Chapter 246: Tariff Independence (2)

Li Yuanhong's position in the government of the Republic of China has always been rather awkward. His political idea is to learn from the United States and engage in federalism. This is obviously contrary to Fang Jianxiong's idea. In addition, at the beginning of the Yuan family's withdrawal, Li Yuanhong kept making small moves, which led to him being marginalized.

This trend has eased recently. With the victory of the Sino-Japanese war, Li Yuanhong has changed his tone. Besides, the vice president of the Republic of China can't be just a decoration, right? At least there are things that can be done. Sun Baoqi is very generous.

He took the initiative to mention Li Yuanhong's matter to Fang Jianxiong. It happened that there was something that needed someone to take charge of, so Fang Jianxiong followed suit. Li Yuanhong was once regarded as a strong rival by Yuan Shikai, which shows that this person is very powerful.

Of course Li Yuanhong must seize this opportunity. It feels uncomfortable to be marginalized politically. Although this incident may offend others, he is still unwilling to miss the opportunity.

The three people in the study were chatting happily. Tang Hualong and Zhang Jian appeared at the door. Sun Baoqi stood up and greeted them: "Ji Zhi and Ji Wu are here just in time. Let's discuss it together."

Tang Hualong and Zhang Jian took off their coats and handed them to the attendants. They took the hot towels sent by the maid and wiped their faces before taking their seats.

"This weather is so damn bad. Not a drop of rain has fallen since the Spring Festival." Tang Hualong subconsciously expressed his worries. Drought is no joke. There is still a lot of water in Beijing at this time of year, unlike a hundred years later. But there is no rain.

Rain means that agriculture must resist drought, and the government of the Republic of China also attaches great importance to agriculture.

"This matter needs to be taken seriously. Brother Juren's Ministry of Internal Affairs must make preparations in advance, just in case." Sun Baoqi was naturally attracted to his attention. Fang Jianxiong stood up with a smile and said: "Everyone, I have to go to the Ministry of National Defense.

, I’ll take my leave now.”

Tang Hualong didn't expect that Fang Jianxiong was about to leave. Just as he was about to speak, Zhang Jian became more anxious and said directly: "Fuguo, walk slowly. We are here to find trouble for you."

Fang Jianxiong looked confused after hearing this, sat back and said with a smile: "Old Ji Zhi, brother Ji Wu, nothing will happen to you, right?"

Zhang Jian quickly talked about the customs negotiations, and the expressions of everyone present turned ugly. "The British and the Yi are bullying people too much!" Sun Baoqi angrily raised his hand and slapped the armrest of the chair with an angry look on his face. Li Yuanhong also said: "It's not an agreement.

Is it written well? Gradually hand it back to the customs and restore the customs tariff autonomy of the Republic of China."

Fang Jianxiong didn't show any surprise at all. He smiled slightly and said: "I thought it was something, it was expected. I used this as a condition at the beginning, just as a hook. I never thought that this matter would go smoothly, and the British would not give up easily.

Such a huge benefit. Last year's tariffs reached 60 million taels of silver, equivalent to 120 million yuan. Such a large amount of money was deposited in Daosheng and HSBC. The country of foreigners is dominated by capital.

, it would be weird to be willing to spit out this piece of fat."

These words were a reassurance for Tang Hualong and Zhang Jian. Fang Jianxiong had already predicted this, which was beyond their expectations.

"Fuguo, what do you say about this matter? There must be an explanation." Sun Baoqi felt relieved when he saw the student's attitude. Fang Jianxiong had a plan in mind, and there must be a way to make the British submit.

"Let this matter go for a while. If the British want to drag it on, they can drag it on. After a while, I will find a way to get the foreigners to come to us and beg us. That's it. I'll go to the Ministry of National Defense first. There are other people in Europe.

New news is back." Fang Jianxiong said and left, while Tang Hualong and Li Yuanhong stood up to say goodbye.

After Fang Jianxiong left, Sun Baoqi saw Li Yuanhong's eyes coming towards him, and then he smiled and said: "I almost forgot about the business. The three of us discussed it for a while just now, and it's time for Jiwu to come and talk together."

"President, I think this matter is definitely not a small matter. The president, vice president and the chairman of the Military Commission will discuss it together." Zhang Jian said with a smile, which was somewhat sour. The United Party was once a party with huge influence in the country, because

Tao Chengzhang was killed, Zhang Jian and others stopped playing with Zhang Taiyan. They were a bunch of old constitutionalists, and they had a strong sense of sunset. The new government was established, and Zhang Jian became the Minister of Finance. This is because of his prestige and qualifications.

As a result, usually in the ministry, with Xiong Xiling as his helper, there would not be too many checks and balances on power. It is said that this life is very nourishing. But looking at the Prime Minister Tang Hualong and the President Sun Baoqi, Zhang Jian felt unbalanced again.

From every angle, these two are inferior to me, right? Not to mention Li Yuanhong.

"Fuguo pointed out that the current press world is too chaotic and has no external constraints at all. It will definitely not work if it continues like this. Some newspapers make up random things to confuse the public for the sake of sales. During the Sino-Japanese War, there were still some newspapers that were trying to help the Japanese.

Speaking, some policies promulgated by the government are interpreted indiscriminately by some newspapers, using criticism of government policies as a means to attract attention. In order to achieve this goal, there are many people who spread rumors. This phenomenon must be controlled, but it must not affect the freedom of the press. Support the country.

It means setting up a regulatory department and promulgating a news management regulation. There are three main aspects. First, the review system for media qualifications. The so-called constant producers have perseverance. When running newspapers, they must be responsible to society and cannot be messed up for the sake of sales.

Come on, it will close down if it can’t be run. There are many such things, so we must catch this from the source. All newspapers at home and abroad must pay a deposit to the regulatory authorities before they are qualified to run a newspaper. The deposit is

The amount, Fuguo suggested, is 300,000 yuan. Existing newspapers that cannot pay the deposit will cease publication immediately. Second, the introduction of news management regulations must be targeted, and some media that are irresponsible have no moral bottom line.

Reports should be appropriately punished. In mild cases, fines and suspension of publication may be imposed, and in severe cases, judicial liability may be pursued. Don’t think that just because no one is in charge, you can make up random things to attract attention. Third, news regulatory agencies have the obligation to cooperate with the country’s needs in policy promotion.

, this agency is a government agency and is directly responsible to the Vice President.”

After Sun Baoqi said this, Tang Hualong and Zhang Jian both had strange expressions. In the Republic of China, there were no news restrictions. Intellectuals could criticize the government if they wanted to. It was normal for them to criticize the country's leaders when they were in a bad mood. Don't read these three things.

It sounds high-sounding, but in actual implementation it may not be the same thing?

"This matter should be done with caution to avoid criticism. Specific details need to be solicited and discussed from multiple parties." Tang Hualong does not care about taking this responsibility. Once this matter is announced in the name of the government, he will be the first to be scolded.

.

"This matter is not urgent. The news management regulations still need to be reviewed and approved by both houses of Congress." Sun Baoqi emphasized that this matter had to go through Congress, which made Tang Hualong's mind come alive. Since this matter was handled by Marshal Fang,

Push it forward, and no one will be able to stop it. News control, this is not a good sign. Looking at Li Yuanhong's face glowing red, Tang Hualong secretly disdains it.

Discussions are still going on here, Fang Jianxiong has arrived at the Ministry of National Defense, and Jiang Fangzhen and Huang Xing are at the General Staff, watching a dozen young staff officers conducting deductions on a huge sand table.

"How is the situation?" Fang Jianxiong asked when he entered the door. Jiang Fangzhen stood up and smiled and said: "It's okay. After Songpo and Runnong discussed it, they decided to take action. The main force of the group army will enter the Saint-Martin and Dablois lines and build defenses. As long as

Standing at this place, we can advance and retreat freely. It is not easy for the French to use us as cannon fodder. According to the results of the deduction, as long as this place is in our hands, even if Epernay is lost by the French army, our army will

You can also launch a strong counterattack, and the possibility of taking it back is very high."

"Is there any news about the special warfare division?" Fang Jianxiong asked this, Jiang Fangzhen smiled even more happily and said: "Wei Yue did a good job. The night before yesterday, he sneak attacked more than a dozen German targets in one go. Roads and railways were destroyed on sight. The German logistics are now

You are so annoying. Unless the German army deploys heavy troops to block the area around the Reims Mountains, you will never even think about having a peaceful life."

After Fang Jianxiong stared at the sand table for a while, Huang Xing came over and said: "By the way, a company commander named Liu Jianxu led his men to sneak attack on the headquarters of the German Fifth Army and found that the German army had a large number of tanks. Yesterday

The German army continued to attack and dispatched more than a hundred tanks. According to the results of the air force's reconnaissance, the German army seemed to have more than this number of tanks."

Fang Jianxiong suddenly raised his head, glanced at Huang Xing, and his eyes became extremely sharp. Huang Xing was startled and said, "What's wrong?"

"Immediately send a telegram to Songpo and Runnong to prepare for a German tank attack." Fang Jianxiong issued this order with a stern face. Before Huang Xing could react, Jiang Fangzhen rushed out of the war room like a gust of wind.

.

"Fuguo, what's going on?" Huang Xing still didn't understand. Fang Jianxiong patiently explained: "The Germans are going to repeat their old tricks. The most likely targets to attack are Saint-Martin and Dablois. As long as they take

Get down here and the Germans can attack wherever they want. The army's headquarters is currently located there. If my German brother Bob makes a long-distance attack, it will be too dangerous for the army to be unprepared."

Only then did Huang Xing realize the seriousness of the problem.

France, Saint-Martin, Dablois, Chinese Expeditionary Force First Army Headquarters. Saint-Martin, Dablois, the French here do not seem to have many worries about the war, except for the shortage of living supplies.

Everything is business as usual.

Cai E set up his headquarters in the church in the town. The French were very enthusiastic and cooperative.

Zhang Xiaohuai took a telegram and hurried into the war room and said: "Songpo, General Nivelle called again, asking us to reinforce Epernay. The German offensive is too fierce, and the French army can't withstand it."

Cai E frowned and said nothing. After a while, he asked: "There were only a hundred or so German tanks in total. Aerial reconnaissance is more than that. The German troops in Lavov could no longer see a single tank.

.”
Chapter completed!