Then, under the cover of guns, a enveloping movement by the left anc right wings successfully rounded up the Red bandits, among whom th 3rd and Sth Red armies were com. pelled by circumstances to either Stage a desperate resistance so as to force their way out or to surrender. Instead of surrender, they chose to. fight to the last. The Red forces! were, however, given absolutely 0 chance to break through, although they. made repeated desperate tempts that only resulted in th killing of more men. Fortunate: ly, the fighting did not last long and the stronghold from which the Red bandits carried out their operations was occupied on the following day.
The Red forces had sustained 700 men killed and 300 wounded, plus loss of 1,200 rifles and 400 knives. In addition, the left wing of the Govern. ment troops captured about 2,400 rifles. Thousands of Red prisoners were imprisoned behind the Thus the force of the Red bandits in that area was wholly crushed.
Among the Red prisoners, there were about 700 Red Guard ' Divisio that is the army which is usually known among the bandits as Central Red Guard Division of th Red Labourers and Peasants forces) imprisoned in a_big temple outside the south gate. These soldiers looked pale but were all very tractable, expecting that they would be given a chance to make good their past mis~ deeds. There is justification in saying that these people were cheated by the Red leaders into living a lite of banditry. Many of them were forced by the bandit leaders to join them and were pressed into military service. It also seemed that these people were beginning to realize What they had done was wrong and harmful to all besides themselves. If proper education Is given them, they Would no doubt turn out good citizens and would be also more than Blad to return to their homes.
From these people, a general con-ition of the Red bandits was gather: fed a¢ follows: their treatment was not equal; organization was very complicated; cheating was used the best instrument to deal with 1 ignorant people, decrease of production in the bandit-devasted areas was very marked; pillaging and slaughter. was the order of the day; the people fed on poor food; great con-Sternation and panic' prevailed among the bandits themselves; the 'SMrength of the bandits had been r duced to three-fifths of its original force; the territory occupied by the Reds' was gradually diminishing in ize; most of the people who had hac Sufficient experience in bandit life were preparing to desert at the first opportunity.
Under the Red control, a company fof three persons was not allowed tu meet privately or for personal conversation. If they were found, to have violated the rule, they were charged with the crime and were usually executed. Such was the ce dition among the ignorant people who were brought under the control of the Red bandits, As regards the social conditions of Nanton attr recovery, they were as According to the census of 1928, there were more than 157,700 inhabi tants, but now it is less than 100,000, which number there are now only 9,128 strong men between the ages of 18 and $0, and 3,000 sick or disabled people, while the rest are wi men and. children. Production is Aimited with the bankruptey of rural economy. As it was in Nancheng, Hie is the chief produce of the dis trict. In former years, usually between 5,000 and 6,000 piculs of rice were exported to other places. At present, rice has to be obtained from other districts. Lite is bad. Communications are also very poor, be-{ng all destroyed by the bandits. At present there is only the Nancheng Nanfeng road, and another one, from Nanfeng to Thuang, in course of construction.
'AS in other places, rehabilitation, including reorganization of the tithing, census-taking, education, ote. fare taking shape. As the city of Nanfeng had been occupied by the bandits five times since 1928, the degree of destruction and devs tation is immeasurable and the mis able condition which we wine was really unimaginable and me Jdescribable, much worse than the ruins which now stand in Chapel.
Rehabilitation at Nanfeng is therefore not _an easy job and will no doubt prove difieutt for the authori-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.