Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Wei Hongjun is also reflecting.

I was simply concerned that the military and local government shouldn't have too much to do with business. Unfortunately, I forgot that money and profit are the keys to success. The troops and local government below have excellent opportunities for business, and they certainly wouldn't want to see the Column Logistics Department take all the benefits.

However, no matter how much he reflected on it, Wei Hongjun was still very angry.

If they have any ideas, they can directly raise them. Wei Hongjun cannot accept such a violation of the column policy.

"Director Gao, what do you think?"

"Political Commissar, I believe this matter cannot be suppressed forcefully. The Eighth Column's Trade and Logistics Departments are able to earn money and raise so much supplies thanks to the active cooperation of the troops and local governments below them. If the column forcibly suppresses them and strips them of their trade, it will directly affect the current base's trade system and lead to trade and economic chaos."

Although Gao Weinong was angry that the people below him did not give him, the director of the trade department, face.

But Gao Weinong still believed that the current model was suitable for the current situation in the base area. Wei Hongjun nodded and said, "That makes sense. The Chairman has always said that we should allow lower-level cadres to exercise their subjective initiative. We shouldn't suppress them too much."

Wei Hongjun really had a headache about how to solve this problem.

The column had to control the overall situation and could not allow the troops below it, the local government, and the base area's business to become too deeply involved. At the same time, the base area's business could not avoid them. How to strike this balance was indeed a difficult problem.

We must allow them to exercise their subjective initiative and work hard to develop more businesses and raise more supplies, but we must not allow the troops to become so bogged down in this that they only care about their own little piece of the pie and the interests of their own small group.

Wei Hongjun thought for a moment and said, "Director Gao, it is imperative that the Trade and Logistics Departments implement direct leadership of the Column. However, we also cannot let the troops and organizations that contribute work in vain and suppress their enthusiasm. So, your Trade and Logistics Departments, together with the trade organizations of the subordinate detachments and local governments, hold a joint meeting to determine a profit-sharing ratio. The profits earned by the subordinate trading companies will be divided between the Column and the subordinate detachments and local governments according to a certain ratio. This ratio will be fixed. The troops and local governments that contribute will be allowed to keep a certain percentage of the profits.

If you want your subordinates to do things, you must give up some profits.

Wei Hongjun had thought it was a bit simple before.

The Eighth Route Army had always confiscated and then distributed all captured goods. Therefore, Wei Hongjun transplanted this model to the Trade and Logistics Departments. However, this was obviously very different from the confiscated goods on the battlefield.

How many cadres can truly obey orders completely and be selfless?

If you want the horses to run, you should feed them.

So now Wei Hongjun is ready to change this model.

Use a certain profit-sharing model so as not to dampen the enthusiasm of the lower-level troops and local governments.

“Commissar, this.

"Director Gao, I will send a telegram to each of the detachments and local governments below. Our Eighth Column is a whole. Only caring about our own Little Nine, Nine, is a serious case of parochialism. This kind of parochialism must be stopped and criticized. As long as I am still the political commissar of the column and secretary of the Chanan Special Committee, I will never allow this kind of parochialism to appear in the troops and base areas. When the Trade Department and the Logistics Department have meetings, if there are any problems that cannot be solved, come directly to me. I will go to the meeting for them."

If there really is anyone below who directly defies the column's orders, Wei Hongjun will definitely deal with it.

The Eighth Route Army is in great need of cadres.

However, he would not allow lower-level cadres to engage in factionalism or departmentalism. When it came time to deal with them, Wei Hongjun would show no mercy.

"Yes."

"As for the current problem of each unit's logistics department operating independently, do you two have any thoughts?"

"Political Commissar, the column is expanding too quickly, and the base is also expanding too quickly. We are now struggling to cope with the new situation and build a logistics organization that adapts to the current model. Especially in the past two years, the column has begun to concentrate its forces to fight major battles, which has placed even higher demands on logistics management. The logistics model we used when we first developed the base is completely unsuitable now."

Li Shiping did not hide anything and told the current situation.

Li Shiping really didn't want to report this to Wei Hongjun. After all, Li Shiping was the deputy commander of the 8th Column, in charge of the unit's logistics department. If he couldn't solve the problems in the logistics department himself, it would appear that Li Shiping was incompetent. So Li Shiping originally wanted to try to solve the problem himself, but after more than a year of hard work, he still couldn't solve these problems. Instead, the problems continued to grow, and the contradictions became more and more serious.

Li Shiping understood that if the current logistics problems were not resolved, it would directly affect the development of the column and the combat effectiveness of the troops. He also understood that his own abilities were limited and that he could not handle the current problems in the logistics department.

So I told Wei Hongjun about this.

Wei Hongjun was angry.

But I couldn't bring myself to criticize Li Shiping. Before the war, Li Shiping was in charge of student movements, and his work had always focused on mobilizing students. After the war broke out, he was mainly responsible for propaganda work in the army.

However, there were too few educated people in the army later, so Li Shiping was responsible for logistics.

But that's all.

When the 8th Column was first established, logistics were not complex. The main source of supplies came from captured and confiscated goods, and the logistics department's primary job was to record captured supplies and distribute them to the various units according to the column's orders. The work was relatively simple.

Later, with the construction of the base area and the opening of businesses by various departments within the base area, the army's logistical supplies began to increase. However, the logistics work did not change much. However, with the expansion of the 8th Column, large-scale troops were assembled for battle, and the troops fought across regions, the logistics problem began to become complicated. Li Shiping's inability in this area began to emerge.

He has more talent in publicity, and the work of the logistics department is becoming increasingly difficult to cope with.

"I know about this matter. I will find a way."

After seeing off Li Shiping and Gao Weinong, Wei Hongjun suddenly thought of something. The reason so many problems arose, besides the issue of regularizing the logistics organization, was that each unit had its own interests.

If the columns do not take these interests into account, many problems will remain unresolved. The root cause of these conflicts of interest is not only factionalism and parochialism, but also the unclear ownership of various properties.

To whom does the property currently owned by the column and its subordinate troops and local organizations belong?

This is a rather complicated question.

Ownership, the right to own property, these rights are vague.

For many years of revolutionary war, the emphasis was on the public ownership of captured spoils and the unity of the troops. This was because we were engaged in warfare, and our forces must be concentrated, not dispersed. Therefore, at this stage, these things weren't necessary, nor was there any need for theoretical research on this subject. However, once the revolution triumphed and the People's Republic of China was established, this would become a crucial issue. After liberation, Chairman Mao specifically addressed this issue.

That is, public ownership and collective ownership must be clearly distinguished.

For example, much rural property was collectively owned, meaning it belonged to the rural people. However, higher authorities were clearly handling and arbitrarily appropriating rural property. This was because many officials at the time were unclear about the distinctions between state-owned property and collective property.

Includes property held by government agencies at every level.

Just like an enterprise built and developed by a county, it is a county enterprise, a collective property belonging to the county, and owned by the people of the county. It is not like state-owned enterprises, which are owned by the whole people.

Rural collectively owned property is the property of the rural community itself. Higher authorities have no authority to dispose of it at will. Even after the failure of the CCP's pilot project in Xushui in 1958, the Chairman issued a directive specifically addressing this issue.

This means that the so-called public ownership implemented in Xushui is actually collective ownership, which is an expanded collective ownership system. It is the public ownership of Xushui, not the public ownership of the people of the whole country.

We must be clear on this issue.

We cannot wantonly encroach upon collectively owned property in the name of the whole country being one.

Wei Hongjun quickly wrote down his thoughts in his notebook about the question of public ownership versus collective ownership. Of course, since it was still wartime, it wasn't the right time to discuss this. To do so would only foster factionalism and parochialism. So, Wei Hongjun quickly wrote down his thoughts, intending to submit them to the central government after liberation. After all, the founding of New China was no longer a wartime era, and the various types of property ownership still needed to be clearly defined.

If it's owned by the whole people, it's owned by the whole people. Other things that are owned by rural collectives or by governments at all levels must be clearly defined. Only with this clarity can we avoid so much wrangling when doing things.

To put it bluntly, reform and opening up is a process of property rights confirmation.

Clarify the relationship between various rights and obligations.

Chapter 390: Recruiting Talents

After talking with Li Shiping and Gao Weinong, Wei Hongjun fell into deep thought.

Besides considering the theoretical issues of ownership, it is more important to solve the current problems. The logistics issues reported by Li Shiping are actually the issues of regularizing logistics after the expansion of the army.

Formalization means establishing rules for many things. Rules may seem like extra restrictions, and some people may find them uncomfortable. But in reality, once rules are in place, everyone knows what to do. Simply follow them. Without them, everyone becomes chaotic, hindering efficiency.

When there are fewer people, there are no rules and things are more flexible. But when there are more people, without rules, things will get chaotic.

It's like small companies need flexibility and large companies need systems.

If a small company has too many rules and regulations, it will lose its vitality and will not be able to grow and develop. However, if a large company has no rules, it will become chaotic, things will be done without order, and efficiency will decline.

Just look at the Fengtian Army in history and you will know.

Zhang Zuolin and his sworn brothers maintained their banditry until the First Zhili-Fengtian War. With the exception of a few units, such as the new army forged by Zhang Xueliang and Guo Songling, the Fengtian Army consisted of mostly old-fashioned units. In essence, they were just bandit troops belonging to Zhang Zuolin and his old brothers.

The way Zhang Zuolin and his men managed their army was similar to the way they were bandits in their early years.

Even when they expanded their army, they directly recruited bandits from the Northeast and Rehe areas. When Tang Yulin was in Rehe, most of his troops were directly recruited from Rehe bandits. After recruiting them, they simply gave them a number and did not interfere with their military management.

What are bandits?

When there are benefits, they flock to it, but once the situation becomes bad, they immediately scatter.

There were so many bandit troops being reorganized, and there were so many brigade commanders and regiment commanders that it looked like the Fengtian Army had a large number of troops.

As a result, this unit made a lot of mistakes during the First Zhi-Feng War. As the number of troops increased, many Fengtian troops even had problems with marching and setting up camps. Because there were so many people, marching and setting up camps were different from the bandit period, and certain rules must be followed. Famous generals since ancient times have written in detail in their military books how the troops should march, set up camp, and even how to go to the toilet. Because marching a large army is not as simple as walking, going to the toilet is also a problem that generals need to consider. But how could those people in the Fengtian Army understand these things? As a result, when marching, their own troops blocked the way of their own troops, and officers and soldiers could not find their own troops after going to the toilet. Some officers and soldiers got lost while walking and ran to other troops. These kinds of problems happened in all kinds of troops.

They were in chaos and were defeated at the first blow of Wu Peifu.

This is the result of the failure to complete regularization after the expansion of the military strength.

This problem is now also beginning to appear in the Eighth Column.

With more troops, logistics began to become chaotic. This was because the current logistics model used by the Eighth Column was largely based on the previous guerrilla warfare. At that time, the Eighth Column was in the era of dividing troops to establish bases, and all aspects of construction were developed in a barbaric manner. There were no restrictions on the development of the subordinate units; as long as it complied with the policy, any development was allowed. The logistics requirements of guerrilla warfare were simple: all that was required was to return the captured goods to the public and distribute supplies according to the needs of the troops.

But now the Eighth Column often assembles several regiments for battle. In the future, they might even deploy more than ten regiments at once. Furthermore, these troops no longer fight solely within their own defense zones; they often need to engage in cross-regional operations.

This begins to involve large-scale combat mode.

In the early days of the Liberation War, the central government's order was to quickly transition the troops from guerrilla warfare to large-scale mobile warfare. This was because many troops were accustomed to fighting guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines, and to transition to large-scale mobile warfare, more than just one or two changes were required.

Just obeying orders and following instructions is not a simple matter.

After so much guerrilla warfare, many of the officers below them prioritized taking advantage, avoiding losses. They would seize any opportunity, but retreat immediately when faced with difficulties. However, large-scale mobile warfare and conventional warfare were different.

He needs the entire army to obey his orders.

All troops are like screws. We cannot allow the lower-level troops to arbitrarily decide the combat methods as in guerrilla warfare.

Therefore, the organizational structure of the troops must change.

At that time, some generals and some troops were unable to adapt to the new combat mode, so they began to fall behind during the War of Liberation.

This is especially true for logistics.

During large-scale military operations, all logistics were unified. Field troops could obtain supplies at any base. Field troops focused solely on fighting, leaving logistics organizations responsible for replenishing supplies. However, many PLA units failed to make this shift in their approach during the early days of the Liberation War. Consequently, the supply system was in disarray.

Wei Hongjun was now preparing to improve the efficiency of the 8th Column's logistics department, gradually formalizing it to adapt to large-scale combat. If such a change were to occur, he would have to find a suitable person to take charge. Neither Li Shiping nor Gao Weinong were talented in this area.

It should be said that the Eighth Route Army is even more lacking in talents in this area.

Wei Hongjun began to consider the cadre team of the 8th Column.

See who is more suitable to take charge of this job.

After thinking for a while, I suddenly remembered that there was indeed such a person in the column.

"What does this mean, Column?"

Tianzhen, Chaxi Detachment Command Headquarters.

Because the Chaxi Detachment's current base has expanded a lot, and even opened up the Xinghe County Anti-Japanese Base, the Chaxi Detachment moved its headquarters from Xining County to Tianzhen.

Gao Wei looked at the telegram, really confused, and slammed it on the table. Lu Weisheng took the telegram from Gao Wei and said, "Is the column going to transfer Comrade Zheng Laishan to the column logistics department?

The person Wei Hongjun thought of was Zheng Laishan, the head of the General Affairs Section of the Chaxi Detachment.

In fact, he is responsible for the logistics of the Chaxi Detachment.

Zheng Laishan was an officer in the 61st Army of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, where he was in charge of logistics. Yan Xishan's Shanxi-Suiyuan Army possessed unique capabilities in unit development. In terms of unified management of troop logistics, they were undoubtedly more experienced than the Eighth Route Army, which had divided its forces behind enemy lines to establish bases and wage guerrilla warfare.

If the 8th Column's logistics wanted to be regularized, it would definitely have to draw on the experience of these former Kuomintang officers. They were far more experienced in regularizing the troops than Wei Hongjun and his men.