On March 25, 1951, a toastmaster in Xinping County, Yunnan Province, was shot in public trial under the indignant gaze of the people. On the bulletin board, there is such a big line of characters: "Li Runzhi, the big bully landlord".
During the period when Li Runzhi was on the one side of the disaster, he constantly plundered the people's fat and people's ointment, making the people miserable. A private armed force was formed to protect his ill-gotten gains.
So, why is Li Runzhi able to have such a great power? Next, let's take a look.
▲ Li Runzhi was shot at public trial
The toast system is one of the old systems in our country that has been abandoned. During the Yuan Dynasty, due to the excessive territory of our country and the existence of many ethnic groups in the country, it became extremely difficult to manage. The difference in culture and language between the various ethnic groups makes it even more difficult to unify management. Thus, the "toast system" in which the ethnic minorities themselves manage themselves was born.
Li Runzhi, on the other hand, was born into such a hereditary toast family. Li Runzhi's ancestor, who had made some meritorious contributions during the Qianlong years, was given the title of Seven Pin Officials of the Toast Level. It manages a land boundary of 80 miles from the East to the Doumen Boundary, the West to the Mosha River 50, the South to the Jiasa River 50, and the north to the Ailao Mountain 100 Miles.
Don't look at this official, but in a remote place, it is a hand covering the sky, saying one thing and saying one thing, just like the earth emperor. It is precisely for this reason that Li Runzhi's ancestors have accumulated a lot of popularity in the Chuxiong region of Yunnan and have great influence.
And on this basis, he collected wealth everywhere and accumulated a lot of wealth. In this cycle, li runzhi's generation, whether it is status or financial strength, it has reached an astonishing level.
▲Part of Li Runzhi's treasure
Li Runzhi himself is very clever, good at thinking, and very good at judging the situation, so as to choose the object of attachment. In the late Qing Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty, social unrest and the decadent government of the late Qing Dynasty were already crumbling. Seeing that the situation was not good, Li Runzhi very decisively gave up the official position given to him by the imperial court, and with strong financial resources, embarked on the road of business.
He first founded a business in Xinping County, called "Fuchanglong Business". Based on this firm, we will expand our own industry to various fields. In addition to the serious business of buying and selling, Li Runzhi also relied on his financial resources and status to study guns and ammunition on a large scale, and even set up a special gun factory to produce guns.
In those turbulent times, having a gun in your hand was a taboo thing. It is precisely because of this that Li Runzhi has become more powerful in the local area. Emperor Shangao was far away and difficult to govern, and became Li Runzhi's greatest reliance. In order to develop his own strength, Li Runzhi has no morality or law at all.
He first studied money and set up a currency mint to mint counterfeit money in an attempt to make huge profits by making false real money. It was not until the establishment of the Republic of China and the government controlled the circulation of silver dollars that it gave up after making a lot of money and turned to other fields.
▲The picture is from the network
Just when Li Runzhi began to worry about which areas to turn to, he remembered the opium things in the past. This made Li Runzhi realize that engaging in tobacco is really making money. Without saying a word, Li Runzhi began to plant tobacco soil in Yunnan and other places in a big way.
During the Republic of China period, trafficking in tobacco soil was also a felony, and once discovered, it was bound to be severely cracked down. However, Li Runzhi, the head snake, was not afraid at all. In addition to domestic sales, Li Runzhi has successfully built a bridge with Southeast Asia by virtue of his extensive contacts, transported the tobacco soil to foreign countries in batches, and started transnational business.
It is precisely because of these illegal deeds that he has a huge fortune. Li Runzhi looked at this land that "belonged" to himself, and his smile became more and more rampant. As his wealth continued to accumulate, Li Runzhi realized that it was necessary to develop some armed forces to protect his money. And this is really simple for Li Runzhi, who has money and a gun.
In the local area, with generous treatment, he formed a pro-army guard, which numbered at most 10,000 people. Most of the soldiers in this pro-guard unit were hooligans who came for treatment.
▲ Stills
After entering the Pro-Guard, the nature of these people has not changed, but because of the support of Li Runzhi, they have become more and more intense. This SS in the local area represents the majesty of Li Runzhi, and it has extremely high power, regarding the law as nothing.
On the street, people avoid these guards when they encounter them. Because no matter how they enforce the law, they will not be punished. So these soldiers were on the streets, robbing their wealth and so on.
And in order to let them protect themselves, Li Runzhi also turned a blind eye to them. Later, some people reported the behavior of the Guards to the local officials sent by the Republic of China, but in the end, they were like stones sinking into the sea, and there was no news.
Some people may find it strange: Ming Ming and the Republic of China have already sent government officials to settle in, why can't they cure this arrogance of Li Runzhi?
In fact, Li Runzhi also knew that only by relying on his own capital and remote advantages, he could not really become the emperor of the earth. Only with enough backers can he sit back and relax.
▲ Li Runzhi signed a pledge after his arrest
And the first of these backers, which is also the trump card in the hands of Li Runzhi, is that this has a large number of pro-guard guards. Such a large number of pro-soldier troops was a considerable force at that time, and naturally no one dared to offend.
The second of these patrons is these so-called officials. Although Li Runzhi was a local land snake, he did not dare to provoke the Republic of China government at that time. That being the case, there is only one way to tie the knot with the government. Every holiday, Li Runzhi would bring a lot of money and gifts to visit various officials and ask them to support their "business operations."
These officials accepted Li Runzhi's benefits, and coupled with his excessive influence in the local area, they naturally turned a blind eye to Li Runzhi's actions and resigned themselves to it. This was the secret collusion between Li Runzhi and the officials that led to Li Runzhi and his men being so lawless and harmful in the local area.
The third of these is the fame that Li Runzhi himself has created for himself. Although Li Runzhi's reputation in the local area is extremely poor, most of them come from his subordinates, and Li Runzhi himself cleverly "avoided" these evil things.
At the same time, Li Runzhi also did other things to publicize himself and control public opinion. One of the most famous is Li Runzhi's "Private Run middle school". Private Run middle school was invested and founded by Li Runzhi and is a well-known school in the local area.
▲Private Run Middle School
Not only is the school well-equipped, but students who come here to study get great discounts. In this way, Li Runzhi not only gained talents, but also gained a good reputation at the same time, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.
I have to say that Li Runzhi, a person, still has some means in the chaotic world. Unfortunately, as a toast family, a large landlord from the feudal landlord class, his path has been deviated from the beginning.
As a feudal landlord, Li Runzhi's capital accumulation came from the oppression of the people and various illegal channels. And the wheels of the times are rolling by, and such a feudal landlord is bound to be overthrown.
With the rapid decline of the Kuomintang, the retribution of the old feudal landlords finally came. With the support of the people, our army has fought all the way to fight local tycoons and divide up the land. In order to protect his property, Li Runzhi decided to join forces with the Government of the Republic of China against our army.
But as far as those shrimp soldiers and crab generals under Li Runzhi are concerned, how can they be the opponents of our army? Not long after, Li Runzhi's people were beaten to the point of holding their heads and scattering birds and beasts. The government of the Republic of China was also defeated by our army and retreated to Taiwan. Li Runzhi also fled in a daze and disappeared without a trace.
▲ Items found in Li Run's house
In this way, Li Runzhi, who had lost all his dependence, began to go crazy. In order to protect the foundation of his life, in April 1950, Li Runzhi led the bandits he gathered and returned to Xinping County. This time alone, Li Runzhi led people to kill more than 100 cadres and grain collection team members in Xinping County, which was shocking to the eye.
But Li Runzhi felt that this was not enough, and on May 3, he led a crowd of bandits to kill more than 60 grain collectors in Longxi. After that, it single-handedly caused a series of heinous cases such as the "Blood Stained Gasa River" and the "Artemisia Land Massacre", causing hundreds of casualties among the soldiers and ordinary people of our army.
Li Runzhi's crazy behavior eventually accelerated the process of his demise. In October 1950, under the joint attack of the Central Yunnan Independent Regiment and the 42nd Regiment for three months, Tusifu was captured and Li Runzhi was captured alive.
▲ Li Runzhi was arrested
But who could have imagined that in order to preserve these wealth, Li Runzhi actually exchanged them all for 300 boxes of gold bars, and hid them so far that no one has found them, and the Ailao Mountain area has also spread the legend of toast treasures.
Li Runzhi, as a feudal landlord, as the last heir of an old system. His greed and his crazy, inhuman behavior eventually led him to be escorted to the execution table. The only crime he committed can be repaid to the people by firing squad.
The tide of history will never change because of one's actions. These evil men of the old times will eventually perish in the light of the new age. The future in which the people are the masters of their own homes is the truth of the times. Some may wonder where the lost 300 boxes of gold bars went. But wherever they went, they could no longer make any waves.