1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 134 The Military Region is Protecting It to the Death

Suzhou.

Back home, Lu Tianhua bought a new copy of "Harvest" magazine from the street vendor.

Seeing such a huge reaction from the whole society and the fundraising in Nanjing, he was curious and wondered what kind of novel could cause such a big reaction!
After finishing the novel, Lu Tianhua exclaimed, "This novel is indeed very easy to evoke emotions in the reader!"

Outside the company at this time.

A Nissan Toyota drove up.

It quickly stopped at the company entrance. Lu Tianhua was familiar with this Nissan Toyota, because in China, those who could afford such a car were either wealthy overseas businessmen or leaders.

Obviously, it couldn't be a leader.

Lu Tianhua hurriedly walked towards the door: "Hey, Comrade Ito!"

A man in a suit got out of the car. He had a good demeanor, but his temper was definitely not good: "Comrade Lu, I thought we were friends?"

Lu Tianhua exclaimed in surprise: "Comrade Ito, we've always been friends!"

After the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, many Japanese people came to invest and open factories. This period was indeed a time of friendship between China and Japan and between China and the United States. Lu Tianhua's company also hitched a ride with this wealthy Japanese businessman during this period!

"Is this what friends are? I feel that your recent article, 'Nanjing Photo Studio,' is a complete slander against our Sino-Japanese friendship. I always thought we were friends! How can such a Japanese character appear in a Chinese novel..." Ito said indignantly.

Hear this.

Lu Tianhua was taken aback: "It wasn't intentional... it's just..."

“I’ve recently heard many Chinese people insulting us Japanese on the streets, and it really hurts me,” Ito said with a troubled expression and a heavy tone. “I came to China from across the ocean with the intention of investing and setting up a factory, working together with everyone to achieve win-win results and contribute to the development of the Asia-Pacific region. But the current situation really disheartens me.”

"What do you mean?" Lu Tianhua looked at his benefactor, immediately forgetting about the ethnic hatred.

Ito paused for a moment, then said, "I don't really want to stay in China anymore..."

"You mean withdraw your investment?" Lu Tianhua then asked.

"Well, if this problem can't be solved, I'll withdraw my investment!!!" Ito feigned pitifulness, but he was ruthless and kept his word.

Lu Tianhua was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. If the Japanese investor really withdrew his investment, his company would be gone. He immediately said, "I'll solve this problem for you. I have connections in the publicity department!! I'll arrange it for you right away!"

Ito continued to feign innocence: "Then I really look forward to Comrade Lu handling these matters well, and ensuring that the friendship between our two countries is not damaged by some trivial matters."

……

"Uncle! Uncle! This is terrible! Our company's big project! That Japanese guy is going to withdraw his investment!" Lu Tianhua called a director in the publicity department.

"Withdraw investment? The factory is already running perfectly well, why withdraw investment? Is there something you can't accept?" the director replied.

"No, that's not it! They said that because 'Nanjing Photo Studio' damaged the friendly relations between China and Japan, they were wondering if the novel could be taken down?" Lu Tianhua asked anxiously.

Downloaded the novel?

The director was taken aback.

Actually, for someone of this caliber, a novel isn't really a big deal. He thought about it for a while.

This factory is a multi-million dollar project; it seems to carry more weight than a novel, so he said:
"I'll talk to my superiors about this!"

Back at the provincial propaganda department, the director wrote up the materials and submitted them to higher authorities.

Within the province, an article titled "Should 'Nanjing Photo Studios' Be Banned?" quickly spread.

This matter quickly attracted the attention of higher authorities, and relevant leaders immediately organized an emergency meeting to discuss a solution.

At the meeting, opinions differed, and everyone had their own considerations.

"This novel has a considerable influence now. If it is banned rashly, how will people across the country view Jiangsu?" Some people were the first to speak out, concerned about the impact on public opinion.

Another person immediately retorted, "But there are quite a few Japanese-owned factories in our province!" He said urgently, "If the influence of this novel continues to grow, disrupting the investment environment and affecting local finances, that would be a loss for the entire Jiangsu province!"

"Losses?" A tall leader slammed his hand on the table, his voice ringing out, "Is this all you see? Don't you have any national pride? So many novels about the War of Resistance Against Japan are circulating normally across the country, and no one has said they've affected Sino-Japanese relations. Why should this one be treated differently?"

The meeting discussed the matter at length, but ultimately no arbitrary decision was made to ban the novel.

Firstly, opinions from all sides were deadlocked, and secondly, no one was willing to offend Zhou Xu rashly—he was no longer the unknown newcomer he was when he published "Wreath at the Foot of the Mountain," and his influence was now vastly different.

……

Nanjing Military Region.

A communications officer rushed inside, shouting, "Something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!!"

He nearly fainted, but the trembling letter was handed over: "This is a document I obtained while promoting B. They've been fiercely criticizing 'Nanjing Photo Studio' these past few days!!!"

This article ended up in the hands of a retired senior official.

He held his glasses with one hand and the manuscript in the other, reading for a while. Halfway through, he slammed his hand on the table: "What is this? This is outrageous! I think things have really changed."

Back when we were buried in the earth fighting a guerrilla war, persecuted by the Japanese, why did a group of people remain silent?! These people have never suffered hardship, yet they have opinions about this novel that reveals the plight of us Chinese!

The main leaders of the 80s were mostly capable individuals who led their troops to repeatedly thwart the "mopping-up" operations of the Japanese and puppet troops. These were veterans who had experienced the War of Resistance Against Japan; how could they possibly betray their country for personal gain like some others?
"Really?" the commander asked the communications officer.

"What?" The correspondent had never seen his leader so angry before.

The key point is that the old leader and Zhou Xu are from the same hometown in Hubei. They came to Nanjing together for training. How could he see his fellow townsman suffering?
"I'm referring to this report?"

The correspondent immediately said, "This was asked to be given to you by a leader from propaganda department B! He said he also disapproves of the behavior of some people!"

Upon hearing this, he went to his office.

The old leader grabbed the phone: "Call the provincial propaganda department!"

Phone beep beep—

Wow!

It rang.

The highest-ranking leader on the other end of the line answered the phone: "Sir, is there something you need?"

The old commander's beard trembled with anger: "You should know what's going on! Old comrade, I've heard quite a few things from your side, especially a document criticizing the 'Nanjing Photo Studio'?"

Hearing this, the leader on the other end coughed, not wanting to lie: "We have indeed been discussing the novel recently. How did you hear about this?"

The boss is very annoyed. If he finds out who tipped him off, he'll definitely give them a good scolding.

"You don't need to know how I found out! But I have something to say to you! Zhou Xu is in Baoding!" The old commander slammed his hand on the table: "A young comrade wrote a novel to mourn his compatriots, and some of you acted like you'd swallowed rat poison!"

"..."

The leader coughed, surprised that the Nanjing Military Region was adamant in its refusal to respond: "Aren't we still discussing this here? Don't upset yourself, old man. Besides, the issue with the novel wasn't decided by us; it's just that some comrades have some opinions."

"There's one more thing!" the old commander said slowly.

"Please tell me!"

"Don't give me any of those bullshit orders to prohibit the circulation of documents. On behalf of the Nanjing Military Region, I have already subscribed to 50,000 copies of 'Nanjing Photo Studio' from Harvest Magazine! We want the entire military region to study this excellent military novel!" The old commander slammed his fist on the table and dropped a harsh remark.

The old leader immediately nodded: "Yes, yes! You're right. Comrade Zhou Xu is doing good things by promoting Nanjing and commemorating the victims of the Nanjing earthquake. How could we possibly do anything unnecessary?"

"..."

Tsk?
The old leader then hung up the phone.

Then the phone rang.

Hello?

"This is the Wuhan Military Region..."

"Wuhan Military Region?" The old leader was taken aback. Was there really anything going on in Wuhan?
Inside the Wuhan Military Region, a high-ranking officer was smoking a cigarette: "I heard someone on the phone say that the wind direction is off where you are. Although I have no connection with you, I have something to say!"

"Please speak?"

"Hey!! Don't go too far with some things!!"

The phone was abruptly hung up.

Tsk?
The old leader took a drag of his cigarette and spat out a mouthful of saliva: "Damn it? I got scolded twice already. I really shouldn't have bothered with this crap!"

The secretary also fell silent.

After all, he was a former leader who had reached his current position, but he was reprimanded by two important figures for such a trivial matter. Naturally, he felt both bitter and wronged.

But he couldn't complain to the other leaders, so he could only keep it to himself and feel frustrated.

"Immediately notify everyone, especially certain comrades, to hold a meeting right away!"

At the meeting, the veteran leader's expression was resolute, and his tone left no room for doubt: "This novel is of excellent quality, and the social response has been very strong. If we rashly ban it, the consequences will be far more serious than the economic losses!"
Furthermore, Nanjing has already begun raising funds to build the "Memorial Hall for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders." Are some of our comrades going to halt this massive project as well?

He paused for a moment, then emphasized, "Some of our comrades are still too narrow-minded! By the way, you should talk to the Discipline Inspection Commission and have them thoroughly investigate the relevant personnel at XX factory!"

"Understood, Secretary."

……

the next day.

The disciplinary committee officials began to take action.

I don't know where they got another factory manager, but as for cooperation?

The Japanese are all businessmen, and businessmen only care about profits. Soon, some more Japanese people took the initiative to come and cooperate in setting up factories... but things didn't change much.

It's like how netizens from China, Japan, and South Korea are constantly arguing, but it doesn't affect trade at all.

(End of this chapter)