As soon as the newly appointed young master Chen got out of the car, the guards who were on guard duty outside the headquarters of the Transportation Department invariably saluted with their guns in hand.
A middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes came up to him with a group of men and women wearing black Chinese tunic suits and blue sky and white sun badges on their chests. Chen Baohua leaned into his ear and introduced: "Virgo, that person in front is Wu Zhuozhi Deputy Director Wu, you should have heard that he founded the prestigious Jiangnan Automobile Company; the two people behind him are Zhang Yanyuan, the security inspection team leader, and Tang Haian, the general affairs team leader. "
"Welcome, welcome, warmly welcome General Chen to take up his post in our office."
Wu Zhuozhi held his hand tightly without letting go, with an extremely enthusiastic expression. Young Master Chen nodded slightly to everyone and said with a smile: "Deputy Director Wu greeted me personally, which flattered my stepfather. Southwest transportation is related to The overall situation of the Anti-Japanese War, and Deputy Director Wu is the backbone of the Transportation Department, so it is not good to delay the work, so let¡¯s go in. "
"No matter how busy you are, don't rush it. The welcome meeting still needs to be held. Team Leader Tang, are you ready?"
"Report to the director, everything is ready."
The head of the general affairs team had a smooth hair and a pink face, and looked more like a playboy than himself. Young Master Chen glanced at him, then smiled at the other team leader and asked, "Team leader Zhang, right? He has been famous for a long time, and today he is indeed well-deserved."
Zhang Yanyuan is very famous. He is a veteran agent of the Fuxing Society and one of Dai Li's "Ten People". He has served as the intelligence station director of the South China District, the operations team leader and deputy director of the North China Office. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, he served as the political training director of the Central Military Police Headquarters for a few days.
Military commanders are very powerful, but only compared to ordinary officials.
Young Master Chen has great military exploits and in a sense represents the overseas Chinese in Nanyang. Even the chairman of the committee treats him with courtesy. Let alone the little leader of the security inspection team, not even Boss Dai dares to take advantage of him. Facing his immediate superior with great military achievements, Zhang Yanyuan felt a little uneasy and quickly stepped forward to stand at attention and salute, "My humble position is Zhang Yanyuan, the leader of the security inspection team. Please give me instructions!"
The superiority can be distinguished by the title. Wu Zhuozhi is both the deputy director of the Transportation Department, but no one has ever called him "Virgo", which makes him feel a little sour. But I feel relieved when I think of the extraordinary achievements he has made and the position of Major General Director of the 28th Supplementary Soldiers Training Division of the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs.
What surprised everyone was that Young Master Chen, who had a blood feud with the military commander, actually stretched out his right hand and said with a meaningful smile: "Team Leader Zhang is joking, Chen didn't even enter the door and knows nothing about the Transportation Department. I know, asking for advice is enough, how can I give you any instructions?¡±
The Southwest Transportation Department may sound inconspicuous, but it is actually a ministry-level unit worthy of its name. Song Ziliang, the director of the department, receives a ministerial salary of 800 yuan per month. Since it itself is called "division", the following offices can only be called "groups", while branches are called "branch offices".
The organization is extremely large. There are more than 500 large and small officials and staff in the road transport team, accounting team, shipping team, railway transport team, engineer office, secretary office, security inspection team, special party department, inspection team, commissioners, etc., filling the yard. It was so crowded. It wasn't until he was invited to the podium that Master Chen discovered that Gong Jiasui, another deputy director who had greeted him at the airport, was also at the headquarters.
The director was not at home, so the ceremony was presided over by the deputy director Wu Zhuozhi. After delivering a warm welcome speech, he urged Mr. Chen to say a few words to everyone.
¡°This is just a paramilitary organization. Except for dozens of guards with guns and live ammunition, very few people wear military uniforms. Young Master Chen was dressed in military uniform, which seemed a bit out of place for the occasion. Seeing everyone applauding desperately, he raised his right hand in a military salute.
"As a soldier who has just returned from the battlefield, no one knows the importance of this job better than me. Therefore, when being interviewed by friends from the press at the airport yesterday, Chen said that serving as deputy director is like walking on thin ice. Now that I am leaving Entering the courtyard and looking at everyone, this heavy feeling became stronger and stronger. Fortunately, Chen was just a deputy director, and there were Director Song, Deputy Director Wu, Deputy Director Gong and all the colleagues who worked hard. , I believe that our department can live up to the trust of our 40 million compatriots and complete the tasks assigned by the leaders and the Military Committee.¡±
After finishing the scene, Mr. Chen raised his arms again and gave a standard military salute, "Thank you for your colleagues' enthusiasm. Southwest transportation is related to the overall situation of the Anti-Japanese War. Every second counts. We must not delay our work because of Chen. Deputy Director Wu, Deputy Director Gong, is this the welcome ceremony?"
There are indeed many things to do. Wu Zhuozhi agreed: "Okay, Team Leader Zhang, Team Leader Tang and Director Chen will accompany General Chen to familiarize themselves with the situation. Everyone else should go back."
The organizational outline of the Southwest Transportation Division clearly stipulates, ¡°This division is directly under the Military Commission. Therefore, the chief and deputy directors of this division are appointed by the Military Commission."Committee Selection". Article 15 of the Organizational Memorandum also stipulates that "this office shall have two to three deputy directors to assist the director in handling affairs."
¡°When someone comes, someone will naturally leave.
With Mr. Chen taking office, Liu Jisheng, the younger brother of the famous industrialist Liu Hongsheng and known as the "King of Matches", resigned. Fortunately, he only had a name and almost never interfered with the internal affairs of the Transport Department. And he was far away in Hong Kong, so there was no talk of handing over the work. The office reserved for him was not even closed. Young Master Chen moved in directly accompanied by Tang Haian, the leader of the general affairs team.
"Virgo, this is what Boss Dai asked me to pass on to you."
Zhang Yanyuan was not shy and took out an envelope in front of Chen Baohua. Young Master Chen took it apart and saw that it was the list of those who died in the battle of Wujin when the Second Regiment and the Second Battalion of the Zhongyi Salvation Army Instruction were blocking the enemies on the Eastern Front. Each name is marked with a resume. More than 20 officers, including the deputy regimental commander, group leader, and squadron leader, were all from Huangpu. Key members such as squad platoon leader and squad leader come from various training classes established by the military command.
It is better to dissolve enemies than to make enemies. How could Mr. Chen not understand Boss Dai¡¯s intention? He put down the list in his hand and said solemnly: ¡°They are all heroes. They bought precious time to ambush Itagaki and encircle and annihilate the Gaoqiao brigade headquarters. Team Leader Zhang , please tell you, Boss Dai, that I have accepted this list.¡±
Zhang Yanyuan nodded heavily and said with emotion: "Virgin, you really understand the righteousness. If possible, please allow our security inspection team to be responsible for your future safety."
It does not make sense that the deputy director in charge of security inspection and external liaison does not want the security inspection team to be responsible for his own safety. Master Chen weighed it up and said calmly: "Okay, you can discuss it with Director Chen, but Don¡¯t waste your time.¡±
Being able to achieve this result is already very good. Zhang Yanyuan and Chen Baohua looked at each other and asked with a smile: "Director Chen, should I go to your office, or should you go to mine to study it?"
"Tomorrow," Chen Baohua said expressionlessly, "I have something to report to the director today."
They all came from Shanghai together, so it was self-evident how close they were to each other. Zhang Yanyuan did not insist on it and gave another military salute before exiting the office.
Young Master Chen took office alone, bringing nothing but a briefcase. For Chen Baohua, this was trust. He closed the door and introduced the treasures in detail: "As the saying goes, the wind in the temple is strong, the water is shallow, and there are many turtles in the transportation department. Without exception, it can be divided into six major factions: Song Ziliang and his cronies, personnel transferred from the Ministry of Railways or people from Jiaotong University, Wu Zhuozhi's original members of Jiangnan Automobile Company, Gong Xuesui's Jiangxi Construction Department stalls, military commanders and overseas Chinese. In order to fight for power and profit, various factions fought for power. The constant attacks and accusations have reached the point of irreconcilability.¡±
"Overseas Chinese?"
"Virgin, please don't misunderstand me. I am not referring to you, but to the managers and mechanics sent by the 'Nanqiao Association'. In contrast, they accuse the other factions entirely out of public interest and not ordinary people." The struggle for power.¡±
"Go on."
"The Transportation Department was originally affiliated with the Military Commission. In order to avoid the attention of the enemy, it appeared as a private enterprise. At the beginning of its establishment, many agencies and business groups, without knowing the truth, mistakenly believed that it was a private profit-making enterprise and should not receive government preferential treatment. News media and democracy People accused it of being arbitrarily attacked by bureaucratic capital. Therefore, Song Ziliang encountered many unexpected troubles and was unable to cope with it, so he turned to the military for help.
With Dai Li's sensitivity, he certainly knew that this was a good opportunity, and immediately sent the veteran Zhang Yanyuan as the leader of the security inspection team; and then successively sent Wang Zuhua as the leader of the political training team, "playboy" Chen Zhiping as the personnel chief, and "residence secretary" Pan Qiwu. , served as deputy director of the Lashio Branch. "
Seemingly realizing that Young Master Chen did not want to hear about the bad things about the military and central unification, Chen Baohua immediately introduced it from another angle, "In the 27th year of the Republic of China, the Transportation Department was established and began to transport the first batch of military supplies to the inland. The first batch of military supplies was carried out. During the first mission, internal conflicts began. Liu Jisheng and Song Ziwen, the "second in command" of Liu's company, were based in Hong Kong and did not care about the specific affairs of the Southwest Transportation Department. Therefore, Gong Xuesui and Wu Zhuozhi, who were based in Guangzhou, became Song Ziliang's right-hand men.
??Among the two, Gong Xuesui is Xiong Shihui¡¯s teammate and once served as the director of the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Construction; Wu Zhuozhi is an industrialist. They are each responsible for a business department. Gong Xuesui leads the engineering office and Wu Zhuozhi is responsible for the highway transportation group. Wu Zhuozhi placed almost all the employees of Jiangnan Automobile Company in the transportation and repair work of the road transportation group, the handling office, each transportation section, and the factory. Gong Xuesui's cronies, except for most of them occupying the engineering office, are distributed in various branches, Duan and factory.
The internal personnel disputes started when the engineering office led by Gong Xuesui attacked the road transportation team led by Wu Zhuozhi. The people in the engineer's office were shocked when they saw that the road transport team had a lot of oil and water and lived a comfortable life.Hong, often reported to Song Ziliang. Song Ziliang read these small reports and stuffed them into the hands of Chen Zhiping, the personnel chief. Agents are best at profiting from conflicts, and Chen Zhiping is a master at this. After receiving these small reports, he forwarded them to Wu Zhuozhi intact, and Wu made some gossip to Gong.
Gong Xuesui was born under Xiong Shihui in the Department of Political Science, and his methods are much better than Wu Zhuozhi, who studied in France and only served as an instructor at the Transportation Research Institute of the Military Command Office for a short period of time, but has been planning for a long time. On the surface, he didn't care about Wu's gossip, but secretly he instigated Song Ziliang's classmate and Changsha branch chief Feng Jiantong to fight Wu to the death. "
It¡¯s so messy! Young Master Chen sighed secretly and asked curiously: "Who is Feng Jiantong? Is he qualified to fight to the death with Wu?"
The outside was guarded by his own people. Chen Baohua had nothing to say and quickly explained: "Feng Jiantong was Song Ziliang's classmate at St. John's University. He once served as the Minister of Railways (Sha) Yue (Yang) Railway Transport Section. After being invited, he might have gotten the position of deputy director, but he lost to Wu Zhuozhi, so he had no choice but to 'give in' to the director of the Changsha branch. He was angry for a long time, and after Gong Yi's instigation, he started to rebel against Wu. pioneer."
"and after?"
"Before the Wuhan Battle, military supplies imported from Hong Kong were transported from Guangzhou to Changsha by the Guangdong-Hankou Railway. Wu Zhuozhi first selected 24 squadrons to set off, and the road transportation team The officers and soldiers of the 14th Squadron have only received two weeks of cursory training. Most of the officers and soldiers were originally promoted from ticket sellers, ticket inspectors, drivers and coppersmiths of Jiangnan Automobile Company, and a small number were promoted by Zeng Yangfu. During the period, they were recruited temporarily in Guangzhou; a small part of the soldiers were transferred from the reserve drivers and apprentices of Jiangnan Automobile Company, but most of them were recruited in Guangzhou.
¡°This is the first time for such a majestic car transportation in China; it is also the first time for Chinese drivers to try such a mountain climbing operation. Therefore, when passing through Jiufeng Mountain and Nanling, accidents involving mountain collisions and rollovers occurred one after another. When these convoys arrived in Changsha, as many as two to three hundred vehicles were incomplete, and dozens of vehicles had overturned. "
Young Master Chen suddenly realized it and couldn't help blurting out: "This way, Feng Jiantong will have an excuse."
"Um."
Chen Baohua nodded and continued: "He seized this opportunity and sent several telegrams to Song Ziliang, accusing Wu Zhuozhi of disrupting anti-war transportation and destroying anti-war materials. Song Ziliang received the telegram and scolded Wu Zhuozhi for being ignorant. From then on, Wu Ji hated Gong hated Feng and felt that the situation was becoming increasingly difficult, so Zhang Yanyuan took the opportunity to win over Wu, formed a Wu-Zhang alliance, and sent a large number of military minions to Wu's repair system and transportation department."
No wonder Wu Zhuozhi and a group of military special agents went out to greet him, while Gong Jiasui stayed in the courtyard waiting. It turned out that fire and water were incompatible.
Seeing that Young Master Chen was listening with great interest, Chen Baohua became even more enthusiastic and continued with excitement: "According to the business division of the Transportation Department, each transportation section is under dual management. It belongs to Wu Zhuozhi's road transportation group in terms of organization. However, in order to cooperate with the actual tasks of various places, , and also stipulates that the branches in the corresponding regions have the right to supervise and direct them.
By June of the 27th year of the Republic of China, when transportation was at its peak, the management of the highway transportation team had not improved much. As a result, all branches attacked Wu Zhuozhi. Feng Jiantong sent emergency telegrams to Song Ziliang in succession, saying, "If the headquarters If the ownership of the transportation section is not changed, the branch will not bear any responsibility for transportation; if it stops in Changsha and hundreds of vehicles are damaged and cannot run, if Wu Zhuozhi does not repair them as soon as possible, the branch will not bear any responsibility if they are bombed by enemy planes. ¡¯
Other branches also complained about this, and Song Ziliang was a person who was intolerant of "mundane affairs", so he actually pushed it all to Zhang Yanyuan and asked him to investigate, research and improve it.
Although Wu and Zhang had an alliance, Zhang still felt that Wu could not obey orders, so he tried his best to find opportunities to tame him, and specially went with Wu from Guangzhou to Changsha and Western Hunan for an inspection. On the grounds that many broken vehicles were abandoned along the way, many vehicles broke down and stopped, and a group of car drivers were found with 'yellow croakers', etc., and on the pretext that the chief and deputy section chiefs of the Guichang section were not responsible for supervising the military vehicles passing through the Guichong section, they telegraphed Song Ziliang. , the chief and deputy section chiefs of the Guichang section should be removed from their posts for investigation, and all transportation sections and employees of each transportation section, including fleet officers and soldiers, should be transferred to the local branch and hired on the basis of merit. "
Although Wu Zhuozhi has all his shortcomings, he is the only person in the entire transportation department who is proficient in transportation. Young Master Chen frowned, "How did Song Ziliang handle it?"
"You won't believe it when I tell you, Director. After reading it, he gave the approval without even thinking, and also dismissed Section Chiefs Hengchang and Guizhong from their posts. In this way, Wu Zhuozhi's three powerful minions were eliminated. However, Zhang Yanyuan transferred the military control elements in each transportation section to work in the supervision section of the local branch office, and also instructed the inspection section chiefs of each branch office to participate in the selection of convoy officers at each branch office.The job of recruiting high-level personnel was used to open up the gap in the convoy so that a large number of lower-level personnel from the military command could be transferred to fill the convoy positions.
According to the original establishment, there were only six people in the supervision section of each branch. As a result, Zhang took this opportunity to expand the supervision section and added a security unit and an audit unit within the department, increasing the number of staff to 20 or 30 people. , In addition, there are many additional inspectors and escorts. Taking advantage of that internal strife, Zhang Yanyuan turned his attention to customers and completely placed transportation, the most important business of his transportation department, under his strict supervision.
And his supervisory department chiefs, although nominally under the jurisdiction of the branch directors, are actually parallel to the branch directors. They have no control over the branch's expenses, employees' salaries, and even the private lives of the branch directors, which has caused controversy. There is general dissatisfaction among branch directors and other department and station personnel. They often even fabricated information about branch directors and employees at all levels and sent it to Zhang Yanyuan, or sent it directly to the Military Command Bureau, causing many employees to be accused of "unfounded" crimes and subjected to various punishments. "