Northern Anhui and southwest Shandong have basically the same topography, landforms, and cultural customs, but after crossing the Longhai Railway and entering the northern Anhui base area, Zhou Weihan felt completely different.
When we first entered Xiayi, the villages along the way were all surrounded by earthen walls. The locals called them earthen walls. From a distance, the fields after the summer harvest looked bare, with patches of wheat stubble on the ground.
Today, our party has relatively mature experience in establishing new base areas. Under the guarantee of strong force, the establishment of northern Anhui base areas is quite rapid, and many policies and systems can be copied from the Hebei, Shandong and Henan base areas.
However, Zhou Weihan could detect from reports and personal experience that the foundation of the northern Anhui base area was not solid. When the 13th and 15th brigades first arrived in northern Anhui, the local people showed their welcome by eating pots of pulp, but in fact they were mostly resistant to the policies of the Eighth Route Army.
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The reason is that land reform has not been carried out in the northern Anhui base area, and the interests of the people and the Eighth Route Army have not been deeply tied.
The group stopped at a village, and a group of children who were playing at the entrance of the village dispersed. Seeing this, Zhou Weihan asked Tian Defu to take out a handful of candy bars from his bag.
"I have candy here. I will give the candy to anyone who takes me home to drink water!" Tian Defu seemed to be a bad uncle coaxing the children. Unexpectedly, after hearing this, the children ran away without even looking back.
run.
"Hey, why are you running? You won't even eat the candy bars given to you?" Tian Defu scratched his head, feeling very puzzled.
Zhou Weihan saw it better and couldn't help but said: "Don't look at children as young, but they are the best at judging people. With that fake smile on your face, no child will not run away when they see you!"
"If you change into a Japanese military uniform, what's the difference between you and the little devil who goes to the countryside to promote Sino-Japanese friendship?"
While they were talking, a group of people rushed out of the village from Wuyang Wuyang, holding various types of weapons in their hands. They slowed down when they saw Zhou Weihan and others standing at the entrance of the village wearing the uniforms of the Eighth Route Army.
"Oh, it turned out to be a misunderstanding. Which part of the comrade are you from?" A middle-aged man in his fifties stood out from the crowd. He seemed to be quite prestigious, but it was obvious that he was still wary and did not let the gathered crowd disperse.
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Zhou Weihan said: "We came from the north and were a little thirsty on the way, so we planned to go to the village to get some water!"
Having stayed in Jiluyu for a long time, Zhou Weihan inevitably had some accent. After hearing Zhou Weihan's explanation, the man stepped forward and said enthusiastically: "Comrade, welcome, welcome, children are not sensible, so they ran home in a hurry and said
A group of riders came to the village entrance!"
The young people in the village dispersed, and during the conversation they learned that the man's name was Chen Laoshuan, who was the village head of Chenjiazhuang appointed by the local government. Zhou Weihan and his party were invited to the village's stage.
At Chen Laoshuan's greeting, every household in the village began to prepare lunch. Chen Laoshuan took out three watermelons from his cellar.
"Master, what are you doing? Didn't you say you were going to keep this watermelon to entertain the county officials? You even wanted to eat it, so why did you take it out?"
The woman who spoke was obviously very reluctant to give up, but Chen Laoshuan could see it clearly: "Hey, these three watermelons will definitely be of great use today. Didn't you see that the Eighth Route Army led by Yi Shui, a tall and tall horse, looks young, but...
With this appearance, he must be a senior official of the Eighth Route Army!"
"Go and make it clear to the villagers that the lunch prepared must be fine grain. Our family will kill two more chickens. This meal will not be in vain!"
Chen Laoshuan put the watermelon in a sack and walked happily towards the stage, thinking along the way that he would keep Zhou Weihan no matter what.
Zhou Weihan actually had no intention of leaving, but he also didn't plan to have dinner at a fellow villager's house. Soldiers from the guard company were watering the horses when Chen Laoshuan came over with a sack on his shoulders.
"Comrade Zhou, there is no need to rush on the road because of the strong sun at noon. I have already asked people to prepare lunch. You can stay in the village for lunch. This is the watermelon that just came out this year. You can try it!"
"Brother, we have some dry food with us, so we can just deal with one bite. As for this watermelon, we can take it home for our children to eat!"
Zhou Weihan's back was wet with sweat, and he felt unspeakably uncomfortable with his military uniform stuck to his back. At this time, he took off his clothes and let them dry on the stage. He wiped his body with a towel soaked in well water and felt cool.
Chen Laoshuan said: "That won't work. I won't let you leave today no matter what. Come on, little comrade, cut up the watermelon and share it with everyone!"
Tian Defu looked at Zhou Weihan and happily took the watermelon when he saw Zhou Weihan nodding. Seeing this scene, Chen Laoshuan became more and more sure that Zhou Weihan was a high official.
We had vegetables and steamed buns cooked in a big pot for lunch. When the food was delivered, the grandson of Chen Laoshuan’s family timidly hid behind his grandma. Zhou Weihan held him in his arms, but the little guy couldn’t restless until he stuffed two
The candy stopped making any noise.
"Do you still want some candy? If so, you have to answer a few questions!"
The little guy nodded, and Zhou Weihan said: "What is your name and how old are you?"
"My name is Chen Goudan. I am six years old this year. Give me two pieces of candy!" After Chen Goudan finished speaking, he stretched out his hand and took the two pieces of candy and then said, "Go ahead and ask!"
"Have you gone to school?"
"There is no school in the village. I don't want to go to school. When I grow up, I want to be an Eighth Route Army soldier and follow my father to kill little Japanese!"
"Hey, what an ambition, but you still need to study hard at your age!" Zhou Weihan turned to Chen Laoshuan and asked: "Brother, I think the overall conditions in the village are not bad, why is there not even a school?"
Chen Laoshuan finally continued and said: "Before the little devils came, there was a school in the village. Later, the big family in the village sold the land, and the whole family went to the Kuomintang District. No one continued to organize it, and the school was disbanded!"
"Oh, that's it, but children of Goudan's age still need to go to school. Basically every village in the Hebei, Shandong and Yu base areas in the north has a school. I think it will be soon here in northern Anhui!" Zhou Weihan said.
Chen Laoshuan put out the cigarette in his hand and approached Zhou Weihan: "Comrade Zhou, it's great to be able to go to school, but most families can't afford the tuition fee."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Education is far from universal these days. Although there are formal schools in the county, children from ordinary farm families have no chance to go to school.
If in rural areas, if a large local family takes the lead in organizing, it would be possible for school-age children in eight villages in ten miles to go to school and basically be able to read and learn arithmetic, but the cost of education is not something that ordinary families can afford.
Although Zhou Weihan did not wander around the village much, it can be seen from the stage where he is staying that the overall conditions of Chenjiazhuang are good in the local area.
"The government has taken the matter of tuition fees into consideration. There are free places for military families to go to school, and it will also ensure that children from other families can also afford to go to school!"
Hearing what Zhou Weihan said, Chen Laoshuan immediately smiled and said: "That's a good relationship. My eldest son is also in the Eighth Route Army, and his unit is still the main force!"
Chen Laoshuan originally wanted to say a few more words in front of Zhou Weihan, but after the conversation started, the conversation started completely. He had two sons and a daughter at home.
The 28th Group Army recruited young men to join the army in northern Anhui. The eldest brother joined the army on behalf of his unmarried younger brother. Unexpectedly, he came back six months later and transformed into the Eighth Route Army.
Among the troops of the 28th Group Army, there are indeed many children from northern Anhui and eastern Henan. In order to better open up the situation in the two places, when the 13th and 15th brigades went south, the military region added additional soldiers from the two places.
Judging from the current situation, the base areas in northern Anhui and eastern Henan can quickly open up the situation. The soldiers from the two areas contribute a lot, but there are also some problems. The eldest of the Chen family is in the Eighth Route Army, Chen Laoshuan is the village chief, and the second in the Chen family is in the militia.
team leader.
The Chen family basically has the final say in the entire Chenjiazhuang. Zhou Weihan did not ask anyone from the Wanbei base area to pick him up during his trip. His position was high, so the reports he heard were false.
The high-level power structure in the northern Anhui base area is decided by the Hebei, Shandong and Yu branch, but whether the policy can be implemented depends on the power structure at the grassroots level. He wanted to see for himself what the situation was like in the rural areas at the grassroots level?
"Brother, how many acres of land do you have at home? How will the harvest be this year?" Zhou Weihan asked.
The smile on Chen Laoshuan's face faltered, and he said vaguely: "Hey, I have dozens of acres of land at home, but the harvest this year is not good, but I have paid all the public grain I should pay!"
Zhou Weihan waved his hand and said: "Brother, don't be nervous, I'm just asking. If our Eighth Route Army wants to gain a foothold in northern Anhui, it cannot do without the support of the people!"
Since land reform has not yet been carried out in the northern Anhui base area, it is impossible to implement progressive agricultural taxes, but the temporarily implemented public grain payment standards are also based on a progressive system.
Large landowners with more than 100 acres of land pay 20%, landlords and rich peasants with land between 30 acres and 100 acres pay 10%, middle peasants pay 10 kilograms of grain per mu of land, and poor peasants and laborers do not need to pay public grain.
According to statistics, the harvest in northern Anhui has been reduced, and the situation is getting worse as you go south. Therefore, the mandatory public grain payment standards in the northern Anhui base area have caused complaints from some large landowners.
However, compared to now, the lives of the people in northern Anhui and eastern Henan were more difficult in the past few years. After the 35th Division lost its grain production areas north of the Longhai Line, it could only transfer grain taxes to northern Anhui.
Two places in eastern Henan.
If the Eighth Route Army did not come, these large landowners with complaints would be fat in the eyes of the Japanese and puppet troops. Everyone knew the situation. After the threat of the Japanese and puppet troops was removed, when it was the Eighth Route Army's turn to ask for the payment of public grain, they refused and refused.
"Comrade Zhou, I heard that land reform has been carried out in Hebei, Shandong and Henan. When will it be carried out in northern Anhui?"
Chen Laoshuan finally asked the question he was most concerned about. According to the composition, his family should belong to the rich peasants. After the Eighth Route Army came, he asked his eldest son about the Eighth Route Army's policy.
Although he knew that the Eighth Route Army was protecting the interests of the rich peasants, Chen Laoshuan was still in panic all day long before the sword of land reform fell.
"Brother, I don't know the specific situation in northern Anhui, but land reform must be carried out. If the land in your hands comes from reasonable sales, then you don't need to worry!" Zhou Weihan said.
"This is natural. Most of the land in my family was bought from landlords who fled to the Kuomintang-controlled area. This is true for several families in the village, and they can all prove it!"
"Comrade Zhou, I support land reform. I heard from my eldest son that the people in the north are living a very good life!" Chen Laoshuan said.
Although he only got to know the situation in Chenjiazhuang, Zhou Weihan could also get a glimpse of the whole situation. He stayed in Chenjiazhuang for more than two hours with a hundred or so armed people, but the local government did not respond at all, which shows that he has no regard for the local government.
The dominance is far from enough.
Situations like Chenjiazhuang are not easy to handle during land reform. They are basically rich peasants, and there are no large landlords to serve as targets.
In this way, where will the common people get their land during the land reform?