Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Sorry, I need a day off.

This morning, the tour bus hit a tree due to the slippery road. It wasn't a big deal, but there was a lot to deal with. I didn't even have lunch, I was so busy that I had to take the day off.

1092

After learning that Prince Souphanouvong had arrived in Yunnan, both China and the Soviet Union responded quickly and quickly sent representatives to Yunnan.

The three parties, China, the Soviet Union, and Laos, held talks in Kunming. Prince Souphanouvong told both sides that the Pathet Lao was a Marxist-Leninist force. They also wanted to emulate Vietnam and become a socialist state, hoping to gain support from both China and the Soviet Union.

The weight of Laos, or rather the weight of the Pathet Lao, certainly cannot be compared to that of Vietnam. North Vietnam had a complete Marxist-Leninist party organization system, political system, and military system, and its military strength was among the strongest in Indochina.

The Pathet Lao, however, lags far behind in this regard. Currently a guerrilla group, its leadership is relatively loose, with a mix of cadres. While the Pathet Lao embraces Marxism-Leninism and has adapted its military forces in some ways, inspired by Vietnam, its understanding of Marxism-Leninism remains superficial, and it lacks a rigorous party organization.

The Pathet Lao was now more of a fledgling Marxist-Leninist party, and its strength was very weak. However, having another country in Indochina participate in the communistization campaign was a good thing for both China and the Soviet Union.

Therefore, all three parties in this meeting were very sincere. Prince Souphanouvong, the leader of the Pathet Lao army, was eager to gain support from China and the Soviet Union to overthrow the current military government in Laos. China and the Soviet Union also hoped that during the Vietnam War of Unification, Laos would be conquered by the Pathet Lao and become a socialist country.

Based on these interests, and given their shared belief in Marxism-Leninism and ideological alignment, the three parties hit it off immediately upon meeting. China and the Soviet Union clearly expressed their willingness to support the Pathet Lao revolutionary struggle and recognize the Pathet Lao regime.

Prince Souphanouvong also stated that the Laotian revolution is a socialist revolution and is willing to be guided by Marxism-Leninism.

However, the Soviet Union was currently supporting Vietnam on a large scale, as Vietnam was the main battlefield in Indochina. Therefore, the Soviet Union asked China to be responsible for providing weapons and ammunition to the Pathet Lao in Laos.

China agreed. The Vietnam War of Unification would require vast quantities of weapons, ammunition, and war supplies. North Vietnam already had hundreds of thousands of troops, and while South Vietnam, while less powerful, also had hundreds of thousands trained by the Americans. A war of this magnitude would be difficult for China to independently support. Therefore, Vietnam's primary supporter was the Soviet Union.

But Laos is different. Currently, the total population of Laos is just over three million. The government and its military, combined, number only about 20,000 to 30,000 men, while the Pathet Lao currently has only about 3,000 troops. The entire Laos population is even smaller than some of the more populous regions and prefectures in China.

China can still afford a war with Laos' population. Moreover, there is no need to make special preparations for them, the Kunming Military Region can handle it on its own.

So during this meeting, the Chinese side stated that the first batch of aid would provide the Pathet Lao with equipment for an army division, helping the Pathet Lao to form an army force of about 15000 people.

If the US military hadn't intervened, China could have easily equipped the Pathet Lao with an army division and trained its troops. However, if Vietnam were to start a war, the US military would have been unlikely to let Laos go.

After China expressed its support for Laos, it also raised some difficulties.

The first is transportation. Transportation issues between China and Laos significantly restrict communication between the two countries. To support the Vietnam War of Unification, China and Vietnam expanded the Kunming-Hebei Railway (Yunnan-Vietnam Railway) and built five highways. These five highways alone require 9 trucks.

The Soviet Union was determined this time. Over the course of a year, over 20 trucks entered China. Of these, 5 entered Vietnam through China, primarily to equip the Vietnamese army. Vietnam's narrow terrain, stretching approximately 1600 kilometers from north to south, necessitated the use of trucks to transport troops for a rapid advance.

Another 9 vehicles were placed on the China-Vietnam border, specifically for logistical transportation.

Just like Vietnam, supporting Laos would also require this type of transportation line. Building a railway between China and Laos was impossible in the short term, so supporting the Laotian revolution would require building a highway between China and Laos. However, Laos is mountainous, making road construction extremely difficult.

But no matter how difficult it was, the road had to be built. Without a highway, how could the Laotian revolution be supported? Finally, the Soviet Union agreed with China and provided China with another batch of construction machinery specifically for road construction. It also allocated 4000 trucks for transporting supplies between China and Laos.

In addition to road construction, there are other areas of construction. As an important rear base for this grand strategy, Yunnan is not only responsible for supporting Vietnam, but now it is also responsible for supporting Laos, and may also be responsible for supporting the Communist Party of Burma in the future.

Yunnan needs to produce a lot of materials. The foundation is the steel mill. Just like the development of the Liuzhou Steel Mill, Yunnan needs to develop the Kunming Steel Mill.

Kunming Iron and Steel's history dates back to the Anti-Japanese War. However, its scale remained small, with its No. 210 blast furnace measuring just over 250 cubic meters. After the Liberation, Kunming Iron and Steel erected the No. 22 and No. 1959 blast furnaces, each with a capacity of 1000 cubic meters, and the No. blast furnace, each with a capacity of cubic meters. Annual production reached approximately tons. In , Kunming Iron and Steel's tax and profit contributions exceeded million yuan, demonstrating the enormous output value created by the steel industry during this era.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, China asked the Soviet Union for a batch of machinery and equipment needed for iron ore mines, aiming to increase Yunnan's iron ore production. It also requested a batch of steel rolling equipment, as the central government and Yunnan planned to expand Kunming Iron and Steel.

Two 500-cubic-meter blast furnaces were erected at Kunming Iron and Steel, increasing its steel production to approximately one million tons. These two 100-cubic-meter blast furnaces were assigned to Liugong's newly established Liuzhou Machinery Plant, which primarily manufactures supporting equipment for steel mills. This perfectly supports the development of Kunming Iron and Steel.

As the Vietnam War of Reunification approached, the Soviet Union invested more and more. As long as China's demands were not excessive and as long as it was conducive to the subsequent communistization of the Indochina Peninsula, the Soviet Union would support it.

The Soviet Union wasn't just interested in Laos. Laos isn't a large country with a small population, and its status in Indochina isn't high. But its geographical location is excellent.

Laos is bordered by Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, Myanmar to the northwest, and Thailand to the west. If the Laotian revolution succeeded, it would have the potential to radiate throughout Indochina. This is why the Soviet Union softened its stance on many fronts.

In addition to these issues, there is the matter of dispatching a military advisory group.

Laos is mountainous, and the Pathet Lao troops are primarily guerrillas. While their combat effectiveness against Laotian government forces is decent, it's not particularly bad. However, facing the US military, their combat effectiveness would be completely insufficient. Therefore, the Pathet Lao troops needed to undergo reorganization and training.

Currently, the Sino-Soviet military advisory group is in Vietnam, and the opinions of the Soviet advisory group are the main ones. This is also unavoidable, because Vietnam's main supporter is the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union really looked down upon the Pathet Lao guerrillas. Moreover, the Pathet Lao would mainly receive Chinese equipment in the future, so the Soviet Union asked China to send a military advisory group to help the Pathet Lao troops with training.

The Pathet Lao was the first Marxist-Leninist party in Southeast Asia after Vietnam to actively contact China and the Soviet Union. Both China and the Soviet Union were very satisfied.

After the talks, China and Prince Souphanouvong had more in-depth exchanges.

China shared the history and experience of the victorious Chinese revolution with Prince Souphanouvong. China told him directly that the Marxist-Leninist party's mission was to overthrow the current Laotian regime and establish a new socialist state, rather than to dream of compromising with the enemy and establishing a parliamentary system.

Prince Souphanouvong was shocked and delighted to hear about the history of the Chinese Revolution. He had heard that China had established a socialist country, but the specific history of the Chinese Revolution was not very clear.

After hearing about the history of the Chinese Revolution, Prince Souphanouvong felt that this was the path forward for Laos. He therefore hoped that China would send advisors to help the Pathet Lao reorganize into a new Marxist-Leninist party, help the Pathet Lao army become a new army like the People's Liberation Army, and assist the Pathet Lao in developing an economic development plan.

After discussion, the Central Committee decided to appoint Major General Zhang Yunyu, the current acting chief of staff of the Shenyang Military Region, as the head of the Chinese Military Advisory Group, and Major General Wu Guangming, director of the Political Department of the Fuzhou Military Region, as the political commissar of the Military Advisory Group.

Zhang Yunyu was a Type 38 cadre from the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Army. During the Liberation War, he served as brigade chief of staff, deputy army chief of staff, and army chief of staff of the Chen Geng Corps. He was an outstanding staff officer in Chen Geng's army. During the Korean War, he was transferred to North Korea to assist Chen Zhonghe in establishing the Volunteer Army Headquarters, and later served as its deputy chief of staff.

Because of their success in the Korean War, the military and political cadres entering North Korea were generally promoted to a higher rank. So Zhang Yunyu, a typical "38-style" cadre, was promoted to major general.

After returning from North Korea, Zhang Yunyu did not return to his original unit, but was left in the Northeast by Deng Guo, commander of the Shenyang Military Region, to serve as deputy chief of staff and acting chief of staff of the Shenyang Military Region.

Zhang Yunyu was an expert in guerrilla warfare during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and also performed well in mobile warfare during the War of Liberation. He also excelled in tunnel warfare and positional warfare during the Korean War. That's why the Central Committee chose Zhang Yunyu as the head of the military advisory group this time.

Wu Guangming was a political officer who served under Zhang Chao during the Red Army's "Grievance Movement" campaign in the 34th Column during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. During the rectification of the th Regiment, a rebellious unit in eastern Hebei, Wu Guangming was assigned to serve as director of the political department. Following several reorganizations and the constant transfer of cadres within the Fuzhou Military Region, Wu Guangming currently serves as director of the Fuzhou Military Region's political department.

The military advisory group, led by Zhang Yunyu and Wu Guangming, was quite large. Drawing on the experience of sending military advisory groups to Vietnam in previous years, the central government planned to establish battalion, regiment, and divisional military advisory groups within the Pathet Lao forces, with the highest level being the military advisory group.

At the same time, they will also bring a group of military academy teachers to help the Pathet Lao set up a military academy for Pathet Lao military cadres to study. The Pathet Lao army is currently just a guerrilla force, so the military delegation sent by China has a lot to do.

This is just the military aspect.

The Central Committee also planned to send a political advisory group to Prince Souphanouvong to help him reorganize the Pathet Lao and to help him manage his base.

More than two decades of war have resulted in China having an astonishing talent pool in both the military and political spheres. Whether it's generals for fighting or talent for managing bases, there's really a ton of them.

However, these key officials managing the bases are currently high-ranking local officials. Sending them to serve as advisors in a small country like Laos is always a bad idea. There's also a shortage of outstanding cadres at home. Of course, another major reason is, to put it bluntly, who would want to suffer in the deep mountains and dense forests of Laos?

Local officials have been in the area for many years, and many have become accustomed to peacetime. Unlike military officials, they still maintain a certain state of war. Therefore, it is easy to form a military advisory group, but not a political advisory group.

After discussion, the central government finally chose Zhang Xiushan, who is currently the vice governor of Yunnan.

Zhang Xiushan had been serving as the vice governor of Yunnan for five years. The Central Committee had initially been lenient with the Gao-Rao incident, retaining both men as members of the Central Committee.

Zhang Xiushan was affected by the Gao-Rao Incident and subsequently came to Yunnan to serve as vice governor. Now, more than five years have passed, and the central government structure has become increasingly stable. It's no longer the early days of the People's Republic of China, when a large number of local officials moved to Beijing, causing intense internal conflicts and overall chaos within the central government.

Especially after Marshal Lin was forced to "leave his post for rest" by the Politburo, there are no strong leaders who can enter the Central Committee to break the current situation.

There was no major turmoil in the central government, so everyone gradually relaxed their vigilance towards Gao Gang and no longer worried about Gao Gang's "comeback." This was the attitude towards Gao Gang, let alone Zhang Xiushan.

Therefore, when choosing the political advisory group to go to Laos this time, Zhang Xiushan was chosen. Zhang Xiushan's mission was to help Prince Souphanouvong establish a true Marxist-Leninist party and formulate a series of base area development policies.

These were Zhang Xiushan's specialties. Whether in Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, or Northeast China, Zhang Xiushan performed exceptionally well. Before joining the Central Committee, he was the Second Secretary of the Northeast Bureau and Chairman of the Northeast Administrative Committee. Northeast China is five times the size of Laos and has a population more than ten times that of Laos. Serving as the head of the Laotian Political Advisory Group was a waste of talent.

However, for Zhang Xiushan, this was also an opportunity. Zhang Xiushan was only 49 years old this year. With his revolutionary credentials and abilities, as long as he did a good job in Laos, he could definitely return to the central government or serve as provincial party secretary or governor.

Because the transportation between China and Laos was very poor, it was difficult for heavy equipment to enter Laos. Therefore, the first batch of weapons aided by China mainly consisted of semi-automatic rifles, light and heavy machine guns, mortars, and a large amount of ammunition.

Besides weapons and ammunition, China provided the Pathet Lao with basic support. This included training troops, establishing military and political academies, and reorganizing the Pathet Lao into the Communist Party of Laos, a Marxist-Leninist political party. China also conducted surveys of Laos' realities and helped develop economic development plans.

In 1960, after the Fourth Session of the Ninth Central Committee, China mainly focused on industrial adjustments and nationwide disaster relief, while also preparing to support Vietnam and Laos.

The Soviet Union was also busy. Although the Sino-Soviet actions in Vietnam were not blatant, they could no longer be concealed from the United States.

After all, so much Soviet material flowed into China's southwestern provinces and then into Vietnam through China. After receiving Soviet weapons and equipment, the Vietnamese troops began to prepare for war and trained under the command of the Chinese and Soviet military advisory groups.

US intelligence agencies were closely monitoring these changes in banquets. While the US couldn't fully determine what China and the Soviet Union were planning, it was clear that the ongoing conflict between North and South Vietnam was leading to increasing instability. The US also learned of China's newly constructed Jiao-Liu Railway, a north-south railway connecting the Sino-Soviet (Sino-Mongolian) and Mongolian-Soviet (Mongolian-Soviet) railways.

The US couldn't just sit back and do nothing. Eisenhower continued to send military advisory groups and a small number of troops, bringing the total number of US troops in South Vietnam to nearly 20,000. Their mission was to train the South Vietnamese troops.

The United States also provided South Vietnam with a large amount of weapons and equipment. The number of South Vietnamese troops also increased rapidly, and the field troops already had more than 30 people.

Seeing that the United States and the Soviet Union were confronting each other in Berlin and Vietnam, and the situation was getting worse, Britain proposed to hold a five-nation diplomatic conference.

The previous four-nation diplomatic conference had failed, so the British proposed a five-nation diplomatic conference to include China. China was now a major power with atomic bombs and missiles, and Southeast Asia could not do without it. Therefore, the British proposed a five-nation diplomatic conference to discuss the Vietnam issue.

But in 1960, the Soviet Union shot down a US reconnaissance plane and then displayed it in socialist countries, embarrassing the US and making the already tense US-Soviet relations even worse.

Eisenhower, hoping to salvage his position in the Middle East, proposed allocating $200 million to support the economic development of Middle Eastern countries, in order to counter the Soviet Union's oil diplomacy. However, Eisenhower's plan found little support in the Middle East, while the Soviet Union's oil diplomacy was welcomed by most countries.

Therefore, the five-nation diplomatic conference proposed by Britain once again failed. The United States and the Soviet Union did not agree, and neither the four-nation diplomatic conference nor the five-nation diplomatic conference was of any use.

The two sides were at loggerheads in various areas. At this time, the Soviet Union and North Korea signed a "Soviet-North Korean Naval Cooperation Agreement", which was actually the "joint navy" model proposed by Khrushchev to China.

China did not respond positively to the "joint navy", so Khrushchev first dealt with North Korea.

Then Khrushchev invited China again, wanting to form a "Sino-Soviet-North Korean joint naval force."

Because of this matter, the Chairman convened an enlarged meeting of the Politburo.

"What do you think of Comrade Khrushchev's invitation?"

"In fact, according to the current situation, the naval forces of my country and North Korea are weak and are not on the same level as the Soviet Union. The three countries' joint navy will provide limited support to the Soviet Navy. The Soviet Union wants to form a 'joint navy' with us mainly to use our ports and those on the Korean Peninsula."

1093 Combined Fleet

In addition to the Politburo members and alternate members, this enlarged Politburo meeting was attended by several CMC and Navy leaders, including Acting Vice Chairman of the CMC Tan Zheng, Chief of the General Staff of the CMC Deng He, Navy Commander Xiao Jinguang, and Navy Political Commissar Tang Tianji.

The chairman asked everyone to share their ideas, and Wei Hongjun expressed his views directly.

Although the Soviet Union nominally intended to establish a "joint navy," the Chinese and North Korean navies were very weak. Speaking of China's navy, it currently still relies heavily on warships imported from the Soviet Union. This is supplemented by warships previously acquired from the Nationalist army, a small number purchased from Britain, and a smaller number of Chinese-built vessels.

The current strength of the Chinese Navy is completely incompatible with a major country like China. Even the Taiwan Chiang Kai-shek Navy is stronger than the Chinese Navy.

North Korea's situation is even simpler. All of its navy's warships were purchased from the Soviet Union. The combined naval strength of China and North Korea is not very impressive, so the Soviet Union naturally looked down on them.

But why did the Soviet Union have to cooperate with China and North Korea to establish a "joint navy"? In fact, it was mainly because of the excellent ports of China and North Korea. They wanted to gradually settle in the ports of China and North Korea, and finally give the Soviet Union an excellent seaport.

"I think Comrade Wei Hongjun's views are correct."

General Peng had been in charge of the Military Commission for ten years and had always dealt with the Soviet Army. Therefore, he agreed with Wei Hongjun's views.

What the Soviet Union was interested in was never the navies of China and North Korea, but the ports of China and North Korea.

General Peng said, "For now, our navy and the North Korean navy can only fight pirates and simply protect our own coastline. Even if we really formed a joint navy, it would be of limited help to the Soviet Navy."

"At this stage, the only thing China and North Korea can offer the Soviet Union in terms of naval support is our excellent ports directly facing the ocean. Although the Soviet Union also has ports, it has always lacked a true outlet to the sea. However, both China and North Korea can provide such excellent ports."

"But this has its pros and cons. On the downside, after the founding of New China, we finally ended the situation during the Republic of China where foreign troops were everywhere. But if we form a joint navy with the Soviet Union, their warships will definitely be stationed in our naval port. At that time, our naval port will become a Soviet naval base just like Luda before."

"What will the broad masses of the people in the country think by then? How will everyone evaluate this situation? Even within the party and the military, there will be voices of doubt."

The Prime Minister then interjected, "It wouldn't be good for international public opinion either. Our country has always advocated 'peaceful coexistence' and supports the Non-Aligned Movement. But if we establish a 'joint navy' with the Soviet Union, many people will see this as a military alliance between China and the Soviet Union. Having good Sino-Soviet relations is one thing, but forming a military alliance between the two countries is another."

China has no military alliance with any other country except for its diplomatic relationship with North Korea, and China itself does not support military alliances.

This includes the establishment of the Warsaw Pact by the Soviet Union in its early years. Although China supported the establishment of the Warsaw Pact, it did not participate in it itself.

Although the cooperation between China and the Soviet Union also involved a large number of military projects, the two countries' militaries had never signed an alliance treaty.

However, if China and the Soviet Union established a "joint navy," the situation would be completely different. Once a "joint navy" was established, they would undoubtedly act together in the event of war. This would be a very clear military alliance.

After General Peng finished speaking, he continued, "Of course, establishing a 'joint navy' would be beneficial. The biggest benefit would be greatly enhanced protection of our coastline. Chiang Kai-shek's navy, relying on its American-backed warships, engages in piracy. If we establish a 'joint navy' with the Soviet Union, we will be able to suppress Chiang Kai-shek's navy."