Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

In addition, Wu Zhipu was previously punished by the central government for the cooperative issue, so the Henan Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government are now very cautious about rural issues. However, this caution has given rural development some vitality, but it has also reduced the influx of funds and support for rural areas.

There is also a lack of overall planning for Henan's agriculture.

Henan's current situation requires broad planning. Henan's water resources aren't exactly abundant, but they're much better than Hebei's. A major issue with Henan's water resources is their uneven distribution, necessitating coordinated planning and effective utilization. However, fully utilizing these resources requires a broader perspective, mobilizing the province's resources to develop water conservancy projects. The Henan Provincial Party Committee and government, however, lack such planning.

Wei Hongjun prioritized Henan because it possessed abundant arable land. As long as Henan prioritized agriculture, developed water conservancy projects, and cultivated fertile fields, it could quickly become a major granary. In other words, among all provinces, Henan held the greatest promise for rapidly increasing grain production.

The people of Henan dare to fight against heaven and earth.

Perhaps Henan, as a region in the Central Plains, has suffered more in recent times, which is why its people are willing to endure hardships. They are willing to work hard to improve their lives. The people of Lankao and Linxian counties, for example, worked hard and persevered, ultimately succeeding in transforming nature, a feat that is renowned throughout the country.

If Henan wants to develop water conservancy and coordinate agricultural development plans, it needs these people who are hardworking, not afraid of sacrifice or difficulties.

As long as Henan's agriculture can be developed in a coordinated manner, achieving a grain output of 500 billion jin (approximately 150 billion kg) within a few years is a achievable goal. With a grain output of 200 billion jin (approximately billion kg), Henan can not only feed its entire population but also export at least billion jin (approximately billion kg) of grain annually. Even billion jin (approximately billion kg) of grain is possible when the country needs it.

"The current situation in Henan..." Deng Zhihui paused.

Deng Zhihui is very familiar with the situation in Henan.

Let's not even mention Deng Zhihui's time as head of the Central Plains Bureau. Even when problems arose in Henan's rural cooperatives, it was Deng Zhihui who went down to address them. Deng Zhihui, a former head of a local central bureau, was well-versed in the thinking of local officials and local issues.

The Henan Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government focused their attention on industry.

Developing an agricultural plan and vigorously developing agriculture is no easy task. Deng Zhihui pondered for a moment and said, "If we want to prioritize agricultural development in Henan, we need to formulate a comprehensive plan to comprehensively develop agriculture. This requires three factors: the cadre system, the central government's attitude, and the level of central support. Only when these conditions are met can Henan truly prioritize agriculture."

"Since we want to develop Henan's agriculture, we should prioritize resources. But what about the cadre issue?"

Wei Hongjun thought for a moment and said, "What do you think of sending a cadre to Henan to focus on agriculture?"

"Who do you prefer?"

"How is Comrade Luo Weilin?" "Comrade Luo Weilin is fine."

Deng Zhihui nodded at Wei Hongjun's proposal.

Wei Hongjun and Deng Zhihui had originally planned to nominate Luo Weilin for Vice Minister of Agriculture. Deng Zhihui was also very impressed with Luo Weilin. As Director of the Policy Research Office of the Ministry of Rural Affairs, Luo Weilin had provided many valuable suggestions to the Ministry over the years. However, Wei Hongjun placed greater importance on Henan, a major grain producer, and therefore wanted to send Luo Weilin to Henan to oversee its agricultural development.

With Wei Hongjun's current level, it would be no problem to arrange for him to go to the local level and serve as deputy secretary or deputy governor.

But Wei Hongjun still needs the support of the Ministry of Rural Work in this regard.

"We will make a detailed report on the problems of agricultural development in Henan and submit it to the Central Committee. After obtaining approval, we will recommend Comrade Luo Weilin to go to Henan."

"it is good."

The meeting at the Rural Affairs Department went quite smoothly, mainly because the summer harvest data was very good.

For the Rural Affairs Department, all work depends on grain production. The current grain production data is very good, so the meeting wasn't too serious. As long as the autumn harvest is also successful, then this year's work will be truly excellent.

After the meeting, Wei Hongjun, Deng Zhihui and Tan Zhenlin went to another meeting together.

It was a Secretariat meeting chaired by Gao Gang.

In the past, the daily work of the Secretariat was handled by Gao Gang, Rao Shushi, and Chen Tanqiu. Because there are now several secretaries in the Secretariat and there is no actual division of labor within the Secretariat, the number of Secretariat meetings is limited.

But this time Gao Gang convened an enlarged meeting of the Secretariat.

Seven secretaries of the Secretariat, Gao Gang, Wei Hongjun, Deng Xixian, Rao Shushi, Chen Tanqiu, Xi Zhongxun, and Wang Jiaxiang, as well as three alternate secretaries, Deng Zhihui, Tan Zhenlin, and Yang Shangkun, were present.

Everyone is quite serious.

After all, Gao Gang had been quite active before. Now that he had suddenly called a Secretariat meeting, no one was sure what Gao Gang was going to do.

Gao Gang began, "Comrades, the Secretariat is the organizational leadership body of the Central Committee that handles daily work. It serves as the office of the Central Political Bureau and its Standing Committee. The Seventh National Congress stipulated that the Chairman of the Party Central Committee directly serves as the First Secretary of the Secretariat. Although this was changed at the Eighth National Congress, the Secretariat remains the core institution of the Central Committee. At the Eighth National Congress, the Chairman stated that all documents submitted to the Central Committee by various institutions must pass through the Secretariat. The Secretariat can make decisions on some daily matters and then issue documents in the name of the Party Central Committee. Important matters are discussed by the Secretariat first, and then the results of the discussion are reported to the Central Committee."

Gao Gang directly talked about the functions of the Secretariat.

Why is the Secretariat important?

This is because it handles the daily affairs of the Party Central Committee. Previously, the Party Central Committee and the Secretariat were almost identical, with the Secretariat functioning as the central leadership office. Therefore, upon Wang Ming's return to China in 1937, he first reorganized the Secretariat. The Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China directly stipulated that the Chairman of the Party Central Committee automatically serve as First Secretary of the Secretariat, overseeing its work. The Party Central Committee and the Secretariat were one entity, which is why the term "five secretaries" only came into being after the Seventh National Congress.

The Eighth National Congress re-established the Politburo Standing Committee, significantly reducing the Secretariat's power. However, despite this reduction, it remains a significant institution. Matters discussed within the Central Committee are of paramount importance, involving major national policies and guidelines. The Secretariat handles routine work independently, issuing documents either in its name or directly under the name of the Party Central Committee. Precisely because the Secretariat can handle most daily affairs independently, the Central Committee stipulates that all documents submitted to the Central Committee must be sent to the Secretariat for classification. Some are handled by the Secretariat itself, while others are submitted to the Central Committee for discussion.

We are all secretaries or alternate secretaries of the Secretariat, and we are all familiar with the affairs of the Secretariat.

Unexpectedly, Gao Gang emphasized it again.

Gao Gang continued, "The work of the Secretariat is so important. The number of documents submitted to it every day is so numerous that Comrades Rao Shushi, Chen Tanqiu, and I alone are unable to handle them all. If the work of the Secretariat is affected, it will directly affect the work of the Central Committee. Therefore, the work of the Secretariat must be improved. In my opinion, we all need to work together to ensure that the Secretariat truly fulfills its intended function and does not delay its work."

"After the Eighth National Congress, the comrades were very busy with their own responsibilities. Furthermore, the Central Committee had a lot of work to do, and various institutions were still being improved, so the comrades did not have much spare energy to devote to the work of the Secretariat. Because of this, the Secretariat had not held many meetings, and the secretaries of the Secretariat had not made clear divisions of labor."

"But the Secretariat cannot continue like this for long. After all, the Secretariat's work is important. If it continues like this, a lot of the Secretariat's work will be unable to be handled. Therefore, we are holding a Secretariat meeting today in the hope of clarifying the division of labor among the comrades in the Secretariat. Only after the division of labor among the comrades is clarified can the work of the Secretariat be regularized and work efficiency improved."

"From now on, we will assign tasks to the comrades who are responsible for them. At the same time, we will hold a Secretariat office meeting every three or five days to focus on handling important matters at everyone's disposal."

"What do you think of my proposal?"

Chapter 963: Division of Work in the Secretariat

When everyone was paying attention to how Gao Gang would get involved in the work of the State Council next, Gao Gang turned around and chose to divide the work in the Secretariat.

And Gao Gang chose the right time.

After facing criticism over the union issue, Comrade Xiuyang has become more low-key and has now all but withdrawn from the Secretariat's management. This has given Gao Gang, the First Secretary, a legitimate opportunity to manage the Secretariat's responsibilities. The Premier, however, is not one to be harsh. Furthermore, ever since Zhang Wentian's outburst at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' working conference, it has had a significant impact on the Premier.

Zhang Wentian is no ordinary cadre.

Although he is now just an ordinary member of the Central Committee and Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zhang Wentian was once the general director of the Party Central Committee and a member of the Political Bureau Standing Committee. Zhang Wentian's influence within the party is still not low.

And he is not shooting without purpose.

Some central government officials supported the issues he raised. However, none were as bold as Zhang Wentian, who dared to directly criticize the Premier. Now that the content of the meeting has spread, the Premier needs to address the negative impact as soon as possible.

There is no big problem with the working method.

The Premier's meticulous work habits are well known within the Party. This habit began in his twenties. Furthermore, the Premier has been at the central level for a long time, and many cadres have become accustomed to this work style.

While many officials believe this isn't a good way for a prime minister to work—some even joke that the prime minister's approach is more like a village head managing the countryside than the Premier of the State Council managing the country—many others believe this is the true noble spirit of devotion to one's country, a truly valuable quality.

The problem lies in diplomatic etiquette.

Zhang Wentian's criticism of the Premier included two points that the Premier must address. First, Zhang Wentian pointed out that the current diplomatic etiquette of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs harbors a certain fawning attitude towards foreign countries. This is a serious accusation.

1955 was the eighth year since the founding of New China.

Having just emerged from a semi-colonial, semi-feudal society, the Chinese people's national confidence was low. However, with the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chairman Mao's words, "The Chinese people have stood up," resounded throughout the nation. Coupled with the glorious victory in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, the Chinese people and the cadres of the new government suddenly experienced a surge in national confidence. This included many intellectuals whose backbones had been broken in the old China, as well as comprador merchants who had previously relied on the foreign powers. Many of them had previously harbored a deep-seated fear of the powers, but their attitudes changed. They felt they could finally hold their heads high and live with dignity. They could say no to the powers that had bullied China in modern times, and the Chinese army could defeat them on the battlefield.

This kind of self-confidence is very important.

The living standards of the Chinese people have improved somewhat in recent years, but only marginally. This is because more funds have been spent on developing heavy industry rather than directly improving people's living standards. So why are the Chinese people willing to work so hard with the government?

Let’s take a look at the water conservancy development in various places in recent years.

It was because the people's self-confidence soared, and everyone believed that under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the new China could become prosperous and strong. Therefore, they were willing to endure temporary hardships.

However, Zhang Wentian criticized the diplomatic etiquette formulated by the Premier as having some "servile" ideas.

If word of this got out, it would be a significant blow to the Premier. If it were to appear that his diplomacy was spineless, it would easily lead to dissatisfaction and criticism from Party cadres. Regarding Zhang Wentian's criticism of this point, the Premier actually felt deeply "wronged."

New China had just been established, and now was the time to make friends around the world. Only by making more friends could we completely break the US diplomatic blockade. The Premier was a meticulous worker. He didn't want even the smallest flaws in diplomatic etiquette to cause misunderstandings and negative experiences for guests.

If misunderstandings arise due to diplomatic etiquette and affect relationships, the gains are simply not worth the losses. It's better to ensure that diplomatic etiquette is handled properly, with no issues in the details, so that guests feel fully respected. A positive experience will foster closer relationships and smooth many negotiations. Zhang Wentian, an intellectual who studied in the Soviet Union and has spent many years in diplomatic work, wondered if he didn't understand his own efforts.

The second issue Zhang Wentian criticized was extravagance and waste.

Zhang Wentian even stated that because the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took the lead, billions of yuan were wasted nationwide in hosting foreign guests, experts, and businesspeople. If this charge were proven, discontent within the Party would intensify.

After all, the whole country is poor now.

The Central Committee repeatedly urged Party members to maintain a simple and frugal lifestyle and to discourage extravagance and waste among Party members. Countless senior Party members and cadres, responding to the nation's call, shared the burden of "living on coarse grains and vegetables" with the people. They were the heroes who built New China, and many held high ranks. Yet, to overcome the poverty of New China, they were willing to endure these hardships. They were willing to work alongside the people to build New China.

The results of it?

We spent every penny carefully to build a new China. Yet, your Ministry of Foreign Affairs indulged in extravagant feasts. The wine we drank was the finest, the food we ate was the finest, and the cars and lodgings we drove were all the best.

what do you mean.

We are the fools.

This could easily lead to discontent within the party, and such discontent could even be directed towards the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ultimately the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister is currently having a headache dealing with these two issues.

Gao Gang seized this opportunity and fulfilled his role within the Secretariat. He was impulsive, but after years in the Central Committee, he had also learned a great deal. There couldn't be too many issues with organizational procedures. As long as the issues weren't major, it wouldn't be easy for others to complain. After all, he was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee. If I followed the organizational procedures established by the Party Central Committee, who could accuse me of being wrong?

“There should be a division of labor.”

After Gao Gang proposed that the Secretariat divide up the work, Rao Shushi immediately supported it, saying, "The Secretariat's secretaries should have done this long ago. That way, the Secretariat's work can proceed normally."

The others neither agreed nor disagreed.

No one agreed because everyone knew Gao Gang's intention. Gao Gang's sudden proposal to divide the work among the secretaries of the Secretariat was intended to centralize power within the Secretariat. Another implication was that he wanted to win over the secretaries and strengthen the Secretariat.

After the division of labor within the Secretariat, the power of these secretaries will be greatly strengthened, just like Chen Tanqiu.

Currently serving as the head of the Organization Department, if Chen Tanqiu were to be in charge of organizational work within the Secretariat, his influence in cadre transfers within the Party would be greatly enhanced. Gao Gang's intentions were too obvious.

Therefore, if we agree now, many issues will be unclear later. To outsiders, it seems that everyone supports Gao Gang.

But no one objected.

Apart from other things, it is indeed necessary for the secretaries of the Secretariat to divide their responsibilities. In terms of the composition of the Secretariat, as the department primarily responsible for handling the daily work of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, it is right for the secretaries of the Secretariat to each be responsible for their own areas of responsibility.

Only when everyone takes care of their own affairs can the Secretariat function normally.

In its early years, the Central Secretariat practiced a "division of labor and responsibility" system, with each secretary responsible for a system or several aspects of the Party's affairs, while also shouldering corresponding leadership responsibilities. For example, during the five secretaries following the Seventh National Congress, the Chairman held overall responsibility, the Commander-in-Chief coordinated military affairs and was responsible for Party discipline, Comrade Xiu Yang was responsible for land reform and urban work, the Premier coordinated military affairs and was responsible for external liaison and united front work, and Comrade Ren Peiguo was responsible for organization and general office work. The division of labor was very clear.

The same should also be done for the re-election of the Secretariat at the Eighth National Congress according to regulations.

It was just that everyone was busy, so the secretaries were just figureheads, with no specific division of labor. Later, Gao Gang didn't want the Secretariat to have too many secretaries with specific divisions of labor, which would affect his own responsibility for the Secretariat's work. Therefore, the Secretariat has never had a division of labor.

But now that Gao Gang has proposed it, there's no reason to object. The division of labor within the Secretariat is the legitimate authority of Gao Gang, General Secretary of the Central Committee and First Secretary of the Secretariat.

So no one objects.

Seeing that no one was talking, Gao Gang directly said to Wei Hongjun, who was sitting on his left: "Comrade Hongjun, what do you think about the division of labor in the Secretariat?"

The five secretaries after the Seventh National Congress were originally ranked.

There were first secretaries, second secretaries, and third secretaries. However, after the Eighth National Congress, when the Secretariat was reorganized, with the exception of Gao Gang, the first secretary, there was no distinction between second and third secretaries. However, among the current secretaries, Wei Hongjun holds the highest ranking within the Party.

Therefore, in the Secretariat, Wei Hongjun naturally holds a position similar to that of the second secretary of the Secretariat.

Wei Hongjun asked in return: "Comrade Gao Gang, what is the specific division of labor?"

"Since our Secretariat is the organ responsible for handling the daily work of the Central Committee, it should connect with all departments. Therefore, my suggestion is that the secretaries of the Secretariat be responsible for nine departments: politics and law, united front and foreign affairs, propaganda, organization, agriculture, light industry, heavy industry, party discipline, and the General Office. Comrade Wei Hongjun will be responsible for politics and law, Comrade Deng Xixian will be responsible for heavy industry, Comrade Chen Tanqiu will be responsible for organization, Comrade Xi Zhongxun will be responsible for propaganda, Comrade Rao Shushi will be responsible for party discipline, Comrade Wang Jiaxiang will be responsible for united front and foreign affairs, Comrade Deng Zhihui will be responsible for light industry, Comrade Tan Zhenlin will be responsible for agriculture, and Comrade Yang Shangkun will be responsible for the work of the General Office."

"According to this division of labor, the Secretariat has established nine offices to assist comrades in completing their work. What are your opinions?"