Uneducated soldiers are notoriously poor farmers and most of the food went to them. Mao knew his power comes from the end of a gun so he had to keep that fed first and foremost. Part of his takeover was for population reduction anyways. It's always a primary goal of these communist dictators. It's a lot easier to control and maintain a small population over a huge one.
But mao had the military who occupied the fields to ensure the cities got fed.
Fed as in
starved
Uneducated soldiers are notoriously poor farmers and most of the food went to them. Mao knew his power comes from the end of a gun so he had to keep that fed first and foremost. Part of his takeover was for population reduction anyways. It's always a primary goal of these communist dictators. It's a lot easier to control and maintain a small population over a huge one.