The failure of the rescue operation against the revolutionaries in the slag cave and the White Mansion is a major regret in the history of the Liberation War.
These more than 300 glorious braves who survived a long and cruel life in prison fell on the eve of the founding of New China and the liberation of Chongqing, and were martyred on the night of the 11.27 massacre -- only two days after our army marched into Chongqing on 11.29.
Historically, the rescue of captured comrades has been an extremely important task. Many comrades who had been imprisoned by Chiang's authorities were successfully rescued and their losses were reduced. After all, the most important thing is always people.
So why did the failed rescue operation in Chongqing end up causing a big loss and still have an impact today?
Let's sort out the timeline of the rescue operation.
(i) August 1949, three months before the Holocaust
Jiang ordered Mao Renfeng to fly to Chongqing and personally deployed the massacre, known as "clearing the backlog."
When Xu Yuanju, the head of the Zhazhidong secret service, was later arrested, he confessed that Mao Renfeng said when he deployed: "In the past, there were too few people killed, which caused the whole situation of failure. ”
Mao Renfeng explained to Xu Yuanju: "Shangtou (referring to Jiang) just wants to kill Yang Hucheng. You can kill all those arrested in the past, and kill the most important ones first. ”
It can be seen that under the guidance of Jiang's "too few killings", Mao Renfeng further expanded the scope.
September 6, 1949, two and a half months after the Holocaust
General Yang Hucheng and his youngest sons Yang Zhengzhong and Yang Zhenggui, his secretaries Song Qiyun and Xu Linxia and his youngest son Song Zhenzhong were secretly murdered at the Dai Gong Ancestral Hall in Gele Mountain.
In order to prevent the sound of gunfire from arousing the vigilance of the revolutionaries in prison, Yang Hucheng was just entered the door, that is, he was covered in the mouth, stabbed to death with a dagger, and his body was destroyed with salt water.
This patriotic general, who called for the War of Resistance and was then imprisoned for 12 years, did not participate in the War of Resistance he initiated, nor did he enjoy the celebration of the victory of the War of Resistance.
At the same time, there is also 8-year-old Song Zhenzhong, a small radish head, who was also stabbed to death by a dagger.
(iii) October 1949, one and a half months before the Holocaust
The revolutionaries in prison felt the crisis.
Zhou Conghua, a patriotic general imprisoned in the White Mansion, said: "... If someone takes the letter out, and leads the way and explains the situation, there can be a considerable armed force to raid the Sino-US cooperation center, liberate the White Mansion and the Slag Cave, and save hundreds of cadres..."
The Zha Di Cave and the White Mansion are the top secret locations of the military command. They are locked up here, but the outside world has no idea that such a prison exists, let alone organized rescues and led the way.
The leaders in prison, Chen Ran, Liu Guoyong, and others, studied and decided to let Luo Guangbin "surrender" and strive to be released, quickly tell the organization, and send people to attack the prison to rescue.
Luo Guangbin was reluctant at first, he insisted on it for so long, why did he surrender first? Who wants to be a traitor in full view?
In the end, he was persuaded: "We must not only be able to contribute our lives to the revolution, but also demand that we bear the burden of humiliation." Others proved that Luo Guangbin had "surrendered to the enemy."
(iv) October 26, 1949, one month before the Holocaust
Chen Ran, Wang Pu, Lei Zhen and 10 others were publicly shot and killed at the Daping Execution Ground.
Chen Ran, then 26 years old, wrote "My Confession book"
Heavy iron shackles rang under Ren's feet,
Let you hold the whip high,
I don't need any confessions,
Even if the chest is facing a bloody bayonet!
Man, cannot bow his noble head,
Only the fear of death begs for "freedom";
What was the intention of the torture?
Death can't make me open my mouth!
……
Chen Ran's most earth-shattering thing was the "White House edition" of the "Advance Newspaper." That is, after hearing the news of our army's victorious march from the mouth of the guards, he wrote a few words on a piece of cigarette paper, and then wrote down the title of the newspaper: "The first issue of the Advancing Newspaper", published by the White Mansion!
The White Mansion pressed forward and circulated several issues in the cell with cigarette paper. Through the occasional newspaper messages received by General Huang Xiansheng and the advance newspaper made of cigarette paper, the news of the gradual victory was disseminated in prison.
Everyone looked at the one- or two-sentence "newspaper" and became more and more convinced of the arrival of victory.
This is the courage and will of the revolutionaries, even if you are locked up, the propaganda work must be done under your eyes.
At the time of the execution, the list was read out: "Chen Ran ... the person in charge of the "Zhenjin Bao" and "Cheng Shanmou, the person in charge of the telecommunications of the Zhenjin Bao". ”
Chen Ran and Cheng Shanmou's eyes quickly met together, these two were also the main members of the "Advance Newspaper", because they had been working underground for many years, they had never met for many years, and they had really known their true identities on the execution ground, which no one had thought of.
So they went straight to each other with iron shackles, and their hands clasped tightly together. Two familiar strangers, after enjoying a minute of first acquaintance, went to their deaths together.
(v) November 10, 1949, 17 days before the Holocaust
Time is getting tighter.
Someone overheard the agent's conversation, "Those 3 big pits outside are almost dug."
Everyone knows in their hearts what these 3 big pits are for.
Finally, everyone determined the contact method after Luo Guangbin was released from prison, the raid rescue plan and the time, and it had reached the 10th. Even if you can go out, you won't have time to find someone to rescue.
This method failed.
(vi) November 14, 1949, less than two weeks before the Holocaust
Another group of revolutionaries was killed. This time it was 31 people who were shot dead at radio stations in the concentration camp of the Sino-US Cooperation Center. Among them is Jiang Zhujun.
Sister Jiang, whose husband died and her son was lost, was killed at the age of 29 after leaving a letter to her children.
(vii) November 19, 1949, 8 days before the Holocaust
At this time, the most crucial and final distress letter of the imprisoned revolutionaries was sent.
"The rumors in the institute are coming to an end, and in addition to the 17 people who have decided to be released, there are a third and fourth batch or will be executed, and everyone is shrouded in the shadow of death. Mr. Lan's return has brought us a glimmer of hope. Sister, it's all up to you and your friends to rescue us. The third batch of orders has been issued and may be handled within a week!!! ”
The letter was written by Hu Qifen, secretary of the Chongqing Women's Committee of the underground party, and more than 300 strong lives in the two prisons of Baigongguan and Zhazhidong were all pinned on this letter.
(viii) November 21, 1949, seven days before the Holocaust
Huang Maocai, a guard under the pseudonym "Mr. Lan", secretly brought it to the underground party member Kang Shuhua. Shuhua immediately transferred it to Liu Kang, head of the working group of the underground party's Sand Magnetic Zone. Liu Kangcai learned that everyone was locked up in the Slag Cave and the White Mansion.
Liu Kang, 22, is too young after all. He was so anxious to toss and turn that he immediately copied the letter three times, one of which was forwarded to the head of the underground party in eastern Sichuan, asking that someone be sent to discuss the rescue plan as soon as possible. At the same time, funds were immediately raised to organize rescues.
On the one hand, it strengthens the united front at the upper levels and strives to delay the slaughter; on the other hand, it is armed robbery of prisons.
The underground party approached chiang kai-shek's division commander, who was preparing for the uprising, and demanded an attack on the prison, but was refused. The reason was: "The prison is guarded by men from the Second Brigade of the Ministry of the Interior Police, and the weapons are too strong. ”
(ix) November 22, 1949, 5 days before the Holocaust
The Second Field Army broke through the White Horse Mountain defense line and approached Chongqing.
Agents scrambled to deploy the massacre.
(x) November 23, 1949, four days before the Holocaust
Former Chuandong and Chongqing underground parties came to discuss countermeasures with Liu Kang:
The comrades of the former Chuandong Underground Party and Chongqing strengthened the work of united front and counter-rebellion at the upper levels, and Liu Kang was responsible for armed rescue.
The rescue plan was finally determined.
November 24, 1949, three days before the Holocaust
Our army launched a general attack on Chongqing, and The liberation of Chongqing was within a few days.
The secret service office changed the big light bulbs, worked overtime day and night, and burned documents and materials. The revolutionaries were very happy and estimated that the enemy was about to retreat.
(xii) November 25, 1949, two days before the Holocaust
The most crucial thing in the rescue is to have someone lead the way into the mountain. The two prisons were hidden deep in the Gele Mountains, with twists and turns, and had been cordoned off by military command for years. Only by finding someone to lead the way can it be possible to go into the mountains to find out where the slag hole is.
The director of Jiang Jun's Twenty-Four Arsenal is familiar with the terrain and is the first choice for those who lead the way. Liu Kang personally went to the factory director on November 25, and met on the road, but it was inconvenient to speak at that time. Only to decide to visit again on the evening of the 27th.
Liu Kang rubbed shoulders with the last hope.
(xiii) November 26, 1949, one day before the Holocaust
Finally, the personnel participating in the armed rescue were basically organized.
The main force of the personnel was a member of the regiment of students at the Police Academy of Marblestone, Wang Zhengxiu (an underground party member) who served as the company commander of baishi yishou airport and Chen Bingguo, the mayor of the tenth district of Jiangbei (who had decided to revolt), borrowed guns and distributed weapons;
Zhou Kai (a member of our party) was originally a company commander under the warlord Mou Yingzhou in southern Sichuan, who was born in the army and was willing to command.
November 27, 1949, the afternoon of the massacre
Liu Kang and Yang Ziming (members of the Chongqing Urban Special Branch of the Sichuan Kang Special Committee) held a meeting to study all aspects of the situation, and there were still some things that had not been implemented well, and the rescue plan could not be implemented immediately.
At the same time, the slaughterers had already arrived at Yangjiashan one after another.
At 3 p.m., Xu Yuanju issued a secret order for the massacre, and everyone made preparations;
At 5 o'clock, a dinner was held, and everyone swore an oath to "keep it an absolute secret." Xu Yuanju promised the executioners that after the event was accomplished, they would be rewarded for their merits, gold bars and funds would be issued, and they would be prepared to lurk.
At about 6 o'clock, the executioners divided into two routes: one to the White Mansion and the other to the Slag Cave.
The previous 3 large graves have been dug.
(xv) On the night of November 27, 1949, the massacre began
In the middle of the night, Liu Kang got up to go to the toilet, saw that Gele Mountain was half red, and immediately stomped his feet in pain.
In the Gele Mountains, the sound of gunshots and slogans under the fire has been sounded.
It rained in the middle of the night before the night, and the people in the slag cave twisted and sang and just fell asleep, and it wasn't long before the agents began to mention people, and two groups of people were mentioned in a row, and everyone was sleepy.
At one or two o'clock in the middle of the night, the agents suddenly entered one cell after another: "Get up, get up, hand over the office, and everyone will bring their clothes." "Everyone was concentrated in the 8 cells downstairs.
Someone asked warily, "To whom will we be handed over?" "Transferred to the Security Command."
The situation is a little strange, but the victims have to wait.
At this time, outside the door, the agent was already holding a submachine gun and aiming it at the door.
With a whistle that survivors will never forget, submachine guns began to strafe.
Hu Qifen, who wrote the distress letter, was the first to shout the last battle slogan, and then the scolding slogan sounded in unison.
Hu Zuolin, a graduate of Fudan University's Department of Journalism, pounced on the cell door and used his body to block the enemy's machine gun eyes.
He Xuesong, who was born in Shuxiangmendi, shouted: You robbers will not live long!
Chen Zuoyi was hit in the foot by the enemy, and he directly stood up and shouted: "Don't hit your feet, I'll get up and you'll start your head!" ”
What courage and faith it is to shout out, "You hit me on the head!" as you die! ”
Also killed was general Huang Xiansheng, a patriotic general who led the Shenyang Public Security Bureau to fire the first shot of the Shenyang resistance in September 18 and the earliest organizer of the Northeast Volunteer Army.
More people rushed to the "escape wall".
Slag Cave Escape Wall. Continuous rains on Mount Gele washed the wall down, and the guards ordered the revolutionaries to repair it. When the revolutionaries were repairing, they used the rotten cotton in their clothes and in the dirt to make them less secure. On the night of the massacre, everyone braved the rain of bullets to tear down the wall, and only a very small number of people escaped under machine gun fire.
The survivors climbed the gap in the wall and climbed out, and the wall collapsed, and the gap became larger and larger. The agent, who had not yet completely withdrawn, noticed the figure shaking in the flames and shouted "Run, run!" "Immediately strafed, and another group of people fell.
Of the 19 people who survived the White Mansion, plus 15 people who escaped from the slag cave, and Tammy, who was not shot three times and crawled out of the corpse pit, only these 35 people survived the massacre.
Che Yiying, the second daughter of Che Yaoxian, a member of the Chuanxi Special Committee, recalled:
"The people in the white mansion went to the empty building, and the embers of the slag hole were still smoking. The 8 cells downstairs of the slag cave were piled high with charred corpses, no heads, no feet, only charred bodies. In the gaps in the walls, in front of and behind the houses, in the toilets, there were more than 20 other bodies lying there. There are three large pits on the slopes of the pine forest, where the corpses are pillowed and the blood is flowing..."
Gele Mountain is already a trumpet, people hear "killed people in the slag cave", only to learn that there is such a murderous demon cave on Gele Mountain, have gone up the mountain to find the corpses of relatives, ruins and broken walls, a scorched black corpse, where else to find?
On November 28, the day after the fall of the heroes, the main force of our army successfully crossed the river from the west side of Chongqing and drove straight in.
That night, after 56 hours of fierce fighting, our army finally captured Nan hot springs and opened the southern gate of Chongqing.
However, the massacre continued until the 29th, and the 32 revolutionaries detained in the "New World Prison" in Chongqing were escorted to Songlinpo in three batches.
At that time, it was only a few hours before the liberation of Chongqing. After the agent committed the crime, he did not even have time to bury the body, so he fled in a hurry.
On November 30, Chongqing was liberated.
On December 1, 1949, our army rushed into the slag cave and the white mansion.
Having just experienced the life-and-death struggle with Hu Zongnan's troops and the remnants of Luo Guangwen, those soldiers who shed blood and did not shed tears also cried bitterly at this moment: "We are late!" We're late! ”
What a regrettable scene in history!
They are all the most sincere people, and their sacrifice is a great loss!
Two or three days later, the people who escaped the holocaust ran back to Mount Gele.
The first thing Luo Guangbin did was to lead everyone into the White Mansion, rush into the flat second room cell, and pry up a wooden floor in the corner of the house, where the five-star red flag was still there. It was a red flag made of quilt noodles, straw paper, and rice grains after the prisoners heard about the founding of New China. Holding it, several people hugged their headaches and cried.
If Shuhua had received the letter at that time, she would have read it immediately and kept the guard, Huang Maocai, and let him be his guide...
If the letter could have been sent earlier, it would not have been too tight. Don't look at the organization of more than 20 people, guns and other weapons can not be concentrated in advance, must be separated from people and guns, then a small range of concentration, and finally a large concentration before the prison robbery, which requires enough time. If only it could be two days earlier...
If our army can attack a little faster...
If you did not have illusions about the Chiang clan at that time, you would have recognized their cruel nature and prepared for armed robbery.
Then 6 child martyrs: 13-year-old Pu Xiaolu, 8-year-old Yang Zhenggui (daughter of General Yang Hucheng), 3-year-old Wang Xiaohua, 1-year-old and 3-month-old Zhuo Ya ("Prison Flower" in the novel "Red Rock"), 1-year-old Wang Youhua, 9-month-old Sophia, can get rid of the shadow of prison since birth and grow up in the sunshine of new China.
After more than ten years of torment in prison, watching his troops have been fighting and may usher in liberation at any time, but what a cruel thing to be pushed to the execution ground at this dawn!
Revolutionaries to the murderers: I am more educated than you, I am more determined than you, my future is brighter than yours, my status is higher than yours, my cause is more brilliant than yours, our army is about to fight, we are about to usher in a good life, but at this moment we are going to be slaughtered by you.
This is the sadness of countless revolutionaries.
This is also a regret of history.
In the face of such cruelty, calmly and generously to die, what firm faith, what selflessness, and fearless courage are needed!
Revolutionaries imagined a five-star red flag in prison. In prison, until their deaths, they only knew that the flag was a "five-star red flag", but they did not know the true style of the flag.
The flag we see every day is something they desperately want to see to the death.
For those revolutionaries who have been imprisoned for more than a decade, even if you look at the national flag, what a luxury!
Amid the gunshots, slogans and national anthems sounded.
They longed for the victory of the revolution and for even a day in New China.
Do you know how many people yearn for today's new China, but they can't hope for it.
But they were imprisoned for more than ten years, only two days away, but they changed from a strong life to a picture on the wall, and an empty picture frame.
This is also the tragedy of the revolutionaries: they sow but do not reap. They fought for New China all their lives, but when new China was founded and the brilliant curtain was raised, they were ragged and silently disappeared on the stage of history.
They showed us who was supporting the Republic Tower.