Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Marshal Ye did not need to report any matters to the South China Reclamation Bureau to the Central South Bureau, but could report directly to the Rural Work Committee, the Finance and Economics Committee, or even directly to the Chairman.

However, the reason why Wei Hongjun was talking to the Ministry of Forestry was because the Minister of Forestry, Liang Xi, was a famous forestry expert. Liang Xi had personally participated in the rubber campaign in the south and was familiar with many aspects of the campaign.

Compared to the official air, Liang Xi has more of a scholarly air.

After he became the Minister of Forestry, the most important thing he did was to establish many forestry schools across the country. This included forestry universities and forestry technical secondary schools, and he used his connections to bring in talent in this field. Liang Xi used various methods to contact many students studying forestry abroad, summoning them back to China to teach at forestry universities. There were also some teachers from forestry departments of other universities who were poached by Liang Xi and transferred to forestry schools, which caused complaints from many universities. Liang Xi believed that the forestry situation in China was currently very serious and must be taken seriously as soon as possible. The first step was to train a large number of students in this field, and the fastest way to do this was to establish a specialized forestry school. Liang Xi opposed the establishment of forestry departments in universities, believing that this was a waste of faculty and was far less efficient than specialized forestry schools.

He's already 68 years old this year, and according to retirement regulations, he's due to retire from government service next year. Yet, despite his age and prestige, he's been begging for help from various departments for the Forestry School's development, embarrassing many department heads. After all, facing an elderly figure like Liang Xi, a democratic figure they still need to unite with, they can't refuse outright, so many have complained to Wei Hongjun. It's fair to say he's a rather endearing old man.

Within just three years of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Liang Xi had already established a relatively comprehensive system for training forestry students. He had also designated key forestry protection and development areas. Despite his age, Liang Xi possessed a vibrant spirit, speaking with unwavering energy.

Liang Xi bluntly told Wei Hongjun that the rubber war was plagued by problems. These problems had become increasingly severe after the Sino-Soviet agreement on rubber was reached. The South China Reclamation Bureau was currently indiscriminately cutting down forests in Guangdong and Guangxi to reclaim land.

Just to plant rubber trees.

Liang Xi believes that such destruction of forests is not only of no benefit to rubber planting, but also causes serious ecological damage to the Guangdong and Guangxi regions.

Liang Xi pulled out a map of the South China Reclamation Bureau's current land reclamation efforts and pointed them out to Wei Hongjun. He explained which areas were forested and should not be bulldozed or reclaimed. As he spoke, Liang Xi continued to complain about how some of the current South China Reclamation Bureau leaders were completely inexperienced and had no understanding of the importance of forestry. They treated things like war: they would immediately launch operations upon receiving an order from above, with no regard for their suggestions.

Liang Xi would even occasionally point out how a certain leader of the South China Reclamation Bureau had problems and was blindly pushing forward with their work, completely oblivious to the fact that he was reporting to Wei Hongjun. Party Secretary Li Fanwu, standing nearby, could only smile wryly.

Only a scholar-cadre like Liang Xi, who has no idea about his official career, can be so carefree.

Marshal Ye was in charge of the South China Reclamation Administration, and many of the officers under him were recent military personnel. Li Fanwu knew that some of these officers were actually from the 19th Corps, which had originally entered Guangdong. The 19th Corps was a unit from the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei-Central Military Region and the Hebei-Shandong Military Region, but perhaps some of the officers were former comrades of Wei Hongjun, or veterans who had fought under him. If you were to complain like this in front of someone, those with small minds would surely suffer in the future.

Of course, Wei Hongjun didn't think about it either way.

Wei Hongjun considered that while military cadres have advantages, they also have significant disadvantages. It's not always easy to transition from the military to the local areas. It seems a comprehensive approach is needed to ensure the rapid adaptation of military cadres to the local areas. After the Korean War, over a million troops will be disbanded, many of which will be organized into production and construction corps. However, the Production and Construction Corps and the military are completely different entities.

The Production and Construction Corps must have a clear understanding of economic accounting, cherish every penny of state investment, and be prudent. However, since the separation of military regions and field armies during the Liberation War, the field armies have primarily focused on combat, with logistics being managed by the military regions. While it may be easier for military region cadres to transfer to local areas, it's not so easy for field army cadres to adapt, and their mindsets may struggle to adapt.

For those troops that are to be disbanded and transformed into production and construction corps, they should be trained before they are transferred to other places. Wei Hongjun quickly wrote down this idea and continued to listen to Liang Xi.

Wei Hongjun recorded what Liang Xi said for several pages before ending the conversation.

After conferring with the Ministry of Forestry, Wei Hongjun notified Le Tianyu and other key technical personnel involved in the rubber production project to come to Beijing. He even arranged for a plane to fly them over quickly.

After the last incident at North China Agricultural University, Le Tianyu was demoted and Wei Hongjun arranged for him to go to South China to participate in the rubber battle.

I haven't seen him for more than a year, and his temper is still as bad as ever.

After seeing Wei Hongjun, he asked directly: "Vice Premier Wei, are you criticizing us?"

Wei Hongjun noticed that something was wrong with Le Tianyu's attitude.

Even if Wei Hongjun criticized him and punished him back then, that was over a year ago. Le Tianyu was a veteran Party member, so he wouldn't be so sceptical just because he was demoted over a year ago. So Wei Hongjun asked, "Did anything happen over there at the Rubber Battle?"

"Vice Premier Wei, don't you know?"

Le Tianyu was very surprised.

He thought Wei Hongjun had hurriedly summoned him and several key technical personnel to Beijing because he knew about the Rubber War. But judging by Wei Hongjun's expression, he had no idea what was going on.

"What happened?"

"Vice Premier Wei, the Soviet experts are just making random comments. And our cadres who are in charge of the Banana Campaign are also giving blind orders." Le Tianyu was really resentful.

Seeing Wei Hongjun immediately started complaining. Wei Hongjun saw that although Le Tianyu was demoted, he was in good spirits. In the rubber battle, he seemed full of fighting spirit, and he was still very satisfied.

Le Tianyu is a capable person.

It would be a shame if he was devastated by what happened and never recovered. "What exactly happened?"

"Vice Premier Wei, since the arrival of the Soviet experts, the leaders of the South China Reclamation Bureau have only listened to the opinions of the Soviet experts and rejected the opinions of our Chinese technicians. Why? Is it because they are Soviet experts? Have the Soviet experts ever seen a rubber plantation? Have they ever planted rubber trees? Why are their opinions correct and ours ignored? They always emphasize that we should obey and correct our attitudes. Leaders cannot do things this way. They must learn to listen to opinions from all sides. Just because they are from the Soviet Union, they cannot say that everything they say is right. Compared with Soviet experts, our technicians are

We have more experience than them. Our technicians have been experimenting with rubber planting since 1948 and have more experience than the Soviet experts. Not to mention that many of our technicians came from Southeast Asia and are overseas Chinese who have been engaged in rubber planting for many years.

Wei Hongjun looked at Le Tianyu indignantly and felt that the world had changed a lot.

Back at North China Agricultural University, Le Tianyu had suppressed other professional voices in this way. Unexpectedly, it was Le Tianyu's turn to be suppressed in this way. However, this was no time to make fun of anyone. Wei Hongjun still had no idea where Le Tianyu's anger came from.

So he said, "Comrade Le Tianyu, please take your time and tell me what's going on. You haven't explained it clearly, and I don't know what to do."

"The South China Reclamation Bureau moved to the Leizhou Peninsula. We all agreed that the Leizhou Peninsula was suitable for rubber cultivation. However, we disagreed on how to cultivate rubber there. The Soviet experts only wanted us to open up wasteland and increase the cultivated area, while the leaders of the South China Reclamation Bureau blindly followed the Soviet experts' advice and began to increase manpower to carry out land reclamation. They wanted to cut down all the forests on the Leizhou Peninsula and plant rubber everywhere. Isn't this nonsense?"

"Is there anything wrong with that?"

Wei Hongjun didn't know either.

I've never planted rubber.

He Kang, who came with Le Tianyu, said, "Vice Premier Wei, many of our technical staff have been researching rubber planting since the liberation of Guangdong and Guangxi, and have accumulated a lot of experience in rubber planting. We found that rubber is most afraid of low temperatures and wind disasters. Once the temperature drops too quickly or too much, or if there is a strong wind, it will grow poorly and have poor disaster resistance. Although the Leizhou Peninsula is suitable for rubber planting, it is at a higher latitude than the Nanyang region, so it is prone to cold currents and temperature drops. Moreover, the Leizhou Peninsula is close to the sea and is accompanied by typhoons all year round. Therefore, in order to prevent cold currents and typhoons, if rubber is to be planted on the Leizhou Peninsula, there must be windbreaks around the rubber plantations. This will block possible cold currents and typhoons and prevent them from blowing directly into the rubber trees."

Wei Hongjun nodded.

Wei Hongjun understood what He Kang meant.

He Kang, a son of a wealthy family, joined the revolution at a young age. He joined the Communist Party in 1939 at the age of sixteen and served under the leadership of the Southern, Shanghai, and Hai Bureaus. His family's extensive connections provided him with numerous connections to high-ranking KMT leaders. He had two older brothers who were also Party members. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, He Kang's eldest brother served as Chairman of the Military Commission of the Nationalist Government's Legislative Yuan and Lieutenant General General Advisor to the Guilin Headquarters (later renamed the Guilin General Office). The three brothers' direct supervisor was Dong Biwu.

He Kang's wife also came from a wealthy family, and her father was the director of the Nationalist Salt Administration during the Anti-Japanese War. Because of this relationship, He Kang continued to raise supplies for the troops in Shanghai.

After the Liberation, at the age of 25, He Kang began serving as Vice Minister of Agriculture and Forestry under the East China Military and Political Committee. He soon became Director of the Special Forestry Department of the Ministry of Forestry. After the Rubber War began, He Kang moved to South China to serve as Director of the Subtropical Crops Research Institute. He Kang had graduated from the Agricultural College of Guangxi University.

He Kang is only 28 years old now.

After He Kang finished speaking, Le Tianyu added: "But the Soviet experts only care about how to expand the planting area, and don't care about the situation after planting. The Soviet experts insisted on cutting down all the forests on the Leizhou Peninsula and turning all those areas into rubber plantations. Our Chinese technicians have firmly opposed it and have written reports to the South China Reclamation Bureau several times, but there has been no solution. The order issued by the South China Reclamation Bureau is to continue to follow the opinions of the Soviet experts and plant rubber on a large scale on the Leizhou Peninsula. Those forests must be demolished. The Reclamation Bureau asked us to learn humbly from the Soviet experts, to unite with them, and not to engage in confrontation. Vice Premier Wei, tell me, are we engaging in confrontation? We are upholding the truth."

Le Tianyu was indignant.

Wei Hongjun frowned and couldn't help sighing.

This kind of thing will not be uncommon in the future. Because the Soviet Union was now the model for China's socialist construction, Soviet experts coming to China were considered authoritative. Even senior officials like General Peng, who had fought their entire lives in war, were influenced by Soviet experts. And what about the lower-level officials?

Wei Hongjun nodded.

Wei Hongjun knew this was happening, but he couldn't stop it. He couldn't criticize the Soviet experts or completely turn against them just because it happened. In most fields, Soviet experts were indeed the authority, and China had to learn from them. It wasn't that Soviet experts were always right, but that China had no experience in most industrial fields. If Soviet experts didn't teach China, and China had to learn on its own, who knows how long it would take.

Compared with this overall situation, local problems can only be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. This is like an overheated economy, with both ups and downs and reckless moves.

Once a problem is discovered, how can it be corrected? This is not a simple matter. Many people believe that when a problem arises, all that is needed is for the central government to issue a directive to correct it.

But things are not that simple.

If you stir up trouble at the political level and label these things, it might seem like you can quickly resolve the problem. But the result is that it completely dampens the enthusiasm of cadres and the people. They follow the central government's call and work with gusto. Then, when problems arise, the higher-ups directly label you, criticize you, and even hold you accountable. Who can tolerate that? Once everyone is discouraged, no one will pay attention to you if the central government wants to mobilize them again, and they will all pretend to obey but actually disobey.

Therefore, when faced with this kind of problem, we cannot immediately assign blame and hold people accountable. Instead, we must gradually adjust policies without lashing out against lower-level officials and the people. This balance is the most difficult to strike.

If you don't use drastic measures, you might not be able to stop the car. But once you use drastic measures, the car might fall apart.

While Wei Hongjun was pondering, Le Tianyu couldn't wait any longer. He said directly, "Vice Premier Wei, does the central government care about this? Do you care? If the central government doesn't care, and the Leizhou Peninsula really follows the Soviet experts' advice, rubber planting will be affected by typhoons and cold snaps. Growth will be poor, and the yield will be terrible. We can see this on the Leizhou Peninsula, and the same is true in other areas. Those Soviet experts don't understand how to plant rubber at all. They rely entirely on their experience on Soviet collective farms, clearing wasteland everywhere. As long as the planting area meets their requirements, then they think it's okay. But they don't care whether some areas are suitable for rubber planting."

"Comrade Le Tianyu, Comrade He Kang, please write me a report. It must be detailed and include all kinds of data. For example, how much production will be reduced due to the impact of typhoons and cold waves. Also, how much rubber can be planted with the current technical staff we have. Be objective and avoid any personal emotions."

"Vice Premier Wei, we have all brought this report."

Le Tianyu said as he handed over the report.

Wei Hongjun carefully reviewed the report, asking Le Tianyu and He Kang questions about anything he didn't understand. This discussion took half a day, so Wei Hongjun invited them to dinner. Afterward, they continued their conversation.

Finally, Wei Hongjun closed the report and asked, "What if, and I mean what if, the central government decided to reduce the area of ​​rubber cultivation and plant other crops in some of the already reclaimed land? Do you think it would be successful?"

"Vice Premier Wei, this requires us to investigate. Let's see what kind of crops are suitable for growing in those places." Le Tianyu was very careful in such specific matters.

I won't agree blindly.

Wei Hongjun continued, “If the central government wants to plant coffee trees, and on a large scale, do you think there is any problem?”

"Vice Premier Wei, this isn't a big deal. Rubber trees have been in my country for decades, but outside of Hainan, there have been very few successful plantings elsewhere. Even in Hainan, the number of rubber trees is very small, and the yield is low. Therefore, how to grow rubber and maintain yields has always been a key focus of our research. However, coffee cultivation is completely different. Coffee cultivation in Yunnan Province has been very successful, and there are already a considerable number of coffee trees in Yunnan, and many local people have experience in coffee cultivation. However, large-scale planting does require coordinated planning. After all, once anything is scaled up, many aspects differ from small-scale planting."

He Kang replied.

Born into a wealthy family, He Kang was quite knowledgeable about coffee, including the domestic coffee cultivation situation.

Wei Hongjun said, "Comrade He Kang, I want you to go to Yunnan to conduct an on-site investigation of coffee cultivation in Yunnan. Give me a clear report on the feasibility of large-scale coffee cultivation in Yunnan. Including which areas in Yunnan are suitable for growing coffee trees."

"Yes."

"I know about the Leizhou Peninsula incident. I will deal with it as soon as possible. Comrade Le Tianyu, you have done a good job. When Soviet experts come to our country to guide production, we should respect them and learn from their knowledge, but we cannot blindly follow them. If there are any inappropriate points, we should dare to argue with them."

Le Tianyu is indeed not suited to working in a university or as a researcher. The job that suits him best is still in the field of practical work.

873 Persuade the Chairman

After making sufficient preparations, Wei Hongjun went directly to see the Chairman.

He detailed the various problems that had arisen during the current rubber campaign. Looking at the reports from Liang Xi of the Forestry Department, sent by Wei Hongjun, and the reports from Le Tianyu and other technical personnel responsible for the rubber campaign, the Chairman said softly, "We must not blindly follow orders from superiors, books, or Soviet experts. Everything must be based on facts. Comrade Le Tianyu has done a great job in this regard."

When the incident at North China Agricultural University occurred, the Chairman personally criticized Le Tianyu.

He even ordered that Le Tianyu must be dealt with.

Because Le Tianyu set a very bad precedent on the university campus.

But Chairman Mao was also quite familiar with Le Tianyu. During the Eighth Route Army's Great Production Campaign, many seeds were produced by Le Tianyu. To promote high-yield seeds throughout the base areas, Le Tianyu recommended different seeds based on the specific conditions of each base area. It can be said that Le Tianyu played a crucial role in the success of the Eighth Route Army's Great Production Campaign.

The Chairman knows this.

Merits are merits, faults are faults; the Chairman clearly distinguishes them. Furthermore, when it comes to employing cadres, the Chairman has always adhered to the principle of "punishing past mistakes and curing illnesses to save patients," and opposed simply killing a cadre politically. The Chairman has always cherished cadres like Le Tianyu, who are knowledgeable, capable, and able to endure hardships.

Seeing Le Tianyu's courage in arguing with the Soviet experts, the Chairman had a new assessment of him. He believed that Le Tianyu was a good cadre who could withstand criticism and political blows without giving up and remained committed to his work.

"I've also consulted others about many of the issues Comrade Le Tianyu raised, and they do exist. The experts sent by the Soviet Union didn't have much of an advantage over our Chinese technicians when it came to rubber planting. The Soviets didn't plant rubber themselves, and they didn't know what a rubber plantation looked like. It's fair to say they didn't have any rubber planting experts. So, those Soviet experts applied their collective farm experience to rubber planting, wanting to use their collective farm model to build rubber plantations. However, farming and growing rubber are two different things. Farming has its own methods, and rubber has its own growth characteristics."

"That makes sense."

The Chairman supported Wei Hongjun's statement.

The Chairman is also a farmer, and different crop cultivation methods are different, let alone rubber cultivation. Le Tianyu's report is very detailed.

Even the Chairman and Wei Hongjun, who didn't understand rubber technology, could understand what was said. Of course, Wei Hongjun would explain some of the more difficult parts to the Chairman.

Looking at Le Tianyu's report and Wei Hongjun's explanation, the Chairman's expression became more and more solemn.

"Moreover, the Soviet experts were so anxious to open up wasteland on such a large scale because their goal was to quickly and massively plant more rubber trees in my country to fill the current rubber shortage in the Soviet Union. However, rubber trees don't just grow and survive, and you can harvest enough rubber. It's just like farming. If you just open up wasteland and plant rice, regardless of whether it's paddy or dry land, how can you expect a good harvest? Rubber trees need to be planted in a climate and land that suits them to thrive and produce higher yields. But the Soviet experts ignored these considerations and blindly expanded the planting area, which is not a good thing for my country's rubber industry."

Interests determine everyone's actions, and the butt determines the head.

The Soviet Union wanted rubber, and the Soviet experts' mission was to plant rubber in China. To achieve this goal, they didn't care about anything else. As long as China planted rubber on a large scale and eventually produced natural rubber, that was all they needed. Any problems that arose from this blind planting were none of the Soviet Union's business. Even if the yield was low, as long as China delivered the rubber to the Soviet Union annually according to the contract, that was all they needed.

But it’s different in China.

If you plant rubber randomly and many areas end up with little or no yield, then China will lose money. Therefore, Chinese technicians naturally opposed it. As for the leaders of the South China Reclamation Administration, many of them were superstitious about the Soviet Union.

The Soviet experts have said it, so let’s do as they say.

This is the most obvious example of lazy governance.

If anything went wrong, it would be the Soviet experts' fault, and they could completely shirk responsibility. After all, everyone listened to the Soviet experts and advisors. But what if they ignored the Soviet experts' advice and adopted the opinions of domestic technicians instead, and problems arose?