"Take the home as the home, the hometown as the hometown, the country as the country, and the world as the world." - "Pipe Herder"
In the period of modern wars, our country was often in the stage of lack of resources, especially when faced with the problem of food shortage, so that the people had to face the situation of not having enough to eat in addition to suffering from war. During the war, due to the influence of the war situation and the grain harvest, many eighth route army and red army could not eat enough to eat, and the purpose they insisted on was not to take a needle and a line from the masses, but in the face of urgent war conditions, not having enough to eat meant that they did not have the strength to fight. Faced with such a dilemma, our army can only rely on the IOU to raise military food and solve the problem of food shortage on the battlefield.
After the founding of New China in 1949, an old farmer from Shaanxi came to collect a debt with an IOU, which he claimed was an IOU made by the army at that time, and the denomination of this IOU was as high as 15 million, which caused quite a stir at that time. After a series of investigations, the origin of this IOU was finally clarified, and this IOU was real! However, this IOU was left by the farmer's father, and after figuring out the situation, the government also returned the amount on the IOU to the farmer.
First, the origin of the IOU
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the war situation in Shaanxi was quite tense, and many ordinary people threw themselves into the ranks of the Eighth Route Army and contributed to resisting foreign aggression. However, in that era, on the one hand, due to the impact of the war, the cultivated land was destroyed, on the other hand, at that time, China's grain production was not satisfactory, and the superposition of the two would lead to a shortage of grain, resulting in many ordinary people not having enough to eat. At that time, the Eighth Route Army not only had to take into account the war situation, but also to find a source of grain and raise military food, so when faced with the grain problem, more people would "borrow" it.
The common people at that time also knew very well that the Eighth Route Army was our own army, and they spilled their blood on the battlefield and fought against the enemy for our country and people, so when they faced the Eighth Route Army coming to borrow grain, they were very generous to take out the rice noodles that they were reluctant to eat and save, and they pooled together left and right to collect military food for the soldiers. Because the Eighth Route Army was strictly disciplined and resolutely did not take a needle and a thread from the masses for the sake of the country and the people, when faced with the military grain raised by the common people, they chose to write an IOU to the people, and they could not let them take these grains in vain.
The Eighth Route Army went to collect grain and each time it would make an IOU, on the one hand to thank the people for their generosity, and on the other hand, to hope that the people would have a hope that one day the Chinese nation would win victory. At that time, the common people were the solid backing of the Eighth Route Army, and the Eighth Route Army was an indestructible hope in the eyes of the people, so the military and the people were united in their hearts and ushered in the victory of the War of Resistance.
Second, the 15 million of IOUs became 90,000
It is said that Liu Laohan of Shaanxi took a 15 million IOU to ask for a debt, in our opinion, even if 15 million is put in the present, it is a big sum of money, but in that era of material shortage and food is not rich, can the Eighth Route Army really owe a huge amount of 15 million? In fact, this is also the question in the hearts of many people, and some people question, in the era at that time, could Liu Laohan's family really take out so much grain to relieve the Eighth Route Army.
In fact, if you look through history, many questions can be answered. Originally, in the Republic of China period, the Japanese through some means, the printing of legal tender molds in their hands, since then the Japanese army began to print a large number of legal tender, which led to a sharp decline in the value of legal tender, in today's terms, the more legal tender printed will become less and less valuable. At that time, in the Shaanxi region, legal tender was one of the several currencies in circulation, so the common people usually used legal tender to calculate their living needs. At that time, when the Eighth Route Army went to collect military food near Liu Laohan's house, for convenience, the monetary unit used was legal tender, and finally there were only 15 million in legal tender.
Although 15 million sounds like more, and this matter is more complicated, Liu Laohan is holding a real IOU. After meeting with the leader, the old farmer trembled and took out the IOU, and the county government at that time attached great importance to this matter and invited several experts to study the IOU. After carefully inquiring about the information in Liu Laohan's home, the information on the IOU can basically be matched, which shows the authenticity of the IOU.
At that time, after the victory of the War of Resistance, the state was also very grateful for the support and contribution made by Liu Laohan's ancestors to the army, and also understood that the peasants were very hard. At that time, Liu Laohan's father generously donated money and took out so much grain to relieve the Eighth Route Army, which was not easy, so the county leaders immediately reckoned with legal tender and renminbi, and finally handed over the 90,000 yuan that Liu Laohan deserved to him.
Third, the follow-up to the story of the IOU
The story of Liu Laohan taking an IOU to claim debts soon spread among the ten miles and eight townships, and many people wondered that Liu Laohan's family was an ordinary peasant in the past, not a big landlord or anything, how the family could get so much grain to serve as military food for the Eighth Route Army. At that time, Liu Laohan also explained to the leaders of the county that his parents had worked diligently in the fields all their lives, and that he was reluctant to eat and drink and save a little surplus grain; at that time, there was a group of troops from Yan'an who were in the village to rectify and recuperate, and when each family raised military grain, his parents donated all the surplus grain that had been stored for many years, which led to this IOU laid by the Eighth Route Army.
Soon Liu Laohan got the arrears allocated by the government, and after he returned home, he warned his children and grandchildren that this money was obtained by the ancestors to relieve the Eighth Route Army and could not be used casually. The value of this money now lies in the need to warn their descendants to love and be grateful for our country. Although Liu Laohan had not read the book, he himself understood that his parents' original act of donating grain was to hope that our army could carry the hope of the people to victory, and now the founding of New China can also be regarded as fulfilling the wishes of his parents.
epilogue:
The IOU taken by Liu Laohan witnessed the connection between the state and the masses of the people during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. For the peasants of Liu Laohan's father's generation, the army at that time was to save China and save the Chinese people. Therefore, to allow the Eighth Route Army to feed and support China's cause of resistance is equivalent to saving China. This IOU is actually the hope that the revolutionaries have given to the masses, and through this IOU, it also proves the trust of the people in the country.
For the country, Liu Laohan can take the IOU to claim the debt, which is also the trust of the country. Our army can lay an IOU for the masses, the purpose is not to take the grain of the masses in vain, and hopes to return it to the masses one day, which shows the strict discipline of the army. When the government received this IOU, it took the IOU very seriously, kept its promise, cashed in on the money owed by the IOU to Liu Laohan, and thanked Liu Laohan's father for his original righteous deeds.
References: "Guan Zi Herdsmen", "Shaanxi Farmers' Debt Claims"