Chapter 9 Chapter Eight: The Rise of the Agrarian Revolutionary Storm

In October 1927, after the Revolutionary Army of Workers and Peasants "settle down" in Maoping, Ninggang, it launched a wide-ranging guerrilla campaign against local tyrants to raise funds in various counties along the border. , thus opening the prelude to the agrarian revolution in the Jinggangshan revolutionary base. In February 1928, Mao Zedong sent Mao Zetan to carry out a land revolution experiment in Qiaolin Village, Dalong, Ninggang. In March, the Revolutionary Army of Workers and Peasants tried to divide the land in Zhongcun, Ling County, and Shatian, Guidong, and other places, exploring and accumulating some valuable experience for the widespread agrarian revolution on the border.

However, the experimental land revolution at this time was not yet deep nor consolidated, so that when the enemy arrived, the land was still taken away by the landlords and tyrants. During the "March Failure", the border was occupied by the enemy for more than a month, and all the achievements of the Agrarian Revolution were lost. After the two armies of Zhu and Mao joined forces, although the separatist regime on the border of Hunan and Jiangxi coincided with the temporary stability of the ruling power in the south, the reactionary troops sent to "advance and suppress" were frequent and powerful, but the separatist regime in the base area was expanding day by day. Popular government is promoted day by day. What is the reason for this?This is because the border parties (local parties and army parties) have implemented a series of correct policies.One of the most important policies is the "Agrarian Revolution in the Separated Areas", which has won the support of the broad masses of the people, and the masses have really mobilized and organized.

The origin: the policy of "deepening the agrarian revolution in the separatist areas" was proposed and formulated at the first congress of the Hunan-Jiangxi Border Party held on May 20, 1928.The conference lasted for 3 days, and seriously discussed the issue of land revolution on the border.After the meeting, a government of workers, peasants and soldiers on the border between Hunan and Jiangxi was established in Maoping Cangbian Village, Ninggang, and the Ministry of Land was established, with Tan Zhenlin as the Minister of Land.Subsequently, the county governments along the border established land committees, which were specifically responsible for leading the land revolution movement.In order to help the agrarian revolution in various places, Mao Zedong and the border special committee also transferred a large number of cadres from the army to go deep into Ninggang, Yongxin, Suichuan, Lianhua and other counties to mobilize the masses to investigate and study, master policies, and guide the distribution of land.For example: Tan Zhenlin went to Xiaojiang District, He Changgong went to Dongyuan Hehuaxing Village, Wang Zifeng went to Getian Village, etc.

Regarding the agrarian revolution on the border, Tan Zhenlin recalled: "We attacked Suichuan, Ninggang, Yongxin and other counties, and after we established a democratic government of workers, peasants and soldiers in the county, we started to grasp the agrarian revolution and meet the land demands of the peasants. But before April 1928 However, the agrarian revolution on the border has not yet deepened. In March, the Hunan Provincial Party Committee transferred regular troops to southern Hunan, causing the border to be trapped by the enemy for more than a month. This once again proves that the victory of the armed struggle and the deepening of the agrarian revolution are very important for the consolidation of the red base areas. Necessary. At the end of April, Comrade Mao Zedong and Comrade Zhu De joined forces in Long City to form the Fourth Red Army, summed up past experience and lessons, and formulated correct policies. Only then did the three closely integrate armed struggle, agrarian revolution, and base area construction.” Soon the red border area developed to its peak." Tan Zhenlin: "The Practice of Struggle in Jinggang Mountains and the Development of Mao Zedong Thought".Since then, "in the red area, most of the land has been distributed, and a small part is being distributed."

It can be seen that the "big one" of the border party is an important symbol of the Jinggangshan revolutionary base area's in-depth agrarian revolution. After the Hunan-Jiangxi border party's "big one" elected the first Hunan-Jiangxi border special committee, in order to unify the leadership of the county governments along the border, at the end of May, Mao Zedong summoned the workers, peasants and soldiers of the counties on the Hunan-Jiangxi border in Maoping, Ninggang. The first Congress elected the Executive Committee of the Soviet Government and established the Soviet Government of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers on the border between Hunan and Jiangxi.Mao Zedong: "Report of the Jinggangshan Front Committee to the Central Committee".

The Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Government on the border between Hunan and Jiangxi was chaired by Yuan Wencai, and had military, finance, land, judiciary, youth, and women's ministries, as well as the Workers and Peasants Movement Committee.Zhang Ziqing is in charge of the military department; Yu Benmin is in charge of the finance department; Tan Zhenlin is in charge of the land department; Deng Yunting is in charge of the justice department; Xiao Zinan, Liu Zhen, and Hu Bo are in charge of the youth department; Wu Zhonglian and Peng Ru are in charge of the women's department; Song Qiaosheng and Mao Kewen are in charge.

The Soviet Government of the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers on the border between Hunan and Jiangxi was established in the Yuan Family Mansion in Cangbian Village, Maoping, and was the highest authority of the border government.Originally, Mao Zedong was elected as the chairman of the government, but Mao Zedong considered that he mainly focused on the work of the party and the army, and that it was better for local comrades to serve as the local government, so he proposed and elected Yuan Wencai as the chairman.The border government has jurisdiction over the county governments of Chaling, Suichuan, Ninggang, Yongxin, Lianhua, and Lingxian.In its heyday, governments of counties, districts, and townships along the border were established one after another. 'Our Government'), otherwise simply referred to as 'the Soviet Government'".

After the border government was established, the agrarian revolution was included in the important agenda.All counties, districts, and townships established corresponding land committees to coordinate the affairs of the agrarian revolution.In order to help the agrarian revolution in various places, the border government uniformly dispatched many cadres from the army to go to various places to guide the work of the agrarian revolution. However, due to lack of practical experience, "the signboard of the Soviet government of workers, peasants and soldiers on the border of Hunan and Jiangxi was put up in May, but it was established very hastily and was extremely incomplete." "Soviets at all levels have been established, but their names are not worthy of their names." The work has not been carried out in practice.

In the initial work, in order to protect their own interests, small landlords and rich peasants in many places, "they put up red ribbons to pretend to be enthusiastic, and used deception to sneak into government committees and control everything, and poor peasant committee members only played a supporting role."This phenomenon had a lot of influence on the land revolution and other work at that time.Although the border government has issued a notice, it has not done enough to give full play to the functions of the authority.In some places, the Party takes care of everything, while in other places it only stays at trivial tasks such as "daily communication and transportation for the Party headquarters, transporting food for the Red Army, sending envoys to be detectives, and managing the Red Guards."This phenomenon was not "slowly corrected" until the masses were fully mobilized, those bad elements who had penetrated into the red power organs were purged, and they fully realized the power and role of the Soviets.Mao Zedong: "Report of the Jinggangshan Front Committee to the Central Committee".

From the end of 1928 to the beginning of 1929, the border had prepared to hold the second congress of workers, peasants and soldiers in each county, trying to improve the organization of the border Soviet government.To this end, a secretariat was established as a preparatory organ, along with a military council and an economic council.However, due to the launch of the third "suppression conference" by the enemy in Hunan and Jiangxi provinces, the holding of the second border congress failed.Mao Zedong: "Report of the Jinggangshan Front Committee to the Central Committee".

Nevertheless, the establishment of the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Government on the border between Hunan and Jiangxi, as well as the establishment of Soviet governments in various counties, had a certain impact on the development of the situation at that time.Du Xiujing, an inspector of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee, said this in his report to the Hunan Provincial Party Committee of the Communist Party of China on June 15, 1928: "The people believed in Commander Mao after they beat up the local tyrants, and they believed in the Party and the Soviet after dividing up the land." From May to July 1928, under the unified leadership of the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Government on the border between Hunan and Jiangxi, the border counties launched a vigorous agrarian revolution movement. Due to the experience of small-scale land distribution struggles such as the Dalong pilot project, the Zhongcun plug-in card distribution, and the Tangbian pilot field distribution, there will be a certain "model" when the agrarian revolution is fully rolled out.The specific steps and main practices at that time were: 1. Set up a leading organization for sub-fields. This institution is the land committees of counties, districts and townships. "It is elected by the Congress of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers (there are Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Congresses at the county, district, and township levels) and consists of 5 to 7 people. When the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Government discusses the distribution of land, they will conduct research first. The Land Committee still needs to conduct investigations and studies." Chen Zhengren: "Comrade Mao Zedong's Great Practice of Establishing the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Base Area", December 1970.The main purpose of the investigation and research is to formulate a plan for dividing the land and classify the land. When dividing the land, it is decided whether to divide the land based on the class composition.But the class divisions at that time were relatively simple, "the agrarian revolution was mainly aimed at landlords and rich peasants." 2. Red Army cadres went to various places to guide the division of fields. When the Agrarian Revolutionary Movement in the border area was in full swing, the border special committee dispatched a large number of Red Army cadres to go deep into the villages of the counties, mobilize the masses, investigate and study, master policies, and guide the distribution of land.Wang Zifeng, who was sent to Getian Township, Ninggang, recalled: "I was only in the pistol team for more than a month. Later, when the local government wanted cadres, some people were transferred from the army. Because when I was working for the Soviet government in District 13 of my hometown, I used to engage in land distribution, so I was transferred out. I went to Getian Village to help distribute the land. The village set up an investigation committee to register the population and register the land. At that time, we didn’t understand the idea of ​​“supplementing the thin” and we confiscated the land of the landlord. , distributed to farmers with no or little land. Take a large village as a unit, calculate how much land is needed according to the average population, and adjust and make up within this range. All the land of the landlords will be confiscated by us, and the excess land of the rich peasants will be confiscated. , to register the name, the number of acres, and who should use it according to the regulations, and then insert a sign. We helped farmers allocate land in Getian Village, and each person was allocated more than 3 acres of fields.” 3. Land allocation is carried out in units of townships. The method of allocating land in units of townships was developed on the basis of pilot projects. "In the past, the village was used as a unit to distribute land. In practice, it has been proved that this method is not good, and it is easy to be used by landlords and rich peasants. Later, it was changed to use the township as a unit to distribute land. Practice has proved that this method is more effective. Alright. This method was found by Chairman Mao’s investigation and research, and after groping and summarizing the practice of struggle.” This method is a big step forward from the “Land Program” proposed by Mao Zedong at the Hunan Provincial Party Committee Meeting on August 19, 1927. step. The "Land Program" stipulated that "districts should be used as units", while the "Jinggangshan Land Law" formed at this time and later proposed three methods: taking townships as units, several townships as units, and districts as units. It is more mobile, more in line with the actual situation in various places, and more able to mobilize the enthusiasm of poor farmers. 4. Equal distribution according to the population. In the border counties, all land was confiscated and redistributed at that time, and the distribution standard was based on population.In all villages, men, women and children are equally divided. "Children get half of the land of adults, and handicraftsmen and landlords all share." Later, the Central Committee received a resolution from the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The central government only advocated "confiscating the land of the landlord class" instead of "confiscating all land", but it has already been implemented in the border area. If it is changed to return the land allocated to the poor to the rich peasants and landlords, it will dampen the enthusiasm of the poor peasants. Therefore, it is decided that "the land is divided and the matter is settled, and the central policy will be followed in the future". 5. Implement the principle of matching good and bad based on original farming. Jinggang Mountains has a vast area, and there is a big gap between barren and fertile land.In the beginning, "when distributing land, it used to be based on the original cultivation, drawing more and subsidizing the less. Later, it was found that this method was beneficial to the rich peasants and not conducive to the poor and hired peasants, because the land of the rich peasants is generally better, and the land cultivated by the poor and hired farmers is better. Generally, it is relatively poor. If the original cultivation is used as the basis, and the more is pumped out to supplement the less, then the good fields among the rich peasants will not be able to be distinguished... Later the chairman proposed to "extract fat and make up for the thin" to take out the good fields of the rich peasants, Replenish poor and hired farmers for farming, so that the land requirements of poor and hired farmers can be truly met.”Therefore, "At that time, it was estimated based on 4 dan of grain per mu, divided into upper, middle, and lower fields, and the fields were also recorded, and divided according to the combination of upper, middle, and lower." During the borderland land revolution, although some "leftist" practices appeared for a while, basically the policy was implemented well, paying attention to the correct treatment of the middle class, the protection of small and medium-sized industries and businesses, the landlords also divided the land, etc., and organized a review after the land was allocated. See if it's fair and reasonable. This year's crops have achieved a good harvest.The people in Ninggang area are all eager to hand in public food.Mao Zedong recorded in the "Report of the Jinggangshan Front Committee to the Central Committee": "The land tax in Ninggang is 20%, which is 50% higher than the central government's method. .In addition, Suichuan, Lingxian, and Yongxin are all in the separatist areas, all of which are mountainous, and the peasants are too miserable to collect taxes." After the mass land struggle from April to July, the basic distribution of land in the border counties of Hunan and Jiangxi was completed.The deepening of the agrarian revolution greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of the poor peasants, which not only liberated the rural productive forces, but also effectively supported the revolutionary war and accelerated the development of the base areas. The agrarian revolution movement in the Jinggangshan base area was carried out gropingly under the circumstances of "there was no way to do it before". "Because from the end of November, communication with the provincial party committee was cut off, and all the party's policies were ignorant." Mao Zedong: "Report of the Jinggangshan Front Committee to the Central Committee".However, under the leadership of the special committee and Mao Zedong, the land struggle in Jinggangshan achieved great success, accumulated rich experience, and effectively promoted the development and construction of the base area.Based on some historical data and the memories of those who experienced it, the historical experience of the land struggle in Jinggangshan can be summarized as follows: 1. Fully grasp the land conditions and class relations at the border. Mao Zedong was the pioneer who paid attention to investigation and research.In the winter of 1927, he personally went to Maopingba, the Yangqiao Lake area, and the Qiuxi area in Yongxin to conduct in-depth and detailed social investigations, and wrote "Ninggang Survey" and "Yongxin Survey".On the basis of full investigation and research, scientifically analyzed the "border land situation: generally speaking, more than 60% of the land is in the hands of landlords, and less than 40% is in the hands of farmers. With Suichuan as the most concentrated, about 80% are owned by landlords. Yongxin is next, about 70% are owned by landlords. Wan'an, Ningkang, and Lianhua are more self-cultivating farmers. Except for the case of Wan'an, there is no direct In addition to the survey, although there are many self-cultivating farmers in Ningkang and Lianhua counties, the majority of the land is still owned by landlords, with a ratio of about 60% to 40%. The difference between Xiangbiancha and Ling counties is not far, about 100%. Seventy of them are in the hands of the landlord." In addition to his own investigation, Mao Zedong also asked the Red Army and local cadres to directly participate in this work as a task to complete.When the Workers' and Peasants Revolutionary Army's officer teaching team was established in November 1927, Mao Zedong asked the students of the teaching team to go down to the ancient city, new city, and Maoping area to conduct investigations.The content of the survey is very wide, such as: administrative divisions, population, class, contradictions between natives and residents, land occupation, cultural customs, etc., and then fill out the questionnaire.Tan Guansan said in "Recalling Chairman Mao's Great Revolutionary Practice in Jinggangshan": "Chairman Mao emphasized that the propaganda team should conduct investigation and research (the same is true for the entire Red Army). How does Chairman Mao treat industry and commerce? What about landlords? What about workers? We must investigate clearly. It also requires us to understand how capitalists exploit workers and peasants, how landlords exploit peasants, and how workers and peasants are exploited, as well as the class composition of each village, everyone’s political attitude, and We must investigate clearly. After we have conducted an investigation in a place, we must report it. After investigation, we will deal with and solve various problems, and we will be able to distinguish between friends and foes and unite the majority.” 2. Fully mobilize the masses and arm the masses. Mobilizing the masses and organizing them to revolutionize was an important task of the Red Army during the Jinggangshan struggle, especially in the agrarian revolutionary struggle.Because the poor peasants on the border at that time did not understand the relationship between class and class oppression, and always thought that their poverty was "predestined", "bad horoscope", "fate is bitter", therefore, "the first step is to break the 'fatalism' with them. education... The second step is to help them recognize and believe in their own strength, and help them build up the confidence to win the struggle... The peasants have mobilized, have class consciousness, and have the determination to fight. , the agrarian revolution can be carried out. Otherwise, if the guerrilla zone is not consolidated and the foundation is not good, it will be very difficult to carry out the agrarian revolution. Even if it is carried out, the peasants will not dare to claim the land of the landlord.” When the masses have risen and the agrarian revolution has started, the masses must be armed. "The struggle on the border is entirely a military struggle. Where there is no armed force, or insufficient armed forces, or the wrong strategy to deal with the enemy, the place will be immediately occupied by the enemy." Mao Zedong: "Report of the Jinggangshan Front Committee to the Central Committee" .Therefore, after the Red Army won the battle with the enemy, Mao Zedong ordered the weapons that had been handed over. In addition to the armed forces, some guns should also be given to the localities.In this way, after the regular troops leave, the red regime and the achievements of the agrarian revolution will not be lost when they encounter the provocation of the reactionary local armed forces. 3. Correctly formulate practical and feasible land policies. The formulation of land policy was one of the most thorny issues in the land struggle on the border at that time.At the beginning, there was no rules to follow, and it was all about groping.For example, on the subject of confiscation, should all land be confiscated, or only the land of the landlord?On the issue of distribution standards, should they be distributed equally according to the population standard, or according to the labor force standard?Or both?On the issue of allocating areas, is it allocated in units of townships, villages or districts?On the issue of land ownership, did the allocated land ownership belong to the Soviet government or to the peasants?Can land be bought, sold or leased freely?How to treat the middle class differently?Landlords should not divide their fields, etc., and they all need to give correct answers.However, at that time, the whole party and various base areas were exploring the big subject of the agrarian revolution, and there was no established method to follow.Since the establishment of the Jinggangshan base area, it lost contact with the organization within a few months, and the resolution of the "Sixth National Congress" was not sent to Jinggangshan until November 1928.This requires everything to proceed from reality and find a new way.Because Mao Zedong and the Boundary Party paid attention to social investigation and research and listened to the demands of the masses, they solved these practical problems in a relatively correct and scientific manner.For example, on the issue of land distribution standards, the boundary implementation is still based on the method of population equal distribution.Later, "according to the central government's measures, the labor force was used as the standard", but "those who can work are divided twice as much as those who cannot", and the elderly and children are still taken care of.When the "Jinggangshan Land Law" was promulgated, the two standards of population and labor force were adopted, and it was proposed: "Two standards, the first one is the main body, and where there are special circumstances, the second standard must be applied." Mao Zedong: "Report of the Jinggangshan Front Committee to the Central Committee".This not only conforms to the reality of the border, but also coincides with the policies of the central government, achieving the organic unity of the two, and is supported by the poor peasants in the base areas.Another example is that the boundary is more flexible in the area of ​​land distribution: the four districts of Ningkang are divided into districts, reconciling the contradictions that the Hakka farmers who used to use the township as a unit felt disadvantaged; the Xiaojiang District of Yongxin, Three or four townships are distributed as a unit. 4. Grasp the typical examples, and point to the surface. The agrarian revolution in the Jinggangshan base area was not carried out in an all-round way from the very beginning, but was carried out in three stages: first, from October 1927 to March 1928, to mobilize the masses and experiment (Dalong, Zhongcun, etc.) ; From May to July 1928 was the comprehensive and in-depth development stage of the Agrarian Revolution; from September to December 1928 was the consolidation stage of the Agrarian Revolution.Among them, we have grasped a few typical ones, and promoted the overall development with the typical ones.For example, Mao Zetan was sent to carry out the land revolution experiment in Qiaolin, Dalong, Mao Zedong himself grasped the points in Zhongcun, and the later experiment by the pond, all of which reflected Mao Zedong's work method of focusing on reality, point to area, and based on the current and long-term political vision. 5. The existence of the official Red Army is the guarantee of the agrarian revolution. In July 1928, when the land revolution on the border was at its climax, the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China changed its position several times and pulled the main force of the Red Army to Hunan. Serious consequences. The consequences of the "August failure" show that without the Red Army as the mainstay of the base area, it is difficult to carry out the agrarian revolution, and it is difficult to consolidate the results of the development.As Tan Zhenlin said in "Reviewing the History of Jinggangshan Struggle": "Without the cooperation of regular troops and the vast local armed forces, the enemy cannot be defeated, the agrarian revolution cannot be carried out, and the peasant masses cannot be fully mobilized to support the revolution. The locality cannot be maintained, and even if a red regime is established in the end, it will not be able to stand; without a solid base, the armed struggle will lose a reliable rear and support.” A comprehensive survey of the experience of the agrarian revolution in the Jinggangshan base area shows an indestructible truth: that is, the small red base area surrounded by white terror must integrate armed struggle, agrarian revolution, and base area construction under the leadership of the party. , closely combined, and interdependent, in order to achieve existence and development.