"That's right, that's right." Although the two of them didn't hang out for long, everything they saw along the way and what just happened made Lu Jin realize that there were many problems that needed to be solved urgently in Fengtian City. He planned to He immediately went back to study the solution with Sokov, and naturally he had no interest in continuing to wander: "It's getting late, we should go back."

When Sokov passed by the man in a long gown, he stopped deliberately and said to him in a friendly tone: "It's okay. You should go home quickly. Your child is still at home waiting for you to make porridge for him. Please Remember, from now on, all the tricks of the little devil are invalid, there will no longer be any talk of economic crimes, and all of you can freely buy the rice and flour you want to eat, do you understand?"

After listening to what the translator said, the man in a long gown asked dubiously: "Is everything you said true?"

Sokov nodded vigorously and said in a positive tone: "I am the highest commander in Fengtian at present, and everything I say counts. So you don't have to worry about what I say will not work in this city. "

When the translator translated Sokov's words to the man in the long gown, he specially added: "All the troops in the city are under his control. Even the commander of the devils will nod and bow when they see him."

 Originally, what the man in the long gown said to Sokov could not be fully trusted. But the words added by the translator on his own initiative had an unexpected effect. First, the man in a long gown bowed respectfully towards the backs of Cove and others, and then the surrounding residents began to cheer.

After returning to the headquarters, Sokov saw that only Yakov was here, so he asked loudly: "Yasha, where is Comrade Military Commissar?"

Yakov didn't know what happened, so he quickly replied: "Comrade Military Commissar said it was too boring to stay here, and then went to General Afunin's military headquarters."

Afnin's corps headquarters was originally in the building where the headquarters was located. Later, he may have felt that it was inconvenient for the corps headquarters and the group army headquarters to be in the same building, so he moved it to a nearby building.

“Yasha, call Comrade Military Commissioner immediately and ask him to come back immediately. I want to hold an emergency meeting.”

"What's the matter?" Yakov asked with some confusion: "How come you and Comrade Deputy Commander went out and had to hold an emergency meeting when you came back? Did something happen?"

“You call first, and I’ll tell you the specifics after you finish the call.”

When Yakov picked up the phone, he asked tentatively: "Misha, do you need to call General Afnin?"

Sokov thought in his mind that Afnin's 18th Guards Corps was stationed in Fengtian now. The three divisions controlled Fengtian and the surrounding areas respectively. If he wanted to convey his orders quickly, he must let several division commanders Also attend meetings to make your intentions clear to them. Thinking of this, he said to Yakov: "In addition to General Afnin, his three division commanders were also called over for a meeting."

Ten minutes later, not only did military commissar Gorokhov return, Afunin, his chief of staff, political commissar, and three division commanders all came to the headquarters.

When Sokov saw it, he was a little surprised and asked: "People are here so quickly?"

"Comrade Commander, the situation is like this." Afunin explained to Sokov: "Several division commanders happened to be at my army headquarters. When they heard that you were going to hold an emergency meeting, they rushed back immediately. I don't know if you What's the matter with coming to us in such a hurry?"

After Sokov asked everyone to sit down, he turned to Lukin and said, "Comrade Deputy Commander, please tell everyone about the situation."

 Lu Jin nodded and told the commanders present what he saw and heard on the road today.

When Lukin's story ended, Major General Ryazanov, commander of the 41st Guards Division, raised his hand: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I want to ask a question."

"Just ask."

“Why did the Kwantung Army prohibit the people in the Northeast from eating rice and white flour?”

Facing Riazanov’s question, Lukin didn’t know how to answer for a while. He could only turn his attention to Sokov, hoping that he would answer the question.

"General Ryazanov, let me answer your question." Although on the way back, Sokov briefly introduced to Lu Jin the reason why the little devils did not allow the Northeastern people to eat rice and white flour, Lu Jin only had a partial understanding. , if you want to explain the situation to everyone, Sokov must take action. Sokov realized this, and took the initiative to explain to everyone the reason why the little devils did this: "Since the little devils occupied the Northeast, they found that the soil and climate conditions here are very suitable for growing Hokkaido rice. Therefore, they have spread over a large area in the Northeast. Promote rice cultivation and force the people of Northeast China to switch to this crop.

Initially, ordinary people in the Northeast could purchase and eat rice and flour. However, as the scale of the Japs’ war of aggression continued to expand, the rice and flour produced in the Northeast became important strategic materials and needed to be transported to occupied areas around the world, resulting in the shortage of these food resources.

In this case, the top leaders of the island country promulgated the "Rice and Grain Management Law", which clearly stipulates that rice and white flour are fine grains and can only be eaten by the people of the island country. If the Chinese people in the Northeast dare to buy and eat them, it will be considered a crime. In the light case, they will be imprisoned and fined; in the serious case, they will be executed directly. "

"This is simply ridiculous." Ryazanov said angrily: "If the Germans had stipulated that local residents were not allowed to eat bread and butter when they occupied our land, I think there would be even more guerrillas operating in the forest. .”

Sokov agreed very much with Ryazanov's statement. Food was the most important thing for the people. If the Germans dared to implement such a rule when they attacked the Soviet Union, I am afraid that the number of people who resisted them would increase exponentially, and they might be driven out of the Soviet Union. The time of the land will be greatly advanced.

After the room was quiet, Sokov continued: "I declare that from now on, this ridiculous rule of the little devils will be abolished, and the people of Fengtian will be allowed to freely buy the rice and flour they need. Do you have any different opinions?"

Even though Sokov took this matter very seriously, the other commanders, except Lukin, seemed not to care much about it. After hearing Sokov's question, they all just agreed casually: "There is no difference of opinion."

Seeing that no one had different opinions, Sokov was very pleased and went on to the next topic: "Fengtian is a large industrial city in the Northeast, but today Comrade Deputy Commander and I went out for a walk and found that the factory was shut down. , shops are closed, there are very few people on the streets, and the whole city looks extremely depressed. In order to change this situation as soon as possible, I hope everyone can express their opinions on how to get factories to resume work and shops to open as soon as possible."

"Isn't this difficult to handle?" Konev, commander of the 3rd Guards Airborne Division, said carelessly: "We send troops into factories and take to the streets to urge factories to start work and shops to open." "General Konev, what are you doing? This approach is too simple and crude, and not only will it have limited effect, it may also be privately resisted by local people."

Hearing what Sokov said, Konev spread his hands, shrugged his shoulders, and said helplessly: "Then I have no choice."

"Comrade Commander, I have a few words to say." Unexpectedly, at this moment, Military Commissioner Gorokhov stood up and said: "I'm afraid it is unrealistic for the factory to resume work in a short time."

After hearing this, Sokov couldn't help frowning and asked: "Comrade Military Commissar, what do you mean by this?"

“I heard from the director of the logistics department that he received an order from his superiors and recently sent people to various factories to disassemble the equipment and transport it back to the country as war compensation from the island country.”

"What?" Sokov said with a shocked face: "How come I don't know about this?" Then he ordered Yakov, "Yasha, call the director of the logistics department immediately and ask him to come to me and give me Explain what is going on."

 Soon, the director of the logistics department appeared in the conference room.

As soon as Sokov saw him, he asked with some urgency: "Comrade Logistics Director, tell me why you need to dismantle the equipment of the Fengtian factory?"

"Comrade Commander," the chief of the logistics department replied with a wry smile: "I just received a notification from my superiors today that the light and heavy industries in Northeast China belong to the island country's Manchuria Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., Manchuria Electric Co., Ltd., and Manchuria Railway Co., Ltd. The industries are enemy-produced products that serve the Kwantung Army. We have the right to use these enemy-produced factory equipment as compensation to us from the island country, dismantle them and transport them to our country."

"It's ridiculous, it's simply ridiculous." Sokov was so excited that he spoke eloquently: "China has been fighting the Japanese for 14 years, but we have only been fighting the Kwantung Army for a few days. We really want to demand war from the island country. Compensation is also China's priority. When will it be our turn to take action without authorization, this is simply an act of banditry..."

"Comrade Commander!" Before Sokov could finish his words, Lu Jin interrupted him sharply: "Please be careful! How to dispose of these assets that originally belonged to the island country is decided by the Supreme Command. As a grassroots level, we Commander, just focus on how to defeat the enemy, and we should not care about the rest of the matter, nor can we care about it casually."

When Sokov heard Lukin address his position, he realized the seriousness of the problem. He waved his hand towards the director of the logistics department and said feebly: "Comrade director, there is nothing for you to do here. You can go back first. "

After the director of the logistics department left, Yakov asked Sokov in a low voice: "Misha, will the meeting continue?"

Sokov felt hopeless at this moment, so he slowly shook his head and said feebly: "Just as I just said, cancel the ridiculous regulations made by the little devil back then, and allow the people of Fengtian to freely buy and sell rice and flour. The meeting ends here. It’s over and the meeting is dismissed.”

When there were only four people left in the conference room, Sokov, Lukin, Yakov and Gorokhov, Lukin said seriously: "Misha, I know you are an outspoken person, but there are some words in your heart. Just think about it, don't say it casually, otherwise it will be very detrimental to you. What you just said has been recorded in the meeting minutes, and sooner or later it will be known to the superiors. If they don't care, it will be It's nothing, but if someone makes an issue out of this, I'm afraid you will have countless troubles next."

Sokov knew very well that Lukin had experienced the Great Purge era, and he interrupted himself in the meeting to protect himself. It was precisely because he knew this that Sokov waited for Lukin to finish speaking and said in a grateful tone: "Comrade Deputy Commander, thank you for interrupting me just now and not causing more trouble."

"Misha, we are all our own people. I am just giving you a reminder." After Lu Jin said this, he immediately asked: "If we really allow the people in Fengtian to buy and sell rice and flour at will, where can we go?" How to find so many sources of goods?”

"Comrade Deputy Commander, you don't have to worry about this." Yakov interrupted: "The warehouse occupied by our army is full of rice and flour. According to statistics, even if the supply is open, it can feed one million people. One month.”

"Misha, I have another question in mind." Lujin reminded Sokov again: "The little devils have surrendered. Obviously, the military tickets and currency they issued can no longer be used. In this way, the money in the hands of ordinary people will become Pieces of waste paper. When money becomes waste paper, what do people use to buy the rice and flour they need every day?"

Before Sokov could speak, Gorokhov said first: "I think we can issue currency..."

"No, absolutely not." Before Gorokhov could finish his words, Sokov interrupted him, "If we issue currency without authorization, it will cause the economic situation in the Northeast to become even worse. Even if we have to temporarily issue currency Currency is also the responsibility of the Supreme Command, and we must not make arbitrary decisions."

"Then what should the people of Fengtian use to buy rice and flour?" Gorokhov said unconvinced: "Without currency, how can we let them barter?"

"Comrade Military Commissar, don't get excited." Lukin had obviously thought of a solution before raising the question. At this moment, he once again stopped Gorokhov, who was a little out of control, and continued: "We can implement a rationing system. You know, after the Great Patriotic War began, we began to implement a rationing system in our country. I think it is feasible to copy this system to the Northeast."

"I think Comrade Deputy Commander's proposal is good." Sokov stood up in time to support Lukin's statement, "After abolishing the military stamps of the little devils and the currency they issued, the residents of Fengtian City temporarily have no currency to use. Therefore, it is completely necessary to implement a rationing system.”

"Then let me ask another question." Gorokhov said reluctantly: "Even if residents can get the rice and flour they need through rationing, what about other daily necessities? They can't also get it through rationing. How to distribute it to them? If we do this, I'm worried that our logistics will not be able to keep up."

"Comrade Military Commissar, I think what you just said is right." Sokov said: "If the residents need some daily necessities that we are temporarily unable to distribute to them through rationing, they can use barter. In exchange.”

“Bartering is easy to say but not easy to do.” Gorokhov said: “Comrade Commander, what do you think the residents of Fengtian use in exchange for the daily necessities they need?”

"We are not giving them rice and flour every day through rationing." Sokov said without hesitation: "If they need any daily necessities, they can use the rice and flour in their hands to exchange them with merchants. "

 (End of this chapter)