What did the Northeast need to do to understand the rainfall in Shaanxi?

According to the completed intelligence system construction report, Cheng Ruofan determined it wouldn't cost much money. The maintenance fees for the Northeast's intelligence stations in the five provinces of Henan, Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, and Shaanxi totaled less than 100,000 yuan.

These stations did not pry into high-level secrets. They collected completely public information: climate, rainfall, temperature, grain prices, commodity prices, and the origins of market products. For climate and rainfall, specifically at the intelligence points in Xi'an, Baoji, and Hanzhong, the Northeast Meteorology College sent personnel on rotation to monitor the weather stations the Northeast had established in Shaanxi. A wind vane, anemometer, thermometer, and precipitation gauge were enough to easily operate the meteorological intelligence gathering at these sites.

The cost to maintain such a comprehensive intelligence station was a net expenditure of no more than a thousand silver dollars a year. Establishing several points in Shaanxi province cost less than ten thousand yuan.

Intelligence on the 1920 Northern drought began reaching the Northeast in early spring. Even a layman regarding climate like Cheng Ruofan knew things were wrong after seeing the rainfall comparison data. By early summer, just as the drought was taking shape, the department responsible for migration within the Northeast government had already completed its personnel deployment and began increasing the intensity of operations to transport migrants from the drought-stricken areas to the Northeast.

By the time the Military Commission members began to formally discuss the drought, their concern was no longer how to combat the disaster itself. Chief of Staff Cheng Ruofan had no experience in how to quickly transform disaster refugees into independent farmers. Recalling the distribution of villages he had seen along the border, Cheng Ruofan offered a suggestion: "It would be best to establish villages along the border to settle a million refugees."

Not only did Cheng Ruofan lack experience with the border, but neither did the other Military Commission members. Everyone could understand that Cheng Ruofan's objective was to strengthen the Chinese population along the border and increase their power. Xu Chengfeng proposed a suggestion, "Would it be better if the villages were ten *li* from the border?"

Cheng Ruofan shook his head. "If you are worried about the Russian army charging across the border, then send more troops to patrol the border. If you are counting on the Russian army's advance speed being insufficient, then wouldn't it be better to place the villages fifty *li* from the border?"

Xu Chengfeng was not certain his own judgment was correct. Since Cheng Ruofan had proposed a specific approach, Xu Chengfeng did not insist, and simply had both of their views written down.

After the various departments finished their meetings, the persons in charge met in Shenyang. The local governments of Outer Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, and Jilin all stated, "We have no disaster situation here; we can accept a portion of the refugees."

Southern Liaoning—specifically the Liaodong Peninsula—was also suffering from the disaster. The Liaoning Provincial Party Secretary, Chen Deli, encountered this matter just a few months after taking office. The young Provincial Secretary had several red boils on his chin, a clear sign of anxiety and internal heat.

Secretary Chen Deli explained the situation. "Of the various counties on the Liaodong Peninsula, the work in three of them was very poor. Water conservancy facilities were not completed, and the Provincial Committee has already decided to adjust the leadership teams of these three counties. The other six counties basically completed the planned water conservancy work, but in this drought resistance effort, they can only play a minimal role. Potable water for people and livestock is guaranteed, but there is no water to complete agricultural irrigation. Water conservancy construction in these areas must be strengthened. Overall, northern Liaoning is fine, but the south needs to initiate the work of opening granaries to release grain."

Listening to Chen Deli finish his report, Wu Youping calculated in his heart. The population of the three counties was only a few hundred thousand; relying entirely on local reserve grain probably wouldn't be enough. Last year and this year, the Northeast had made a fortune exporting agricultural products, which meant that grain stocks were running low...

Just as he thought this, he heard He Rui speak: "Given the current situation, I require an adjustment to the Northeast's current grain export policy. Increase the Northeast grain export tax. The increase amount shall be 100% of the grain price."

When Chen Deli heard He Rui wanted to change the grain export policy, he thought He Rui was going to ban grain exports and was overjoyed. However, hearing that He Rui was not banning exports but merely increasing the export tax, he felt disappointed again.

The persons in charge of the other provinces and regions were indifferent. Since things had reached this point, it was fine as long as people didn't starve to death first. Moreover, grain production across the Northeast had exploded in the last two years. Jilin Province, which was most affected by the drought, was conversely no longer the strongest grain-exporting province. With a large population filling into the agriculture and animal husbandry of other regions, they could significantly increase agricultural and pastoral output.

Just as everyone felt the matter could likely be handled this way, Morrison, the Director of the China Merchants Bureau, requested to speak. Under everyone's puzzled gazes, Morrison asked, "Chairman He, wouldn't doing this effectively terminate exports?"

He Rui nodded. "Is money more important, or are human lives more important? The Northeast is not Ireland. We cannot be saving people from disaster on one hand while desperately shipping grain out on the other."

A single sentence silenced Morrison. Morrison could tell that the officials of the Northeast government knew very little about the Great Irish Famine. But as a Briton, and a columnist for *The Times*, Morrison was very clear on how the British government of that time had handled the Irish Famine.

Just as He Rui said, during the period when the most people were starving to death in the Irish Famine, the British government did not stop purchasing large amounts of grain from Ireland. As for millions of Irish starving to death and millions more fleeing Ireland, the British government was actually happy to see it happen.

And He Rui's attitude toward the current disaster was completely different from the British government of that time. Morrison knew that in China's historical tradition, any government had to resolve the problems caused by famine. In this regard, Morrison actually rather admired it. At least in Europe, there was no such tradition. Since the famine was not caused by the European governments, disaster relief was naturally not the government's job. The only thing a European government had to do was maintain social stability.

Just as the British government faced the Irish Famine, their starting point from beginning to end was merely to maintain Britain's stability under the famine conditions. The death of millions of Irish and the flight of a million more overseas fit the line of thinking for maintaining social stability, so it naturally received the British government's support.

In contrast, the actions of various countries coming to provide disaster relief met with extreme disgust and opposition from the British government. Some said that foreigners helping the British government with relief undercut the British government's prestige, leading to their displeasure. As a columnist for *The Times*, Morrison himself did not agree.

The British government actually didn't care about foreigners running over to help with relief. what the British government truly cared about was that once foreign-provided relief operations began, it gave the Irish hope and expectation of resolving the disaster in situ. With hope and expectation, the refugees had a direction. The Irish refugees, no longer starved to the point of immobility, still had a little strength to pick up weapons.

If hope were combined with the physical strength to wield weapons, for the British government, that would be the beginning of a catastrophe.

Having thought this through, Morrison felt an impulse to write several news reports regarding this Chinese disaster after he returned. Although Morrison knew the British government's objectives, that did not mean Morrison supported the methods the British government adopted. Especially when compared with the Chinese approach to disaster relief, Morrison identified more with China.

With the general direction established, the various leaders returned to work. With a single phone call, He Rui invited Mo Yang, editor-in-chief of the *Northeast Daily*, over. As soon as Mo Yang saw He Rui, he urgently explained the *Northeast Daily*'s propaganda theme: the Great Northeast Relief Effort.

He Rui was usually very polite to Mo Yang, but at this moment he truly had no time. After listening to the gist of Mo Yang's plan, He Rui laid out his own requirements. "First, propagate the importance of water conservancy construction in stabilizing agricultural production. Second, publicize the news of the Northeast adjusting the grain export tax increase. Complete these two items first."

Mo Yang pushed up his glasses, feeling that these two items had almost no significance for the overall relief effort. Building water conservancy was a long-term process and had no effect on the current disaster. As for increasing the grain export tax, in Mo Yang's view, it was simply baffling. To still export grain at a time like this was diametrically opposed to disaster relief. How could they go out and lecture on it at length?

After a moment of thought, Mo Yang pushed his glasses up again. "Chairman, who are these words meant for?"

He Rui liked this kind of acuity and answered straightforwardly, "I don't want to offer any explanations to Britain, France, or Japan. These matters are for them to hear. If Britain, France, and Japan withstand the massive pressure and continue to purchase grain, then we can only continue to increase the export tax."

Mo Yang understood the reason and departed with his orders. He Rui had his secretary call Cheng Ruofan to tell him that due to the disaster, the Liaodong Peninsula in southern Liaoning needed to strengthen water conservancy construction. The military needed to dispatch troops to participate.

Cheng Ruofan was not in his office at this time. He was on the road to the grassroots units. Cheng Ruofan had originally been inspecting the grassroots level and had been forcibly recalled.

Sitting in the car bumping along the dirt road, Cheng Ruofan considered the future war. To maintain a front line of one million men, given the current division-level units of the Northeast Army, they would need 80 divisions, which was roughly 27 to 28 corps. Although Northeast military academies were blossoming everywhere and the army was training vigorously, what they were training were NCOs. For 29 corps, the number of corps-level officers was one or two hundred people. Even if these people were assigned to positions, could they really complete their missions?

Thinking it over and over in his heart, Cheng Ruofan grew less and less optimistic. When they finally reached the first rest stop, someone delivered a telegram. After reading the content, Cheng Ruofan's worries immediately flew to the nine heavens. The accompanying personnel saw the look of joy on Cheng Ruofan's face and didn't know what good thing had happened.

Cheng Ruofan thought for a moment and ordered directly, "Return to Shenyang. Also, send telegrams to these people right now. Order them to assemble in Shenyang."

Upon returning to Shenyang, Cheng Ruofan immediately convened an Engineering Corps meeting and also invited Northeast Army Commander Xu Chengfeng.

What Cheng Ruofan had thought of, Xu Chengfeng had naturally thought of as well. The only thing he hadn't expected was that He Rui would actually use the name of this disaster relief to begin large-scale construction of permanent fortifications.

But this was indeed the best opportunity. The characteristic of water conservancy facilities was their long water delivery canals. With canals crisscrossing back and forth, there were plenty of places to build.

Just as Xu Chengfeng and Cheng Ruofan expected, the Japanese side did not feel there was any problem with building water conservancy projects. However, less than a week after the rapidly started construction began, Xu Chengfeng received news that the Japanese Governor-General of Korea had sent someone to Shenyang.

This made Xu Chengfeng a bit nervous. Had the Japanese Governor-General over there noticed some clue?

After the annexation of Korea, Japan did not view the people of the Korean Peninsula as Japanese but viewed Koreans as colonial subjects. Therefore, what Japan established on the Korean Peninsula was a Governor-General, not a regular administrative official.

The Japanese representative was a civil official. Upon meeting He Rui, he immediately performed the courtesies of a civil official. He Rui nodded but did not stand on ceremony. Come to mention it, the Japanese Governor-General of Korea actually had a status most similar to He Rui's in China. Both controlled direct armed forces and held local political power. And both were appointed by the central government.

Aside from these points, the most interesting thing was that the current Japanese Governor-General of Korea, Saitō Makoto, was a Japanese Navy Admiral. His military rank was actually very consistent with He Rui, this 'General Pacifying the Peace'.

The Japanese representative, Kobayashi Jun, said respectfully, "Your Excellency He, I have come on the orders of Governor-General Saitō regarding your side's construction of water conservancy projects and the attempt to draw water from the Yalu River."

He Rui hadn't expected the Japanese Governor-General of Korea to come for this matter, and he couldn't help but admire that this Navy Admiral had talent under his command. The Yalu River was the boundary river between China and the Korean region, and it was not a river with a very large flow. If the Northeast drew a large amount of water from the Yalu River, it would indeed affect the Korean side.

Moreover, the *Northeast Daily*'s actions were very swift. Facing this drought, they invited Water Conservancy Director Lu Daoming for an exclusive interview and split the interview into several issues. They introduced the water conservancy construction of the entire Liaodong Peninsula separately, which naturally mentioned water sources.

But for it to alarm the Japanese Governor-General of Korea into sending someone, He Rui still felt a bit surprised.

Since the other party came representing Governor-General Saitō to show 'concern', He Rui simply told him, "We have just started construction here. The sites haven't even been demarcated well; completion is a matter for several years from now. We can communicate during the process. Furthermore, our engineering construction is responsible to Mr. Lu Daoming, a water conservancy expert who graduated from MIT. I believe he will fully consider the water usage needs of the Korean border region. Please go back and tell Governor-General Saitō that in highly specialized engineering matters like water conservancy, we must trust the experts."

Kobayashi Jun had thought of various possible answers, but he hadn't expected He Rui to drag the conversation to experts. He was stunned for a moment. However, Kobayashi Jun did not hesitate for long; he reacted almost immediately. "May I ask Your Excellency, could we dispatch Japanese experts to come and discuss with Your Excellency Lu Daoming?"

He Rui showed a smile. "We welcome Japanese experts to come and participate in the design and discussion of the water conservancy project. This kind of work requires the participation of more professionals. Only with professional advice can we have professional water conservancy facilities."

Kobayashi Jun was not happy because of He Rui's statement; instead, he became more nervous. Big shots, especially big shots like He Rui, were not easy to deal with. The more polite they were, the more dangerous they were.

Sure enough, He Rui continued, "However, saving people from disaster is like saving a fire. Discussion is discussion, but the water conservancy project has already begun. Please go back and inform Your Excellency Saitō that we also need to give an account to the people of the Northeast."

Kobayashi Jun knew that he could not change He Rui's decision no matter what, so he could only respond politely.

Having sent away the envoy sent by the Japanese Governor-General of Korea, Saitō Makoto, He Rui was somewhat puzzled. Why was it that even Saitō Makoto, the Governor-General stationed in Korea, had sent someone, yet the Kwantung Leased Territory, which He Rui thought should have reacted even faster, had no reaction at all?

Regarding the matter of doubling the grain export tariff, part of it was targeted at Kolchak, and the other part was targeted at the Kwantung Leased Territory. The Kwantung Leased Territory was located at the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula, with the disaster-stricken southern Liaoning Province to the north and the disaster-stricken Shandong Peninsula to the south. According to intelligence, the Kwantung Leased Territory purchased grain from these two regions, north and south. Now that grain prices in the Shandong region had skyrocketed, and He Rui had doubled the grain price again, it wouldn't be strange if grain prices in the Kwantung Leased Territory rose threefold.

But the Kwantung Leased Territory still had no reaction, which was truly a bit strange. Was the Kwantung Leased Territory preparing to import grain from the Japanese mainland this time to provide for the local residents of the Leased Territory?

He Rui didn't realize that he had actually misunderstood. The main reason the Kwantung Leased Territory was quiet at this time was that He Rui's teacher, the previous principal of the Japanese Army War College, Lieutenant General Kawai Misao, was on his way to assume his post. The Kwantung Leased Territory was currently in a transitional period of power, and neither of the two Kwantung Army commanders was in the Leased Territory.

These two Kwantung Army commanders had no intention of going to the Kwantung Leased Territory to preside over the situation at this time either; they were both at the Northeast General Staff Headquarters participating in discussions on the latest war progress.

Russia had been defeated.

On August 10, 1920, the Russian Army's Cossacks crossed the Vistula River, attempting to capture Warsaw from the west while the main force launched an attack from the east. On August 13, the Russian Army's initial offensive was repulsed. The Polish First Army held off the direct attack on Warsaw and also stopped the attack on Radzymin.

Soviet Commander-in-Chief Tukhachevsky believed everything was proceeding according to his plan, but the Polish side had already deciphered the Soviet Army's radio communications, causing Tukhachevsky to fall into the trap laid by Piłsudski and his Chief of Staff, Tadeusz Rozwadowski. In the north, after crossing the Vistula River, the Soviet Army was entering a vacuum where Polish forces were weak. In the south of Warsaw, which would decide the outcome of the war, Tukhachevsky had deployed only a small amount of troops to guard the middle area connecting the Northwestern Front and the Southwestern Front. Additionally, Budyonny's First Cavalry Army was blocked at Lviv.

Within a single day, the Soviet advance toward Warsaw and Modlin stopped and subsequently turned into a retreat. The Fifth Army drove the exhausted Soviet troops with lightning speed. The Polish Army advanced 30 kilometers in one day, dismantling the Soviet outflanking offensive in the north. By August 16, Piłsudski commanded the reserve army to fully commit to a counterattack. The Polish Army implemented Piłsudski's plan, striking from the south and finding the massive gap between the enemy fronts.

Two Polish units continued to pursue northward, reaching the rear of Tukhachevsky's forces, and on August 18, surrounded the majority of his troops.

On the same day, far away in Minsk, Tukhachevsky finally understood that the Soviet Army had been disastrously defeated and ordered his remaining forces to retreat and reorganize. However, the front line either received the order too late or did not receive it at all. The Soviet troops in the center of the front line fell into chaos. Tukhachevsky ordered the entire army to retreat to the Bug River, but at that time he was fundamentally unable to contact the majority of the main forces near Warsaw. All plans became a mess due to communication problems. The Soviet Army retreated without order, and various divisions fell into panic and disintegration.