Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Further emphasize discipline in entering the city.

Wei Hongjun continued, "Comrades, we have captured some cities before. Cities like Zhangjiakou, Datong, Shimen, and Baoding. But none of these cities are as important as Peking and Tianjin. Now everyone is watching us, wanting to see how we captured Peking and Tianjin and how we take over them. So in this regard, we must give everyone the most satisfactory answer. We must let domestic and foreign reporters, Chiang Kai-shek, and the people of Peking and Tianjin see how we take over and manage the cities. Capturing the cities is only the first step. If there are problems in taking over and managing the cities, then we will still fail."

"So taking over the cities is of paramount importance. Comrades, many of our PLA officers and soldiers have never seen wealthy metropolises like Peking and Tianjin. Without remedial training, our officers and soldiers will be lost in the cities. Some will become laughingstocks due to their unfamiliarity with the cities. Others will be dazzled by the glitz and glamour of the cities. These are all things we must prevent."

"So, my requirement for the troops was that before launching the Pingjin Campaign, our officers and soldiers must carefully study the 'Details of Urban Life' issued by the North China Bureau." They must understand how to live in the city, including the city's history and the living habits of its inhabitants. Then, we must reiterate the importance of military discipline. The troops must strictly adhere to the 'Three Disciplines and Eight Points for Attention,' as well as the 'Discipline for Entering the City' issued by the North China Bureau."

"Secretary Wei."

Someone interrupted Wei Hongjun.

Wei Hongjun looked over and saw a familiar face. It was Kong De, the current political commissar of the 17rd Column of the 1st Corps of the North China Field Army. When Yang Quanwu had taken the th Regiment from the th Column, Kong De had been both its commander and political commissar. Later, Kong De served as commander of the st Regiment of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region and political commissar of the th Brigade. Currently, he was the political commissar of the rd Column of the st Corps. He had become a highly trusted cadre under Yang Quanwu.

"Comrade Kongde, do you have any questions?"

"Secretary Wei, I've read the city entry regulations issued by the North China Bureau.

I have a few questions for Secretary Wei.

"Go ahead."

"Secretary Wei, one of the rules for entering the city prohibits our officers and soldiers from leaving the city. They are forbidden from entering theaters, cinemas, barbershops, or bathhouses. Officers and soldiers must have permission to leave the city. Isn't this a problem? Our officers and soldiers finally conquered the city, and they are all eager to see it. After entering the city, they all want to wander around and see what it's like. Besides, going to the bathhouse or barbershop for a bath or a haircut improves their appearance and improves hygiene."

Our officers and soldiers, after entering the city, will definitely abide by the 'Three Disciplines and Eight Points of Attention' and will pay for everything they do, whether they go to theaters, cinemas, barber shops, or bathhouses. I hope the North China Bureau can make some changes to this clause."

Wei Hongjun immediately understood that Kong De was the representative they had pushed forward from the First Corps.

Although Wei Hongjun was familiar with the cadres of the First Corps, apart from old subordinates like Kong De, the others were basically old comrades.

But after all, they had fought separately for many years and could not compare with veterans like Kong De, who had fought with Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun before the Long March and had a special bond with them.

So let him come out and speak for them.

Even if the PLA troops didn't go to bathhouses or barbershops, they still had their own ways of bathing and cutting their hair. But since Kong De had spoken out, Wei Hongjun also had to consider the opinions of these frontline cadres.

Wei Hongjun looked at Wang Zhi next to him.

Wang Zhi nodded slightly.

He whispered, "I've also received a lot of feedback on this. Asking them not to go out at all is a bit too harsh."

Wei Hongjun thought for a while and said, "What you said makes some sense. But our troops will still have to abide by this discipline within a short period of time after entering the city. But this is not unchangeable. When the time comes, the leaders of each column in the city will negotiate with the public security column to unify the time and place, and take turns in batches to go shopping or go to theaters, cinemas, barber shops, and bathhouses. Let me give you an example. After the column leaders and the public security column negotiate, they can reserve several bathhouses in a unified manner, and then each regiment will take turns to go to the bathhouse to take a bath and go to the barber shop to get a haircut. However, the troops still need a permit to go out. They are not allowed to hug each other on the street. They must maintain a military style. They are not allowed to buy things without paying. They must abide by the "Three Major Disciplines and Eight Points for Attention" and are not allowed to act without permission.

Although there are still a lot of restrictions, everyone is still very happy.

If they were completely banned from leaving the house, that would be a serious problem. They were all in charge of military ideological education, and the "entry into the city discipline" was too strict, making their work very difficult. Now that Wei Hongjun had taken a step back, it was enough to make them happy.

"Secretary Wei, there's one more thing. They say that after the troops enter the city, if they can't find a campsite immediately, they can't stay in civilian houses. But what if it's not very hot outside, or if it rains? Can the troops temporarily stay in civilian houses? We'll definitely pay for it. We've stayed in civilian houses before, and the troops always abide by the rules and don't act recklessly."

When the Eighth Route Army and the People's Liberation Army camped, it was common for them to stay in civilian houses.

But the army has strict discipline, "Three Disciplines and Eight Points of Attention"

Everyone kept this in mind. The troops were very experienced in what to do when staying in civilian homes. However, the current "city entry rules" prohibit troops from staying in civilian homes, which has led to many complaints from the troops.

Wei Hongjun didn't back down this time. He said, "This is an iron rule, unchangeable. After entering the city, the General Front Committee will find a campsite for the troops as quickly as possible. It won't take too long. The troops will temporarily overcome any difficulties they encounter. Also, until a suitable campsite is found, the leaders of each column will camp outside with the troops and set up their headquarters. Until all troops have found a campsite, no column leader is allowed to find housing for themselves."

There is no way Wei Hongjun would give in.

This isn't just a matter of discipline, nor is it just for appearances. A more important reason is that if troops were to stay in guesthouses, things would get chaotic. Cities aren't like rural areas, and many soldiers are disoriented upon entering them, unable to tell east from west, south from north. Once dispersed and staying in guesthouses, any time the troops gather, there will be numerous problems.

Everyone saw that Wei Hongjun had a good attitude, so they asked some questions one by one.

Wei Hongjun carefully answered their questions and listened attentively to their opinions. The entry regulations issued by the North China Bureau were not final; they would be refined before entering the city.

After everyone finished their discussion, Wei Hongjun said, "Everyone's opinions are very good. I will report to the North China Bureau based on what we discussed today. Finally, I want to emphasize our cadre discipline. The General Front Committee will find campsites for each unit and will also allocate quarters and housing to the unit cadres.

You'll be assigned to whatever place the General Front Committee assigns you. Cadres of all ranks must live in the assigned housing. Anyone who privately finds housing and moves in will be dismissed. There's no room for negotiation. Don't think our revolution is victorious just because we've captured Peking and Tianjin. This is just a small victory on the road to revolution. We still have all of China to liberate, and it's not time for you to reap the fruits of victory. Also, no one is allowed to bring family members to Peking or Tianjin before the organization orders it, and no one is allowed to privately find housing or cars for family members. And the rules regarding entering and leaving the camp apply to everyone.

Only by restraining the cadres can we restrain the soldiers.

Otherwise, once you enter the city, you cadres will all go find good housing and good cars. And then you'll ask the officers and soldiers below to obey discipline. This is no joke, especially now that the troops are so mobile.

You enter the city today, but you may be asked to leave tomorrow.

If every cadre indulges himself, what will become of the army?

"There's another thing everyone probably knows. The North China Bureau has established a Public Security Corps, which is under the jurisdiction of three columns. The Second and Third Columns entered Peking and Tianjin respectively. They are not only responsible for cooperating with the Peking and Tianjin Public Security Administrations, but also for patrolling the troops. Whenever they encounter officers and soldiers violating discipline, they will detain them until higher authorities arrive to retrieve them. At the same time, the results of the handling will be announced to the entire army."

Everyone's face looked solemn.

The People's Liberation Army has people in charge of military discipline, otherwise what are the political commissars and political department directors doing?

However, patrol teams specifically established to enforce military discipline are rare.

The cadres from the Fifth Corps were somewhat familiar with them, as when they captured Zhangjiakou and Datong, Wei Hongjun had temporarily established patrol units specifically to enforce discipline in the troops. However, this time, it was more formal than before, with the Public Security Column acting as the patrol unit.

What made everyone look serious was that Wei Hongjun said that once the person was caught, it would be announced to the entire army.

This is a great humiliation for a military unit that attaches great importance to its reputation.

Wei Hongjun looked at them and said, "I will now announce the last rule of discipline. Once someone violates discipline and is detained by the Public Security Column, no one is allowed to call the Public Security Column. Anyone who dares to call, whether to plead or threaten, will be dismissed without reason. You can send someone to find out what happened and pick up the person. If you are not satisfied with the handling of the Public Security Column, you can appeal to the General Front Committee. However, if anyone dares to abuse power for personal gain and put pressure on the Public Security Column to release the person, that is a serious violation of discipline. I don't care who it is then.

All will be dismissed first and then dealt with.

The scene was completely silent.

I didn't expect Wei Hongjun to issue such a strict order.

Wei Hongjun wasn't exaggerating. Military discipline, especially after entering the city, must not be relaxed. Any slack would lead to serious problems.

"After returning, we must convey the spirit of the North China Bureau. Our officers and soldiers must be familiar with the rules of urban life and the discipline of entering the city."

After the meeting of the General Front Committee of the Pingjin Campaign ended, the Pingjin Campaign officially began.

Preparations for the Battle of Pingjin began throughout Hebei and Rehe. Military and local forces were mobilized, and Zhao Lu and his men began mobilizing civilians to deliver logistical supplies to the front lines. Yang Quanwu had already led the First Corps to Tianjin. The First, Fifth Corps, and the 12th, 13th, and 14th columns had all converged on Tianjin and had begun clearing out the perimeter of the city, preparing for the final assault on Tianjin.

Wei Hongjun and Luo Qirong were stationed at the front line in Peiping.

Wei Hongjun was responsible for the entire campaign, coordinating all parties involved. Daily telegrams were exchanged. He handled communications from the Central Military Commission, the North China Bureau, and all parties involved in the Pingjin Campaign. Luo Qirong and Liu Ren were currently responsible for inciting rebellion in Nationalist troops, particularly those under Hou Jingru.

When Wei Hongjun was busy, Zhou Bin came to find Wei Hongjun and came to the front-line command center.

Chapter 709 Commercial Version of Rent and Interest Reduction

"The North China Bureau now controls major cities like Zhangjiakou, Datong, Shimen, and Baoding, and is on the verge of taking over Peking and Tianjin. The Peking-Tianjin region is the most developed city in the north, home to numerous merchants. Their economic power and political influence surpass those of cities like Zhangjiakou, Datong, and Shimen. It's urgent to formulate policies to treat these merchants. We can't continue to adopt a 'let it be done' approach without a commercial policy of our own."

Zhou Bin is currently conducting training in Zhuozhou with financial and economic cadres.

On the one hand, they were trained on how to take over the financial departments in Peking and Tianjin, and on the other hand, they were taught "city entry discipline." This was because the cadres transferred to the financial departments included not only financial staff from the liberated areas, but also students studying finance from various schools, as well as many from other majors.

Financial training is necessary for them.

Despite his busy schedule, Zhou Bin still came to Wei Hongjun specifically.

It was because with the arrival of victory, the North China Bureau encountered new problems one after another.

Many of these are things that have never been dealt with before.

It's like business policy.

The previous commercial policy of Jin-Cha-Ji was to encourage the development of industry and commerce.

Because the base area was economically poor and relatively poor, commercial taxes were in great need. Therefore, starting from the Anti-Japanese War, the Eighth Route Army did not suppress commercial activities, but instead supported them, hoping that they would pay more commercial taxes.

Of course, at that time, the Jin-Cha-Ji region was primarily dealing with small merchants, or rather, self-employed individuals. However, after the conquest of Zhangjiakou, they began to face major businessmen. It wasn't just one or two merchants, but entire business sectors. However, to stabilize Zhangjiakou, these major merchants were not restricted or opposed to the development of commercial capital. They even adopted supportive policies for many of Zhangjiakou's handicraft merchants. Overall, Wei Hongjun and his colleagues adopted a policy of "rest and recuperation" and "rule by inaction" in cities like Zhangjiakou.

Because of this, Zhangjiakou's industry and commerce quickly recovered.

In Zhangjiakou, various trading companies and handicraft merchants flourished. But that was a special measure for a special period, intended to help Zhangjiakou and other areas recover from the oppression of the Japanese and the trauma of war as quickly as possible.

Hence this policy. But things are different now. Now that we've reached the stage of revolutionary victory, commercial policy must be clarified. It can't remain as vague as before, with the so-called "rule by inaction" approach, which effectively means no commercial policy at all, leaving commercial capital to its own devices. The purpose of establishing the North China Bureau is to provide a practical basis for future central government policies, and commercial policy is paramount. Therefore, Zhou Bin also intends to experiment with new commercial policies within the North China Bureau.

Zhou Bin had a general idea in his mind.

But he wasn't completely sure yet. Furthermore, he worried that his business policies might face opposition from officials in the North China Bureau. So he wanted to discuss it with others, especially Wei Hongjun. The two had previously discussed various economic, industrial, and financial issues, and the conversation had been very successful.

Furthermore, Wei Hongjun's position in the North China Bureau was crucial. He was second only to Marshal Nie in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region's representative. If he could gain Wei Hongjun's support, it would be much easier to convince the North China Bureau to accept his proposal. That was why Zhou Bin personally traveled to the front lines in Beiping.

"What do you think?"

Wei Hongjun also wanted to hear Zhou Bin's ideas.

After all, the commercial policy of the North China Bureau is likely to become the early commercial policy of New China.

"The goal of our revolution is to overthrow the exploiting class, and the capitalists are the most obvious exploiting class. This is the consensus of our party from top to bottom. Our party is a proletarian party, and overthrowing the capitalists and eliminating the exploiting class has always been our party's policy. But that being said, the actual situation is not that simple. You have also taken over cities and managed cities, and you should understand that cities are different from rural areas. We are just beginning to advance into the cities. If we suddenly introduce too radical business policies, according to our party's theory, overthrowing those capitalists will easily damage the city's economy. At this stage, urban stability is very important. Because many people inside and outside the party are watching whether we, the local Eighth Route Army, can manage the cities well. Especially at this time, we cannot allow chaos in the cities. At the same time, many businessmen are also paying attention to our policies. If our policies hit them too hard, they will flee. When they flee, they will definitely take a large amount of money with them, which will further damage our economy."

Zhou Bin is an experienced red economist.

During his time in the Soviet area, he had suffered from the leftist movement, so he was very cautious in formulating policies. He had to consider all aspects, including the mood of party cadres, the ideas of capitalists, the stability of the city, and even more importantly, the national economy.

Comrades within the Party have always joined the revolution with the goal of overthrowing the exploiting class. However, you cannot overthrow the landlord class in the countryside and then, upon arriving in the city, compromise with the urban capitalists. If you do that, you will be severely criticized within the Party.

But the problems of cities are not that simple.

Very complicated.

Especially in a country like China with poor infrastructure, if the city and economy are in turmoil when taking over, there will be many unfavorable factors.

Zhou Bin continued, "I've recently been studying the plan you proposed for land reform. Your three-stage theory of land reform has been quite inspiring to me. Our revolution is currently a New Democratic Revolution. During this stage before the transition to the socialist revolution, we should also systematically formulate commercial policies. The formulation of commercial policies must conform to objective conditions. To provide sufficient basis for the formulation of commercial policies, we should increase investigations and research. We should first investigate cities and their various industries. I think Peking and Tianjin are good examples. We can organize a group of staff to cooperate with the underground party organization to investigate the conditions of those companies in the cities and obtain detailed urban data."

"This is a good idea. Our party has been engaged in revolutionary work in the mountains for many years and is still unfamiliar with cities. Therefore, after we take control of the cities, we should be more cautious in our policies. We can't just impulsively introduce various policies. We should strengthen our investigation and research to better understand cities."

Wei Hongjun nodded.

The CCP’s understanding of cities is still at its most elementary stage.

What is a city? What is urban development? How should urban planning be approached? Many members of the CCP don't understand these things, or perhaps the CCP as a whole only has a superficial understanding of urban issues.

Even urban cadres are like this.

It takes time for everyone to understand the role and development of cities.

Wei Hongjun asked, "Do you have any specific ideas? The goal of our revolution is to overthrow the exploiting class. Once we capture Peking and Tianjin, there will definitely be strong calls for crackdowns on these urban capitalists and for us to introduce new business policies."

The Chinese Communist Party’s revolution, which lasted for more than 20 years, was aimed at overthrowing the exploiting class.

The call to crack down on capitalists was a strong one within the Party. Therefore, Comrade Xiuyang's statement in Tianjin that "exploitation is meritorious" caused such a stir within the Party. Fortunately, he held a high enough position at the time. If it had happened to any other cadre, he would have been met with a barrage of criticism from Party officials, effectively ending his political career.

We have been fighting for revolution for so many years, is it just for a sentence like "exploitation is meritorious"?

Zhou Bin nodded.

This was Zhou Bin's biggest headache. He had to come up with a business policy; otherwise, how could he explain it to so many Party members? But how could he stabilize urban development and prevent major problems? And how could he come up with a plan that was acceptable to Party officials, capitalists, and society at large? That wasn't so easy.

"Hongjun, I have an idea. Can you give me some advice?"

"it is good."