e same communists who helped Chiang into power were now arrested and executed, and those who managed to escape were forced underground by oppressive government policies and "security police". Chiang, meanwhile, set about instituting various reforms. New hospitals were built, an official national currency was standardized, and a modest transportation and communication infrastructure were created. The changes were mostly cosmetic however, and many problems remained unsolved. Working conditions in the cities and countryside were still terrible, and Chiang was not successful in getting rid of the majority of the warlords. Japanese aggression was increasing, and when the Japanese occupied Manchuria and began slowly moving south, Chiang did nothing to stop them. The CCP meanwhile was slowly growing. What remained of the communists after the Kuomintang's betrayal in 1927 reorganized in Shang Shui province. There, they organized the peasants and overthrew the local landlords. In 1930, they established the Shang Shui Soviet and founded the
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