Chapter 151: 150, The Damned Tanggu Agreement, Rebirth Of Taishan Airlines
Leaving the salon, Fang Wen strode towards the office.
Lately, he felt he had become much more irritable, and today’s situation would not have happened in the past.
In the past, he would have looked down on all of this with the eyes of someone from the future, and then made arrangements based on his ‘foresight.’
But now, he had integrated into life in the Republic of China era.
That was why he felt so angry.
To dilute the restlessness in his heart, Fang Wen felt that work was the best.
Only work could maintain his ambition, while other forms of entertainment, indulgence, and venting would only lead him to succumb to pleasure.
And outside the office.
Kuang Mingzhu looked at her husband with concern, turned back into the house, and after a while brought a cup of hot tea.
“Mister, I often hear people say that there are many kinds of people. When I was studying at a private school as a child, the teacher wrote an article about this. I’ve copied it out; take a look and tell me how it is?”
After Kuang Mingzhu finished speaking, she put down the cup, and a piece of paper was pressed under the tray.
She then left the General Manager’s office, closing the door behind her.
Fang Wen pulled out the paper.
“Each person is different, like a hundred flowers vying for beauty, each displaying its own form. People in the world are vastly different, like the multitude of stars, each with its own brilliance.
Observing their nature, some are as strong as iron, others as gentle as water; some are unrestrained and bold, others reserved and introverted. Their interests also differ; some are passionate about fame and fortune, others are devoted to mountains and rivers; some indulge in poetry and song, others dedicate themselves to scholarly or practical matters.
Furthermore, observing their actions, some are consistent in word and deed, while others are two-faced; some rush forward bravely, while others hesitate and look back. All these variations are due to individual differences, resulting in a multitude of behaviors.
A person is born into the world with their own destiny and fortune. Some are born into noble families, enjoying all the glory; others come from humble origins, experiencing hardships. However, regardless of noble or low status, rich or poor, everyone has their unique life trajectory and unique life experiences.
Therefore, it is said: People are of a hundred kinds, like a hundred flowers, each leading the way. Only by observing them with a tolerant heart can one see their unique beauty and comprehend the myriad facets of life.”
Fang Wen was stunned.
This article, written by Kuang Mingzhu’s private school teacher, was not outstanding in its prose, but it fully conveyed the idea that people are of a hundred kinds.
Its final paragraph was written for students, encouraging them to have a tolerant heart.
And at this moment, it seemed to be written for Fang Wen as well.
He felt ashamed; people are of a hundred kinds, and no one is perfect.
On what grounds was he judging those people from the salon?
Perhaps in the future struggles against the Japanese, there might not be any true heroes among them.
The depression in his heart instantly cleared, and Fang Wen felt a sense of relief.
With his mindset restored, Fang Wen once again became ambitious, dedicating himself to his work.
Taishan Airlines’ proposed air distribution plan was welcomed by all the tobacco companies.
A total of:
British American Tobacco Company （ London ）, brands: Capstan, Three Castles, Big White Rabbit
Nanyang Tobacco Company (Hong Kong), brands: Double Happiness, Seven Stars
Wills Company （ London ）, brand: Old Budweiser （ Pirate holding a knife, also known as Pirate Brand ）
Asia Tobacco （ Yunnan ）, brand: Big Heavy Nine
Yongtaihe Tobacco （ Wuhan ）, brand: Fairy （ Ladies’ cigarettes ） British （ exclusive distribution ）
Although the headquarters of these five tobacco companies were not all in Shanghai, they gathered in Shanghai for a five-day negotiation due to Taishan Airlines’ air distribution plan.
The five tobacco companies, whose total sales accounted for 90% of the tobacco brand sales in China, were very receptive after hearing the project introduction by Shopkeeper Liu and Fang Shouxin. Their keen business sense judged this to be a significant opportunity to expand their sales share, and they engaged in intense discussions to secure as much distribution share as possible.
Finally, the five agreed to allocate distribution shares based on their existing market shares, to be re-evaluated every two years.
After this business agreement was drafted, Taishan Airlines’ commercial transport flight paths were officially launched.
How would it be operated?
Fang Wen had already made plans.
The air distribution plan required a centralized aviation logistics park to store a large quantity of air supplies, which would then be distributed in all directions.
Fuyang was an excellent location.
It was located between the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, connecting the southeast, northwest, east, and west.
It also had an existing airport, and the surrounding land had already been purchased by Taishan Airlines.
This was perfect for warehousing.
Before the airport warehouse was built, temporary warehouses could also be rented in houses within Fuyang City.
Therefore, after signing cooperation agreements with the five companies, Taishan Airlines immediately began.
Taishan One, with a payload of 8 tons, transported large quantities of tobacco from Wuhan (Yongtaihe), Kunming （ Asia ）, Shanghai （ British American Tobacco, Wills ）, and Fuzhou （ Nanyang Tobacco ） to Fuyang, the central distribution hub.
Due to the airport warehouses not being completed yet, hundreds of houses in Fuyang City were rented as temporary storage for the vast quantities of tobacco.
For this purpose, a large number of local Fuyang residents were recruited for jobs such as warehouse management, handling, security, accounting, and cashiers.
While these tobacco products were being gathered in Fuyang, Taishan Airlines’ commercial telegram team was also established.
Members of these commercial telegram teams were dispatched to Taishan Airlines’ five major cities: Jinan, Wuhan, Shanghai, Fuzhou, and Nanchang.
They would be the channel for Taishan Airlines to deliver business information in a timely manner. With airplanes, they could achieve the quickest domestic business response.
Accompanying them was Taishan Airlines’ business distribution team.
The business distribution team, in five cities and the surrounding areas radiating from these cities, began the construction of supply channels.
They promised grassroots merchants that they would visit once a month to agree on a procurement plan. Once the supply plan was set, Taishan Airlines’ sales staff would deliver the agreed-upon cigarettes to their doorsteps.
At the same time, due to the elimination of various intermediate links, such as distributors, agents, water and land transport, and various manpower expenses.
Taishan Airlines’ supply price was much lower than the supply prices they had previously obtained.
In short, Taishan Airlines had obvious advantages in tobacco distribution.
They could deliver on time, deliver to the doorstep, had sufficient supply sources, a complete variety of products, and favorable prices.
This immediately attracted a large number of grassroots retailers.
They signed supply agreements one after another, and it remained to be seen if Taishan Airlines could fulfill them.
Of course, they could. After signing the supply agreements, new delivery trucks were added to Taishan Airlines’ airports in various locations. These trucks traveled daily between the urban areas and the airports, delivering highly profitable various brand cigarettes to the retailers.
These retailers engaged in cash-on-delivery transactions, and large sums of money were transported back to Shanghai by airplane.
Meanwhile, the situation in the north continued to deteriorate.
Taishan Airlines Shanghai Headquarters.
Fang Wen did not begin to handle company affairs; instead, he first reviewed the intelligence received that morning.
【 Although the 6th Division suffered heavy losses due to bombings by mysterious bombers, the Japanese 14th Mixed Brigade subsequently successfully linked up with the 6th Division and, with the cooperation of the 8th Division outside the Great Wall, jointly captured Nantianmen.
【 In this battle, the Japanese Air Force was deployed en masse, repeatedly bombing the Great Wall Defense Line and local defending troops, and using artillery to bombard the areas behind the Great Wall in depth.
【 The National Army suffered heavy losses, and the defending troops of the Great Wall, the 83rd Division, retreated south to the positions in the Kai-ling area south of Nantianmen. From then on, the section of the Great Wall defending Beiping was occupied by the Japanese Army.
Fang Wen reviewed the intelligence regarding the estimated battle damage on both sides.
Japanese Army casualties were less than 300, while National Army casualties were nearly a thousand.
He was not angry and continued to read the intelligence; such matters required adaptation.
【 The 17th Army suffered heavy losses at Gubeikou and was transferred to Miyun for reorganization.
【 The 26th Army entered the prepared positions at Jiusongshan.
【 The Japanese Army took advantage of the retreat of the Central Army and advanced north towards Beiping from Pinggu.
After reading the intelligence, Fang Wen contemplated the battle situation in the north.
The current situation indicated that the war had entered the stage of plain warfare.
Haphazardly assembled units like the 57th Army were no longer effective.
They could only rely on the 17th and 26th Armies for resistance.
The 17th Army, a legitimate Central Army established in January of this year, consisted of the 2nd and 5th Divisions, the 1st Cavalry Brigade, and the 4th Artillery Regiment.
It was precisely because of its strong combat capability that it was deployed to defend the most dangerous Gubeikou.
However, it had already suffered heavy losses at Gubeikou and could no longer sustain the fight.
The only force truly capable of fighting was the 26th Army.
But the 26th Army was only slightly better than the 57th Army.
This unit was also formed in April of this year.
Indeed, it was a new designation established just last month.
The 26th Army was formed by the merger of the former Northeast Army’s 15th Mixed Brigade and part of the former National Army’s 5th Army.
This unit’s mission to block the Japanese advance on Beiping was truly like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
Thinking this, Fang Wen seemed to understand the intentions of the National Government.
It was nothing more than a strategy of ceding territory for peace; they had no intention of continuing the fight.
With this concern, Fang Wen continued his work while staying informed about the situation in the north.
Although there was a time lag, he learned a great deal about the situation in the north through his intelligence network in Shanghai.
【 On the 16th, Wang Ganchen’s regiment of Song Zeyuan’s ‘Great Wall Saber Squad,’ which had retreated from Xifengkou to Zunhua, encountered the Japanese Army. Although the entire regiment resisted with all its might, Wang was severely wounded, and more than half of the officers and soldiers were casualties. In the evening, Song’s unit retreated west and rendezvoused with friendly forces.
【 The 57th Army retreated to the area south of Xugexuan in Fengrun County and south of Lutai in Ninghe County.
【 Xiong Bin, Director of the National Government’s General Staff Office, met three times with Japanese Military Attaché Nagatsu Sabishige to discuss the withdrawal of Chinese troops. They agreed to withdraw to the Lutai and Baodi areas and requested that the Japanese Army not pursue.
【 On the 18th, the Japanese General Staff Office issued “Guiding Principles for the North China Armistice” to the Kwantung Army, instructing the Kwantung Army to be the party responsible for signing the armistice agreement and designating Nagatsu Sabishige to negotiate the armistice under the Kwantung Army’s command.
【 The Kwantung Army ordered its frontline troops to pursue within the scope of Miyun, Pinggu, and Jixian. Simultaneously, it notified the National Army to withdraw to the west of the Shunyi, Baodi, and Lutai line.
【 Subsequently, various National Army units withdrew westward, followed by the Japanese Army, which occupied their positions.
【 The Beiping Military Affairs Commission announced: All defending troops at the passes of the Great Wall are to retreat.
【 On the 20th, 11 Japanese aircraft conducted a show of force over Beiping.
【 The Japanese 6th Division occupied Sanhe and Pinggu.
【 On the 21st, the ceasefire agreement failed, and there was no defensible ground outside Beiping.】
【 The Beiping Military Division convened a meeting of all generals. The discussion lasted for hours without result, only deciding to resist the Japanese Army’s attack on the Bai River line.】
【 At that time, the defending troops of various routes retreated, and fleeing soldiers surged into Beiping, forcibly occupying civilian houses. That night, there were rumors of armed uprisings by plainclothes teams in Beiping, and citizens rushed to flee the city.】
【 On the 22nd, a spokesperson for the Japanese Army stated, “The Japanese Army still adheres to its established policy. If the Chinese Army ceases its provocative actions, the Japanese Army will halt its advance into Pingjin.” Newspapers analyzed: According to the repeated statements of the Kwantung Army, there is an intention to rapidly withdraw the Japanese Army back to the Great Wall.】
【 Further intelligence indicated that Wang Jingwei telegraphed Huang Fu, indicating his intention to negotiate with the Japanese Army, stating, “Except for signing a treaty recognizing Manchukuo and ceding four provinces, all other conditions can be accepted.”】
【 By this time, the Japanese Army had occupied 22 counties including Qinhuangdao, Beidaihe, Funing, Qian’an, Lulong, Changli, Miyun, Zunhua, Lixian, Yutian, Fengrun, and Tangshan, forming an encirclement of Beiping.】
【 On the 23rd, the Japanese Army used the pretext of the Japanese Legation guards being stabbed as an excuse, invoking the Boxer Protocol to send 500 troops from Tianjin to Beiping to “protect overseas Chinese.” The Beiping Military Division even provided vehicles for their entry into the city.】
【 On May 25th, the Japanese Army ordered all troops invading Inside the Passes to cease combat operations.】
【 The Japanese Staff Department released a report on operations Inside the Passes, stating that Japanese Army casualties were 1163 killed and 2838 wounded. Among these, casualties caused by incendiary bombs from unidentified night bombers were 3100.】
【 From May 26th to 30th, the National Government and the Japanese side observed a ceasefire.】
【 During this period, on the 27th, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the authorities in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian to redirect the troops heading north to resist Japan to Jiangxi for “communist suppression.”】
【 On the 28th, Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Jingwei issued a national telegram: “To save the nation, one must first suppress the communists.”】
【 Only Feng Yuxiang announced his disagreement with the ceasefire arrangements. Sun Dianying wished to respond but was dispatched by the Beiping Military Division to garrison in Huairou and ordered the 25th Division to tail and monitor him.】
【 On the 31st, in just one day, the ceasefire agreement was signed.】
It was named the Tanggu Agreement.
According to this agreement,
the National Government effectively recognized the legalization of Japan’s occupation of the Three Eastern Provinces and Rehe, and the legalization of the Japanese Army’s occupation of the regions north of the Great Wall and Shanhaiguan.
Furthermore, over 20 counties north and east of Chahar and east of Hebei, south of the Great Wall, were designated as demilitarized zones.
The entire North China region was left undefended, making Beiping and Tianjin easily attainable.
Sometimes, anger and grievance cannot solve any problems.
Only by standing up and facing it bravely can one overcome them.
This is exactly what Fang Wen did.
Under his leadership, Taishan Airlines experienced a resurgence of vitality.
On June 1st,
at the Taishan Airlines Headquarters,
the newly established Air Distribution Department made the place even more bustling.
The Air Distribution Department would transport cash collected from the five major distribution zones back to headquarters daily via airplane, where it would be counted and deposited into the warehouse on the same day.
Consequently, in the afternoons, the clinking sound of currency could always be heard from here.
It was the sound of Manager Liu and a group of accountants emptying sacks of silver dollars.
There was too much money; counting it daily consumed a considerable amount of time.
This not only caused significant trouble for the accountants at Taishan Airlines but also had another important impact.
Because Air Distribution was a unique service, Fang Wen established an exceptionally long payment term of one settlement every three months.
In other words, payment for goods transported from tobacco companies in various regions was not required immediately, but rather guaranteed by Taishan Airlines’ credit and paid three months later.
Originally, this idea was conceived to prevent Taishan Airlines from experiencing cash flow problems.
However, with the current situation of large daily sales of tobacco and continuous shipments of tobacco arriving in Fuyang, a significant amount of cash accumulated daily.
This accumulation would continuously increase.
Eventually, as the cash increased, the company’s warehouses became hesitant to store so much money.
A solution needed to be found quickly; too much money was also a burden. Fang Wen, fully dedicated to his work, was contemplating how to resolve this.
