Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

The high altitudes of the Guangdong and Guangxi regions make natural rubber cultivation difficult in the first place, let alone the outrageous plan of planting millions of mu at once. If the Soviet Union had provided so much agricultural machinery and brought it to Hainan to reclaim wasteland, Hainan's rubber industry would have experienced rapid growth.

Wei Hongjun nodded slightly.

The Chairman's words, "Only by investigating can one have the final say," truly ring true. While in Beijing, Wei Hongjun considered reaching one million mu (approximately 1,000 acres) of planted area within three years. He even considered consulting with technicians to identify the most suitable locations for rubber planting in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan. But now, after listening to their opinions, he realizes that even planting one million mu (approximately 1,000 acres) within three years in mainland China would be a difficult feat.

Because the Guangdong and Guangxi mainland areas are not suitable for natural rubber cultivation, there is almost no successful experience.

However, Wei Hongjun couldn't bring himself to address this directly. After all, this was a major strategic move for the rubber war. Although Wei Hongjun was presiding over the meeting, he couldn't make any promises before a decision was made. So, Wei Hongjun said, "I'll take note of this. Let's continue the discussion."

After the conversation ended, Wei Hongjun and Deng Zhihui said, "Secretary Deng, based on what we've learned so far, our efforts to reclaim wasteland and plant natural rubber in Guangdong and Guangxi have yielded only moderate results. Not only are the Soviet experts, but our own technicians are also inexperienced. If we reclaim millions of acres and plant natural rubber, what will happen if the rubber doesn't survive?"

Deng Zhihui's expression was also very serious.

Deng Zhihui is very busy.

After all, he was the First Secretary of the Central South Bureau, Chairman of the Central South Military and Political Committee, and the First Political Commissar of the Central South Military Region. Although he did not participate in the work of the Central South Military Region, he had a lot of work waiting for him to handle in the party and government departments alone.

In addition, Marshal Ye was personally in charge of the South China Reclamation Bureau, so Deng Zhihui did not intervene.

But this time, when he came to see it, he found that the problem was not ordinary. Deng Zhihui was not the kind of person who would choose to avoid the problem when he saw it, and he could hold his temper. So he said: "What do you think of what Comrade Le Tianyu and Comrade He Kang said?"

"I think it makes sense." Wei Hongjun nodded.

"Since we already have a foundation, technology, and experience in Hainan, we should naturally prioritize Hainan," he said. "After the meeting, I had a brief conversation with Le Tianyu. If we invest our resources in Hainan, he believes we can plant one million mu of natural rubber there within three years. And that's a conservative estimate; he believes expanding to 100 million mu isn't out of the question, as rubber has been grown in Hainan for many years."

"I've just been looking through information about Hainan. Hainan has decades of experience in rubber cultivation, and the planted area is quite large. In comparison, the places currently being chosen for the rubber campaign have absolutely no foundation. Although everyone is conducting a vigorous campaign, no one can guarantee that natural rubber will be able to thrive."

Deng Zhihui also nodded.

Wei Hongjun made up his mind and said, "Secretary Deng, what do you think about us changing our original plan? The South China Reclamation Administration is right to be concerned about security issues. But I don't think Hainan Island is likely to be threatened by a large-scale war in the short term."

"I agree."

Deng Zhihui immediately supported it.

Deng Zhihui, the head of the Central South Bureau, understood the value of money better than anyone. The rubber campaign required an investment of 100 million yuan, and not all of it came from the central government. Local governments also had to raise funds. With such a large investment, it had to be effective.

After the two people reached a consensus, they immediately found Marshal Ye.

"Developing Hainan isn't as easy as we imagine. Hainan currently has a population of just over 200 million, and it's plagued by poisonous insects and snakes, and malaria is rampant. Furthermore, our primary concern is the risk of war. If war breaks out, how can we guarantee the safety of Hainan Island's natural rubber, given our weak navy? If the enemy blocks our way, even transportation will become a problem. If we put everything on Hainan Island, any problems there would severely impact our natural rubber industry."

Marshal Ye expressed his concerns.

Marshal Ye was unhappy with Wei Hongjun's arrival, as it was clear that the Central Committee was unhappy with the South China Reclamation Administration's plan. However, Marshal Ye was a man who kept his emotions to himself and would not express his thoughts.

Explain the reasons for the decision with Wei Hongjun and Deng Zhihui.

Wei Hongjun could understand Marshal Ye's concerns. After all, the country had just been liberated, so from a security perspective, there were no problems at all. Just like the Third Front construction in New China, from an economic perspective, many problems were very serious.

But from the perspective of national security, the Third Front construction was a successful strategic decision.

Wei Hongjun said, "Secretary Ye, 'Hainan first, mainland later' doesn't mean we'll give up on growing natural rubber on the mainland. We can focus on Hainan Island and plant natural rubber on a large scale there. Then, we can find areas in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan that are more suitable for rubber cultivation and continue to plant rubber there. Just like on the Leizhou Peninsula, we won't plant on a large scale, but we can plant on a small scale. What I mean is, the national finances are not that abundant right now, so we can't invest blindly. We can take it step by step, planting a few thousand or even tens of thousands of acres first. If that's successful, we can add tens of thousands more acres, and eventually we can plant hundreds of thousands or even millions of acres."

"Even if there is a risk of war, I don't think it should be exaggerated. Judging from the current situation, there's no sign of a large-scale war breaking out in the Hainan Island region anytime soon. I think it would be inappropriate for us to leave Hainan Island, the ideal location for natural rubber development, undeveloped for security reasons and instead plant natural rubber in mainland China, where there's no infrastructure or technical support."

Wei Hongjun tried his best to persuade Marshal Ye.

With Deng Zhihui's support, Wei Hongjun could easily force Marshal Ye to acknowledge him.

But this is not a good thing.

Marshal Ye may seem like a lone commander, but he certainly has deep roots within the Party and the military. Even if he's currently frustrated in the Central-South Bureau, he might still be able to rise to prominence and take up a position in the Central Committee after the Eighth National Congress.

Moreover, the work at the South China Reclamation Administration still requires Marshal Ye's cooperation.

Deng Zhihui echoed, "I agree. We should invest the least amount of money to maximize returns, not the other way around. As for the security of Hainan Island, we can apply to the central government to station the necessary troops there. We can mitigate any danger, but we shouldn't abandon the most suitable location for natural rubber development just for security reasons."

"How do we solve the air defense problem?"

Marshal Ye asked Wei Hongjun.

Currently, the Chinese Air Force is focused on North Korea and major cities like Beijing and Shanghai. What if we plant rubber on Hainan Island and it is bombed by Taiwanese aircraft?

Wei Hongjun said, "Natural rubber planting isn't just our country's business; it's the business of the entire socialist camp. We should tell Soviet experts that Hainan Island is the most suitable place for large-scale natural rubber planting and the most likely place to solve the current problem of natural rubber shortage in the socialist camp. Since Hainan Island presents a security issue, the Soviet Union shouldn't just sit there and watch. The Soviet Union should provide us with a batch of air defense weapons for free or at a low price, or help us build an air force in the South China Military Region."

How can China bear so much cost?

Since the Soviet Union attaches great importance to it, it is necessary to help. Marshal Ye then carefully observed Wei Hongjun. Marshal Ye did not know much about Wei Hongjun. After all, Wei Hongjun rose to prominence in Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei, and Marshal Ye was in the Southern Bureau at that time. The two met for the first time in Yan'an. After that, Wei Hongjun continued to return to Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei for the revolution, while Marshal Ye remained in the Central Committee. After the Central Committee moved to North China, Marshal Ye did not stay in North China for long. He first followed the Premier to the Soviet Union, and later went south to Guangdong.

The number of times two people can meet is limited.

But after a period of contact, Marshal Ye understood. Wei Hongjun was polite on the surface, but deep down he was a tough cadre. He would not easily compromise on his beliefs.

The reason why Marshal Ye gave up such a good place as Hainan Island was because he was worried about safety issues.

If they bet on Hainan Island and it were destroyed by war, how would they explain it to the central government? Ever since the central government launched its "anti-localism" campaign, Marshal Ye had become its biggest target. Therefore, Marshal Ye was currently acting with extreme caution, fearing that any evidence would fall into the hands of others.

Now that we have Soviet experts, there are fewer concerns about following their advice and cultivating natural rubber on a large scale in mainland China. If it succeeds, that's a good thing. Even if it fails, it will be the Soviet experts' fault.

But he had already seen it.

Wei Hongjun has made up his mind to change the original plan of "mainland first, Hainan later".

Since Wei Hongjun was chairing the meeting, Marshal Ye nodded and said, "Then let's hold the meeting according to the strategy of 'Hainan first, then the mainland'."

877 Strategic Adjustment

Marshal Ye was a wise man. Seeing that Wei Hongjun and Deng Zhihui had already made their decision, he did not insist on many issues. It was not until the three of them had roughly reached a consensus that they decided to hold a meeting on the rubber war.

Wei Hongjun understood that at the Rubber Battle meeting, the three key leaders, Wei Hongjun, Deng Zhihui, and Marshal Ye, must not argue. They could argue privately, but if they argued at the meeting, the meeting would be disrupted. Of the three, Wei Hongjun came from the Central Committee, and Deng Zhihui was the First Secretary of the Central-South Bureau.

This might lead many people to think that the Central Committee was very dissatisfied with Marshal Ye.

This is not the result Wei Hongjun wanted.

After all, the Eighth National Congress was approaching, and if Wei Hongjun openly suppressed Marshal Ye, it would be detrimental to both of them. Therefore, since arriving on the Leizhou Peninsula, Wei Hongjun had always shown Marshal Ye sufficient respect. Whenever there were any issues, Wei Hongjun would privately persuade Marshal Ye.

Through these days of research, Wei Hongjun gained a clearer understanding of the Rubber Campaign. This was truly a massive project, involving millions of people. In the early years of the People's Republic of China, no major Soviet-aided project could compare to the Rubber Campaign. In terms of the investment, the number of participants, and the subsequent impact, it was arguably the largest project since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Unfortunately, it took up a lot of national resources and ended up in a mess. Later, in order to clean up the mess left by the rubber war, the country invested more than 2 million yuan in succession, and it was not until the s that the remaining problems were solved.

Wei Hongjun needs to adjust.

We must not only ensure the success of the rubber campaign, but also take advantage of this opportunity to develop the Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan regions. This kind of campaign is most likely to result in waste, but it is also the easiest way to concentrate resources to do things that are difficult to do under normal circumstances.

It's like reclaiming tens of millions of acres of land.

The Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan regions were not as livable as Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan would become decades later. On the contrary, they were now plagued by ferocious beasts, venomous insects, snakes, and a variety of diseases. Simply facing and addressing these issues was no small task. Reclaiming tens of millions of acres of land in such a place was an absolutely enormous undertaking. Even if over a million people participated, the task would still be fraught with difficulty. However, by launching a large-scale campaign like this, reclaiming tens of millions of acres could be accomplished within two to three years. This was the power of such a large-scale campaign.

When the People's Republic of China was founded, everyone was full of energy and enthusiasm. Everyone was eager to surpass Britain within a year, destroy American imperialism within three years, and make China a world power, never to be bullied by the great powers again.

This is a rebound.

As the saying goes, the deeper the oppression, the stronger the resistance. This is exactly the situation facing the people of New China today. Having endured the chaos, poverty, and oppression of the old society, the masses, upon entering New China, all desire rapid development and a quick overhaul of China's backwardness.

So they are all very motivated.

In this kind of grand campaign, in this kind of atmosphere, enthusiasm reaches a level unimaginable under normal circumstances. Many people involved are unconsciously infected by the atmosphere of the campaign. A job that might have been only partially effective can be fully realized under this atmosphere and organization.

What Wei Hongjun needs to do is to guide the enthusiasm of the people and the collective organization of the great battle in the right direction. This is a force that can destroy heaven and earth.

If used in the wrong direction, it would result in a mess like the historic rubber war. But if used in the right direction, it could quickly create tens of millions of acres of high-quality farmland in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan, laying a solid foundation for their future development.

As for the Soviet experts, Wei Hongjun is now more clear-headed. While the Soviet experts' voice was certainly significant, it wasn't the Soviet experts themselves who had the final say. It was the cadres leading the South China Reclamation Bureau who gave them sufficient voice. This is similar to the case of Li De in the Central Soviet Area. Li De himself had no command authority over the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, but certain individuals granted him authority, ultimately making him a military leader.

Actually?

The real power in the military did not lie with Li De, but with certain other leaders. And when the final reckoning came, Li De became the biggest target. Now the South China Reclamation Bureau is doing the same thing.

So Wei Hongjun was quite angry about this.

Many officials at the South China Reclamation Bureau were completely negligent and lazy in their work. The reason they gave the Soviet experts such a strong say wasn't entirely because they trusted them, but rather because they wanted to simplify the issue.

Anyway, I just listen to the Soviet experts.

If it succeeds, everyone gets the credit, but if it fails, the Soviet experts, the big guy, will take the blame. This mentality is not good.

Before coming here, Wei Hongjun was worried about obstruction from Soviet experts. But after truly understanding the situation here, Wei Hongjun realized that control of the rubber war was firmly in the hands of the leaders of the South China Reclamation Bureau.

Wei Hongjun openly explained to the Soviet experts the advantages of the "Hainan first, mainland later" strategy, giving them a detailed introduction to Hainan's situation. He told them that planting rubber in Hainan was the fastest and most likely to succeed. Wei Hongjun's words were supported by the Soviet experts.

The Soviet experts' intentions were clear: they only wanted China to produce rubber. However, they themselves were unfamiliar with rubber cultivation, so their methods were crude. Since they lacked the necessary technology, they resorted to large-scale land reclamation and rubber planting. The more land they planted, the greater the chance of success. They couldn't afford to plant so many rubber crops and have them all fail; there was bound to be success.

After hearing Wei Hongjun's words, they naturally changed their minds. Since Wei Hongjun had promised Hainan Island would be better and capable of large-scale rubber planting, they supported Hainan Island.

Of course, there is another reason. Wei Hongjun told Soviet experts that this adjustment of the rubber campaign was definitely not to change the plan of large-scale rubber planting, but only to make some necessary adjustments.

Large-scale development of the rubber industry remains the central government's grand strategy, and this will not change. The central government will unwaveringly advance the rubber campaign, plant rubber on a large scale, and provide sufficient natural rubber for the socialist camp.

Wei Hongjun also assured the Soviet experts that although Hainan would be the main location for rubber planting, large-scale land reclamation would still be carried out in the Leizhou Peninsula and other areas in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan that were suitable for rubber planting in preparation for rubber planting.

After making the pledge, Wei Hongjun petitioned the Soviet expert group to provide more agricultural machinery so that China could plant more rubber in a shorter period of time and make greater contributions to the socialist camp.

The Soviet experts were very pleased with the attitude of Wei Hongjun, a cadre from the central government, and said they would send a telegram to China to request more agricultural machinery. Wei Hongjun had no regrets about fooling the Soviet experts.

Then a rubber battle meeting was held.

However, this wasn't a true mobilization meeting, but rather a smaller gathering. The attendees were primarily from the South China Reclamation Bureau. Their primary purpose was to formulate a plan for the next major rubber campaign. Only after this plan was approved by the central government would a mobilization meeting be held and officially announced.

With the strategic shift to "Hainan first, then the mainland," the plan for the rubber campaign quickly began to be drawn up again. Since Wei Hongjun, Deng Zhihui, and Marshal Ye had already reached a consensus, the meeting's main task was to develop a detailed plan.

After Hainan Island gained attention, the meeting decided to establish a dedicated Hainan Reclamation Bureau under the South China Reclamation Bureau. This Hainan Reclamation Bureau was large in scale and high in rank. The South China Reclamation Bureau decided to mobilize 100,000 men from Guangdong and Guangxi and 30,000 on Hainan Island. Furthermore, it established the Hainan Production Corps, which comprised three reclamation divisions, to participate in the development of Hainan Island.

The agricultural machinery currently owned by the South China Reclamation Bureau needs to be relocated on a large scale.

Various scientific and technological units under the South China Reclamation Bureau were also required to move to Hainan. However, Hainan was now considered a barren land, with extremely poor living conditions. It was impossible to mobilize so many people to Hainan during normal times; only during major campaigns could such a large number of people be mobilized to develop Hainan.

At the same time, we also discussed the projects that were originally planned to be developed.

Following the Ministry of Forestry's advice, Wei Hongjun crossed out areas that shouldn't be reclaimed. He also began discussing what to plant after the land was reclaimed. However, this wasn't something that could be decided in a single meeting. So, Wei Hongjun asked each research institute to quickly compile a list of crops that could be grown.

Wei Hongjun mainly considered two options.

One is to grow coffee, the other is to grow sugarcane. However, this still needs to be determined by technicians.

After the meeting determined the "Hainan first, mainland later" strategy, the meeting's contents were collated and immediately reported to the State Council. In it, Wei Hongjun detailed the situation in Hainan and requested central government support for the "Hainan first, mainland later" policy.

Soon after Wei Hongjun submitted his report, the Chairman personally called Wei Hongjun.

During the call, Wei Hongjun provided a more detailed account of the current rubber war. After hearing Wei's report, Chairman Mao discussed it with the Premier, Chen Yun, and others. Soon, the State Council and the Central People's Government approved Wei's report.

The rubber campaign officially underwent a strategic adjustment, shifting from "mainland first, Hainan later" to "Hainan first, mainland later." It can be said that Wei Hongjun directly changed the course of the rubber campaign in this time and space, and also altered the history of China's rubber industry.

After the Central People's Government approved Wei Hongjun's report, Hainan, as the center of the rubber war, suddenly received unprecedented attention. The first issue was security.

The current Hainan Military Region was reorganized from the Qiongya Column. At the time of Hainan's liberation, the Qiongya Column comprised approximately 20 troops. After reorganization, it comprised three corps: the First, Second, and Fifth Corps, essentially division-level units, each commanding three regiments. Adding to this were several independent regiments directly under the military region, guard battalions, and coastal defense artillery units, totaling over regiment- and battalion-level units.

After the Central Committee decided to resume the Korean War, many troops applied to fight against US imperialism in Korea. The Qiongya Column was also highly sought after. The Qiongya Column was a unit with a glorious history, so the Military Commission decided to transfer a regiment from the Hainan Military Region to Yang Dezhi's 12th Corps. However, the Qiongya Column had no experience fighting in large, modern, regular formations, so it remained in Northeast China for re-equipment and training before joining the 12th Corps in Korea. Of the remaining units, the Fifth Corps was reorganized into the st Hainan Forestry Engineering Division during the Rubber War.