Chapter 58 dictator hailed back

In September 1926, under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek, the Kuomintang army, which had been in Guangdong for ten years, swore an oath of the Northern Expedition. In just one year, it occupied Shanghai, established its capital in Nanjing, and then conquered Beijing, forcing the three eastern provinces to "change flags". Formally reunified China.The Republic of China entered the period of Kuomintang rule. The success of Chiang Kai-shek's military adventure, politically, actually benefited from the people's desire for great unification.Economically, it is the misjudgment of the free business class in industrial and commercial conflicts and the compromise of violent politics.

Before the Westernization Movement, there was no working class in China. With the growth of modern industry, the number of workers increased rapidly. In 1913, there were about 600,000 industrial workers in China. By 1924, the number had exceeded 5 million.Just as Marx complained, "capital came to the world, from head to toe, dripping blood and dirty things from every pore." Like all countries that entered the early industrial society, the living conditions of Chinese workers are miserable. Therefore, rebellious strikes are not uncommon. According to available data, from 1914 to 1919 before the "May 4th Movement", there were 108 strikes by workers across the country, especially after 1916, and the number of strikes increased year by year.

However, the working class has never been seen as an integrated and independent force.Only a handful of people realized its importance, and most of these people had read the works of Marx and Lenin and believed in their theory of class struggle.It is the newly established Communist Party of China that really relies on the workers as an independent force. In August 1921, just one month after the founding of the party, the Communist Party of China quickly established an organ leading the labor movement in Shanghai - the Secretariat of the Chinese Labor Organization. In May 1922, the Labor Organization Secretariat initiated the holding of the first "National Labor Conference" in Guangzhou. 173 people attended the meeting, representing more than 110 trade unions and 340,000 organized workers. In May 1925, at the second "National Labor Conference" held in Guangzhou, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions was formally established.An independent working class emerged, and the Communist Party became their leader and spokesperson for their interests.

Facing the rise of the working class, the merchant group was at a loss, and the conflict between the two sides soon became bloody. On May 30, 1925, the "May 30th Massacre" broke out in Shanghai. The Federation of Trade Unions led by the Communists and the General Chamber of Commerce led by Yu Qiaqing became two sharply opposed camps. And other radical targets are called for, agitating the tide, and standing on the moral high ground, while the latter tries to "make big things small, small things into nothing, reduce the situation, and calm the storm", and is regarded by the grassroots as "running dogs" and "business thieves" .Under the strong guidance of ideology, the very fragile and immature civil society in China was divided, and the merchant class and the working class suddenly formed an antagonistic situation.

Looking at the history of the labor movement in the world, any country that has entered industrialization has seen fierce scenes of labor-capital antagonism during the transition period. Marx believed that this was an irreconcilable contradiction, and therefore predicted the imminent demise of capitalism.It was under the guidance of this theory that the magnificent socialist movement emerged in the 20th century, which constituted the most important "human heritage" of this century.It now appears that this prophecy of Marx has not come true. Most countries have solved this social problem through the construction of independent trade union systems, social welfare systems, and parliamentary systems.However, in the mid-1920s, China's merchant class did not have enough wisdom and patience, and they chose the solution of alliance with violent politics.

In the spring of 1927, the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce, headed by Yu Qiaqing, reached a political agreement with the new military strongman Chiang Kai-shek: the businessmen provided Chiang with sufficient funds, and the latter used force to suppress the "riot" workers' and communist organizations. On March 26, Chiang Kai-shek's army entered Shanghai, and on April 12, the "April 12" incident that violently suppressed the Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions occurred. More than 5,000 people were shot dead or disappeared. Political massacre on a grand scale.Since then, the main activities of the Communist Party have shifted to the countryside, and gradually evolved from a "workers' party" to a "peasant party" with Chinese characteristics.

In modern Chinese history, this is a turning point.Since the late Qing Dynasty, almost two whole generations, from the Westernizationists and reformers to the constitutionalists and liberal scholars, have tried to bring China into prosperity through gradual changes. Scandals continued, but they never crossed the bottom line of the parliamentary system.However, this principle was abandoned by China's best business elite at the turn of spring and summer in 1927.Baijier commented: "These people are the most nationalistic, modern and democratic elements in the bourgeoisie... In 1927, the Chinese bourgeoisie was not only a betrayal of the proletariat, but also a betrayal of itself. Betrayed by those who have renounced all political rights, they are vulnerable to the power of the state which they have helped to restore."