Beiyang reactionaries

"Yes."

Ren Hongjun nodded when he heard Duan Xun's words.After Ren Hongjun finished speaking, Yu Youren said, "Then let me talk about the transportation construction plan."

"According to the spirit of the prime minister's office meeting, in the third five-year plan, we mainly focus on supporting the transportation in border areas. We have drawn out the border provinces that need to be developed first."

Repair traffic in border areas?

Not only do you not make money, but you also lose money.Because most of China's border areas have poor economic conditions and a small population.If transportation is developed in border areas, there are not many people and goods, so it is impossible to make money.

Only those big cities, or cities with resources, where goods flow frequently, will their railways make money.For example, the Beijing-Harbin Railway, the Beijing-Shanghai Railway, the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, and the Zhongchang Railway all make money.

Because a large number of people move, a large number of goods need to be transported.

Not to mention these famous railways.

Just talk about the Bishi Railway in Yunnan.This is the railway built to sell the Gejiu tin mine.Starting from Gejiu, the tin ore was transported to Shiping, and then sold to Vietnam via the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway.This is currently the main channel for Gejiu tin mines to be sold.There are other transportation channels, but none of them sell as much as this road.

The railway was jointly run by the government and businessmen, and it has been discussed since the end of the Qing Dynasty.Later, after the establishment of the Republic of China, including when Cai E and Tang Jiyao were there, they began to cooperate with businessmen from the Gejiu tin mine to build this railway.However, it has not been smooth since then. In addition, after the War to Protect the Country, the political situation in Yunnan was turbulent, so the repair could not be delayed.When the Gejiu tin mine businessmen got angry, they kicked out the official shares, and they built the railway by themselves.Because for them, the most difficult thing about Gejiu Tin Mine is the bad traffic.20% of the price of Gejiu tin ore exported every year is travel expenses.With the construction of this railway, the freight in the middle can be greatly reduced.

Therefore, they are most looking forward to the Bishi Railway.

It's a pity that although they kicked out the official stock, they are not strong enough to repair it.In other words, in China at that time, without the support of official stocks, many large projects could not be started.It was only after Duan Xun unified the southwestern provinces and served as the Southwest Frontier Defense Supervisor that he began to support the railway.The Bishi Railway has once again become a government-business partnership and an official-led project.With the support of Duan Xun, the railway was successfully completed.

It's not a big project. The total length of the Bishi Railway is less than 200 kilometers.But it is a very profitable railway.As early as 1925, the annual profit of Bishi Railway exceeded 300 million. Until 1929, the profit of Bishi Railway once exceeded 400 million.After the economic crisis, the export of Gejiu tin mines suffered some blows, but it did not decrease much.Therefore, after the profit of Gebishi Railway dropped a little in 1930, the profit of Gebishi Railway broke through more than 1931 million again in 300, and the profit has been maintained at more than 300 million in the following years.

After the completion of the Bishi Railway, the total profit reached 3400 million.It is precisely because the Bishi Railway makes so much money that the Bishi Railway has established a Bishi Group.The group reinvests these profits into Yunnan transportation. At present, the main railways in Yunnan have the investment of Bishi Group, and many projects in Yunnan also have the investment of this group.The current Bishi Group is already the most powerful company in Yunnan.

But compared to them, frontier railways such as Jinglun Railway (Beijing to Kulun) and Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway (Lanzhou to Xinjiang) do not make money.Not only does it not make money, but it also loses money for a trip.

But there is no way.

Duan Xun has already set the tone at the prime minister's office meeting, and must develop the logistics supply capacity in the border area.Now that the prime minister's office meeting has been rejected, Yu Youren and the others can only formulate transportation development plans based on this.

"The seven provinces of Heilongjiang, Mongolia, Xinjiang, Tibet, Yunnan, Guangxi, and Tangnu Wulianghai are designated as frontier provinces that focus on the development of transportation this time. First of all, starting from the railway, we plan to focus on the construction of Mongolia, Tibet, Railways in the four provinces of Guangxi, Tangnu and Wulianghai. Let’s start with Mongolia. We are planning to build the Baolun Railway (Baotou to Kulun), the Tonglun Railway (Tongliao to Kulun), and the already constructed Jinglun Railway ( Beijing to Kulun), so that there are three railways in Kulun. It directly connects the northwest, northeast and north China, which greatly improves the traffic conditions in Kulun. In order to develop the traffic in Tangnu Wulianghai, the Ministry of Railways plans to lay Kulun to Tangnu Wulianghai The Lenk Railway in Kyzyl, the provincial capital."

Developing transportation is the best way to control border areas.

Outer Mongolia has always been outside the central government, because this is where the real emperor Shan Gao is far away.During the Qing Dynasty, the control over Outer Mongolia was very poor.The main reason is that the traffic conditions are too bad.When there was no railway, it would take half a month for those signal soldiers to gallop on horseback and change horses in the middle.Under such circumstances, how could it be possible to effectively rule Outer Mongolia.

Therefore, Duan Xuncai strongly advocated the establishment of the Jinglun Railway to connect Beijing and Kulun, the provincial capital of Outer Mongolia.Now the plan of the Ministry of Railways is to connect more railways.The construction of Baolun Railway and Tonglun Railway is completed, and Outer Mongolia will not be able to escape no matter what.Because of such a railway, China will be able to have a large army stationed in the Kulun area.

And Tangnu Wulianghai.

This place is more sparsely populated than Outer Mongolia.After taking advantage of the Russian Civil War to regain Tangnu Ulianghai, China established Tannu Ulianghai Province, and Kizil became the provincial capital.However, the population of this place is too small, and the population of Tangnu Ulianghai is only 10,000+.However, the water resources here are extremely rich, including fresh water resources.In addition, here is a natural pasture, the pasture area is more than 6000 million mu.Plenty of natural horses, camels, deer, sheep, cattle and more.And there's a lot of wood here.

Moreover, the geographical location of Tangnu Wulianghai is very important.Therefore, a Chinese brigade of troops is stationed in Kyzyl, and the logistical problem is very serious.Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Ministry of Railways is preparing to build the railway from Kulun to Kyzyl, which can greatly improve the transportation in Tangnu Wulianghai.

"Let's talk about Tibet. The road to Tibet is not easy. So far, Tibet is the only place in my country without a railway. In order to change this situation, the Ministry of Railways has done a lot of work, carefully inspected the situation in Tibet, and explored the The railway line. After the survey, the Ministry of Railways believes that the best railway to Tibet is the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which happens to be connected with the Lanzhou-Qingdao Railway. However, this railway is not easy to repair, and the Ministry of Railways estimates that it will take ten years to complete it. If To shorten the time, we must use a lot of manpower and material resources, and set up several engineering teams to start construction at the same time."

"Then there is Guangxi. In the third five-year plan, the Ministry of Railways plans to build two railways in Guangxi. One is the main north-south railway line that the Ministry of Railways focuses on, the Jiaozuo-Liuzhou Railway (Jiaozuo to Liuzhou). The entire line starts from North China and passes through Central China , and finally to Guangxi. This railway is connected with the Taijiao Railway, and can also communicate with the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway and the Shanghai-Kunming Railway. After construction, it will become the second Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, becoming the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway and the Beijing-Shanghai Railway The third north-south railway line. In addition to this railway, the Lizhan Railway (Nanning to Zhanjiang) is laid in Guangxi, which connects Nanning and the seaport.”

Compared with the first five-year plan and the second five-year plan, the third five-year plan of the Ministry of Railways is much less.In the First Five-Year Plan and the Second Five-Year Plan, the railways built in China have about [-] kilometers.

However, the [-]rd Five-Year Plan has clear goals, and they are all built in border areas.Strengthen ties between inland and border areas.Once anything happens in the border area, the function of mobilizing troops and supporting materials can be quickly completed.

"In addition to railways, roads will also be the top priority. In the third five-year plan, we plan to lay the following important roads to cooperate with railways to improve the transportation of these provinces. First, the road leading to Outer Mongolia, we plan to Build two roads leading directly to Kulun. One is the Tonglun Highway from Tongliao to Kulun, and the other is the Jinglun Highway from Beijing to Kulun. These two roads adopt the standards of the second-class highways of the Ministry of Communications. The same is true for Tangnu Wulianghai Lay a Lenke road from Kulun to Kyzyl."

"Then Heilongjiang. The Ministry of Communications is going to complete the county-to-county plan in Heilongjiang. All counties will build roads, and they are secondary roads of the Ministry of Communications. Then these roads will connect Harbin, Changchun, and Jilin."

"Xinjiang is divided into roads entering Xinjiang and roads inside Xinjiang. The roads entering Xinjiang are Qingxin Road, which is the road from Xining, Qinghai to Dihua (Urumqi) in Xinjiang, and the other is Lanzhou, Gansu to Lanzhou, Dihua, Xinjiang. Highway. In order to connect Qingxin Highway, build a Lanzhou-Xining Highway from Lanzhou to Xining, Qingzhou. The internal highway in Xinjiang mainly connects Dihua and Xinjiang Construction Corps, as well as the Tarim Basin in the south. For this purpose, it is laid to connect Dihua (Urumqi) and Yili , the road connecting Dihua and Kashgar. Because of the late construction time in Xinjiang and the sparsely populated land, the transportation infrastructure is very poor, which is the top priority of this construction.”

"Highway is the most important transportation in Tibet. Because it takes time to build the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the Ministry of Communications plans to build three Tibet-bound roads for Tibet's logistics. The Xinjiang-Tibet Railway (Kashgar, Xinjiang to Lhasa, Tibet), the Sichuan-Tibet Highway (Sichuan) to Tibet), the Yunnan-Tibet Highway (Yunnan to Tibet), and three highways to ensure the logistics of Tibet in the future.”

"As for Yunnan and Guangxi, the Ministry of Communications is preparing to develop roads in five southwestern provinces. Including Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou, and Hunan. The eighth page is the road plan for the five southwestern provinces formulated by the Ministry of Communications."

The Ministry of Communications has always been a major financial appropriator.

Among the annual financial allocations, transportation construction departments such as the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Railways can allocate a large amount of funds.Just less than the allocation from the Ministry of Industry.Because the money spent on transportation construction is staggering.

Like the construction of the Jinglun Railway (Beijing to Kulun), the cost is directly in the hundreds of millions.Road construction is cheaper than railway construction, but it also costs a lot.

But this time is different.

For the third five-year plan, the Ministry of Industry needs to stabilize and consolidate the achievements of the second five-year plan.Therefore, the investment in the third five-year plan of the Ministry of Industry has decreased, and the financial appropriation has dropped a lot. Most of the funds from the Ministry of Finance have flowed into military expenditures and transportation construction.

So the Department of Transportation swiped the pen.

Many plans to be implemented in the future are planned into the third five-year plan.Railway construction and road construction all come together.

"nice."

Duan Xun looked at the highway plan of the five southwestern provinces and nodded again and again.

If this plan is completed, the road situation in several southwestern provinces will be greatly improved.Duan Xun's purpose is simple.The third five-year plan was prepared for war.And as long as there is a fight, the border area will inevitably become a battlefield.

And what is the war about?It's logistics.

Whoever has better logistics and who has better weapons and ammunition replenishment will be able to persist more.But China's border areas are all places with very bad traffic.It is very difficult to get logistical supplies.

Therefore, during the [-]rd Five-Year Plan, China's transportation must have a great development.For places with good economies, even if the central government does not invest, local governments still have ways to develop transportation.Because in those provinces, the development of transportation is a money-making business.However, because the border areas do not make money, they must be invested by the government.This traffic is the lifeblood of national defense.

The Department of Transportation has a good plan.

The construction of these roads is also very targeted.If the plans of the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Railways can be completed, and these railway and highway plans can be completed, then China's control over the border areas will be greatly increased.When a war breaks out in the border areas, China also has sufficient capacity to transport troops and supplies.

"In addition to railways and highways, in order to improve the traffic situation in the border areas, the Civil Aviation Administration has decided to open airports in several important cities in the border areas and approve the air routes here. This includes Kulun in Outer Mongolia and Kizin in Tangnu Ulianghai. Le, Jiamusi and Yichun in Heilongjiang, Dihua and Yili in Xinjiang, Lhasa in Tibet, Gejiu and Mengzi in Yunnan, Xining, Liuzhou and Guilin in Guangxi."

With railways and highways, flight routes must also be opened, and airports must also be developed.

Duan Xun is very satisfied.

Although air transportation in this day and age is terrible, any kind of transportation is good when there is a war.Now the development of airports and flight routes can be used for military purposes during wars.

"And then there's the Post Office."

"And then there's the Post Office."

Yu Youren continued to report: "In order to keep abreast of the situation in the border areas, the General Post Office abandoned the original construction plan and plans to carry out communication construction mainly in the border areas during the third five-year plan period."

"First of all, major border cities have set up telegraph bureaus. And according to the situation in the border areas, the ownership and leadership of the telegraph bureaus have been established. Some military areas, or important border cities, can hand over the telegraph bureaus to the army. For example, Tang Nu Kyzyl in Wulianghai, this place is the only city in Tannu Wulianghai. Although it is not a military camp, our troops are stationed there. Therefore, the telegraph office can accept the leadership of the military and the local government. In this way, the telegraph office It can be used for civilian use at ordinary times, and it can be converted to military use immediately when something happens."

The Postal Service has a great idea.

Although the telegraph has become popular now, it is very expensive to send a telegram.In order to save some telegraph fees, when sending telegrams, everyone tried to write as little as possible.Things that can be explained in one word will never be explained in two words.Because one more word means more money.In other words, it is difficult for ordinary people to send telegrams in this day and age.

Therefore, many small cities have not yet popularized telegraph offices.

This is the case in the mainland, not to mention the border cities.Most of China's population is concentrated in the interior, and the population of border cities is quite small.Over the years, Duan Xun has worked hard to immigrate to border areas, but the increase in the number is still limited.