Chapter 35: The Biggest Constraints to Development
At the moment, Yang Zhen doesn’t know what unexpected surprises this recruitment method for the Marching Army will bring to him in a month. Previously, he was still having a headache to replenish the soldiers for the Marching Army. In fact, if Yang Zhen really wanted to recruit soldiers,
Since the entire advancing army has been incorporated into the Anti-League, this problem will naturally not be a headache for him.
By integrating the advancing army into the Anti-League combat order, he not only did not have to worry about how to replenish troops, but could also reduce the number of new soldiers mobilized in the new area. However, he just felt that it was not very appropriate to be incorporated into the Anti-League. That's why he wanted to
The problem of replenishing battle losses during the advance has always been a headache. Although the gap in recruits for the advance army is not large, it is still a gap.
To be honest, he didn't worry about how much equipment the advancing army would need. What the troops captured in this battle was precisely the problem of troop replenishment, which became his biggest headache. The number of troops he replenished was not enough, and the new district
The speed of mobilization has been very slow.
Even if mobilization is completed, according to the provisions of the Anti-Resistance Alliance's recruitment, it is still uncertain whether it can meet its own needs. The Anti-Resistance Alliance needs at least 200,000 conscripts to prepare for the next stage of the battle and to supplement the casualties of this battle.
, it’s difficult enough to put it anywhere.
You must know that the population of some areas in the new areas, such as the Puppet Manjian Island Province in Eastern Manchuria, is not as dense as that of some places in Western Manchuria. The total population of all the newly liberated areas combined is only more than 2 million. Even among them
One-tenth of the troops can be mobilized, which is only 200,000 people.
At present, the entire base area is not considered a new area, and the total population is just over 10 million. Excluding the elderly, weak, women and children, as well as those who must go to school, the workers left for factory construction, and the necessary rural labor force,
The remaining population available for conscription is quite limited.
In terms of conscription, we cannot dry up the lake for fishing, or burn down the forest for hunting. This will ruin the situation we have worked so hard to create. Especially in addition to the production and construction corps, most of the agricultural production in the entire base area must be based on human and animal power.
.This will inevitably require a large labor force in rural areas.
If too many soldiers are recruited, it will seriously affect agricultural production. This will not be of great benefit to the future development of the base area, and may even cause some damage. After all, compared with industrial development, agriculture is more
The most important of them.
According to the current population situation in the base area, which is not considered a new area, Yang Zhen estimates that he can recruit up to 50,000 young adults to join the army, which is already the limit. Unless people over thirty and under eighteen are mobilized to join the army, otherwise eighteen
No matter how many young adults in their twenties are mobilized, the vitality of the entire base area will be damaged.
The original cadres and soldiers with labor background in the army, after more than two years of casualties in bloody battles and being transferred to various technical arms units, now only account for one-sixth of the total strength of the army. The liberation fighters who were born in the Puppet Manchukuo soldiers,
After excluding unqualified candidates, the number is even smaller, less than 50,000.
At present, the main forces of the Anti-Japanese Alliance are local forces, plus various independent battalions under the Ministry of Social Affairs responsible for prisoner of war camp supervision, important target defense, border defense and bandit suppression. Together with local forces, the existing main combat forces are still the same as last year.
From the beginning of the year to the first half of this year, the majority of troops were mobilized in the base areas.
At present, the total strength of the Anti-Japanese Alliance, together with local troops and troops under the Ministry of Social Affairs, plus anti-aircraft artillery, engineers, railway troops and other directly-affiliated troops, is already close to half a million people. According to this number, according to local mobilization
The number of troops can be imagined.
Coupled with the workers who are being trained as soon as possible for the introduction of a series of large-scale factories, as well as the large number of workers needed for local infrastructure construction. In the entire North Manchu base area, the industrial infrastructure construction and recruitment of soldiers alone have mobilized a population of no less than one million.
.This required population, especially the number of young and middle-aged people, can be imagined to be stressful for the population base in the entire base area.
We must know that a considerable part of the more than 10 million people in the old base area exists on paper. In fact, there are only more than 9 million people, and not all of them are young and middle-aged people eligible for conscription. Among them, at least the old, weak, women and children
To account for about one-third of the population. In other words, there are at least nearly four million women, old people, children, and teenagers who are not suitable for conscription.
Among the remaining more than six million young adults, those over thirty years old, under eighteen years old, and over fifteen years old will need to be eliminated by one-third, which is about two million people. In addition to these two million
Among the remaining people who can be mobilized into the army, the maximum number is about four million.
And these four million people do seem to be a large number, but among them are the people who must go to school according to the regulations of the Northeast Bureau and the Anti-Japanese League, and the people who are engaged in irreplaceable jobs in the city. In other words,
The remaining young and middle-aged population available for recruitment by the Anti-Japanese Alliance was only over three million.
But among the remaining three million people, Yang Zhen's requirements of one for two, or even one for three. Excluding the minimum number of more than 300,000 to 400,000 workers prepared for each factory, and those engaged in the construction industry
, the necessary population for commerce, handicrafts, etc. The most critical thing is the large agricultural population that must be retained in the absence of a large amount of agricultural machinery and equipment.
Retaining enough young adults as the agricultural population is the most basic bottom line related to the future food output of the base area and even the stability of the base area. Food is the first priority for the people. Without enough food, let alone whether the people will rebel, it will be the army.
It is also unable to stabilize or even maintain marching operations.
Ensuring the population needed for agriculture and meeting future food production is also the main reason why the Anti-Japanese Forces are currently unable to recruit soldiers. In addition, due to political reasons, those with tuberculosis, syphilis, sexually transmitted diseases, and disabilities are excluded
Population that cannot be drafted into the army for any reason.
Without affecting the stability of the base area and the subsequent development in the future, the number of people left for recruitment currently has very little room for choice. It can be said that if you guarantee this, you cannot guarantee that. Guaranteed
Industrial and agricultural production and the number of conscripts are strictly limited. The new area can indeed solve some of the problems, but on the basis of satisfying the Anti-Japanese Alliance, it is no longer able to meet the additional troops needed by the advancing army.
The Anti-Japanese Federation cannot recruit all the young and middle-aged people to serve as soldiers and ignore everything else. Without commerce, the base area will be a backwater, which will also have a big impact on the fiscal revenue of the Northeast Bureau. Without agriculture, then
Tens of millions of people in the entire base area will fall into famine. Without the necessary workers, Yang Zhen's entire industrial development plan cannot be realized at all.
According to the estimates of the Northeast Bureau, not counting newly reclaimed wasteland and increased grain production, just to ensure the current grain production, it is necessary to ensure an agricultural population of at least three million, of which at least 60% must be young adults. If you want
To increase the current grain production by 50%, it would be necessary to add 500,000 people to this base.
At present, let alone reclaiming a large amount of wasteland suitable for agriculture, increasing the area of cultivated land and increasing food production, just to ensure the current food production, we must ensure at least an agricultural population of more than three million, of which at least 60% must be young adults. If
If we want to increase the current food production by 50%, we need to add another one million people to this base.
Although there was no awareness of environmental protection at this time, northern Manchuria was not like later generations where all the areas that could be developed and those that could not be developed had been developed. In addition to the Sanjiang Plain where there was still a large amount of undeveloped wasteland, the Nenjiang River Basin was open to development.
The area of wasteland is quite vast. At least five times the current amount of cultivated land can be reclaimed, which will not cause much damage to the environment.
Just on both sides of the Nenjiang River, which are mostly desolate and inhabited at this time, there is still no problem in reclaiming tens of millions of acres of fertile land. Even if Yang Zhen repeatedly requested that during the land reclamation, it is strictly forbidden to reclaim the west bank of the Nenjiang River from the Daxingan Mountains to Naze of the Nenjiang River.
The primeval forest blocks out the sun. But just the vast area from the west of the southern foot of the Lesser Khingan Mountains to the east bank of the Nen River is enough to meet this number.
There are large tracts of arable land to be developed, and there is no problem in adding tens of millions of acres of arable land. The Northeast Bureau and the Northeast People's Government have also been encouraging all rural people to open up wasteland. They have even formulated a series of incentive policies to encourage whoever opens up wasteland
Whoever clears more than 100 acres of land will be rewarded with an ox. Except for the mountainous areas where no land reclamation is allowed, the more land reclamation in plain areas, the better.
But if you encourage land reclamation, someone has to do it. You can’t expect a person in his fifties or sixties to open up wasteland and cultivate large areas of land. In agriculture, without a lot of mechanization, except for
In addition to a large amount of animal power, what is even more important is young adults who can undertake heavy agricultural labor. But if you have high rewards, what's the use if there is no one to do the work?
How to ensure sufficient agricultural population and sufficient food production while ensuring industrial development and the number of soldiers required for military operations has become the top priority of the Northeast Bureau. In order to ensure this minimum line, according to the actual population in the area
At least half of the quantity is actually impossible to use for other purposes.
If you add in the current expansion of oil mining and the large number of workers required to increase the mining volume of coal, iron ore and Duobaoshan copper mine, the industrial population will be more than four to five million, which is still a conservative number. If the industrial scale
If it is possible to expand, the number of workers will double.
Although the industries currently under construction in the area are not handicrafts, nor can they be considered labor-intensive industries, the necessary number of workers still needs to be guaranteed. A large factory, including logistical support, still needs at least 10,000 workers.
. Coupled with supporting factories, the number of workers required is even greater.
In terms of mining with a lower degree of mechanization, if you want to meet future needs, more workers are needed. If the current production capacity of Duobaoshan Copper Mine needs to be doubled, the number of workers will need to be
Doubling it will barely be enough. This does not include the need to increase production capacity to meet the needs of a large number of coal mines, iron ores and other mines.
Once these large-scale factories are fully constructed, not counting other mineral resources, the demand for coal will be at least several times, or even dozens of times, the current level. There will not be enough coal, especially industrial coal. How to make explosives?
Chemical plants that produce gunpowder raw materials, steel plants, non-ferrous metal smelting plants, and a large number of power plants being built at the same time can only stop production.
In order to meet the needs of a large amount of coal, in the absence of mechanized coal mining equipment, the number of workers must also increase significantly. Although prisoners of war and Japanese expatriates can solve some of the needs of workers in this area, but at the moment we want to meet
There needs to be a larger gap.
This does not include the number of workers in various arsenals that have been put into use, which has reached nearly 100,000. The Northeast Bureau has always fiddled with the pearl in the population abacus. Demographic reasons have become
The biggest factor restricting the development of the entire base area.