In the 30s of the 20th century, there was a frightening name in Dayi County, Sichuan - Liu Wencai.
Relying on the power of warlords, he quickly established a huge group of landlords, known as the "King of Sichuan". Liu Wencai exploited the peasants by any means, and any resistance was bloodily suppressed.
However, while Liu Wencai was thriving, the strength of our party was also secretly growing in this land.
The peasants' resistance never stopped, and the spark of revolution will eventually burn the plains. Let us go back to the revolutionary era of heroes 70 years ago and witness the fierce collision between Liu Wencai and the times.
1. The deep exploitation of peasants
In the 20s of the 20th century, Dayi County in Sichuan Province has become an area with extremely serious landlord exploitation. The landowning class, which accounts for only 3-4% of the population, controls 70%-80% of the land. It was in this environment that Liu Wencai, a small landowner, rose.
Liu Wencai was originally the son of a small landowner, and later, relying on the warlord power of his brother Liu Wenhui, he gradually climbed to a high position in the political and business circles, from a small landowner to the "King of Sichuan", becoming a powerful landowner.
In the 1930s, Liu Wenhui lost power in a coup d'état, and Liu Wencai returned to his hometown in Dayi with a huge fortune. With its backdrop to high mountains, it is easy to defend and difficult to attack, which is exactly what it wants to sin.
Liu Wencai soon developed the local chamber of commerce into a large local triad organization called the "Public Welfare Association", and appointed himself as its president, wantonly raiding the people.
With the support of various forces, Liu Wencai quickly annexed tens of thousands of mu of land, dominated one side, and realized the crazy dream of "surnamed Liu in all four lands".
Liu Wencai forced the tenant farmers to pay more than 80% of the high land rent, stipulating that they must pay it in full and on time, otherwise they would be severely beaten.
He also collected taxes and fees under various names, exploiting the peasants like locusts crossing the border. This scene often appears in the oral histories of older generations.
Liu Wencai also forced farmers to work five days a month without pay, severely hindering their time to improve their livelihoods. It can be said that Liu Wencai represented the darkest side of the feudal landlord class, exploiting the peasants to the extreme.
Second, peasant organizations revolted
In the face of Liu Wencai's oppression, the peasants of Dayi County continued to resist. Some strikes to stop farming, others shrink scales, all expressing dissatisfaction with exploitation. This created the conditions for the intervention of our party's forces.
In 1946, Xiao Rulin and others set up a peasant self-defense force in Dayi County, but it was quickly suppressed by Liu Wencai. After that, a number of cadres were sent here to lead the struggle.
Under the close supervision of Liu Wencai, these underground personnel have a very difficult job. At first, they were frightened, stumbling and suffering heavy damage.
After gradually realizing the problem, he changed to developing secret armed forces, going deep into the countryside to carry out united front work and accumulate strength.
In 1948, the then government was forced to promulgate the "Second Five-Year Rent Reduction Method", which stipulated a one-quarter reduction in ground rent. However, Liu Wencai's group did not implement it, and decided to take this as an opportunity to launch a widespread rent reduction campaign among farmers.
Under his leadership, tens of thousands of peasants shouted slogans and raised guns to threaten the housekeepers, eventually forcing Liu Wencai's family landlords to reduce their rents.
This severely damaged Liu Wencai's prestige among the peasants. In 1949, the strength of our party gradually grew, and the Liu Wencai clique also entered the countdown to its demise.
It can be seen that relying on the mass line, emancipating the mind, gradually accumulating strength and winning solidarity among the peasants, finally struck a blow to Liu Wencai's reactionary rule and gave hope to the vast number of peasants.
Third, the collapse of Liu Wencai's Group
In 1949, Liu Wencai heard that the peasants were launching a large-scale rent reduction campaign, and he became angry and demoralized, and finally fell ill on the way, and died on October 17.
The news of Liu Wencai's sudden death was undoubtedly a thunderbolt for his landlord group. At this time, the situation could not be reversed, our army was moving south, and its strength was growing day by day.
After Liu Wencai's death, his landlord group tried to fight back, but was unable to return to heaven, and Liu Wencai's landlord group was soon completely destroyed.
In 1958, in order to make people remember the struggle, the Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Culture decided to preserve Liu Wencai's luxurious estate and transform it into a landlord's crime exhibition hall.
In 1965, teachers and students of the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts created a large-scale group portrait sculpture "Rent Collection Courtyard" based on Liu Wencai's story. This sculpture truly reproduces the scene of Liu Wencai's cruel oppression of peasants, and has become a classic work for educating the people.
The collapse of Liu Wencai's group marked the end of the history of exploitation in Dayi County. Preserving Liu Zhuang and the sculpture, Liu Wencai's evil deeds were nailed to the pillar of shame in history to set an example.
4. Warning and reflection
Since the 90s of the 20th century, some people have begun to overturn Liu Wencai's case, publicizing his "good deeds" in various channels and demanding "rehabilitation". This is undoubtedly a subversion of history and has been strongly condemned by the older generation of revolutionaries.
In 2002, several veteran revolutionary fighters jointly wrote to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection solemnly pointing out that overturning Liu Wencai's case was a negation of the new democratic revolution. The incident attracted attention at all levels, and books that distorted history were banned.
In fact, in the eyes of the common people who have long been immersed in Liu Wencai's rule, his crimes are irrefutable. Relying on the power of soldiers and bandits, he wantonly plundered the blood and sweat of the people and killed countless revolutionaries, and the essence of his tyranny was completely reactionary.
This period of history should not be reduced to historical nihilism just because time has changed; it is necessary to inherit and carry forward the spirit of the older generation of proletarian revolutionaries, draw wisdom and strength of struggle from Liu Wencai's lessons, and keep in mind the fundamental teaching that "class struggle must not be forgotten."
Only by continuing to adhere to the Marxist stand, viewpoint, and method, and not forgetting the class struggle, can we better adhere to our original aspirations, serve the people, learn from history, and create Chinese characteristics under the new historical conditions
Socialism.
Epilogue:
The historical mission of the proletariat is far from over, and only by not forgetting the class struggle can we continue to advance under the conditions of the new era.
Revisiting this history is to better adhere to the original intention, unswervingly move towards the fulfillment of the Chinese dream and realize a better future.