The land of Suzhou and Anhui in the war is beautiful and almost demonic.

The seedlings are green, the reeds are green, the trees are green, and the whole field is a sea of green. In this boundless greenery, the Huai River, canals, and other well-known and unknown rivers are like jade belts, passing through the green sea, sprinkling strings of pearls along the way, and dressing up the land of Suzhou and Anhui in a particularly enchanting way.

The eyes are full of greenery, and the figures of the athletes are hidden. Under the cover of green, the brigades of the southward troops of the Eighth Route Army galloped across the land of Suzhou and Anhui. Just when the First Brigade and the New First Brigade swept through northeastern Anhui, Liu Yimin led his headquarters to Bancheng and commanded the battle to eliminate the Hongzehu bandits. The New Third Brigade and the New Eighth Brigade seized the opportunity to destroy the Japanese army in the battle of Bancheng and the emptiness of the Japanese troops in Siyang County, Xuyi County, and Huai'an County, and the troops ran long distances to capture Siyang and Xuyi, forming a flanking attack on the Japanese puppet army in Huai'an and Huaiyin. At present, the 1st Teaching Brigade, the New 1st Brigade, the Cavalry Brigade, the New 3rd Brigade, and the New 8th Brigade are in full swing in the areas north of the Huai River in northeastern Anhui and northern Jiangsu, combing the Japanese puppet strongholds in the Jiangsu and Anhui regions like combs. As the head of the southbound troops, Liu Yimin set his sights on the construction of political power, and the first step was to establish a new model of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to resist the Japanese people's sovereignty in northeastern Anhui.

After talking with Sheng Zijin, Liu Yimin did not let Sheng Zijin leave Bancheng, but struck while the iron was hot, and held a preparatory meeting for the anti-Japanese participation meeting in Northeast Anhui in Bancheng.

Liu Yimin didn't have time to stay in the Suzhou-Anhui region longer, and the Japanese army in North China was sweeping the Jin-Cha-Ji region on a large scale, and the Japanese Twelfth Army in Shandong was also about to move, and it was likely that a large-scale sweep would be launched soon. He is now anxious to lead the Central Plains Bureau to arrive in northeast Anhui as soon as possible, and he is also waiting for Chen Yi to cross the river to the north and Huang Kecheng to go south.

At the preparatory meeting for the anti-Japanese people's participation in the political conference in northeastern Anhui, Liu Yimin asked Sheng Zijin to notify all county magistrates and district heads of the Sixth Prefecture to attend. Regrettably, in addition to the county magistrates and district magistrates of several counties south of the Huai River, they did not know where they had gone, and the county magistrates and district magistrates of the five counties north of the Huai River, including Su County, Si County, Lingbi, Xuyi, and Wuhe, also did not arrive. Only Li Dongyi, the magistrate of Wuhe County, and Li Chunyi, the magistrate of Si County, came. On the contrary, all the representatives of our party were present, and the responsible persons of the county party committees of several counties all attended the meeting in the capacity of representatives of the people's will.

Liu Yimin also felt strange, wasn't the county magistrate of Si County Sheng Zijin at the same time, why did Li Chunyi come out? When I asked Sheng Zijin, I found out that "he is also the magistrate of Si County, but Li Chunyi is the predecessor." In order to gain a foothold in northeast Anhui as soon as possible, Sheng Zijin specially reported to the Anwei Provincial Government for approval, and Li Chunyi continued to act as the county magistrate of Si County.

Zhang Aiping quietly told Liu Yimin that Li Dongyi was very good, young and capable. Li Chunyi was not very good, with a county standing team of 100 numbers, looking at the untidy posture, he knew that it was a cargo who fled when he heard the gunshots.

Liu Yimin's aim was to legitimize the regime, and it was best to have all the leading figures of the Kuomintang regime in northeastern Anhui participate. If you really can't come, you can't help it, as long as Sheng Zijin is here.

The meeting was held in a large mansion in a half-town town, and slogans such as uniting to resist Japan, supporting the Eighth Route Army, eliminating traitors, and eliminating invaders were posted on the walls around the venue.

At the meeting, Zhang Aiping made a report entitled "Consolidating Unity and Persisting in the Anti-Japanese Guerrilla War in Northeast Anhui," expounding the program and policy of our party and our army in upholding unity and resistance in northeast Anhui, which is also tantamount to clarifying the leaders of our party and our army in northeast Anhui.

Zhang Aiping, who served as Minister of Defense in later history, "is a famous fierce general in the Red Army, and his character is very upright." According to Zhang Aiping's memoirs, before he went to the Red Army University, he was at most a fierce general and tactician, but after going to the Red Army University, "he began to understand how to think strategically." Historically, Zhang Aiping adhered to the War of Resistance in Northeast Anhui and Northern Jiangsu, and single-handedly created the main force of the Ninth Brigade of the New Fourth Army, with outstanding achievements and prestige. After Peng Xuefeng's death, he took over as the commander of the Fourth Division of the New Fourth Army. As soon as the Liberation War began, he was seriously wounded, otherwise, there would definitely be a strong stroke in the history of the Liberation War. Later, the Central Committee was instructed to establish the Navy, and he was the first commander of the Navy.

Among the senior leaders of our party, the first one to see that the seizure of Central China was **, and Zhang Aiping was assigned to the Suzhou-Anhui region. At that time, "because the central government was focusing on Henan, it did not really pay attention to the suggestions of the first country." As a result, the Central Plains Bureau stayed in Henan for so long, and it was not able to open up the situation, but missed the opportunity to enter Suzhou and Anhui in front of the Kuomintang. This led to the extremely complicated struggle in the first two or three years of the Suzhou-Anhui border region. Now, thanks to Liu Yimin, this situation has been completely changed. The strength of the southward troops of the Eighth Route Army far exceeded the strength of our army when it created the Suzhou-Anhui border area in history, and as soon as it made a move, it beat the Japanese puppet forces in northeast Anhui into an uproar, which is equivalent to our army controlling northeast Anhui several years in advance.

Historically, after Zhang Aiping left Yan'an and went to Shanghai, he successively pulled troops in Shanghai, Wuhan, and eastern Henan, and was transferred out when he was about to succeed. After arriving in the Henan-Anhui border area to meet Peng Xuefeng, the two had different opinions on going east to northeast Anhui and westward to east Henan, and as a result, Ji Aiping was determined to develop in northeast Anhui alone, and Peng Xuefeng did not send troops to escort him, which led him to grope for a period of time in northeast Anhui alone. Now, in such a good situation, Zhang Aiping was brought to northeast Anhui by Liu Yimin, and with Zhang Aiping's ability, there should be no problem with the development of the base area in northeast Anhui.

At the meeting, Liu Yimin made a speech on "Northeast Anhui Unites and Makes Great Achievements in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression".

In his speech, Liu Yimin analyzed the situation of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in the whole country and pointed out that to persist in the War of Resistance in Northeast Anhui is to insert a sharp knife in the hinterland of Japanese puppet rule. With this sharp knife, it is impossible for the little devil to concentrate all his strength on attacking the Dabie Mountains, nor can he concentrate on consolidating the defense of Xuzhou. In the future, the northeastern Anhui base area will develop and grow, and it will be integrated with northern Jiangsu, central Jiangsu, eastern Anhui, central Anhui, and northwest Anhui, and completely bury the occupation of the Japanese puppets in the Jiangsu and Anhui regions.

Zhang Aiping has already explained very thoroughly the task of uniting the War of Resistance in Northeast Anhui, and Liu Yimin only talked about two points, one is to reduce rent and interest, and the other is to integrate the armed forces.

After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, "the Kuomintang and the Communist Party negotiated, and our party proposed to stop the policy of confiscating land and reduce rent and interest instead." The main content is that the maximum amount of rent shall not exceed the amount of the land product, and the old debts owed by the peasants before the war shall be cleared up at an annual interest rate of one cent, and the interest shall be repaid in excess of the original suspension of interest, and the payment of principal and interest shall be suspended in excess of the original interest; Redemption of mortgages and pawns is permitted. In order to adapt to the situation of the Anti-Japanese War, reduce the burden on the peasants, and develop wartime production, the Nationalist Government adopted the idea of the communist firefly and formulated a decree. However, from the perspective of the whole country, only the base areas of the Eighth Route Army and the base areas of Fu Zuoyi's Ministry are being implemented. Like the current northeast of Anhui, in addition to the burning, killing and looting of the Japanese puppet army, there are also various local armed needs. On one side, the granaries of the big landlords are spoiled, and on the other hand, there are groups of hungry people. Therefore, the implementation of rent and interest reduction during the Second Five-Year Plan has become the hottest topic at the preparatory meeting for the anti-Japanese people's participation in politics in northeastern Anhui.

Liu Yimin said, "He heard a slip of the tongue in northeastern Anhui, calling "the peasants have three knives on their heads, heavy rents, high interest rates, and a lot of exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes." "Farmers who rent landlords' land pay rent for 60 or even 70 percent of all the grain they harvest. The monthly interest rate of usury is as high as 100%, and the typical system is "spring and summer" and "summer and autumn", that is, borrowing one stone of grain and paying back three stones after three months.

According to Liu Yimin, such heavy land rents and usury "do not mean that peasants without arable land cannot afford it, but that is, yeoman peasants with land will sell their houses and land in the event of a disaster, and become starving." A government "has no reason to exist if it cannot formulate reasonable policies to protect its people from living a stable and prosperous life." Not to mention the hope that the people and the government will work together to resist the invasion and protect their homeland. Because this homeland is the homeland of the rich, for the hungry people who flee the famine and ask for food, there is no concept of homeland, only the feeling of hell. In other words, "in the eyes of Zhuowei and high-rise landlords, northeast Anhui is beautiful." In the eyes of the common people who fled the famine and begged for food and were cut to the bones by three knives, northeast Anhui is no different from hell. The soon-to-be-established Northeast Anhui Anti-Japanese People's Political Participation Conference "should represent the interests of all aspects of northeastern Anhui, and should allow the common people to have food, clothing, and land." At present, "the important thing is to do two things well, one is to confiscate the traitors' land and distribute it to the landless peasants, and the other is to implement a two-five-year rent reduction and interest reduction."

Only by achieving these two points will the villagers in northeastern Anhui sincerely support the anti-Japanese "people" government.

After talking about reducing rent and interest, Liu Yimin slipped through again, saying that "the township chief builds a building, the chief of the security department builds a tile house, and the chief is busy at both ends, and the people shout that they are wronged." "What do you mean? That is, there are too many excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and corruption is common in grassroots political power.

Liu Yimin said that during this period of time, he conducted an investigation in northeastern Anhui and found that the government imposed more than 30 kinds of harsh taxes on the peasants, and corruption was rampant. He gave an example, such as the fund for diversion projects that was levied before the war, but only the expropriation was seen, but the project was not seen. Where does the money go? Just look at the brick gatehouse of the district mayor and the township head's house. The most hateful thing is that some officials have even stepped up their weight layer by layer, set up clever names, and further exploited the peasants. There is a supervisor named Wang Shaofu who colluded with Luo Zhongshu, the head of the district, to demand that each guarantee be apportioned another 40 yuan ~ 100 yuan of unnamed money on the basis of the Yellow River voucher that has been announced, and some township guards took the opportunity to add it, and it was limited to three days to pay it all, otherwise they would be detained and banned, and Wang Shaofu even took 40 pairs of shackles to the countryside to threaten them. It's all like theirs, which is a typical example of the government forcing the people to rebel and the people having to rebel. Facts have proved that the original armor protection system no longer meets the needs of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and must be smashed down and replaced with political power at the county, district, and village levels that represent the interests of the people.

Liu Yimin talked about the anger and said loudly: "The Eighth Route Army is the army of the people, that is, it is to stand up for the people, seek justice for the people, and provide an environment for the people to be able to be responsible and honestly farm. The devil wants to bully the people, no! Corrupt officials want to bully the common people, but they can't! Whoever bullies the common people is the enemy of the Eighth Route Army! ”

These words are easy to understand and anyone can understand. Later, Zhang Aiping engraved them on a wooden plaque and erected it at the door of the county and district government in northeastern Anhui.

Liu Yimin talked about the integration of the armed forces in northeastern Anhui, focusing on attacking the landlords' armed forces all over northeastern Anhui, saying that these armed forces, under the banner of gathering crowds for self-protection, claimed to fight both the Japanese puppet army and the Eighth Route Army, which itself was extremely reactionary, and the Eighth Route Army was the regular army of China and the main force of resistance against Japan. What do the little landlord armed forces want to do if they dare to speak wild words and fight against the regular army? In fact, I didn't see them kill a little devil, but they caused a lot of trouble for the Eighth Route Army. When they encounter a devil sweep, maybe they will also secretly communicate with the devil, open the door to thieves, and become a hidden traitor arm. For example, a certain company of the special service battalion of the Eighth Route Army fought fiercely with the Japanese special combat team near Jiagou, which led to the sacrifice of "a soldier", and it was only because the landlords who were guarding the soil fence opened fire to block the road, that the Japanese army heard the news and chased after them. This "soldier is a hero who went to bomb the Xuzhou Railway Station and made great contributions, but he fell on the land of Suxian County." This group of landlords is unavoidable and must be disarmed and integrated. The same is true of the other landlords' armed forces, which are under the responsibility of the main force of the Eighth Route Army, all of which are disarmed and reorganized, carry out ideological transformation and strict military training, and become truly anti-Japanese armed forces that obey the command of the Northeast Anhui Garrison Command. In the final analysis, the Northeast Anhui Garrison Command was established by the resolution of the Preparatory Committee of the Northeast Anhui Anti-Japanese People's Political Participation Conference, and "it is the armed leading body of the people in Northeast Anhui who spontaneously resisted Japan." In the future, all armed forces in northeastern Anhui must obey the command of the Northeast Anhui Garrison Command, establish an armed system with the northeastern Anhui garrison brigade as the main force, and the county brigades, district squadrons, and militias consider them local armed forces, and undertake the task of defending northeastern Anhui. All types of armed forces that do not obey the orders of the Northeast Anhui Garrison Command will be disarmed and reorganized.

The instructor of the Eighth Route Army had a brilliant record, and Liu Yimin was famous, and he said, "It set the tone for the integration of the armed forces in northeastern Anhui." Of course, "he is playing the banner of "the people" to resist Japan, so that some people with a heart have nothing to say.

After the first day of the meeting, there was a discussion in the evening to discuss Zhang Aiping's report and Liu Yimin's speech.

Liu Yimin also attended the forum and listened to everyone's opinions.

A black-haired man said to Liu Yimin at the symposium: "Brother, what you say is reasonable, but the landlord also has the truth of the landlord." Some of them made their fortunes by forcible seizure, and some became traitors, "These people should naturally be shot or scolded." But there are also people who make a fortune by their own hard work, and it is natural for them to release land and collect rent, which has been the case since ancient times. It is only natural for those tenants to plant our land and pay rent to us, and it is a rule for many generations of people to be old. Is there still a white race? I support rent and interest reduction, but the proportion must be adjusted, otherwise most people will not agree. ”

Liu Yimin saw that the man who spoke was called Chang Zongshang, and Yao Longyuan and Chen Beiyu, who were sitting next to him, were all following Lingbi County Magistrate Xu Zhiyuan to manage grain and grass. Xu Zhiyuan didn't come to the meeting, so they came to find out.

Liu Yimin knew a little about the situation of Chang Zongshang and knew that he was a big landlord and the head of the militia group. This group of people is a special group, they are good at learning to write and ink on weekdays, dancing with guns and sticks, and they are very popular in the local government. They set up a Moulongyuan Bad Factory, titled "Anti-Japanese Hotel", and all those who were involved in the anti-Japanese war were given free food and lodging, and they also increased their money and food at parting. Historically, when Zhang Aiping went to northeast Anhui, he received help from Chang Zongshang, and his children also joined the Eighth Route Army, and after liberation, he also made him a member of the Water Conservancy Committee.

Liu Yimin motioned for Chang Zongshang to sit down, and just wanted to speak, Ding Maoxiu, the commander of the independent battalion in northeast Anhui who came to the meeting, was reluctant, and immediately stood up and said: "The truth that Chang Zongshang said is the truth of the landlord, and let me talk about the truth of the tenants. It's hard to live in this year, and after a hard year, when the little devil comes, he can't even save his life, where can he take care of food. Luckily to save his life, the devil snatched the grain, and he couldn't survive, and the landlord came to rent it again. Where can I get you a rent? The landlord does not rely on his old wealth, and the rent owed last year is borrowed, and the interest is rolled, and in the end he has to sell his wife and children to pay off the rent. If you are lucky enough to not let the little devil snatch away a little food, then it will not work, the landlord rents, the county magistrate, the district magistrate, the commander and the captain, all of them are like evil gods, holding shackles and ropes, holding steel guns, asking for donations over and over again, what anti-Japanese donations, what strong donations, what river workers donate, etc., after harvesting stubble after stubble, it is better to kill people directly! Teacher Liu said that the implementation of the 25th Five-Year Plan rent reduction and interest reduction told me that we should be rent-free and interest-free and divide the land equally. Chang Zongshang said that most people do not agree to rent reduction and interest reduction, which means that most landlords are addicted to rent collection and are unwilling to collect less. I said that all the croppers in northeastern Anhui are willing, and they are all willing to divide the land rent-free and interest-free. ”

Ding Maoxiu is a veteran party member in the Suxian area and has a great reputation. Many party members who came to the meeting agreed with what he said, and the two sides faced each other and immediately began to quarrel.

Liu Yimin made everyone quarrel enough, and then said earnestly: "What Brother Chang said represents the thoughts of many squires, and what Ding Maoxiu said represents the statements of the poor people. Both arguments are true, but neither is entirely true. Now is the anti-Japanese period, and the bayonets of the little devils may poke our hearts at any time, not the time to quarrel. Whether it is the landlord or the poor, they all have to unite and beat the little devils away. Only by beating the little devils can we farm, do business, and set up factories in peace. If you think about it, if the landlords' land is confiscated, the landlords will inevitably be dissatisfied with our policy, and will even join the enemy and become traitors. If you don't reduce rent and interest, the common people won't even be able to eat, and will follow you to fight devils? If the devil comes, he will die, and if he can't pay the rent, he will die. What are the benefits? The common people have no food, and when the devils come, they can't grab food from the common people, so they will rob the landlords. You can't be a traitor and do things for the devils, they will rob them correctly. The reason is very simple, they also want to eat food, who will you rob if they don't rob you? I robbed you of your food, burned down your house, and ruined your woman along the way, do you still have a way to live? Therefore, the temporary time must be handled in accordance with the national government's policy of rent and interest reduction. ”

What Liu Yimin said was the truth, and it was also a big vernacular, without any embellishment or cover-up, and the good comrades who participated in the forum all understood, and were willing to listen to it.

At the meeting, the preparatory meeting for the anti-Japanese people's participation in the northeast of Anhui was very successful, and the preparatory meeting for the main participation in the anti-Japanese politics in northeast Anhui was established, and Li Dongyi, the magistrate of Wuhe County, and Jiang Shangqing were elected as the chairman and deputy directors of the preparatory meeting, responsible for the preparatory work, and Li Dongyi's original post of Wuhe county magistrate was temporarily represented by Lu Liangping, a member of the ** who followed Sheng Zijin to northeast Anhui: the Northeast Anhui Garrison Command was established, with Zhang Aiping as the commander, and Li Chunyi, the county magistrate of Si County, as the deputy commander; Two deputy commissioners were elected, one was Yang Chun, a member of the Special Committee of Northeast Anhui, and the other was Mei Xuefeng, a famous painter and a native of Suxian County, who enjoyed a high reputation in Northeast Anhui.

Mei Xuefeng is a native of Dongmei Village, Su County, and is known as one of the five elders of Anwei and one of the backbones of the Xu Huai painting school in history, and has served as a member of the first CPPCC of Anhui Province and a representative of the second and third people's congresses. In the twenties, Mei Xuefeng had already become famous, and his paintings were circulated in Japan.

After the Japanese army occupied Su County, they came to ask for paintings, but Mei Xuefeng sternly refused. The Japanese army had no choice but to search the villages. At this time, Mei Xuefeng was unwilling to cooperate with the Japanese puppet, so he became a private school teacher and a teaching businessman in the village.

Sheng Zijin, who presided over the meeting, was a little confused, he was a little uncertain, and he didn't know if this method could be recognized by the Anhui Provincial Government and Boss Dai. However, he thinks that Liu Yimin is okay, and he can fully take into account the interests of all parties when considering the candidates of the institution. For example, Li Dongyi was the director of the preparatory committee for the anti-Japanese people's participation in the northeast Anhui Garrison Conference, and Li Chunyi was the deputy commander of the Northeast Anhui Garrison Command, all of which were proposed by Liu Yi and the people. In this way, Sheng Zijin felt that he should be able to explain the past to the Anwei Provincial Government.

The meeting finally adopted the "Common Program for Resisting Japanese Aggression and Saving the Country in Northern Anhui."

The "Program" begins with a clear meaning, calling on the people of northeastern Anhui to unite to resist Japan, eliminate traitors, and defend their hometown. Politically, the people of northeastern Anhui are called on to actively participate in politics, exercise national power, supervise the work of the government, put an end to corruption, and put an end to excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes. It is affirmed that the anti-Japanese "people" government in northeast Anhui is the sixth special region of Anwei Province, and the tripartite joint government of the Kuomintang, **, and "people" is implemented, and the four-level political power of the special office, county, district, and village is implemented. Militarily, a unified anti-Japanese main armed force was formed, with the headquarters being the Northeast Anhui Garrison Command, and the armed forces system with the Northeast Anhui Garrison Brigade as the main force, county brigades, district squadrons, and village militia teams was implemented, and all civilian armed forces were integrated. In agricultural production, we will comprehensively implement the Nationalist Government's Second Five-Year Plan Decree on Rent Reduction and Interest Reduction, lighten the peasants' burdens, and develop production. Protect commercial circulation, implement a uniform tax rate, and do not double taxation. Establish a bank in northeast Anhui, with the same circulation of fiat currency and RMB, and put an end to counterfeit Japanese currency. The army and institutions, education, and health care shall be provided with a system of allowances in accordance with the wartime supply method. To combat corruption, all government departments must be supervised by the Anti-Japanese People's Political Council, and expenditures must be approved by the Council through the budget. Punish traitors and confiscate all their property.

After the end of the preparatory meeting for the anti-Japanese participation meeting in northeast Anhui, the anti-Japanese struggle in the area north of the Huai River in northeast Anhui has opened a new page. ~！