Year: I planted trees in Saihanba

Time flew by and it was early spring of 1958.

Just as predicted in the summer, not a single snowflake has fallen for the past few months.

"Engineer Xia, if this continues, will those trees even survive?"

Xia Tian and Feng Cheng sat together, chatting casually.

"Who can say for sure!"

“I’m afraid that in a few months, we won’t even have a problem eating.”

Summer's deep gaze looked into the distance.

"If it stays in this sun, who knows if the saplings will even survive?"

"Whether a person can even survive is a question!"

"I wonder what the situation is like down below the dam?"

"Who knows?"

Down below the dam.

Weichang County Forestry Bureau.

Qu He is organizing manpower to carry out drought relief activities.

Since the beginning of spring this year, there hasn't been a single spring rain.

Moreover, this situation did not occur in Weichang County alone.

Drought of varying degrees has occurred in Chengde area, the entire Rehe province, and even across the country.

Qin Qiufeng, the Vice Minister of Forestry, received the report last year.

He was handed over to the State Council immediately.

The State Council also attaches great importance to this.

The gentleman personally gave instructions, urging all regions to make preparations for drought relief.

……

Several months have passed in the blink of an eye.

Over the past few months.

Xia Tian and Feng Cheng were also on the dam, and they had to go to the water source to fetch water every day.

Of the more than 500 saplings planted last year, more than 200 have already died.

Aside from the seeds given by the system and the seedlings that have grown, the rest are...

They were all half-dead.

Even the 69 saplings that the system said had a 100% survival rate were all the same.

"Alas, the late emperor passed away before his great undertaking was even half completed!"

In the summer, he would look at the withered saplings and mutter to himself.

"Is this tree-planting project, which has just begun, going to be abandoned halfway through due to the influence of this damned heavens?"

Even if we don't mention the area above the dam, the forestry bureaus below the dam are also having a tough time.

The whole country is suffering from a severe drought.

Many of the seedlings in the nursery below the dam also succumbed to the drought this year and withered and died.

In this difficult situation, Qu He was extremely busy and overwhelmed.

He not only had to coordinate the bureau's resources.

They also had to attend a meeting at the county government to participate in the county government's disaster relief efforts.

Yu Zhenglai, the director of the Chengde Forestry Bureau, was also busy.

They are busy every day on the road to drought relief and disaster relief.

Ministry of Forestry.

Qin Qiufeng sat in the main seat, looking solemnly at the leaders of the Ministry of Forestry below.

"It's unclear when this severe drought will end."

"This disaster has affected not only our forestry system, but also our agricultural system."

"Moreover, and more importantly, they're still busy with campaigns in agriculture!"

"Although the State Council has issued an order for all regions to carry out drought relief and disaster relief."

"But the movement within the agricultural system probably won't stop anytime soon."

"This natural disaster is compounded by human error."

"It's the ordinary people who suffer!"

Qin Qiufeng said with some emotion.

The leaders of the Ministry of Forestry also lowered their heads.

The huge conference room fell into complete silence.

No one knows when this disaster will end.

State Council.

The gentleman also personally presided over a meeting.

After all, if things continue like this, who knows how many more people will die.

After the meeting, a series of orders were urgently issued from the sea and transmitted to various places.

Ministry of Forestry.

Qin Qiufeng also presided over a large meeting.

Because of severe disasters across the country, there has been a poor harvest.

People then turned their attention to the edible bark.

This has placed a heavy burden on forestry across the country.

But there is no way around this.

A tree that dies can be replanted.

But once a person is gone, they are truly gone.

Therefore, the purpose of Qin Qiufeng's meeting was...

Forestry departments in various regions should not prevent people from stripping bark from trees.

………………I am a dividing line………………

The following is a summary of the drought situation from 1958 to 1962:

The content is a bit boring and tedious, so you can skip it.

It's just to give everyone a sense of those years.

1958年 - 1-5月：云南西部负距平40%-80%，为重旱。

- March to May: Most parts of Yunnan, southern Sichuan and Guizhou, most parts of Guangdong and Guangxi, and southern Fujian will experience negative anomalies of 30% to 85%, with some areas experiencing severe drought.

- May-August: Central Heilongjiang, most of Jilin, western and central Liaoning: negative anomaly of 30%-60%, with some areas experiencing severe drought.

- June-July: The negative anomaly in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River is 50%-85%, with some areas experiencing severe drought.

- June to September: Eastern Hunan, northern Jiangxi, and western Zhejiang will experience negative anomalies of 35%-70%, with some areas experiencing severe drought.

1959年 - 3-5月：黄河上游大部分及河北北部、内蒙大部、辽宁南部负距平25%-50%，为旱。

- April-May: The negative anomaly in northern Heilongjiang is 30%-50%, with some areas experiencing severe drought.

- April-June: Central Jilin experiences a negative anomaly of 30%-50%, with some areas experiencing severe drought.

- July-September: The negative anomaly in the area south of the lower reaches of the Wei River and Yellow River to the Nanling Mountains is 30%-80%, with most areas experiencing severe drought.

- October-December: Most areas of South China experience negative anomalies of 30%-85%, with severe drought.

1960年 - 59.10-60.2：华南大部地区负距平40%-90%，重旱。

- 59.10-60.4: Western and central Guangdong and Hainan Island have a negative anomaly of 50%-70%, indicating severe drought.

- 59.11-60.5: Yunnan, southern Sichuan, and western Guizhou have negative anomalies of 45%-80%, with most areas experiencing severe drought.

- March-May: Western Liaoning, northeastern Hebei, and southeastern Inner Mongolia will experience severe drought with negative anomalies of 50%-70%.

- March to June: The negative anomaly in the Weihe River, the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, and the Haihe River region is 25%-80%, with some areas experiencing severe drought.

- July-August: The negative anomaly in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is 45%-85%, with some areas experiencing severe drought.

1961年 - 3-6月：华北大部、东北西部、山东北部负距平30%-60%，部分重旱。

- April to August: Southern Henan and northern Hubei experienced a negative anomaly of 40%-65%, resulting in severe drought.

- June (mid-July): Parts of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River will experience a negative anomaly of 45%-80%, leading to drought.

- June (mid-August): Northern Guizhou, southeastern Sichuan, and parts of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River will experience severe drought with negative anomalies of 45%-85%.

1962年 - 1-3月：两广北部、湘赣南部负距平50%-80%，重旱。

- January to April: Coastal areas of Guangdong and Hainan Island experienced a negative anomaly of 40%-80%, indicating severe drought.

- March to May: Western Yunnan, southwestern and northern Sichuan, southern Gansu and the area between the Yellow and Huai Rivers will experience severe drought with negative anomalies of 35%-80%.

- March-June: Central Inner Mongolia, northern Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hebei, and the Beijing-Tianjin area will experience severe drought with negative anomalies of 65%-90%.

- March-July (first half): Most areas of the Yellow River Basin experienced a negative anomaly of 50%-90%, with severe drought.

- April-June: Most of Heilongjiang and northwestern Jilin will experience drought due to negative anomalies of 30%-55%.

- July-August: Most of Guangdong and central and southern Hunan have a negative anomaly of 45%-75%, resulting in drought.

- July-September: Eastern Hunan, southern Jiangxi, and southern Fujian: negative anomaly 35%-65%, drought.

- August to October: North China and western Northeast Plain experience severe drought with negative anomalies of 50%-80%.

The above content is derived from authoritative data and documents analyzed, released, and published by the National Meteorological Administration, data and research compiled by the Ministry of Water Resources, and the "China Disaster Report" compiled by the National Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Civil Affairs, summarizing their records, summaries, and research.

According to the "China Disaster Report," in 1958, "from January to August, a large area of ​​the country suffered from drought... Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, and the southwestern provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou, as well as the southern provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi. The spring drought was prolonged and widespread, severely affecting crop sowing and growth. Central and eastern Hebei Province experienced more than 200 consecutive days without rain or snow... In mid-May... the southwest, south China, and eastern Hebei experienced continuous drought. By summer, more than 8 million hectares of farmland in East China and Northeast China were affected by drought. In Jilin Province, 266 small rivers and 1384 reservoirs dried up, marking the worst drought in nearly 30 years. Throughout the year, the drought affected 2236 million hectares of farmland in 24 provinces and regions."

In 1959, "from January to April, Hebei and Heilongjiang provinces experienced severe spring drought. Due to scarce rainfall since the previous winter, the drought affected the growth of 1.5 million hectares of wheat in Hebei Province, with 620,000 hectares suffering damage, and another 200,000 hectares of farmland requiring water to be carried for planting; in Heilongjiang Province, 1.5 million hectares of farmland were affected by drought to a depth of more than 2 inches, with some areas suffering 4-5 inches, which was historically rare." From July to September, a vast area south of the Wei River and the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, and north of the Nanling Mountains and Wuyi Mountains experienced widespread drought, with Fujian and Guangdong provinces experiencing 60 days without rain. Consequently, "the drought affected 20 provinces and regions, including Henan, Shandong, Sichuan, Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Heilongjiang, Shaanxi, and Shanxi, with drought affecting 77.3% (3380.6 million hectares) and 82.9% (1117.3 million hectares suffering damage), respectively. The scale of the disaster was unprecedented in the 1950s."

In 1960, the persistent drought worsened: "From January to September, a severe drought struck, primarily affecting northern China. The first half of the year saw a severe drought in the north. Most of the seven provinces and regions of Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, and Shaanxi had lacked rain and snow since the previous autumn, with some areas experiencing drought periods lasting 300-400 days. The affected area reached 2319.1 million hectares, with 14.2 million hectares suffering severe damage; among them, Shandong, Henan, and Hebei provinces each suffered approximately 5.3 million hectares of affected area, totaling 1598.6 million hectares, with approximately 808.5 million hectares suffering severe damage. Most river channels north of the Funiu Mountains-Shahe River region in Shandong and Henan provinces dried up." The Yellow River, from Jinan to Fanxian, also experienced drought for more than 40 days, with some areas nearly dry, leaving 8 million people without drinking water. During the summer and autumn, drought affected more than 666,000 hectares in seven southern provinces and regions: Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Yunnan, and Sichuan (note: drought in Guangdong and Hainan lasted for seven months, and the southwestern provinces experienced continuous drought throughout winter and spring). Sichuan and Hubei alone suffered 198.1 million hectares of drought damage. Excluding Tibet, the total drought-affected area in mainland provinces and regions reached 3812.46 million hectares, the highest record since the founding of the People's Republic of China; "This year's disaster is the most severe since the founding of the PRC, and rare in nearly a century." In addition to the Yellow River, many other rivers dried up during the severe drought, such as the Yongding River and Zhulong River, which dried up for five months; the Ziya River and the Fuyang River downstream of Hengshui dried up from November 1959 until July 18, 1960; and eight of the twelve major rivers in Shandong, including the Wen River and Wei River, dried up.

1961年，旱情持续：“1-9月，全国范围的特大旱灾。全国旱区受灾面积达3784.6万公顷，成灾1865.4万公顷，主要分布于华北平原及长江中下游地区、黄土高原、西辽河流域”。是年3-6月，海河水系的赵王河、潴龙河平均流量距平偏少一半以上。西辽河通辽站3-6月平均流量仅0.123秒立方米，比多年平均值少99%！安徽省正阳关、蚌埠和江苏洪泽湖各站6-8月平均流量较年均值偏少8成。湖北襄阳专区8个县325条大小河流，断流312条。

In 1962, "From January to September, a large-scale drought struck the entire country. Since last winter, there had been little rain or snow in northwestern Hunan, northern Guangdong, northern Sichuan, northern Jiangsu, and central Anhui. In February, about 1 million hectares of land were experiencing drought. In March, the drought area expanded to Henan, Hubei, Guizhou, and Shaanxi provinces, totaling 3.6 million hectares. The drought lasted for 200-400 days in the Hexi Corridor of Gansu, Hulunbuir and Ulanqab regions of Inner Mongolia, northern Shanxi, northwestern Hebei, and northwestern Jilin. Wells and rivers dried up, and people and livestock faced difficulties in accessing drinking water. Throughout the year, the drought affected 2174.6 million hectares of farmland in 24 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, mainly in the north, with 878.4 million hectares suffering from disaster."

Based on the analysis of data and charts on disaster situation and affected area, it was confirmed that there were continuous and severe natural disasters in the past three years. At the same time, the different impacts of various decision-making errors were analyzed. Grain was used as the lifeline and comparative index of the causal chain that determines the rise and fall of the national economy. Econometric methods were used to analyze the proportion of rural production reduction due to disaster, production reduction due to decision-making errors, and reduction of grain reserves due to high procurement.

According to the "Report on Disasters in China, 1949-1995" compiled by the National Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Civil Affairs, in 1959, the country experienced a "severe natural disaster of unprecedented scale in the 1950s," affecting an area of ​​4463 million hectares, concentrated in major grain-producing provinces such as Henan, Shandong, Sichuan, Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, and Heilongjiang. In 1960, the disaster continued to worsen, with a severe drought persisting in northern China. Entering 1961, the drought spread to the Yellow River, Huai River, and the entire Yangtze River basin, resulting in a 50% reduction in wheat production in the three major grain-producing areas of Hebei, Shandong, and Henan compared to the previous year's lowest levels.

In addition, due to the serious "leftist" errors in the Great Leap Forward and the People's Commune movement from 1959 to 1961, coupled with the nationwide shortage of food and non-staple foods caused by large-scale natural disasters that plagued Chinese farmland for several consecutive years from 1959 to 1961, the new China faced the most serious economic difficulties since its founding.

……