Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

However, the Chairman was busy, so he could only focus on the hardest-hit areas. He still had to listen to reports from provincial officials on the disaster situation elsewhere. Therefore, he met with many provincial officials in Luoyang, Xinyang, and other places.

I just discovered that many provinces have begun to develop large cooperatives and cooperative associations. Previously, rural cooperatives were mainly based in natural villages. Some of the larger rural cooperatives only had 200 to 300 households, and smaller production cooperatives had only dozens of households.

But in this report, I heard about many large cooperatives, with 400 to 500 households, 700 to 800 households, and even thousands of households, with as many as 7,000 to 8,000 people. I also personally observed the development of these large cooperatives in Henan.

"Has the Secretariat noticed this phenomenon in rural areas? Has it communicated with the Ministry of Rural Affairs?"

The chairman is very interested in this new model of large social association.

Just like the production cooperatives of the past, the Chairman has always believed that rural development should take the path of cooperative economy. Now that large cooperatives are emerging, the Chairman is also considering their advantages and disadvantages.

Wei Hongjun nodded immediately and said, "The Secretariat and the Rural Work Department have already noticed these changes in the countryside."

"It's mainly because with the development of the rural economy, both agricultural production and rural industrial and commercial development require more people to divide labor and cooperate, which increases the demand for cooperation among rural production cooperatives."

The Ministry of Rural Affairs is promoting large cooperatives and cooperative associations, but it is not doing so in a large-scale, nationwide manner. Instead, it is approving the establishment of large cooperatives and cooperative associations based on actual needs.

Deng Zhihui was very cautious in the changes in rural production relations and never blindly promoted rural policies.

For any central policy, he would choose a few provinces to test it out before promoting it.

Therefore, the development of large cooperative associations is currently limited to experiments within the Rural Affairs Department and has not been widely promoted nationwide. Currently, there are fewer than 1000 large cooperatives and associations established nationwide. These are primarily concentrated in provinces such as Heilongjiang, Shanxi, Henan, and Guangdong. There are also a small number of large cooperative associations in Hebei, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang.

"Based on the current demand for cooperation among rural cooperatives, a small number of large cooperative associations have been approved for trial. Therefore, the large cooperative and association model is still in its early stages."

"I see that the big communities here in Henan are developing very well. Why haven't they been promoted on a large scale?"

Chairman Mao visited the large production cooperative in Xinyang, which is a union of four rural production cooperatives. Its development is indeed very good.

The community has dedicated nurseries and kindergartens for infants and toddlers, and primary and secondary schools for children. Students attend school six days a week, with one day off, and live and eat at school.

All able-bodied men and women participated in labor, and good results were seen in all sectors of industry, agriculture, and commerce.

Water conservancy projects have evolved from individual cooperatives managing their own irrigation to a more integrated, coordinated approach. This coordinated development of water conservancy projects has significantly boosted irrigation for the entire community.

"Chairman, Comrade Deng Zhihui and I have discussed this issue. The reason why we haven't fully promoted the large-scale cooperative association is mainly due to three considerations."

"First, not all rural areas currently have the need for large cooperatives. There are two main types of cooperatives that do have this need for cooperation. One type is those with shared development needs, particularly water conservancy projects, which require coordinated planning. If they don't cooperate and each works independently, chaos can easily arise. Water conservancy projects hinder each other, leading to increased conflicts between cooperatives. By establishing large cooperatives, they can work together to coordinate the development of needed water conservancy projects, which plays a significant role in increasing grain production."

"Another reason is the rapid development of industry and commerce in rural areas, coupled with an increasing population, which requires a clearer division of labor between agriculture, industry and commerce. This situation is most evident in Heilongjiang, Guangdong, and Zhejiang. The development of industry and commerce requires the participation of more cooperatives."

"These two situations create a huge demand for large cooperative associations. However, other than these two situations, many production cooperatives currently do not have such a high demand for large cooperative associations. In some provinces with poor transportation, the distances between cooperatives are very long, and there is no foundation for a large cooperative association at all."

"Once we promote the establishment of large cooperative associations on a large scale, local governments will compel the establishment of various large cooperatives and associations. At that time, these production cooperatives that currently have no need for large cooperative associations will be disrupted in their production and construction."

"It's like the development of primary and secondary schools. Some production cooperatives are very close to each other, only a few miles apart, or at most a dozen miles apart. Establishing a large cooperative union among these cooperatives and setting up central primary and secondary schools in the heart of these cooperatives can effectively avoid wasting resources. By pooling the resources of several cooperatives, we can develop better rural education."

"But if you insist on developing a large cooperative education model of central primary schools and central middle schools between cooperatives with very poor transportation and long distances, it will actually affect the development of rural education."

"This isn't just an education issue; healthcare is a similar issue. Forcing cooperatives that don't have the conditions to collaborate together won't optimize each other's resources, but will actually create management difficulties."

Cooperation is about optimizing resources and achieving better division of labor. Forcing cooperatives together without a foundation for cooperation is not a good thing.

Wei Hongjun looked at the Chairman's expression as he spoke. He found that the Chairman was listening very attentively and had no intention of interrupting him.

Wei Hongjun continued, "Secondly, large cooperative unions now have several production cooperatives under their jurisdiction. Some even have over ten or so, with members numbering seven to eight thousand, or even tens of thousands. The management difficulty of a production cooperative with only a few hundred people has increased exponentially as it has grown to encompass thousands or even tens of thousands of people. Just identifying the cadres for a large cooperative union, their division of labor, managing accounts between the large cooperative union and its subordinate production cooperatives, and coordinating the agricultural, industrial, and commercial aspects of the original production cooperatives are all completely different from the cooperative era."

"If the cadre management of the large cooperative unions fails to keep up, the same thing as Henan's forced development of advanced cooperatives will happen again. At that time, the newly established large cooperative unions will easily fall apart. If this happens, everyone will lose confidence in such large cooperative unions, which will directly affect their future development."

"So Comrade Deng Zhihui's idea is to first develop a number of large cooperative associations to accumulate management experience and allow the Rural Work Department to have a better understanding of the situation of large cooperative associations. I also think that just like the training of cooperative cadres in the past, the provincial primary party schools should gradually train a group of cadres needed for large cooperative associations. Once the foundation is established, large cooperative associations can continue to be developed in suitable areas."

Speaking of this, the chairman nodded.

During his inspection tour southward, Chairman Mao witnessed firsthand the chaotic conditions in Henan's rural areas. Wu Zhipu's reckless promotion of advanced cooperatives in Henan led to a massive withdrawal from them. Ultimately, it was Deng Zhihui who took charge of Henan and rectified the problems there.

The biggest problem that arose after the introduction of cooperatives was a lack of suitable cadres. They couldn't even keep their accounts properly.

Large cooperatives and cooperative associations are larger than advanced cooperatives and are a step further. They are bound to have more problems. If they are pushed forward blindly, problems will easily arise.

"Third, although the Ninth National Congress clearly stated that my country is currently in the primary stage of socialism, there is still a strong 'communist spirit' among the grassroots of our Party. For example, when cooperatives were first developed, grassroots cadres believed that cooperatives were communist cooperatives, so they nationalized everything in the countryside."

"If we promote large cooperative associations on a large scale, grassroots cadres will easily get carried away and start the 'communist trend' again, nationalizing the original cooperative assets. Not to mention the personal assets of the members."

"In addition to nationalizing cooperative assets and member assets, a bigger problem with 'communist winds' is that large cooperative associations can easily lead to absolute egalitarianism among cooperatives, dampening their enthusiasm for production."

"Every time this happens, the biggest impact is on rural animal husbandry, especially the pig industry. Once farmers feel we're going to nationalize their personal assets, the first thing they sell is their pigs. This happened frequently when we were promoting cooperatives."

"But given the current situation, my country's pig industry cannot afford to experience significant fluctuations. Many major cities have abolished meat coupons, and pork is now freely available. Furthermore, in 1958, my country's pork and pork product exports exceeded 30 billion rubles, and are still growing rapidly. If the pork industry experiences significant fluctuations at this time, it will have significant impacts both domestically and internationally."

"So Comrade Deng Zhihui and I have the idea that we shouldn't blindly promote large cooperative associations, but we shouldn't suppress rural cooperatives that need to unite. We should support cooperatives that need to establish large cooperative associations. Once we gain more experience in developing large cooperative associations and train more cadres for them, we can move from being passive to being proactive and fully promote large cooperative associations."

After listening to Wei Hongjun's words, the Chairman slowly said, "Productivity determines production relations. The development of productivity in rural areas has given rise to large cooperative associations. However, there are still many areas where productivity development is lagging behind, and large cooperative associations cannot emerge."

The Chairman thought for a moment, then spoke again, "You want to allow rural productivity to develop and naturally complete the large cooperative association. This approach is somewhat passive, being pushed by the development of productivity rather than actively changing production relations to promote productivity development."

"However, it's good to observe and think more about new things. Finding the objective laws governing new things, applying them, and developing and strengthening them is consistent with the materialist view of history."

Hearing the Chairman's words, Wei Hongjun felt relieved. Although the Chairman said this approach was somewhat passive, he did not oppose it.

Following Khrushchev's "Secret Report" in 1956, pressure mounted both domestically and internationally. Ideology within the socialist camp was in disarray, and Khrushchev, with his call for a "rush into communism," exerted pressure from domestic democratic parties. The Chairman was eager to extricate himself from this unfavorable situation.

But a few months later, the Chairman discovered major problems in all aspects of industry and agriculture. One issue was that industrial targets were set too high, and another was that agricultural exaggeration had spread from the local level to the central level, with even the central newspapers supporting it.

The Chairman wanted to change this situation. Unfortunately, after the full mobilization, officials from the central government to the local governments all had their own ideas, opinions, and interests, making it impossible to put the brakes on the system just as they wanted.

For example, regarding steel production targets, the Chairman, following the advice of Chen Yun and Li Fuchun, attempted to lower them, but this proved impossible. Opposition arose from both the central and local governments, until Chen Yun intervened and finally brought the target down to 1600 million tons. It took several subsequent meetings to lower the target again to 1300 million tons.

Because these actions implicate the interests of numerous ministries and officials. For example, Wu Zhipu in Henan and Zeng Xisheng in Anhui had just ousted numerous officials for "rightist" reasons. If you ask them to put the brakes on their actions now, how will they explain this to their provincial counterparts? Will they simply stand up and claim they were wrong? And that those officials they ousted were right? How will they maintain their credibility in the future?

As a result, the Chairman couldn't resolve the issue despite numerous Central Committee meetings. He could only hold repeated meetings with provincial Party secretaries, slowly persuading these frontline leaders. The overheated situation had already begun to improve, but the Lushan Conference directly reversed the original direction of "correcting the left."

However, compared to history, China is now less under pressure, both domestically and internationally. Instead, China is on a more stable path, and the President is therefore much more relaxed.

"There's one more thing. During this extensive conversation with many provincial and municipal officials, I discovered a serious problem. There are too many local officials on sick leave."

"Chairman, the situation of many local cadres is the same as that of some central cadres. Many of them were not in good health during the war years. Their health has also been intermittent since liberation."

This situation is very common.

As far as the central government is concerned, not to mention Marshal Lin, who is a patient and needs long-term recuperation, the health of Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Marshal Luo, is also very poor. Deputy Chief of Staff of a certain department of the General Staff, Chen Geng, and Li Kenong, both find it difficult to handle their work now.

In addition to them, some other central leaders also have their own situations.

The war years took a heavy toll on the health of many cadres. Many commanders who led troops in battle for long periods of time, especially those fighting large corps, suffered from poor health.

There are very few cadres like the Prime Minister who have been dealing with a large amount of work every day since he was young and can still maintain such good energy now.

"But they are all veteran party members, veteran revolutionaries, and veteran cadres. We can't stop them from working just because they're in poor health, so this situation exists."

Wei Hongjun gave a brief introduction to the Chairman.

The Chairman did not have much to do with these specific matters, but Wei Hongjun was in charge of the Secretariat's work, so he was quite familiar with them.

The Chairman said seriously, "This is not good for revolutionary work or for individuals."

The Chairman never thought it would be so serious.

After all, the number of cadres recuperating at the central level was still relatively small. However, this time the Chairman summoned a large number of cadres from all over the country to talk and learn about the national disaster situation.

Unexpectedly, many important provincial and municipal officials were absent, including some who held top positions. Upon questioning, they all claimed to be recuperating, and not just for a few days, but for a long time. If it were just a few people, the Chairman wouldn't have paid such attention. But there were so many, and they all held important positions. This couldn't help but draw the Chairman's attention.

"Chairman, the current situation is that many cadres have positions but are taking time off due to health reasons. There are also many cadres who are in very poor health but continue to work despite being ill."

"Comrade He Bingyan, commander of the Chengdu Military Region, is in very poor health. Chengdu, in particular, is not a suitable place for Comrade He Bingyan to recuperate, but he has persisted despite his illness."

The chairman thought for a moment and said, "How do you think this situation should be handled best?"

"Some veteran Party members and cadres are truly unfit for work. They're neither fit to continue working nor fit to occupy positions without doing anything. I believe the Central Committee should introduce regulations for these cadres who participated in the revolution during the revolutionary era to take leave and rest. This would be good for both revolutionary work and personal health."

It is not a good thing for an old cadre to be in poor health and still occupy his position.

The most typical example is Chen Geng.

His health was very poor. When he was in Yunnan, he went to the Jiangxinpo Yeren Mountain area several times, which aggravated his condition.

After being transferred to the central government, although he was supposed to be recuperating, he still had to come out to work when the General Staff Department had something to do. For example, when the Military Commission sent people to investigate the "doctrine problem" at the Nanjing Military Academy, Chen Geng was also a member of the delegation.

Going back and forth like this made it impossible for him to fully rest and recuperate, so his health got worse and worse.

As a result, Chen Geng wasn't doing his job well at the General Staff Department, and his own health wasn't improving. It could be said that everything was failing him.

Given Chen Geng's health, he should have quit his job and rested long ago. He might even have lived a few more years.

He Bingyan's situation was similar. Every time he visited Beijing, doctors there treated him, and his health indicators were excellent. But once he returned to Sichuan, his health immediately deteriorated. This was a typical case of not adapting to the Sichuan climate.

Many people urged him to submit a petition to the Military Commission and leave Sichuan for a position in Beijing. However, He Bingyan refused, and of course he had his reasons. He Bingyan's Red Second Army had a considerable number of men during the Long March, but due to the intense anti-counterrevolutionary campaign, it lacked senior cadres. Therefore, He Bingyan, stationed in the Chengdu Military Region, was essentially a watchdog for the Red Second Army.

Of course, there are also some veteran cadres who are in poor health and unable to handle their work, but are unwilling to give up their positions. This situation is not uncommon.

However, they do not work but occupy positions, which not only affects normal work but also affects the promotion of lower-level cadres.

The chairman nodded slightly.

After a moment's thought, he said, "Leaving work and recuperating is a good idea. When you return, discuss with Comrade Chen Tanqiu and Comrade Tan Zhenlin the specific steps to take to prevent the spread of the impact. When I return, I'll convene a Politburo meeting, exchange opinions with the comrades, and then make a formal decision."

1074

"Secretary Wei."

"Secretary Wei."

When Wei Hongjun left the Chairman's house, he found that cadres from the Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power, Henan Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government, and Anhui Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government were all standing in the yard waiting for him.

The chairman's expression was so frightening that no one dared to speak in the room. After coming out, everyone was fidgeting.

Needless to say, the Anhui officials had caused such a disaster, and who knew how many more officials would be implicated. The Anhui officials certainly hoped to minimize the impact, but no one dared to say anything to the Chairman, let alone plead for mercy on the Anhui officials.

Tan Zhenlin, Zhang Dingcheng, Luo Qirong, Huang Kecheng and others have left and are preparing to form an investigation team to look into this incident.

But none of the other cadres dared to leave. When they saw Wei Hongjun coming out, they immediately surrounded him.

Wei Hongjun nodded and said, "Let's find a place to sit."

Lin Xiao, the newly appointed secretary of the Xinyang Prefectural Party Committee, immediately arranged a simple meeting room.

After the Xinyang incident, Wei Hongjun rejected the Henan Provincial Party Committee's proposal to handle the matter. After Pei Hongchang arrived in Henan as Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Head of the Organization Department, he re-handled the Xinyang issue.

The Xinyang cadres were dealt with primarily within the Party, and then Lu Xianwen, secretary of the Xinyang Prefectural Party Committee, was transferred. Lin Xiao, deputy secretary of the Prefectural Party Committee and commissioner of the Public Office, was transferred from Anyang to become secretary of the Xinyang Prefectural Party Committee.

Wei Hongjun had always had a good impression of Lin Xiao. He had done an excellent job in Anyang, contributing to the rapid development of the city's industry and agriculture. He wasn't included in the first class of young and middle-aged students at the Central Party School, primarily because of his high rank. At 38, he was already Party Secretary of the Xinyang Prefectural Party Committee. In a few years, he should be able to directly enroll in the Central Party School's advanced program.

Wei Hongjun was very familiar with the cadres involved. Henan had always been a province of particular concern to him, as he aimed to transform it into China's major granary. Henan was also China's transportation hub, and several cities, led by Luoyang, were key industrial hubs in China's development.

In Anhui Province, the 73rd Army and the North China Cadre Corps formed the original Southern Anhui Military Region and Southern Anhui Office, and many cadres were Wei Hongjun's old comrades and subordinates.

So after Wei Hongjun sat down, he didn't hesitate and asked directly: "Comrade Song Yuhe, what is the specific situation?"

Song Yuhe said regretfully, "Secretary Wei, this time it is indeed the responsibility of our Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government. Comrades Huang Yan, Lu Weisheng, and Zhang Kaifan presided over the Provincial Rural Work Conference last year. At the conference, they proposed developing water conservancy projects throughout the province and increasing Anhui's irrigated farmland by 4000 million mu within five years. However, this was a joint decision made by the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government."