Chapter 42 The first red regime was born on the border of Hunan and Jiangxi

At the party's August 7th meeting, Mao Zedong put forward the famous thesis that "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun".The meaning is very clear: if the Communist Party wants to seize power, it cannot do without engaging in armed struggle.Similarly, the Communist Party engages in armed struggle for the purpose of seizing power.This is the essential difference between the armed separatist regime of workers and peasants and the grass bandits occupying mountains as kings. Mao Zedong was very aware of this point, and he also paid great attention to this point in the struggle to create the Jinggangshan revolutionary base.

The establishment of the government of workers, peasants and soldiers in Chaling County was his initial attempt to establish a border red regime. Chaling, located in the eastern border of Hunan Province, was known as a tea town in ancient times. It was named Chaling because it lived in the "Yin of the Tea Mountain" and Emperor Yan was buried in the territory. Since ancient times, Chaling has been known as the "Three-way Throat" because it is located in an important city on the transportation line that runs through Jiangxi, Hunan and Guangdong, and is a place where the "army is heavily controlled".

During the Great Revolution, driven by the Northern Expeditionary Army's transit, the CCP's Chaling Special Branch led a vigorous mass movement, and successively established agricultural associations, trade unions, student federations, women's federations, and peasant self-defense forces.But all of this was completely destroyed by the Kuomintang reactionaries after the "Ma Ri Incident".The few revolutionary forces that were lucky enough to survive had to retreat to Tanwan at the junction of Chaling, Anren, and Lingxian to carry out covert guerrilla struggles. On October 21, 1927, when the Revolutionary Army of Workers and Peasants led by Mao Zedong reached Shuikou in Ling County, they sent troops to raid Chaling County.

That attack achieved unexpected results. The county seat was captured, the prison was smashed, and the key workers and peasants who were imprisoned were rescued.It was just because of the attack at that time, in order to contain the enemy, the troops did not stay in the county seat, and left the city that day. However, Mao Zedong did not forget about Chaling. In mid-November, after the Revolutionary Army of Workers and Peasants entered Ciping and finally settled down on Jinggang Mountain, it was ready to expand outward and expand its base area.The first target Mao Zedong chose was Chaling.

On November 16, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army concentrated all its main forces in Dalong, Ninggang, preparing to attack Chaling.Mao Zedong personally mobilized before the battle. He said: "Comrades, after nearly a month of rest and reorganization, we are going to fight on the front line today! Now that Chaling County is empty, we will take advantage of the vacancy and get off to a good start!" The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army did not disappoint Mao Zedong, who was unable to act with the army due to foot problems. On November 18, they took Chaling County in one go, and it really got off to a good start.

The county seat was occupied, and the Revolutionary Army of Workers and Peasants did not leave immediately like last time. A difficult problem was faced by the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army: how to manage the occupied counties?The county magistrate of the Kuomintang ran away, and there was no one in charge of the county office.Will the revolutionary army want to establish a new regime? Chen Hao, the leader of the team, thought very simply: Isn't it just a county government office?Just send someone to take care of it!He thought of someone, so he sent him to "sit in the court". As for the name of the yamen, Chen Hao didn't think of changing it, so he still used the brand of "Chaling County Government".

The name of the person sent to be the county magistrate was Tan Zisheng, a native of Jingde County, Anhui Province. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1925 when he was studying at Shanghai Fazheng University.It was probably because of his experience that Chen Hao sent him. This time is different from that time, the Communist Party is different from the Kuomintang, and the Workers’ and Peasants’ Revolutionary Army is different from the National Revolutionary Army, but Tan Zisheng was unable to understand the difference for a while.He didn't know how to be the county magistrate of the red regime, so he had no choice but to continue with the old government, still in the county magistrate's office, where he was promoted to trial cases and collected taxes and food.As for Chen Hao, due to the deep-rooted habits of the old army, he reverted to his old ways after entering the city, and went to have a meal every day and go out to enjoy himself.Instead of hunting local tyrants to raise funds, they only ask chambers of commerce to send military salaries; they don't make preparations for defending against the enemy, they just go out for drills and roll call.

The common people passed by the county magistrate's office, probed their heads, were dumbfounded, and left disappointed.This is a new government that "changes the soup but not the medicine". Witnessing the various malpractices of the new government that has no prestige among the masses, as well as the actions of officers such as Chen Hao, Wan Xixian, the party representative of the first battalion, is very worried.He wrote a report letter to Mao Zedong about the situation in Chaling, and sent someone to rush to Mao Zedong who was still in Maoping. After Mao Zedong read the letter, he was deeply aware of the seriousness of the problem, and immediately replied to Wan Xixian, instructing: It is wrong for the army to appoint someone as a county magistrate, and it cannot be done according to the Kuomintang.A government of workers, peasants and soldiers should be established.Protect stores, protect post offices, protect schools, protect hospitals.

"To establish a workers', peasants' and soldiers' government", Wan Xixian's spirit was lifted after receiving Mao Zedong's reply letter.He immediately conveyed Mao Zedong's instructions to party members in the army, regiment and battalion cadres, and soldiers' committees, as well as to the Chaling Party organization and the new county government.Immediately afterwards, preparations for the organization of a workers', peasants' and soldiers' government were carried out. "Government of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers", this is a new name, and Wan Xixian and others applaud it!They don't know where the well-informed Chairman Mao borrowed this name from, and they just feel kind and exciting!

In fact, the name "Government of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers" was created by Mao Zedong "behind closed doors" and "according to advertisements".Mao Zedong later explained in his report to the Central Committee: Since "the communication with the provincial party committee was cut off from the end of November, all the party's policies were unknown", so the red regime established at that time was collectively called the workers', peasants' and soldiers' government. "Part of it was done behind closed doors, and part of it was based on the advertisement when news of the December 11 riots in Guangdong came from newspapers."

The workers, peasants and soldiers government naturally has to be the protagonists.Wanxi first convened the leaders of the Party organizations, trade unions, and farmers' associations in Chaling County, as well as party representatives of the military companies to discuss together.Since it was too late to hold a county-wide workers’, peasants’ and soldiers’ congress, the trade union, peasants’ association, and soldiers’ committee each nominated a representative to organize a workers’, peasants’ and soldiers’ congress, and then elected the chairman of the county’s workers’, peasants’ and soldiers’ government. Representatives from all parties were quickly elected: worker representative Tan Zhenlin, farmer representative Li Bingrong, and soldier representative Chen Shiju. As for who will be the chairman, several representatives will give in to each other.Wan Xi was a straightforward person at first, and he simply said: "The government of workers, peasants and soldiers takes the lead. Comrade Tan Zhenlin, you are a worker's representative, so you can be the chairman!" The participants unanimously agreed that Tan Zhenlin was elected as the chairman of the county government of workers, peasants and soldiers. Tan Zhenlin was born in Youxian County, Hunan Province in 1902. When he was 14 years old, he went to Chaling Xu Wenyuan Book and Paper Store as an apprentice, and later worked as a printer.During the Great Revolution, he joined the labor movement and joined the Communist Party of China. He once served as the leader of the workers' picket team in You County. After the "Ma Ri Incident", he was forced to move to Chaling.After the Revolutionary Army of Workers and Peasants captured Chaling, he summoned the backbone of the former labor movement and soon restored the County Federation of Trade Unions, and was elected as the chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions.This worker-turned-communist became a professional revolutionary after serving as the chairman of the county government of workers, peasants and soldiers. During his decades of revolutionary career, he did a lot of work for the party and the people. Member, Vice Premier of the State Council, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, etc.Of course, these are things for later. On November 28, 1927, the first red regime on the Hunan-Jiangxi border - the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Government of Chaling County was formally established.The paint plaque of "County Magistrate's Office" hanging high on the gate of the county government was taken down and smashed, and replaced with a plaque of "Chaling County Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Government".There is a pair of couplets hanging on both sides of the gate: "Government of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers, Soviet Spirit". On this day, the red flags in Chaling City were unfurled, and the masses of the people rejoiced like a festival. The Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Government of Chaling County set up departments for civil affairs, finance and economics, youth workers, and women, and appointed intellectual Yang Shaozhen, Luo Shangde, Luo Qingshan, and Chen Shutong to take the leading positions in each department.Then, in the name of the "Chaling County Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Government", a notice was issued, calling on the masses of workers and peasants to rise up for revolution, consolidate the political power, and punish local tyrants and evil gentry.The signatures on the notice are: worker representative Tan Zhenlin, farmer representative Li Bingrong, and soldier representative Chen Shiju.