Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

It should be said that Marshal Nie is not a local cadre.

Seriously speaking, Marshal Nie was a cadre of the "Stay in Europe" faction. He joined the Party in Europe and worked in the Party branch there. However, because he later studied in the Soviet Union, he also had good relationships with cadres who had studied there. After the failure of the Guangzhou Uprising, when he returned to work at the Central Committee, he partnered with Comrade Xiuyang and was responsible for Party and government work in North China.

Of course, I spent most of my time in the Central Committee working under Wu Hao, including during my early days at the Whampoa Military Academy after returning from the Soviet Union, where I was also his partner.

It should be said that Marshal Nie is a cadre who is successful in all aspects.

However, after arriving in the Central Soviet Area, Marshal Nie quickly supported Chairman Mao's proposals. In particular, when Wu Hao arrived in the Soviet Area in 1932 to oversee its overall operations, Marshal Nie supported Chairman Mao's proposal and opposed Wu Hao, General Peng, and the others' attack on Ganzhou. Wu Hao had just arrived in the Soviet Area, and his first priority was to attack Ganzhou, a matter of great importance to Wu Hao. After all, the Central Soviet Area had been won by the Chairman, the Commander-in-Chief, and Wu Hao needed solid military achievements to secure his position as Secretary of the Central Bureau of the Soviet Area. General Peng and many other generals supported the move, but Marshal Nie unexpectedly opposed the Ganzhou attack. After the failure of the Ganzhou Campaign, the First Corps marched south to attack Zhangzhou, where Chairman Mao, Marshal Lin, and Marshal Nie worked in perfect harmony. During this process, Chairman Mao appreciated Marshal Nie's political skills, and Marshal Nie began to have a new appreciation for the Chairman, a "country bumpkin."

During the Anti-Japanese War, Marshal Nie's ideas were even closer to Chairman Mao's. Xi Jinping's Jinchaji Military Region was a prime example.

Marshal Nie faithfully implemented Chairman Mao's ideas in Jin-Cha-Ji, launched independent guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines, and created a new era for Jin-Cha-Ji.

In the Eighth Route Army, besides Wang Ming's advocacy of compromise, there was also a relatively strong tendency towards pure militarism, with even the Commander-in-Chief and General Peng showing this tendency. However, this problem was not as serious in the Jin-Cha-Ji system. Marshal Nie himself came from a political cadre background, and therefore, in base area construction, he emphasized both civil and military affairs. The Jin-Cha-Ji system also produced the most cadres with both military and political prowess.

The Chairman liked Jin-Cha-Ji not only because it was the base area developed by the 1st Red Army Division, but also because it was the Chairman's direct lineage. However, the Chairman did not attach much importance to the issue of lineage.

The reason why the Chairman liked Jin-Cha-Ji was that it perfectly realized the Chairman's vision. The development of Jin-Cha-Ji was a process in which the Chairman's theory was proven time and again.

Jin-Cha-Ji is developing very well now, so the Chairman does not want external affairs to affect the development of Jin-Cha-Ji.

However, the previous rectification campaigns by the Jin-Cha-Ji Cadre Corps clearly went beyond normal boundaries. Someone was trying to reach into the Jin-Cha-Ji region and seize its gains. This was something the Chairman could not tolerate.

This led to the Politburo meeting and the Chairman’s instructions on behalf of the Politburo.

After the Chairman issued instructions on the Jin-Cha-Ji Working Group, Comrade Xiu Yang also issued instructions on the Jin-Cha-Ji Working Group. Comrade Xiu Yang has always been in charge of work in North China, and now he has entered the core work of the Central Committee, so he issued instructions on the affairs of the Jin-Cha-Ji Branch.

Criticism and self-criticism are essential. They are the most important form of inner-party democracy and must be upheld. Therefore, such meetings should be held. He believes that the rectification meetings are of great significance. However, he believes that some of the criticisms and handling of certain issues during the meetings were excessive and not pragmatic.

Although there were some mistakes in the work of the Jin-Cha-Ji Branch Bureau and the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, they were all mistakes in their work. These mistakes can be criticized and should be accepted. However, I oppose the excessive exaggeration of these issues at the meeting, believing that this is unrealistic.

Immediately afterwards, Peng Zhen began to attend the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Cadres League meeting.

Peng Zhen was a Jin-Cha-Ji cadre. He had previously served as deputy secretary of the Northern Bureau and secretary of the Jin-Cha-Ji Branch Bureau. His position within the Party had always been higher than Marshal Nie's.

He had every right to attend the rectification meeting of the Jin-Cha-Yi Cadre Corps.

The successive directives from Chairman Mao and Comrade Xiuyang, along with Peng Zhen's continued attendance at the Jin-Cha-Ji Cadre League meetings, finally put the rectification movement in Jin-Cha-Ji back on track. Comrade Xiao Zijing, who had previously been criticizing Marshal Nie for his line errors, also cooled down and stopped harping on the issue.

Everyone began to discuss the problems that had existed in the Jin-Cha-Ji Branch and the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region over the past six years.

We are all senior cadres of the Jin-Cha-Ji Branch and the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region. We are very familiar with the development of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region. Therefore, when we discuss specific issues, we can often point out some mistakes made by the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region in recent years.

Wei Hongjun finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, when the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Cadre Corps was in turmoil, leaders of various military regions of the Eighth Route Army began to arrive in Yan'an one after another.

More and more people.

Wei Hongjun had already felt the tense atmosphere in Yan'an.

Because the leaders of the various military regions of the Eighth Route Army gathered in Yan'an for the upcoming Seventh Congress. If it were not for the Seventh Congress, how could so many front-line generals come to Yan'an?

At present, it is relatively easy for various military regions to come to Yan'an.

Because many of the Eighth Route Army bases are now connected, unlike in history, where one had to cross one blockade after another by the Japanese and puppet troops to reach Yan'an. During this time, some delegates to the Seventh Congress even died on the way.

But now that threat is greatly reduced.

Therefore, the Seventh Congress, which was only held in 1945 in history, was obviously held in advance.

The same is true in Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei.

In July 1943, just two months after Marshal Nie and Wei Hongjun arrived in Yan'an, a delegation of over eighty people arrived from the Jin-Cha-Ji region. Cheng Zhihua, leading the delegation, brought more than eighty people from the Jin-Cha-Ji region to Yan'an. After Cheng Zhihua's departure, Luo Qirong took charge of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region. This wasn't the final group, however; the Jin-Cha-Ji region had the most development, and therefore the largest number of representatives.

The Jin-Cha-Ji delegation was headed by Comrade Peng Zhen, with Marshal Nie as its deputy head. Wei Hongjun also achieved his wish of becoming a delegate to the Seventh National Congress.

In August 1943, more representatives of the Seventh National Congress began to gather in Yan'an.

Each delegation has already begun reviewing the qualifications of its representatives and conducting discussions.

In mid-August 1943, Luo Qirong and Liu Huafu led the final delegation of the Jin-Cha-Yi military region to Yan'an. Among them were Deng Guo, commander and political commissar of the Ji-Re-Liaoning Military Region; Zhao Lu, commander and political commissar of the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region; Huang Yong, commander of the Ji-Lu Military Region; and Wang Qiuyun, acting commander of the Ji-Re-Cha Military Region.

However, Yang Quanwu, commander and political commissar of the Central Hebei Military Region, Guo Tianmin, commander of the Yanbei Military Region, and Wang Zhi, political commissar of the Hebei-Shandong Military Region, all remained in the Jin-Cha-Ji region. As a member of the Jin-Cha-Ji Central Bureau, Yang Quanwu temporarily took charge of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region.

Many people also arrived from the Ji-Re-Cha region, including Zhang Zihua, deputy commander of the Ji-Re-Cha military region, and Li Shaocheng, a member of the Ji-Re-Cha border region party committee.

There were four delegations from Jin-Cha-Ji, which was the largest delegation among all the Eighth Route Army delegations.

Wei Hongjun also used this opportunity to get to know many leaders within the Party and various military regions. Previously, Wei Hongjun's lack of experience and rank meant he could never reach them. But now, Wei Hongjun could chat with them about the current situation of the War of Resistance and the construction of the base areas.

Of course, there are many people Wei Hongjun is very familiar with, because many of them are Wei Hongjun’s old leaders.

For example, Zhang Dingcheng, director of the Second Department of the Central Party School, was Wei Hongjun's direct superior in the early years of the Red Army. Luo Renfa organized the Longyan Red Guards, which were incorporated into the Eighth Detachment of the Fourth Column of the Red Fourth Army. Zhang Dingcheng was the commander of the detachment at the time. And then there was Yang Dezhi, who led troops from the front to Yan'an and served as commander of the First Training Brigade. He was Wei Hongjun's regimental commander during the Long March.

Of course, there are still many old leaders from the Red Army period.

But Zhang Dingcheng and Yang Dezhi were both direct superiors, so Wei Hongjun needed to visit them in person.

This included Chen Geng, who, upon arriving in Yan'an, served as the commander of the First Red Division. At the time, he was considered Wei Hongjun's direct supervisor. This was the advantage of Wei Hongjun, who came from the Fujian Red Guards, the Fourth Red Army, the First Red Army Corps, and later the First Red Division. He had connections with many cadres in the Central Red Army.

Of course, Wei Hongjun visited some of his old leaders, and some of them also came to visit him. In Yan'an, there were Wei Hongjun's old leaders, and then there were his old subordinates. For example, Duan Chengwei, who had been transferred to the Organization Department, came to visit Wei Hongjun to reminisce about the past.

There were also some new cadres who shared the same ideals as Wei Hongjun in many aspects and they quickly became good friends.

"This is a good idea."

Among the cadres who came to communicate with Wei Hongjun, Yu Qiuli was the most frequent.

The two men are about the same age and both come from the Central Red Army.

It was just that Wei Hongjun was in the First Red Army Corps, while Yu Qiuli was in the Sixth Red Army Corps. Later, he followed the Sixth Red Army Corps on the Long March and became a cadre of the Second Front Army.

At this time, Yu Qiuli was the director of the Political Department of the 358th Brigade. He was leading his troops stationed in Yan'an, where they were conducting extensive military training. Yu Qiuli himself had his own ideas about military training, so he was very curious about Wei Hongjun, who was promoting the "New Army Reorganization Movement."

So I came to visit Wei Hongjun.

As time went by, the relationship between the two people became better and better.

This is mainly because the two people have a very good understanding of many ideas.

When they had free time, the two would frequently exchange training experiences. Seniority-wise, the two were not much different, but Wei Hongjun was currently ranked higher than Yu Qiuli. But after they started dating, they stopped caring about those things.

Because both of them are very interested in military construction.

Wei Hongjun nodded repeatedly as he listened to Yu Qiuli's training in the 358th Brigade.

Yu Qiuli summarized it as "officers teach soldiers, soldiers teach soldiers, soldiers teach officers, and each other teaches and learns from each other." Yu Qiuli's training was very different from previous military training.

"Your idea breaks the previous training model. This is more like a mass training. How is the effect?"

“We are still in the exploratory stage.

"How did you find out?"

“We have several companies in the 358th Brigade, and they compete with each other.

After a company's battles, they recruited skilled shooters, grenade throwers, and assassins to become instructors. They were assigned to teach the officers and soldiers below them. I observed the training and saw high morale among the soldiers, all eager to win the grand competition. Later, I combined this approach with the "meritorious service" campaign you've been promoting in the army. The training yielded very positive results.

Wei Hongjun nodded.

Yu Qiuli was indeed a master of military development. His historical campaign, "Complain and Three Investigations," which he promoted within the 385th Brigade, was recognized by Chairman Mao and rapidly adopted throughout the army. Wei Hongjun's "New-Style Army Reorganization Movement" plagiarized much of Yu Qiuli's "Complain and Three Investigations."

"The creative energy of our commanders and fighters is boundless. Our revolution is not the revolution of one or two people, but a revolution of the masses.

Our large-scale military training should not be limited to the previous model where commanders formulate plans and soldiers follow them. Instead, it should be a process of interaction between commanders and soldiers, ultimately perfecting the training."

"Correct."

Since meeting Wei Hongjun in Yan'an, Yu Qiuli has had many ideas about building the army. Many of these ideas were vague before, but after communicating with Wei Hongjun, many of them began to become clearer.

This is why the relationship between the two has progressed rapidly.

"The reason I came to you this time, besides wanting to perfect this idea, is that I also want to try it out in other units.

"You want to try your hand at teaching the Second Brigade?"

"Correct."

Yu Qiuli said, "These were originally initiated by some grassroots companies of the 358th Brigade. I can't guarantee many things. So I want to try it in companies of other units. The Second Training Brigade is your Jin-Cha-Ji unit."

"No problem. Tomorrow I'll take you to meet Comrade Luo Renfa, commander of the Second Training Brigade. He's a political cadre himself, so he'll definitely be very interested in your ideas."

Chapter 546: The Prosperous Jin-Cha-Ji Region

Wei Hongjun and Yu Qiuli implemented "mass training" in the 358th Brigade and the Second Training Brigade, and the overall effect was quite good. The troops were stationed in Yan'an and did not engage in combat during normal times, but they could not lose their combat effectiveness. Therefore, they could only increase training and hold large-scale competitions between units to maintain combat effectiveness.

Wei Hongjun also had frequent contact with many cadres of the 120th Division.

Even Wei Hongjun’s old leader Zhang Zhongxun participated in this “mass training”.

At this time, the Central Political Bureau held a meeting and finally decided that the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China would be held in Yan'an on November 1943, 11. Since the Central Committee decided to hold the Seventh National Congress, the atmosphere in Yan'an quickly became tense.

Such an important meeting brought together so many middle and senior CCP generals, so Yan'an was very cautious.

The Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia-Shanxi-Suiyuan Joint Defense Army Headquarters issued orders to all subordinate units to ensure the safety of Yan'an during the meeting. One order was to defend the Yellow River and prevent the Japanese and puppet troops from crossing it. Another order was to defend the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and prevent Hu Zongnan's troops from entering the region.

Therefore, the Jinsui Military Region, as well as the 358th and 359th Brigades, the 358st Independent Brigade, the 359nd Independent Brigade, the 120st Security Brigade, the rd Security Brigade, the th New Brigade, the st Training Brigade, the nd Training Brigade, and all local troops were on high alert. The th and th Brigades, the st Independent Brigade, and the nd Independent Brigades were the main forces of the th Division, while the st Security Brigade and the rd Security Brigade were units formed by the garrison.

The newly formed 129th Brigade was formed from three regiments drawn from the th Division, with Wang Jinshan as brigade commander and Xu Liqing as political commissar. The st Training Brigade was formed from five regiments drawn from the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region and the Hui Muslim Detachment. Yang Dezhi was brigade commander, with Zhang Zhongliang as political commissar.

Both the First and Second Training Brigade were expanded from the 115th Division. The First Training Brigade was a unit of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region that was expanded from the 115th Brigade of the 344th Division, while the Second Training Brigade was a unit of the Shanxi-Chahar-Yihe Military Region that was expanded from the Independent Regiment and Cavalry Battalion of the 115th Division.

Not counting the troops from the Jinsui Military Region, the remaining garrison troops in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region alone currently number 50,000 to 60,000 men. Adding in some local troops, the entire Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region currently has 70,000 to 80,000 troops. If it weren't for Hu Zongnan's relentless pressure, the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region wouldn't have needed so many troops. These troops could have been deployed to fight the Japanese on the front lines.

Their task is very heavy.

Absolutely no one could disrupt the Seventh Congress. Even the delegates had to undergo defense drills before the meeting. Fearing a bombing raid by Japanese aircraft, they made thorough preparations. If a Japanese aircraft was spotted, they knew how to sound the alarm, how the delegates should evacuate, and so on.

In this process, November 11rd finally arrived.

The Seventh National Congress of the Party was formally convened.

There were 824 delegates in attendance, including 547 official delegates and 277 alternate delegates. This was about more delegates than in previous years. Wei Hongjun attended this meeting as an official delegate to the Seventh National Congress.

These 824 delegates to the Seventh National Congress represent 120 million party members across the country.

When the Anti-Japanese War broke out, there were only 100 Party members nationwide. After six years of development, the number of Party members nationwide exceeded million. This shows how rapidly our Party developed during the Anti-Japanese War.

In his opening speech, the Chairman pointed out that China is faced with a struggle between two futures and two destinies. The Party’s task is to strive for a bright future and a bright destiny with all its might and oppose a dark future and a dark destiny.

All central leaders gave reports at this meeting.

Chairman Mao's political report, "On the Coalition Government," focused on the path China would take after victory in the War of Resistance. He also addressed reports on the current situation and ideological and political issues, the conclusions of the discussion on the political report, and a speech on elections.

In fact, the Chairman’s report set the tone for the Seventh Congress.

Then other central leaders began to make reports.