Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Yang Yonghui's family is a big landlord, and there are also many landlords among his clansmen, all of whom are rich people.

It was common for landlords in this era to have weapons in their hands.

"Who trains this unit? I think they train very well."

"Principal Yang hired a man to serve as deputy captain of the Caoyangzhuang guerrilla unit, responsible for training and combat operations. This man, Li Wanfu, was a former battalion commander of the 53rd Army of the Northeastern Army and a graduate of the Northeastern Military Academy. After the Xi'an Incident, the 53rd Army was reorganized, and the 119th and 129th Divisions were disbanded. Some Northeastern Army officers dissatisfied with Chiang Kai-shek left the army, and Li Wanfu was one of them. Principal Yang used his connections to find Li Wanfu."

"53rd Army."

Wei Hongjun nodded.

After the Xi'an Incident, the Northeast Army and the Shaanxi Army underwent many changes.

Their troops were sent to various battlefields, becoming cannon fodder and subject to retrenchment and suppression. Some officers, dissatisfied with this situation, pulled out of their units and took matters into their own hands. Furthermore, for these reasons, many troops from the Northeastern and Shaanxi armies later defected to the Eighth Route Army. General Lü Zhengcao and Lieutenant General Wan Yi, for example, were both high-ranking generals of the People's Republic of China who had come from the Northeastern Army.

Overall, the quality of officers in the Northeast Army is still very high.

Because most of them graduated from regular military academies. They continued to fight, starting with the Warlord Wars, participating in the Central Plains War, the Sino-Soviet War on the Chinese Eastern Railway, and then the Japanese. Throughout the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the six armies of the Northeast Army that entered the interior of China performed remarkably well. While the Northeast Army's reputation was largely due to the leadership, the performance of the middle and lower-level officers was still outstanding.

Northeast Army battalion-level officers like Li Wanfu are also a force that the Eighth Route Army can win over.

"Political Commissar, has Principal Yang agreed?"

"Not yet, but soon."

Wei Hongjun didn't say those words to Yang Yonghui casually.

Yang Yonghui was a scholar with a conscience. He might not have been willing to sacrifice his life for the revolution, but in his heart he retained the most simple sense of family and country that any scholar could have.

He hopes that the country will be strong and the nation will be prosperous.

He was a scholar who had studied at a modern university and could understand what Wei Hongjun said.

Wei Hongjun’s meaning is very simple.

This country and nation could not be saved by the Nationalist government headed by Chiang Kai-shek. This was true even if we analyzed it from the perspective of the Nationalist government's taxation and its interests.

If this country and nation want to become prosperous and strong, they must keep their eyes on Yan'an.

Besides, the current situation was that the Eighth Route Army was bound to expand behind enemy lines. If he wanted to contribute to the anti-Japanese war, the best way was to cooperate with the Eighth Route Army. So Wei Hongjun was very confident.

Wei Hongjun even hoped that he would not only cooperate with the Eighth Route Army, but also join it. The future base area construction would require a large number of intellectuals. Yang Yonghui held high prestige in Sheng County and had many students. If Yang Yonghui could be won over, the Eighth Route Army would be able to gain a large number of intellectuals.

This is a good thing.

So Wei Hongjun was not in a hurry, but watched the training of the Caoyangzhuang guerrillas with great interest. Because in Wei Hongjun's mind, the Caoyangzhuang guerrillas were already part of the Shengxian guerrilla army.

While Wei Hongjun was wandering around, Yang Yonghui was lost in thought.

He hadn't had much of a favorable impression of the Eighth Route Army, including the Red Army before it. The Red Army's slogans, in particular, sounded like a mob to him. But his conversation with Wei Hongjun today had significantly changed his impression of the Eighth Route Army.

He originally thought that the Eighth Route Army cadres were all uneducated thugs.

But after meeting Wei Hongjun today, I realized that the Eighth Route Army is not a mob, and the Eighth Route Army cadres are not Li Zicheng or Hong Xiuquan.

Despite his military background, Wei Hongjun acted like a scholar with profound knowledge. He analyzed tax types and the reasons why the Nationalist government was unable to implement certain policies. Then, based on the current rural situation, he used simple mathematical addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to explain the impact of the Eighth Route Army's land policies.

Yang Yonghui was greatly shocked.

He hadn't thought about these things before, so he didn't pay much attention to them. But after hearing Wei Hongjun's words, he couldn't help but think of them. It was like the issue of rural taxation. If landlords like them weren't in the middle, the government could collect more taxes, and the farmers could keep more, both benefiting.

Yang Yonghui knew that it was wrong to think this way, after all, he was also from a family of landlords.

But Yang Yonghui is not the kind of person who only cares about the little land at home, but a scholar with certain ambitions and aspirations.

And he has a strong sense of family and country. Now that the country is in ruins, Yang Yonghui can no longer just think about the small interests and schemes of his own family.

So the more I thought about it, the more I felt that what Wei Hongjun said made sense.

This situation forced Yang Yonghui to lean towards the Eighth Route Army. Some issues had been thought through, but others were still unclear. However, with the war so difficult, Yang Yonghui did not want to waste too much time.

So we decided to cooperate with the Eighth Route Army first.

"Principal Yang, thank you for your support."

"I hope this choice can really help the country and the nation."

"I can guarantee that Principal Yang's choice this time will boost anti-Japanese enthusiasm in Sheng County and even usher in a new era for anti-Japanese resistance in northeastern Shanxi. Our Sheng County will become the anti-Japanese center in northeastern Shanxi."

Wei Hongjun was really happy.

The Eighth Route Army launched a large-scale campaign to reduce rent and interest in its base areas behind enemy lines in 1939. Thanks to these efforts, the Eighth Route Army secured a stable base, stable tax revenue, and a steady supply of soldiers. This campaign garnered support not only from the peasantry but also from enlightened landlords.

Now that the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region had not yet been established, Wei Hongjun had already begun reducing rent and interest in Shengxian County. This would surely quickly open up a new situation in Shengxian County and open up a new anti-Japanese situation in northeastern Shanxi. How could Wei Hongjun not be happy?

Moreover, the Caoyangzhuang Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Force had nearly 300 men, over 100 rifles, and a light machine gun. This greatly increased the strength of the Shengxian Guerrilla Army, which was a great event from any perspective.

Chapter 030 Preparation for Rent and Interest Reduction

After Yang Yonghui agreed to cooperate with the Eighth Route Army, Wei Hongjun didn't want to waste any time. So Wei Hongjun immediately held a meeting with Yang Yonghui and Li Shiping. Once the construction of the Shengxian Anti-Japanese Base Area began, these three people would become the most important cadres in the base's construction.

The work of reducing rent and interest also requires discussion among three people.

"Principal Yang, rural work is meticulous and complex, and we can't force it. If we do, it's easy to overdo it. Many of us lack experience in rural work right now. Rent and interest reductions are related to the future of Sheng County's rural areas. Even more so, they are related to the future of Sheng County's anti-Japanese base areas, so we must be extremely cautious. Therefore, my idea is to first implement rent and interest reductions in Districts 3, 4, and 5. Once we have experience, we will train a group of rural cadres, and then promote it in other districts. Finally, we will implement rent and interest reductions throughout Sheng County."

"Haste makes waste. It makes sense to first implement rent and interest reductions in Districts 3, 4, and 5, observe the effects, and then take the next step."

Yang Yonghui nodded.

Yang Yonghui was already in his forties and had experienced a lot. He was no longer like some young men who would rush into things at the first sign of trouble. Instead, he admired people like Wei Hongjun who were more steady.

In fact, Wei Hongjun really wants to implement rent and interest reductions throughout Sheng County.

But Wei Hongjun had no one under his command.

The main reason is that there are no cadres.

When Wei Hongjun arrived in Sheng County, he had only about thirty Eighth Route Army officers and soldiers, and no cadres with any experience working in the base areas. The Sheng County underground party was largely underground. There were no cadres familiar with the countryside, let alone rural cadres who could implement rent and interest reductions.

Therefore, we can only train cadres while implementing rent and interest reductions.

"Principal Yang, to do this work, people with knowledge are essential. I heard that there are many students in the Caoyangzhuang guerrillas. My idea is to select some of these students to learn about the policy of rent and interest reduction, so that they can participate in the work of reducing rent and interest. Once they complete the work of reducing rent and interest, they will also become qualified rural cadres."

The students are enthusiastic and educated, and are suitable for this job.

As long as these people are familiar with rural work and have sufficient experience, they will be very qualified grassroots cadres in the future. In the future, when Sheng County establishes a local government, they will be local staff.

What the Eighth Route Army lacks most now, whether in the military or in the local areas, is intellectuals.

Of course Wei Hongjun must make good use of them.

"My students are all very young. They are different from me. I participated in the Great Revolution and have a good understanding of the rent and interest reduction at that time. But my students were still students before joining the anti-Japanese guerrillas. If we want our students to participate in the rent and interest reduction work, we must let them learn about rural work first."

"That's no problem. If Principal Yang agrees, we can hold a rural work study class before we start the rent and interest reduction work. Principal Yang and I can teach them. Let them understand what rent and interest reduction is all about and how the policy is formulated. Once they arrive in the countryside, they will learn how to carry out the rent and interest reduction work. Young students are knowledgeable, and as long as they study hard, they will soon understand what to do."

"can."

Yang Yonghui nodded and agreed to Wei Hongjun's proposal.

Yang Yonghui himself had no experience in rural work. When it came to rural work, no one could match the Red Army of the past. Weak in strength, the Red Army relied on rural work to carve out vast revolutionary bases. Wei Hongjun, a Red Army political cadre, was undoubtedly more skilled in this area than Yang Yonghui. If Wei Hongjun gave a lecture, Yang Yonghui would attend.

"Principal Yang, I have another question. Zhangjiagou Village is too remote to lead the implementation of the rent and interest reduction work. Therefore, I would like to place the rent and interest reduction working group in Songjiazhuang, District 4. However, I am not familiar with Songjiazhuang, so I would like to ask Principal Yang, how about starting the rent and interest reduction work in District 4 from Songjiazhuang? How can we get Songjiazhuang to accept our guerrilla army?"

"Songjiazhuang?"

Yang Yonghui looked at Li Shiping, and the two of them had a tacit understanding. Yang Yonghui didn't say anything, and Li Shiping said, "Political Commissar, if the guerrilla army wants to gain a foothold in Songjiazhuang, there is actually a very direct way."

"any solution?"

"Destroy Baldy Pan."

"Who is Baldy Pan?"

"Political Commissar, there's a mountain south of Songjiazhuang, which the locals call Jitou Peak. There's a bandit group entrenched here, led by a man called Pan Tuzi. No one knows his real name anymore. This Pan Tuzi has been entrenched here for five or six years, and everyone speculates that he's a defeated soldier from the Central Plains War."

"Didn't they care when Yan Xishan was around?"

"Sheng County is located at the junction of Chahar, northeastern Shanxi, and northwestern Hebei. Furthermore, the then-chairman of Hebei Province was General Shang Zhen.

General Shang Zhen was from the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, but he defected from it, so his relationship with Commander Yan was strained. Therefore, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army didn't have many troops at the border between Shanxi and Hebei. As a result, bandits often robbed homes in this area.

Yang Yonghui explains.

Only then did Wei Hongjun understand what the problem was.

Shang Zhen was once a general under Yan Xishan, Yan Xishan's right-hand man, and the most outstanding general of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

However, while Yan Xishan focused solely on Shanxi, Shang Zhen believed that China needed a unified government. This difference in perspective created a rift between the two men. Furthermore, the Central Plains War forced Yan Xishan to step down, and Shang Zhen became the leader of Shanxi. However, Yan Xishan had deep roots in Shanxi, and despite his ouster, he maintained control of the region. Dissatisfied with Shang Zhen's reforms in Shanxi, he joined forces with other Jinsui Army generals to suppress him, ultimately leading to Shang Zhen's exodus from Shanxi.

Later, Shang Zhen stationed troops in northern Hebei, and later served as chairman of Hebei Province.

Therefore, it is inevitable that the relationship between the two families is delicate.

Besides, there were warlords everywhere in the Republic of China, and the closer the border was, the weaker the ruling power was.

"Does this Baldy Pan have a grudge against Songjiazhuang?"

"There's a big grudge."

Li Shiping nodded and said, "This bald Pan was sensible at first. He only extorted passing caravans or did some simple kidnappings and didn't hurt anyone. But later he became more and more excessive and even started robbing houses. Once, bald Pan robbed the Songjiazhuang caravan and harmed the girl who was with the caravan. The girl was the granddaughter of the old man in Songjiazhuang and committed suicide when she came back. The people in Songjiazhuang are all honest farmers who make a living by farming. Therefore, they don't have any connections, and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army stationed in the county is unlikely to be dispatched for such a thing. But this incident is an indelible shame for Songjiazhuang.

To fight Baldy Pan, Songjiazhuang even pooled their money to buy guns and ammunition. But while Baldy Pan was a bandit, his fighting power was simply unmatched by those in Songjiazhuang. Songjiazhuang had suffered many setbacks. Principal Yang suggested that if the guerrillas could help Songjiazhuang eliminate Baldy Pan, they would undoubtedly be grateful. It wasn't just Songjiazhuang; many of the surrounding villages had a grudge against Baldy Pan. It could be said that defeating Baldy Pan would completely open up the guerrillas' work in District Four.

"This kind of bandit who brings disaster to the local area should be killed."

Later TV dramas, fond of novelty, would often feature bandits fighting the Japanese, depicting how these bandits understood the greater good. Instead, they would portray the Eighth Route Army's personnel as being unsympathetic. In any case, the "bandits fighting the Japanese" narrative had become a mainstream theme in TV dramas.

In fact, bandits are bandits.

How many were truly forced to join the Liangshan bandits? And even if they were forced to join the bandits, how many could remain innocent in the bandit den? It should be said that some honest farmers would gradually change after joining the bandits.

Of course, there are also some bandits who have never killed anyone and have never abducted women. They are considered good people among the bandits.

Such bandits are among the targets of reorganization by the Eighth Route Army.

Obviously, a vicious bandit like Pan Tuzi is the target that the Eighth Route Army must resolutely eliminate.

"Political Commissar, do you mean to wipe out Baldy Pan?"

"Of course. Once the troops are expanded, Pan Tuzi will be the first to be attacked."

"Commissar Wei, this Baldy Pan is not easy to defeat. There are hundreds of them, and they are all very capable fighters."

Yang Yonghui gave Wei Hongjun some advice.

Wei Hongjun nodded and said, "We won't fight casually. The troops just fought a big battle and suffered heavy casualties. We must first undergo training. Once we have a certain level of combat effectiveness, we can make a detailed plan to eliminate this Baldy Pan. Principal Yang, your Caoyangzhuang guerrillas have been training since their establishment and have never fought a battle. When the time comes, we will also join the battle to defeat Baldy Pan. This will also allow those new recruits to see the battlefield."

"of course can."