The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

Along the mighty Qiantang River, there are two rows of temporary shacks, where Mao Yisheng and Qian Changgan live.

"The conditions are simple, don't be offended by Mr. Zhou." Mao Yisheng said with a smile.

Zhou Hexuan pushed the door open and saw that it was dark inside and the table was filled with rolls of design drawings. He admired: "The two gentlemen share the joys and sorrows with the workers, which is really admirable!"

Mao Yisheng leaned over and took out a large suitcase from under the bed, found a stack of drawings and said: "Mr. Zhou, this is the design drawing of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge. If built according to this design plan, it is estimated to cost 10.6 million yuan, which is very expensive. It’s too expensive.”

"Do you have the complete design plan for the Wuhan Bridge?" Zhou Hexuan said in surprise.

Mao Yisheng said with a wry smile: "In fact, I participated in the design of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge before designing the Qiantang River Bridge. However, due to various reasons, the government gave up the Wuhan Bridge plan and rebuilt the Qiantang River Bridge."

Building the bridge requires huge amounts of money, and the Jiangsu-Zhejiang Consortium was the richest group during the Republic of China. Once the Qiantang River Bridge is completed, it will immediately connect the Shanghai-Hangzhou and Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railways, and businessmen in the entire coastal area will benefit. Therefore, the public actively participated in fundraising for the bridge construction. The financial resources of the businessmen in Wuhan are much worse. In addition, the cost of the Wuhan Bridge is almost double that of the Qiantang River Bridge, so it is difficult to build the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge.

Zhou Hexuan looked at the river in the distance and said with emotion: "Mr. Mao, aren't you afraid that once the Japanese attack, the Qiantang River Bridge will be blown up?"

Qian Changgan was surprised and said: "The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River are the British sphere of influence. Japan may not dare to mess around."

"You two can think about the January 28 Incident." Zhou Hexuan said.

Mao Yisheng turned pale and said with a wry smile: "When the Japanese come, I will blow up the bridge myself."

Historically, Mao Yisheng did have this awareness.

On the day of the "July 7th Incident", Mao Yisheng saw the news of the Japanese attack on Marco Polo Bridge in the newspaper and immediately made a shocking decision. He left a large rectangular hole in the No. 2 south pier of the bridge without explaining the reason to anyone at the time. It was not until five months later that the Japanese invaders were about to capture Hangzhou, and the large hole in the pier became the key point for bombing the bridge.

There is no doubt that the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge invested and built by Zhou Hexuan will also encounter such difficult choices.

Fortunately, after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the bridge could be restored, which was much more convenient than building a bridge from scratch.

Zhou Hexuan asked: "Mr. Mao, can the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge be built directly based on the design drawings I have?"

"That is just a preliminary design drawing, which needs to be further improved according to the specific conditions," Mao Yisheng explained. "The river in Wuhan is wider, the water flow is turbulent, and the situation is much more complicated. The actual construction will inevitably face various difficulties."

Qian Changgan then recommended himself: "I will complete the design drawings of Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge!"

Zhou Hexuan didn't know Qian Changgan well and looked at Mao Yisheng doubtfully, wanting to ask for his opinion.

Mao Yisheng smiled and said: "Mr. Qian is completely qualified."

"Then this side of the Qiantang River..." Zhou Hexuan said, pointing to the surging river water.

Qian Changgan said: "Brother Tang Chen (Mao Yisheng) is in charge of the Qiantang River Bridge, so I don't need to worry about it. I can send others to watch the construction."

With Mao Yisheng's affirmation, Zhou Hexuan felt more reliable and said with a smile: "That's it, I agree to contract the bridge construction project to Far East Engineering Company. I hope Mr. Qian can build a good bridge across the natural chasm! "

"I will definitely try my best," Qian Changgan said quickly, and asked a series of questions, "Mr. Zhou, when will the project be established? When will the funds be received? Who is responsible for the Ministry of Transport? I want to know these."

Zhou Hexuan smiled and replied: "I have some friendship with the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Zhu Jiahua, and he has specially approved this project. Although the official person in charge of the project has not yet been decided, no matter who is sent, he will definitely cooperate fully. Mr. Qian I am afraid of being held back by the government. As for the funds, they can be received at any time. I am the sole proprietor of the construction."

"Then I'll be relieved." Qian Changgan smiled happily.

Zhu Jiahua, the Minister of Transportation, has indeed done many things, such as the construction of the Guangdong-Hankong Railway, which all relied on Zhu Jiahua's strong support. He is also the chairman of the British Geng Fund Management Committee and a member of the National Economic Committee, and is very good at raising funds. If Zhu Jiahua had not mobilized the British Geng Fund and actively contacted the German Geng Fund, the Guangdong-Han Line would not have been fully open to traffic until the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War.

Not only that, Zhu Jiahua also presided over the completion of the construction of telephone networks in nine provinces, which brought great convenience to military command during the Anti-Japanese War.

It is no wonder that such a guy who can do practical things would become an official trained by Chiang Kai-shek. In the end, he handed over all the power of the Executive Yuan to Zhu Jiahua, and even made him the nominal official in charge of the military and central unification - although in name only.

In early May, Zhou Hexuan went to Wuchang, accompanied by Qian Changgan and Tao Qing, and their respective men.

Tao Qing is the official in charge of the Ministry of Transportation sent by Zhu Jiahua. Although the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge was invested and constructed by Zhou Hexuan, it certainly cannot bypass the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transportation. Tao Qing was just a section chief in the Ministry of Transportation and now serves as the director of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge Engineering Department, while Qian Changgan serves as the chief designer and construction general manager.

It was impossible for Zhou Hexuan to believe them without reservation, so he contacted his father-in-law Zhang Mouzhi and transferred a group of Zhang family members from Jiangxi to serve as assistant managers for the bridge project. At the same time, Zhu Xiang also rushed from Tianjin to form an accounting team to take charge of the financial work of the project.

The Ministry of Transportation, Far East Engineering Company, Zhang's Engineering Company, and finally Zhu Xiang's team cooperate and supervise each other. Presumably no one can take advantage of loopholes to engage in corruption.

By the way, my father-in-law even sent a telegram to call Zhou Hexuan's uncle Zhang Yuandong back from Europe to serve as the deputy chief engineer of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge. It was obvious that he wanted to increase Zhang Yuandong's professional qualifications.

Qian Changgan has a resolute character. As soon as he arrived in Wuchang, he immediately led people to conduct on-site surveys and improve the design plan.

As for Zhou Hexuan, he naturally went to see Zhang Xueliang for tea.

Now Marshal Zhang is in Wuchang, serving as the deputy commander-in-chief of the suppression campaign in Henan, Hubei and Anhui provinces and the director of the Wuchang camp. After returning from an inspection trip to Europe, Zhang Xueliang stayed here for a full year and a half. Chiang Kai-shek was determined not to let him return to Peiping, so as to facilitate the Nanjing government's encroachment on North China's military and political power.

When Zhou Hexuan came to Wuchang Yangyuan (later renamed Yangyuan), what he heard was the melodious waltz.

In the mansion, the officers were hugging women in gorgeous cheongsam and dancing happily on the dance floor. Zhang Xueliang sat alone in the corner, drinking wine and smoking cigarettes, which seemed incompatible with the lively dance atmosphere.