Rise from eight hundred.

After this battle, the South Hebei Guard Brigade became famous on the battlefield in North China and almost became an infantry brigade on par with the 683rd Brigade.

The old commander of the Second War Zone treated the Guard Brigade as his own flesh and blood. Not only did he personally come to inspect the Guard Brigade’s base in Zishan, he also designated the Guard Brigade, which was originally a local armed force and had to raise its own pay for its military pay by the South Hebei Administrative Office, as a unit directly under the Second War Zone Command.

However, even the old man from Shanxi Province did not assign a brigade commander to the security brigade to control this elite infantry brigade.

It's not that he didn't want to, but although the Four-Line Regiment and Tang Dao were suppressed, as long as Tang Dao was there, he knew that no matter how many officers he sent to the guard brigade, he would not be able to actually control this elite force composed almost entirely of Tang Dao's direct subordinates.

This approach is actually more of a gesture of goodwill.

The assassinations that took place in Jiangxia, which was controlled by the Japanese army, from June 1941 to the end of June 6, were mostly directed at the Military Control Commission by the Japanese, but that could only fool ordinary people. These bigwigs knew what happened in the Fifth War Zone that night.

Based on the old man's understanding of the Tang Dao, the Tang Dao had fought so many dangerous battles in the battlefields of North China without even a scratch on its skin. How could it be seriously injured by a sneak attack by 200 Japanese soldiers? Maybe it was just a trick of the Tang Dao kid. Everyone thought he was still lying in bed, but he was hiding behind the scenes to do something.

If things go wrong, those cases in Jiangxia where Japanese generals and high-ranking officials of the puppet army were killed might all be the work of Tang Dao himself!

The old man from Jin Province couldn't help but feel a chill in his back when he thought about the Four Lines Regiment or the Tang Swords being able to come and go freely in the heavily guarded Jiangxia City and take the heads of high-ranking officials as easily as taking something out of a bag.

The fighting power of the Tang Dao and the Four-Line Regiment was so strong that one regiment could even defeat an entire Japanese division. This was not scary for a big shot like the old man from Shanxi Province.

  What really scares them is that Tang Dao and the Four Lines Group don't seem to take them, the so-called big guys, seriously and don't have much awe. It would be fine if they don't provoke them, but if they cross their bottom line, they may be big guys when they are alive, but nothing when they die, right?

When the Four-Line Regiment was left idle by the Fifth War Zone, the old man from Shanxi Province made a special report to the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs, requesting that the Four-Line Regiment be transferred back to the Second War Zone to avoid another crisis like the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain.

In the great battle in July, if the 7th Army had not put aside past grudges and the elite troops of the Security Brigade had not been deployed, not only would the Zhongtiao Mountain defense line have been destroyed, but the 20 troops stationed there would have most likely disappeared. Thinking of this, the old man from Shanxi Province broke out in cold sweat.

Without Zhongtiao Mountain, his headquarters as the commander-in-chief of the Second War Zone would have to be moved to the east of the Yellow River, and the only territory in Shanxi Province would be gone. His title as the commander-in-chief of the Second War Zone would be in name only.

But obviously, as the commander of the Second War Zone, he did not have enough face, and the Military and Political Department rejected him bluntly. However, they finally gave him a little face and allowed Tang Dao, who had just recovered from serious injuries, to return to Taihang Mountains to recuperate and participate in the famine relief operations in some areas of Henan Province as the deputy commissioner of the South Hebei Administrative Office during his recuperation.

In the past, the Great Famine in Henan Province that shocked the world and killed 300 million victims occurred from July 1942 to the spring of 7. But in fact, drought had already broken out in some parts of Henan Province since mid-1943, but the chief executive of Henan Province at the time chose to conceal the report, which led to the senior officials of the Shancheng government misjudging the severity of the disaster and causing the disaster.

In 1941, due to the large Yellow River flooding area formed after the explosion of Huayuankou in 38, it was extremely difficult for Japanese infantry to march in the mud, not to mention tanks and artillery, so the Japanese army only occupied a small area in eastern and northern Henan, and most of Henan Province was still under the control of the Shancheng government.

But the Japanese army never stopped bombing cities in Henan Province. An American painter named Graham Baker happened to come to a bombed city in Henan Province. He wrote in his memoirs: Those bombers buzzed over my head like a swarm of hornets, and then the city was like an ant nest with the wooden boards suddenly moved away. The Chinese were greatly frightened.

Luoyang, this ancient city has long been devastated, but compared to the war that can destroy everything, perhaps more terrifying is the punishment from nature.

The fields were already cracked, and Henan Province, which had not experienced rain for a long time, was like an old man in his twilight years. In the thousands of villages, there were farmers who were so thin that they were just skin and bones. There were no weeds in the fields, and the farmers were looking for something to eat with sickles.

  While describing war and drought, this American painter also painted a picture of a middle-aged man as thin as a skeleton, hugging a bowl-sized tree.

However, this Chinese man, whose face was filled with suffering, was not climbing a tree, but gnawing at the bark with his teeth.

The bitter bark was the only energy that kept the middle-aged man alive in the autumn of 1941.

Tang Dao, which had been preparing for this terrible drought and famine two years in advance, naturally would not let history repeat itself. Members of the intelligence system controlled by Gong Shaoxun had arrived in Henan Province long ago. They not only took a lot of photos, but also contacted the American painter through the Rockefeller Company.

After arriving in Shancheng, the American painter's experiences along the way in Henan Province and the painting he made on the spot shocked the top leaders of Shancheng. This was completely different from what was reported by the Henan Provincial Government.

The secret investigation team arrived in Henan Province in September and returned to report to the Shancheng government in November, making them realize the seriousness of the problem. If they do not prepare in advance, if the drought continues or even expands next year, a terrible famine will break out in Henan Province, which has 9 counties and a population of more than 11 million.

  However, disaster relief requires not only people but also supplies. Construction requires money, purchasing weapons requires money, and military expenditures also require money. Money can be printed, but if too much is printed, won’t it be just like waste paper?

You know, at that time, the domestic economic and financial order had not completely collapsed and was still trying to save it.

Because China's domestic inflation has already begun to slide into the abyss, but has not yet completely entered the stage of falling out of control.

Just like the legal tender that was used in 35, 1937 legal tenders could buy two cows in 100, but in 1938 it could only buy one, and in 1941 it could only buy a pig. It depreciated by who knows how many times.

  But only the little butterfly from the future knows that this level of inflation is nothing. The inflation rate in the following years is rising like a rocket. In 1948, 100 French francs could only buy 4 grains of rice, which means that this money is somewhat useful. By 1949, 100 French francs would only buy 1 ten-millionths of a grain of rice.

The terrible inflation is ruthlessly devouring the wealth of ordinary Chinese people like a greedy beast. The only benefit may be that it will also trap the Japanese who make counterfeit money to impact China's financial order.

During Japan's full-scale invasion of China, a major named Kenzo Yamamoto of the Japanese General Staff was transferred to the 9th Army Scientific Research Institute to be responsible for a top-secret mission code-named "Sugi Operation". This mission was to undermine the Yamashiro government's legal currency system by producing counterfeit currency, disrupt China's domestic economy, and destroy China's economic resistance.

Yamamoto Kenzo graduated from the 15th class of the Japanese Army Accounting School. He was very interested in currency circulation. When he was young, he had an incredible dream of counterfeiting coins, but he never found an opportunity. During his time in Manchukuo, he conducted a detailed study of China's currency system and spent several years studying the currency circulation in mainland China, foreign countries and Goryeo, becoming a true "China expert".

Before Japan's full-scale invasion of China, he joined the Japanese Kwantung Army and went to Manchuria in Northeast China to conduct military geography research. When observing the circulation of legal tender in central China, he noticed that most of the legal tender in circulation on the market at that time was printed by the Central Bank and the Communications Bank, and the printing manufacturers were the De La Rue Company, Ward Road Company and the American Banknote Company of the British Empire.

The anti-counterfeiting measures of these banknotes are mainly watermarks and secret marks. Some American-version banknotes have red and blue silk threads sandwiched between the portraits. The process is simple and it is not difficult to forge. Moreover, China's local counterfeiting methods were backward at that time, and the general public's awareness of anti-counterfeiting was not very strong. If a batch of counterfeit banknotes were forged, it should be no problem to disrupt China's economy, which would have a certain promoting effect on Japan's invasion of China.

After much discussion and research, Kenzo Yamamoto first selected the 5-yuan denomination of legal tender as the experimental object, and produced the printing plate of the 5-yuan denomination of legal tender in Japan. After printing more than 10 yuan of finished products, they were quickly shipped to China to purchase supplies. Unexpectedly, these 5-yuan counterfeit bills had long been invalidated and withdrawn from circulation in China, and people did not recognize them. The failure of the first counterfeit legal tender action plan caught him by surprise. It was probably because he was too excited and decided without market research. His work was in vain. At the same time, he was severely reprimanded by his superiors.

The mission failed, but he still did not give up. In April 1940, Yamamoto Kenzo repeated his old tricks and forged a batch of 4, 1 and 5 yuan notes of the Farmers' Bank of China, totaling more than 10 million yuan. He then used special technology to turn them into old banknotes, secretly transported them to China, and mixed them with real legal tender. He delivered them to Japanese invading agencies and "trading companies" in occupied areas for use. These fake legal tenders were widely circulated and became an important means for the Japanese invaders to snatch up supplies, disrupt China's financial order, and seek military expenses for the Japanese invaders in China, causing damage to the Chinese economy.

Two years later, with the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Japanese army occupied Hong Kong Island in December 1941. The Special High Section seized the Yamashiro government's mint in Hong Kong Island and the minting machines that had not been transported away in time, as well as a batch of 12-yuan denomination legal tender semi-finished products and printing machines, legal tender codes, and secret account books from the Bank of Communications of China. All of these, along with the above proceeds, were secretly transported to the "Ninth Army Scientific Research Institute" in Kyoto, where Kenzo Sanmoto took the lead in selecting special personnel to conduct special research and tackle key problems.

At this point, Japan had obtained all the secrets of printing legal tender and began to print legal tender frantically.

According to statistics, from 1939 to 1945, the Japanese invaders produced a total of 7 billion yuan in counterfeit currency, which is the largest amount of counterfeit currency in the world.

However, no matter how well Japan planned, it would fail. Due to the Japanese invasion, the domestic turmoil and the change in the circulation of legal currency, the Yamashiro government itself started a crazy inflation before the Japanese counterfeit banknotes could further play their role. Therefore, tons of counterfeit banknotes that cost a lot of manpower and material resources to produce, with high transportation costs, and at the risk of being seized, were just a drop in the bucket in China, where inflation had already reached its climax.

If they were bolder and invested more, they could get 4000 billion yuan and maybe even buy several hundred kilograms of rice so that everyone could make rice balls to eat.

Yamamoto Kenzo's dream was shattered. He was puzzled and lamented: "China is really a daunting country."

  Just talking about counterfeiting and selling fake goods, if the Japanese want to cause trouble in China, it would be like waving a sword in front of Guan Gong - they are doomed!

This is a bit far-fetched. In November 1941, that man and his think tanks were looking at the impending deterioration of people's livelihood in Henan Province and were very worried about money.

Then, the old man from Jin Province was very "sensible" and brought him a pillow when he was sleepy.

The name of Tang Dao appeared in that person's sight again.

To be honest, that person didn't want to see this name at all. Ever since he took that position, many people wanted to kill him in their hearts, but no one had ever come close to saying this to them.

Jiangxia Cheng's stunning shot and the two consecutive assassinations in which a Japanese army lieutenant general was strangled to death were almost like such a "declaration of war".

He was 100% sure that he could destroy the Four-Line Group, but he was not 100% sure that no one would escape, which was a huge hidden danger.

Therefore, the most appropriate arrangement is to put it aside, not move it or use it, and deal with it after the Sino-Japanese War.

As a result, when the old man from Jin Province mentioned Tang Dao, the man suddenly had an idea. He arranged a task for Tang Dao and made use of his relationship with the Rockefeller Foundation. Moreover, he could keep him away from the Four Banks Group, making it easier to split the Four Banks Group.

There has never been absolute loyalty in this world. Just because the Four Element Group is united now doesn't mean it will be the same in the future.

However, the man who had this idea did not take any action, but let the old man from Shanxi Province use his connections to run around, until Tang Dao himself sent a telegram to the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs hoping to be allowed to return to Taihang Mountains to recuperate and visit his wife and children.

The Ministry of Military Affairs then issued a military order agreeing to Tang Dao's request and assigned him the job of deputy commander-in-chief of disaster relief.

As for the commander-in-chief, it was of course Commander Jiang, who had been transferred from the Tenth War Zone to the First War Zone not long ago.

However, anyone with a discerning eye knows that the commander of the First War Zone is just a chief commander in title, and the real work is still done by the deputy commander Tang Dao.

  Because the Executive Yuan only allocated a total of 300 million French francs in cash and grain!

At the current market price, 300 million French francs can only buy 60 kilograms of flour, which sounds like a lot, but this is disaster relief. There are already 20 counties with a population of more than 300 million in the controlled area of ​​Henan Province. Is 60 kilograms of grain enough to feed these 300 million people for a day?

Many people believed that this was a difficult problem posed by that person to Tang Dao. Before the Chinese New Year, Tang Dao might be accused of being unsuccessful in disaster relief and removed from his position as deputy commissioner of the South Hebei Administrative Office.

Tang Dao was very calm. He set out from the Fifth War Zone with 30 guards, changed ships at Shipai Fortress and arrived at the mountain city. He had no intention of returning to the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs to report on his work. He arrived directly at Jiulongpo Airport under the escort of the armed guard team of Rockefeller Far East Branch.

The foreign girl stopped pretending at this time and personally sent Tang Dao on a US transport plane, which flew directly to Chang'an under the escort of 10 US Wildcat fighters.

And when saying goodbye at the airport, he took the initiative to hug a certain commander who still had a bandage on his head and touched his cheek with his lips.

Let’s not talk about how awesome Tang Dao’s treatment was, with a private plane and a fighter squadron escorting him. Just Laura’s intimate behavior really shocked the top leaders of Shancheng.

It is true that Westerners have the cheek kiss that makes Orientals feel extremely uncomfortable, but touching cheeks with lips is only done by elders to younger people or between lovers.

Is Miss Laura going to announce it to the world? Tsk tsk! Captain Tang is really so lucky! At that moment, many filthy middle-aged greasy men had countless unbearable images in their minds.

And only some people who truly understand the secret know that this means that Laura is using her own way to draw her bottom line for certain people. The reason why Rockefeller Company is still here is because of the existence of Mr. Tang.

"Ahem! Mingyue, you know, Laura did this because she was worried that I would be assassinated again, or at least to prevent threats from within." Tang Dao, who had already returned to Taihang Mountain, explained this to Tan Tai Mingyue, who had just coaxed Xiao Shanhe to sleep and laid him down beside him, in the dead of night.

"Well! Thank Miss Laura for her hospitality for me!" Tan Tai Mingyue gently leaned her head on her husband's arms. Although she felt at ease in her heart, she also felt a kind of sourness that was hard to conceal.

  No matter how generous she is, it would be hard for her to accept that Western woman taking this opportunity to passionately express her love to her husband!

At this moment, Tang Tuanzuo said that he was really embarrassed!

It was not until a long time later that he felt a sharp pain in his ribs. It was the 'Nine Yin White Bone Pinch' that his wife had not used for a long time. Tang Dao then breathed a sigh of relief and stretched out his hands to tightly hug his wife's body, which was much more plump than when she was a girl.

  As the saying goes: A short separation is better than a new marriage! He has been away for more than half a year, so what is a short separation?

At that moment, the fire in Tang Tuanzuo's body was like an active volcano about to erupt, and he thought of more moves than he had when fighting the enemy.

"Wow! Mom! I want my mom!" A loud cry came from the couple's bed.

Tang Shanhe sat up from the crib, looked at his father with tears in his eyes, who was even more confused than him, and cried loudly.

  Tang Dao

Early the next morning, the guards all smiled knowingly as they watched Commander Tang, who slept until noon before going out.

They probably don't know that the poor commander of a certain regiment told his fat son the story of Big Head Dad and Small Head Son late at night.

The story was so exciting that he even fell asleep by himself.

Really, coaxing a baby is much more tiring than fighting a war. (End of this chapter)