Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

There are a lot of small countries around China, and no one has the power to stop China.

At this time, the central government must make a clear statement to neighboring countries: New China is not imperialist, and has no territorial ambitions toward its neighbors, so neighboring countries need not be nervous. Furthermore, China must maintain its traditional diplomatic style and perpetually maintain its image among Third World countries. This image may seem useless, but once China gains a certain level of strength, the benefits will gradually become apparent.

New China must act uprightly and openly.

It's also impossible for Wei Hongjun to directly tell everyone at the Politburo meeting that this area is a good place. It's good for growing crops and developing various tropical crops. Such a good place must be seized and cannot be left to Myanmar. If Wei Hongjun said that, it would be too utilitarian.

Wei Hongjun is taking the bright road, not the despicable one.

This wasn't a place China was invading; it was originally Chinese territory. Therefore, Wei Hongjun didn't need to resort to vulgar, utilitarian proposals to convince the public. He directly and directly raised the issue at the enlarged Politburo meeting, without a trace of conspiracy, loudly expressing his desire to abolish the unequal treaties once imposed on the Chinese people by British imperialism.

"Comrade Wei Hongjun is absolutely right."

Gao Gang immediately stood up and said, "We do not recognize any unequal treaties forced upon us by the great powers. Previously, the British used the Burma Road to force Chiang Kai-shek to sign the 1941 Line. Now, we can also force the British to abolish this line."

Wei Hongjun looked at Gao Gang.

Gao Gang immediately returned Wei Hongjun's smile, clearly telling Wei Hongjun his "good intentions".

Wei Hongjun was amused. Gao Gang was capable, but naive and naive. He had ambition, but lacked the ability to judge the political climate and sufficient political savvy. Gao Gang wasn't suited to working at the central government level. He should be assigned to specific tasks at the local level, where he could demonstrate his ability to get things done. With his abilities, if he could be put to such a task, he would be able to do a great job.

Just like the rubber battle, if Gao Gang was in charge, he would definitely do a better job than Marshal Ye and others.

Yet, he chose to come to the central government, and even used his clumsy political skills to try to seize a position that didn't belong to him. He only knew how to work with vigour and determination, but he had no way of concealing his edge or his true thoughts. He also had no sense of confidentiality, freely revealing his thoughts to others.

"I think it does make sense."

The commander-in-chief, who rarely spoke, spoke up. "Now that we've resolved this issue with the British, things will be much easier in the future. If we don't resolve it now, the 1941 line will become a major problem when we negotiate the border with Burma in a few years. We are a big country and cannot just bully the smaller countries around us. If we force Burma to draw a border line during our border negotiations, it will cause fear in neighboring countries and be detrimental to the stability of the surrounding environment. But we cannot accept such an unequal treaty imposed on the Chinese people."

"Ah."

The chairman nodded.

Everyone's opinions are still very reasonable.

Solving this problem early will prevent unresolved issues later. When China takes advantage of the current chaos in Myanmar and its inability to intervene, it can send troops here, making it easier to define the border line later.

"Comrade Wu Hao, what do you think?"

Comrade Wu Hao is, after all, both the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and has the most weighty say on this issue.

The Prime Minister said, "There is some truth to that. For Britain today, the so-called 1941 Line is meaningless. After all, India and Burma have already gained independence, and abolishing the 1941 Line is a piece of cake. In exchange for negotiations with us, they probably won't refuse."

"What do the other comrades think?"

"agree."

"should."

In fact, some leaders don’t pay much attention to this.

After all, this is a border issue in the southwest. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, everyone was busy and had no time to consider this matter. But now that Wei Hongjun has raised it, no one will object.

The Chairman, observing everyone's attitude, said, "Comrade Wu Hao, then add this clause. Strive to abolish the 1941 Line during the negotiations and legally establish our country's sovereignty over these areas."

"Yes."

The Chairman was very interested and asked, "Comrade Wei Hongjun, what about light industry?"

Wei Hongjun began, "Our current cooperation projects with the Soviet Union are primarily focused on basic heavy industries such as steel, energy, machinery, and electricity, and this will not change in the short term. However, our finances are already struggling to sustain heavy industry development, leaving us with no extra funds to support light industry development. Now that we have the opportunity to negotiate with the British, we must consider light industries that can improve people's living standards, such as food, clothing, housing, and transportation. As for other areas, even if we want them, the British, under pressure from the United States, will not dare to cooperate with us."

"Comrade Wei Hongjun, what are the details?"

The Prime Minister wants to gather everyone's opinions so that he can have a complete plan.

Only in this way can we gain the upper hand in the negotiations and obtain more benefits for China.

"We need to open up direct trade channels with Hong Kong. With Hong Kong as the center, we can create trade channels and boost the processing industry in the Pearl River Delta. As long as we can establish direct trade channels, we can do processing work. I briefly learned about the situation in Hong Kong during my visit to Guangdong. Currently, the average monthly wage for workers in Hong Kong is around HK$100-200. Compared to many other countries, especially those in Europe and the United States, Hong Kong workers' wages are very low. Furthermore, as the economies of Europe and the United States continue to improve and workers' wages continue to rise, they will look down on labor-intensive industries. This is also the reason for the current rapid development of Hong Kong's manufacturing industry."

"For the most basic light industries, labor costs are the most important. Compared to workers in Hong Kong, domestic workers earn lower wages. With many orders placed with us, it's easy for those businesses to reduce their costs by a third. This is why my country can engage in processing imported materials. While the profit margins are low, they represent a significant amount for us today. Furthermore, processing factories can provide employment for a significant number of people, especially in the textile and garment industries, which employ tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of workers. This effectively alleviates the contradiction between my country's large population and limited land."

"We can also ask the UK to help us set up some simple, less sensitive factories. For example, consider sewing machine factories. Currently, my country's production of sewing machines is limited. If you want to process imported materials, the easiest and fastest option is a garment factory. All you need is a sewing machine and a short training session, and you can start working. You don't even need supporting infrastructure like water and electricity to start production. If there are a lot of orders for this, many rural cooperatives could even recruit a few people to set up cooperative factories. By then, our demand for sewing machines will be huge, and setting up some sewing machine factories will be necessary."

This aspect is included in Wei Hongjun’s report.

However, this requires the consent of the United Kingdom.

After all, Hong Kong was still under British control. In fact, during this negotiation with the British, Wei Hongjun wanted two things most: the fertilizer industry and the chemical fiber industry. One was to solve the problem of food, and the other was to solve the problem of clothing.

But it's all difficult.

The US will absolutely not allow China the opportunity to mass-produce fertilizers, especially synthetic ammonia, which is the most important component. Meanwhile, Britain will not go against the US's wishes. Therefore, the fertilizer industry is very difficult to acquire.

Chemical fibers do have potential, but where can they be used?

Although chemical fibers have a variety of raw materials, the world's mainstream is currently the petrochemical industry. China has not yet discovered a large oil field, so how can it develop chemical fibers?

Therefore, the best option is to ask the UK to agree to open trade routes and then ask the UK to help build a few non-sensitive factories. Of course, we can't build too many of these factories, because the country's steel production is limited and it is impossible to invest too much steel in these factories. The country's steel supply is currently insufficient to meet demand.

Developing light industry in a country without a heavy industrial base is incredibly difficult. Only with a solid foundation in heavy industry can light industry development proceed smoothly. What is socialism? The public ownership of the means of production.

China is still in the stage of New Democracy, and even if it advances further, it will only be in the primary stage of socialism. The biggest task at this stage is accumulation: national accumulation, urban accumulation, and rural accumulation, that is, accumulation of property.

Even if they cooperated with Hong Kong to open up trade routes, the final recipients of orders would be either state-owned enterprises or rural collective enterprises like rural cooperatives. Private capital enterprises would not appear. On these policy issues, Wei Hongjun would never cross the red line. Furthermore, during the accumulation phase of heavy industry in New China, Wei Hongjun never considered crossing the red line. If the policy were relaxed at this time, China's heavy industry accumulation would be interrupted.

Besides, Wei Hongjun still believes that the large-scale bankruptcy of state-owned enterprises in the 1990s was not a problem of ownership.

It's a business issue.

Many large joint-stock companies in Europe and the United States have long separated ownership and management. Many major shareholders do not participate in company decision-making, yet the companies continue to operate smoothly. The Chairman has long reviewed Wei Hongjun's report on this matter.

Overall, it is supportive.

Because at this stage, the government simply can't afford to spare the extra money to support the development of light industry. The Chairman supports light industry choosing to find its own funding and its own path forward. Therefore, the Chairman said, "Please provide a detailed report on this matter."

"Yes."

This is not a difficult task.

Wei Hongjun and Mao Zemin had already begun considering this matter. Consequently, the Ministry of Light Industry and the Ministry of Foreign Trade had drawn up numerous plans in this regard. Once these plans were compiled, they would be handed over to the Premier. The specific details of the negotiations, and the extent of the agreements, would be determined by the Premier and his team.

If Britain is really anxious, then it can get more technology, more machinery and equipment, and more loans from Britain. After all, there are more than 6000 prisoners.

It would be acceptable for Britain to simply help China set up a few small light industrial factories and open trade routes. If Britain does not even agree to this, then it really has no sincerity in the negotiations.

"Then this matter is settled. Let's talk about the third question next."

882 New Economic Policy

The meeting entered the second agenda.

That is about the "Three Antis Movement" and the "Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries Movement".

Gao Gang presided over the work of the Secretariat and also presided over the "Three Antis Movement", so he reported on the work of the "Three Antis Movement" from the outbreak of the Korean War to the present, about a year ago.

Then Marshal Nie reported on the situation of the "Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries Movement" during this period.

After Marshal Nie and Gao Gang's report, everyone began to ask questions. They mainly discussed the "Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries" campaign, as the "Three Antis" campaign had been going on for a long time and didn't raise many new questions. In comparison, the "Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries" campaign, the "Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries" campaign, and the "Suppression of Secret Agents" campaign had resulted in countless deaths.

This is the main task in all places at this stage.

After everyone finished talking, the Chairman said, "Everyone's opinions are very good. Comrade Rong Zhen, Comrade Gao Gang, you must make corrections."

"Yes."

Next, the chairman summarized everyone’s remarks.

He also expressed his own views, saying: "We must not be closed-door in our work. This will alienate us from the people. Our cadres are always afraid of this and that, worried that some scandal within the Party will spread and affect our Party's reputation. Therefore, they like to keep everything secret, solve problems behind closed doors, and hide them from the people. This kind of closed-doorism is not good. Not only does it not help improve our Party's reputation, but it will also affect our image among the people. If we do things right and well, we should happily accept the praise of the people. Similarly, if we do things wrong and poorly, it is normal to be criticized by the people. Our cadres must not have the bad habit of only listening to good words and not being able to accept criticism."

"We must understand that there's nothing shameful about our work. Whether it's the 'Three Antis Movement' or the 'Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries Movement,' we should openly invite people from all walks of life to participate, allowing them to see firsthand how we work. When we suppress spies with blood debts, we should hold public trials. Let the people actively participate, so everyone understands why we're executing them. Of course, if there are dissenting opinions, we should listen to them."

This is not the first time that the Chairman has criticized "closed-doorism".

Three years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, many officials became increasingly intolerant of criticism, to the point where government meetings were divided into two groups: some allowed to speak and some not.

At that time, the Chairman was furious about this incident and wrote a critical article which was distributed to governments at all levels.

The "Three Antis" and "Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries" campaigns involved a significant number of Party cadres. Some of these cadres had extensive revolutionary experience. Local authorities were concerned that the matter would be tarnished by public opinion and, therefore, sought to handle the matter quietly within the Party.

This is what the Chairman objects to.

If you've made a mistake, you should deal with it openly. Don't try to cover it up.

Gao Gang immediately echoed, "Chairman, what you said is excellent. Many of our cadres are always worried that dealing with corrupt officials within the Party will be a scandal, so they want to handle it quietly and not let the news spread. However, if you don't tell the people clearly about many things, all kinds of outrageous rumors will spread everywhere, which will be detrimental to our Party's reputation."

Gao Gang is quite capable in grasping policies.

He was in charge of the Three Antis Movement, and even invited democratic figures and journalists to participate when dealing with cadres. When the Chairman heard Gao Gang agree, he nodded with satisfaction.

Gao Gang continued, "During the 'Three Antis' Movement and the 'Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries' Movement, the departments in East China performed the best. They directly invited many democratic figures to participate in the working committees. As a result, many people in other places ridiculed the 'Three Antis' Movement and were afraid of the 'Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries' Movement, but all sectors of society in East China enthusiastically supported the 'Three Antis' Movement and the 'Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries' Movement. Comrades Ke Qingshi and Pan Hannian did a very good job in this regard."

After being frightened by Wei Hongjun, Gao Gang gave up his original idea.

He originally wanted to recruit some cadres from the military and powerful local central bureaus so that they could unite. In addition to Wei Hongjun, there were also Deng Xixian from the Southwest Bureau, Xi Zhongxun from the Northwest Bureau, and Deng Zhihui from the Central South Bureau.

Then wait for Marshal Lin to return home.

Of course, there is also Chen Yun, who worked with me in Northeast China.

But now he always felt that Wei Hongjun looked at him with a sinister look, as if he was always watching him. So he didn't dare to go to Deng Xixian, Xi Zhongxun and the others again. He was afraid that they would do the same as Wei Hongjun.

These people are all talented.

Especially Deng Xixian.

What if Wei Hongjun and Deng Xixian tried to trip him up, or if his words got out? Gao Gang wasn't as powerful and bold as he had been in history. But he wasn't willing to give in.

So he decided to try a different approach. The two most important departments in Party affairs were the Propaganda Department and the Organization Department. While Xi Zhongxun's Propaganda Department couldn't be said to be completely obedient to Gao Gang's every word, the two men's previous collaboration had been quite pleasant.

He is now targeting the Organization Department.

Peng Zhen, squeezed out by Gao Gang, had no choice but to bring An Ziwen over to stabilize the Organization Department. However, Gao Gang considered that if Rao Shushi went to the Organization Department, his influence on Party affairs would be no less than that of Comrade Xiuyang. Therefore, he spoke on Huadong's behalf. The person currently leading the "Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries" campaign in East China was Pan Hannian, a member of the East China Bureau and Executive Vice Mayor of Shanghai.

Pan Hannian had a good relationship with Rao Shushi.

To outsiders, the two men were on the same page. Pan Hannian's excellent work also gave Rao Shushi a boost. As for mentioning Ke Qingshi, it was because he had repeatedly praised the "Three Antis Movement" in newspapers. Gao Gang was very pleased with this.

After all, the "Three Antis Movement" was Gao Gang's overall responsibility, and it was Gao Gang's political achievement. Of course, Ke Qingshi would be pleased to have his achievements recognized in the newspapers.

The Eighth Congress is about to take place, so of course he wants to promote someone.

"The East China Bureau has done a good job." The Chairman acknowledged Gao Gang's statement.

The East China Bureau did an excellent job in the "Three Antis" and "Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries" movements.

Regardless of the specifics, at least the surface work was done very well. They opened the window and let everyone participate in the "Three Antis" and "Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries" campaigns. They told everyone directly that we were going to "suppress counterrevolutionaries" and "suppress spies."

"Comrade Rong Zhen, I see that during the 'Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries' campaign, there were still some instances of indiscriminate arrests and killings. This is something we should be vigilant about."