Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

In the early days, many of the people Zhang Xiushan faced were illiterate or semi-literate, but he was still able to mobilize them, allowing them to gradually understand the revolution, sympathize with the revolution, and finally join the revolution.

Therefore, facing the still imperfect organization of the Lao People's Party, Zhang Xiushan's work was very handy. He quickly helped the Lao People's Party formulate a series of strict organizational regulations, helping the Lao People's Party to become a qualified Marxist-Leninist party.

Then Zhang Xiushan gave classes to members of the Lao People's Party, telling them how to become a qualified Communist Party member.

At the same time, tell them how to manage the base and how to deal with the people.

These are Zhang Xiushan's strongest areas. Under his guidance, the Lao People's Party underwent a dramatic transformation in just over six months. If the Lao People's Party was previously a makeshift organization, like the early days of the Chinese Communist Party, then after just over six months, the Lao People's Party has nearly perfected its Party-building efforts.

Zhang Yunyu and his military advisory group were mainly responsible for helping the Pathet Lao transform from a guerrilla group into a more resolute and combat-capable main force.

Furthermore, the Chinese advisory group was different from the Soviet advisory group. Because the Soviet military itself had a strict hierarchy, officers and soldiers were completely different classes. Therefore, the troops created by the Soviet military advisory group were all like the Soviet army, with clear hierarchies between officers and soldiers.

However, the most obvious feature of the troops trained by the Chinese Military Advisory Group is the emphasis on equality between officers and soldiers and serving the people.

Regardless of whether it's just a superficial effort, the Chinese Military Advisory Group emphasized this point the most. The most significant feature of Chairman Mao's idea of ​​people's war is the relationship between the army and the people.

Although Zhang Xiushan is the head of the political advisory group, he is the overall person in charge of the Chinese side in Laos. The military advisory group must also obey Zhang Xiushan's command.

Therefore, the transformation of the Lao People's Party and the Lao People's Army were carried out simultaneously. Both emphasized that the Lao People's Army was the army of the Lao people and promoted people's war.

The results were very noticeable. The Lao People's Party members' ability to establish bases was greatly enhanced. Wherever the Lao People's Army went, it quickly gained the support of the Lao people due to its strict discipline and effective relationship with the masses.

Wei Hongjun listened carefully to Zhang Xiushan's report and sighed in his heart.

These cadres, having grown up through more than two decades of war, were truly well-rounded and exceptional. Zhang Xiushan's appointment to guide the Laotian revolution was a natural fit. To be blunt, Zhang Xiushan's appointment was a complete waste of talent.

In contrast, the Soviet Union had not experienced the same comprehensive training as the CCP's cadres. Consequently, many of the cadres the Soviet Union sent to various regions to guide the revolution under the guise of the Communist International were quite incompetent. They blindly applied Soviet success stories without understanding the concept of adapting to local conditions.

Zhang Xiushan is truly a well-rounded cadre. If he had not been implicated in the Gao Gang issue, he would currently be a leader in charge of important work in the central government.

After Zhang Xiushan finished his report, Wei Hongjun said:

"Comrade Zhang Xiushan, your work in Laos has been very effective. However, the Central Committee is now considering not only the problems of Laos, but also the problems of the Communist Party of Burma. Currently, the problems of the Communist Party of Burma are even more serious than those of the Lao People's Party."

"Although the Lao People's Party was weak, it was a unified party. Powerful figures like Prince Souphanouvong were willing to support the Lao People's Party, and the Pathet Lao were willing to transform into a Marxist-Leninist armed force. After several failures, the Lao People's Party became increasingly mature.

"But the Communist Party of Burma is different. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Burma has experienced several splits, with internal differences between learning from the Soviet revolution and the Chinese revolution. At the same time, several 'left-leaning adventurous' military actions by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Burma have ruined the Communist Party's good fortune and lost a large number of bases. Now the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Burma has come to my country for assistance, and one of his requests is that we send an advisory group to help reform their party and army."

"I want to give this task to you. You must spread Li Desheng's thought to the Lao People's Party and the Communist Party of Burma. You must let them learn about the Chinese revolution and let them know the harm of 'rightist capitulationism' and 'leftist adventurism.'"

Zhang Xiushan has made outstanding achievements in his work in Laos, and Wei Hongjun is ready to give him more responsibilities.

Let him be responsible not only for the Laotian revolution, but also for the Burmese revolution.

The Communist Party of Burma was actually stronger than the Lao People's Party. It had simply experienced several splits. In particular, the Communist Party of Burma's Central Committee was divided over whether to learn from the Soviet or Chinese revolutionary experience.

In the end, the two factions split completely. The faction that learned from the Soviet revolution became the "Red Flag" faction, and the faction that learned from the Chinese revolution became the "White Flag" faction.

The "Red Flag" faction suffered repeated defeats and has now essentially withdrawn from the Burmese revolution. The "White Flag" faction, emulating the Chinese revolution, established rural bases and has considerable power in the south.

It’s just that the “White Flag” faction had previously judged that the situation was very good, so they launched a large-scale attack, but ended up suffering a disastrous defeat and lost a large number of their original bases.

Thakin Than Tun, Chairman of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB), who is visiting China this time, is the leader of the "White Flag" faction of the CPB. In fact, Thakin Than Tun is not only the leader of the CPB, he was also the leader of the early Burmese independence movement.

Now Thakin Than Tung is asking China for help in the hope of learning more from China and reorganizing the Communist Party of Burma and the guerrillas.

Another reason is that some of the Communist Party of Burma's armed forces are in the northern region, which happens to border China. However, these armed forces are independently developed and do not obey the Communist Party of Burma Central Committee.

Therefore, Deqin Dandong came to China this time, one to get China's help, and the other to unify these northern guerrillas and establish a base for the Communist Party of Burma in the northern region.

"Secretary Wei, Myanmar is larger than Laos and has a larger population. Currently, Myanmar has a population of over 2000 million. If we want to advance the Burmese revolution, we need more cadres."

"I know. You can recommend some party cadres and base construction cadres to help the Communist Party of Burma improve its organizational construction and help the Communist Party of Burma build a base area."

Zhang Xiushan hesitated.

Zhang Xiushan knew that he himself was a criminal and if he brought some familiar cadres to participate in the Burmese revolution, they might be implicated by him.

Moreover, I am solely responsible for the revolutions in Laos and Myanmar. Once the revolutions in Laos and Myanmar are really successful, my current identity will be very embarrassing.

Wei Hongjun knew what Zhang Xiushan was thinking when he saw his expression. So he said, "How about I assign you a deputy? Comrade Lai Dahe, do you know him?"

"do not know.

"He was the deputy commander of the Suiyuan Production and Construction Corps of the Ministry of Agriculture and Reclamation. In his early years, he was responsible for land reform work in Inner Mongolia and Suiyuan, and achieved very good results. Myanmar has many ethnic groups, and there will be a lot of resistance to base construction and land reform. Therefore, we need cadres who have previously led land reform work in ethnic minority areas."

Zhang Xiushan immediately understood what Wei Hongjun meant. Wei Hongjun was sending one of his most important generals over.

Although Zhang Xiushan didn't understand the relationship between Lai Dahe and Wei Hongjun, the land reform work in Inner Mongolia and Suiyuan was handled by the North China Bureau at the time. Wei Hongjun was in charge of North China at the time. Since he was in charge of land reform in Inner Mongolia and Suiyuan, he must have been a cadre trusted by Wei Hongjun.

Zhang Xiushan understood that Wei Hongjun sent his generals to tell him that he could work with confidence.

“We will definitely cooperate.

"Also, contact the local governments of Yunnan and Guizhou. They have extensive experience dealing with local chieftains and land reform. See if you can ask them for support and send some former land reform cadres. Once you have a specific list, report it to the Secretariat."

"In addition to the Lao People's Party and the Communist Party of Burma's party work,

In addition to building the army and base areas, you must also help the Lao People's Party and the Communist Party of Burma train a group of economic cadres.

After all, the goal of the revolution is to build a prosperous and strong socialist country. Do you have any ideas about their future economic development?"

1103 The Future of Indochina

"During this period, I have also carefully studied the economic situation in Laos, collected a lot of information about Laos, and considered the future economic development of Laos.

Zhang Xiushan went to Laos to guide the revolution with great sincerity. One reason was that this was a major event for the international communist movement, and the other was that Zhang Xiushan was still young and did not want to end his political career just like that.

Zhang Xiushan knew that participating in the Indochina revolution was a crucial opportunity for him. Therefore, he truly exerted all his abilities. He had already considered Wei Hongjun's question while in Laos, so he quickly answered it.

"Looking at the current situation in Laos, like old China, it is a backward agricultural country. Moreover, compared with our country, Laos' agricultural foundation is even worse, transportation is very inconvenient, and the entire Laotian industry is blank."

"Given Laos' current transportation conditions, population size, and poverty levels, it will be extremely difficult for the country to develop industry in the short term after the success of the Laotian Revolution. In other words, it will be difficult for Laos to vigorously develop military and heavy industries like the Soviet Union and my country."

"However, Laos also has some advantages. Laos' climate and soil are very suitable for agricultural development. Laos can not only grow food, but also cash crops such as coffee, rubber, sugarcane, tea, and fruit."

"Based on our investigation, the mountains of Laos are very suitable for growing coffee, rubber, and sugarcane. Currently, the entire socialist bloc is still facing a general shortage of coffee. my country exports a considerable amount of coffee beans each year, but it still cannot fully meet the demand of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Coffee cultivation has been increasing in Yunnan."

"Laos' climate and soil are more suitable for growing coffee than Yunnan. This is Laos' unique advantage in agriculture.

"In addition to excellent soil, Laos also has a vast amount of virgin forest. Seventy to eighty percent of the country is covered in forest, resulting in an astonishing timber reserve, including a vast array of precious woods. And precisely because of the abundance of virgin forests, Laotian mountains are home to a vast array of medicinal herbs and spices.

"Laos has abundant water resources, but its current development is in a completely primitive state. Utilizing domestic water resources to develop water transportation and hydropower is crucial for Laos' future economic development."

Wei Hongjun listened carefully to Zhang Xiushan's introduction and asked:

“What is the mining situation in Laos?”

Wei Hongjun remembers that these Southeast Asian countries are relatively rich in resources.

"I'm not sure. Laos has been at war for years, and no one has specifically explored its mineral resources. However, judging by the situation in neighboring Vietnam and Myanmar, Laos should also have a lot of mineral resources. However, this requires scientific exploration."

"Then according to your ideas, how should Laos develop its economy in the future?

"Based on agriculture, we will focus on developing cash crops while ensuring grain production. We will also develop forestry and water resources. Industry will mainly focus on developing processing plants for agricultural and sideline products and forestry products.

Zhang Xiushan expressed his thoughts on the future economy of Laos.

Wei Hongjun nodded.

He said: "Comrade Zhang Xiushan, do you know how Eastern European countries developed their economies after World War II?

"Learn from the Soviet Union and give priority to the development of heavy industry."

Zhang Xiushan was once a member of the Central Committee and served as a key leader in a central government department. Therefore, he had read a lot of information about Eastern Europe.

It is not just the Eastern European countries. It can be said that all the countries in the socialist camp learned the Soviet economic model in the early days.

That is to implement a strict planned economy, concentrate national resources to give priority to the development of heavy industry. In China's case, this also includes vigorously developing the military industry.

China and the Soviet Union began to diverge on the issue of socialist economic development at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the 9th Congress of the Communist Party of China. Because the two sides had different understandings of the stages of socialist development, their economic policies also began to diverge.

"right.

Wei Hongjun stated directly: "The Soviet Union was the world's first truly successful socialist country, and it quickly became a global industrial power and a powerful nation. Therefore, the Soviet Union has very comprehensive and successful experience in socialist construction."

"But the Soviet Union is a large country with a population of nearly 200 million. Although the economy of the Tsarist Russia before the establishment of the Soviet Union was backward, it was also a backward industrial country with a certain foundation. The Soviet Union's experience in socialist economic development has its own unique internal and external factors, and it is impossible to completely replicate it in other countries. Not to mention those small countries with small areas and small populations.

"Eastern European countries faced a series of problems in 1956 and 1957. Comrade Khrushchev's 'Secret Report' brought about ideological confusion. But a deeper problem was the economic problems of Eastern European countries.

In the decade after the war, while the economies of Eastern Europe continued to expand, this was primarily driven by the expansion of heavy industry. Because of the imbalance in the development of heavy, light, and agricultural industries, the living standards of the people grew too slowly, causing widespread dissatisfaction. This was the biggest problem.

"Laos is even less qualified than Eastern European countries to emulate the Soviet Union. With its foundation, Laos simply doesn't qualify to prioritize heavy industry. But within the international communist movement, the Soviet Union has always been a model. New socialist countries always emulate the Soviet Union first. Everyone wants to emulate the Soviet Union and quickly become an industrial power."

"But since we are helping the Laotian revolution, we must not only help them achieve revolutionary success, but also help Laos become a wealthy socialist country, not a poor socialist country."

“If we want to do this, we must help the Lao People’s Party to accurately identify the stage Laos is currently in.

We need them to develop an economic development path suitable for Laos.

"I completely agree with what you said. Laos should focus on developing agriculture, forestry, and water resources based on its own conditions. However, they must analyze these issues on a case-by-case basis and have a clear understanding of their own situation."

Zhang Xiushan listened to Wei Hongjun's words and immediately said:

"According to the 'socialist stage theory', even if Laos succeeds in revolution and establishes a regime, it is only at the basic stage of the primary stage of socialism. It is not a simple, underdeveloped socialism, but rather a socialism that is extremely economically backward.

The "Socialist Stage Theory" adopted at the Ninth National Congress has been deeply rooted in the party.

Therefore, Zhang Xiushan immediately analyzed the current situation in Laos. Given Laos' economic foundation, even if the revolution succeeded, it would still be in the extremely poor and backward socialist stage.

"Yes. Even if Laos has entered socialism, it is still the most backward stage among the primary stages of socialism. Only the Lao People's Party can formulate the most accurate economic plan based on Laos' own situation. The Red Army's revolution in Indochina was not just to communistize Indochina.

The history of Indochina is very complicated and there are many ethnic groups.

If it was just about turning Indochina into a communist country, China and the Soviet Union could really do it together. After all, no matter how powerful the United States is, it is too far away from Indochina.

But simply turning Indochina into a communist country is not of much use.

Just like in Laos in history, after the success of the revolution, many of the Lao People's Party's economic policies were a mess. They had no idea where they were going and just blindly followed Vietnam and copied the Soviet Union's economic policies. Laos was already extremely poor, and its economic policies were very rigid, yet it still wanted to develop industry. As a result, Laos became one of the poorest countries in the world.

Later, the country eased relations with China, learned China's economic policies, and integrated into the huge Chinese market, and its economy began to develop rapidly.

Wei Hongjun didn't want this to happen. Since he wanted to communistize Indochina and take the socialist path, he had to develop the economy of Indochina.

With the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, the international communist movement entered a period of decline. The main reason for this decline was that the economies of socialist countries were being outperformed by imperialist powers like Europe, the United States, and Japan.

If we want to prevent the international communist movement from falling into a cold wave, the economies of the socialist countries in Indochina must catch up.

Therefore, Wei Hongjun wanted to compete with the Soviet Union for the theoretical dominance of socialist economic development in Indochina. This was not Wei Hongjun's attempt to compete with the Soviet Union for leadership of the international communist movement, but rather to promote Chinese-style socialist development in Indochina.

The Soviet Union's biggest focus now is on Vietnam, as the Vietnamese People's Army is the main force in the communistization of Indochina. Therefore, the Soviet Union's support is mainly aimed at the Vietnamese Workers' Party.

As for the Lao People's Party and the Communist Party of Burma, they are too weak.

The troops at hand were only a few thousand people, and they were all guerrillas. So the Soviet Union could only provide them with some weapons and ammunition, and would not teach them step by step like Vietnam did.

Wei Hongjun wanted to use this opportunity to reform the Lao People's Party and the Communist Party of Burma, so that they would accept Wei Hongjun's "socialist stage theory" and China's socialist economic development theory.