Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Of course, it is not that easy to open up new land.

Even if the people were encouraged to reclaim wasteland, it would be too difficult. For many farmers, the investment costs were too high to be cost-effective. Therefore, the government reduced the grain tax rate.

I hope to motivate the people to open up wasteland.

"Furthermore, this year, in accordance with the political commissar's directive to 'make our own living,' the column's logistics agencies, including the weapons repair shop, medical academy, and cadre school, have all opened up their own farmland. The 4300th Regiment has also opened up a plot of farmland on the hill in District 20. Local organizations have also tried their best to carve out time to cultivate their own farmland. I've calculated that our local organizations, the column's logistics agencies, and the th Regiment have reclaimed approximately mu of farmland. We've harvested approximately kilograms of grain."

"In addition to these newly reclaimed arable lands, the county brigade and district squad also reclaimed about 2000 mu of land on their own to reduce the burden on the column and the local government.

Li Shiping, deputy commander of the 8th Column, reported on the land reclamation progress.

Sheng County currently has a large amount of arable land, more than 900,000 mu.

But it’s not too much.

Sheng County actually still has a lot of arable land that can be developed. Although Sheng County is mountainous, it also has no shortage of water. Much of the mountainous land can actually be reclaimed, but previously there were many restrictions on farmers.

And there are bandits, so it is impossible to open up the wasteland.

But it's different now.

The Eighth Column encouraged the people of Sheng County to reclaim wasteland. According to Wei Hongjun, Sheng County should reclaim approximately 200,000 mu of wasteland within the next two to three years, increasing grain production by over 20 million jin.

Sheng County was the rear base of the 8th Column.

The higher the grain output in Sheng County, the better the future development of the Eighth Vertical.

There is also Wei Hongjun's slogan "Do it yourself and you will have enough food and clothing"

The slogan demanded that logistics agencies and troops actively participate in the reclamation. Even if they could not fully feed themselves, the food they harvested could be enough to last for several months.

"The arable land reclaimed by our logistics agencies and troops is still insufficient. The mountainous areas of Districts 2 and 3, for example, could easily yield tens of thousands of acres of arable land. While we can collect public grain, having our own food is the safest thing."

“We will continue to work on this next year.”

Chapter 191: Placement of Yidong Cadres

After returning from Lingqiu, Wei Hongjun has been very busy.

The anti-mopping-up campaign had just concluded, and the Eighth Column had suffered heavy casualties. The various bases were also severely damaged and needed to be restored as quickly as possible. Wei Hongjun was the top leader of the Party and government in the Eighth Column, and he had to deal with everything.

But there is one most important task.

That is the work of the Jidong Guerrilla Corps.

If this work is done well, the Eighth Column will be able to add a large number of outstanding cadres and at the same time increase two main force regiments. More than 9,000 people and 7,000 guns, no matter how it is reorganized, the strength of the Eighth Column will be able to rise to a higher level.

But if it is not done well, conflicts will arise.

Historically, the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Advance Army had not addressed this issue. As a result, the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Advance Army ultimately saw little development and was instead disbanded and incorporated directly into the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region.

Therefore, Wei Hongjun attached great importance to the affairs of the Jidong troops. He invited all the important leaders of the Jidong Guerrilla Corps. Among them were non-Party leaders like Hong Man, as well as many senior Party members.

Some party members have such seniority that even Wei Hongjun’s old leader Yang Quanwu cannot match them.

For example, Chu He, who served as a member of the Jire Border Special Committee, directly participated in the planning of the Yidong Uprising, and then served in the guerrilla corps, was a party member during the Northern Expedition and participated in the Nanchang Uprising. This kind of qualifications directly crushed Wei Hongjun. Of course, this person was not the most experienced.

There was also Niu Heshan, a senior leader who had joined the Tongmenghui when he was a teenager and was assigned to the guerrilla corps to liaise with Hong Man and his men. Wei Hongjun was under great pressure from them.

But there is no way.

The problem of the Jidong troops must be solved. The Jidong troops must be reorganized.

"As you've all probably heard, the military region has ordered our 34th Column to be responsible for the training of the Guerrilla Corps. For ease of command, the Guerrilla Corps has been reorganized into the 35th and 34th Regiments. During this period of troop training, the 35th and 34th Regiments will be temporarily under the command of our 35th Column. When the Jidong base area is established, the 34th and 35th Regiments will be reintegrated. However, once the th and th Regiments are reorganized, the current Guerrilla Corps organization will be disbanded. Therefore, your positions will need to be readjusted, and I'd like to hear your opinions.

To be honest, with your qualifications and reputation, you can make your own choice.

You can choose to stay in our 8th Column, or go to the military region, or to the headquarters, or even go to Yan'an. It all depends on your own ideas.

"The Jidong troops won't fight back to Jidong?"

Hong Man, commander of the guerrilla corps, spoke.

His face is not very pretty.

They were all from eastern Hebei, and their reason for participating in the Jidong uprising was to develop a base there and fight against the Japanese and puppet troops. However, the Jin-Cha-Yi Military Region's attitude was now ambiguous. During a meeting between the Fourth Column and the Jidong Anti-Japanese United Army, the Fourth Column leader stated that the Jidong troops were not strong enough. They wanted to be brought back to the base for training. After several months of training, when the Jidong Anti-Japanese United Army's combat effectiveness had improved, the troops would be re-entered Jidong.

At first, many local cadres in Yidong were against evacuating Yidong and moving to the Pingxi base. However, it was precisely because of the Fourth Column leaders' assurances that the Yidong leadership finally agreed to withdraw the troops westward and to train in the Pingxi base to improve their combat effectiveness.

However, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region now split up the Jidong Anti-Japanese United Army and gave it a number to form the main force. It does not seem that they are going to fight back to Jidong. Instead, it seems that the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region has set its sights on this Jidong Anti-Japanese United Army of more than 20,000 people and wants to annex it.

How could Hong Man be happy?

Although he supported the Chinese Communist Party's proposals and the Eighth Route Army, he chose to retreat westward with the guerrilla corps to the Pingxi base. However, he was not a party member after all, so if the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region annexed the miscellaneous troops like the Nationalist Army did, he would not agree.

Wei Hongjun shook his head.

"Commander Hong, regarding this issue, I plan to convene a meeting of all company-level and above cadres in the Guerrilla Corps to discuss this matter. The Guerrilla Corps is a native of Jidong, and we must fight back to Jidong. Besides, the goal of our Eighth Route Army is to defeat Japanese imperialism, so how can we not fight back to Jidong? But how to fight back to Jidong and how to open up a base in Jidong requires everyone to have a unified understanding.

After hearing Wei Hongjun's words, Hong Man's expression looked a little better.

As long as we fight back to Jidong, everything will be easy.

He said directly: "Wherever the troops are, I will be there. I will stay in the Eighth Column and follow the troops.

"I won't leave either. I'll stay in the Eighth Column."

Gao Weinong also agreed with Hong Man's approach.

The guerrilla corps consisted of soldiers from their hometown. Among them were their fellow villagers, as well as many of their students. They were truly worried about them, so they chose to remain with the Eighth Column. Although their qualifications and reputation allowed them to choose any location within the Eighth Route Army, they still wanted to stay with their own unit.

Sui Twelve nodded.

Said: "I will stay too."

The three of them were the main leaders of the guerrilla corps.

The guerrilla corps was not a unit directly led by our party, but because the three of them were willing to accept the leadership of the Eighth Route Army, Niu Heshan and Chu He were sent to persuade them.

Niu Heshan and Chu He remained silent.

After the three people expressed their opinions, Niu Heshan said, "We two are party members, and the organization's orders are above all else. Before there are other orders, since the Eighth Column is responsible for training and reorganizing the guerrilla corps, we are also affiliated with the Eighth Column and accept its leadership.

Wei Hongjun scratched his head.

These people have too much experience and are too famous.

Now that all of them were staying in the Eighth Column, Wei Hongjun was both happy and worried. He was happy because their stay could help stabilize the morale of the Eighth Column. However, if they stayed, how to accommodate them would not be easy.

Fortunately, Wei Hongjun had carefully studied their information.

So Wei Hongjun immediately said, "Then I would like to welcome you on behalf of the Eighth Column.

Then, in the name of Secretary of the Chanan Special Committee and Political Commissar of the 8th Column, I will temporarily assign you some tasks. If it's not suitable, you can tell me directly. Commander Hong, I hope you will serve as the Director of the Military Law Department of the 8th Column and establish a military court within the 8th Column. Our 8th Column has a short history, so many internal institutions are imperfect. We need to gradually improve them."

Hong Man graduated from the School of Political Science and Law and was in charge of military discipline in the Northwest Army for many years.

The 8th Column is no longer the newly established unit.

Yang Quanwu had already hinted at his stance to Wei Hongjun. That is, when the time was right, the base area managed by the 8th Column would be separated into a new military sub-district. Once this happened, the 8th Column would need to improve its various organizational structures. A military sub-district was essentially an independent base area, requiring full control over everything.

The military court and military tribunal must exist.

"But there's still a lot I don't understand about the Eighth Route Army's policies."

"Commander Hong, you are a professional. We have many policy documents of the Eighth Route Army. I believe you will be able to understand them quickly.

"Okay, I'll try."

"You can also recommend those students you have to me."

"it is good."

Wei Hongjun continued, "Deputy Commander Gao, I hope you will be in charge of the 8th Column and the base's commercial trade. This is related to the daily necessities of the army and the people in the base, and is a top priority for the future development of the base. You studied business and have done business before, so you are familiar with the business."

"I need to think about it."

"We'll discuss the details separately."

Wei Hongjun continued, "Director Sui, you are a scholar who returned from studying abroad. Our arsenal needs talents like you. I am also planning to establish the Chanan Industrial School to train some industrial talents. I would like to hire Director Sui as the principal of the Chanan Industrial School and concurrently as a technical officer at our arsenal."

"Chanan Industrial School? Political Commissar Wei, your base area still wants to establish an industrial school? How to defeat the Japanese and puppet troops is the top priority. Isn't establishing the Chanan Industrial School putting the cart before the horse?"

Sui Twelve was a little confused.

At present, due to the strength of the Japanese army, the whole country is in mourning.

At this time, everyone was thinking about how to defeat the Japanese army. But how could such a small base like the Eighth Column establish the Chanan Industrial School?

Wei Hongjun smiled and said, "Director Sui, the war will eventually end. When we defeat the Japanese and establish a new China, we will still have to develop the economy and industry. By then, we will need more talents, especially those in industry. Although we are fighting now, we must cultivate talents while fighting. We must do both. We will always need them to build the country in the future. Moreover, our Eighth Route Army is developing some small-scale industries, which also requires a large number of talents. Therefore, there is no such thing as too many schools."

Sui Shier stared at Wei Hongjun for a while, then suddenly laughed.

Then he said, "I always thought the future of the Chinese revolution lay in Yan'an. Today, I am convinced once again that China's future lies with you, the Communist Party of China. Don't worry, I will accept the position of principal of Chanan Industrial School. I will do my best to train talents for the Eighth Route Army and for our country and nation."

Sui Twelve was really shocked.

Previously, I simply believed that Yan'an was vibrant and full of life, and that the future of the Chinese revolution lay there. But today, I see that Wei Hongjun, a junior cadre in the Eighth Route Army, could possess such foresight. While fighting the war, he was also considering the future of China's industrial development. If the Chinese Communist Party can't succeed like this, who can?

"Thank you, Director Sui."

Now that the work for the three of them has been arranged, everything else will be easy.

He said to Niu Heshan, "Old Niu, I want you to be responsible for establishing the Chanan Normal School and also for the literacy work in the entire base area. We can't just consider bringing in students from outside. We also need to train our own cadres. At the same time, we need to rid the people in our base area of ​​illiteracy."

"no problem."

Finally, only Chuhe was left.

The reason Chu He was placed last was because he held the highest rank. He was a member of the Ji-Re Border Special Committee and one of the architects of the Jidong Uprising. A cadre of this caliber could easily have been assigned to a military command position.

The level in the Eighth Column is too low.

However, since he was willing to stay here, Wei Hongjun had to find him a good position. Wei Hongjun said, "Comrade Chuhe, since you are willing to stay in the 8th Column, I will report to the Jin-Cha-Ji Branch and the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region and ask for you to serve as a member of the Chahar-South Special Committee. You will also serve as the Deputy Political Commissar of the 8th Column. In addition to assisting me with the work of the 8th Column, you will be primarily responsible for united front work. One direction is the future Chahar-North region and the Mongolian tribes. The other direction is the Pingjin area, bringing in more talent and supplies for the 8th Column, while also training more ethnic minority cadres."

"I accept the organization's arrangements."

Chapter 192 Unified Thoughts

After the end of the anti-autumn mopping-up campaign in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, there was a period of relative calm.

Of course it's only relatively calm.

Various conflicts between the two sides continued in many areas. The troops on the edge of the base area, following the victory of this anti-mopping-up operation, were stepping up efforts to expand the base area and increase the number of troops.

Of course the Japanese army was unwilling.

So we are preventing the expansion of the Eighth Route Army.