Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Wei Hongjun was recording Chen Tao's opinions, and Chen Tao was also reporting and recording Wei Hongjun's words.

Chen Tao continued, "Article 4: The land distributed during this land reform, regardless of who originally owned it, cannot be mortgaged or sold. The government will not accept any mortgage or sale.

Secretary Wei said last time that once the land is distributed, it's all personal property, so how can we prevent people from buying and selling it? Our work team thought we could make this clear to everyone before the land reform. Those who accept this can participate in this land reform, while those who don't will be excluded from it.

"This is a good idea. Before the central government issues a comprehensive land and taxi law, this is the only option we have.

"Article 5: During this reform, we intend to abolish all loan relationships between rich peasants and landlords. I understand that some of these loan relationships may be legitimate. However, we currently lack the number of rural cadres and have problems grasping the policy. If we analyze and review each one individually, it will take forever to complete this task. Therefore, I believe the best approach is to abolish all loan relationships between rich peasants and landlords once and for all."

Chen Tao is really familiar with rural affairs and the current situation of rural cadres.

A one-size-fits-all approach is indeed lazy governance.

However, under the current situation of insufficient rural cadres and insufficient capabilities, a single cut is actually the best option when there is no other choice.

Wei Hongjun nodded.

Understand Chen Tao's dilemma.

It's not easy for ordinary rural cadres to distinguish between normal lending and usury. Moreover, with so many and so complex rural lending relationships, they don't have the energy to analyze them one by one.

"it is good."

Wei Hongjun closed his notebook and said, "There's nothing wrong with your work overall. Let me emphasize again: land reform is a revolution. We're expropriating the land of rich peasants and landlords and distributing it to semi-self-cultivating farmers and poor hired peasants, changing the current feudal land system in rural areas. At the same time, to complete this revolution, we must completely eradicate the privileges of rich peasants and landlords in rural areas politically. However, while we're striking at the rich peasants and landlords politically and economically, we must also offer them a way out. That is, when we distribute land this time, the rich peasants and landlords must also have land. Only by giving them a way out, a way out, can we avoid problems."

"Yes."

"Another point is that you absolutely must not assign quotas to rich peasants and landlords. It must be based on actual conditions. If some villages have many rich peasants and landlords, then they have many rich peasants and landlords. If some villages have few rich peasants and landlords, then they have few. If they are rich peasants and landlords, then classify them as rich peasants and landlords. If they are not rich peasants and landlords, then don't arbitrarily designate them as rich peasants and landlords. You should establish a standard for being a rich peasant and landlord. For example, how much arable land per capita is considered a rich peasant and landlord, how much exploitation constitutes a rich peasant and landlord, and so on. As long as the standard is met, then they are rich peasants and landlords. If the standard is not met, then they are not rich peasants and landlords. Don't assign quotas to each village and dictate how many rich peasants and landlords a village should have. Do you understand me?"

"Yes."

After Wei Hongjun came to Sheng County, the land reform work in Sheng County proceeded in an orderly manner.

Because Wei Hongjun had made preparations early on, he was able to start the land reform immediately after the order was given. This land reform mainly involved confiscating the land from the rich peasants and landlords and distributing it to semi-self-cultivating farmers and poor hired peasants.

Wei Hongjun chose a combination of land reform work teams, local rural cadres, and rural work groups.

The land reform work team formulated the overall land reform policy, the local government and local cadres implemented the land reform, and the rural work group supervised the policy towards local rich peasants and landlords during the land reform process.

The main task of the Rural Work Group was actually to expose the evil deeds of rich peasants and landlords in rural areas.

If we go too far in correcting a wrong, many things will inevitably be overcorrected.

No one can stop this.

Wei Hongjun didn't want to be "left" in terms of policy, but to guard against a "right" movement, he needed "left" forces to contain "right" forces. To stabilize the local situation during land reform, the policy choices were necessarily slightly "right." Furthermore, local cadres presented some obstacles to land reform. Therefore, Wei Hongjun chose "left" forces at the grassroots level to contain "right" policies and forces.

That is the Rural Work Group.

The majority of rural work teams were semi-self-cultivating farmers and poor hired peasants.

They were considered the most oppressed force in the countryside. They harbored a deep hatred for the rich peasants and landlords. Wei Hongjun, who grew up in poor peasant villages in western Fujian, certainly had a personal experience of this.

Many people in later generations cannot understand this kind of class hatred.

These class contradictions were particularly acute during this era. Previously, semi-self-cultivating peasants and poor farmhands were powerless, daring not to resist rural oppression. But now that they had supporters, their hatred was bound to erupt. As the saying goes, where there is oppression, there is resistance. Where oppression is greatest, the resistance is greatest. Once this force is unleashed, it becomes unstoppable.

Once they exert their strength, the "left" will inevitably appear.

The Rural Work Group's exposure of the evil deeds of rich peasants and landlords would undoubtedly have a wide impact. Not only would the actual local tyrants and evil gentry be affected, but even many middle peasants would be affected. Many local cadres would also want a smooth land reform process, which would create conflicts with the Rural Work Group.

During this process, the land reform work teams, as the work teams sent by higher authorities, were able to mediate and ultimately prevent extreme situations from occurring in the land reform process. Firstly, local cadres and local forces must not be allowed to become too deeply involved, suppressing the normal work of the land reform and affecting its quality. Secondly, land reform must not be allowed to veer too far to the left, leading to a widening of the scope of the crackdown.

This can also be regarded as an experiment by Wei Hongjun in land reform work.

In this regard, Chen Tao and his work team gave Wei Hongjun a big surprise, and the work was carried out in an orderly manner.

Chapter 659: Pingshan Land Reform

However, while Wei Hongjun successfully implemented land reform in Sheng County, Liu Huafu encountered significant difficulties in Pingshan County. His most serious obstacle was resistance from local cadres in Pingshan County. Almost all cadres, from top to bottom, opposed Liu Huafu's land reform plan. Rural cadres in Pingshan County were particularly dissatisfied with it.

Because the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was conducted by establishing bases behind enemy lines, many problems arose due to historical reasons.

One of the problems is that of local cadres.

When establishing bases behind enemy lines, the best candidates were, of course, local cadres. They were familiar with their hometowns and could quickly mobilize a group of people to join the anti-Japanese war. Not only during the Anti-Japanese War, but also during the Liberation War, when the central government sent cadres to the Northeast, those from the Northeast were the best choice.

As a result, when the Eighth Route Army sent cadres to the enemy's rear to establish bases, they were sent to wherever the people were from.

It's not just that.

The base areas were established, and local governments would be established there. The cadres promoted to establish these local governments were all local cadres. The Central Committee knew that this was conducive to the stability of the base areas behind enemy lines, so it also supported the vigorous promotion of local cadres.

This was a good situation when we established the base.

But now many problems arise.

Local cadres have conflicts of interest.

Liu Huafu's land reform plan was too radical, and the cadres in Pingshan County naturally disagreed. As a result, Liu Huafu, the deputy secretary of the Jin-Cha-Ji Central Bureau and an alternate member of the Central Committee, was unable to move forward in Pingshan County.

It's like a provincial governor came to the county to guide the work, but ended up being unable to carry out his work in the county.

Liu Huafu was very angry.

So he immediately found two cadres to discuss what to do next.

One is Ma Xingrong, who is currently serving as the vice president of the Jin-Cha-Ji Party School, and the other is Liao Guangao, who was sent to Jin-Cha-Ji by Comrade Xiuyang to participate in the land reform. During the Anti-Japanese War, Ma Xingrong was the Secretary of the Hebei Provincial Party Committee and the Secretary of the Ji-Re-Liao District Party Committee. He was also one of the leaders of the Jidong Uprising. After the establishment of the Ji-Re-Liao Advance Army, he was a member of the Ji-Re-Liao Army Political Committee, the leading body commanding the Ji-Re-Liao Advance Army. However, Ma Xingrong was also implicated in the failure of the Ji-Re-Liao Advance Army. When Xiao Zijing shot Gao Zhiyuan, Ma Xingrong also actively participated and actively supported it. Later, the Ji-Re-Liao Advance Army was plagued by internal conflicts, and Ma Xingrong was also closely related.

Although implicated, he had considerable experience and high rank. Therefore, when the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region was established as a secondary military region, he served as deputy secretary of the Ji-Central Border Region Party Committee. After the Seventh National Congress, Marshal Nie returned to Jin-Cha-Ji and reshuffled the positions of some cadres. Among them was Ma Xingrong, who went from deputy secretary of the Ji-Central Border Region Party Committee, the region's second-in-command, to vice president of the Jin-Cha-Ji Party School.

Liao Guangao is considered an important figure in the Party's theoretical research on Party affairs. Many of Comrade Xiuyang's Party theories were influenced by Liao Guangao. During the land reform in Jin-Cha-Ji, Comrade Xiuyang, as the leader of the Central Committee responsible for land reform, dispatched Liao Guangao, a great general, to Jin-Cha-Ji.

Liao Guangao supported Liu Huafu's "land reform plan".

Marshal Nie, however, did not follow the usual practice of assigning Liu Huafu the responsibility for the land reform in Jin-Cha-Ji. Instead, he asked Liu Huafu and Wei Hongjun to each carry out the land reform in a county and see the specific results before making a decision.

So Liao Guangao also followed Liu Huafu to Pingshan County.

Liu Huafu said to them, "These local cadres in Pingshan County have vested interests in the local tyrants and evil gentry. They have no regard for the Party or the revolution. If this continues, when will the land reform work in Pingshan County bear fruit?"

Liu Huafu was really anxious.

Wei Hongjun had his own base, and the reform of the gentry system in Sheng County was progressing rapidly. Even Liu Huafu had heard the news. However, his own work was progressing slowly. If he ultimately lost to Wei Hongjun, how could he continue to work in Jin-Cha-Ji?

“Pingshan County officials do have many problems.”

Ma Xingrong nodded.

"The central government has already issued instructions for land reform, but the cadres in Pingshan County are dragging their feet. These cadres are unorganized and undisciplined, and their local protectionism is rampant," he said.

Ma Xingrong was actually also very surprised.

Liu Huafu, Deputy Secretary of the Jin-Cha-Ji Central Bureau, personally came to lead the land reform in Pingshan County, but was met with resistance from Pingshan County cadres. This was unheard of. Liu Huafu was not only Deputy Secretary of the Jin-Cha-Ji Central Bureau, but also an alternate member of the Central Committee.

In Ma Xingrong's view, this is disorganization and lack of discipline.

The cadre problem in Pingshan County is very serious. Their current behavior is the most obvious form of factionalism.

If these cadres had been arrested and shot during the advance into Hebei, Rehe and Liaoning, they would have been the ones to be executed.

Liu Huafu frowned and said, "Our land reform work in Pingshan County has reached a deadlock. I heard that Wei Hongjun's work in Sheng County is progressing rapidly. Wei Hongjun is implementing a 'rich peasant', a 'rightist' land reform policy, a policy of compromise with the rich peasants and landlords. If Comrade Nie Rongzhen ultimately adopts Wei Hongjun's land reform plan, it will be a setback for the revolution."

After the Central Committee issued its directive on land reform, other liberated areas were vigorously carrying out land reform. If our land reform in Jin-Cha-Ji turned into "rich peasantism," we in Jin-Cha-Ji would be laughed at by other liberated areas.

Liu Huafu became increasingly wary of Wei Hongjun.

Although Wei Hongjun was a rising star, with much lower qualifications and rank than his own, he was a former military cadre and a very capable political cadre. He also had his own base.

The Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region was established by Wei Hongjun and his men.

So the roots there are very deep.

In order to implement the reform of the scholar system, the cadres below also responded to the call.

Because those cadres were originally Wei Hongjun's old subordinates. In comparison, although he was the deputy secretary of the Jin-Cha-Ji Central Bureau, he had no base.

This can be seen from this land reform.

I had no choice but to come to Pingshan County to carry out the land reform experiment, but the cadres in Pingshan County did not give me face.

"Comrade Liao Guangao, you're from the Central Committee. Didn't Comrade Xiuyang tell you anything when you arrived? What should we do in this situation?"

"Comrade Xiuyang is also very worried about this issue. It's not just in Jin-Cha-Yi, but also in Jin-Yi, Lu-Yu. There are too many local cadres, and they have too many intricate ties with the local areas. If we want to advance the land reform, we must bypass or overthrow these local cadres before we can truly complete the land reform.

"Yes."

Liu Huafu has a personal experience of this.

These local cadres have deep ties to the local area. If they are not dealt with, the land reform in Pingshan County cannot be carried out. These local cadres are completely an obstacle to the land reform.

“But how do we bypass or defeat these local cadres?”

"Have you forgotten who the main force behind our land reform is? We must rely on the vast majority of poor and hired peasants. They are the most oppressed class in the countryside. Only they have the greatest revolutionary drive and the greatest motivation for land reform. As long as we can mobilize them and get them involved in land reform, then rural problems will be easily solved. Before I came to Jinchayi, Comrade Xiuyang said several times that we must rely closely on the poor and hired peasants to carry out our land reform."

Liao Guangao expressed his thoughts.

"Poor peasants?"

"Yes. My suggestion is that we establish 'Poor Peasants' Leagues' in the countryside. Let them become the main force of rural land reform, bypassing local cadres and directly implementing land reform in the countryside. Then we won't have to worry about local cadres' obstruction to land reform, and the 'Poor Peasants' Leagues' will directly lead rural land reform."

Liu Huafu was thinking.

After thinking for a while, he said, "What if the local cadres suppress our poor peasants' group?"

"That means they are opposing land reform and opposing the central government's instructions on land reform. We must take organizational measures against these cadres."

"Ah."

Liu Huafu nodded.

Dao: "Yes, the purpose of our land reform is to break up the feudal land system in rural areas and give land to the vast majority of semi-self-cultivating farmers and poor hired farmers.

They are the main force of land reform and the main force of our revolution. We should mobilize them and rely on them.

Liu Huafu was very angry with the local officials in Pingshan County.

His original idea was to transfer more land reform cadres from outside, completely bypassing the Pingshan County cadres and implementing land reform. However, this still had many problems, after all, the local cadres in Pingshan County were the staff of the Pingshan County government.

However, Comrade Liao Guangao's suggestion is more suitable.

Find new strength from within.

In order to implement land reform, Liu Huafu also needed to properly rectify the cadres in Pingshan County. After making the decision, Liu Huafu immediately summoned the work team he had brought with him and gave them instructions.

"Poor Peasants' Groups" were established in various rural areas of Pingshan County.

Liu Huafu was too anxious.