"It can't be helped. I chose the wrong major back then. I really shouldn't have chosen geography just because my score was low.”Laughing at himself, Xu Chang began to talk about his university life.
" I originally thought that a geologist only needed to hold a few rocks and compare them, but I didn't expect to have to travel everywhere. My graduation thesis was about observing the geological changes in the southern United States from Mount Branca. Mount Branca is located in central New Mexico. Basically, I spent three years of part-time work at the University of Houston on the road.”
"I still remember all the cities that the railway passed through. Houston, Carty, Columbia, González, Seguin, San Antonio, Bernie, Kerwell, Sonora, Fort Stockton, Balmore, Vanenjo, Sherabanca, Fort Hancock, Socorro, El Paso, Anthony, Las Cruces, White Sands, Alamogordo, Turarosa, Three Rivers, Oscu, and Carrisoso.”
As if he was afraid that Secretary Zhu and Chief of Staff He would not believe him, Xu Chang blurted out a long list of American place names. Secretary Zhu and Chief of Staff He were already in a daze when Xu Chang started to say the place names.
"Fan Enhuo?" Fortunately, Secretary Zhu heard the name of a place that he had heard of this morning.
"Yes, Van Enjo. It sounds like a name from here, but it does exist in Texas, the United States. The railroads that pass through Texas and San Antonio converge here before heading to New Mexico.”
"Speaking of which, there's a question I haven't asked you. If you have such an excellent degree from the University of Houston in the United States, why aren't you with the National Party? After all, the conditions there are much better than here.”
Chief of Staff He also took this opportunity to ask this question. He originally planned to ask this question when Xu Chang was about to be demoted.
"I went there, but they didn't want me. I was studying a major that wasn't very popular. There was no specialized geological survey agency in the country. I originally planned to go to the Ministry of Transportation. After returning to China two years ago, I learned a recommendation letter from Minister Zhang Jia of the Ministry of Transportation, but I didn't receive a reply. It just so happened that my high school classmate found me and wanted me to go to Yan 'an. Anyway, I didn't have a job at that time, so I followed him to Yan' an. Then, I was assigned to Chief of Staff He as a clerk.”
"You should go to Guo Mo first after you return to China.”Chief of Staff He spoke of Xu Changfan's mistake with a hint of regret.
"Yeah, you should go to Guo Mo first and ask him to write you a recommendation letter. The Minister of Transportation said it was Zhang Jia, but who didn't know that the entire Transportation Department was under Huang Xu's command? You're not from Guangxi and you wrote to Zhang Jia first. How could the Ministry of Transportation recruit you?”Secretary Zhu explained to Xu Chang what he had done wrong.
"How about it? If it doesn't work, why don't I get someone to write you a recommendation letter? I can't do big things in the country, but people will still give me some face for such a small matter.”Chief of Staff He added on from the side. After all, to be honest, if Xu Chang was really allowed to stay here, it would indeed limit Xu Chang's talent. He graduated from Houston University in the United States and majored in geological engineering. It would be a pity for him to fight the Japanese at the front line with a gun.
"No need, Chief of Staff. There was really no need. I've already roughly understood the mistakes I made after returning to China. However, if the Ministry of Transportation was really a department that still recruited people based on their household registration in 1940, I really had no interest in joining them. Furthermore, I've been following the 105th Division to Shandong for eight months. After seeing what the Japanese did in Shandong, I only want to kill a few more Japanese on the battlefield, not join that cowardly regime that still doesn't dare to declare war on Japan.”
"I see. Alright, Secretary Zhu and I won't persuade you. However, in the near future, there may be some adjustments to your work. I hope you can be mentally prepared.”Secretary Zhu's expression was a little ugly when Chief of Staff He said that he wanted to help Xu Chang write a recommendation letter. He couldn't even snatch such a high-level talent, so there was no reason to give it to someone else. However, after Xu Chang refused, he recovered.
"Yes, as long as I can fight the Japanese, I'm fine with anywhere.”
"Alright, let's stop here today. I hope you will keep this a secret when you go back and don't talk about this with others.”Secretary Zhu also said that he would let Xu Chang go.
"Oh right, Xiao Xu. Your mission is very important. Don't fight with anyone suspicious. Be careful to send a message immediately. Later, Lin Feng will be coming over from outside the city. Secretary Zhu and I will be relying on the three of you for our safety.”Secretary Luo added.
"Yes, I promise to complete the mission." After standing up and giving a standard salute, Xu Chang walked out of the door. When he walked out of the door, Xu Chang returned to his teacher appearance.
"Old Zhu, how do you analyze the current situation?”
"How much do you know about Xu Chang? Is he reliable?”
"It should be considered reliable. Due to the outbreak of the war two years ago, very few people returned to the country. We could only win over four or five people. In the end, only two of them were won over. One is now in Yan 'an, and the other is Xu Chang. Our people have been keeping an eye on him since he returned to China. We didn't find any signs of him contacting the spies in Chongqing. After he followed me, I also put a few hooks on him, but there were no bad signs.”
"In this case, Li Yan's identity is very likely to be real. By the way, I plan to arrange for Xu Chang to follow Li Yan after Yan 'an calls back.”
"D * mn, the fox's tail is still out. It's waiting for me here. Why do you need to use my people? Can't Liu Xin, Li Xing, and He Rui do it? It's not easy for me to have an international student.”
"Didn't Xu Chang stay in the United States for a while before? Liu Xin and the others were good at politics, but they were all boorish. They had never even gone to high school and had never come into contact with English. Tell me, who should I use if not Xu Chang?"
"Old Zhu, I finally understand. I shouldn't have come. You invited me over to see Li Yan. "No, Yan 'an hasn't even called back yet, and you're already arranging for his assistant. Isn't that a little too much?" If we didn't come here together, I would have suspected that you were possessed.”
"Is it too much? Perhaps." He did not answer Chief of Staff He's complaint. Secretary Zhu stood up from his seat and walked to the window. His gaze seemed to penetrate the tightly shut window.
"Do you know that we now have four bases in Jiaodong, Luzhong, Luxi, and Lunan, with a population of more than 12 million. The largest base is Lunan, and the Shandong Military and Political Committee is also in Lunan. However, even the Lunan base only produced and reloaded 3000 rounds of ammunition last month, and most of them were reloaded. This number was 8000 in the entire Shandong base. 8000 bullets. Not to mention the Shandong Regiment, even your 105th Division can't shoot one bullet per person per month. As for Li Yan, I don't expect anything else. As long as he can double the monthly production of bullets in two years, reaching 16000 rounds, so that the 115th Division can shoot one bullet per person, I won't say anything even if he wants to chop off my head and kick it like a ball.”
Chief of Staff He also followed Secretary Zhu to the window." You're too ambitious. We don't have electricity or steel. Recently, it's been alright. Japan has just entered Shandong and hasn't established a firm foothold yet. Our work is still quite convenient, but when they have established a firm foothold, they will definitely mobilize their troops to launch a purge campaign. By then, no one can guarantee how much of our assets can be preserved. If Li Yan's experience is true, then he is indeed a great talent in industrial construction. But how much can we do under our circumstances?”
"Yes, I also have some doubts about this. No one knows what kind of situation Li Yan's arrival will cause, but we have no choice but to gamble.”
March 3rd, 1941, 10 AM
After waiting for a day, Liu Xin finally rushed back with a call from Yan 'an.
" Secretary Zhu, Liu Xin is back." Secretary Zhu, who was dealing with official documents, finally received a call back and put down the official documents in his hand.
"He's finally back. Hurry up and let him in. Oh right, Xiao Li, go and invite Chief of Staff He over.”
He closed the document and waited for Xiao Li to leave. He stood up nervously and waited for Liu Xin to bring back the telegram.
"Secretary Zhu, how is it? What is Yan 'an's opinion on this matter?”
When Chief of Staff He arrived at the room, he saw Secretary Zhu sitting quietly in his seat. A document bag was lying quietly on the table in front of him.
"He's here. I haven't read it yet. After all, it's a telegram jointly sent to Yan 'an by the two of us. Logically speaking, we should wait for you to come over and read it together. Moreover, I'm very afraid now. If Yan' an requests to deal with Li Yan secretly, what kind of attitude should we take to deal with this matter?”Secretary Zhu expressed his concerns. It was a pity to see such a person disappear in front of him.
"That's nothing." Staff officer He did not have much of an opinion. He picked up the secret message on the table. "If it really doesn't work, we can send a message to Yan 'an again, stating our difficulties and Li Yan's important role.”
"Hmm, strange." Chief of Staff He frowned as he read the secret message.
"What do you think, Yan 'an?”
Chief of Staff He handed the secret message to Secretary Zhu and asked his own question.
"The secret message didn't say anything about how to deal with Li Yan. Instead, it emphasized Li Yan's position as the industrial commissioner and asked us to work hard to overcome all kinds of difficulties and do our best to support Li Yan's work. It also suggested that our Shandong Military and Political Committee could absorb Li Yan as an executive member of the committee. It also said that in the future, we can keep 20% of the gold we hand over to Yan 'an every month as the starting capital for the industrial development of our Shandong base.”
"Good, good, that's great.”Secretary Zhu, who was engaged in political work, understood the meaning of this secret message. Yan 'an already knew that Li Yan had joined the US Navy Intelligence Bureau, but Yan' an still decided to put this matter aside first. The most important thing now was to develop the industry in the Shandong base. Yan 'an could even put aside the monthly funds that needed to be handed over to support the construction of Shandong. In this way, even if Li Yan's special identity caused some trouble, Yan 'an would firmly support the work of the Shandong Military and Political Committee.
"Let's go next door and tell Li Yan about this.”After keeping the secret message, Secretary Zhu stood up and excitedly invited Chief of Staff He to meet Li Yan next door.
"Yes, it's time to have a good talk with him. Speaking of which, whether it's you, me, Commander Zhao, Division Commander Bai, Director Guo, or Governor Li, which one of us didn't start working during the Great Revolution? In the end, Li Yan was already like you and me when he just arrived. I don't know what he'll grow into in a few years.”Chief of Staff He sighed as he walked.
"Old Zhu, if you think so, I have to say something. What is our most important task now? It is to resist the Japanese. Anyone who can make an important contribution to the resistance is worthy of our greatest efforts. You don't want our soldiers to fight with the Japanese with three or four bullets on an empty stomach, right? Li Yan can change the current situation. Let alone a committee member, even if I'm the secretary, it's not impossible for him to sit.”Secretary Zhu, who had walked to the door, heard Chief of Staff He's complaints and immediately became serious.
"Alright, I know what's important. It was just two complaints. Hurry up and go see Li Yan."
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