The KMT was eventually forced to retreat in order to deal with Japanese incursions into China, which allowed the Soviet Republic to expand its influence, with Mao initiating a wide-ranging program of land reform, education and increased gender equality. However, the KMT eventually returned to Jiangxi, viewing the Communists as a greater threat than the Japanese, and initiated a fifth encirclement campaign, bringing about the dissolution of the Jiangxi Soviet and forcing the Red Army into a retreat. After a year on the run and having survived numerous attacks, Mao's army eventually arrived at the Shaanxi Soviet, establishing Yan'an as their revolutionary base area. It was here that Mao developed the concept of the "mass line", which attempted to overcome the centralizing and bureaucratic tendencies of Marxism-Leninism by consulting the masses and carrying out the perceived will of the majority.