And Yang Zhen knows very well that this year to next year is the most difficult period for the entire anti-Japanese base area behind enemy lines. Frequent natural disasters, coupled with man-made disasters brought about by the non-stop sweeps of the Japanese puppet army, have put the base areas behind enemy lines, especially the base areas in North China, into a great predicament.

As for the funds, Yang Zhen judged that it was likely to be for the major base areas in North China to ask for help. The Anti-Japanese Federation has already provided a sum of dollars to the central government, and there is no shortage of funds in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo border region. The central government even used this dollar to buy off a large number of detained professors and students who came to the northeast.

For the upper echelons of the national army, as well as those middle- and lower-level officers who know the goods, the hard currency of the dollar is far more lethal than that of the fiat currency, or even the current ocean. With this dollar, under the strict encirclement of hundreds of thousands of troops in Chongqing, it is still quite possible to open a smuggling channel.

At the same time, in Chongqing, you can also exchange enough fiat currency and the current ocean, and smuggle enough cotton from the Guanzhong Plain and the Longdong area of Gansu, which are rich in cotton. In addition, the lint output of 1 million catties in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo Border Region this year is enough to meet the needs of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo Border Region itself.

Although Chongqing's blockade of Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningbo is quite strict, it is not unusually strict. Only if there is money to open the way, there are still many loopholes in the middle that can be exploited. However, whether the smuggling alone can meet the difference is another issue that needs to be considered. However, the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo Border Region, which still has relatively sufficient financial resources, will not be too embarrassed.

But the US dollar, a foreign exchange, is a hard currency in the rear. When you get to the occupied area, I'm afraid it won't be good for those traders. For those traders, there is nowhere to spend the dollars, even if they earn. Whether it is a smuggling merchant or a puppet army who takes the opportunity to make a fortune, people recognize gold, the ocean, even opium and fiat currency.

This problem must be solved, and since the troops in the customs cannot solve it by themselves, then the Anti-Union will solve it. Again, although each base area is fighting its own battle for most of the time. But the whole army, whether inside or outside the gates, is a game of chess. Without the cart and horse artillery, how can this game of chess be played?

However, although Yang Zhen made up his mind, he did not immediately answer Li Yanping's words, but pondered for a moment and said: "Commander-in-Chief and Chairman Li, what are your thoughts and suggestions for this request of the Central Committee?" After all, they are in charge of the local area, and they need to know much more about the materials needed for wintering in the entire North Manchurian base area this year. ”

In response to Yang Zhen's rhetorical question, Li Yanping, who had participated in the study of this issue as a representative of the Military Region, replied without thinking: "What the commander-in-chief and my brother mean is that we will hand over all the 6,000 taels of gold that we have left over this year to repay the loan to the Soviet Union, as well as the 2 million silver dollars we have in stock at present, and we will not keep a cent. ”

At the same time, a batch of ginseng, high-grade furs, and other relatively valuable Northeast native products, as well as all the opium in stock, were transferred to the central government for use in part of the activity funds. In many areas of Kannai, opium is also a hard currency. It's even better than fiat currency. ”

"As for the issue of cotton, they are also hesitating whether to explain our difficulties here to the central government. Cotton should be given, but I hope that the central government will take into account the actual situation in the northeast and reduce part of the quantity? After all, we not only need hundreds of thousands of troops to change their clothes, but also the common people in the base areas also need winter clothes. ”

"According to the current total population and actual needs of the base area, they think that it can still be supported by spending 200,000 catties. If there are more, I am afraid that it will affect the livelihood of the people in the base area. After all, compared with North China and Northern Shaanxi, where some cotton can still be obtained, Northeast China is too far away from cotton production areas. ”

After listening to the opinions of the commander-in-chief and Li Yanlu, Yang Zhen stood up and paced for a long time before raising his head and saying: "My opinion is that the gold and silver dollars should be handled according to the opinions of the commander-in-chief and Chairman Li, but the amount of cotton handed over to the central government should not only not be reduced, but also increased by another 200,000 catties as appropriate. ”

"But in consideration of our own difficulties, I suggest that we take the approach of walking on multiple legs. As soon as we told Zhang Zhenhua, we made every effort to dig into the bottom of the inventory to see the actual amount of cotton and winter clothes in our hands, and how much cotton could be reused in the old winter clothes that the troops changed out in the spring last year. ”

"Last winter, most of the time of our army was transferred to rest and recuperate, and the number and scale of operations were not large. The loss of cotton clothing should not be large. Even if the surface of the winter clothing is worn out, there should still be some cotton in it that can be recycled. To make zuò winter clothes, you don't necessarily have to ask for new cotton. As long as the warmth is guaranteed, I think this year's winter clothes can be used like some old cotton. ”

"At the same time, we have to dig up the number of Japanese winter clothes captured in our hands, as well as the number of military coats. If the number can meet the needs, then a part of the captured Japanese winter clothes can be distributed to the second-line garrison troops, as well as the personnel of the major organs, aviation ground crews, and other non-front-line operations who do not need to identify friend or foe. If there is a sufficient number of cotton shoes, all captured Japanese cotton boots can be used. ”

"Second, make some adjustments to the original procurement plan. If the amount of grain in our hands is sufficient, we can transfer a batch of grain and meat products to exchange some cotton with the Soviet side. Although after the Battle of Kiev, the main grain producing area of the Soviet Union was lost. However, the main producer of cotton, Central Asia, is still firmly controlled in their hands. ”

"We exchanged grain for cotton, which was the same practice before. I don't think this is something that cannot be discussed with the Soviet side. I think the business of exchanging 30,000 to 40,000 tons of wheat for 10,000 tons of lint can still be done. The Soviets, who lost Ukraine, now do not lack cotton, but grain. Their cotton production in Central Asia is still quite large. Is this kind of exchange also a win-win situation? ”

"Third, let Patten coordinate with the American side and ask the Americans to advance as much as possible the order and transportation of the 3,000 tons of cotton that we imported at the beginning of December to the end of this month. If possible, we may ask the U.S. military mission in the Northeast to assist us in urging American orders to advance deliveries and coordinate our transportation through the Soviet Union. ”

"Fourth, taking advantage of the relatively large number of sheep in the base area, especially the relatively large production of sheep in the original Manchurian Xing'an Province, under the condition of ensuring the warmth performance, some winter clothes made of sheepskin are used. The short coat of sheepskin that the Soviet army is now equipped with as winter clothing, I don't think it is not at all unsuitable for us Chinese. ”

"Because of the relationship between geography and climate, the woolen industry in Harbin, Jiamusi and Qiqihar that we now control is still quite basic, and the output of woolen is still quite large. All kinds of woolen uniforms required by the Japanese Kwantung Army, as well as winter clothes, were not very large in these places before. And our army makes zuò winter clothes, so naturally we don't use those fine and high-end materials such as generals. ”

"The production process is simple, and it is completely possible to save raw materials and man-hours of Russian tweed. It's a bit bulky, but it's quite warm. Although the Chinese are not used to wearing Russian-style tweed coats, they can also replace some cotton at the moment. ”

"Even if the wool cannot meet the needs of the whole army, we use the wool industry in Harbin to make some wool yarn and distribute some sweaters to the troops. Then the thickness of the cotton clothes can be completely reduced, and the amount of cotton can also be saved. ”

"In addition, if we can find enough winter clothes made of eiderdown zuò, even cotton clothes can be canceled altogether. Americans can make sleeping bags, short winter jackets from duck down, why can't we? The climate in Alaska can be colder than in the Northeast. A tweed coat with a thick woolen sweater, or a sheepskin coat, or an eiderdown winter coat, I don't think it's any less warm than cotton. Is there still a lot of duck breeding in the area? ”

"In this way, we will only issue a pair of thick cotton pants, cotton gloves, cotton hats, and cotton shoes for the troops. Even if we can raise enough dog skins, cotton hats can be completely replaced by traditional dog skin hats in the Northeast. In the past, the Northeast Army could use dog skin hats to make zuò dog skin hats as winter clothes, why can't it come to us? ”

"In fact, in the province of Funga and last year, we have increased the number of sheep raised in the base area, and we are not in the base area now. Although we do not produce cotton in our base area, the production of sheepskin and wool is still quite large. ”

"Last year, when we did not recover the puppet provinces of Khinggan, we also exported tens of thousands of tons of wool and hundreds of thousands of sheepskins to the Soviet Union to pay off debts. And this year, with the gradual recovery of the Mongol settlements, our wool and sheepskin production should be a large increase compared with last year. ”

"Even though the production of sheepskin and wool in our base area is insufficient, the production of sheep in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo border area is very large. Can we propose to the central government to use cotton and exchange some sheepskin and wool with them. Besides, wool doesn't have to be mechanized. We could have launched a mass movement and hand-spun in large quantities. ”

"In order to increase the warmth of winter clothes for cadres and soldiers, didn't our troops stationed in the northernmost Mohe and Heihe areas distribute a batch of sheepskin coats last year? Why can we only count on cotton for the production of winter clothes until now? If we can use livestock products as much as possible, we can save a considerable part of cotton and invest it in people's livelihood. ”

"In this way, we can not only ensure that the livelihood of the people in the base areas will not be affected, but also ensure that the troops are reequipped and meet the needs of the central government. Again, as long as we think about it more and find more ways to solve the problem, there are always more ways than difficulties. ”

"Although we have a lot of needs, as long as we think carefully and start from multiple aspects, there are still solutions to the problem. Now that the large-scale production movement of the central authorities is in full swing, I think that after the most difficult period of this year, there will be a fundamental change in the situation next year. ”

"The central government knows about our situation, and at this time, the central government opened its mouth, that is, they have encountered extreme difficulties that are even greater than ours. Otherwise, the character of the center will not open this mouth. When you go back and consult with the commander-in-chief and Chairman Li, you will say that my opinion is to meet all the needs of the central authorities, and to increase the quantity of cotton supply as appropriate. ”

"The lint output of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo Border Region this year is only one million catties, and after the processing of this million catties of lint, even if the amount of smuggling and purchase is added, it can only barely meet the needs of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo Border Region. With so many central organs, schools, and troops concentrated in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo Border Region, how can one million catties of lint be enough? It simply cannot afford to meet the needs of base areas in other directions. ”

"In addition to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo border area itself that needs a large amount of foreign cotton to supplement local consumption, there are also so many troops in Shanxi, Hebei, and Jinsui that need to be redressed.