Wind spy

The Japanese invaders' plundering of Chinese crude salt is simply appalling. Last year, in the 31st year of the Republic of China, more than 633,000 tons of Changlu Saltworks were stolen. This year's target has dropped. The minimum requirement is five. One hundred thousand tons, that is because the output of the Lianghuai Salt Plant and the output of the Shandong Salt Plant are slowly increasing, and the demand for raw salt has decreased.

In terms of output, the annual output of Changlu Salt Farm was maintained at more than one million tons under the condition of Japanese businessmen frantically expanding salt fields. It is not difficult to achieve this goal.

But Chen Mingxiang stepped in. His two salt fields would take one-sixth of the sales in a year, which would definitely affect the interests of North China Salt Co., Ltd.

"Since the empire launched this war to invade China, there have been sharp contradictions between the chaebol, the military and even the government. As merchants, we pay taxes to the empire and provide the materials needed for the war, but the ultimate goal is to make money!"

"The imperial government and the military department want us to serve the war, and at the same time they want to implement a detente policy in the occupied areas, reduce the hostility of the local people, and stabilize the rule of the puppet regime. How can there be such a good thing? Will this give us a way to survive? "" Mitsui's representative said.

North China Salt Industry Co., Ltd., which is responsible for monopoly business such as salt production and sales, belongs to the National Policy Company established by Japan in North China, that is, North China Development Company. The shareholders of North China Development Company are half of the Japanese government and half of the Manchurian Railway outside the customs. There are also big chaebols such as Sumitomo, Mitsui and Mitsubishi.

The Japanese government has only management agencies in the occupied areas, such as the former North China Liaison Department of the Koya Institute, and the current Consulate General in Peiping, which does not participate in actual operations.

In other words, the salt industry in North China is completely in the hands of the chaebols. Now that Chen Mingxiang has taken the salt farms from them, their interests will naturally be touched.

"What the Consulate General in Beiping said is pretty good. This is a temporary strategy. When the salt shortage in Central China is relieved, Haiyuan Salt Industry Company will return the salt fields. Who will it deceive?"

"What is table salt, a profitable daily necessities. Can Haiyuan Salt Industry Company spit out the meat? In the mouth of the other party, the salt shortage in Central China can be alleviated?" The representative of Sumitomo also felt that this matter. Too wimpy.

Everyone is a trader, and no one knows what is going on, what is temporary, what is salt shortage, that is all a lie!The final result must be that the "salt shortage" has always existed, and the salt fields have been "temporarily" borrowed, and they will do the same in exchange.

The Subei Saltworks in Central China is also called Lianghuai Saltworks. It’s not that there is no raw salt. Your salt merchants in Central China rush to our North China area to grab meat. What is this?

"On the surface, North China has the best Changlu salt field, but the salt control and rationing work in North China has led to a large area of ​​salt shortage, salt prices remain high, and salt smuggling and salt grabbing have occurred from time to time. , Has caused turmoil to the social order."

"The Cabinet and the Military Department do not want to see this phenomenon, and hope that the North China region will be stable, so they will push these problems to us. Why can Chen Mingxiang get two salt fields from the Changlu Salt Farm? It is because the consulate general in Peiping implements the imperial government. The new policy is also a warning to us!" said the representative of Mitsubishi.

These things must have existed in the past, but the Japanese Cabinet and the Ministry of the Army don’t care. They regard the Changlu Saltworks as a production place for industrial raw materials and as a production place for civilian materials. As long as they can meet domestic demand, the people in North China They don't care about life or death!

What's more, state policy companies such as the North China Development Corporation are jointly established by the government and chaebols. They do not use material control methods to looting resources. How can the company make profits or distribute dividends, and the chaebols cannot get benefits, how can they pay taxes to the government and how to support this? A war?

But now is different. The Japanese government feels its own threat and hopes to use North China as a long-term material supply base. It needs a relatively stable social environment. The purpose is not to hinder the long-term plunder of resources. Salt is a continuous and renewable resource. .

The chaebols certainly do not accept this. If they want to meet the government's requirements, they have to reduce their own profits. What do they invest in this company for?Those who don't make money and contribute are philanthropists!

"This is a typical case of giving us a black pot. I admit that in the salt control and salt rationing, the North China Salt Industry Co., Ltd. has obtained certain benefits. However, the country draws hundreds of thousands of tons of raw salt from the Changlu Salt Plant every year, and the North China Front Army draws 10 per year. Tens of thousands of tons of salt, this is the problem."

"We cannot allow businessmen like us to transport raw salt to the country free of charge. We also need production costs. If we can't make profits locally, we have to get it from the occupied areas. If the salt price is not high, where can we make money?" The representative of Mitsui said.

There are two large saltworks in North China, one is Changlu Saltworks, which is the largest saltworks in the country, and the other is Shandong Saltworks. North China accounts for two-thirds of the national salt production.

Because of such abundant conditions, there is a shortage of salt everywhere in cities and counties in North China. There are many reasons for this phenomenon.

The first is that although the total amount of salt in the salt farm has increased, the supply to North China has decreased. More than half of the salt production was purchased by Japanese merchants at low prices and shipped to Japan for industrial and daily needs. The remaining part was used by the military. In addition to its daily utility, it also has to smuggle a part of it to the Kuomintang-controlled area in exchange for various war materials.

Secondly, the salt merchants that originally existed in North China, under the pressure of the Japanese and the puppets’ numerous exorbitant taxes, went bankrupt and closed their doors. The traitorous salt merchants not only implemented the Japanese puppet’s salt ration regulations, but also privately increased their prices to make huge profits. The common people cannot eat salt.

In addition, the gendarmerie and police in various places, as well as large and small material control agencies and traitor organizations, also profit from salt. The so-called salt ration is very arbitrary. The salt applied for purchase is often even One catty of coarse salt per month is not enough.

"Jing said some useless bullshit, we can't just ignore it, we must snatch the salt field back, how can the best place of Tanggu salt field fall into his hands?" said the representative of Mitsubishi.

"It's definitely not possible to force it. He is now implementing the instructions of the Consulate General in Peking. He is obviously going to do things, but we also have our own advantages. The demand for raw salt in the country and the army is in our hands and is qualified to bargain. ."

"In addition, I have received a piece of news that Chen Mingxiang’s actions in the Lianghuai Saltworks and the newly established Huazhong Salt Industry Company are also very dissatisfied. I have already invited the person in charge, Li Hongmei, to come to Tianjin for talks. He learned a bitter lesson!" said the person in charge of North China Salt Company.