Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

"it is good."

Wei Hongjun liked Lai Jifa's statement.

Baotou is a desolate place.

If we want to establish a steel joint venture here, Party members and cadres must take the lead. If Lai Jifa personally leads the team to Baotou, many issues will be much easier to resolve.

"Deputy Secretary Wei, once we really decide to open a steel plant, transportation must keep up."

"That's no problem. As long as you are sure that Baotou can build a steel plant, I will coordinate and see how to improve the transportation in the Baotou area. Railways, highways, as long as they are needed, will be built." Transportation is an important factor.

I'm short of money now.

Transportation in those counties could only be handed over to the local authorities. They would organize the people to build roads. However, more important transportation arteries required specialized teams. Wei Hongjun had already begun considering whether to form a railway corps or an infrastructure engineering corps.

The advantage of the military model is that it is easy to manage and command. Of course, another advantage is that it costs less.

"Then it's settled. Comrade Lai Jifa will be fully responsible for the preliminary preparations for establishing the iron and steel joint venture in Baotou. All our North China steel mills, coal mines, other factories, and the Ministry of Education will cooperate in this work.

"it is good."

Several departments expressed support.

Wei Hongjun convened a meeting of several departments to discuss the Baotou Iron and Steel Plant. After discussing the steel plant, Wei Hongjun was about to end the meeting. Xu Daben, Deputy Minister of the Enterprise Department, said, "Deputy Secretary Wei, I have something else to do."

"Comrade Xu Daben, go ahead."

Xu Daben was a graduate of Beiyang University.

He joined the Party in 1936. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, he served as the county magistrate of Jingjing County, then Pingshan County, and then deputy director of the Fifth Special Administrative Office of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Region. Later, after the establishment of the Second-Level Military Region in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Region, he became deputy director of the Hebei Central Administrative Office. He was a key cadre of the local Party organization under Yang Quanwu's Hebei Central Military Region. Although a university graduate, he was by no means aloof. He even worked as a coal miner to pursue laborer work.

Later, he was transferred to the Jin-Cha-Ji Central Bureau as director of the Industry and Mining Department, and later served as director of the Industry Department. After the establishment of the North China People's Government, he served as deputy minister of the Enterprise Department. He was mainly responsible for the coal mines in the entire North China region.

Xu Daben said: "Deputy Secretary Wei, Kailuan Coal Mine wants to apply for a loan and hopes that we can purchase Kailuan coal.

"Is the situation in Kailuan very bad?"

"Yes."

Xu Daben nodded.

Then he said: "Kailuan Coal Mine has been poorly managed in the past two years, and the quality of coal has been getting worse and worse. In addition, there has been a war in the north in the past two years, and there is a large backlog of coal. In addition, there are many conflicts between British and Chinese managers, and both sides have a large number of people. As a result, the entire coal mine is overstaffed. Kailuan has not paid wages for a long time and is in a state of collapse. Kailuan Coal Mine means that it hopes to get support from our government. Of course, they also have an idea that our government can spend money to buy Kailuan shares and hand Kailuan over to us.

Wei Hongjun frowned.

Kailuan Coal Mine is currently China's second-largest coal mine, second only to Fushun Coal Mine. At its peak, annual output reached 3000 to million tons. Currently, the annual output of coal in the Jiefang District is only around million tons, demonstrating the high output of Kailuan Coal Mine. Furthermore, the coal produced by Kailuan Coal Mine is considered of high quality in China. Previously, coal from Kailuan Coal Mine was even exported to Japan.

However, the situation at Kailuan Coal Mine has been very bad in recent years.

Not only has production been declining, but so has quality, all due to overstaffing, poor management, and excessive amounts of impurities in the coal.

The Kailuan Coal Mine is currently owned by the British. It's losing money daily, so much so that the British no longer want it and want to sell it to the North China People's Government. However, Wei Hongjun shook his head and said, "We're going to take the Kailuan Coal Mine back, but we're not buying it. Didn't they say they haven't paid wages for a long time?"

Let the workers at Kailuan Coal Mine demand their wages, and use this to pressure the British. Let them contribute funds to resolve the wage issue and the Kailuan Coal Mine's debt problem. If that fails, send a working group to Kailuan Coal Mine to audit its finances."

Kailuan Coal Mine was not recovered until 1952.

British representatives even withheld funds from the Kailuan Coal Mine.

Wei Hongjun didn't want to let the British get away with it.

It's not that simple to run away with a mountain of debt. However, the CCP isn't a bandit, and it's difficult to simply confiscate the Kailuan Coal Mine. Wei Hongjun's idea, however, is to completely render the Kailuan Coal Mine's assets insolvent. Then, the government could step in and take over the mine. The sooner the Kailuan Coal Mine is taken over, the better it will be for China's coal industry.

“Won’t the government provide assistance?”

"We can contribute some funds to temporarily house the workers at the Kailuan Coal Mine. We can't let the workers go hungry. The rest can be postponed to see the British side's attitude."

"it is good."

Xu Daben nodded.

Then he said, "Deputy Secretary Wei has another matter. It's about the coal mine renovation.

"What happened?"

After Wei Hongjun took charge of the daily work of the North China Bureau and the North China People's Government, the issue of coal was his top priority.

No matter how things develop in the future, coal will be the foundation of all industries.

This is not just the case now, even after entering the new millennium, China's energy still depends on coal. Therefore, Wei Hongjun has repeatedly stressed how to develop the coal industry in North China.

Currently, there are many coal mines under the jurisdiction of the Enterprise Department.

What the Enterprise Department is doing now is to restore normal production in coal mines and carry out technological transformation to increase coal production.

"Currently, the Ministry of Enterprises has two plans for coal mine renovation. One is to dig new mines in existing mines. The other is to expand existing mines. These are the two plans.

Wei Hongjun took it and took a look.

As he looked at it, he asked, "What is your Enterprise Department's opinion?"

"Both options have support. Expanding old mines is quick and effective, but it will be difficult to expand later. Building new mines increases coal mining capacity, and there is great potential for future coal mine renovation."

"That's the advantage, what about the disadvantage?"

"The investment is large and the construction period is long. The investment in digging a new mine is more than double that of expanding an old one, and the construction period is also more than double. The expansion of some small old mines takes just over a year. The expansion of large mines takes two to three years at most. However, digging a new mine of the same scale takes about five years.

Wei Hongjun nodded.

He put down the report in his hand and asked, "Does the old mine need to be renovated?"

"need."

Xu Daben nodded.

"The coal mines we've taken over have a lot of problems. The main problem is that the old mines didn't treat the miners as human beings. Therefore, the ventilation in those old mines is very poor and the tunnels are very narrow, which seriously affects the miners' safety and also affects the efficiency of coal mining. Those old mines need to be renovated to avoid frequent coal mine accidents.

"That's it."

Wei Hongjun said, "We have so much work to do right now, and every aspect requires money. Therefore, the funds available for coal mine renovation are limited, so we can't invest too much in digging new mines. To utilize limited funds, ensure the safety of miners, and increase coal production, we can only invest the majority of the funds in expanding the old mines. But I'd like to ask, how much can coal production increase after the old mine expansion project is completed?"

"According to our calculations, if we invest 4000 million yuan over the next three years to comprehensively renovate old coal mines in North China, coal production could increase by at least 800 million tons compared to the current level. If we can take over the Kailuan Coal Mine and carry out similar renovations there, annual coal production could increase by more than 1300 million tons."

Wei Hongjun nodded.

Currently, the major coal mines in North China are mainly Kailuan Coal Mine and Datong Coal Mine.

There are many other coal mines, but none match the scale of Kailuan and Datong. Wei Hongjun pondered, looking at the map. Shanxi and Inner Mongolia are the provinces with the most coal in China. In Shanxi, the highest coal production isn't in Datong, but in Shuozhou, south of Datong. Yangquan also has abundant coal. In Inner Mongolia, the highest coal production is in Ordos. There are some small coal mines in Shuozhou and Ordos, but no large-scale mines have emerged yet.

However, once Baotou establishes a large steel joint venture, coal development in Ordos will also be put on the agenda.

The renovation of old mines could increase coal production in North China by over 1300 million tons, a significant amount. If the necessary machinery and equipment could be brought back from the Soviet Union, coal production could be further increased.

"Your Enterprise Department should draw up a plan for coal mine renovation. I mean, most of the funds should be invested in renovating old mines, but some should also be reserved for digging new mines. You should plan the specific investment proportions. After I sign, I will submit it to Comrade Dong Biwu for approval.

"Yes."

“Does your Ministry of Enterprises have any plans to consolidate those small local coal mines?”

"We have already started considering this matter. Our Enterprise Department's plan is to cooperate with local governments to integrate local small coal mines into a joint-stock system."

"Well, this work can be accelerated. Small coal mines in those areas lack capital and technology, so production has been unable to increase. Furthermore, these small mines also suffer from numerous safety accidents. After the Ministry of Enterprises and local governments integrate these small coal mines, they will increase investment and technical support to reduce coal mine accidents and increase production at these small mines as quickly as possible."

"Yes."

Chapter 734 Underground Party Issues

The coal mine transformation project is a major project.

The business department's plan is very thick.

There were detailed plans for the renovation of each coal mine. Wei Hongjun took the time to carefully review them. While he agreed with the renovation of the old mines, this was only the general direction. The specific renovation plan would be different for each mine. Furthermore, the renovation of old mines like this couldn't be launched all at once. It wasn't possible to stop mining at all mines to focus on renovation. A well-planned approach was necessary.

In addition to the renovation of old mines, some funds were also used to dig new mines. North China currently had to support so many troops and participate in the logistics supply of the frontline troops, so funds were limited. Therefore, only two new mines were dug this time.

In addition to the construction of these two new mines, there is also a plan to merge small coal mines in Shuozhou and Yangquan. There are numerous small coal mines in Shuozhou, Yangquan, and Ikh Ju League (Ordos), all of which are invested in by local landlords and gentry. This time, the plan is to merge all of these small coal mines into joint-stock coal mining enterprises.

Wei Hongjun was quite satisfied with this proposal. The Ministry of Enterprises' plan was to increase North China's coal production to over 3000 million tons within five years, relying solely on the North China People's Government's own efforts. Of course, if the negotiations with the Soviet Union went smoothly, the original plan would need to be adjusted.

Xu Daben has good abilities.

Wei Hongjun signed his name and sent the report to Dong Biwu. This proposal still needed Dong Biwu's approval, and finally the approval of the North China Bureau, before it could be officially implemented.

Wei Hongjun continued to handle the work.

This was a report submitted by the Water Conservancy Commission, titled "Draft Plan for the Regulation of the Yongding River and Development of its Basin." It primarily addressed the concept for the Guanting Reservoir. Wei Hongjun read it carefully.

The management of the Yongding River has always been an important issue in North China.

The flood in Yongding River directly affected Beijing.

As early as 1933, the North China Water Conservancy Department, considering the management of the Yongding River, had already begun discussing the possibility of building the "Guanting Reservoir." Later, after the arrival of the Japanese, they also made plans in this regard. However, at that time, the situation of the North China Front Army was not very good due to the constant fighting, so the "Guanting Reservoir" plan was not followed up.

Now that North China has been liberated, the North China Water Conservancy Commission has again proposed this plan.

Wei Hongjun generally agreed with the plan. The successful construction of the Guanting Reservoir would have a significant impact on the management of the Yongding River. It would be a crucial project for Chahar, Beijing, and Hebei. Furthermore, with the Guanting Reservoir, hydropower development would become possible.

Wei Hongjun had originally intended to sign the report and submit it to Dong Biwu. However, after reading the list of names at the bottom of the report, he put it aside. He then summoned the three deputy directors of the Water Conservancy Commission, Xing Zhaotang, Wang Huayun, and Xu Zhengdao, and said, "The Water Conservancy Commission cannot write a report this way. Fu Zuoyi is the official director of the Water Conservancy Commission. How can your report be without his signature?"

Without the historical perspective of later generations, but having personally experienced this period of history, Wei Hongjun did not have much good feelings towards Fu Zuoyi in this time and space.

When we meet a laughing stock, all the grudges and grudges are nonsense.

Wei Hongjun does not have such noble sentiments.

Wei Hongjun's army fought two battles against Fu Zuoyi's troops, resulting in heavy casualties for the Third Jin-Cha-Ji Field Army. For example, the First Brigade, the most loyal and essential force of the Jin-Re-Cha forces, now the 71th Division of the 211st Army, lost approximately 4600 officers and soldiers in the two battles, and the number of casualties was even higher. Most of these casualties were veterans who had fought with Wei Hongjun for many years, dating back to the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Wei Hongjun had a deep bond with them. Furthermore, Fu Zuoyi's early deployment of bandit troops into Jin-Cha-Ji severely damaged the region.

Since Wei Hongjun came to this time and space, he has been fighting in Jin Cha Yi, so he has deep feelings for Jin Cha Yi.

When Fu Zuoyi's troops attacked Jin-Cha-Ji, it was really unacceptable to Wei Hongjun. Under such circumstances, how could Wei Hongjun have a good impression of Fu Zuoyi?

But personal feelings are personal feelings, and work is work.

After Fu Zuoyi, Deng Baoshan, and Chen Changjie led their troops in the uprising, Deng Baoshan and Chen Changjie remained in the army, incorporated into the First Field Army. Fu Zuoyi left the army and became director of the Water Conservancy Commission of the North China People's Government. Besides fighting in the war, Fu Zuoyi's most impressive accomplishment in Suixi was water conservancy construction. Consequently, the North China Bureau ultimately chose Fu Zuoyi as director of the Water Conservancy Commission.

Since he had been appointed director, he couldn't be sidelined in his work. Fu Zuoyi was different from some of the other rebel generals. Some were given positions to impress others. But Fu Zuoyi was appointed director of the Water Conservancy Commission so he could get work done. He was expected to utilize his years of experience in water conservancy construction. Yet, Fu Zuoyi's name wasn't even on this report; this was unusual.

"Deputy Secretary Wei, it's not that we intentionally exclude Director Fu, but we're struggling with some issues. The work of our Water Conservancy Committee is essentially decided at Party Committee meetings. The three of us are all Party members, but Director Fu isn't, so he can't attend the meeting.

Xing Zhaotang spoke.

Xing Zhaotang also served in the Nationalist army, but he maintained a close relationship with the CCP because he was a member of the Shaanxi Army. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he moved to Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, and Henan, serving as a cadre in the base area. He joined the Party after the war ended. He currently serves as Deputy Director of the Water Conservancy Commission. Because he himself served in the Nationalist army, he had little aversion to Fu Zuoyi. However, there were rules.

Ever since Wei Hongjun has been advocating the cadre responsibility system under the leadership of the Party Committee, the North China Bureau, whether in the military or local areas, has attached more importance to the management of the Party Committee than other local central bureaus and liberated areas.

Party committee meetings are very important.

The other two deputy directors of the Water Conservancy Commission, Wang Huayun and Xu Zheng, were both long-time Party members. As a result, the current situation at the Water Conservancy Commission is that Director Fu Zuoyi is not a Party member, while the other three deputy directors are all Party members.