Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Therefore, he later enforced strict organizational discipline. During his time in Northeast China, when the First Column of the Northeast Field Army, the First Corps of the Northeast Field Army, and the 13th Corps of the Fourth Field Army were established, many of Luo Renfa's military officers were former subordinates. If you were to be more specific, Luo Renfa was a truly powerful figure in the 13th Corps at the time. However, he remained an honest and dedicated deputy political commissar and director of the political department, never violating organizational discipline or complaining about his low rank, fearing accusations of factionalism.

This time too.

Luo Renfa was worried that Wang Qiuyun was young and didn't know the seriousness of the matter, so he immediately made a promise to the Chairman.

The Chairman turned and saw Lu Dongsheng. He told him that the Central Committee had been a bit too harsh in its criticism of warlordism. He hoped that Lu Dongsheng would put aside all burdens and work hard.

Lu Dongsheng is no longer the 28-year-old man full of vigor and vitality.

So I also reviewed with the Chairman that I failed to understand the Central Committee’s intention to fight against warlordism.

Lu Dongsheng's path can be described as a long and winding one. He was once the top general of the Red Second Army Corps. However, after his troops entered northern Shaanxi, the Central Committee launched a campaign to criticize warlordism. In reality, the Central Committee's target wasn't General He, but Zhang Guotao of the Fourth Front Army. The focus of the criticism was also the Fourth Front Army, not the Second Front Army.

The Second Red Army Corps or the Second Red Front Army was just a sideline.

As a result, Lu Dongsheng was also criticized at the meeting criticizing warlordism. Young and unable to handle the pressure, Lu Dongsheng wrote to the Central Committee in anger, proposing to study at the Red Army University. This alarmed the Central Committee, as the Second Front Army was the target of their efforts. Lu Dongsheng was a favorite of General He, and the Central Committee could not afford to cause a rift between the Central Committee and the Second Front Army. So the Central Committee sent someone to persuade him, but he had made up his mind and later returned to the Soviet Union. He was originally slated to be the first commander of the 358th Brigade, a reorganized Red Army Second Corps, but he never took the position, ultimately replaced by Zhang Zhongxun.

By the time Lu Dongsheng returned to China after the eight-year war, the situation had changed significantly. Although Liu Yalou had been absent from the war, he had been promoted by Marshal Lin Biao and quickly established himself in the Northeast Field Army, becoming its Chief of Staff. However, upon arriving in the Northeast, Lu Dongsheng was a complete stranger.

The Anti-Japanese United Army had its own territory, and each other military unit had its own territory, but in the Northeast, there was no such territory as General He's Second Red Army. Consequently, he was confined to participating in bandit suppression in the Northeast and managing the work of the local military district, with no military achievements for several years. His appointment as Second Deputy Commander of the Wuhan Military Region was a recognition by the Central Committee of his past as a representative general of the Second Red Army. It can be said that Lu Dongsheng was once a cadre with a solid track record of generalship, but now even the rank of general is dependent on the balance of power above him.

After meeting with the cadres of the Wuhan Military Region, Chairman Mao began his tour of Wuhan. His arrival in Wuhan was particularly energized by his sight of Wuhan Iron and Steel's (WISCO) No. 1 blast furnace, which was already halfway completed. WISCO had already begun erecting the No. 1 blast furnace, and the construction was proceeding at a rapid pace. In about six months, the No. 1 blast furnace would be up and running.

Li Xiannian accompanied the Chairman throughout his visit to Wuhan's industries.

Wuhan's industry has a foundation.

Chairman Mao once said: When talking about China's industry, we cannot forget three people: Zhang Zhidong of heavy industry, Zhang Qian of light industry, and Fan Xudong of chemical industry.

Wuhan’s industrial foundation was the work of Zhang Zhidong.

Precisely because Wuhan had such a strong foundation, many Soviet-aided projects were implemented there. Besides Wuhan Iron and Steel, there were also the Wuhan Heavy Machine Tool Plant, the Wuhan Boiler Plant, the Wuchang Shipyard, the Qingshan Thermal Power Plant, and, of course, the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge, currently under construction.

Li Xiannian did not come to Beijing after the Eighth National Congress because Hubei was currently busy. The Chairman, mindful of Henan's situation, urged Li Xiannian to be meticulous in rural work. Mutual aid groups must develop over time before they can become primary cooperatives.

After staying in Hubei for nearly 10 days, the Chairman continued his journey south.

Because the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge was under construction, the Chairman's special train was disassembled and transported to the other side by ship. It then entered Hunan. Yang Shangkun suggested that the Chairman visit his hometown, but he declined.

The Chair's time is limited.

The National People's Congress will convene in September, and the Chairman will return to Beijing at the end of August. It has been more than 9 days since leaving Beijing. If I stop in Hunan and visit my hometown, it will take a long time.

Time will be even tighter then.

Therefore, the Chairman mainly met with local cadres to understand the current situation in Hunan.

Overall, both Deng Zhihui and Li Xiannian were highly capable cadres. Although Deng Zhihui favored developing a small-scale peasant economy in rural areas before moving on to a cooperative economy, he still diligently promoted mutual aid groups after the central government made the decision.

There are also many surveys.

Don't push blindly.

Therefore, the rural situation in Hubei and Hunan was still very good. Mutual aid groups flourished, with over 90% of farmers in Hubei and Hunan participating. Deng Zhihui was not in a hurry to have mutual aid groups become cooperatives. Instead, he established a cooperative training course in Changsha for the then Central South Bureau.

Many cooperative cadres were brought in from Shanxi to serve as teachers, laying a good foundation for the next stage of cooperative development. After visiting the mutual aid groups in Hubei and Hunan, Wei Hongjun became even more satisfied with Deng Zhihui.

It will only take two to three years for the current mutual aid groups in Hubei and Henan to develop into primary cooperatives.

Deng Zhihui is also meticulous and pays close attention to the development of mutual aid groups. As a result, many mutual aid groups have accumulated considerable assets over the years. The chairman highly praised the mutual aid group model of grain storage.

He said the central government needs to store grain, but building large grain warehouses requires a large investment and storage costs are high. In comparison, storing grain in rural areas is cheaper, more flexible, and can store larger quantities.

This is a very good way to ensure food security across the country.

The Chairman also told Wei Hongjun that once the Soviet aid projects were completed and the national finances were less strained, the central government should actively encourage rural cooperatives to build their own grain warehouses and store grain. This would complement the national grain reserves and ensure food security.

After his inspection of the rural areas of Hubei and Hunan, the Chairman finally felt much more at ease.

It's not as chaotic as Henan.

Even if there are some problems, it is normal.

Leaving Hunan, the special train entered Guangdong. The journey had already taken a month. The Chairman was quite spontaneous, stopping and starting as he pleased. Sometimes, when an idea struck him, the train would stop at a train station, and he would disembark to talk with the cadres below.

For the Chairman's safety, Du Liqing did not dare to be careless at all throughout the whole process.

It’s really because the chairman doesn’t play by the rules.

After entering Guangdong, the Chairman did not stop but drove directly into Guangzhou.

909 What's New in Guangdong

The Chairman arrived in Guangzhou.

Guangdong Provincial Party Secretary Luo Qirong and Guangdong Governor Tao Zhu, along with key officials from the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government, and military commanders, came to greet the Chairman. Many of the officials in Guangdong were very familiar with the Chairman.

Luo Qirong, needless to say, was a cadre who had served as a guard for the Chairman. The Chairman even said, "With Luo Changzi by my side, even if the sky falls, he will hold it up," which shows how much the Chairman trusted Luo Qirong.

Historically, Luo Qirong served as the Minister of Public Security. Whenever Chairman Mao went on a visit or had something to do, Luo Qirong would accompany him. Chairman Mao entrusted his own safety to Luo Qirong.

Guangdong has become crucial, becoming a frontier economic hub. Many developments unforeseen at the Seventh National Congress are unfolding in Guangdong. These changes are likely to influence subsequent central government policies, but they may also create problems. Therefore, the Chairman retained Luo Qirong in Guangdong, confident in his ability to manage policy effectively.

There is also Huang Yong, a cadre who followed the Chairman to participate in the Autumn Harvest Uprising.

There are very few cadres from the Autumn Harvest Uprising still alive.

So the Chairman was very happy to see them all.

However, the Chairman didn't fully display his detachment in the workplace. He first discussed the current Hainan rubber production campaign with officials from the Hainan Military Region. Although Cheng Zhicai was the Commander of the Hainan Military Region, he was currently the First Deputy Commander of the Guangzhou Military Region, and his primary duties were in that region.

In fact, there are quite a few conflicts in the Guangzhou Military Region now.

Huang Yong was not entirely satisfied with his position as the Third Deputy Commander of the Guangzhou Military Region. After returning from school, he had been acting volatilely within the region. Huang Yong was a veteran, having participated in the Autumn Harvest Uprising and the establishment of the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Base. Not to mention the Agrarian Revolution, even during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Huang Yong served as Commander of the Third Jin-Cha-Ji Military Sub-district. The current Guangzhou Military Region Commander, Chen Kaikun, was merely a subordinate of Yang Quanwu.

During the Jin-Cha-Ji period, Huang Yong had dismissed even Yang Quanwu, let alone Chen Kaikun, who was merely a subordinate under Yang Quanwu. But now, not only Yang Quanwu, but even Chen Kaikun was ahead of him. How could Huang Yong, such a proud man, possibly accept this?

Therefore, in the Guangzhou Military Region, Chen Kaikun was not regarded as the commander at all.

I go my own way.

In the Guangzhou Military Region, even Luo Qirong and Tao Zhu could not control Huang Yong's temper.

But Chen Kaikun also has a bad temper.

In the First Division of the Jin-Cha-Ji Army, Chen Kaikun was also known for his frequent exchanges of insults with Yang Quanwu. Yang Quanwu was practically a figurehead in the First Division, yet he had no way to stop Chen Kaikun. This was because Chen Kaikun was just as experienced as Yang Quanwu and a skilled fighter. He was a renowned general in the First Division, on par with Huang Fa, and Yang Quanwu's right-hand man in the military. So, despite their frequent exchanges of insults, Chen Kaikun held a high position within the Division, and Yang Quanwu placed great value on him.

Both of them had hot tempers. Therefore, when Chen Kaikun and Huang Yong worked together, there were major conflicts between them. Lai Chuanzhu was already having a headache managing the relationship between the two, so Cheng Zhicai also had to stay in the military region.

We need to balance the relationship between the two sides.

Huang Yong was originally slated to become the commander of the Guangdong Provincial Military District. However, due to his deep conflict with Chen Kaikun and his lack of organization and discipline, he had only been back in Guangzhou for about two months, yet within that short period, he was plagued by various scandals. He had a bad reputation within the Guangzhou Military District, so Luo Qirong kept suppressing him. Luo Qirong was a man who couldn't tolerate any injustice and was very dissatisfied with Huang Yong's private life. Even the slightest scandal wouldn't have angered him. It was simply because Huang Yong's private life had such a negative impact on him that even Luo Qirong couldn't tolerate it.

Although Luo Qirong did not normally participate in military district work, as the first political commissar, he held considerable influence. Therefore, after consulting with Tao Zhu, Lai Chuanzhu, and Chen Kaikun, Luo Qirong recommended Han Xianchu, the fourth deputy commander of the Guangzhou Military Region, as commander of the Guangdong Provincial Military Region. Prior to Han Xianchu's appointment, the Guangzhou Military Region headquarters was directly responsible for the Guangdong Provincial Military Region.

Of course, they were still friendly in front of the Chairman.

The person who reported to the Chairman on Hainan's current rubber campaign was Zhang Yinghui, Second Deputy Commander of the Hainan Military Region and Commander of the Hainan Reclamation Corps. After Wei Hongjun adjusted the overall strategy for the rubber campaign, the development of Hainan's rubber industry entered a new era.

The development speed is very fast.

Zhang Yinghui explained that Hainan's favorable weather and soil are ideal for rubber cultivation. Consequently, the rubber plantations currently under development are showing promising results. The Chairman, listening to Zhang Yinghui's report, felt a surge of gratitude.

If Wei Hongjun hadn't adjusted the rubber campaign last year, who knows how much money would have been wasted. Just as Wei Hongjun had guessed, after the Korean War ended, world rubber prices had begun to plummet.

The Soviet Union had proposed a new "Rubber Agreement" with China, abolishing the previous "Rubber Supplementary Agreement." Without Soviet pressure on China regarding rubber, Chairman Mao instructed the South China Reclamation Administration to develop the rubber industry in a systematic and planned manner.

Wei Hongjun added something to remind Zhang Yinghui.

We shouldn't just focus on the rubber boom; we also need to allocate energy to cultivating arable land for food production. Hainan has suddenly seen such a surge in population, and food security is crucial. Historically, Hainan's rubber development focused solely on rubber planting, resulting in a shortage of food supplies, which affected rubber cultivation.

Then Guangzhou Military Region Commander Chen Kaikun and Third Political Commissar Lai Chuanzhu reported on the work of the military region.

Finally, Luo Qirong and Tao Zhu reported on the work of Guangdong Province.

This was what the Chairman wanted to know most. He inquired carefully about the current cooperation with Hong Kong businessmen, including those with British businessmen. He wanted to know whether such cooperation would lead to any adverse consequences, and whether it would affect the socialist transformation outlined in the First Five-Year Plan.

Luo Qirong and Tao Zhu gave the Chairman a detailed introduction to the current cooperation situation.

Mainly processing of supplied materials.

Of course, some businessmen also wanted to invest and build factories directly in Guangzhou. However, due to the current lack of clarity in central government policy, Guangdong was hesitant to make a decision. During the Chairman's visit, Luo Qirong, Tao Zhu, and others also wanted to discuss this matter with him.

Directly accepting investment from Hong Kong businessmen or other overseas Chinese businessmen is the best way to introduce capital for development.

In addition to direct investment in factory construction, some Hong Kong shipping companies are interested in directly taking over shipping services between Guangzhou and Hong Kong. To facilitate this route, several Hong Kong shipping companies are willing to cooperate and establish a new shipping company. Furthermore, they are willing to give up a portion of their shares in the new shipping company to cooperate with Guangzhou.

In fact, these Hong Kong shipping companies want to give up some shares to monopolize the Guangzhou-Hong Kong route because they all see the potential of this route.

These are all new problems.

How to cooperate still needs to be decided by the central government. However, the chairman did not comment on these matters.

After all, the Chairman wasn't yet clear on the specifics of Guangdong's situation. He needed to investigate Guangdong's current development, particularly its processing-with-commissioned-materials business. After more than three hours of discussion, the meeting concluded.

After dinner, the Chairman began to have individual conversations with some cadres, some discussing work, others reminiscing about the past.

In particular, the conversation with Luo Qirong lasted the longest.

Of course, this was also meant to appease and explain things to Luo Qirong. After all, Luo Qirong had previously served as Deputy Political Commissar of the North China Military Region, Acting Political Commissar of the Fifth Field Army, and First Secretary of the South China Branch. With Luo Qirong's rank, he would have likely moved to Beijing to take up a position in the Central Committee. However, after the Eighth National Congress, Luo Qirong remained in Guangdong. The Chairman was concerned that Luo Qirong might harbor some concerns.

The Chairman admires Luo Qirong.

Therefore, it is hoped that Luo Qirong will develop comprehensively. Compared to those who remain in the military, the country currently lacks cadres capable of comprehensively overseeing local affairs. Luo Qirong has essentially left the military system. Although he remains the First Political Commissar of the Guangzhou Military Region, he does not normally participate in military affairs. The Chairman even hopes that Luo Qirong will follow the path currently followed by Li Xiannian and Deng Zhihui.

After Luo Qirong finished talking with the Chairman, he felt much brighter.

In fact, Luo Qirong did have some ideas.

But after talking with the Chairman, Luo Qirong had no objection to staying in Guangdong.

After a night's rest in Guangzhou, the next day the Chairman began to visit the contract manufacturing factories. The first place he visited was the Guangzhou No. 1 Garment Factory, established with British assistance. This factory was even larger than the Chairman had imagined, consisting of a long row of buildings. In front of the factory, numerous workers were busy unloading and loading goods, including seven or eight large trucks.

Trucks also come and go.

“What are these trucks?”

"Chairman, these are the trucks from the Guangzhou First Transport Company we founded. Due to the recent increase in cargo traffic, we purchased over 400 trucks, plus some military trucks, for a total of over 600 trucks to establish the First Transport Company. Most of them are US military trucks."

After the US military lost so many jeeps, motorcycles, and trucks, many units were already in disarray.

Everyone wants these good things.

The central government's message was simple. While some units were required to be allocated cars, other units that wanted them could purchase them on their own. Furthermore, the central government did not support some units purchasing one or two cars.

The central government hopes that certain transportation units can purchase large quantities of vehicles at one time.

The same is true in Guangzhou.