In the 1920s and 1930s, there were two well-known high-ranking people on the vast Taihu Lake, they were "Taibao Ashu" and "Pig Monkey Ami", who had a green forest armed force equipped with machine guns and artillery, with a scale of 2,000 people, known as the "First Army under the Heavens". Under the leadership of "Taibao Ashu" and "Pig Monkey Ami", this team ran rampant on Taihu Lake for three years. Under the slogan of robbing the rich and helping the poor, they attacked the Kuomintang government office, the police station, and the security brigade, and robbed and killed the rich and unkind landlords and gentry.
"Taibao Ashu", formerly known as Xu Shusheng, is a native of Hengnuma Village, Jinshanwei Town, who came from a poor background and worked as a "Taibao" in the countryside when he was young, that is, a boy in witchcraft ceremonies. During the Northern Expedition, Xu Shusheng also joined the army and served as a soldier in the 16th Division of the National Revolutionary Army.
In 1928, at the age of 28, Xu Shusheng returned to his hometown. In the winter of that year, the Jinshan County Committee of the Communist Party of China led the Punan peasants to carry out anti-rent struggles, and in February 1929, the "Xinjie Rebellion" was launched, but both were brutally suppressed by the Kuomintang authorities. Li Yichen, the leader of the CPC Jinshan County Cpc Committee, was arrested and died. Xu Shusheng's close friend, Wang Qiming, then 21, participated in both uprisings.
Wang Qiming is a native of Dongxiang, Pinghu, Zhejiang, and because he is a butcher who kills pigs, the townspeople call him "Pig Monkey Ami". He had participated in the Chinese Communist Party during the "New Street Riots", but after the failure of the riots, he lost contact with the party organization.
Although these two rebellions failed, Taibao Ashu was deeply touched. In 1929, the local harvest was poor, and the peasants' lives were unsustainable, but the landlords were not sympathetic, but instead stepped up their rents, and the Kuomintang authorities did not reduce or reduce the slightest tax, and the peasants really could not survive, and some bold people declared: "If there is hunger, it is better to break the law!" ”
Xu Shusheng felt that he could not go on like this any longer, so he had the idea of leading the peasants to start an incident, and he came to Pinghu Dongxiang to consult with his friend Wang Qiming, who had this intention, so the two of them immediately hit it off and immediately launched action. They went from village to village and went to the poor peasants to develop members. Most of these peasants were influenced by the Communist Party's anti-rent and anti-debt propaganda, and when they saw that some people dared to come forward, they were willing to follow suit, so they quickly gathered more than 20 people. Xu Shusheng and Wang Qiming believed that primitive cold weapons such as hoes, nail rakes, or large knives and spears could not be accomplished, and that guns and ammunition must be obtained, so they decided to seize them from the police and the security regiment, and they targeted the security regiment in Yaqian Town, Pinghu County.
On the night of March 23, 1929, Xu Shusheng and Wang Qiming led more than 20 poor peasants to attack this security regiment at night, due to adequate preparation, strict organization, and sudden action, the security regiment was defenseless, Xu Shusheng's attack was a great success, after capturing 4 rifles and more than 100 bullets, they retreated and quietly left.
By the time the Pinghu Marine Police Received the Warning And sent troops to arrive, Xu Shusheng and his team had long since disappeared into the night. This sudden blow greatly alarmed the Kuomintang authorities, who did not know who had done it or how many people were on the other side, and the county magistrate became angry and dismissed the local military and police chief. On May 25, 1929, the "Declaration" reported on the incident: "The guns of the Yaqian Security Regiment were looted by bandits, and the matter will be february, and there is no clue ... The county government dismissed the chief of the security regiment, the inspector of the police sub-station and the captain of the marine police. ”
After Xu Shusheng and Wang Qiming succeeded in their first operation, they lurked for a while, while continuing to accumulate strength in the dark, and the team grew to hundreds of people. In the early morning of December 18, 1929, they attacked again, leading hundreds of peasants to attack the town of Yaqian for the second time, killing Yang Guoxiang, deputy leader of the patrol team, and 3 other military policemen in the battle, and capturing a batch of guns and ammunition. After taking control of the town of Yaqian, their team robbed and killed a number of large households in the town and obtained a large fortune. They also fought a fierce battle with and defeated the family of Yao Youquan, capturing his family's guns and deeds.
At dusk that day, Xu Shusheng and Wang Qiming led the team to withdraw from Yaqian Town and came to Liujiayan Bridge, where they declared that they would rob the rich and help the poor on behalf of Tianxingdao, and publicly distributed the looted money and grain to the poor people. They also erected a red flag embroidered with the words "The First Army under Heaven" and announced the establishment of the "First Army under Heaven," with Xu Shusheng and Wang Qiming serving as the chief and deputy commanders respectively.
After the establishment of the "First Army under Heaven", Xu Shusheng and Wang Qiming led the team to attack continuously and continuously achieved results. On December 21, 1929, the "First Army of the World" suddenly attacked the security team of Xinmiao Town in Pinghu County, seized 3 German-made Mauser pistols, and then turned to Xincang and Zhujing to continuously crack down on local tycoons and corrupt officials, and the momentum became more and more powerful, seriously impacting the rule of the Kuomintang authorities. At that time, Shanghai's declaration reported: "Now hundreds of ignorant and foolish people have joined in, setting up a base camp in Liujiayan Bridge, and red flags have been planted in Liujiayan in Qianwei Town... Daily sentry, north to Kongjiaque, east to Hejing Bay... It's like a situation of armed division. ”
In one attack after another on the government and gentry, the "First Army under Heaven" seized a large number of weapons and ammunition, and armed itself with this, and the size of the team continued to expand, from more than 20 people at the beginning to more than 2,000 people, with hundreds of long and short guns, and also equipped with machine guns and mortars, as well as more than 100 armed ships. The scope of activities gradually developed from the initial Area of Qianjiawei and Pinghu Dongxiang in Jinshan to the surrounding areas, involving a number of counties and cities in Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces, and running rampant in Jinshan, Pinghu, Songjiang, Qingpu, Jiashan, Jiaxing and other places.
At that time, there were many armed forces active on Taihu Lake, in order to expand their own strength, Xu Shusheng married the legendary Green Forest Woman Jie, the double-gun Huang Bamei, Huang Bamei had a strong smuggling salt armed force, she herself was good at making double guns, once fired in the gang and fired two guns, killing nine people in a battle, and the name of the jianghu was extremely loud.
The strength of the "First Army under Heaven", which had achieved a strong alliance with Huang Bamei, had greatly increased, and it was at the head of the various factions in Taihu Lake. At that time, a folk song was sung in the Taihu Lake area:
"Ashu Ami Taihu Ting, two guns on the water."
Rob the treasury and steal silver to invite the rich man, and the fishy wind and rain will fall on the sail pavilion. ”
It can be seen that at that time, Taibao Ashu and his "First Army under Heaven" had a huge momentum.
The "First Army under Heaven," which was strong and strong, constantly attacked and plundered the cities and land in various counties, cities, and market towns in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, launching thousands of attacks in just one or two years, dealing a heavy blow to the Kuomintang authorities.
In August 1930, the "First Army of the World" attacked the town of Lüxiang three times in one month, captured the Lüxiang District Police Substation, killed and injured many policemen on the spot, seized a large number of firearms, and captured Guo Peng, the sub-chief of the Lüxiang Police, and Jiang Tingyan, the mayor of Lüxiang District, and then executed them.
One day in January 1931, Shen Guocheng, commander of the 7th Zhejiang Provincial Security Regiment, was ambushed by the "First Army of The World" on his way to Xincang, and he himself was killed and his troops were completely annihilated.
At the same time as attacking the Kuomintang government, Taibao Ashu and Huang Bamei also pointed their guns at the foreigners who were usually on their toes in front of Chinese, and they kidnapped Fan Erti, secretary of the French Consulate General in Shanghai, and demanded a ransom of 400,000 silver dollars, which caused a sensation in Shanghai. The French concession authorities and the Kuomintang government had no choice but to ask Du Yuesheng, a big gangster of the Qing gang, to settle the matter, and the "Taibao AShu" gave Du Yuesheng enough face, and without a ransom, he released people, and Huang Bamei also formed a friendship with Du Yuesheng, laying the groundwork for her future legend.
Because the "First Army under Heaven" has the nature of resisting local tyrants and gentry, corrupt officials, and imperialist exploitation and oppression, our Party has tried to guide this armed force into the revolutionary ranks, but has not succeeded. "Taibao Ashu" and others were unwilling to accept the organizational discipline of the revolutionary army, and preferred to drink wine in large bowls, eat large pieces of meat, and wantonly take revenge.
Because it could not be guided by correct thinking, the "First Army under Heaven" was always a soulless armed force, unable to establish lofty ideals and ambitions, and could only do so quickly through plundering; gradually, the "First Army under Heaven" gradually degenerated from a reckless armed force that flaunted robbing the rich and the poor into bandits who robbed homes and houses, killing people and goods, robbing people's women, and doing everything. According to the historical records of Jinshan County at that time: "Since the bandits harassed, soldiers have not been allowed to attack their studies, farmers have not been allowed to cultivate their fields, workers have not been allowed to cure their industries, merchants have not been allowed to pass through their materials, poisonous funds have been great, and they have been displaced from the road..."
In order to ensure the logistical supply of the Jiangxi front to fight the Red Army, he needed to keep the Waterway of Taihu Lake open, so he strictly ordered Xiong Shihui, commander of the Songhu Garrison, to mobilize the military and police of the three provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui to surround and suppress the "First Army under Heaven", and offered a heavy reward for the arrest of Taibao Ashu and others: Those who reported the capture of Xu Shusheng would be rewarded with 2,000 yuan; those who captured Wang Qiming would be rewarded with 1,000 yuan; and the rest of the leaders would be rewarded with 800, 500, and 300 yuan respectively.
In September 1930, the "First Army of Tianxia", which was heavily encircled and suppressed, was forced to disperse and evacuate the old nest Qianjiaxu, and hid in Tibet in the areas of Songjiang, Jiaxing, and Qingpu, while the main forces led by "Taibao Ashu" and "Pig Yi Ami" hid near Dianshan Lake. At this point, they were no longer rich or poor, they robbed people when they saw them, and the people suffered greatly, and the "Taibao Ashu" gang, which was hated by the people, lost the people's cover, and the situation was even more difficult, and they were constantly attacked by the military and police, and the troops were divided and surrounded, and each was defeated.
In the winter of 1930, the Kuomintang government continued to step up encirclement and suppression, appointing Cao Huan, the commander of the Second Security Regiment, as the commander-in-chief of the bandits, and leading the military and police of Songjiang, Jinshan, Jiaxing, and Pinghu counties to pursue the remnants of the "Taibao Ashu". Cao Huan adopted the strategy of advancing both land and water and attacking on both sides, not only encircling and blocking on land, but also blocking various passages along the coast and inland rivers.
At the critical moment, "Taibao Ashu" and "Pig Monkey Ami" did not lead everyone to continue to insist, but left the team and ran. As a result, the remnants of the "First Army under Heaven" were leaderless, completely lost their combat effectiveness, and were hunted by the military and police, and were almost hunted and killed.
On March 25, 1931, "Pig Monkey Ame" was captured by the three major teams of the Jiangsu Provincial Water Public Security Bureau and the French Concession in the French Concession in Shanghai. On April 5, the "Taibao Ashu" was betrayed by his men and was captured by a large team of the Jiangsu Provincial Water Public Security Bureau in the French Concession. On April 16, Xu Shusheng and his brother Xu Fusheng were beheaded in Zhangyan for public display. The next day, Wang Qiming, the "Pig Monkey Ami", was beheaded in Xincang Town, Zhejiang Province.
Their deaths, the people did not sympathize, but made up a folk song to give sarcasm: "Goose head neck, lentil cake, pheasant in the cauliflower field, send officers and soldiers, catch robbers, pigs and Ami eat a knife." It can be seen that the so-called "First Army under Heaven" later completely lost the hearts of the people and became a gang of bandits who poisoned the people.
After the "First Army under Heaven" was suppressed, Chiang Kai-shek commended the military and police officers who participated in the suppression of bandits, and also summoned Cao Huan, the commander of the Second Security Regiment of Jiangsu Province, who had made meritorious contributions to the suppression of bandits, and promoted him to major general.
After the death of "Taibao Ashu", his widow Huang Bamei was released from prison under the intervention of Du Yuesheng, and since then the golden basin has washed his hands and opened a teahouse to continue to make friends with various haojie.
Huang Bamei
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, she pulled up a team to fight against the Japanese Kou, made great achievements, and became a famous anti-Japanese hero at that time, and later she went to Taiwan to start an industry, and in 1982, she died at the age of 76.
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