The sun never sets.

Chapter 541 Investigation

The cause, process and result of the incident are very simple. It is nothing more than someone was tempted to sell state secrets for money, and then was discovered by comrades in the relevant departments, and then investigated. This kind of thing happens in every country. The People's Party has ideals and discipline, but it is also inevitable to have various problems.

It seems that there is nothing to be surprised about. Just do what needs to be done after catching them, shoot those who should be shot or exile those who should be exiled. But this matter involves Wang Chuanzhu, one of the Five Tiger Generals of the Republic, so things are not that simple.

During the establishment of the Republic, many generals and officers were from the Boxer Rebellion. Four of the Five Tiger Generals were Boxer generals. Li Dayan was not from the Boxer Rebellion, but he also had some kind of relationship with those senior brothers and sisters. There were too many people from the Boxer Rebellion in the army, and the matter involved Wang Chuanzhu. Even Prime Minister Wang Qi, who always hated evil, found it a bit tricky.

The person involved is Wang Chuanzhu's second son. According to the system, Wang Chuanzhu should also be arrested and interrogated, but the other party is one of the Five Tiger Generals of the Republic after all. If Wang Chuanzhu is arrested, it will inevitably cause turmoil and will be a huge blow to China's reputation.

Wang Qi was not worried about unrest. After the Ministry of Public Security handed the case to the Prime Minister's Office, he immediately ordered a thorough investigation. However, there were too many people who came to speak to Wang Chuanzhu, not only generals and people from the Military Commission, but also many cadres from other departments. Many cadres at the central and local levels came from the military, and many of them had a comradeship with Wang Chuanzhu.

Even though Wang Qi had always been resolute, he was somewhat overwhelmed when more than a dozen senior central government officials came together to intercede for him. Most importantly, several other members of the Central Standing Committee believed that this matter should be handled with caution and should not be rushed. Wang Qi slammed the table and yelled, and finally controlled all the relevant personnel, but the interrogation was progressing slowly. He knew the difficulty. The Minister of the Ministry of Public Security was once Wang Chuanzhu's subordinate, and facing his former leader, he could not move fast.

Wang Qi was very annoyed by this situation, but he had no better solution.

Now that Chairman Lin is back, things will be easier. Chairman Lin will not tolerate any sand in his eyes. Sure enough, after Lin Yongchang learned about the incident, he immediately took measures. First, the commanders of several major military regions were swapped, and then

The army and the Ministry of Public Security selected capable personnel to form an investigation team.

This case involves high-ranking military officials, and the investigators need to have a big heart. Lin Yongchang thought for thirty seconds, and then appointed Guo Songling as the leader of the investigation team.

Why was Guo Songling asked to do this? Because he was upright and never took crooked paths. When he was still a junior officer, Guo Songling was known for his impartiality. When he became a general, Guo Guizi's name became even more famous. This person was strict with himself and others. If he was asked to investigate, he would definitely be able to ensure that the investigation was authentic and credible.

In addition, Guo Songling, like Yang Yuting and other rising stars in the army, did not come from the Boxer Rebellion and had little practice with Wang Chuanzhu. According to Guo Songling's personality, even if Wang Chuanzhu had been his leader, he would still do what he should do. After all, this guy even contradicted Lin Yongchang in the Night Raid Group: Lu Jiu Si ⑨, San Lu ① San ⑤.

Since he shifted his work focus to politics and economy, Lin Yongchang was not as familiar with the military as before. Even though the military was his chief, Huang Jiande, he was somewhat unfamiliar with the tactics of the army and navy. Sometimes, the suggestions he put forward were not so appropriate, but his comrades in the military would turn a blind eye to the existing problems because they were Chairman Lin's instructions.

This is a very dangerous signal. It also signals that comrades like Guo Songling and Chen Tianhua can fearlessly adhere to the principle of seeking truth from facts. Guo Songling was designated as the leader of the investigation team, and the two deputy leaders were Yang Yuting and Xu Shuzheng, who would be in charge of the entire case. Everything was subject to the final investigation results of the investigation team. Before the truth was revealed, the media would no longer be allowed to talk about this matter. All newspapers, broadcasts and public occasions must remain silent on the case.

Previously, the government could tolerate people from all walks of life talking nonsense in the newspapers, but now it has taken a heavy blow and dealt a good job of cleaning up the liberal elements. In fact, in the case of selling state secrets - the armored steel formula - to the Americans, there are many liberal elements who took money from the Americans. The most enthusiastic ones, such as Guo Ji, Han Dong and Zhang Hongwen, have been arrested. They took the money from the US government - only a few hundred or a thousand dollars - and then slandered the people's government in the newspapers, finding fault with this policy and that policy, and openly claiming that only the US political system is the most perfect system in the world, and only by fully learning from the US practices can China become a civilized country and there will not be so many corrupt elements.

What Guo Ji and Zhang Hongwen said is not completely fabricated. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the government has arrested tens of thousands of corrupt officials in various rectification campaigns, which is much more than the corrupt officials in the United States. However, Guo Ji and Zhang Hongwen only seized this point to promote the freedom of the United States, but did not explain that the corruption that would be sentenced in China is reasonable and legal in the United States.

Why aren't there so many corrupt people in the United States? Because corruption is open and unacceptable in the United States.

Guo Ji and Zhang Hongwen were arrested not only because they accepted money from the Americans to talk nonsense about Jill, but also because they played a very disgraceful role in the case of selling out state secrets. They passed on information, acted as matchmakers, forged documents and bribed officials, which is already a crime.

If it was just nonsense, Lin Yongchang would still be interested in debating with those guys in the newspaper. The truth always becomes clearer through debate, and we can't stop people from speaking, but crimes can't be fooled by "freedom of speech."

Since they have committed a crime, they have been expelled from the people's ranks. They must be made to taste the iron fist of the people's democratic dictatorship.

After the investigation team led by Guo Songling took over the case, the investigation progressed quickly. The investigation team had the highest authority and could summon all personnel other than the Central Standing Committee members. In less than two weeks, they had a clear understanding of the whole story, recorded the case in detail, and then submitted it to the State Council and the Party Central Committee.

Lin Yongchang got the file immediately. After spending ten minutes reading it, he called the Prime Minister's Office and asked, "Have you read the investigation report submitted by Guo Songling?"

"not yet."

"Oh, in a couple of days... this Sunday, let's have a meeting and discuss this matter."

Chapter 542 Dispatch

Guo Songling was not a professional investigator, but he dared to do anything. After obtaining the right to investigate, he called in relevant personnel for questioning one by one. After using some methods, he roughly pieced together the original picture of the matter.

The file was written in great detail, with witnesses, physical evidence, and interrogation records. Lin Yongchang felt that Guo Songling's work was a bit rough, that he used too many tactics, and that he was not very polite to General Wang Chuanzhu... But this was exactly the effect Lin Yongchang wanted. Guo Songling did not know how to behave as a human being, but only how to do things. His interrogation skills were not good enough, but his spirit of daring to fight and fight was the same as when he led his troops into charge.

As long as Guo Songling can maintain his impartial approach, that will be enough.

Wang Chuanzhu was only implicated, but he was not really involved. His second son worked in the General Armament Department. He took advantage of his position to get the specific formula of armored steel and sold it to the Americans. The facts are all there and cannot be refuted. According to the boy, he didn't know the buyer was an American. He thought it was the Japanese who wanted it, so he helped. Regardless of whether the buyer was American or Japanese, since

Having done such a thing as selling out the state's top secrets, he will not escape being shot.

As for the other persons involved in the case, those who should be killed should be killed, and those who should be arrested should be arrested. There is nothing much to say. As for General Wang Chuanzhu, his guards testified that he was not involved in the leak, so he was acquitted, but he could no longer be the commander of the military region and was transferred to the military academy to teach. The guards and security guards of the generals were all sent by the General Staff. In addition to protecting the personal safety of the generals, their task was to record their life experiences, including where they went, who they met, and what they did.

After looking through the records, we can see that Wang Chuanzhu lived and ate at the headquarters during that period, was busy with the production corps' affairs all day, and was not involved in the case.

In the past, many generals were dissatisfied with the system of the General Staff sending out guards, believing that the central government was not confident in them, so they sent out "military supervisors". Now it seems that this system is still very useful. It can prevent certain things from happening, and when problems arise, it can also be used to prove the innocence of the generals. If there was no such system, even if there was no evidence, Wang Chuanzhu would not be able to clear himself of suspicion.

Guo Songling acted quickly, was very rough, and was very efficient. It took him nearly a month and a half to sort out the case. It took another month for the central government to finish trying the relevant personnel. In May 1909, three months after Lin Yongchang returned to Chang'an, the case was disclosed in the People's Daily.

The People's Daily used an entire page to talk about this incident. General Wang Chuanzhu's second son and six other people were shot, 6 people were exiled, and more than 21 people were expelled from the party... In addition to the "armor steel formula leak" incident, many other things were uncovered and solved at the same time.

The general's son was also to be shot? When the news came out, it was like an earthquake. In addition to the general's son, many of those who were shot and exiled were so-called "children of the big courtyards". They were all people with backgrounds. How could they be killed just like that?

Chairman Lin published an article in the People's Daily and Reference News, "In the new China, everyone is equal. Anyone who dares to call himself aristocrat or superior to others will be crushed by the iron fist of the people!"

“The people, and only the people, are the real driving force behind social development!”

But unfortunately, Wu Zhihui, Cai Yuanpei and others escaped punishment again. They were in a bad position, but they were very smart. These people were not very courageous, and they retreated at the slightest sign of trouble. In the case that they did not commit a crime, they could only be criticized and educated at most. It is impossible to break the law for these annoying guys, right? Then Lin Yongchang would really become a kind father.

"Rule the country by law" can be distorted into "rule the country by noise" or "rule the country by lawyers", but the principle is correct. Well, as legal workers, why are they called lawyers instead of lawyers? Is it because the word "lawyer" has a specific meaning?

After a tour of Europe, Lin Yongchang became more convinced that "populism" was the correct path. In order to ensure that more people identified with "populism", it was necessary to build spiritual civilization while building material civilization. Both hands should be used and both hands should be strong.

Therefore, while implementing the "First Five-Year Plan", the People's Government is also promoting "cultural reform". So far, the effect is not bad. Compared with the best result in Lin Yongchang's mind, there are certainly many shortcomings, but if compared horizontally with other countries, or vertically with previous dynasties, China today is undoubtedly "politically stable and harmonious".

Japan, which is next door, has been developing very fast, following the example of China, but it still retains many feudal remnants. After the introduction of the Labor Law, the rights and interests of workers have been greatly protected. In order to bypass the restrictions of the Labor Law, the Japanese bourgeoisie, on the one hand, vigorously advocated the "craftsman spirit", and on the other hand, came up with the "labor dispatch system". In terms of gaining benefits for themselves and shifting the blame, the Japanese are no worse than the Chinese.

The so-called "labor dispatch system" is mainly used to do the following things: unequal pay for work, unequal rights for the same position, low social security benefits, no vocational training, and limited career development. This is a system designed to protect the interests of the employer. The benefits go to the employer, while the responsibilities are borne by the workers themselves.

The millions of self-employed people created by a certain group in later generations are a variation of the "labor dispatch system", which was born with bad intentions. Lin Yongchang hated the "labor dispatch system" so much that when he graduated from university, the school asked him to sign a "three-party contract", which was a kind of "labor dispatch".

After reading the contract, Lin Yongchang was still a little confused. Why did he have to sign a "labor dispatch" contract? Couldn't he just sign a contract with the employer? Later, he understood the difference between regular workers, contract workers and temporary workers, and figured out outsourcing and the "tax package system". Only then did he understand why the "labor dispatch system" existed.

Ito Hirobumi did not have the high reputation and strength of Lin Yongchang. He was both aggressive and coercive towards various forces in Japan. In addition, he was not a true leftist, so he did not oppose the "Labor Dispatch System". However, Lin Yongchang was different. Chairman Lin's prestige was unmatched, so he refused to implement the "Labor Dispatch System" in China.

Chairman Lin cares about workers, which is a good thing, but it also leads to some problems. China's labor costs are higher than Japan's. The average wage of workers is about 1.8 times that of Japanese workers, which leads to many Japanese workers being

Many people came to China to work, and even became Chinese citizens. China's labor costs are high, and driven by profits, many companies set up factories in Japan. The Japanese government thus received a large amount of tax revenue, while China lost a lot of income.

Some opposing voices have emerged at both the central and local levels, believing that the labor dispatch system still has its merits and should not be rejected outright.

Chapter 543: Change of Term

The Labor Dispatch System became popular in later generations. Whether it was state-owned enterprises or private enterprises, they all said it was good. It must have its merits. At least, in terms of shifting the blame and saving money, the effect was very good.

However, comrades within the Party look at the problem from another perspective. Some enterprises and companies, such as construction sites, sometimes need workers, but sometimes do not need workers when there are no projects or when they need to take a month or so off. In this case, a flexible employment system is needed.

In this case, the "Labor Dispatch System" is a friendly solution. As long as "equal pay for equal work" can be guaranteed and as long as the legitimate rights and interests of workers can be guaranteed, it would not be a big deal even if the "Labor Dispatch System" is introduced, right?

"This is not something you would say," Lin Yongchang poured a cup of tea for Wang Qi, "If other comrades have any ideas, they can tell me directly."

Wang Qi shook his head. “There are fewer and fewer comrades who dare to tell you the truth.”

This is a problem, and Lin Yongchang has already noticed it. "When the first five-year plan is completed next year, the president...don't call him president anymore, change him to president of the country. Next year we will have a change of leadership, and you will be the president of the country. This may be better."

"I will only retain the positions of Party Chairman and Chairman of the Military Commission. What do you think?"

"Not really. I'm still better suited to handling specific matters."

"We have to change. I can't keep doing this. Otherwise, the Republic will have the tradition of family rule again." Lin Yongchang said with a smile: "Many people at home and abroad say that we are a dictatorship."

Wang Qi felt that there was nothing wrong with dictatorship. The country was so big and the population was so large that comrades often disagreed and rarely reached a consensus. Someone was needed to make the final decision. Haven't we done a good job over the years? Why should we care about what others say? Moreover, the more the enemy opposes, the more we should insist on it. This is a quote from Lin Yongchang's Selected Works.

But Wang Qi knew that Lin Yongchang hated the theory of bloodline very much. He had been promoting the republican tradition over the years and implementing the democratic centralism system at the central level. He wanted centralization, but also democracy.

"If you insist, I can take over as president, but who will be the prime minister? Comrade Chen Tianhua, or............."

"No, Chen Tianhua and his men are still too young, lacking in experience and ability to handle things. You should appoint someone mature and steady to replace you. What do you think of Xu Shichang?"

Xu Shichang was an old friend of Yuan Shikai. He passed the imperial examination and served as a Hanlin scholar in the previous dynasty. After the fall of the previous dynasty, he became the Minister of Finance of the Nanjing National Government and then served in the People's Government. He had rich work experience and was good at handling government affairs.

Wang Qi was somewhat surprised to hear that Lin Yongchang intended to let Xu Shichang be the prime minister. Xu Shichang had changed sides many times and was ridiculed as "better than Lu Bu", with mixed reputations. But on second thought, he felt that it was not a bad idea to let Xu Shichang be the prime minister, "it would be a good opportunity for him to retire after serving one term as prime minister."

Xu Shichang was born in 1855. He turned two years later. After serving as prime minister for five years, he was exactly years old, reaching the retirement age, and then handed over the post of prime minister to the next person.

"He is indeed a suitable candidate," Wang Qi agreed with Lin Yongchang's proposal, "but we must first communicate with the comrades and unify the opinions of the Central Committee."

"This is natural."

Wang Qi talked to Lin Yongchang about the change of leadership for a while, and then brought the topic back to the Labor Dispatch System. "For new things that emerge, we need to observe them for a while, extract their essence and discard their dross, rather than completely denying them at the beginning."

Lin Yongchang thought for a moment and thought that Wang Qi was right. "Then let's try it out for a while, but we must guarantee the rights and interests of workers and cannot turn labor dispatch into a trick to circumvent the Labor Law."

China continued its first "Five-Year Plan" and was almost indifferent to the affairs of other countries in the world, with a style of "let the wind blow from all directions, I will remain unmoved", but in Europe, the naval arms race became more and more intense. Germany wanted to build more battleships, and the British immediately announced that they would build more battleships and battlecruisers than Germany. The struggle between the first naval power and the first land power became more and more intense, and it did not stop because of the holding of the Olympics.

The Olympic spirit is all a lie. The throne of world hegemony can only accommodate one country, and the British government will never easily give up the throne of hegemony until the last moment.

So when is the final moment?

It was almost like fighting two world wars, with the Soviet Union and the United States jointly dismantling the colonial system, losing control of the Suez Canal, and losing India. Coupled with Ireland's independence, the British were almost forced to surrender with dignity.

Well, none of these tasks are easy. Let the Germans challenge the world hegemony. There is no need for China to get involved in the dispute.

Dominate the central region. There is still a lot of potential in the Chinese domestic market to be tapped, and there is no need to fight to the death like Germany did. The first rafter to stick out will rot first, and the king's pioneer has happened many times in Chinese history.

The Germans didn't understand this, or maybe they did, but they had no choice.

The naval arms race between Britain and Germany was a historical necessity. Lin Yongchang had long known that the naval arms race between the two countries would become increasingly fierce until both sides were exhausted, the country was in trouble and the people were tired, and they had to hope to solve all problems with war. At that time, both the Allies and the Central Powers could not drag it out any longer and thought that nothing could get worse, but the war would be worse than they could imagine.

These are all things that Lin Yongchang knows. They are also things that happened in another world. However, the rise of the US Navy and Army was much earlier than in another world. This is also easy to understand. After being beaten up and almost being killed by the enemy on the mainland - this may not be impossible - after experiencing these things, it is also predictable that the US government chose to strengthen its military power.

But this caused some trouble for Lin Yongchang. The United States' early strengthening of its army and navy would have a profound impact on the world. It meant that he could no longer grasp the historical nodes as accurately as before and seek the greatest benefits for China.

But this is not a big deal. As long as China stays on the right path, it will not be afraid of any challenge. If it does not even have this confidence, it might as well hand over the position of national leader to someone more suitable.

Chapter 544: Great Construction

"The US government has enacted a new naval bill that will build twenty battleships and six battlecruisers, as well as several times that number of light warships, over the next five years."

At the cabinet meeting, Ito Hirobumi finished reading the report and then looked around at the ministers present. "What do you think?"

"........."

"........."

There was an indescribable sinking at the venue. Twenty battleships and six battlecruisers were a naval force that Japan could not resist no matter what. As long as the Americans really built such a huge fleet, the East Asia Combined Fleet would have only one outcome: it would be crushed.

The disparity in strength could no longer be made up by tactics and character. In the last Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Combined Fleet and the US Navy were only evenly matched. The victory was not because the Combined Fleet was more powerful, but because it had the advantage of geographical location.

But if the US Navy had twenty dreadnought and super dreadnought battleships... no, more than twenty battleships, plus the existing four battleships, that would be twenty-four battleships! With such a strong force, if it were to be pushed forward step by step, the geographical advantage of the East Asian Combined Fleet would be greatly weakened, and the miracle of the Battle of Leyte Gulf would not be replicated again.

The United States builds warships faster than the Germans, just a little slower than the British, and four times faster than Japan. Although the United States' naval technology and ship design are somewhat inferior, as long as they are willing to spend money, those are not problems.

"We can raise taxes, or issue bonds..." Takahashi Korekiyo said, "We can start construction of two...three battleships every year!"

The slow shipbuilding speed is due to the lack of technical level, but the main problem is the lack of money. If there is enough money, ten battleships can be started at the same time, even if the construction speed is a little slower, it will definitely make the British Empire scalp numb. But the Japanese government has no money. Since there is no money, it just needs to find a way to make more money. There are only a few ways to make money, such as increasing taxes, loans and issuing bonds, or over-issuing currency and plundering the wealth of the people. Takahashi Korekiyo is Japan's leading financial expert, but he can't make money out of thin air.

This proposal was immediately opposed. The person from the Ministry of Agriculture, Kotoku Shusui, disagreed with the increase in agricultural taxes. "Our agricultural taxes are twice as much as China's," Kotoku Shusui said calmly without any intense emotions. He just pointed out the fact that "at least tens of thousands of people choose to settle in China every year. If taxes continue to be raised, more people will go to China or the Philippines."

Ten thousand people is about 2,500 households. There are many people in Japan but little land. Population outflow can relieve domestic pressure. But too much population outflow is not good. In fact, the Japanese government has begun to find ways to reduce population outflow. Too many skilled workers went to China to do the work, which affected the speed of Japan's industrial development. The Taisho government could have done better, but due to the lack of engineers and skilled workers, the progress of many plans was far behind expectations.

Once the talents who mastered the core technology became Chinese, the rest of the work had to take three to five times as long to polish. What's worse is that during the delay, Chinese or North Korean companies seized the market, and the slowly built factories and production lines could only gather dust.

If the products produced cannot be sold, then there will be a loss. The more you produce, the more you lose. However, if you continue to produce, you may still be able to occupy the market. No matter what method you use, whether it is selling at a lower price, using administrative orders, or advertising, as long as you can occupy the market, you can still make back your investment, or even make money. If you don't produce, the previous investment will definitely be wasted.

To produce or not to produce, that is the question.

Kotoku Shusui represents agriculture

The Ministry of Commerce opposed the proposal to increase taxes, and several other departments had the same view. Japan has gained the vast market of China and the entire East Asian Alliance, but at the same time, the Japanese market has also been opened to China. Compared with countries such as China and North Korea, Japanese companies do not have much advantage. They only make more money by relying on cheaper labor. If taxes are imposed on industry and commerce, Japanese products will not be very competitive in ASEAN.

What about selling to countries outside ASEAN? Well, the British government was not even willing to open its market to France and Russia, and certainly not to Japan. The colonial system and the imperial preferential system were the foundation of the British Empire's dominance in the world, and they could not be shaken in any way.

Takahashi Korekiyo said with a sad face: "We can't raise taxes, nor can we continue to borrow money from Britain and France, so we can only issue bonds. But I would like to remind you that the government has already issued bonds twice in half a year. It is not a good idea to continue issuing bonds."

If too many bonds are issued, no one will buy them. Unsold bonds are no different from waste paper. If companies are forced to buy them, what difference does that make to raising taxes? No, there is a difference, and that is that the impact is even worse.

"Takahashi-kun, can't you think of another solution?"

Takahashi Korekiyo sighed repeatedly, "I really have no other options."

Financial experts are not magicians and cannot get to the root of the problem and create miracles.

"The Americans already have four dreadnoughts, one more than we have. In five years they will have more than twenty battleships, plus six battlecruisers. Gentlemen, the situation we face is more dangerous than before the Battle of Leyte Gulf!"

Ito Hirobumi's tone was also very calm. "We can still discuss the issue here now, but five years later, we probably won't have the leisure to do so." Seeing that everyone was still frowning, he continued, "Perhaps the US government built so many warships just to prevent us from attacking?"

If it was just for defense, there would be no need to build more than 20 battleships. The US Congress is famous for being stingy, but this time it spent so much money on building a large battleship. Even a fool can know that it is not for defense. If it is not for defense, then it is for offense. Attack needs a goal. Is it to join forces with Germany to overthrow the British Empire, or to return to East Asia?

Both seem possible, but compared to challenging the world hegemon, it is more likely to pinch Japan, a soft persimmon and enemy.

"This is an unprecedented crisis, we must come up with a solution as soon as possible!"

Everyone looked at each other, then lowered their heads and remained silent. Everyone understood Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi's thoughts, but no one was willing to choose that plan until the last minute. The Americans had only passed the naval expansion bill, and there were only four battleships. The advantage over East Asia was not that great, so they could delay it a little longer. Since they could still delay it a little longer, they could delay it a little longer.

Maybe someone will be willing to stand up bravely and take responsibility.

Chapter 545: Response