Late one night in May 1927, gunfire broke out on the streets of Changsha, Hunan. A group of heavily armed soldiers stormed the offices of the trade unions and peasant unions and fired wildly at the people inside. This sudden and bloody massacre was the "Ma-Ri Incident" that shocked the whole country. And the initiator of this tragedy is a warlord named Xu Kexiang.
[Xu Kexiang's rise road] the poor boy's counterattack
Xu Kexiang was born in a poor family in Xiangxiang, Hunan. Since he was a child, he had to work everywhere to earn a living, and even worked as a long-term worker in the family of Chen Geng, the later founding general of the People's Republic of China. It can be said that Xu Kexiang climbed up step by step from the bottom.
When the Xinhai Revolution broke out in 1911, Xu Kexiang also joined in the excitement and participated in some revolutionary activities. However, the revolutionary fervor was soon extinguished by reality. In order to make ends meet, he went to serve as a soldier again.
After ten years of hard work, Xu Kexiang finally got into the position of a battalion commander. At this time, there was internal strife among the Hunan warlords, and Xu Kexiang smelled the smell of opportunity. He took refuge with his men to another faction, and finally managed to keep his small team.
From this moment on, Xu Kexiang showed his ability to see the wind and steer the rudder. Over the next few years, he took refuge with several warlords, always able to preserve himself in the midst of chaos, and even expanded his strength.
[The secret of getting rich overnight] There is a way to make a fortune
Although Xu Kexiang is not good at fighting, his ability to make money is first-class. When he was stationed in Xiangxi with his troops, he came up with a good idea - to collect "protection money" from passing opium merchants.
It's a trick that can be doubled. Xu Kexiang soon became a large landowner in his hometown of Shoushan Township, buying mansions in Shanghai, Macau and Taihu Lake. He also opened a private account in Hong Kong and deposited a large sum of money.
It can be said that Xu Kexiang relied on this not very glorious means to become a rich man in one step. This windfall also provided him with abundant financial support for his future political ambitions.
[From warlord to traitor] The bloody massacre planted the root cause
In 1927, Xu Kexiang finally waited for his "highlight moment". At that time, the situation in Hunan was complicated, and various forces competed. Some right-wingers took a fancy to Xu Kexiang's "grass on the wall" and decided to let him do a big thing.
In the middle of the night on May 21, Xu Kexiang led his men to raid the trade unions, peasant associations and other progressive organizations in Changsha, and slaughtered the revolutionary masses in a frenzied manner. This is the infamous "Ma-Ri Incident".
This bloody massacre made Xu Kexiang completely stand on the opposite side of the revolutionary masses. He was also appreciated by Chiang Kai-shek and entrusted with important tasks. Since then, Xu Kexiang has become a loyal dog under Chiang Kai-shek.
[The end of the warlord] retreated all the way to Taiwan
However, Xu Kexiang's good days did not last long. In later wars, his troops were repeatedly defeated and completely annihilated many times. By the end of the Liberation War, Xu Kexiang's troops had been shattered.
In 1949, Xu Kexiang saw that the general trend had gone, and quickly fled to Taiwan with the looted money. There, he lived a pampered life, with three little wives waiting for him, and he didn't have to worry about food and clothing. In 1964, this once blood-ridden warlord quietly died in a mansion in Taiwan. Xu Kexiang's life fully explains what it means to "good and evil will be rewarded in the end". It's a pity that he didn't pay the price he deserved for his crimes.