The former leader of Northeast (5)

  In September 1945, just as the smoke of war was clearing from the European battlefield, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, abrogating the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact and mobilizing over a million troops to invade Manchuria under the pretext of attacking the Japanese Kwantung Army. In reality, this was extremely ironic, as the Soviet Union was the only country in the Allied camp that had not declared war on Japan and was also the only country that had signed a non-aggression pact with Japan and recognized the puppet state of Manchukuo.

  Even after the end of World War II, the Soviet Union continued to create trouble by unilaterally declaring the independence of Outer Mongolia (regardless of whether the Nationalist or Communist Party acknowledged it, the Soviet Union was the main culprit behind Outer Mongolia's independence).

  During the seven months that the Soviet army occupied Manchuria, they engaged in frenzied looting. In Shenyang alone, over 200 trains loaded with machinery and equipment were sent to the Soviet Union every day. The Soviet army dismantled the heavy equipment of the Anshan Iron and Steel Factory, which took 40 days and filled 60 train cars. All the Japanese-style artillery and shells stored in the Dalian Arsenal were taken away by the Soviet army, enough to arm three artillery divisions.

  The Soviet leader Stalin and the Soviet authorities brazenly claimed that "all Japanese assets in Manchuria are spoils of war for the Soviet Red Army and naturally belong to the Soviet Union", thus providing a pretext for the Soviet army's blatant looting. Under Stalin's and the Soviet authorities' arrogant attitude, the Soviet army in Manchuria plundered all the industrial facilities, including factories, mines, and power plants, and sent trainloads of machinery and equipment back to the Soviet Union day and night.

  By the time this seven-month catastrophe ended, over 90% of Shenyang's original 4,750 factories were left empty shells, with their warehouses looted and equipment gone. Even the doors and windows were dismantled by the Soviet army, leaving the city's industry in a state of stagnation, with only 20-odd factories still operational.

  The Soviet army made off with 75% of Manchuria's railway locomotives and 93% of its freight cars, which meant that they had plundered almost all of China's industrial facilities. Before the Soviet army arrived, Shenyang had a population of 1.88 million, but by the time they left, there were only 100,000 people remaining.

  The famous Fengman Hydroelectric Power Station in Manchukuo had three large generators, two of which were dismantled and taken away by the Soviet army. The third generator was not spared because the Soviet army's transport capacity was limited, and it could not be loaded onto a train.

  In their frenzy to loot, the Soviet army even ordered the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) troops, who shared a common ideology with them, not to station themselves within 30 kilometers of the cities in Manchuria. In the end, they handed over all the Japanese Kwantung Army's leftover weapons and ammunition to the CCP.

  Throughout Manchuria, Soviet soldiers ran amok, as if they had entered enemy territory and were wildly celebrating their victory. The Soviet Union was even worse than Japan, for at least Japan had invested in building up Manchuria, whereas the Soviet Union came solely to loot and plunder.

  In Shenyang alone, 972 large factories were looted by the Soviet army, leaving nothing but empty shells. Anything made of metal was dismantled and taken away, and even if it could not be transported, it was destroyed on the spot. The railways were stripped bare, with even screws and nails being taken.

  The Soviet army also destroyed the city's water supply, drainage, and heating facilities, leaving the entire city in a state of devastation. American aviation mechanic Robert Hick said, "The Soviet army looted everything they could get their hands on, including food and grain."

  In 1946, just after the Soviet Union had won the war against Germany, domestic supplies were still extremely tight, and rationing was still in place. However, after the Soviet army entered Manchuria, they quickly abolished rationing because they had looted vast quantities of grain from the warehouses.

  At that time, the people of Shenyang recalled: "All the flour mills and grain processing plants worked day and night to produce flour, beans, and rice, which were loaded onto trains and sent to the Soviet Union. Not even a mouthful of food was left for the ordinary people of Manchuria, and even their cattle and sheep were driven onto the trains in droves."

  To this day, elderly people from Manchuria still grit their teeth when they mention the Soviet Union.

  The Soviet Union took away a huge amount of machinery and equipment from the Northeast, with direct losses exceeding $1 billion and indirect economic losses exceeding $2 billion, while the US was planning to invest only $13 billion in rebuilding all of Europe after the war. The Americans made an initial estimate of the losses of various industrial categories in the Northeast:

  Power equipment, losses exceeded $200 million, work capacity reduced by 70%.

  Coal mine equipment, losses exceed $500 million, work capacity reduced by 90%.

  Steel production equipment was damaged, with losses estimated at $131 million and a 90% reduction in working capacity;

  Railway equipment was damaged, with losses estimated at $221 million and a reduction in working capacity of 80%.

  Machinery manufacturing equipment suffered losses of approximately $163 million and a 70% decline in working capacity.

  Fuel manufacturing equipment, loss of approximately $11 million, work capacity reduced by 90%.

  Chemical industry equipment, losses of around $14 million, work capacity reduced by 90%.

  Cement industry equipment, losses of around $230 million, work capacity reduced by 60%.

  Non-metallic industrial equipment, losses of around $10 million, work capacity reduced by 75%.

  The textile industry equipment suffered losses of approximately $38 million and a 50% reduction in working capacity.

  The paper industry equipment suffered losses of around $7 million and a decline in working capacity of 80%.

  Radio industry equipment, loss of about $25 million, work capacity reduced by 80%.

  The Soviet army not only wildly looted in the Northeast, but also openly raped women. When outsiders criticized these brutal acts, the Soviet army justified themselves by saying "we did the same thing in Germany", implying that China and Germany were the same, both being enemy countries and defeated nations of the Soviet Union. In fact, the wealth looted by the Soviet army in the Northeast was more than three times what they had looted in Germany. General Lu Dongsheng of the Communist Party was shot and killed by the Soviet army while trying to stop their rape and robbery; Zhang Shanfu, a geologist and mining engineer sent by the Nationalist government to take over the Fushun coal mine, was hacked to death by the Soviet army with more than ten knives while trying to block their looting. In total, thousands of intellectuals and workers in the Northeast were killed for resisting the Soviet army's plundering. General Chen Cheng wrote in his memoir: "The Soviet Union's brutal act of looting materials from my Northeast is especially heinous, with a total value of over $1.36 billion, not to mention 32,400 kilograms of gold, 186,600 kilograms of silver, and 740 kilograms of diamonds." Even the Soviets had to admit in private: "We have set back Manchuria from the electric age to the Stone Age."

  In the northeast, during the rule of the Zhang family father and son, it received initial development and construction; during the Japanese occupation, it received comprehensive and systematic development; during the Soviet military occupation, it suffered unprecedented looting; after the founding of the country, it was rebuilt with difficulty.

  Actually, after explaining so much material, the meaning is just three points: First, the Northeast is a rare treasure land with excellent development conditions and huge development potential; Second, as long as there is correct governance, the Northeast's development can take off rapidly. Therefore, I also sincerely hope that our country can increase its construction efforts in the Northeast, allowing the Northeast's development potential to be fully utilized, and making the rich Northeast a major economically developed region in China, second only to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau; Third, the protagonist "Zhang Shao" rises from the Northeast, and the development energy of his Northeast faction is imaginable. This book's story will also be very interesting to read. Therefore, our protagonist rising from the Northeast as a base is not my fantasy, but has real historical basis. Because the Northeast is really too rich.