Tang Shaoyi secretly wonder if he could serve a few more terms, but he was much more sober than ordinary people. Li Yuanhong was able to keep his position because he held too little real power, and the three departments of military, finance and national development were pinched by Yang Qiu.  He is in his hands, but the Prime Minister needs to handle daily domestic affairs in order to have greater real power. Before Yang Qiu ascends to the throne of the President, no one can hope to occupy this position for a long time, so he can't help but sigh when he thinks of this.

    Zhan Tianyou was in the midst of excitement and was surprised when he heard the sigh: "Shaochuan, what's the matter? Has there been a change in Paris?"

    Tang Shaoyi glanced at him, and she really wanted to be like him, focusing on building the railway and not caring about other things.  Said: "There are no major events in Paris. Although Britain and Japan have not yet made a formal reply, as long as the treaty is signed, the United States, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and other countries will announce the cancellation of all unequal treaties with China. It is impossible for them to be immune to the general trend.  The fleet has also arrived in Chile ten days ago for rest. This time, Mr. Sa personally brought two Anhai-class ships to pick him up in the name of a training visit. Well, Chenhua I even sent a telegram before I came, saying  Now he just watches the quarrels every day, arranges to recruit experts from Austria-Hungary and other countries who are willing to come to our country when he has free time, or simply sleeps"

    "Haha" Zhan Tianyou heard that Yang Qiu was busy in Paris, and was even more curious about why Tang Shaoyi sighed, and asked: "In that case, why did Shaochuan still sigh? Do you dislike the vulgarity of the steelmaking plant?  "

    Tang Shaoyi shook his head.  Thinking that he would be resigning in a year, he couldn't help but said: "Huancheng, we have been in the United States for more than 40 years, right?" Thinking of the past, Zhan Tianyou also looked at the prosperous city.  Baotou Scene sighed: "It's almost fifty years! I remember when you and I first arrived in the United States, we had a fight with John and the others because our whips were cut during class, and we were reprimanded for a long time when we came back Haha.  "

    "Yes, in a blink of an eye, it was half buried in the ground." Tang Shaoyi was also aroused.  Said: "When we are at your age, everything can be looked away from. But there is one thing that I have never been worried about We will grow old eventually, and the future world belongs to Chen Hua and his generation.  . I have watched him for many years, and found that his writing style is extraordinary, his vision is unique, and he is young enough to ensure long-term policy stability. This is really a blessing for our country, but I always feel that I cannot see through him. He seems to be greedy.  However, he chose not to fight against the Democratic Party and the Republican Party for power, and was even very willing to see the merger of the two parties. He could have ascended to the presidential throne long ago, but he was willing to see Li Huangpi continue to stay in office, and then he would not let go of the three powers.  Yan Cheng, do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing?"

    Zhan Tianyou didn't expect that he would actually worry about this matter, but it can also be seen that he has really risen and retired so far, so some of the things he stained in Beiyang in his early years have gradually been put down, as if he has returned to the high-spirited era when he came back from the United States.  , which made him very happy in his heart.  How many young children who studied in the United States back then can still maintain their integrity now?  Society is like a big dye vat. As the country was forcibly kneaded and gradually transformed by Yang Qiu, the turbid officialdom and society of the Manchu and Qing dynasties gradually became refreshed, which made him feel like he had returned to the hot days of the development of the western United States.  People began to pursue their dreams rather than just to get promoted.  So not only was he not surprised, but he said happily: "Shaochuan, why do you think we stayed in the United States in the first place?"

    Tang Shaoyi was stunned for a moment, then thought about it and said: "It is natural to enrich the country and strengthen the people, and learn from the advancement of Europe and the United States."

    "Don't Shaochuan feel that the country has changed a little bit? Why do you still care about his character?" Zhan Tianyou turned around and smiled, pointing to the billowing smoke from the chimney of the steel factory in the distance and said: "If Chen Hua hadn't acted arbitrarily,  Does Shaochuan think these things can appear today? Even if they can appear. Is the construction speed so fast? Why should a person who achieves great things stick to means? The vice president knows much better than you and I. Imperial power and dictatorship are just a dream, and in the end they only support a group of people.  He¡¯s just a bureaucrat who can¡¯t get rid of his tail! But if you don¡¯t hold power and suppress others, you can¡¯t be dictatorial. It¡¯s impossible to concentrate the power of the country to do big things, unless you are willing to see internal strife only consume the country¡¯s future"

    "Then why doesn't he serve as president himself?" Tang Shaoyi asked.

    Zhan Tianyou shook his head: "I don't know this. I guess it must be related to the maximum term of office for the president in the constitution."

    Tang Shaoyi remained silent, but his eyes gradually brightened, and he suddenly burst into laughter: "Huancheng, you really shouldn't have gone to MIT at that time, you should have studied politics." After he finished laughing, he seemed to have become more than ten years younger.  He took a breath and said seriously: "Let's get down to business. Chen Hua called from Paris and asked us to mobilize grain and fodder supplies to Dihua (Urumqi) as soon as possible. I also want to ask you, is there any way to move military supplies to Dihua (Urumqi)??Express delivery to Karakum.  "

    This sudden question made Zhan Tianyou quickly put away his smile and said anxiously: "Is there going to be a war in the northwest?"

    "It's not that we are going to fight, but that we have already fought." Tang Shaoyi said: "The Russian Civil War is in full swing. Denikin's army has moved north and has almost reached Moscow (the capital has been moved). Kolchak has also occupied Kazan all the way from Ufa to the west.  Trying to make peace. Lenin has called on engineers and soldiers from all over the country to defend Moscow. Each side has gathered more than two million troops. I heard that domestic casualties are extremely heavy. We don¡¯t care about Europe, but recently the Red Army of the Poor Party has repeatedly invaded Xinjiang, west of Lake Balkhash.  There are traces of the Poor Party guerrillas in Kazakhstan and Almaty in the south. The person who leads them is named Blucher. It is said that this man is very powerful in fighting. Even Kolchak's general Dutov was defeated.  , so Chen Hua and the Ministry of National Defense decided to conduct a raid there to ensure the safety of the northwest border."

    Zhan Tianyou frowned. Karakum is located between Lake Balkhash and Zhaisangbo. The latter two, together with Lake Issyk-Kul, are the three largest lakes in the northwest that were cut off by Russia during the Qing Dynasty. It happened that the three large lakes enveloped the east  Kazakhstan and Almaty, so Karakum Fortress is a very important fortress in the northwest!  However, due to the poor road construction, the construction was not smooth. The materials needed to be transported to Barnaul in Russia via the Siberian Railway first, and then transported by trucks from there. Not only was the road bumpy, but the roads were not easy to travel, so the Ministry of Industry considered transporting the materials domestically.  Transport a small cement plant and small thermal power equipment there, and use local materials to build a fortress.  The original plan was to have preliminary completion before 1922 and complete completion in 1925, but unexpectedly it became urgent now.

    what can we do about it?

    After thinking about it, he said: "The Japanese left a lot of light rails after they fled, which is enough to ensure the need. If we can use local materials to cut down the wood to make sleepers, increase the density of the sleepers and lay them directly on the flat surface, and then lay them  1 meter narrow gauge In terms of distance, as long as there are enough manpower to level the ground and the rails are transported in time, it can be opened to traffic within half a year! But this kind of simple narrow gauge railway is very easy to be damaged.  "Tang Shaoyi knew about narrow gauge. During the Russo-Japanese War, Japan used light narrow gauge when building the Anfeng Line under the pretext of transporting military supplies.  Three to four thousand people built 260 kilometers in less than half a year.  Now three divisions have rushed to Xinjiang, and tens of thousands of people will be mobilized to repair it with absolute certainty within half a year. However, if the northwest moves, it will not be so easy. Since ancient times, the war in the northwest has been about money and food!  East Kazakhstan and Almaty are quite convenient. At least Dihua built the official road when the Qing Dynasty passed by, and it is immediately accessible all the way. However, after Balkhash Lake, it is all mountainous. I don¡¯t know how much food and materials will be consumed in the fight.

    But now we have to fight this war even if we don¡¯t want to. If the guerrillas of the Poor Party cut off Kazakhstan, I¡¯m afraid Kolchak will be doomed. Containing Russia and allowing the North to rest for a few more years will be in vain, so he hurriedly dragged Zhan Tianyou to send a telegram  Stand away and start to mobilize supplies to the northwest

    (To be continued)

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