Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Yong Ribu is a 27-year-old young Mongolian cadre.

He served in the Eighth Route Army for quite some time, joining the Chabei Detachment in 1939. His fluent Mandarin Chinese earned him considerable esteem within the Eighth Route Army. The military district needed officers like Yong Ribu who spoke both Chinese and Mongolian. Originally a military officer, he had joined the army to fight. However, the Eighth Route Column faced a shortage of Mongolian officers, so Yong Ribu left the army and studied at the Chanan Cadre School.

After graduation, I started working as a local cadre, mainly in areas where Mongolians gather.

This time when coming to Tongliao to open up a base, Yong Ribu served as the captain of the Mongolian work team.

"Political Commissar, I object to Comrade Yong Ribu's statement. It's not that we offend the Living Buddha or hinder religious freedom. It's that they force others to believe in the Yellow Sect. We simply oppose it."

Among the Han cadres, He Bei stood up.

Wei Hongjun knew He Bei. He was a local cadre who had grown up in Chadong and, in his early years, had served in the Pingxi Detachment. When Xiahou Wen first established the Chadong base, He Bei was one of the first group of ten local cadres he brought with him. Many of this group of cadres died, and only four are still alive.

This time, when opening up the Tongliao Anti-Japanese Base, Xiahou Wen chose Hebei again.

So Wei Hongjun knew He Bei.

This is a very capable cadre, which is why Xiahou Wen values ​​him so much.

He Bei's words made the Mongolian cadres dissatisfied. They immediately stood up to refute He Bei and criticized their approach. He Bei and his colleagues were not to be outdone and immediately criticized the Mongolian cadres.

At this point, one of the Han cadres stepped forward and said, "Among the bandits who have been frequently attacking our work team recently are a large number of lamas. The lamas in Tongliao have joined forces with the Mongolian landlords to obstruct our efforts to reduce rent and interest, and have even joined forces with the Japanese army and bandits to attack our work team. I believe the Mongolian work team's work is completely unsatisfactory, and it is precisely because of their connivance that this has occurred."

The smell of gunpowder is getting stronger and stronger.

Wei Hongjun was not in a hurry and let them say whatever they needed to say.

Wei Hongjun learned about the current conflict between them through their conversations and kept a record of what they said in his notebook.

However, Xiahou Wen next to him broke out in a cold sweat.

Although he knew the conflict between the two sides was significant, he hadn't expected it to reach this point. He had been too careless. He had been concentrating on how to capture Naiman Banner and continue to expand the base. Instead, he had neglected the more important issue.

The Mongolian working team certainly cannot accept such criticism.

After all, this means that they condone the current Mongolian landlords in Naiman Banner.

So they immediately refuted it.

They directly stated that the work team led by He Bei excluded and suppressed the Mongolian work team.

Both sides were really angry and said everything they wanted to say.

"Dong, Dong, Dong!" Wei Hongjun knocked lightly on the table.

The cadres from both sides, who had just been extremely anxious, immediately sat down.

Wei Hongjun remained quite influential within the Eighth Column. After all, he had always been the highest leader of the Party, government, and military within the Column, and base construction had always been his responsibility. Furthermore, many of these local cadres had studied at the Cha'nan Cadre School, and Wei Hongjun had given them serious instruction.

If Wei Hongjun was like Chiang Kai-shek, these people would all call him "Teacher." So Wei Hongjun just slammed the table lightly, but both sides calmed down.

Wei Hongjun looked at the cadres below and said, "Comrades, this is it. If you have something to say, please speak up, and if there are any problems, please solve them. However, there is one thing that is wrong. Let's just talk about work and don't make personal attacks casually. Our criticism and self-criticism should be directed at the matter, not the person. We should dare to criticize the problems of our comrades in their work, but we cannot use criticism as an excuse to make personal attacks on our comrades or fabricate charges against them. This is unwarranted. I hope everyone will pay attention to this in their future work. Our criticism and self-criticism are to supervise and improve our work style, not to attack our own comrades. Comrade He Bei, don't you agree?"

"Political Commissar, I'm sorry. We did speak without thinking just now, and said some things that hurt our comrades. I apologize to the comrades of the Mongolian work team."

He Bei stood up immediately and said.

Wei Hongjun looked at the leader of the Mongolian work team again

"Everyone has just spoken out. So, let's address them one by one. There's no need to be afraid of problems; we can solve them. Let's start with the first question, which is about religious freedom, as comrade Yong Ribu mentioned. We in the Communist Party of China are atheists, but that doesn't mean we oppose religion. On the contrary, our attitude toward religious issues is to acknowledge the history and existence of religion, and to respect and protect the freedom of religious belief. Simply put, anyone's choice of religion is a personal freedom, and we in the Communist Party of China respect and protect this personal freedom of religious belief. But we also respect the freedom of religious belief. Therefore, we cannot allow any religion to force others to believe in it.

"I just listened to your argument. I want to criticize Comrade He Bei. We are working in Tongliao and must respect the customs and habits of the Mongolian people, including their religious beliefs. For the Mongolian people, Living Buddhas are religious leaders they deeply respect. Living Buddhas are not those reactionary Mongolian landlords. You cannot treat Living Buddhas as traitorous landlords. You did not grasp this principle when doing your work and your words were offensive to the Living Buddha. This is your mistake, and you must apologize. You must also reflect on this work error."

The mistake He Bei and his team made was equating Living Buddhas and lamas with Mongolian landlords. While it's true that there are quite a few bad guys among the lamas, this should be addressed on a case-by-case basis, and the scope of the crackdown should not be expanded.

Because Tibetan Buddhism has a high status among the Mongolian people.

For hundreds of years, Tibetan Buddhism has been the most important religion in Mongolia, with a higher status than the original Mongolian Shamanism.

They encouraged Han Chinese to participate in rent and interest reductions, and while resisting exploitation by Mongolian landlords, they used some disrespectful language toward the Living Buddha. This not only drew resistance from some Mongolian people, but also from Han Chinese who had lived in Tongliao for many years and were followers of Tibetan Buddhism, also known as the Yellow Sect. They all held the Living Buddha in high esteem.

As a result, they were also dissatisfied with the work team.

Chapter 578 National Issues 2

"Commissar, it's us who fail to distinguish our enemies."

"This is mainly due to your inadequate investigation and research. Comrade Xia Houwen, you are also wrong in this regard.

"Yes."

Xiahou Wen stood up and said to Yong Ribu and the others, "As the commander and political commissar of the Northeast Detachment, and the supreme leader of the Tongliao Anti-Japanese Base Area, I failed to identify and correct the problem promptly. Comrade Yong Ribu and the comrades of the Mongolian Working Group, I want to say this: We did not pay enough attention to the issues concerning Living Buddhas, religion, and the customs of the Mongolian people, and we violated the Party's ethnic policy."

“Commander, no, no, our Yongri Buri immediately waved his hand.

The staff of the Mongolian Cadre Corps were all very moved.

They hadn't expected Wei Hongjun to personally address the situation. Meanwhile, Xiahou Wendu stepped forward. He Bei, standing on the other side, stood up and said, "Political Commissar, this isn't the Commander's fault, it's ours. We were too eager to accomplish things, violating the Party's ethnic policy and hurting ethnic sentiments. Comrade Yong Ribu, this is indeed our fault. We didn't truly understand the feelings of the Mongolian people toward the Living Buddha, and our words were somewhat offensive to him. I apologize once again, comrades."

"It was our mistake, too."

Yong Ribu immediately reflected on his actions, saying, "Comrade He Bei, we should have discussed our views with you earlier. However, it was precisely because of our biases that we were unable to communicate with you in a timely manner, which led to these misunderstandings. On behalf of the Mongolian work team, I would like to express our apologies to you, comrades."

Xiahou Wen watched He Bei and Yong Ribu talking to each other from above, and secretly reflected on himself.

Sometimes I try to avoid conflict and keep everyone coexisting peacefully, which makes things appear harmonious. But superficial harmony isn't good for work at all. Everyone has a thorn in their side, and if we don't address it, they'll inevitably be emotionally charged at work. Once collaboration is required, problems are bound to arise.

Now it seems that sometimes it is far worse than Wei Hongjun's approach of laying out contradictions and letting everyone speak frankly.

Say whatever's on your mind. Only by truly resolving the conflict can the sting in everyone's heart be removed. It may seem like everyone's emotions are running high, and there may be accusations, but that's actually a good thing.

Because the contradiction is right on the table.

Wei Hongjun watched them talking to each other and continued, "Where did the biggest problem this time come from? It's because our comrades failed to accurately analyze our enemies and our friends. Comrade He Bei, your First Working Group categorized Living Buddhas with those Mongolian landlords, confusing the enemy. Comrade Yong Ribu, your Mongolian Working Group also has this problem, and it's just as serious as Comrade He Bei's First Working Group. Comrade Yong Ribu, I'd like to ask, in your efforts to implement rent and interest reductions, who are your enemies and who are your friends?"

Yong Ribu has been a member of the Eighth Route Army for five years.

Having studied Chairman Mao's articles at the cadre school, he understood what Wei Hongjun meant by "who are our enemies and who are our friends." So he immediately said, "Political Commissar, we are implementing rent and interest reductions. Those traitorous landlords are our enemies, and the enlightened gentry of the upper class of Mongolia are our friends."

"Comrade Yong Ribu is right. Among the people we work with, the enlightened members of the upper classes of Mongolia are our friends to unite with, and those traitors and landlords are our enemies to attack. But Comrade Yong Ribu has forgotten one thing: we are the Eighth Route Army Rural Work Team led by the Communist Party of China. Our true friends are the working class and the peasantry, and in the Mongolian tribes, these are the vast majority of oppressed herders. But your work is completely reversed. You have focused all your energy on winning over the enlightened members of the upper classes of Mongolia, thinking that if we can gain their support, our work of reducing rent and interest rates will be implemented in the Mongolian tribes as well. But this is completely wrong and puts the cart before the horse. We are trying to win the support of the enlightened members of the upper classes, but this is only one part of our work. The most important thing for you is to mobilize the vast majority of oppressed people, let them know that we are going to reduce rent and interest, and let them know the policies of the Eighth Route Army of the Communist Party of China. This is our most important work."

To govern a country, one must first govern the officials.

The level of cadres directly determines the implementation of policies.

Different cadres will have different understandings of a policy, and ultimately different implementation results.

Take, for example, the Eighth Route Army's policy of rent and interest reduction, which had been implemented for seven years. However, different military commands and bases had different understandings of the policy due to different cadres. As a result, the implementation of rent and interest reduction varied across the military commands and bases.

Some areas did well, and the base area developed stably. Some areas did a mess, and the result was poor base area development.

Why did the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area develop so well?

It is because Marshal Nie has a good grasp of the policy in this regard, and the work of rent and interest reduction has been promoted best.

Wei Hongjun continued, "Comrade Yong Ribu, you have to understand one thing. It is precisely because you did not mobilize the masses and educate them in a timely manner that you encountered problems later. This includes the people avoiding you, some lamas and herdsmen joining bandits, and some antagonism between Han and Mongolian herdsmen. This is all because your work is not related to the unity of the broad masses. Comrade Yong Ribu, my next requirement for your Mongolian work team is that you must go deep into the Mongolian people. Listen carefully to their voices, earnestly publicize the policies of the Eighth Route Army, and let the broad masses of herdsmen know that we are doing this for their own good. The purpose of rent and interest reduction is also for their own good, so that they can accept the policies of the Eighth Route Army from the bottom of their hearts. Only when they actively stand up and support our rent and interest reduction work can our rent and interest reduction work be considered successful. It is not as we think that the implementation of rent and interest reduction work in the local area is a success.

Mass work is not a small matter.

The most common problem for many cadres doing mass work is being stubborn.

Either they only knew how to mobilize the masses, but did not know how to unite other forces, and forgot about the united front. Or they only knew about the united front and forgot that they were CCP cadres and the Eighth Route Army work team.

This is the problem that the Mongolian work team is facing now.

They only knew how to work with the upper-class, enlightened individuals in Mongolia. While uniting these upper-class, enlightened individuals is paramount in ethnic work, it's not everything. But the Mongolian work team now considers this their primary task.

That's the big problem.

That's why Wei Hongjun focused on criticizing this one.

Let them know that they are the Eighth Route Army work team. Their job is to mobilize the masses, educate the masses, and unite the masses.

"Political Commissar, our Mongolian work team will definitely follow your instructions and mobilize the masses.

Yong Ribu immediately expressed his opinion.

Wei Hongjun nodded.

We had just arrived in Tongliao and no one had any experience.

There are problems in many areas of work. Wei Hongjun continued, "There is another serious problem in the Tongliao base area: people are confusing class contradictions with ethnic contradictions. Comrades, we are most easily confused by seemingly plausible things. Our revolution is to overthrow the oppressors and enable the vast majority of the oppressed to stand up and become masters of their own destiny. And the oppressed we are talking about are not just the oppressed among the Han people, but also the oppressed among the vast majority of ethnic minorities."

This is the true purpose of our revolution. Now, those reactionary landlords who should be targeted by us are spreading rhetoric about national contradictions, and as a result, our own cadres are also misled by this propaganda. Elevating national contradictions above class contradictions, what are the consequences? It directly impacts our work. This is the result of our failure to accurately grasp the contradictions in our current work, allowing the enemy to exploit them.

"Comrades, many of you are not new to the revolution.

Think about it: who benefits from exploiting so-called ethnic conflicts and fomenting ethnic confrontation? Is it us, the ordinary people?

No. The beneficiaries are the landlord class. We must understand that both Han and Mongolian peoples are Chinese, members of the Chinese nation. We all share a common goal: to enable all oppressed classes to rise up and become masters of their own destiny. This is the most important task and the primary contradiction at present. We must firmly grasp this point in our work; only then will we avoid being led by the nose by the enemy.

There are many contradictions in work.

Of course, this contradiction is neither a derogatory word nor a complimentary word, but a neutral word.

Resolving contradictions is the process of work. On a larger scale, human development is the constant process of resolving various contradictions. And within this work, how to identify the principal contradiction among all the various contradictions is the ability of each cadre below.

Only by accurately grasping the main contradiction can we formulate policies around this contradiction.

Once the main contradiction is misidentified, all sorts of problems will arise. The biggest problem in our work in Tongliao right now is confusing the main contradiction, or rather, allowing it to be diverted.

When it comes to struggle, the landlords are much smarter than the common people.

They cleverly shifted the contradiction. They shifted the class contradiction, which should have been the principal contradiction, to the national contradiction. But ordinary people could be fooled, but the Eighth Route Army work team could not.

Those reactionary landlords want to use the masses to fight the work teams, so the work teams must also change their working methods.

"Political Commissar, perhaps we've been emphasizing the united front and unity. As a result, everyone has confused the focus of our work and the core of the contradictions."

"Yes, Commissar."

"We are indeed confusing the key points of the contradiction."

Everyone quickly made a self-examination.

There had been some tension between the two sides before, and there was indeed an ethnic conflict. But after Wei Hongjun's words, everyone immediately woke up. In fact, these people were all experienced local cadres, but they were in the bureaucracy and couldn't see clearly.

Now that I’ve said it, it’s actually not a contradiction.

Both Mongolian and Han landlords are trying to divert conflicts, using ethnic conflicts to create confrontations and thus relieve the pressure on them. Now Wei Hongjun has brought this issue to the forefront, telling everyone that the biggest contradiction at this stage is class conflict, not ethnic conflict.

It immediately unlocked some of the locks that were previously on them.

"I urge comrades to cooperate and completely eliminate the barriers between Han and Mongolian people. They must know that their enemies are not each other, but the Han and Mongolian landlords who oppress them. Only by reducing rent and interest can we alleviate their oppression and enable them to live a good life. We are all oppressed and poor people, and we should be brothers and sisters who unite."

Chapter 579 Reorganization of the Northeast Branch

"Comrade Xiahou Wen, your work in Tongliao was generally good. But you put too much energy into the army and into establishing a base area, rather than into building it.