After Liu Yimin reported to the Central Committee the results of the negotiations with Ma Hongkui, he handed over the Jade Watermelon, Qin Shihuang, and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty's Taishan Fengshan Announcement to the Central Committee.
Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai were all consignees, so they naturally knew that this was the national treasure among the national treasures. They were so happy that Liu Yimin took Luo Ronghuan, Cai Zhong, Zeng Zhongsheng, Wu Zheng, Qian Zhuangfei and Hu Di to the headquarters as guests.
While drinking, Cai Zhong took the opportunity to ask Mao Zedong how much these two things are worth?
Mao Zedong said with a smile: "Comrade Cai Zhong, this is a priceless treasure and cannot be measured by money. Now it is a war-torn era. In order to satisfy their own desires, the warlords have ruined all our treasures. Since the things are in our hands, we must keep them well. If we really want to say a price, in my opinion, after our revolution is victorious, even if someone pays 100 million, we will not sell them."
Cai Zhong was shocked when he heard this. Wu Zheng said, "It's over. Director Cai's wife is going to wash the corps commander for six months."
When Mr. Zhu heard this, he asked: "Don't Cai Zhong have no wife? How can he wash clothes for Liu Yimin?"
Luo Ronghuan hurriedly told the bet between the two of them, and Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Zhu De all laughed.
Mao Zedong was excited and took advantage of the wine and splashed ink to write his "Qinyuanchun. Changsha" written in 1920, and gave it to Comrade Liu Yimin, who was given to him and asked him to take it back for fun.
When Liu Yimin saw that the Chairman wrote very carefully and splashed ink while drinking, it was definitely a treasure. He happily collected it and took it back for Tang Xingying to collect it carefully and must not be lost.
For the next period of time, the Red Seventh Army was very busy.
Hu Di was busy negotiating with Ma De sent by Ma Bufang, while Li Qing was busy negotiating with Chen Jingtang sent by Yan Xishan.
Wu Zheng's logistics headquarters was busy urging all troops to accept war horses, cattle and sheep, carry out settlements, and set up breeding farms, and was preparing to start car, motorcycle driving and maintenance training classes.
Zeng Zhongsheng led the Staff Office to open the first Staff Training Class of the Red Seventh Army. At the same time, he organized forces to draw a map of Shaanxi and began to organize troops to train militia backbones from all over the country.
Cai Zhong led the Political Department to hold a training class for political cadres and dispatched personnel to continue to participate in the work team organized by Shaanxi Anti-Japanese Democratic Government.
Luo Ronghuan found Yang Dalin and the two of them studied and drafted the Red Army Military Laws and Regulations consented by Liu Yimin, preparing to build the Red Seventh Army Military Court.
Liu Yimin started to revise the current national education textbooks and prepared to popularize primary and secondary education in the entire army.
According to the historical development process, the comprehensive war of resistance will not break out until 37 years. In the meantime, Liu Yimin wanted to seize the time to improve the cultural level of cadres and soldiers. After improving the cultural level, the ability to master and use weapons and understand tactics will also improve. However, after reading the primary school textbooks in Xi'an and middle school textbooks, Liu Yimin felt that it was too simple, so he decided to combine the textbooks and add some content to make it more targeted.
After several days of hard work, the Chinese and arithmetic of the primary school textbooks had been improved. Liu Yimin gathered the cadres of the army's university-educated department to discuss it. Then he solicited the opinions of relevant personnel from the former Shaanxi Provincial Department of Education, and organized some teachers from various schools in Xi'an, and finally it was finalized. The title of the book is "Primary Education Textbook for Workers and Peasants' Red Army", and the editor's name was signed as Liu Yimin, the commander of the Red Seventh Army.
Liu Yimin felt strange and asked Li Qing: "You didn't tell him that if no agreement is reached, we will go to Shanxi to get the money by ourselves?"
Li Qing smiled bitterly and said, "I have to say this threat several times every day, but the old man insisted that the two sides were negotiating. It was not that they were not sincere, but that we asked for a price too high. If we attack Shanxi before reaching an agreement, he would die in Xi'an. If the people in the world want to see it, the Red Army would also betrayal."
Liu Yimin knew that Chen Jingtang died in 1938 in history. After the Japanese army searched the cellar where his whole family was hiding, the family was killed. He was one of the famous martyrs of the Three Shanxis. Yan Xishan really knew how to select people, and actually sent this person to him. It was probably because he was attracted by his integrity and loyalty.
After thinking about it, Liu Yimin said: "Yan Xishan is different from Ma Bufang. When Yan Xishan's father, Mr. Yan Shutang, took out part of his property to do charity and told Yan Xishan not to use his inheritance to buy arms. This old man is a person who is worried about the country and the people. Yan Xishan himself is also good. Although he is a warlord and he is reactionary, most of his energy is spent on protecting the country and safeguarding the people's livelihood and developing Shanxi's people's livelihood economy. This time he sent troops to Shaanxi, it was probably Chiang Kai-shek who painted a big cake for him, and he could not withstand temptation. Besides, the discipline of the Jinsui Army was not bad, and he did not deliberately destroy it after crossing the river. Chen Jingtang is a well-educated and honest man. Be polite to him, don't hurt him verbally, and try to take care of him as much as possible. When he is old, he will be unreasonable if he is sick here."
Li Qing and Liu Yimin have been together for a long time. They know him and know that he is very accurate in judging people. As long as he says it is good, then this person must be good. However, Li Qing still asked: "League Commander, what do you think of this? Can't you always drag it on like this?"
Liu Yimin looked at Li Qing's anxious look and burst into laughter: "I said Li Qing, you are now the commander of the main division of the Red Army. You still have trouble with this little thing? In this way, I wrote a letter to Yan Xishan for 20 million, and I didn't have any basis, nor did I report it to the Chairman and the others. You can do it! I think, Yan Xishan has to get 5 million yuan. However, I don't want money for this 5 million yuan. First, I ask Yan Xishan to give us some of his arsenal equipment so that we can build rifles, machine guns, mortars, mountain cannons, field cannons and ammunition. The Japanese are about to start in North China. The arsenal is very unsafe in Taiyuan, so it is beneficial to give us some early. Second, let him help us open iron ore,
Coal mines, steel plants and power plants are built, and power plants are provided by them. They only need to provide technical personnel for the rest of the iron mines, coal mines and steel plants. Third, the two parties have to sign a secret agreement to protect the smooth trade routes. The equipment we purchased from the United States needs to pass from them, and if necessary, they have to borrow their name to pick up goods at Tianjin Port. If they are unwilling to give us equipment, it is okay to give us money, but if you give us money, you have to give us another 1 million or 500,000 yuan of steel in addition to 5 million. If you call Zeng Zhao and Shen Qian, they understand. In short, the negotiations with Yan Xishan must be flexible. The most fundamental problem is to solve the problem of our equipment and materials passing through Shanxi. You understand!"
Li Qing thought for a while and said, "Or why don't you take some time to meet Chen Jingtang, he really wants to see you."
Liu Yimin said readily: "Yes, it's too late now. You talk first tomorrow. I'll see him tomorrow afternoon."
Seeing that Li Qing had finished talking about it, Hu Di asked Ma Bufang what to do?
Liu Yimin said: "Ma Bufang is different from Yan Xishan, and Ma De and Chen Jingtang are also different. According to my original intention, they are completely different from their transactions. However, we need funds now. In this way, you can talk to them. Each ordinary soldier is 300 yuan silver dollars and the squad leader is 800 yuan silver dollars, and a penny cannot be lost. In addition, you tell them that if you dare to attack the Red Army again, then we will catch them and be shot in public trial, which is absolutely unforgiving."
Seeing that Liu Yimin was in a good mood, Hu Di said, "Does he give some room for up and down? Negotiations always require repayment, and it is up to the transaction to reach a deal."
Liu Yimin nodded: "You and Li Qing are discussing it. Since you are responsible, you have the ability to do it. Hurry up the time, we still have many things to do!"
Only then did Hu Di leave Liu Yimin's office with satisfaction with Li Qing.
After dinner, Liu Yimin felt so busy that he was dizzy during this period. He was just preparing textbooks, but he didn't care about going to the army to see. He didn't know how the reclamation of each unit was doing. He didn't have the farm to run it, so he called Luo Ronghuan, Cai Zhong, Zeng Zhongsheng, Wu Zheng, and Tang Xingying to go to the farm of the suburbs' army directly under the army.
Wu Zheng was very familiar with the reclamation sites of each unit. He led a few people out of Xi'an City and arrived at the farm of the artillery division.
The fields under the setting sun are green, like a green ocean, looking refreshing.
The second company of the 7th Battalion of the Third Regiment of the Artillery Division was on the farm. The soldiers were having dinner. When they saw the corps commander coming, the company commander Fan Shiying and instructor Yuan Puzheng immediately gathered the team and asked the corps commander to speak.
Liu Yimin smiled and said, "There is no such thing to say. We just come and see, and everyone will continue to eat." After that, he brought the soldiers' bowls and looked at them. It's OK, millet porridge, each of them has white flour steamed buns and yellow flour steamed buns, and the vegetables are pickled shredded radish and shredded cabbage.
Liu Yimin called a soldier and asked if he could eat enough?
The soldier said that he could eat well, which was better than eating at home. Liu Yimin asked him what his name was and where his home was. The soldier said that his family was from Chang'an County and he signed up for the army before the Tianshui Battle, and was named Tian Bao.
When Liu Yimin heard that he was a new soldier, he asked him why he joined the Red Army?
Tian Bao reported that his father made him the Red Army because he used to be the long-term workers for the old money. When the Red Army came, he gave him land and cows, and his life was hopeful. When he heard that the Central Army was coming to attack Xi'an, he had to hand over the land of the old money, so his father made him the Red Army, killed the Central Army, and saved his family's land.
Liu Yimin was very happy after hearing this. By carrying out land reform, the enthusiasm of the farmers increased. From then on, Shaanxi became the rear of the Red Army, and Chiang Kai-shek's Central Army would never be able to take Shaanxi back.
He patted Tian Bao on the shoulder and encouraged him to do his best and make contributions as soon as possible. Then Liu Yimin called Fan Shiying and Yuan Puzheng led them to see the breeding farm.
When I went to the farm, the troops had built walls and built pig pens, sheep pens, and cattle pens. Fan Shiying said happily: "League Commander and Political Commissar, the cattle breeds slowly, and sheep and pigs are faster. During the Chinese New Year, the leaders will come to the artillery division and eat large pieces of meat. Then I will make mutton soup and beef soup for you. You don't know, before I joined the army, I was the best at doing this."
When Liu Yimin heard this, he said, "Okay, I will definitely go. I didn't expect that our artillery company commander would have this ability. He could kill the enemy when he went on battle, and he could cook when he got off the horse. It was amazing."
After walking around, I was quite satisfied. Seeing that the sun was setting, a few people left the farm and returned to the army headquarters.
Tang Xingying hasn't come out for a long time and wants to play for a while. Liu Yimin asked Luo Ronghuan and the others to go back first, and he took Tang Xingying, Li Chengyi, Li Xiaoshuai, and Huang Wenhu to accompany Tang Xingying in the suburbs again.
In the evening of May, the fields were filled with the fragrance of seedlings. Tang Xingying hummed a little song in her mouth, held Liu Yimin's hand, and walked on the path with a beautiful smile on her face.
Li Chengyi and several guards followed behind with their horses, not disturbing them.
When he arrived at a stone, Tang Xingying pulled Liu Yimin and sat down.
Looking at the green eyes, Liu Yimin was very proud. The vitality dyed with greenery has its own efforts and contributions. When it comes to the harvest season, the large and small stocks have flowed. Not only did the Red Army solve the problem of military food, but the people of Qinchuan don’t have to worry about their meals. If they can develop stably in a few years, the 800-mile Qinchuan will really become the rice and grain river.
Seeing that Liu Yimin didn't know what he was thinking, Tang Xingying pulled a blade of grass and gently scraped Liu Yimin's nose.
When Liu Yimin saw the girl's heart and heart was sweet, he reached out to scrape her nose.
Tang Xingying said coquettishly: "There are people next to her!"
Liu Yimin turned his head and saw that Li Chengyi and several guards were standing in the distance with them on their backs. He turned around and carried Tang Xingying into his arms and kissed her directly.
After a long time, Tang Xingying broke away from him, sat on the stone, tidied her hair, and said, "Yimin, I have something to discuss with you."
Liu Yimin smiled and said, "The couple cannot say much at home, and they have to go to this wilderness to talk."
Tang Xingying said: "You are so busy, I dare not disturb you, are you afraid of affecting your mood?"
Liu Yimin said: "Yes, if you make progress, your new wife will know that she loves a man. Tell me!"
Tang Xingying spat at him and said, "You have never asked my family, nor do you know what my parents' surname is, or what they do. I want to discuss it for you. If the peace talks are successful, I will write a letter to ask my parents to come to Xi'an. One is to see you, and the other is that I have been out for so long, and I miss them. You don't know, I am an only daughter, and this has changed so much. I don't know how anxious my parents are at home!"
Liu Yimin thought that he had never asked Tang Xingying's family. Now that he married all his daughters, he didn't even know who his father-in-law was, it was a bit too much. Thinking of this, Liu Yimin hurriedly said: "It's not good for me. I just thought that you are a Red Army soldier like me, but I never thought that you are different from me. I have no relatives anymore, and you are also the good daughter of your parents. In this way, I will send Bai Chongxi a telegram to help him take your parents to Luoyang by plane and take the train to Xi'an from there."
Tang Xingying said strangely: "Didn't you always emphasize confidentiality and even interviews with reporters are not allowed to write about the soldiers' hometowns? Why did you suddenly change your temper and dare to ask Bai Chongxi to send a plane to my parents? What if he arrested my parents? Besides, who is Bai Chongxi? Will he respect you and give you face?"
Liu Yimin smiled and said, "The situation is different. Now our Red Army has 200,000 elite troops, and it occupies such a large area. Even Chiang Kai-shek has to negotiate with us. Will Bai Chongxi make things difficult for us? Maybe he will be very happy when he knows that my wife is his fellow villager!"
Tang Xingying thought about this and said, "Then can you do it quickly? I dreamed of my mother last night, and she kept crying."
Liu Yimin thought for a while and said, "Don't worry, you can send a telegram to your parents tomorrow to tell them that you are safe. As soon as the armistice agreement is signed, they will be brought. When they come, they will not go back to Guilin and stay in Xi'an to accompany you. If you give birth to a child in the future, I will be so busy and don't care about taking care of you, so let them help you."
Tang Xingying's face immediately turned red, she twisted Liu Yimin hard, pulled him up and stood up, got back to the army headquarters.
The next morning, Tang Xingying sent a telegram to her parents, reporting her safety, and asked them to prepare for the matters they should deal with, and went back to pick them up for reunion.
In the afternoon, Liu Yimin met with Yan Xishan's representative Chen Jingtang in the office.
Since Liu Yimin let go, the negotiations between Li Qing and Chen Jingtang went smoothly. The normal trade exchanges between the two sides have been finalized, and the matter of asking Shanxi to support engineering and technical personnel has also been finalized. Even if the military factory equipment cannot be negotiated, Chen Jingtang would rather pay cash than agree to transfer the military factory equipment to the Red Army.
Liu Yimin knew that Yan Xishan's arsenal was as famous as Shenyang arsenal and Hanyang arsenal. It is one of the three major arsenals in China. At its peak, there were 15,000 workers and 3,800 machines of various types. It can produce mountain cannons, field cannons, mortars, light and heavy machine guns, rifles, submachine guns, and various types of bullets, explosives and grenades. In particular, the wooden handle grenades they produced can produce dozens of fragments when they exploded, and it is said that it is the highest quality in the country. Historically, after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Yan Xishan wanted to move the arsenal to the rear of Sichuan and Shaanxi, but unfortunately it was too late and only 2% of the equipment was transferred away. The rest of the equipment was seized by the Japanese army. Most of the better machines were transferred to Shenyang arsenal and Japan to make weapons and ammunition for the Japanese.
If this arsenal was as good as in history, it would be a pity to fall into the hands of the Japanese. I had to think of a way to get it to Shaanxi and it would be safe.
When Li Qing and Chen Jingtang came, Liu Yimin was thinking about how to get Yan Xishan’s arsenal to Xi’an. If it really didn’t work, he had to wait until the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War and snatch it before the Taiyuan City was broken.
Seeing Chen Jingtang coming in, Liu Yimin hurriedly stepped forward and shook hands to greet him, asking whether it was easy to walk along the way, whether it was a habit of living in Xi'an, and that it was delicious or not. If you need help, you can tell Li Qing directly, so you don't have to be polite. Then he called Tang Xingying and asked her to pour tea for Mr. Chen.
Liu Yimin's attentiveness surprised Chen Jingtang. He was clearly a well-educated family. He was not the one who wiped out tens of thousands of people while chatting and laughing, and often extorted millions of millions of people!
After Tang Xingying brought the tea to her and said sweetly, "Please have tea", Chen Jingtang realized from the shock that this was a negotiation between the two armies. Although the baby in front of him was gentle, he was the most famous young general now. I don't know what great tricks he had! Don't be fooled by his appearance, and he even counted money when he was sold.
After calming down, taking a sip of tea, Chen Jingtang said, "Captain Liu Jun, please forgive me for being rude, I will just say it."
Liu Yimin nodded: "Mr. Chen, please speak!"
Chen Jingtang said: "After so long negotiations, we both sides have basically reached an agreement. But Mr. Li proposed that we don't want our cash, and we will not obey the fate of asking for arsenal equipment. You must know that money can be given quietly, but others will not know. If we transport so much equipment, Shanxi people will know that Chairman Yan bowed to the Red Army, and the arsenals have compensated the Red Army. Where does Chairman Yan's face go? Besides, now that our two provinces are at the junction of the two provinces, the Red Army is so strong that if you give the arsenal equipment, Shanxi people will not be able to sleep. Therefore, I insist on giving you cash. As for other materials, as long as the Red Army pays the money, we will sell it to you, and we will not charge one more child than to others. Please forgive the Commander Liu Jun!"
Liu Yimin sighed and said, "Mr. Chen, I know you are a well-educated person, and have the heart to protect the place, develop the place, save the country and the people. I respect your character very much. The problem now is not that I insist on the equipment of your arsenal, but that the arsenal is too dangerous in Taiyuan. Think about it, now the Japanese occupy the Northeast and Shanhaiguan, and they belong outside the Great Wall. Recently, the Japanese are very restless and have repeatedly provoked troubles in the defense of the 29th Army. A major change is imminent! Let's imagine that if the Japanese invade China in an all-round way, the first thing they do is to do is Hebei. Then where will he attack after he occupy Hebei?"
Chen Jingtang stopped talking and said nothing with a calm face.
Liu Yimin continued: "I judge that after the Japanese occupied Hebei, they would inevitably divide the troops into two groups, one way to go south to take Shandong, and the other way to attack Shanxi, and then take Henan. Why do you say that? Japan has developed industry and they value transportation and resources very much. I won't talk about the importance of going south to Shandong, because you are not a military researcher. Let me talk about Shanxi, why the Japanese attack Shanxi? First, Shanxi has an important strategic position and will not take it down.
In Shanxi, the Chinese army will attack the North China Plain from Shanxi at any time, threatening the Japanese rear. Second, Shanxi is rich in resources, with coal and steel, which are all urgently obtained by the Japanese invaders. With these two points, you say that once China and Japan start war, will Shanxi be dangerous? At that time, the Japanese army will capture Taiyuan and use the equipment of the Taiyuan Arsenal to create weapons and ammunition to slaughter the Chinese. Chairman Yan, who would like to see this happen?”
Chen Jingtang was frightened when he heard this. It was a big problem when the young man said it. He was about to blurt out and ask you what to do, but suddenly he thought that this might be the other party’s remarks that he wanted to have arson equipment. Wait, let’s see what he could say.