Chapter 29: Being Content with One's Lot
The Olympic Games embody the human pursuit of faster, higher and stronger ideals. It reflects the human spirit of constant striving, unyielding ambition, and a fighting attitude, and is a grand event where humans surpass themselves. Similarly significant is the World Expo, which is the pulse of global technological and economic development. It showcases the world's most outstanding scientific and technological achievements and the essence of human innovation, and is the best representation of human progress and development.
At the first London World's Fair in 1851, the famous Crystal Palace was left in architectural history, and for the first time, steam engines and telegraphs were exhibited. The steam engine, the greatest symbol of humanity's industrial revolution, began to take the stage, creating a miracle. The telegraph began to shorten human communication time, greatly promoting the speed of human development. From then on, the World Expo became an excellent platform for showcasing outstanding achievements in industrial creation, scientific and technological civilization, labor fruits, etc., highlighting the future development direction and latest dynamics of various aspects of humanity.
The 1873 Vienna World's Fair made Strauss' "Blue Danube" a world-famous melody; the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in the United States introduced Bell's telephone; the 1888 Melbourne Centennial Exhibition in Australia featured Edison's phonograph; the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition left the iconic Eiffel Tower as a symbol of Paris and France, and showcased the first four-wheeled automobile; the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair in the United States introduced the airplane by the Wright brothers; the 1915 San Francisco Panama-Pacific International Exposition featured the first public demonstration of a film.
If it is said that China has a deep connection with the World Expo, it would be better to say that China is indeed leading in agricultural products. At the first World Expo, China was mainly showcasing silk, while at the recently opened San Francisco World Expo, China once again showed off its fascinating agricultural powerhouse image, regardless of whether there are domestic turmoil or not.
On February 20, 1915, the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, with participants from over thirty nations and more than five hundred organizations, opened in San Francisco to celebrate the successful navigation of the Panama Canal. In addition to showcasing amazing film technology and various new machines and automobiles, however, it was not these things that stole the show.
Wine is one of the major categories of exhibits, with fine wines from various countries gathering together, naturally attracting a lot of attention and making a big splash. Among them are Scotland's whisky, France's Cognac brandy, Russia's vodka, and Japan's sake, making this World Expo a grand gathering of world-renowned wines. China's ambassador to Panama, Li Shuchang, brought Maotai wine to participate in the Panama International Exposition, but its packaging was not impressive, being a yellow earthenware bottle, displayed in an inconspicuous corner of the exhibition hall, almost unnoticed by anyone. Cai Qingchang came up with a clever idea, intentionally smashing a bottle of Maotai, and suddenly the aroma of the wine filled the air, lingering for several days without dissipating, astonishing people from all countries.
"Rouxiang" was the trump card of Maotai, which caused a sensation at the Exposition. Maotai liquor was subsequently added to the evaluation and awards, and won the gold medal, along with Scotland's whisky and France's Cognac brandy, as one of the world's top three famous wines. Shanghai Laozao Daqu, Guizhou Maotai, Qingdao Zhangyu Wine Company's Jiayao Brandy, Fenjiu, Wuliangye, and Xifeng wine all won gold awards at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
China's great success in this session of the conference, apart from its own excellent products, is more importantly due to the extremely close Sino-US relations during this period. Whether it was from distant Beijing or the southwestern border, whether it was in cosmopolitan Shanghai or inland, because traditional European imperialist countries were embroiled in World War I, and neutral America got a very good opportunity to develop in China. The solidification of interests is the cornerstone of close relations, and the Chinese delegation's acquisition of more than 5,000 square meters of exhibition space at the World Expo naturally reflects the role of interests.
As for showing off their strength, the two main characters, Zhang Yu and others, have been hiding in Guangxi without any movement. No one would think that they, who are closely related to the Western world, would not know about the World Expo held in San Francisco, but no one knows why Guangxi's industry and commerce, which has a certain strength, does not show off its style at the exhibition.
Actually, regarding this World Expo, the performance of AsiaMe Group at the Expo is enough to make up for the absence of local companies. At the Expo, in addition to providing the main transportation vehicles, the San Francisco World Expo was filled with a large number of cars sold by AsiaMe, whether it was the domestically produced Beetle or most of the Yadi and Huari made in Guangxi, China. Wherever there were rich people, they would be parked with various colors and displacements of the three major series of sedans. Of course, AsiaMe Group did not forget to show off itself, and in an independent exhibition area, it showcased three new models of future cars, two of which were based on economic practicality, while the other was the "Phantom" that had been banned before.
What attracts the most attention is not the three cars that will be launched in the future, because everyone knows that Asia's cars have small load trucks, tractors and beetles, and the rest are not affordable for ordinary people. For the many visitors, worrying about their own travel in the future is the real big deal, so the buses displayed by Asia have become the focus of their attention.
Extremely long and high body, rounded curves matched with large headlights, super-large window glass, perfectly embedded seats, etc., all belong to the future luxury bus. In pursuit of practicality and economy, there are also medium-sized buses and small passenger cars. Of course, urban public transport buses designed mainly for capacity and riding comfort are also among them.
But no matter how beautiful the cars on display are, and how eye-catching they are, they still can't compare to the many fine wines in the wine exhibition area. Other people's fine wines and delicacies can be tasted at will, but Asia Motors' cars are not something that can be taken lightly, so the cars losing out to the fragrant fine wines has become a major highlight of the Panama World Exposition.
The World Expo is still attracting people's attention with its endless charm, but the major events happening in other parts of the world can also stir up waves without the need for floating wine fragrance.
Perhaps people have lost interest in the wars on the European battlefield where tens of thousands of people are killed or injured, but the evolution and development of the war has not disappointed anyone. By December 1915, the total number of casualties on both sides exceeded 1.5 million for the first time. Such a large-scale war is only a warm-up for both sides' strong strength, and it is estimated that as the war continues, it will create an even higher record, which is not a problem at all. Of course, at this point, it's not about considering how many tens of millions or hundreds of millions of widows there will be after the war; the war must go on.
The dynamics of war are all the same and not worth people's attention, but some things about Asia's development are worth savoring. Japan, with nothing better to do, apart from competing with China at the World Expo, had to make a scene in China itself to show off its great power style. The 21 Demands that led to China's downfall were not something anyone dared to bring up, but the proud Oriental people had the guts to stir up trouble. Yuan Shikai, who listened to their tune, was very cooperative, but the Chinese people did not take the bait, and students studying in Japan returned home to protest against Japan, with almost every city along the southeastern coast resisting Japanese goods.
All these disturbances were just small skirmishes that wouldn't even make people open their eyes to take a closer look. But on December 12, 1915, Yuan Shikai finally declared himself the Great Emperor of the Chinese Empire under everyone's eager anticipation. Shortly after, Cai E and Tang Jiyao from Yunnan Province announced independence. Finally, China, the main actor in Asia, began to stage a grand civil war show again, giving the world a new focal point to observe, and also slapping itself in the face with a loud noise.
"I really don't know what's going on in Yuan Shikai's mind. A good World War has led many imperialist countries that oppressed China to be deeply mired in the quagmire of war, and he actually wants to smash his own foot with a stone, not grasping the opportunity to develop national strength, but instead stirring up civil war to consume himself. Anyone who hasn't been hit by a door wouldn't think of such a 'brilliant' idea."
Zhang Yu had just returned from guiding an inspection tour in the industrial development zone on the other side of the river when he heard this astonishing news.
"He really thinks that imperialist countries are busy fighting and can't take care of China, so he has the leisure to realize his emperor dream!!" Zhang Yu slammed down the telegram and picked up his tea cup, drinking it all in one gulp.
"What's the point of getting so angry? He's an old man, he can't see clearly the pulse of the world's development. He's been dreaming of being emperor for too long and is afraid of waking up, so he's in a hurry to take advantage of the situation and make some moves. Anyway, we just don't recognize him and that's it. Look at our neighbors, aren't Cai E and Tang Jiyao's families shouting independence first? We'd better focus on tilling our own land."
Zhang Yu-sheng said, also picking up his teacup to take a sip. "By the way, I just returned from Haikou City yesterday. What do you think about repairing the ring island railway? The railway from Haikou to Sanya was officially completed and opened to traffic yesterday. The engineers showed me their design plan and asked for our opinions on whether to continue with the remaining second phase of the project, which is to complete the railway from Sanya back to Haikou in a counterclockwise direction!"
"What's your opinion?" Zhang Yu put down his teacup and organized the documents he had just brought back. "Anyway, I'll tell you that Germany has a lot of orders to fulfill recently, but our steel production capacity is limited, we can't supply so much steel to the rail factory."
"Then, let's not repair it!" Zhang Yusheng naturally knew that at this time, the suitable internal development combined with the beneficial foreign trade export was the golden period of autonomous region development. Once missed, it would be a lifelong regret. So, between short-term high-interest benefits and long-term investment, completing orders was still more important.
"I'll let the construction team withdraw now. The railway and highway construction on the island are basically completed, but some transportation trunk lines within our autonomous region have obviously become saturated. I hope to start building double-track railways for part of the railways. Of course, it's worth considering whether to build high-speed direct highways between important cities? Like last time, such a big traffic jam situation should not happen again."
Zhang Yu heard this and could only let out a bitter laugh. "Can't you just not mention last time, okay?" It was clear that the female teacher's sudden change of expression had left a significant psychological shadow on Zhang Yu. "If possible, I'd rather quickly complete a specific engineering construction management mechanism. Like our current chaotic construction situation, to a large extent, it relies on your and my subjective judgment. We need to establish professional institutions to solve these problems, such as electricity, transportation, agricultural water conservancy, etc."
What Zhang Yu said is indeed true. From a macro perspective, the construction of the autonomous region is indeed a prosperous scene. A large number of modern industrial projects have sprung up in various parts of the autonomous region like mushrooms after rain. However, many problems will arise, such as repeated construction and investment waste. Take port construction as an example. Fangcheng Port is the main trading port for exports to Europe. Seven 10,000-ton berths can complete the loading process of all materials within 72 hours, allowing a fleet of 20 10,000-ton cargo ships to be fully loaded. It can be said that its usage efficiency fully meets the construction standards and actual needs.
However, the ports along the coast of Beihai Port, Zhanjiang Port, Sanya Port, as well as the inland ports of Wuzhou Port and Liuzhou Port, are all operating with cargo and passenger transportation of ships not exceeding 5,000 tons. In fact, there are only a few truly busy ones. The construction of highways is also the same, the railway and highway from Baise to Nanning were built according to high standards, but in reality, except for Pingguo having an aluminum smelter with not very large production capacity, and Tiandong having an oil field development zone that is still being explored and confirmed, this two-way six-lane highway can usually let out two lanes for farmers to dry things. The railway is even more unnecessary to mention, it is completely in a state of extremely unsaturated transport capacity.
However, the highway and railway from Guilin to Fangchenggang via Liuzhou, as well as the railway and highway from Nanning to Qinzhou, are extremely busy, with transport capacity exceeding design limits for more than one or two days. On the other hand, the trunk railway and highway connecting Zhanjiang with Yulin, Wuzhou, Hezhou and intersecting with the Guiqin line are relatively idle.
So many projects built by autonomous regions are busy with construction, and a problem has arisen, that is, the actual demand does not match the design standard.
"We need to focus on building a batch of industrial cities, dispersing the processing and manufacturing industries in Liuzhou and Nanning, just like Hepu in western Liuzhou, independently developing chemical, hydroelectric equipment and smelting manufacturing industries, so as not to waste basic infrastructure. So, I plan to establish an inland cargo shipbuilding industry in Wuzhou, build a high-end fuel engine manufacturing base in Yulin, and develop the port construction base in Zhanjiang, which will also be our important naval port in the future, so military enterprises can move there for coastal manufacturing, and it's convenient for rapid export to the European battlefield." Zhang Yu-sheng poured himself a cup of hot tea, the warmth made people easily calm down, perhaps because of this, they could discuss problems calmly at a time when domestic civil war was about to break out.
"Heh heh, you haven't even said what our view on Yuan Shikai's ascension to the throne is, but instead started considering internal problems. Aren't you afraid someone will see through us and know that we're taking advantage of the turmoil to make a big invasion?" Zhang Yu tidied up the hydroelectric data in his hands while chatting with his older brother.
In October 1915, Yuan Shikai appointed Tang Jiyao as the first-class Duke of Wugong, with a monthly stipend of 30,000 yuan, which was one of his tactics to win over Tang. Soon after, Cai Jiwu, leader of the Guizhou Autonomous Learning Society and member of the Tongmenghui, came to Yunnan with Xiong Kewu to organize an anti-Yuan armed force. As a result, the former was beheaded by Tang Jiyao. Shen Wangdu, commander of the Second Division of the Yunnan Army, because he spoke out of turn at Yuan Shikai's award ceremony, never saw the sun again the next day. In short, Tang Jiyao actually felt very honored to receive Yuan Shikai's recognition.
The planning of the anti-Yuan war was always organized by the lower-level officers of the Yunnan army, and Tang Jiyao actually did not want to be an enemy of Yuan Shikai. Cai E arrived in Kunming in December 1915 and immediately co-chaired a meeting with Tang Jiyao to discuss the anti-Yuan war. Soon after, Tang Jiyao changed his mind and refused to recognize Yuan Shikai, issuing a telegram demanding that Yuan cancel the imperial system and execute those who supported it. He then declared Yunnan's independence and began armed resistance against Yuan. The First, Second, and Third Armies were organized, with Cai E, Li Liejun, and Tang Jiyao as their commanders, respectively. The First and Second Armies prepared to go into battle.
Lying on the sofa like a little kid, Zhang Yusheng calmly chatted with Zhang Yu about their neighbor from Yunnan, Tang Jiyao.
"So you're saying that the Yunnan army's plan to overthrow Yuan is absolutely hopeless?" Zhang Yu stopped what he was doing and looked at Zhang Yu Sheng with a surprised expression.
Zhang Yu-sheng looked at his younger brother's astonished face, and with a helpless smile said: "Do you really think that the Chinese civil war is just an act? Do you know what kind of powerful military force Tang Jiyao and others have?" Zhang Yu-sheng turned over, took another sip of hot tea, and continued: "Cai E's First Army was called an army, but it only had more than 3,000 people. Li Liejun's Second Army, including Tang Jiyao's Third Army, together had no more than 30,000 people. If they really wanted to overthrow Yuan, would 30,000 soldiers with mismatched uniforms be able to march all the way to Beijing?"
Comprehensive national strength determines military attitude. If a person has problems with their meals, they still care about the country's security, which can only prove two points. First, he is a good citizen who worries about the world and disregards personal safety. Second, it is also the opposite of him being a madman. However, if a group of people do so, it can only explain that they themselves have problems.
"Let's just stay neutral then, and let them fight it out!" After saying that, Zhang Yu snapped his fingers to wake up the drowsy Zhang Yusheng to take a look at a great masterpiece. "This is a report drummed up by a group of military officers, about new tactics for dealing with old-fashioned infantry defensive systems such as barbed wire, trenches and machine guns. You must be interested in taking a look!" After saying that, Zhang Yu directly threw the file folder over, hitting Zhang Yusheng right on the forehead.
"What's this?" Zhang Yu-sheng picked up the file folder, opened it and saw a surprising name, "On Mobile Warfare and Synthetic Troop Coordination". After browsing for a while, he chuckled and said: "Is it that genius' masterpiece? Not long ago, he came to me and asked me to provide several mechanics for them. I'm sure they want to build that thing with tracks and armor plates, cannons and machine guns all in one. He said this report was discussed by you and others, but you didn't express any opinion, don't know if it's opposition or support?"
"Did you promise them?" Zhang Yu walked over, pinched a single soldier's combat biscuit and put it in a cup on the small tea table. "Why didn't you tell them to take things called tanks? Armored cars with machine guns are called armored vehicles? Why bother letting them research and develop themselves? Like before, can't you just use my brain to find some technical materials?"
"What if I said that from now on, we need to and must reduce our reliance on readily available materials?" Zhang Yu Sheng sat up, took out the biscuit that had softened a bit and took a bite. "The taste of this thing is always not good enough, but it's still a lifesaver on the battlefield." After sighing, Zhang Yu Sheng completely ignored Zhang Yu's stunned expression and ate the whole thing.
"From the very beginning to now, when have you not plagiarized from later generations? Now that you have some real power, you still want to pretend to be noble and upright. If you really want to use it, I don't have any opinion, but it's best not to sell the things you've come up with to Europe again. They already have many new-style weapons, wars are already brutal enough, if there are even more advanced gadgets, I reckon only women and children will be left to go to the battlefield!"
For exporting a large number of weapons and materials to the warring parties, Zhang Yu is in favor of it with both hands. No matter how luxurious a car is, if you calculate its complicated manufacturing process and strict technical requirements, even if its price profit is high enough, but after clearing up, processing a luxury car is not as profitable as producing a mortar cannon or dozens of machine guns. The autonomous region now has to bear the expenses of hundreds of thousands of people every day, and the expenses of hundreds of thousands of students and teachers are astronomical figures, let alone an average of three days' work on a project. Therefore, such a large expenditure must be based on rich foreign trade income.
But for a war that has just started for less than two years, the casualties on both sides are already tens of millions more than in another time and space. The addition of various new weapons has greatly accelerated the consumption of strength on both sides, which will actually make the war end soon. A canyon that can only rush wildly for a while is not as good as a small river that flows gently but never stops, and the accumulation of benefits cannot seek rapid growth in speed, but should pursue the accumulation of quantity.
"At this point, we can no longer rely too heavily on existing materials. The production technology of factory enterprises and the development and use of military weapons have already given us a relatively advantageous position. What is needed now is not to continue expanding our advantage, but to perfect the construction of our own strength. Currently, our strength is built on an unfair foundation, but we want to turn this unfairness into something that is taken for granted, we must work on our own strength. Specifically, it means making various technologies truly our own. Enterprises need to innovate and develop independently, military tactics need soldiers to research and develop independently, education needs to become strong through independent and autonomous development..."
"You're just an old lady, always having endless words and muttering phrases. If you think it's right, then go ahead with confidence, don't keep repeating yourself in front of me all day long, no matter how good the plan is, if not implemented, it's useless." Zhang Yu said after finishing, took back the report, signed his name on it very forcefully and said: "As you wish, innovation starts from military, strength comes from autonomous education."
"However, I'll still borrow your brilliant mind! After finishing the tea in his hand, Zhang Yusheng took over the file folder that flew horizontally and left Zhang Yu's office with a smile. Before closing the door, he suddenly turned back and said: "By the way, you write the declaration of neutrality."
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