Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

After seeing Sui Xiaochao off, Wei Hongjun sighed. As the base expanded, the shortage of talent became increasingly severe. Talent was needed in all areas. Initially, it was only in the military and rural bases, but now it was needed in all areas.

It just so happens that there are many Japanese people in Zhangjiakou, and there are also many talents of all kinds.

Many departments below are competing for these people.

As for whether they were Japanese, no one cared. What everyone cared about was whether the Japanese had real talent and could provide help. With talent so scarce, Wei Hongjun had no choice but to find Sui Twelve again.

Because what is most lacking is still industrial talent.

Wei Hongjun had no choice but to find Sui Twelve.

After Sui Shier joined the 8th Column from the Jidong Army, he served as the director of the 8th Column's Industrial Committee, concurrently as the principal of the Chanan Industrial School, and the director of the Technical Department of the 8th Column's Arsenal.

Of course, his position as director of the Industrial Committee was only nominal.

Because in recent years, apart from military factories, the Eighth Column only has some simple small factories.

Wei Hongjun looked at Sui Twelve and said, "Director Sui, this time in Zhangjiakou, I have a lot of feelings. Our Eighth Route Army troops are still lacking in culture. After entering Zhangjiakou, many people were at a loss. Because everything in Zhangjiakou is unfamiliar to us, we need to re-understand it one by one. Although we have taken over the industries of those Japanese and puppet troops, we have no idea how they operate."

"Political Commissar, you're too modest. The Eighth Column has always fought in the mountains, and many of its men have never been to a major city. But this time, after the Eighth Column captured Zhangjiakou, there was no chaos. Instead, Zhangjiakou stabilized within a short period of time. Both the economy and daily life quickly returned to normal. This alone was something that no other Chinese army could achieve, including the Nationalist government's troops.

These are Sui Twelve's heartfelt words.

He was truly shocked. In a unit like the Eighth Column, which had fought in the mountains, many soldiers didn't even know what tap water was.

But even with such an army entering Zhangjiakou, there was not the slightest bit of chaos in Zhangjiakou.

The 8th Column took over Zhangjiakou, and within just a few days, Zhangjiakou regained stability and life returned to normal.

Sui Twelve had seen so many cities change hands over the years, and after the Eighth Column captured Zhangjiakou, they recovered the fastest. For this reason alone, Sui Twelve did not regret following the CCP during the Yidong Uprising.

Don’t underestimate the Eighth Route Army because they are rustic and poor. Even many of their soldiers are uneducated.

But they have faith and passion.

Can do big things.

"It's just that we didn't make a fool of ourselves. In Xuanhua, our troops made enough jokes. I can't let our troops make a fool of themselves in Zhangjiakou again. But after this incident in Zhangjiakou, I discovered a very serious problem. The world is changing so fast. A small country like Japan actually occupied half of our country. What did they rely on? It was their strong industrial strength. We only saw that the Japanese army's weapons and equipment were good, but behind the weapons and equipment was a strong industrial strength. Director Sui, do you think I'm right?"

"Yes. Only with strong industrial strength can we have a strong military industry.

"But most of our cadres, like me, come from rural areas, and they have no idea what industry is. For us cadres from rural areas, factories are industry. But I know that industry can't be just a few factories. If a few factories are industry, then we can't say that just because we have the Xuanhua Iron and Steel Plant, we have industry, right? Although I'm not familiar with industry, I also know that industry should be a complete system. It's like farming, starting from sowing seeds, fertilizing, watering, weeding, and finally harvesting. Only when you complete all of this can it be considered farming."

Chapter 467 Cadre Training 2

"The commissar is right."

Sui Twelve was very willing to chat with Wei Hongjun.

Although Wei Hongjun grew up in a peasant family and learned to read and write very late, he has a very active mind and loves to read. Even if he doesn't understand many topics, he can still follow them. He doesn't pretend to know what he doesn't know and is very willing to study hard.

And they are not satisfied with just a little bit of achievement, they have a long-term vision.

Even though they were still fighting the Japanese in the enemy's rear, they were already beginning to think about what would happen after the victory of the revolution. Born a peasant, they were able to consistently support industrial development.

Sui Shier explained to Wei Hongjun, "Industry is a vast system. It's not just a few factories, but a system of thousands or tens of thousands of factories. If there are only a few factories, it doesn't count as industry. Let me talk about the chemistry I studied. The foundation of the chemical industry is three acids and two alkalis: nitric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, as well as soda ash and caustic soda. If a country can independently produce these three acids and two alkalis, then that country's chemical industry has a foundation. Only on this foundation can other chemical industries develop. Therefore, if my country wants to become an industrial country, then the production of these three acids and two alkalis must be established in the chemical industry.

Sui Shier knew that Wei Hongjun was from a peasant family, so he explained in detail what the three acids and two bases were. If he had just mentioned the three acids and two bases in general, Sui Shier estimated that Wei Hongjun would not understand.

Then he explained the role of three acids and two bases in the chemical industry. He explained what kind of chemical industry could be developed by improving these three acids and two bases. He described it in great detail. In his previous life, Wei Hongjun hadn't studied chemistry, so he couldn't say he had a deep understanding of industry.

But listening to Sui Twelve's introduction, it seemed as if a whole chemical industry appeared before my eyes.

The explanation was simple and easy to understand, taking into account the fact that Wei Hongjun was a beginner with relatively poor skills.

Wei Hongjun listened and nodded repeatedly.

Sui Twelve didn't talk about anything too profound, so Wei Hongjun was able to understand most of what he said. Seeing Wei Hongjun's interest, Sui Twelve continued, "This is just the situation of the chemical industry, a branch of industry. Speaking of the entire industry, it is actually divided into heavy industry and light industry. Simply put, heavy industry is the foundation of industry, and light industry is the various industrial products we use in our lives. From the perspective of heavy industry, the steel industry, metallurgy, machinery, energy, chemicals, materials, etc. are all included. Energy industries within this include electricity, oil, and coal."

Sui Shier is a PhD student studying in the United States.

I studied chemical industry, so I really understand the industry.

Wei Hongjun listened to his industrial classification and asked, "If China wants to develop industry, should it develop light industry first, or heavy industry first?"

"An industrial system without heavy industry is incomplete. Take the military industry, for example. Without heavy industry, it would be impossible for it to develop. However, looking at the development of industrial countries around the world, there is a set of development laws. Take the development of British industry, for example. They first developed the textile industry. The development of the textile industry increased the demand for the machinery industry and the transportation industry. This further promoted the development of the machinery industry and railways. To put it simply, the development of light industry created demand for heavy industry, which drove the development of heavy industry. The development of heavy industry further promoted the development of light industry. Because heavy industry does not make money in the early stages, it must have demand to make money. And the demand for heavy industry is created by light industry. If there is no demand, and heavy industry is still developed, the investment will be staggering.

Wei Hongjun nodded.

If there is no demand, we can only create it.

This is the difficulty of developing heavy industry. However, a country's industrial foundation is heavy industry. Without heavy industry, the industry is incomplete. In other words, if a country does not have heavy industry, then it is not industrialized.

However, such a huge investment in heavy industry will only result in losses if there is no demand.

Who will pay for this?

This is the difficulty of post-industrial countries.

"Director Sui, is it possible to develop heavy industry first and then light industry?"

"This..." Sui Twelve was silent for a moment, then said, "Looking at the industrial development of European and American countries, there is no such precedent. The only country in the world with such a precedent is the Soviet Union. But I've only heard of it, I haven't actually seen it. However, according to my analysis, the Soviet Union prioritized the development of heavy industry, which inevitably required creating demand for heavy industry. But if the Soviet Union didn't have sufficient light industry development, then the Soviet Union's light industry couldn't create this demand. The only possibility was that the government created this demand itself. But creating this demand also costs money. The development of heavy industry requires investment, and creating demand also requires investment. Combined, these two things will put a lot of pressure on the government. With such a large investment, where will the government raise the funds? There have always been rumors in Europe and the United States that the Soviet Union relied on exploiting farmers to raise funds for industry. There are also many other rumors that I've heard in the United States. However, I haven't been to the Soviet Union to see how they developed heavy industry with my own eyes, so it's hard to say on this aspect."

Sui Shier told Wei Hongjun all his thoughts.

Nor was he afraid of being perceived as speaking ill of the Soviet Union. After all, the Soviet Union held immense influence within the Party, with many high-ranking officials admiring it. If anyone dared to point out problems with the Soviet model, it would be a political issue.

However, Wei Hongjun did not expect this.

Wei Hongjun considered the difficulties faced by New China in developing its industry. While New China made every effort to develop heavy industry, it also encountered many problems along the way.

Wei Hongjun thought for a moment and said, "White Russia, the predecessor of the Soviet Union, although not as powerful as Europe and the United States, was also a great power in its early years. I think their industrial base should be strong."

"Belarus is an industrial country among agricultural countries, and an agricultural country among industrial countries. It definitely has an industrial base. Otherwise, it would not have participated in the European war during World War I.

"The Soviet Union had the foundation of White Russia. If you think it was difficult for them to develop heavy industry, then our Chinese foundation is even worse. It will be even more difficult for us to develop industry in the future. Our country has been bullied by the great powers since the Opium War. Therefore, once the revolution succeeds, we must develop the military industry to defend our country.

Developing the military industry requires heavy industry. This means that after the revolution succeeds, we will have no choice but to follow the Soviet path. We must first develop heavy industry, and then we can consider light industry. Furthermore, given the relationship between our Party and the Soviet Union, we are certainly willing to learn from the Soviet experience.

Sui Twelve was very surprised.

Although I knew Wei Hongjun was thinking far ahead, I didn't expect him to think so far ahead. These should be matters that the central leadership should consider. At present, Wei Hongjun is at most one of the senior generals in the Eighth Route Army, which is a long way from the central leadership.

But the issues considered are so profound.

How should China develop its industry?

After Wei Hongjun's explanation, Sui Shier felt that what Wei Hongjun said made a lot of sense.

Sui Shier wanted to save the country through industry, so he returned from studying in the United States. However, after all these years, he really hadn't thought about how China should develop industry. Because the Nationalist government had no interest in developing industry.

But now, even cadres of Wei Hongjun's level in the Eighth Route Army have begun to consider the issue of industrial development.

Seeing Sui Twelve remain silent, Wei Hongjun said, "Director Sui, your speech today has made me even more afraid of industry. Although you explained it in a very clear and easy-to-understand way, I still only have a limited understanding of it. Among our current Eighth Route Army cadres, including local cadres, those who have even a passing understanding of industry are rare. They all come from rural farming backgrounds. Although we've all heard of industry and know we need to develop it, we don't really know what it is. We don't even have a clear concept of what it is. In everyone's mind, industry is about building factories. As for how to build a factory and how to manage it, everyone is completely confused."

Among the Eighth Route Army troops, which were mainly composed of farmers, few people knew what industry was.

Not to mention everyone, even those leaders who returned from studying abroad, how many people really understand what industry is. Everyone only sees the developed factories in Europe and the United States, but that's all.

Even those who studied industrial technology and wanted to return to China to save the nation through industry didn't understand how to develop industry. Their view of industry was essentially the same as that of ordinary people. They simply built more factories, believing that this was the only way to become an industrial nation.

This is not anyone's problem, but a problem of this era.

"Commissar, you can learn these things slowly."

Sui Shier didn't expect that Wei Hongjun, who had always been optimistic and cheerful, would suddenly become so depressed.

So comfort Wei Hongjun.

Wei Hongjun smiled and said, "Director Sui, I haven't lost my faith in the revolution. I am still confident in its victory. What I am worried about now is the national construction after the victory of the revolution. We are not revolutionizing for promotion or wealth, but from a realistic perspective, after the victory of the revolution, it will be our generation of cadres who will be responsible for the national industrial construction in the future.

Sui Twelve nodded.

He understood this.

While the notion of conquering and ruling is a backward one, the reality is this: once the revolution triumphs and Yan'an takes power, Wei Hongjun and his ilk will be considered founding heroes. They will inevitably become state officials of the new China, and national construction will inevitably be carried out by state officials like Wei Hongjun.

This is a fact.

Wei Hongjun continued, "But Director Sui, think about it. We, the cadres who know nothing about industry, will be responsible for the country's industrial development in the future. Don't you think it's scary? I can't sleep when I think about it now. The thought of the country developing industry in the future, but the cadres responsible for industrial development have no understanding of industry at all.

Under such circumstances, can our industrial development proceed steadily? "

The industrial construction of New China has experienced ups and downs.

Many problems arose during this period. There were, of course, many reasons, but one key factor was that the cadres at the lower levels had no concept of industrialization. They had just taken off their uniforms and participated in national construction.

Everyone is passionate and wants to build a good new China.

But industrial development isn't just about enthusiasm. Chinese officials, including technicians, lacked a grasp of systematic industrial development. Consequently, Soviet experts were forced to teach China how to develop its industry. This left Chinese industry deeply influenced by the Soviet Union, making it extremely difficult to break free.

Twelve didn't know what to say at this time.

But upon closer inspection, there were indeed many problems. He knew many Eighth Route Army cadres. These people had faith and passion, willing to sacrifice everything for their country and nation. But relying solely on such ideals would not develop industry.

If any problems arose, the loss of national wealth would be significant. After all, industrial investment is not a small sum. Building a heavy industrial plant costs tens of millions or even hundreds of millions.

"Director Sui, I've come up with an idea. You organize some people to write a book in plain language about the history of industrial development in various countries, simple industrial systems, factory management, and so on.

Just as I was told earlier, you'll periodically give lectures at Chanan Industrial School, specifically on industrial issues. It doesn't have to be too profound, but it should give our cadres an understanding of what industry is all about, how it develops around the world, and so on. This will give our cadres a basic understanding of industry, a broad perspective. Many of them will become officials responsible for my country's industrial development in the future. Even if they aren't officials in the industrial field, they should have the perspective of the industrial age and approach issues from the perspective of the industrial age.

This is Wei Hongjun’s purpose.

To be honest, cadres are the most important force in the industrial construction of New China.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, there was a nationwide shortage of cadres. While this was a shortage of cadres, the real shortage was of qualified cadres. There were countless people who wanted to be cadres, but truly qualified cadres were scarce.

But it's understandable.

Many military-to-civilian cadres were illiterate before joining the army. Although they were successful on the battlefield, their shortcomings were obvious when they were transferred to local areas to take charge of local construction.

This is also true for many local cadres who came from the base areas.

In the base areas, they were mainly responsible for rural work. After entering the city, they began to take charge of urban work and industrial construction. How could they adapt? Therefore, Wei Hongjun planned to let the cadres of the Eighth Route Army, including military cadres and local cadres, understand what industry is in advance.

Allow them to break away from the perspective of farmers and look at things from an industrial perspective.

"Of course there's no problem with that."

Sui Twelve immediately agreed.

The CCP has cadres like Wei Hongjun. In Sui Shier's view, the world will definitely belong to Yan'an. He is very willing to train some cadres who understand industry for the future of China.

"Then I'll be the first group of students. When you're ready, I'll take everyone to your class. But there's one thing you need to do: you only need to make sure our cadres understand the history of world industry, the industrial system, and the management of certain factories. Don't discuss pros and cons, or which industrial development model is superior. Let our cadres experience and learn for themselves."

However, Wei Hongjun still warned Sui Twelve.

The relationship between the Chinese Communist Party and the Soviet Union is currently very special.