The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

"We're going to seal it with wax."

Zhang Yinghao nodded after hearing this, but then shook his head again and said, "Using wax seals isn't a long-term solution. We're planning to buy rubber from Southeast Asia and add a rubber ring seal later. For now, we'll just use wax seals. We're in the canning business, making canned fruit, meat, chili sauce, and vegetables. Now that the glass bottle issue has been resolved, let's start canning right away."

What Zhang Yinghao really wanted to create was the Lao Gan Ma chili sauce from his previous life. If Lao Gan Ma chili sauce were used as a military supply in this era, a single bottle of it could feed a soldier for ten days or even half a month. In a field battle, with just a few compressed biscuits and a bottle of chili sauce, they could be deployed anywhere the enemy couldn't imagine. This would significantly ease the burden of logistics.

Moreover, the people of this era were far superior to those born into more comfortable environments in later generations in terms of their endurance and hard work. A single salted fish would take half a month to eat, as people didn't eat the fish itself, but the hint of salt from it—literally, just wiping it with chopsticks. Even a single grain of fermented black beans would be eaten in two meals.

After this expansion, Zhang Yinghao suddenly felt a sense of freedom, as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Zhang Yinghao knew this was a sign of his newfound security. Having been in the late Qing dynasty for over a year, he was now essentially a mayor. Of course, his power wasn't limited to counties like in the Qing dynasty, but rather extended to villages.

Moreover, as time went on, Zhang Yinghao knew his rule would only grow stronger. As some landlords were eliminated, those in unliberated areas and those bordering the region began to feel insecure. Occasionally, landlords would launch counterattacks and massacre the masses. Landlords and local officials colluded to block the revolutionary army's entry and the Forward Party's land distribution campaign. Unable to stop them, they chose to retain their forces and withdraw immediately. Upon their departure, they would utter countless harsh words to intimidate the local people. In many areas, residents were even afraid to claim their allotted land. This was a life-and-death struggle, a war, and Zhang Yinghao would not compromise.

Li Zhiqiang was currently in a village that had just been massacred. As a newly promoted platoon leader, he had passed numerous tests, but he still couldn't fully comprehend the slaughter of the masses by the landlord militia. Perhaps he knew such a thing would happen, but he was deeply reluctant to see it happen. And this was already the third massacre scene he had visited.

Li Zhiqiang's rapid promotion was due to his prior education. Because he taught everyone to read and fought bravely, he was quickly promoted to platoon leader. This situation was something he had never seen before in his books. It left him perplexed. How long would this merciless slaughter last? Was there no peaceful solution? These were the two questions that lingered in his mind.

But for those ordinary soldiers, there was no such thing as the scholar's melancholy and nostalgia for spring. Their hearts were now filled with rage. Seeing the corpses scattered all over the ground, there were men and women, old and young, and even babies were not spared. What kind of atrocity was this? How cruel was this?

Many comrades, seeing the scene before them, have begun to recall Chairman Zhang Yinghao's recent article: On the surface, the relationship between the landlord class and us, the poor common people, is one of employment. We rent the landlord's land to cultivate crops and pay rent to the landlord, seemingly a matter of course. But in reality, in today's underdeveloped productive forces, the relationship between the landlord class and us is a life-and-death struggle. Everyone knows that we can only produce so much food per acre. If we eat more, the landlord will have less to eat, and if the landlord eats more, we will starve to death.

The landlord class year after year forced the killing of poor peasants to obtain more food. Whenever the poor demanded more, the landlords' true cannibalistic nature would be immediately exposed. They would never allow the lower classes to enjoy a good life, and they would inevitably want to return to their previous easy, cannibalistic days. They would absolutely not tolerate anyone resisting their cannibalism. Anyone who wanted to resist, or was currently resisting, was their mortal enemy, and they would inevitably eliminate them as soon as possible.

Therefore, the poor people must unite to fight these man-eating beasts and fight them with the utmost determination. They want to eat people, but they are afraid of others knowing that they eat people, and they are also afraid of being eaten by others. Therefore, they always observe the people with suspicion and deceive them with lies full of benevolence and morality...

For Zhang Yinghao, as long as these militias didn't gather in large numbers, he wouldn't engage in a major conflict. However, these sporadic killings were inevitable, a painful loss inevitable on the revolutionary path, a sacrifice for the revolution. Zhang Yinghao was completely powerless to stop these sporadic massacres, as no one knew where the landlords would suddenly carry out the killings. Of course, these massacres were the best nourishment for educating his comrades.

Zhang Yinghao resolutely suppressed the landlord militias that massacred the people, regardless of whether they were the ones who gave the orders or the ones who participated in the massacre. Unless local villagers pointed out reasons for not killing someone, almost all the others were beheaded after a public trial in the village where the massacre had taken place. Not killing them was not enough to appease the public anger. Of course, the hatred here was getting deeper and deeper, and it was no longer something Zhang Yinghao could control.

Zhang Feng was currently leading his troops in combat. Witnessing firsthand the brutality of the landlord class, he yearned to exterminate them all. However, the Party Committee's decision must be followed; only those who had raised the butcher knife against the people would be tried. However, their captives were dwindling; many had been "killed" in battle. The report didn't specify how they were killed.

Zhang Yinghao didn't say anything about this. This kind of massacre based on fundamental political opposition could only be resolved through the development of productivity. There was no solution now, so he could only let them die. If Zhang Yinghao had a way to instantly increase productivity, enough to feed the entire nation, then he could naturally be very lenient with these landlords. Since there was no other way, Zhang Yinghao wouldn't act like a saint, saying "don't kill" and asking the people to forgive his foolish words.

Zhang Yinghao now had a feeling that these landlord militias might be his greatest enemy, both now and in the future. To completely eliminate these militia landlords and resolve the rural land crisis, it would be impossible without millions of troops. And feeding millions of troops without industry was unthinkable. If the country's total grain production were evenly distributed, it would barely prevent starvation, and even insufficient food would be possible.

Zhang Yinghao realized that both external expansion and internal potential were imperative. He must mobilize all available labor and devote them entirely to infrastructure construction and agricultural and industrial production. Products produced could be sold through Chongqing, providing a vital support system for the base. As long as he had sufficient material resources, especially food, he would be invincible in this era. Otherwise, if he ran out of food, it would be a disastrous situation.

With food in hand, there's no need to panic. And as long as there's food, the regime won't waver. Even if any other problems arise, even if the Qing Dynasty and foreign powers attack simultaneously, the regime won't collapse. Food is a strategic resource in every era. The emperor doesn't lack hungry soldiers; ensuring adequate food and clothing is the ultimate political correctness.

Chapter 94:

While training his comrades, Zhang Yinghao felt a surge of anxiety. He wondered if this farming-style development was the right path. Should he focus on increasing territory or increasing construction? He was deeply surprised by the lack of a Qing counterattack. The resistance he encountered was minimal. He found it unbelievable that the Qing regime in Sichuan had become so corrupt.

Zhang Yinghao's only explanation was that he had maintained good order in his base and hadn't raised the banner of rebellion. Naturally, he was concerned about the current bizarre situation and immediately consulted with the intelligence department to arrange for personnel to go to Chengdu to gather information. After this period of investigation, surprisingly, Chengdu hadn't taken any action. Zhang Yinghao realized that reality is often stranger than fiction. They often say that there is no coincidence in the world, but in reality, whether you step out of the door with your left foot or your right foot can completely change your fate. This is the reality.

What Zhang Yinghao didn't know was that the current intelligence department was no longer what he had initially encountered. No longer burdened with gathering secret intelligence, and with frequent lessons learned, work quickly became more streamlined, and the department grew at an exceptionally rapid pace. Furthermore, many locally recruited Party members joined the intelligence department's peripheral organizations, contributing to its rapid expansion. The intelligence department now expanded along the Yangtze River, reaching Shanghai and Chengdu. Even Qingdao and Beijing now had Forward Party intelligence units. And with Comrade Chen Yiwei's departure, intelligence departments would quickly establish overseas branches.

The spread of "Chinese Revolutionary Song" resonated strongly among educated workers and progressive youth. Articles about it were published in rented newspapers in Shanghai and Wuhan. Countless people searched for the song's origins, but Zhang Yinghao and the Forward Party he founded were currently relatively unknown, maintaining a tightly controlled organization, so the source remained unknown.

Ever since his last business meeting with the foreigners, Zhang Yinghao knew his long and arduous educational work was far from over. He was currently training colleagues from the industrial and commercial sectors, and he was heard saying, "Comrades, when we engage in industrial development and trade, we must practice cost accounting. Let me ask you a question: We spent 500,000 taels to buy textile equipment. Each bolt of cloth costs one tael, and labor costs one ounce of silver. So, what is the cost of producing one bolt of cloth?"

Comrades raised their hands and answered: "One or two"

"wrong"

"One tael and one qian"

After hearing these answers, one can imagine how helpless Zhang Yinghao felt.

Zhang Yinghao said: "No, think about it again. The cost of one piece of cloth is one tael..."

At this moment, seeing a female comrade raise her hand, Zhang Yinghao said, "Comrade Cai Xiaofen, please answer."

Cai Xiaofen stood up, blushing, and said in an unsure tone, "Five hundred thousand, one tael, and one qian of silver!"

Some comrades immediately laughed, thinking it was impossible. Others showed expressions of sudden enlightenment. Zhang Yinghao also smiled and said, "How did you calculate it?"

Cai Xiaofen said: "Because I think the more cloth you produce, the cheaper it will be. These machines should be included in the cost and spread out."

Zhang Yinghao nodded in satisfaction and said, "Very good answer, absolutely correct. Sit down."

At this time, many comrades looked at Cai Xiaofen with envy in their eyes. At this moment, it was a very rare opportunity to be able to perform in front of Chairman Zhang Yinghao. Seeing so many comrades looking at her, Cai Xiaofen's face became even redder.

In every era, there are always talented people, but there are few who can identify them. In every era, there are always a large number of talented people who are unable to find appropriate positions among the common people. Simple examples include the large number of high-ranking officials in Pei County during the founding of the Han Dynasty, the large number of young people from Huaixi during the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, and the large number of veterans from Guangxi during the establishment of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. This all illustrates a common point: first-mover advantage means limited opportunities. Once others ascend to power, you lose your place.

Just like in the past, after the reform and opening up, a large number of wealthy individuals emerged, occupying a vast amount of society's resources. How could newcomers break through these resource constraints and develop? It would only become increasingly difficult. And in the new century, with college students everywhere, even if you were a thriving steed, it would be useless. You had to approach Bole, humbly tell him you were a thriving steed, and ask him to test ride you, otherwise your opportunity would be fleeting.

Some say that college graduates from the 1980s and 1990s were exceptional, while those who came after them are worthless. This is simply due to the principle that scarcity makes things valuable. In the 1980s and 1990s, graduates were naturally appointed to leading positions, standing out from the crowd of illiterate and semi-literate people. In terms of academic attainment, later graduates aren't much worse than them; it's simply their luck, born earlier, that allows them to seize social resources, while those who come after them lack opportunities.

Those born first control resources and naturally support their successors. According to the theory of "one emperor, one minister," a leader represents the interests of a group of people. Even if a leader is parachuted in, he must quickly build his own team. Whoever gets close first will naturally be promoted first.

To put it bluntly, I promoted you and it didn't do anything to me. Why didn't someone promote you? When two people face the opportunity to be promoted, one of them will give gifts, and the other one won't. It must be the one who has connections who will be promoted.

After all, anyone can do this job, so why would anyone promote someone who has no benefit at all?

A person is the sum of his or her social relationships. If you're alone, you won't achieve anything unless you have a large social network. Unless you're a skilled trader and someone else can replace you, you'll face the same challenges everywhere. The growing involution of the public is a perceived unfairness, but it's inevitable.

Things that are not subject to personal will, things that cannot be changed by personal will, if some people cannot see through this and cannot let go of this, they will inevitably live in pain.

Zhang Yinghao continued, "Comrade Cai Xiaofen is right. If we have so much machinery and equipment and only produce a small amount of cloth, then it will cost 500,000 taels and 1 qian of silver to sell it. If we produce two bolts of cloth, then our cost will be 250,000 taels and 1 qian. And so on. The more we produce, the lower our cost will be. If we produce 500,000 bolts of cloth, then we will have 250,000 taels and 1 qian of silver."

Our average cost is two taels and one qian per piece of cloth."

Seeing many comrades uttering "Oh" again and Yan Yue and Guo Lu's surprised expressions, Zhang Yinghao didn't know whether to appoint someone or wait until all the comrades caught up before continuing the lecture.

Zhang Yinghao continued: "Therefore, our comrades in the Ministry of Industry must take the initiative to work hard to produce in order to reduce our costs. However, the products we produce must be sold. If we cannot sell them and they are stored in the warehouse, we will lose money. If the products cannot be sold, our workers will not be paid, and they will not be able to support their families. That will be fatal. Therefore, our comrades must cooperate with the commercial and sales departments to sell the goods we produce.

We call this transaction between commodities and currency a thrilling jump. If we jump over it, we can recover our funds. If we fail to jump over it, our commodities will be left in our hands.

Think about it, if we produce hundreds of thousands of taels of silver worth of cloth and can't sell it, it's like spending hundreds of thousands of taels of silver and not getting it back. We have to pay for the raw materials, the labor, and the cloth will decay. If the cloth breaks, it's like we've just thrown away millions of yuan.

Therefore, our commercial departments can't just wait for customers to come and buy; we must go out and actively promote our products. We can't just sit in our offices like lords, waiting for customers to come. Instead, we must take the initiative, contact customers, promote our products, and sell them. The more we sell, and the faster we sell, the more we can produce, and only then can our comrades in the base area have jobs. If we can't sell, then our industrial departments won't dare to produce too much. If everyone doesn't produce, there will be no jobs. Will everyone just starve?

Everyone must cooperate well. We must produce in large quantities to lower our costs so that our people can have jobs, and with jobs, they can earn wages and afford clothes. If we produce less, costs will be high, and ultimately, no one will be able to afford our products. This is our attitude in serving the people, and this is our only attitude. We want them to wear our inexpensive clothes and use our inexpensive farm tools. We must do everything we can to lower the prices of our products to serve the people in our base areas.

Zhang Yinghao read a short story about two Jewish men selling bread.

The book uses the Chinese as a counterexample. Chinese people compete with each other when selling steamed buns, resulting in increasingly cheaper buns. Even though they sell more buns, they don't make much more money. Jewish people, on the other hand, compete with each other when selling bread, raising the price even higher. This leads to new vendors taking over the business, while the shop still makes money as long as people buy from it. The story concludes by explaining how the Jewish view of money works.

This Jewish story often makes people think about who is making money and who is losing money.

What we see is often not what we think, so Jews teach their children from a very young age not to trust their eyes too much and learn to analyze and think about things.

In that complex environment, who loses money and who makes money?

From a Jewish perspective, no one loses money in the "shaobing" business; those who sell out profit. In the shaobing market, because it's considered a valuable asset and its price is rising, there's no question of losing money. The true winners are those who convert capital into cash. This story is like our stock market: speculation, speculation, speculation. The key isn't the stock, but the speculation. Anything can be hyped up, but the ultimate losers are those who ultimately buy in and the end consumer.

Zhang Yinghao thought this story made a lot of sense in his previous life, as long as he did not

As the final buyer, everyone should improve the quality of the buns, wouldn't they all make money? But after traveling here for so long, Zhang Yinghao slowly discovered some problems.

I think this story is rubbish.

Regarding the hype surrounding sesame cakes, Zhang Yinghao believes this example is not a good one, or rather, any hype surrounding essential products is not a good idea. Just like the real estate speculation groups, speculation deviates from the original purpose of housing. If even food is speculated on, causing prices to soar, people will starve, or even die. If cotton and other commodities are speculated on, causing prices to soar, people will freeze, or even die. Isn't the hype about garlic and ginger all hype? The people are suffering terribly from this, and this is not an attitude of serving the people.

For Zhang Yinghao right now, this story would be perfectly acceptable if applied to speculation in jade, antiques, calligraphy, or stocks. However, speculation in essential goods like food and cloth would be unacceptable. Zhang Yinghao currently distorts prices and supply and demand to maintain stability and development in his base. He cannot allow excessive profits to be made on these essential goods, and in some cases, even has to pay out of pocket. His goal is to stabilize prices and public sentiment in his base.

Zhang Yinghao felt that for a considerable period of time, he would have to suppress the people's desire for consumption and focus on construction, completing the infrastructure that the Qing Dynasty owed for centuries before he could gradually relax some consumption restrictions. If price manipulation were to occur within the base area, Zhang Yinghao would absolutely not allow it.

Chapter 95:

Zhang Yinghao continued, "Our industrial department should contact our purchasing comrades to procure the machinery and equipment we need most. Everyone has seen the power of industry. The production efficiency of cold, cold machines is simply incomparable to the most dexterous and powerful hands. So how should we approach procurement? Comrades, please take a look at the technology tree plan I have sent you. This plan is strictly confidential and cannot be released to the public. Only our core personnel have access to it. Many of the materials are also our internal teaching materials. I think everyone should have explained this in the confidentiality class, so I will not elaborate on it here."

We can see clearly from this technology tree that our current procurement must start from the two most basic aspects. The first is agriculture. Look at the first branch of the trunk. Everyone knows that we humans need to eat to survive. Agriculture can be said to be our most important thing for the time being. In fact, most of our current work is carried out around agriculture, such as building water conservancy projects, dividing fields, forming cooperatives, establishing rural credit cooperatives... and so on.

Agriculture leads to light industry. You've seen our textile mills, garment factories, and so on, all examples of light industry. But have you noticed that our core industries are not just these? They include mining, smelting, automobile manufacturing, and other heavy industries. The path we must take now is actually one path with two legs. This path is industrialization, and the two legs are heavy industry and light industry.

Agriculture is crucial because it's the foundation for both heavy and light industry. However, once we complete land reform, the focus for a long time will shift away from agriculture and towards industrial development. Furthermore, for a long time, we will need to obtain large quantities of raw materials from the countryside, relying solely on industry to feed back into agriculture and engage in a scissors-shaped trade.

Everyone has taken basic chemistry classes, and everyone is familiar with the three acids and two bases. We're starting with these areas when purchasing machinery. Steel mills, chemical plants, mining equipment. Machine tools for manufacturing equipment, also known as industrial machine tools, hydraulic presses, and so on—all these are the machines and equipment we need to buy. But buying this equipment costs money. Where does the money come from? It comes from the products you sell.

You have the heaviest burden, and countless things to learn. You are also the elite members carefully selected by our Progressive Party. I have high expectations for you. The better you do, the faster we will liberate the country, and the less suffering our people will endure. You are now controlling the speed of our national liberation. The more products you sell, the more machines you buy, the faster we will liberate the country and liberate more people. Do you understand?

Without waiting for the comrades to answer, Zhang Yinghao continued, "You have also seen that the Qing Dynasty also built some factories, but they all bought factories. Do you know what this means? It means that the necks of these factories are in the hands of foreigners. Comrades, you all know that machinery and equipment will break down, right? We Chinese like to pass on any tools we make to our descendants. For example, when we make tables, we make them thick and durable, so that they can be used by generations. But machines are different. Machines cannot be used for ten or a hundred years. What should we do if they break down? If they can be repaired, they will be repaired. If they cannot be repaired, they will be replaced with new ones. Could the Qing Dynasty manufacture its own machinery and equipment? They could not. They still relied on buying, and in the end, all the money flowed into the pockets of foreigners.

Comrades, you must understand these things clearly. We must ensure that the machinery and equipment we purchase come with all the drawings and relevant formulas, such as engine drawings, generator drawings, special steel formulas, and special dye formulas.

To us, these blueprints and formulas are far more valuable than the machinery and equipment. This is why I've repeatedly emphasized that it's best to purchase the entire plant. If we buy the entire plant, we'll have to take all the research data with us and hand it over to our translation department and science and technology department for review. We can't just buy a plant and simply run it; we need to understand the scientific principles behind it—not only the how, but also the why. We need to be able to repair broken machines and design more advanced ones ourselves.

Once we acquire a factory and understand its principles, we must be able to replicate it countless times and upgrade it. Furthermore, once we liberate Sichuan and even the entire country, we will undoubtedly build railways and highways nationwide. So, can we plan ahead for locomotive and track production? Some of us here have never seen a train, so while this may be a bit of a hassle, we can only shoulder the responsibility.

Look at the bottom of the tech tree. Mining and mining equipment are the most basic and important. Everyone has a tech tree. You're starting with the basics, purchasing and researching. You should actively fill in the blanks through learning. We want our tech tree to grow larger and higher... Any questions?

"Teacher, what does it mean that industry feeds back to agriculture?"

"Well, how should I put it? To understand how industry feeds back to agriculture, we need to understand why industry feeds back to agriculture, and we need to understand the scissors gap between industry and agriculture. The scissors gap is the price difference between the value of industrial and agricultural products. I called it the scissors gap. This scissors gap refers to the difference that occurs when industrial and agricultural products are exchanged, with the price of industrial products being higher than their value and the price of agricultural products being lower than their value.

From the perspective of changes in the physical form of exchange of industrial and agricultural products (i.e., the amount of industrial products that can be exchanged for an equal amount of agricultural products), combined with changes in the value of these products, we can see that the situation in which industrial product prices are higher than their value and agricultural product prices are lower than their value persists, with this gap sometimes narrowing and sometimes widening. This gap is caused by the different rates of growth in industrial and agricultural labor productivity. It differs from the traditional scissors gap and should therefore be referred to as the price difference between industrial and agricultural products. This price difference also reflects the exchange of unequal values. Excessive differences are detrimental to the coordinated development of industrial and agricultural production.

If we plot the price fluctuations of industrial and agricultural products over a specific period (e.g., a year) using a statistical chart, we'll see that industrial product prices tend to rise, while agricultural product prices tend to fall. This trend resembles the shape of a pair of open scissors, hence the name "scissors gap" between industrial and agricultural product prices. The name comes from the scissors-like shape it displays when plotted on a chart.

During the process of industrialization, the price gap between industrial and agricultural products has tended to widen. Specifically, when general prices rise, agricultural product prices also rise, but the rate of increase is often lower than that of industrial product prices. Conversely, when general prices fall, industrial product prices also fall, but the rate of decrease is often lower than that of agricultural product prices. This indicates the unequal exchange of the values ​​of industrial and agricultural products. If the difference between prices and values ​​increases, it is called a widening scissors gap; otherwise, it is called a narrowing scissors gap.

Zhang Yinghao then displayed a price chart on the blackboard, gave a brief explanation, and continued, "We have introduced a series of policies to stimulate grain production, stabilizing farmers' enthusiasm for growing grain from the production link. These policies have produced positive results. As you can see, after our land reform, all the fields that can grow grain are now planted with grain, and we are also strongly encouraging farmers to grow cotton.

But don't forget that our grain pricing system combines unified purchase and sale with market supply and demand. Adjustments in grain prices haven't kept pace with those for agricultural production materials and other industrial products, and the rate of increase in grain prices has lagged behind the rate of increase in prices for agricultural production materials and other industrial products.

Then, with the development of the rural economy, the market-oriented allocation of agricultural production factors has led to the flow of rural labor, land and other resources to industries and services with more comparative advantages.

In short, the contradiction between the incomplete marketization of grain price formation mechanisms and the relative marketization of price formation mechanisms for agricultural production materials, labor, and other factors is the dominant factor in the emergence and development of the "scissors gap" phenomenon in grain production.

However, our grain pricing policy is designed to ensure that all working people have access to food. Prices will remain low for a long time, meaning they won't rise significantly or sustainably. Furthermore, compared to the natural disasters and market risks that grain farming faces, the income our farmers earn from working outside the home is significantly higher than from growing grain.

The scissors gap is a product of the capitalist system. When industrial capitalists with advanced production technology exchange industrial and agricultural products with farmers with backward production technology, they inevitably raise the prices of industrial products and lower the prices of agricultural products, exploiting the farmers through the scissors gap.

The scissors gap in the exchange of our industrial and agricultural products also has historical reasons. As we all know, before the Opium War, China's national economy was based on agriculture.

Agricultural products and handicraft products are basically exchanged according to their value.

After the Opium War, imperialism used force to seize various trade privileges with China, and China became a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, becoming a market for foreign capitalists to dump goods (mainly industrial consumer goods) and a base for plundering raw materials (mainly agricultural products). The scissors gap also reflects the economic plunder of imperialism.

The exploiting classes in China use their economic and political advantages to continuously raise the sales prices of industrial products and lower the purchase prices of agricultural products, using the expansion of the shear force to

They exploit our peasant comrades by means of knife-cutting.

In China, foreigners are currently suppressing the prices of our agricultural products while simultaneously raising the prices of their industrial products. This is obvious to all. Just compare the prices of eggs, bristles, tung oil, and other products in China with those of baking soda, gasoline, and kerosene.

The scissors gap is a key exchange method used by industrial nations in international trade. It's a phenomenon in which developed nations leverage their monopoly position to control the foreign trade of developing nations, driving down the world market prices of primary products produced by developing nations while simultaneously raising the world market prices of manufactured goods produced by developed nations. If this phenomenon is depicted graphically, it resembles a pair of open scissors. Through this exchange method, developed nations can earn substantial profits.

To accelerate the accumulation of funds for industrialization, we are artificially suppressing the purchase price of agricultural products. This has resulted in some of farmers' income being transferred to government-supported industrial sectors through the exchange of agricultural and industrial products. This has resulted in a loss of wealth for agriculture and farmers. We call this income "tribute" or "excess tax." Our industrial and commercial sectors have once again raised the prices of industrial products, further lowering the relative price level of agricultural products, which had already been forcibly suppressed by the government.

Our peasant comrades suffer greatly in this exchange. Therefore, I use the term "scissors gap" to describe the current situation of the widening price ratio between industrial and agricultural products. We rely on artificially expanding the price ratio between industrial and agricultural products to accumulate capital for industrialization, thereby keeping the price ratio between industrial and agricultural products at an unreasonable level for a long time.

The scissors gap has actually always been a problem, but it has not only not narrowed but has been widening, and has developed into a major political and economic issue between industry and agriculture and between workers and farmers in my country. I will talk about this in detail later.

Next, regarding our implementation of the unified purchase and sale of grain, we will continue to obtain corresponding funds from farmers through the scissors gap between industrial and agricultural products. From this, we can see that the implicit burden of the scissors gap borne by farmers is very heavy.

Therefore, we must carry out industrial feeding back to agriculture. Industrial feeding back to agriculture means that industry provides support and protection to rural areas and agricultural development in various forms, and promotes its transformation from backward and traditional forms to advanced and modern agriculture.

This is a bionic concept, based on the fact that agriculture inevitably makes huge sacrifices for our industrial development. While we vigorously develop industry and industrialize our country, our agriculture is lagging behind, so industry has an obligation to give back. It also aims to show that while industry has long been nurtured by agriculture, it should also fully develop industry and return the benefits of industry to agriculture in the long term.

Chapter 96:

Zhang Yinghao went on to say: "We cannot let our farmers suffer losses. By feeding agriculture with industry, we can promote the sustainable development of our country's agriculture, ensure our food security, improve the rural environment, transform farmers' living environment into a modern one, and help improve farmers' cultural quality and promote the urbanization process in rural areas.

So how can industry effectively feed back agriculture? Specific manifestations of industry feeding back agriculture:

1. We will strive to develop agricultural production, increase rural infrastructure development, boost scientific and technological investment, continuously increase the proportion of funds allocated to agricultural research, and significantly increase the scale of investment in agricultural research. We will implement direct subsidies for grain farmers, and where conditions permit, we will further increase subsidies. Our fiscal budget will continue to increase subsidies for improved seeds and the purchase of agricultural machinery, significantly increase investment in comprehensive agricultural development, and establish a special fund to subsidize the construction of small-scale farmland water conservancy facilities.

Continuously improving agricultural labor productivity and reducing costs will keep the value of each unit of agricultural product decreasing, thereby gradually narrowing the proportional gap in the exchange value of industrial and agricultural products, and bringing them closer to equal exchange. This is the fundamental way to narrow the price gap.

2. Adjust the prices of industrial and agricultural products through price leverage. When the price of agricultural products is significantly lower than their value, the purchase price of agricultural products should be gradually increased. When the price of industrial products, especially agricultural products, is significantly higher than their value, their sales price should be reduced as much as possible, so that the exchange rate difference between industrial and agricultural products gradually narrows.

However, raising the purchase price of agricultural and sideline products must be considered in conjunction with the prices of industrial products that use them as raw materials, ensuring a comprehensive balance to avoid a cycle of price increases. At the same time, adjustments to industrial and agricultural product prices must take into account the balance between market supply and social purchasing power, particularly the balance between the supply of industrial products in rural areas and farmers' purchasing power. This requires not only a balance between the total supply of goods and social purchasing power, but also the supply of major commodities that best meets consumer needs, especially farmers' needs.

3. Increase farmers' incomes by establishing agricultural, industrial, and commercial joint ventures and returning a portion of profits from agricultural product processing to agriculture. Increase policy-based financial support for agriculture and increase medium- and long-term loans to support agricultural and rural development. Substantially increase investment in vocational skills training for farmers. Increase funding for education, health, culture, family planning, and other programs. Furthermore, we will gradually liberalize agricultural product prices, actively promote negotiated purchase and sale of agricultural products, and continue to open up market trade, all of which are important aspects of narrowing the exchange rate gap between industrial and agricultural products.

Therefore, on the basis of maintaining basic price stability, we have made some adjustments to certain unreasonable prices, increased the purchase prices of agricultural products and stabilized the retail prices of industrial products in rural areas, and gradually narrowed the excessive exchange gap between industrial and agricultural products left over from history.

Industrial support for agriculture is essential for developing agricultural production and ensuring food security: agriculture is an industry that ensures peace and stability for the people. Our country currently has a population of 4 million, and evenly distributing all the food we produce will only prevent starvation. Therefore, we must implement industrial support for agriculture and adopt various effective measures to continuously enhance agricultural production capacity within our base areas.

Industrial support for agriculture is a requirement for improving the competitiveness of our agricultural products: In order to overcome the disadvantages of ultra-small agricultural operation scale and meet the challenges of the international market, it is necessary to implement industrial support for agriculture, continuously increase support for agriculture and public welfare services, and comprehensively improve the competitiveness of agricultural products.

Industry feeding back agriculture is a requirement for improving social equity: Implementing industry feeding back agriculture is a requirement for slowing down or even reversing the trend of widening income gap between industry and agriculture, a requirement for payment according to contribution and improving social equity, and a requirement for social stability.

Zhang Yinghao knew that the people in front of him still couldn't understand these things. They had never heard of them before. So Zhang Yinghao said, "To put it simply, we want to make cheap products available to everyone. This means we keep grain prices low and purchase grain and other products produced by farmers at low prices. At the same time, we strive to produce industrial products and sell them to farmers at low prices, including cheap hoes, hoes, plows, etc., so that all comrades in the base area can use iron farm tools. We have all done farm work in the fields. Think about those farmers who use wooden farm tools. It's not that they don't want to use iron farm tools, but they can't afford them! Using iron farm tools in the fields will not only allow us men to work in the fields, but also allow men, women, young and old to work together. The number of workers and labor efficiency will be greatly increased. Do you understand?"

Zhang Yinghao talked a lot of nonsense, and everyone understood that he should use cheap farm tools.

"The most important thing is to build roads. We can't pave all the roads with cement right now, nor do we need to. But widening and paving the roads is necessary. This will make it easier for the villagers to travel, and it will also make it easier for our troops to march quickly to any point within the base. So whenever our comrades arrive in a place, they must find a way to organize the local villagers to repair the roads."

Zhang Yinghao knew a saying: if you want to get rich, you must first build roads. Right now, Zhang Yinghao had no trains or cars, so building many cement roads was difficult and unnecessary. But Zhang Yinghao needed to provide a large number of labor opportunities. If industry failed, infrastructure would be the solution. So, Zhang Yinghao came up with a simple slogan: every village should have a road. If there weren't cement roads, building a dirt road would be better than taking the small roads!