Chapter 26: The Tibetan Medicine Company

  However, the strange indicator figure, the lama Dawa Shejue who led the exposure of Jia Yucun's crimes, was required by the government to atone for his deceased master. He was immediately appointed as the Grand Lama of the temple after reporting to the government and was put in charge of the religious work in Kangding Prefecture.

  Under the influence of Hu Luobo and Da Bangzi, the areas controlled by the Sichuan Army gradually stabilized.

  After handling the case of Jia Yi's murder of the Grand Lama, Fourth Son was extremely excited and ran to the camp headquarters. After dismissing the surrounding crowd, he handed a list to Yang Xing and hummed: "The Tibetans are so poor, I didn't expect this Jia Yi to be so rich, with nearly 100 kilograms of gold, over 1 million taels of silver, and countless other rare treasures. No wonder his family was destroyed and his people were ruined."

  Yang Xing exclaimed, "So many!", and immediately took the note to take a look, also stunned. Although he knew that Jia Yizhai was extremely wealthy, although he knew that the Tibetan local government had always regarded serfs as private property for exploitation, seeing the long string of numbers, he also felt shocked.

  When Yang Xing received the shops and manors of Jia Yizhai, he immediately ordered people to take over Jia Yizhai's property. Originally, he had planned to use this sinful wealth as his first pot of gold, but who would have thought that after checking, it was found that the Mingzheng Tusi Mansion had accumulated so much sinful wealth after hundreds of years of operation, far exceeding the initial estimate.

  It was decided on the spot to set aside half of the gold as future military expenses, and the rest were reported to General-in-Chief Yin Changheng.

  After receiving Yang Xing's inventory report, Yin Changheng was also shocked: "The governor originally thought that the Tibetans lived in poverty, and their local leaders had at most a thin income. Who knew there were so many? Far exceeding our inland ordinary wealthy families, if this kind of parasitic local emperor is not eliminated, the border will never have peace."

  Yang Xing laughed and said: Great Commander, it seems that although the Tibetans are poor, those local officials and lamas are extremely wealthy. People like Ming Zheng Tusi are a good example. After initial assessment, by clearing out the reactionary local officials and lamas in Kangding Prefecture, Batang and other places, we can guarantee the military salary for one year (note: during the Red Army's Long March, the Red Army implemented ethnic policies, only collecting taxes from local bandits and tyrants, which ensured the needs of tens of thousands of troops. This time, the expedition to Tibet is just one division and a model regiment, with far fewer people than during the Red Army period).

  Yin Changheng nodded and said: "Zhen Dong, on this expedition to Tibet, what I was most worried about was the military supplies and food, I didn't expect it to be solved so easily, it's really beyond my expectations."

  Seeing Yin Changheng's excitement, Yang Xing continued to suggest: Commander-in-Chief, through these few days of observation, I have also discovered several ways to make a fortune. I'd like to report them to you, and if they are feasible, I will implement them immediately.

  Yin Changheng was overjoyed and said: "Zhēng Dōng, tell me, what other ways are there to make a fortune?"

  Yang Xing laughed and said: "Great Commander, you also know that Tibet is a cold and barren land, where many rare flowers and herbs grow. Many of these medicinal herbs are extremely valuable in the interior, but here they are not only abundant but also very cheap. For example, Cordyceps sinensis, Fritillaria, Notoginseng, Gastrodia elata, and Ganoderma lucidum are not only popular at home and abroad but also extremely expensive. In the interior and abroad, it can be said that they are priceless. Other medicinal materials such as sand ginger, Uncaria rhynchophylla, Gentiana scabra, Paeonia suffruticosa, Chaenomeles speciosa, Cimicifuga foetida, Ephedra sinica, Prunus persica, Coptis chinensis, Bupleurum chinense, Angelica sinensis, Astragalus membranaceus, Gentiana manshurica, Aconitum carmichaelii, Rheum palmatum, and Saussurea laniceps are also among the best medicinal materials in our traditional Chinese medicine.

  This has led many Han Chinese brothers to see the business opportunities, and people from all over the country have come to Zangbian to purchase these medicinal herbs. As you can see, commerce is very developed in Kangding City, with tens of thousands of Han people living there, among whom several thousand are engaged in collecting Tibetan medicine.

  Yin Changheng listened and pondered for a long time before saying: Zheng Dong, you mean to impose heavy taxes on the collection of medicinal herbs?

  Yang Xing shook his head and said: "Sir, if this is the case, it will only lead to complaints from our Han compatriots and make it even more difficult for us to collect medicinal herbs?"

  Greatly shocked, he stared at Yang Xing and said: What can be done?

  Yang Xing laughed and said: "Great Commander, many things need to be guided by the situation. Tibetan medicine is precious, we should develop it together with our Tibetan brothers and Han Chinese medicinal merchants. Great Commander, don't you think this is a good idea? We're not exempting them from other taxes, are we? But we can compensate in other ways, what do you think?"

  Immediately put his thoughts into words.

  As the Tibetans were then in the late stage of a slave society and had not yet awakened, the Sichuan border military governor's office could set up dozens of medicinal material collection points in Tibet to guide the Tibetans in collecting mountain medicine.

  In the area of changing soil and returning to the flow, every adult Tibetan, in addition to paying a certain amount of Tibetan medicine to the medicinal material collection point every year, does not need to pay other taxes to the Sichuan provincial governor's office. Considering that the border is exceptionally vast, considering that collecting these Tibetan medicines only takes 15 days of work, and after paying the Tibetan medicines, no other taxes need to be paid, it can be imagined that this method will certainly be accepted by the simple-minded Tibetan brothers.

  In Kangding, the Tibetan Medicine Company was established under the auspices of the Sichuan Frontier Commissioner's Office to process and handle the Tibetan medicines collected from various places, manufacture them into different medicinal materials, and then sell them to Han Chinese who collect medicinal materials in Kangding or transport them to Chengdu for resale.

  Yin Changheng was initially hesitant, but after hearing that Jia Yizhai's store made a profit of 40,000 taels of silver per year just by reselling the stored medicine, Yin Changheng was overjoyed and suddenly stood up from his seat, looking at Yang Xingdao: "Xingdao, Jia Yizhai only has one location in Kangding Prefecture, and he made so much money with just a simple resale. If we operate as a company, how much do you think we can make?"

  After a moment of contemplation, Yang Xing smiled and said: "Great Commander, if that's the case, we can probably make over 3 million taels of silver per year."

  Yin Changheng was overjoyed and patted Yang Xing's shoulder, saying: "Zhēng Dōng, do a good job. The collection points for medicinal materials will be established together with the local governments after the change of land ownership. It seems that as long as this is done successfully, I won't have to worry about the military salaries for my tens of thousands of troops."

  Yang Xing was overjoyed and was about to leave. Yin Changheng suddenly stopped Yang Xing and said: "Zhen Dong, you are quite good at governance, business, and military affairs. What do you really want to be, an official or a soldier?"

  Yang Xing was shocked and his mind was racing. To think that in his past life, Dongfang had also ventured into business outside, but didn't know whether it was because of the era's business world being full of deceit or operational issues, he never succeeded and ended up doing low-quality work in a factory.

  After crossing over, he actually became a prodigy in the political and business circles. If it was because of Yin Changheng's coercion that he bid farewell to the military circle, then for the next twenty years, Sichuan could be said to have been in a state of warlord chaos.

  As soon as he heard this, Lianliang turned around and said: General Governor, governing and doing business are just unavoidable measures. Now the four powerful countries have the intention of dividing my China, and Britain is also eyeing us covetously, wanting to separate Tibet from us. In these chaotic times, students only wish to be a deputy officer following the General Governor's side.

  Yin Changheng paced back and forth, saying: "You're going on an expedition to the east. Are you just thinking of joining the army?"

  My heart is extremely tense, and I feel a chill running down my back. I say: Great Commander, students only wish to join the military, but joining politics or business is something we do out of necessity.

  He suddenly stopped, looked at Yang Xing's face and said: "Zhēng Dōng ah, in this chaotic world, controlling the army is everything. Let's do it this way, this pharmaceutical company will be managed by Secretary Han Guangquan of the General Staff Office, you assist him."

  Yang Xing was secretly delighted and pondered: He had finally gotten rid of the possibility of entering politics in the future. It is worth noting that during the Republic of China era, when Wu Peifu presided over the abolition of the position of military governor, many Beiyang warlords would rather be division commanders who held real power than be military governors.

  Seeing Yang Xing's body slightly trembling, Yin Changheng thought that Yang Xing was somewhat unwilling in his heart, and said softly: "Zheng Dong, you have been the commander of the garrison for two months. In these two months, you captured Kangding City, killed Da Zhan Sangdong, stabilized the situation in Kangding City and its surrounding areas, and your achievements are not to be ignored. Do you think this is acceptable? I plan to promote you as the deputy commander of the model division, deputy officer of the military governor's office, and commander of the artillery camp. What do you think?"

  Yang Xing was shocked, and after a long time, he said: General, I really don't dare to take the position. You know this, the second battalion commander Wang Lingji is a classmate of yours from the Wubei Academy, and has also studied in Japan, and has been an instructor for students. The third battalion commander Wang Xuanxu is a student of the first period of the Speed ??Academy, and is also my senior. The fourth battalion commander Cheng Peng has followed you through life and death for many years, and according to his qualifications, he should be more suitable than me as the deputy commander of the model brigade.

  Yin Changheng smiled and said: "Zhen Dong, in terms of qualifications, the three of them are more qualified to be deputy commander of the Model Battalion than you. However, when it comes to fighting and governing, they are all inferior to you. Wang Lingji has a long history of service and once served as an instructor at the Speed ??Academy and the Army Primary School, but he is too comical and cannot bear the heavy responsibility of the Model Battalion."

  Wang Xiu was indeed your senior in learning, but whether it's leading troops to fight, governing, or serving the people, he is far inferior to you.

  As for Cheng Peng, although he has been following me for a long time, Cheng Peng is too cunning and military affairs are not his strong suit.

  Moreover, you Yang Xing, your seniority is not shallow either. You entered the Speed Academy in 2007, only one year younger than Wang Huixian. Later, you transferred to the Army Primary School and then the Army Middle School. According to theoretical attainments, others have only studied at military school for 1-2 years, but you spent four and a half years studying there.

  Yang Xing was shocked and vaguely remembered that he had entered the Sichuan Army Speed-up Class in 1907 to study. Due to his physical weakness and frequent illnesses at the time, coupled with his relatively young age, he later transferred to the 1st class of the Sichuan Army Primary School, and then continued his studies at the 1st class of the Sichuan Army Military Academy.

  Unexpectedly, today I confirmed it at Yinchangheng's place, and couldn't help but secretly laugh at myself. This kind of experience should be considered a repeat year, right?

  Unexpectedly, Yin Changheng continued: Zhen Dong, I know you're probably inferior. In the past, many of your classmates have already joined the army, but because of your poor nutrition, some military assessment indicators were not qualified, so you've been staying in the military school, following the younger students to learn.

  Yang Xing's face turned slightly red as he said: "Director, you are the one who appreciates me. If it weren't for your high regard, I would have bid farewell to the military world long ago."

  Yin Changheng smiled and said, "Zhēng Dōng, don't say that. When other students came to the military school, they were mostly accompanied by their families, but you are different. You traveled a thousand miles to come to the military school, and when you arrived, you were already thin as a sheet of paper. Everyone heard you talk about the drastic changes in your family and saw that you still had some basic literacy skills, so they decided to keep you."

  When Yang Xing heard about Yin Changheng, he couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions as a thread of memory lingered in his mind.

  Yin Changheng burst out laughing and said: Zheng Dong, what's wrong with you? In my impression, you've never cried before! To be honest, in the past, your military quality was average, but when you were free, you liked to read various military books. Just for this point, many instructors at the military school liked you back then. What's even more unexpected is that after the accident on the training ground last time, you've changed a lot! Not only has your body become more robust than before, but also, your knowledge has become incredibly rich, with many things that even I didn't know about in Japan!

  Upon hearing this, Yang Xing smiled and said: Great Commander, as the saying goes, "In books there are golden houses, in books there are fair maidens." Under the guidance of Director-General these past few years, our students have only just begun to show some accomplishments.

  Yin Changheng smiled and said, "You little brat, it turns out that in the past you were just pretending to be a bear for me. However, in the past, although your military quality was a bit poor, other things were not bad. Moreover, these few months you have made great achievements, this model deputy regiment commander, you can take on the role first."

  Yang Xing was overjoyed and hastily paid his respects.

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