On the 4th day of the 11th month of the third year of Shenwu, Tao Chengzhang's report on land reform was like a bucket of snow water poured into a boiling oil pot, and public opinion immediately splashed boiling oil and water. Those who had been singing the praises of the government were divided into two factions: the official media, which supported the land reform, and the more numerous and influential private newspapers and a few concession radio stations.

The former constantly quotes the content of the movie The Great Ming Tribulation, saying that if the country wants long-term peace and stability, it must implement land reform, every family has land to cultivate, and everyone has food to eat, so that the country will not be in turmoil; The other faction clings to the Constitution, affirming that if the government fails to protect private property, it is unconstitutional, and the prime minister and cabinet should step down. He also dialectically believes that the most urgent thing in China today is the oppression of foreign powers, and if the whole people cannot unite as one, and the internal chaos is not far off, then the day of the country's defeat is not far away.

The theory that the whole people unite to resist foreign insults is only one of them, and there is also the theory that the constitution is inviolable, and there is also the common saying that forcibly occupying the acres of land of rich households is contrary to ethics, and so on. The Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the State Taxation Bureau, and the China Federation of Peasants raised the 3.0 percent landlords in public opinion, and most of them were co-opted by the Progressive Party led by Liang Qichao and other former Qing constitutional gentry, and the number of party members increased from several hundred to tens of thousands within half a month.

In order to better compete with the Renaissance Party and completely suppress the KMT, the Progressive Party finally changed its name to the Constitutional Protection Party and announced its candidacy for the next general election. Liang Qichao called on the majority of gentry and landlords in the party newspaper: 'The old dynasty will establish the constitution, the new dynasty will protect the constitution, and the constitution will be the constitution for life', and the limelight is unmatched for a while.

In the face of Liang Rengong, who is known as the 'magic pen', the Propaganda Department of the Ministry of Rites, represented by Wang Xiaolin, couldn't resist it at all, and the reason for this was that he couldn't resist it. One is that most of the literate people are the gentry, and the gentry are usually reasonable. But who doesn't have a few acres of land? If it is really taken away by the government, although there are various stocks and compensation for ten years of tenant rent. But no matter how you count it, it is a big loss. Under the practical interests, the previous Sven morality and the attitude of serving the country and the people have all disappeared, leaving only a lot of abuse and condemnation in teahouses, restaurants, and newspaper articles.

The second is that Zhang Yuanji, an academic leader, was formally prosecuted by the Shanghai Inspectorate for the crimes of offering bribes and obstructing judicial fairness. Shanghai is the center of economy and culture and the center of public opinion, not to mention that the Commercial Press has been established for more than 10 years, and there are Oriental magazines, foreign affairs newspapers, and other publications, which have a very heavy influence on the press circles, so to say that Zhang Yuanji's influence in the academic circles has affected the school departments and yamen of any province because of Cai Yuanpei and the Chinese Education Association. Although the literati were light, when the government wanted to abolish the unspoken rule of "giving preferential treatment to scholars" and "not punishing doctors" for thousands of years, these people also hugged together like landlords. The land reform was ridiculed and ridiculed.

Public opinion is like this, but in Yang Rui's opinion, it's a fart! The basis of the Revival Society is in the countryside, and nearly 100 million tenants are eager to take out their hearts and dedicate their hearts to the emperor after learning the news of the land reform under the propaganda of the peasant association. Not to mention that the incense in the imperial palaces is more and more prosperous, and not to mention that those farmers who owe taxes suddenly take the initiative to pay taxes, but there are more and more people from other places who come to kowtow in front of Daming Gate, so that the cross street is often overcrowded and has to queue up to kowtow.

All kinds of news from rural areas around the country once again confirmed the truth of the movie that 'people's hearts are food, and people's hearts are land'. A thief shouting 'the tiller has his land' can stir up chaos in the world. And now that an emperor who has been shining brightly since the founding of the country and has repeatedly defeated foreign enemies has demanded that 'the tiller have his land'?

Rebel? The people are waiting for the land to be divided, where will the soldiers come from?

Assassination? Zhu Kuansu has many brothers, and his son was also born; The Revival Society has seven leaders. Which one to kill?

Appeal? Constitutional amendment is. Most of the people in the Inspectorate are mud-legged, and they raise their hands, can the Tingwei Mansion disagree with the Constitution?

Foreigners interfere? Now the foreigners are fighting in Tessie. Japan has just been abused again, and the Americans say that the government is infringing on private property. But this is just lip service, is it possible to send troops to China to administer justice for a group of infidels?

Intellectually, every way out is blocked. But after all, there are people who can't think of it with a hot brain. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, within half a month of Tao Chengzhang's proposal for land reform at the beginning of the month and the investigation of the land reform by the Inspectorate, there were 651 civil unrests across the country, involving more than 13,600 people. Most of these people were clan forces instigated by the landlords, and most of them burned down the township and town government offices, patrol police offices, village offices, tax offices, township peasant associations, and other government agencies, and did not form gangsters, and these more than 600 civil riots were all carried out without mobilizing and specially deploying the garrisons of various counties, and many murderers were arrested by relying on the local patrol police and peasant associations and peasants alone.

"So, the shape is better than we expected?" In the snowy season, Yang Rui sat in the warm Yin'an Hall with a cup of hot tea, and asked Zhang Chengyue, Tao Chengzhang, Wu Xifen, Xu Guantian and others who came to report.

"Sir, it can't be said that the situation is better than expected, now the landlords' land has not been really confiscated in various places, and the provinces have not issued specific implementation strategies, and now it is just a blow. I think this is actually what those landlords want to tell us that it is better not to provoke them, after all, the Inspectorate is only a proposal from Brother Huanqing in principle, but the specific plan has not yet been decided. Zhang Chengyue's face was full of sternness, he understood the importance of land reform very well, and he also understood that after he had done this, it was time to move another position.

"In my opinion, if you really want to resist, it's best to make an example of a hundred, if you want money or death, let those landlords weigh it themselves!" Within half a month, Tao Chengzhang's name quickly became popular, and he was called a pottery thief by the gentry in the newspapers. However, having gone deep into the countryside and knowing the plight of the tenant farmers, he did not think it was evil, but was proud of it, and encouraged himself to be Prometheus, a Westerner.

"Kill a hundred people? It would be nice to be able to make an example. "Yang Rui can control the Zhì Suspicion Academy, the Fuxing Army, and the Peasant Association, but he can't control the Zhì Tingwei Mansion. Unless the landlords and clans are armed with guns and stubbornly resist, they will be arrested and sent to Dali Temple, and they don't know what the result is. "Let's go as planned." After he finished speaking, he looked at Li Zilong, who had just entered, "Are you ready for the meeting?" ”

"Prime Minister, everyone is here." Li Zilong came in to inform the prime minister that everyone was ready for a meeting.

"Okay!" Yang Rui stood up and said, "Then let's have a meeting." ”

The conference room is in the side hall of the Yin'an Palace, except for the Mongolian, Western Regions, Tibet, and Taiwan Military Regions. The commanders of the other 14 military region group armies had arrived, and more than 20 generals and colonels were waiting in the conference room in high spirits. Hear the sentinels outside saluting. The generals' already straight waists straightened even more, waiting for Yang Rui to enter the conference room. Everyone stood up and saluted.

Yang Rui didn't wear a military uniform, didn't salute and just waved his hand to invite everyone to sit down, he pointed to Tao Chengzhang, Zhang Chengyue, Wu Xifen, Xu Guantian and others who came in and sat beside him: "I won't introduce these people, they are all introduced in the briefing." Let everyone come today, there is only one purpose, that is, land reform.

There are too many people in the country, too little land, and now the landlords have one-third of the arable land, and the tenant farmers are living in poverty. If there is no land reform, there will be civil strife. As for the army, it won the war against Japan and Russia, but in such a war, the finances were almost bankrupt. That is to say, the great powers can go outside to rob if they have more people and less land, but we can't rob them, and all the places that can be robbed have been robbed. At most, we can recover the lost territory of the former Qing Dynasty, otherwise, Germany today is our tomorrow. With the current strength, it cannot be expanded. Land reform is the most crucial measure to stabilize the interior, especially now that the foreign powers are powerless to look eastward, and there is little interference in the implementation of land reform.

From the perspective of Chinese and foreign history. The collapse of every powerful country is inseparable from the four words of internal and external difficulties, and if you want to solve internal difficulties, the only good strategy for land reform is to solve them. If the people are not hungry, they will not make trouble, and if the people have land to cultivate, they will pay taxes and finances will be able to operate normally. China is an agricultural country. If the peasants are not chaotic, then the country will not be chaotic. As for the literati who scolded the government in the newspapers. When did they ever matter to me? How much tax did they pay and how many soldiers did they provide? How many people died during the war against Japan and Russia, and how many national bonds were bought? They really think that China, like the previous dynasty, cannot govern the whole country without relying on the gentry and landlords, what a joke!

I know that in the army, especially in the old army, there are many officers from gentry families, and I know that many small landlords in the countryside have a very difficult life, and many families do not eat rice and noodles for meals, so they have more decent houses and more decent clothes than tenants, and they are also poor. Now that the government has suddenly taken over the land, they have suffered the most.

The government has not taken this situation into account, and more than 50 acres is the goal of this land reform. More than 50 acres, the compensation index of 100 acres under the name is completely different from the compensation index of those who have 10,000 hectares of fertile land. The government encourages thrifty and thrifty households, but there are still very few people who can raise 2,000 taels and buy 100 mu of cultivated land by farming alone. Therefore, the full compensation of the government is also within 100 acres, and the compensation in excess of this amount will be less and less. Of course, the newly opened land is not one of them.

Okay, that's the general meaning. Finally, before the General Staff reads out the order, there is a sentence for you to convey to those officers who are not in favor of land reform: If you have land at home and cannot agree with the government's policy, then you can apply for retirement before the order is transmitted; If you don't approve and don't want to retire, you can take sick leave to avoid it; If you don't approve and don't want to retire, and you don't want to avoid it, but you want to obstruct and sabotage this matter, then if you are shot in the back by a soldier, please accept your fate.

Nine out of ten of our soldiers were peasants, and many of them were tenants. No compared to officers, they will eventually go home to farm after a few years as soldiers, and if someone blocks the government's land reform and the army to quell the rebellion, it is tantamount to cutting off their way of life. Although there are instructors in each company, how can one person manage everyone, if something really happens, then you can only blame yourself for being unlucky. ”

Yang Rui finished his final advice, his eyes swept over the many generals, and then let the chief of the general staff on the side, Bei Shoutong, read out the order. Although his gaze did not deliberately stay on anyone's face, Lieutenant General Duan Qirui, commander of the 11th Group Army, suddenly felt a hot and dry face, and his back was covered with cold sweat.

The selection and recruitment of officers in the Fuxing Army is extremely strict, the work style of the troops is excellent, and most of the low-level non-commissioned officers, officers, and even middle-level officers are from peasants and small families; In several towns in Beiyang, most of the gentry-born officers were retained, and these people strongly opposed the land reform because their families had land or relatives had land. However, these people have all experienced the actual battle against Japan, and they know that even if the 11th Army does everything, it must be defeated, and no one dares to give up their lives for a few acres of land.

Judging from today's meeting, it is obvious that the arrangements of the General Staff Department are aimed at preventing and countering the rebellion by the army, and if the local landlords really rebel, perhaps these people will disobey the orders of the above. The Prime Minister's move is a very clear warning to these people. Don't forget that the soldiers are peasants, and don't forget that the Fuxing Society's control of the army is to the soldiers. As long as someone dared to do this, those low-level instructors and non-commissioned officers encouraged the soldiers. These people become light pole commanders in minutes.

Duan Qirui deduced many other meanings from Yang Rui's words, which was based on Bei Shoutong's order, and he didn't have the heart to listen to it at all, but fortunately, Xu Shuzheng, the chief of staff, remembered it next to him, which made him breathe a sigh of relief when he came back to his senses.

The meeting was very brief, and the main purpose was to ask the garrisons distributed in the counties of the state capitals to cooperate closely with the county governments, patrol police, tax police, and peasants and soldiers in their respective counties to wipe out a rebellion, and if the local law and order were good, then the troops could be gradually withdrawn from the prefecture after one year. If the law and order is good for another year, the troops will be withdrawn to the province, and after three years, if there is nothing to do in the province, then they will be transferred back to their original places.

Duan Qirui, who returned to Zhudi after the meeting, looked gloomy, while Xu Shuzheng had a hippie smile, and he smiled: "Tsk, the prime minister also thinks too highly of those landlords, and even the air force has been dispatched, it's really ......"

Xu Shuzheng's family is in Xiao County, and he has had many contacts with relatives in his hometown after his career. A few months ago, there was a locust plague in Anhui, and the prime minister sent the air force to exterminate the locusts. Xiao County was originally a yellow flood area, and every locust plague started from here, and naturally it was also within the scope of the air force's locust eradication. That day. Four iron birds landed on the playground of the county middle school, which shocked the whole county, not to mention Chengguan. Even the old and young masters dozens of miles away also went into the city to see the iron birds that could destroy locusts.

Such a strange thing, the relatives over there would naturally write to inform Xu Shuzheng. There is a way for the layman to look at the excitement. Insiders watch the doorway, and relatives at home watch the iron bird exterminate the locusts. Xu Shuzheng thought of using aircraft reconnaissance to quell the rebellion. In the plains, as long as you go to the sky, it is endless, and no soldiers can hide. In terms of rebels, once the official army is followed in this way, it will be defeated. Now that the land has been changed to prevent rebellion, it is enough for the local patrol police, tax police, and peasants to deal with it, and the regular army will transfer another company to the county, which is foolproof.

Xu Shuzheng thought that it was a double insurance, but in some newly occupied places, such as Taiwan, because the mass foundation is too poor, once the land reform is bound to cause turmoil, it is better to familiarize yourself with the situation and establish peasant associations in Taiwan, so as to lay a good foundation for the land reform in the coming year.

In the Yamen, the provincial capital of Taiwan, when Governor Yang Cangbai and Marine Corps Lieutenant General Lu Mengxiong read the telegram from the Prime Minister's Office and the General Staff Headquarters, many people present let out a disappointed 'oh', and some people were greatly relieved that Taiwan did not want land reform.

Yang Cangbai, who didn't seem to feel the difference in everyone's reactions, said in an official dialect with a Chongqing accent: "This province is newly determined, and the right way is to keep the people healthy, and let them carry out land reform in other provinces, what we have to do is to completely control the local area by the end of this year, not to the county, but to the township, to the town, to the village." Officials can't always float on the surface, just look at the flowers, drink tea, and watch the play; The officials wanted to go to the farmers' homes to see how they were doing and how they were eating. I will be a mass line, don't forget it, come from the people, go to the people......"

Yang Cangbai was born in a newspaper, and he didn't need a speech for a meeting, but every time he made a long speech, which made people indulge in it and couldn't stop. Forget about the others, but Lu Mengxiong is used to being lazy, so he only endured the meeting until noon and then withdrew with others.

In the afternoon, at the Marine Corps Headquarters, Lu Mengxiong once again convened a meeting of the regimental-level commanders of the two divisions, and the content of the meeting had nothing to do with the morning meeting; except for instructing Li Erhu's 2nd Division to strengthen training, other things were to arrange for the officers and men of the 1st Division to go home to visit their relatives. The General Staff Department gave preferential treatment to the officers and men of the 1st Marine Division, and now that the war is over and the 2nd Division has been formed, the General Staff Department allows the officers and men of the 1st Division to go home to visit their relatives.

Listening to the chief of staff read his name, Zhu Jiande suddenly felt a little dazed. In terms of merit, he is not as good as Lu Bang of the 2nd Brigade, but the quota he doesn't want to go home is his own. He turned his head to look at Lu Wan, but saw that his face was slightly disappointed, but he quickly grasped the truth of the matter - Lu Wan's family was born as a landlord, although he himself had devoted himself to the revolution for nearly ten years, but if he really returned home and was troubled by his father and mother, maybe something would happen.

After reading the list of returned officers at and above the regimental level, the chief of staff will distribute the list below the regimental level to the regimental commanders, and these will be published by the regimental headquarters. After he finished reading it, after the political commissar explained the political policy of domestic land reform, the meeting was dispersed. Seeing that Lu Wan was walking slowly, Zhu Jiande went up and handed over a cigarette, and the two brigade commanders began to chat.

"Brother Yujie, how is the family, how is my sister-in-law?" Lu Wan took a deep puff of cigarette and said slowly.

Zhu Jiande was born in the twelfth year of Guangxu, and Lu Wan was born in the fourteenth year of Guangxu, and the difference between the two was two years old, so Lu Wan called him a brother. Zhu Jiande was born as a tenant farmer, Lu Wan was born as a landlord, and the two of them have a red seedling root, outstanding talent, and a miscellaneous descendant, and their appearance is not good, so it is difficult to have a deep friendship. However, the 1st Marine Division often conducted confrontation exercises between the two brigades, and although the 1st Brigade often suffered losses, it never made the same mistake the second time, and many times it could fight back, so the two brigade commanders fought back and forth with a kind of respect.

Zhu Jiande doesn't think that Lu Wan is the auspicious rui of the Fuxing Army, the reason why he got such a statement is actually because it is too difficult to cooperate with him. Sun Tzu said: Soldiers are impermanent, water is impermanent, but warfare is becoming more and more modern, and the organization is becoming more and more complicated, and in order to be able to use those advanced weapons, there are more and more regulations of various kinds of troops, and the combat plans are becoming more and more detailed.

Zhu Jiande understands Lu Wan, and Lu Wan also understands Zhu Jiande, this Sichuan barbarian who is more like a peasant than a soldier, has an indescribable life confidence and personality charm, the soldiers love this brigade commander who often talks with everyone from the bottom of their hearts, and he is also very tenacious in fighting, extremely brutal, and the soldiers he leads are like desperate even if they are in exercises.

When Lu Wan finished speaking, he looked at Zhu Jiande, who was a little happy on his face, and only listened to him: "The family is fine, but the health of grandmother and mother is not too good." ”

"You're going home and see." Lu Wan said with emotion. Unlike his military salary, Zhu Jiande never spends a penny indiscriminately, and he pays his military salary every month, and the money is sent home. A family that lives on all of its son's military salaries is afraid that its livelihood will not be able to go there.

"What about you? If you don't go back this time, when will you be able to go back? Zhu Jiande couldn't help but talk about Lu Wan's sore spot. How's the family, it's nothing, right? ”

"What could it be?" Many people know Lu Wan's family situation, "I have written back to ask my family to cooperate with the government to recover the land, not to mention that there is still compensation, but if there is no compensation, it is not to be collected." This is like fighting on the battlefield, when the whole army is surrounded and in danger, the most elite troops always have to die after the break, so that more people can be saved. What a country ......."

Lu Wan shook his head and sighed, in Zhu Jiande's eyes, there was a kind of love in his eyes that came to his heart, "Although we won the war against Japan and forced Russia back, if we fight again now, not to mention Russia, I'm afraid it will be difficult for Japan to fight, right?" You must know that submarines and airplanes have shown their faces in the European war, and if the Japanese are on guard, it is impossible for the war to be fought like that. We're still not strong! ”

The revival army, which was very strong in Zhu Jiande's eyes, was just not strong in Lu Wan's eyes, he shook his head and smiled: "Don't talk about home and country, I plan to take a train from Shanghai to Shijiazhuang this time, and then from Shijiazhuang to Taiyuan, and then all the way to Xi'an; Isn't this going to pass through Jinan, if you have anything to bring back, just bring it, anyway, I'm on the way. ”

Zhu Jiande's family is in Yilong, Sichuan, and he doesn't want him to go north to Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, and Xi'an instead of the Yangtze River. ”

"That's not." Zhu Jiande said: "If you go to Shanghai and then take a boat to Chongqing, it will take more than half a month; Take the railway, although it goes around some, but it is fast, I think it will take five days to get to Xi'an, and then from Xi'an to Yilong. Although 400 kilometers is more than 200 kilometers longer than Chongqing to Yilong, but the more than 200 kilometers will arrive in seven or eight days, so why bother to drift on the river boat for half a month. ”

Zhu Jiande only counts the time, but there is another reason that is difficult to say, that is, after the start of the European war, the ticket price has increased several times, especially the section from Yichang to Chongqing, because the ship into Sichuan must be specially made, the ticket price has increased more than ten times, although the train is far away, but fast, but also save money.

Lu Wan, who didn't know that Zhu Jiande still had an economic account, saw him go home like this, and immediately smiled: "Okay! Then ask Brother Yujie to take my letter home, and then comfort my father, don't think about it. (To be continued......)