Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Although it was his first time here, Tan Zhenlin had learned about the situation of the Hainan Reclamation Corps.

He is not a careless person.

Since he took office as the Minister of Agriculture and Reclamation, he has been carefully studying the agricultural reclamation troops under his command. In order to familiarize himself with the agricultural reclamation troops as quickly as possible, he has been reading materials all day long.

He really couldn't think of it.

琼崖纵队本身就是海南自己的部队。69军就更不用说,那可是抗战时期普察冀在河北的部队。虽然没有18兵团的65军、66军、67军那么历史辉煌，但也是杨全武手底下主力部队之一。

Not to mention discipline.

After the Yangtze River Crossing Campaign, the Military Commission conducted an inspection of the various field armies. The Fifth Field Army, originating from the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region, or perhaps North China, had the best military discipline. The Military Control Commission maintained excellent management of any captured city. Once the troops entered a city, few problems arose.

But what's going on.

It's only been a few years, and yet something this terrible has happened. A massive brawl involving hundreds of soldiers and civilians.

"Minister Tan, this can't be entirely blamed on us," said Zhang Yinghui, commander of the Hainan Reclamation Corps.

While the central government has been pushing for everyone to address each other as "comrade" in official settings, the implementation hasn't been very successful. Aside from officers of similar ranks, it's not always easy for a subordinate officer to simply address a superior officer by name plus "comrade."

Especially cadres at the level of Tan Zhenlin.

Although Tan Zhenlin had been involved in the revolution in East China and had little to do with the Eighth Route Army, his seniority and rank made it difficult for the subordinates to directly address him as "Comrade Tan Zhenlin."

So Zhang Yinghui still addressed him as "Minister Tan," even when addressing Wei Hongjun. He never dared to address him directly as "Comrade Wei Hongjun."

If there is a change now, it is that in meetings at the same level or in official documents, the title is no longer used, but "Shangzeng". If the title must be added, it is placed at the front.

"Since last year, local mutual aid groups and cooperatives have been planting crops directly on reclaimed land on farms. Some have even gone so far as to plow, pull out, and burn the rubber plants already planted on the farms. We've tolerated this in previous instances, but they've become increasingly aggressive. This time, on our own land, where we'd cleared 2000 seedlings, the farmers insisted on planting crops, despite our objections. We refused, and that's when the conflict escalated. It wasn't our intention to fight them."

"Correct."

"Yes."

"And the troops involved in this conflict weren't the Hainan Forestry Engineering 69st, nd, and rd Divisions, which were reorganized from the original Qiongya Column and the th Army. It was the later-expanded th Division that clashed with them. They were all newly recruited farm workers. They didn't have the discipline of their former units. They were only able to fight when they were in a desperate situation."

After Zhang Yinghui finished speaking, several cadres from the Hainan Reclamation Corps immediately agreed.

Tan Zhenlin was furious.

These people are incredibly good at shirking responsibility. Regardless of whether it's the previous unit or the expanded Forest Engineering Unit, since they're all under the command of the Reclamation Corps, the cadres sent there must have been from the original Qiandi Unit. The cadres in the newly established Fourth and Fifth Forest Engineering Divisions all came from the military.

Now I want to distance myself from the matter.

"Have you not negotiated with the local government?" "Yes. But it was of no use."

Zhang Yinghui felt that he was very wronged.

He was originally a combat veteran, a fierce general under Yang Quanwu. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he led a battalion in the forced surrender of 1400 North China Security Forces. He captured over 0 light and heavy machine guns at once, a feat reported in the Jin-Cha-Ji Daily. His military career had been promising, but after the Wei Hongjun adjusted its rubber field strategy, he became commander of the Hainan Reclamation Corps.

Put down the gun and start building the motherland. He also accepted it.

The work was originally going very smoothly.

Although a fierce general, he wasn't the reckless type who only cared about charging into battle. Instead, he was a man skilled in reflection and summarization. After the Rubber Tianhui Campaign began in Hainan, he began observing the development of Hainan's rubber industry.

Even though he wasn't a professional, he quickly figured it out.

Ever since Hainan's liberation, when Feng Baiju was still in charge of the island, he had already been developing the rubber industry there. The area of ​​rubber plantations he reclaimed was quite large, spanning over a thousand mu. Zhang Yinghui observed that the successful and successful rubber plants planted in Hainan since liberation generally shared a common trait: reliance on mountains and forests.

So he asked the technicians.

They told him very clearly that rubber trees are afraid of wind.

Therefore, during the three years he directed the Reclamation Corps to develop the rubber industry, he adhered to this principle. He didn't recklessly reclaim land and plant trees simply because the task was heavy, focusing solely on the area of ​​land reclaimed and planted. He followed the principle of "relying on the mountains and relying on the forests," establishing plantations where there were no trees.

Planting rubber in this way has yielded very good results, with a very high survival rate for the planted rubber.

As a result, conflicts with local authorities began to arise frequently in the second half of 1953. Tan Zhenlin glanced at the Hainan local cadres; they wanted to say something but fell silent.

"Have you communicated with the farmers? What is the reason for their behavior?" "This——"

Zhang Yinghui paused and said, "Maybe we were too close to them when we were clearing the land." "Dongdongdong—"

Wei Hongjun knocked on the table lightly.

His face darkened as he said, "Speak clearly. What do you mean by you're clearing land too close to them? What's going on? I don't believe the people of Hainan are so bold. Even if they believe in the law, I don't believe they'd dare to compete with the army for farmland."

When this kind of conflict occurs, the contradiction is no longer an ordinary situation.

If there weren't such a huge conflict, how could the people dare to fight the army for territory? As soon as Wei Hongjun spoke, Zhang Yinghui sat up straight.

When the Central Red Army arrived in northern Shaanxi, Zhang Yinghui briefly served as a company instructor in the First Red Army Regiment, having left the Military Commission. At the time, he served under Wei Hongjun. However, when the army was reorganized into the Arrow of the Eighth Route Army, he left the First Red Army and joined the Third Red Army, but remained with Yang Quanwu's Independent Regiment.

The reason why Wei Hongjun was angry was for Zhang Yinghui's own good.

Wei Hongjun had seen Tan Zhenlin's expression. If Tan Zhenlin's temper really flared up, no one could stop him. When he lost his temper, he wouldn't give anyone face. That's why he was nicknamed "Tan the Cannon."

Although Tan Zhenlin is short, he has a very hot temper.

Seeing that Zhang Yinghui was still hesitant, Wei Hongjun immediately said, "Comrade Sha Xuewen, please tell me. Does your military district know about this incident at the Reclamation Corps? If so, please tell us what exactly happened."

Sha Xuewen felt helpless when Wei Hongjun called his name, but he knew he couldn't escape.

He knew Wei Hongjun's style of doing things. Now that the matter had happened, if he couldn't get a satisfactory answer, he would not be able to get over it.

So Sha Xuewen didn't hide anything: "It's because of the arable land problem. Hainan has limited arable land, but since the rubber campaign began in Hainan, not counting the three forestry engineers who were initially recruited by the Reclamation Corps, three more were added later. At the same time, the Reclamation Corps has also established 24 state-owned farms, each with around 20 people. Add to that various scientific research units, and a number of students have been mobilized to participate in the Tianhui Campaign. Therefore, since the rubber campaign began in Hainan, the Hainan Reclamation Corps has grown by over 26 people. Now, the entire Hainan Reclamation Corps has approximately 30 employees, and their families number over . With so many people to feed, the food problem has become very serious."

"We've reclaimed about 50 mu (approximately 81 acres) of arable land in Hainan in recent years, but management of the land isn't very good. After last year's summer harvest, statistics showed a yield of only kilograms (approximately jin) per mu. Therefore, grain production is very low, and each member of our reclamation corps receives only a little over kilograms (approximately jin) of grain. Furthermore, Hainan's water resources aren't particularly abundant, and arable land requires water. Therefore..."

After hearing this, Tan Zhenlin also understood.

So he asked, "So you've increased the area of ​​land you've been reclaiming since the second half of last year. Did you end up having a conflict with the local villagers over the land reclamation? And you're even fighting over water with them?"

"Yes."

"Playing the piano randomly."

Tan Zhenlin was furious and slammed the table. What the hell was going on?

But what infuriated Tan Zhenlin even more was that the arable land owned by the Reclamation Corps yielded only 81 kilograms per mu during the summer harvest. This was a yield only achieved by ethnic minorities in border areas who didn't know how to farm. The dignified Reclamation Corps could actually achieve such a ridiculous yield of 81 kilograms per mu.

Tan Zhenlin couldn't help but point at the cadres present and said, "You all come from farming families. In a place like Hainan, you've grown grain and achieved a yield of 81 kilograms per mu. And you still have the nerve to call yourself a reclamation corps? With such a yield per mu, how can you expect the central government to trust you in growing rubber? How can they count on you for the central government's rubber campaign? I tell you, even if I just randomly picked someone to sow seeds, the yield wouldn't be this bad."

Tan Zhenlin outputted a lot.

Not to mention the East China region where Tan Zhenlin had been engaged in revolution, even in places as cold as the Northeast, the grain yield easily exceeded 81 kilograms. However, the dignified Reclamation Corps actually produced kilograms of grain.

It's really embarrassing.

"Minister Tan, that's not the way to put it. Our Reclamation Corps has a lot of work to do, so how can we spare anyone to properly farm? But we can't not farm either, because the food allocated to us by the higher-ups is insufficient. Many of our farms have to farm themselves to feed themselves. But people don't have the time to properly till the land and use fertilizer properly, so they can only farm when they can, and the yield per mu is naturally low. Many workers have quit the Reclamation Corps because the food they are provided is too little and the workload is too heavy. What do you want us to do in this situation?"

"That's right. The country has a heavy workload and lacks funds. We all understand that. But we also have our difficulties."

"That's easier said than done. Minister Tan, why don't you try doing it yourself?" Many cadres from the 69th Army started to retort.

The 69th Army, also a unit from the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region, was a distinguished force. It consisted of three divisions, one of which was converted to a public security division, and two to forestry engineering divisions. While they obeyed state orders, they also had their share of grievances.

Why did Tan Zhenlin mock them like this?

Boss Tan is a big shot in the Party, with extensive experience and high status. But many officers in the 69th Army don't care who you are; they've never worked with Boss Tan. So they're very unhappy to hear Tan Zhenlin's criticism.

They all came through the hail of bullets during the war.

They all have bad tempers.

Just like when General Peng was fighting in the northwest, He Bingyan, Liao Hansheng and others, faced with General Peng's criticism, simply threw in the towel and said: "You can criticize me if I'm right or wrong, but you're the only one who's right! I quit!"

The term "unruly" refers to these generals who have experienced war.

Many cadres in the 69th Army are like this now. They are already filled with anger after such a thing happened.

“Dong-dong-dong—”

Wei Hongjun knocked on the table again.

Several people were originally denouncing Tan Zhenlin, but when they heard Wei Hongjun knocking on the table, they immediately calmed down.

Wei Hongjun said sternly, "If you have something to say, say it. If you have difficulties, say the difficulties. If you have mistakes, say they are mistakes. Comrade Tan Zhenlin is absolutely right. You have the nerve to complain about the yield of 81 catties per mu. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, we were fighting while growing grain in the mountainous areas, and we could produce 50 to catties per mu. How can you not accept Comrade Tan Zhenlin's criticism of you when it was wrong? If I were to ask you, you haven't been able to solve the food problem with mu of land. What qualifications do you have to complain here?"

The venue fell silent.

Although the 69th Army was created by Yang Quanwu in the Hebei-Central Military Region, Wei Hongjun was responsible for the daily work of the military region and the field army during the War of Liberation. At that time, most of the major training schools for troop-level cadres in the North China Military Region were merged, and Wei Hongjun often lectured at military and political cadre schools, including the North China Bureau Party School. He later served as secretary of the General Front Committee of the Pingjin Campaign. Many of these troop-level cadres had either attended Wei Hongjun's classes or received his command.

This is why Tan Zhenlin hopes Wei Hongjun will come to Hainan. Wei Hongjun's presence will ensure the meeting proceeds normally.

Tan Zhenlin also suppressed his temper.

He had been working for many years, but he was just a little too angry just now, so he got anxious. After suppressing his temper, Tan Zhenlin quickly sorted out his thoughts. So he said: "I was a little impatient just now, and I apologize to the comrades here. But comrades, such a serious matter has occurred, and the problem must be solved. I have summarized that there are two problems that must be solved now. One is the problem of the Reclamation Corps itself, that is, the issue of per-acre yield of cultivated land. Including what the comrades just said, the heavy rubber task has affected farming. So, will farming affect rubber planting in the future? What specific problems have occurred in the Reclamation Corps? Why is the per-acre yield of cultivated land so low? We must solve it. The second is that the Reclamation Corps has clashed with local farmers. Did you occupy their arable land, or did they covet your arable land? This problem must be resolved as soon as possible. The contradiction between the military and the local area cannot continue. The rubber campaign still needs the support of the people of Hainan."

Tan Zhenlin's work ability is beyond doubt. He found the direction of the problem in a few seconds.

Wei Hongjun nodded and continued, "Let's first solve the problem of the Reclamation Corps. Comrades, tell us. What's the situation here at the Reclamation Corps? Is it because they have too much work to do and don't have time to take care of the farmland? Or is it some other reason?"

"Vice Premier Wei, Minister Tan, I want to say a few words."

"Comrade Li Jiaren, speak freely. If there are problems, solve them. The purpose of a meeting is to let everyone speak."

Li Jiaren, director of the South China Reclamation Bureau, said: "I think the current model of growing rubber and farming on the farm is wrong."

"How to say?"

Wei Hongjun has also been thinking about the problems that have arisen.

Li Jiaren's words intrigued Wei Hongjun. Li Jiaren continued, "Rubber planting isn't a simple matter. It's not something you can just plant and then it's over. We currently have the heavy task of clearing wasteland, planting crops, and ensuring the successful growth of the rubber. Our South China Reclamation Corps doesn't even have enough time to spend in the rubber plantations every day. Our Reclamation Corps has been learning both rubber planting and plantation management to become qualified rubber workers. Rubber planting is a technically demanding endeavor that requires the full dedication of our Reclamation Corps staff. This already takes up a significant portion of their time and energy. And then, given the task of growing crops as well, they're truly stretched thin. Many Reclamation Corps farms simply don't have the time or energy to properly care for their land, resulting in extensive farming methods. Simply clearing wasteland and sowing seeds yields only 81 kilograms per mu. With a little more careful care and proper fertilization, the yield could double."

Li Jiaren spoke out about the current problems of the Reclamation Corps.

It looks like there are a lot of people.

But the tasks of clearing land and planting rubber are arduous, and then carefully tending the rubber plantation to ensure its smooth growth require a vast workforce. Despite this heavy workload, they also have to cultivate and harvest their own crops.

There really aren't that many people.

"So what does Comrade Li Jiaren think?"

"Every profession has its own specialization. Division of labor and cooperation is the best way to improve production efficiency. I believe that the work of growing grain should not fall to the big farms. Or, each farm should be divided into rubber planting and grain planting, and not confuse the two. The team planting rubber should only be responsible for planting rubber. The team planting grain should only be responsible for farming."

Li Jiaren put forward his own views.

Wei Hongjun looked at Tan Zhenlin, who nodded slightly.

But Tan Zhenlin asked: "But in this case, does the current Reclamation Corps have enough personnel?"

"It's definitely not enough. We should increase our manpower. My calculation is to add about three dozen full-time farm personnel to the Reclamation Corps."

"I object."