Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

After all, he was a member of the Tongmenghui.

He is currently a member of the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Border Region Committee, responsible for education and propaganda work in Hebei-Rehe-Chahar. Seeing Wei Hongjun's attitude, Niu Heshan said directly without any hesitation: "Comrade Wei Hongjun, I think you have problems in some matters."

"Mr. Niu, you can speak frankly."

"Then I'll say it. Yes, currently, cadres who have come from the military have been trained and learned there, and are even more educated than many local officials. Comrade Wei Hongjun himself came from a military background, so I understand why he prefers to use military cadres. However, military cadres have been engaged in combat for years, and many of them have never handled local affairs before leaving the army. Although they attend military schools before coming to the local areas, their study only lasts a few months. Compared to cadres who have actually worked in the local areas for several years, their understanding and experience of local affairs are far inferior to those of local officials. These cadres who came from the military either made contributions in the army or were injured in battle. When they arrive in the local areas, they are truly well-connected and have the support of the military. Moreover, once they arrive in the local areas, they also hold leadership of the local armed forces. This results in them wielding considerable power, and local officials find it difficult to criticize them. If they say so lightly, they won't care. If they say so harshly, they will be seen as discriminating against military cadres."

Therefore, when it comes to local affairs, there is a clear distinction between military cadres and local cadres, and neither controls the other. These military cadres can have the final say when the troops are fighting, but local affairs are complex and cannot be simply handled by issuing orders.

Wei Hongjun wrote down what Niu Heshan said.

There were many conflicts between military cadres and local cadres, and later, when the People's Republic of China was founded, there were also military cadres and underground party cadres, and cadres in the liberated areas and underground party cadres in the liberated areas. This was not just a simple power issue.

Many problems are not that direct and simple.

The conflicts between grassroots military cadres and local cadres, and between urban cadres and rural cadres, are more due to their different growth experiences and different revolutionary environments, which make them have different angles and methods of dealing with problems.

Each of them believes that they are right and the other's way of dealing with the problem is wrong.

Problems will naturally arise.

Wei Hongjun preferred to employ cadres who came from the military. This had nothing to do with Wei Hongjun himself being a military cadre. It was mainly because when establishing base areas and implementing rent and interest reductions there, cadres from the military were more courageous.

Local officials, constantly dealing with trivial tasks, tend to find a comprehensive, compromised solution when faced with a difficult problem. For even slightly more serious issues, they often resort to smoothing things over, appeasing all parties and easing the conflict.

Some conflicts can be compromised now, but they ultimately persist and must be resolved. Many cadres choose to avoid or mitigate conflicts rather than resolve them. However, if these conflicts persist, they can become major issues. Wei Hongjun employed military cadres precisely to send them to the local areas to tackle tough issues.

To resolve those seemingly serious conflicts, sometimes military cadres need to act quickly and efficiently.

But what Niu Heshan said also makes sense.

Xu Wu was transferred to a local job after being injured while performing meritorious service. As a result, he was not only responsible for all aspects of Weitai Township's work, but also controlled the local armed forces. He was responsible for suppressing bandits, maintaining public order, and even countering espionage. He also began to oversee local rent and interest reductions, and his power was immense. He wouldn't say he had absolute control over Weitai Township, but he definitely held immense power.

This creates a big problem.

Niu Heshan also said that military cadres are unfamiliar with local affairs and have no experience in handling local work. These are objective facts.

"I reflect on what Mr. Niu said. I previously believed that establishing and building a base area was fraught with difficulties. It required courageous military cadres to lead the development. Since there weren't enough cadres, I sent them to the local areas to lead the charge. However, I overlooked the fact that military cadres, after all, weren't local officials and weren't very familiar with local affairs.

Wei Hongjun nodded.

I reflected on my mistakes.

Wei Hongjun continued, "We must be extremely cautious in the future use of military-to-civilian cadres and establish clear regulations. I would like to offer a suggestion: they should first be assigned to local areas to oversee the development of local armed forces, such as bandit suppression, public security, and counter-espionage efforts. Once they become familiar with and understand local work, we can then slowly explore what other roles they can take on. This is rather than having them immediately assigned to important local responsibilities."

There will be many conflicts in various fields between military-to-civilian cadres, local cadres, underground party cadres, and future urban and rural cadres.

Historically, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, these cadres looked down on each other's lifestyles and work styles. This broad conflict cannot be resolved by a cadre of Wei Hongjun's rank. Even the Chairman and his colleagues cannot completely resolve it. The best they can do is to ease the conflict. Allow these cadres to adapt to each other and avoid internalizing unnecessary issues that waste everyone's energy.

Wei Hongjun is also preparing to try to see how to reduce the gap between cadres with military backgrounds and local cadres. The large-scale use of military cadres in the future is an inevitable trend, and no one can stop it.

What Wei Hongjun wants to do is to enable these military-to-civilian cadres to take over local work smoothly.

Seeing that Wei Hongjun and Niu Heshan took the lead, everyone started to speak more.

Duan Chengwei, a member of the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Border Region and former Shengxian County Party Secretary during the founding of the Shengxian base area, said, "I've recently been studying the Central Committee's rectification documents. The Chairman's personal oversight of the revision of the Liberation Daily has been particularly moving for me. We've unknowingly made the same mistake as the Liberation Daily: we've become aloof and increasingly detached from the masses. It seems to me that many of the current problems stem from our detachment from the people."

Chapter 518 Mass Line

Duan Chengwei opened his mouth and swept across the area.

He criticized everyone. He said the Chairman revised the "Liberation Daily" because a major event happened in Yan'an at the time. A reader wrote a letter directly to the "Liberation Daily" criticizing it without any mercy.

He directly stated, "After reading all the pages of your newspaper, I always feel that it has a major flaw, that is, its arguments are empty and seem too far away from the actual work of building the border area.

Just say that he is out of touch with the masses.

The people simply didn't like what they wrote because it was all high-brow and sophisticated. Besides these base area newspapers, those involved in literature and art, as well as propaganda, received the most criticism.

Especially the literary and art workers currently in Yan'an.

Their so-called "professionalization" and "regularization" were completely incomprehensible to the people who were still illiterate. They even made up rhymes about it.

Those in the drama department acted crazy, those in the music department cried for their parents, those in the art department didn’t know what to paint, and those in the literature department wrote so much that “they couldn’t understand anything” (this is a dialect expression, meaning they didn’t understand anything).

The people of Yan'an were mocking the young intellectuals who came to Yan'an at that time.

Duan Chengwei continued: "Let's talk about the original drama club of our Eighth Column. In the past, it was all centered around the new-style military reorganization movement, especially the grievance movement. We collected together the things that happened to the soldiers and compiled them into stories for performance. Those stories are not only the stories of the soldiers in the army, but also the stories that happened to many of our rural people. So every time our drama club goes to a local performance, the effect is very good. Whether in the army or in the local area, it is deeply loved by everyone. The effect is much better than the effect of our meetings to mobilize the people. Because of the performance mode of our drama club, many people can naturally get involved in it and naturally understand many truths. Before, no matter how we reasoned with the people, they would not listen, but after watching these shows, many people You understand what we mean. It can be said that our drama club has brought many good results to our promotion of our rent and interest reduction policy. However, as our Eighth Column became stronger and stronger, the scale of the base area also increased day by day. After that, the scale of our drama club became larger and larger, and more and more educated young people joined the drama club. There were even many literary and artistic backbones from Peking, Shanghai and other places. However, after they came to our base area, the programs they wrote were less and less popular with the masses. Because the masses had no idea what they were performing. I also chatted with some people in the drama club, and they all believed that art was highbrow, or even that art was highbrow and unpopular, and should not be "vulgar" in itself. What kind of logic is this? Isn't it that they think "lowbrow people" don't deserve art? "

Duan Chengwei became more and more excited as he spoke.

Duan Chengwei was the county party secretary in Sheng County in his early years, mainly responsible for party affairs. In recent years, he has also been in charge of party affairs and propaganda work in the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Border Region.

There are more and more educated young people, which of course brings many benefits, but also more and more problems.

The petty-bourgeois style of these young intellectuals has a very negative impact. Not only do they have a strong petty-bourgeois style themselves, but their petty-bourgeois style is also very obvious in their work.

Although they participated in the revolution, they spoke slogans such as equality, freedom, and democracy.

But they always unconsciously regard themselves as superior, always thinking that they know everything in the world. As for the slogans of equality they usually shout, but they are all "highbrow" and "lowbrow" and how can they be truly equal to "lowbrow" people?

This arrogance manifests itself at work.

Just look at the development of drama clubs.

These drama clubs gathered a large number of educated young people. If they initially created some revolutionary stories, they would eventually transition to stories about "emperors, generals, and ministers" and "talented scholars and beautiful women."

Because in their hearts, only these people are worthy of writing books and biographies.

As for the general public?

Since ancient times, who in China has ever heard of writing books for the common people? Or, in other words, who wants to read the stories of ordinary people? After these people arrived, not only did they fail to change their own petty-bourgeois ways, they also corrupted the entire troupe's ethos. They talked about art all the time, without a clue of what revolutionary art was. Although Duan Chengwei recognized this problem, he was always worried about the impact on unity among intellectuals. Previously, in the Yireliao Advance Army and the Nangzhong Military Region, due to strict checks on student identities and some oversight, there were cases of university students who defected to the Eighth Route Army committing suicide there. The impact was very negative.

Duan Chengwei was also worried about this, so he didn't want to say anything harsh to them. But Duan Chengwei was indeed filled with anger. It was all because of these university students and intellectuals.

So during this meeting, he directly opened fire.

This is not over.

Duan Chengwei continued: "There are also many of our cadres who say that the people are our parents who provide us with food and clothing, and the purpose of our revolution is to liberate all the suffering people in the world. But what is the truth? They all think that we are the saviors of the people, and that without us there would be no liberation of the people. So they say one thing and do another, and they are superior to the people. Although they are not like the masters of the previous gates, their mentality is no different from theirs. As a result, the distance between us and the people is getting farther and farther. The people are unwilling to come to our government agencies to do things, and they don’t want the government departments to intervene in any matter. Such a big thing happened in Weitai Township. If our propaganda is really If we could make the locals understand and truly publicize our rent and interest reduction policies, how could they not be aware? It's precisely because of the distance between us and the locals that they haven't communicated with us promptly. I recently spoke with some farmers, and none of them would think of turning to the government for problems; they would resolve them within the village. One major reason for this is that the people have long been reluctant to go through government agencies. Another reason is that our farmers don't see any difference between the current government and the past. Going to government offices to get things done is fraught with difficulties. Our government officials aren't working for the people; they're just handing them policies as alms.

Wei Hongjun nodded as he took notes.

Although the Eighth Route Army developed rapidly, it had many problems.

Or perhaps it's precisely because of rapid development that many problems have accumulated. During the initial development phase, everyone was focused on how to develop, and many problems were covered up. But once things stabilized, these problems became apparent.

The Red Army and the Eighth Route Army were armies that originated from the student movement, the labor movement, and the peasant movement.

However, the Eighth Route Army's rapid growth in recent years has fostered a tendency within it to favor a purely military approach. Or rather, this tendency has never been eradicated within the Red Army and the Eighth Route Army. From the Commander-in-Chief down through the ranks of the Red Army, many generals have championed this purely military approach. Chairman Mao had consistently criticized this purely military approach since the Jinggangshan period, and it took several adjustments before the modern Red Army was truly established.

But it reappeared in the Eighth Route Army in recent years.

They only focused on military work, not other tasks. They believed that as long as the troops could fight, nothing else mattered. In the Jin-Cha-Ji region, because Marshal Nie was the political marshal, the problem wasn't as serious.

But in some other bases, this problem is very serious.

After Duan Chengwei finished speaking, Wei Hongjun concluded: "Comrade Duan Chengwei said it very well. In recent years, our work has gradually become detached from the masses. This is actually the result of bureaucracy. Many of our cadres have forgotten the purpose of our revolution. They think they owe the people a favor, not the people owe us a favor. So they began to show a city master style and bureaucratic style. This work style is incompatible with the mass line that our party and our army must maintain. The Chairman has clearly stated before that "the party's line is the people's line." Now our cadres are only in the initial stage of being detached from the masses, but so many problems have already appeared. This shows that Our Party and our army cannot do without the mass line. Only when our Party and our army stand with the broad masses can our revolution achieve continuous victory. Once we abandon the mass line and become alienated from the masses, our revolution will suffer setbacks. Therefore, we must re-educate our cadres and Party members in this regard. We must make them understand that the masses are our breadwinners. Throughout the history of the Party and the army, the masses have always been kind to us. The relationship between us and the masses is like that between fish and water. Our Party must always adhere to the mass line and must never be divorced from the masses.

Wei Hongjun had already decided to launch a "mass line" rectification movement in the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar border region after the meeting, criticizing cadres and Party members who had begun to practice officialdom before the revolution and the war of resistance had even been won.

Wei Hongjun continued, "I need to review what Comrade Duan Chengwei said. The Chairman and the Central Committee issued the 'Decision on Investigation and Research' and the 'Decision on Implementing Investigation and Research' over a year ago, establishing the Investigation and Research Bureau, with the Chairman personally serving as its director. The Central Committee has always required us to conduct detailed investigation and research before implementing any policy or action. This is the most important way to integrate theory with practice and maintain our Party's fine academic style."

When I was running a rural training school in Sheng County, I taught students how to implement rent and interest reductions. At the time, I told them that Chairman Mao's first principle against book worship was "no investigation, no right to speak."

But while I was teaching these students this, I myself had forgotten this point. In implementing rent and interest reductions in Rehe, as Party Secretary of the Border Region, I failed to grasp Rehe's unique characteristics. After all, Rehe had been ruled by the Japanese and puppet troops for over a decade, and their influence was deeply entrenched. Many local landlords had their own methods for dealing with warlords, then with the Japanese and puppet troops, and now with the Eighth Route Army. We should have conducted further research in Rehe's rural areas and then developed a rent and interest reduction plan. Unfortunately, we simply copied our experience from the Chahar base area and applied it to Rehe, resulting in so many problems. This is my responsibility as Party Secretary of the Border Region.

"Secretary Wei, this is the responsibility of our rent and interest reduction working group.

Li Shaocheng immediately made a self-criticism.

"Our working group is fully responsible for the rent and interest reduction efforts in Rehe. However, we've forgotten the unique circumstances of Rehe, especially with the ongoing stalemate between us and the Japanese and puppet troops. Many local gentry are watching the battles unfold. Having dealt with warlords and the Japanese for years, they won't easily side with either side. Their current lack of enthusiasm for our rent and interest reduction efforts stems from their fear of a resurgence of Japanese and puppet troops. The environment for rent and interest reduction in Rehe is incredibly complex, yet we've oversimplified it. Many of our cadres haven't experienced how to deal with cunning landlords. Many of these landlords are incredibly resourceful, managing to navigate the warlords and Japanese alike without becoming traitors and maintaining their wealth. These individuals are both intelligent and cunning, and our staff were unsure how to handle them, leading to numerous problems. As the head of the working group, I must reflect on this matter."

Criticism and self-criticism.

Many people are reluctant to lose face; after all, they've been comrades or friends for many years. Criticizing someone in public can lead to a falling out. In Chinese culture, moderation has always been the most widely supported principle.

If you can't strike a balance between criticism and self-criticism.

Then it's easy to attack each other.

But if it’s just about everyone being nice, then there’s no point in holding this kind of criticism and self-criticism meeting.

Wei Hongjun was not polite and criticized directly: "Comrade Li Shaocheng, I think your working group not only failed to conduct investigations and research, but also was too weak when facing the landlords and local forces in Rehe. When we implement rent and interest reductions behind enemy lines, we need to cooperate with enlightened gentry and gain their support. However, Rehe was occupied by the Japanese and puppet troops for more than ten years, and traitors of all sizes are everywhere. In the face of these traitors, do you have to obtain their consent one by one before implementing rent and interest reductions?"

"Yes. Our working group has not actually entered the new area of ​​Rehe."

"And your work group is even more out of touch with the masses. Rehe seems to be actively carrying out rent and interest reduction work, but many rural farmers are unaware that we are implementing this program.

"What? Your work is all about dealing with landlords and wealthy individuals? This is a period of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, but don't forget that we are the Eighth Route Army, led by the Communist Party. We are an armed force of workers and peasants. Whether or not we are Eighth Route Army policy in your mind is something we can only discuss with those in power. If they agree, we can implement it; if they disagree, we can't. In our work, we must always be clear about who are our friends and who are our enemies. Don't confuse friends with enemies, and don't try to rely on the enemy to accomplish our mission."

Wei Hongjun's criticism of Li Shaocheng was quite harsh.

Because Li Shaocheng was a local cadre that Wei Hongjun admired very much. However, after the KMT and the CPC cooperated to resist Japan, some chaotic thoughts spread into the Eighth Route Army base area, affecting many cadres.

The rent and interest reduction efforts were clearly intended to gain the support of the farmers. However, Li Shaocheng and his team, rather than mobilizing farmers to actively participate in the work, instead sought to gain the support of powerful local groups.

It's a complete reversal of priorities.

Li Shaocheng didn't dare to say anything. Even he hadn't expected such a big paper leak in the rent and interest reduction work this time. He was very familiar with the rent and interest reduction work.

But he suffered a setback in Rehe.

Wei Hongjun turned around and said, "Regarding the construction of local Party organizations, Comrade Duan Chengwei, your work is very unsound. I admit that the circumstances of some demobilized cadres are special. But no matter how special they are, they are still Party cadres. If the construction of local Party organizations is perfect and Party life is normal, then how could such a problem arise? Is our local Party organization so bad that a single cadre can dominate the world? Or are our Party members and cadres unwilling to offend others, fearing retaliation and affecting their own petty interests? So when they see other Party members and cadres making mistakes, they turn a blind eye? If you are afraid of wolves in front and tigers behind, then what is the point of joining the revolution?"

This is what made Wei Hongjun most angry.

A township party organization did not play any role when problems arose.

The meeting was held and there were really many issues.

There are many problems in the life style and work style of party members and cadres.

Wei Hongjun recorded all these questions.

Listen to everyone's ideas, and then come up with a solution based on history.

This meeting lasted for two days.

Chapter 519: Limited Rectification Movement in the Base Area

At the enlarged meeting of the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Border Region, the Border Region Party Committee determined three things.

One is to learn from Yan'an and set up an investigation and research group.

Wei Hongjun served as the team leader, with Duan Chengwei and Niu Heshan as deputy team leaders. The investigation and research team was mainly promoted within the local government of the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Border Region. It was not established as an institution, but rather as a study group.

Wei Hongjun asked the local governments below to attach importance to the spirit of investigation and research, and not to act like city masters.