In the rural areas of the Republic of China period, the influence of landlords was great. Most of them do not care whether the people are alive or dead, and in this article, we will understand the real landlord through the memories of a bandit cadre.
Poor people at the bottom
In August 1945, after Japan surrendered, Geng Tian, a female cadre in the Jin-Cha-Ji base area, was ordered to go to the northeast to establish a democratic government and stabilize local order. At the end of that year, Geng Tian was transferred to the eastern third district of Hulan County as the secretary and began the work of opposing adultery and eliminating hegemony and suppressing bandits.
The three eastern districts that Geng Tian was in charge of, including the three townships, were poor. How poor is it? Geng Tian led the cadres to go deep into the homes of the masses to do propaganda and saw an incredible scene. There was a poor family in Da Dian Zi, an adobe grass house, and there was only a pile of firewood on the kang, and no one could be seen. Geng Tian was wondering, and an old man in rags came in from outside, asking what was going on.
Geng Tian quickly told him that he was a cadre of the Communist Party to help the peasants turn themselves into masters. The old man didn't seem to dare to believe it, so he chatted with Geng Tian, nagging, and suddenly two small heads popped out of the firewood pile. A closer look revealed that it was two teenage boys, and the old man said that the family was too poor, the child had no clothes to wear, and was afraid of seeing people and could only hide in the firewood.
Poor enough to have no clothes to wear, many people don't believe it. In fact, in the poor rural areas of that era, especially in the occupied areas, it was common for a family to have only one set of clothes, and whoever went out wore clothes. In the years before the Japanese surrendered, the common people could only wear clothes of more raw cloth, which was of poor quality, and when worn for a period of time, it was tattered, and once washed in water, it became a piece of rag. Many poor families can't even afford to wear a resurface cloth, so they have to put a sack on their bodies.
Therefore, the first task in front of Geng Tian is the problem of eating and wearing for the common people.
Landlord gentry of the Republic of China
At that time, the northeast was in turmoil, and the common people did not believe in the cadres of the Communist Party at first. Geng Tian decided to immediately distribute grain to the common people, and in the warehouse left by the Japanese, there was grain and cloth, just "opening the warehouse to release grain." This incident infuriated many landlords.
In Yanglintun, the landlord Su Wen was originally the head of the baojia, an old man in his sixties, holding the key to the warehouse and not opening the door. He shouted: "The key cannot be given to you, your Eighth Route Army is an army, not a government, and should be left to the Kuomintang." "The common people don't dare to speak anymore, and they are actually very afraid of the landlord in their hearts."
There was no way, Geng Tian had to kill the chicken and scare the monkey, let people catch Su Wen to "parade the streets to show the public", and then he obediently handed over the key. When the warehouses were opened and the grain was released, the people were all excited, some people sang and danced, some people rolled on the grain, and some people sat on the ground and laughed like fools. One by one, the grain was distributed, and the people smiled happily. However, they were still afraid of the landlord, and many people took the grain during the day and lined up at night to go to the landlord's house, return the grain to the landlord, and apologize. Those who did not return the grain to the landlords must not be able to sleep when they heard the news, fearing retaliation later.
At that time, the environment of the struggle was complex, land reform had not yet been carried out, and the landlords owned large areas of land. In accordance with the instructions of his superiors, Geng Tian led the cadres to carry out a campaign to reduce rents and interest rates. "Rent reduction and interest reduction" is actually very simple, that is, to recognize that the landlords own the land, but also to recognize the debts they have previously placed, but in the future, the rent and interest must be reduced, so that the people can live.
At this point, the landlords were unwilling, and went to look for them during the day, and all of them promised very well, and there was an accident at night. For example, some large landlords killed all their cattle and horses in the middle of the night, and all the large carts of agricultural tools were destroyed, making it difficult to cultivate the land. When the common people saw that the landlord was such a cattle, they did not dare to make a fool of themselves.
Not only that, but the landlords also colluded with bandits.
Farmers celebrate rent cuts and interest rate cuts
In the northeast, the relationship between landlords and bandits is actually very complicated. The main target of the bandits is the landlord, after all, the landlord is very rich. Some landlords built forts and hired gunners so that bandits did not dare to cause trouble. Some landlords, on the other hand, secretly interacted with bandits, sent money regularly, and harbored bandits. Therefore, they are "friend and foe" between them.
In GengTian's work, the suppression of bandits is also the focus. Once, Geng Tian raised some grain and sent it to the bandit troops of the 359th Brigade, but he did not expect to be robbed by bandits halfway through. How did the bandits get the information, was it just a coincidence? Later, an investigation revealed that someone had informed the bandits of the news. Further investigation revealed that some ill-intentioned landlords had infiltrated our ranks.
There is a large landlord named Tian Jingyu in Fangtai Village, Hulan County, who has thousands of hectares of land and many shops in the city. This man was very influential, and when the Japanese were still alive, he was the head of the self-defense regiment and the chief of police. As soon as the Japanese left, he was ready to meet the Kuomintang. Later, seeing that the cadres of the Communist Party had come, Tian Jingyu took the initiative to support it, actively cooperated with the work, and became the deputy district chief.
However, this big landlord is not simple. Ostensibly supporting rent and interest rate reduction, he privately sought out people to spread rumors that the Kuomintang was coming soon and that the Communist Party would not last long. When the common people listened, of course, their hearts were not solid.
Geng Tian immediately sent someone for a secret visit, and soon got the news that the grain of the 359th Brigade had been robbed by the bandits, which was the letter sent by Tian Jingyu to the bandits. If such landlords are not eliminated, how can the common people have a good life? Therefore, Geng Tian immediately sent someone to arrest Tian Jingyu and hold a public trial meeting.
Ordinary people can't believe that Tian Jingyu has not become a deputy district governor, and the Communist Party can still shoot its own cadres? At this time, several tunzi around the sub are lively, the people are talking about it, some people think it is just a show, and some people want to take the opportunity to tell their grievances. In June 1946, on the day of the public trial, Fangtai, Shuangjing, Yuanbao, and Tunzi, which were forty or fifty miles away, were dragged by the people to participate.
The militia, the district armed squadron, and the children's regiment hurried to maintain order at the scene, and when the common people saw Tian Jingyu standing on the stage with his head stretched, they all became excited and went to the stage to accuse Tian Jingyu of his crimes. Therefore, according to the crimes exposed by the masses, Tian Jingyu was shot on the spot.
The whole of Hulan County spread this matter, and when the common people heard it, the big landlords of such cattle were killed, and it seems that the Communist Party has really come, and the landlords' life is not good. From then on, the big landlords of all the tunzi did not dare to be arrogant, and the common people gradually became less afraid of them.
The next step is to eliminate the bandits.
Capture the bandit leader
In Geng Tian's recollection, there were many bandits in Hulan at that time. In the eastern third district she was responsible for, there were 4 shares of Daqizi, with 120 people per share. In addition, there are some small silks of more than a dozen to dozens of people, such as "Liang Guozhen", "Yang Zhanshan", "Eastern Army", "Five Prefectures", "Four Jiehao", etc., totaling more than a thousand people.
The county brigade and the district armed squadron are the main forces in suppressing bandits. At that time, the biggest difficulty in suppressing bandits was that the bandits dispersed their activities, suddenly came out to rob, and then fled into the deep mountains and dense forests, which was difficult to hunt down. What to do? Only by mobilizing the masses and letting them actively provide intelligence on the bandits.
This trick really worked, and the people also hated the bandits, so they actively reported it. For example, one morning, a common man from Gongjiagou Tun suddenly ran over and said that the bandit "Sai Qiankun" had entered the tunzi, and that more than a hundred people, as well as machine guns, were killing pigs and preparing to eat.
When Geng Tian heard this, he immediately led the district squadron to rush over, and the bandits looked at the secret sentry outside the tunzi and were frightened to report to the boss. When Sai Qiankun heard the news, he fled with the bandits and did not eat a single bite of the pork in the pot.
Another time, Si Jie Hao took more than thirty bandits and entered a tunzi. It was raining heavily that day, and they thought that the people would not report the news overnight, so they wanted to rest for a good night and leave the next day. As a result, some ordinary people braved heavy rain to report, and Geng Tian immediately sent people to surround the village, and without a single shot, he carried Si Jiehao out of the bed.
Most of the bandits are running around, and it is not easy to catch them. Therefore, we must change our thinking, otherwise it will be difficult to completely eliminate the bandits in a short period of time. Geng Tian and other cadres analyzed together that among the bandits, a large part of them were actually ordinary peasants, who had become bandits for various reasons, but they were not unforgivable bad people.
Many bandits actually have parents, wives, and children at home, and they often sneak down the mountain and go home to have a look. If this is the case, then while suppressing the bandits, persuade them to surrender, as long as they are willing to hand over their guns and go down the mountain, they will ensure that they will not be shot.
Geng Tian also found another problem, many people became bandits because their families were too poor to eat. They snatched things and would often deliver them to their homes, which was also considered to be "breadwinner". If that is the case, then give some food to the bandits' families as well. Of course, some cadres are uncomfortable in their hearts and feel that distributing grain to the families of bandits is equivalent to supporting bandit activities and is unfair to the people. Geng Tian then analyzed it in detail and persuaded these cadres to understand what the "offensive tactics" were.
All along, the families of the bandits have also been afraid, one is afraid of being discriminated against, and the other is afraid that the bandits will be shot when they go down the mountain. Therefore, it is necessary to do meticulous work, such as a bandit surnamed Zhang, who has a wife and four children. One of the children was sick and had no money to treat. After Geng Tian learned about it, he quickly arranged for treatment, and the child's life was saved. The bandit's wife was particularly touched, crying and saying that she must call her husband back and live honestly.
In this way, one by one, the relatives of the bandits did their work, so that they could quickly find the relatives who were bandits. As a result, the families of these bandits went up the mountain to find someone, and it was not long before three or three bandits came down and surrendered. Later, more and more bandits came down the mountain, and who didn't want to live in peace.
In order to persuade the big bandit Touzi to surrender, Geng Tian personally entered the bandit's den.
Bandit troops
One day, the bandit leader "Zhuge Ge" sent a letter saying that he was willing to surrender, but wanted to meet first to talk about the conditions. Geng Tian immediately agreed and asked the messenger to go back and report it.
On the day of the agreement, the district armed team was arranged on the periphery, and Geng Tian only took a short gun and went into the bandit's nest with the guards. As soon as they reached the door, a group of bandits fired their guns into the air, trying to scare Geng Tian. Since he dared to enter the bandit's den, he was certainly not afraid of this, and Geng Tian strode into the house. When Zhuge Saw That Geng Tian had just come in, he hurriedly said, "Director Geng, please come into the house!" ”
After entering, Zhuge snorted, drew his pistol and placed it on the table, without speaking. This bandit leader was more than fifty years old, and had been doing many years of house robbery, but he was not so good at talking. However, Geng Tian knew very well in his heart that since Zhuge was willing to surrender, it would prove that the people under his hands could not hold on, as long as they could overwhelm him in momentum.
So, Geng Tian smiled and said, "Your mother is old and has no one to take care of her." We brought her food and she would love to see you. Zhuge didn't expect Geng Tian to say this, and his face immediately changed and he slowly lowered his head. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Geng Tian hurriedly said that if he was willing to surrender, he would lay down all his weapons, confess his crimes thoroughly, and register the names of the leading elements of the bandits.
When Zhuge heard this, he was immediately reluctant, isn't it necessary to investigate responsibility for registering his name, what if he wants to be shot? Geng Tian hurriedly propagated the policy, saying that as long as he voluntarily surrendered, he would not be shot. After registration, you can go back to production with peace of mind, and when the time comes, you will divide the land, don't be afraid.
When zhuge bandits heard this, they were all moved, and within two days they all handed over their guns. Sixty or seventy bandits, after two days of education, were released home. After the news spread, the other bandits on the mountain could not sit still, and by the end of 1946, most of the bandits had already come down from the mountain and surrendered. A few of the more stubborn bandits were directly wiped out.
It was really not easy to fight against adultery and eliminate hegemony and suppress bandits; it was necessary to win the trust of the common people, to struggle with the big landlords, and to entangle with bandits; the grass-roots cadres at that time were so worthy of admiration!