Chongqing is a mountain city, and the green mountains are buried with loyal souls...
On September 6, 1949, just 24 days before the founding of New China, three members of the Song family from Pi County (now Pizhou City) in Jiangsu Province fell forever in this city that was about to be liberated, including the youngest martyr in All China, Song Zhenzhong, who was only 8 years old. Yang Qindian, the accomplice who participated in this brutal killing, died at home many years later at the age of nearly 90!
Yeah, why? Why are heroic souls buried in a foreign land, but accomplices can enjoy their old age in peace? Everything has a reason, let's take Yang Qindian's perspective together to revisit his "extraordinary" life.
● The "mixed mouth and full of food" of the military, Chiang Kai-shek's security guards
In 1918, Yang Qindian was born in a poor peasant family in Zhouzhuang Village, Daliu Town, Chencheng County (now Part of Yuanhui District), Henan. In those days, the word "poor peasant" said it all. In order not to be hungry anymore, in order to eat a full meal, Yang Qindian, who was quite literate, thought of joining the army. In April 1940, at the age of 22, he was successfully admitted to the teaching regiment of the Seventh Branch of the Xi'an Military Academy run by Hu Zongnan, and was later assigned to a cavalry unit. But before he could fight, he embarked on another "guard road". First, he was selected by Chiang Kai-shek to become a member of his guard regiment, and soon after, he was transferred from Xi'an to Sichuan, promoted to the position of squad leader of the special task force of the traffic police corps, and even protected Song Ziwen, Kong Xiangxi and other important Kuomintang members during this period.
Up to this point, Yang Qindian's life can also be regarded as smooth sailing. Until 1945, he was sent to the Geleshan Military Concentration Camp in Chongqing, where he became the squad leader of the White Mansion Guard.
The story begins, and the two most important turning points in his life also happen here...
● The conscience under the "Redwashed Mission" tore open the mouth of the light
This Baigongguan concentration camp, together with the Zhazhidong concentration camp and called "two living coffins", was the "slaughterhouse" where kuomintang military command agents imprisoned and mutilated our party's revolutionary heroes during the War of Resistance Against Japan! Among those who were imprisoned there were Luo Shiwen, secretary of the Sichuan Provincial CPC Committee; Song Qiyun, director and editor-in-chief of the Northwest Culture Daily and later secretary of General Yang Hucheng, an underground CPC member, and his wife Xu Linxia; his younger son Song Zhenzhong (that is, "Little Radish Head"), Chen Ran, secretary of the special branch of the "Advance Newspaper," and Xu Xiaoxuan, director of the Propaganda Department of the Youth Committee of the Cpc's Eastern Sichuan Special Committee. After a period of contact, Song Qiyun and Xu Xiaoxuan, who are observant and good at attacking the heart, found that Yang Qindian was different from other all-do-it-all military agents, he was not a good day, and the original intention of doing these things was just to mix his mouth and eat a full meal, so that he and his family could live better. Therefore, they began to carry out "red propaganda" on Yang Qindian, knowing his feelings and reasoning, analyzing the situation for him, and using their own experience to tell him how the Kuomintang reactionary government had brutalized the compatriots and split the country.
Finally, after two years of indoctrination, Yang Qindian's thinking was shaken, and he began to "facilitate" the people of our party within the scope of his authority, such as secretly passing on messages, helping to exchange books and newspapers, or extending the time for letting the wind out. Everything is moving in a good direction, but the surprise comes first.
Ordered to kill the "little radish head", the "executioner" who struggled
In April 1949, the Battle of crossing the river could be launched at any time, and after the disastrous defeat of the three major battles, the main military forces of the Nationalist government had long been destroyed, and the People's Liberation Army took advantage of the situation to cross the Yangtze River and liberate Nanjing. Then the troops launched a fierce pursuit, successively occupying the vast areas of southern Jiangsu, eastern Zhejiang, northern Fujian, northeastern Jiangxi, and Hangzhou and Nanchang. Seeing our party marching in triumph, Chiang Kai-shek was furious and immediately ordered Mao Renfeng to kill a number of "political prisoners" in the Chongqing concentration camp. Under the deliberate reminder of Mao Renfeng, Yang Hucheng was impressively listed.
On August 27, 1949, Lu Jingqing, the head of the Bai Mansion's secret service, summoned Yang Jinxing, An Wenfang, Yang Qindian and others to plot to kill Yang Hucheng and one of his children, as well as Yang Hucheng's secretary Song Qiyun and his wife Xu Linxia and his younger son Song Zhenzhong. Afraid of accidents in few people, he specially added special agents Wang Shaoshan and Xiong Xiang. At 11:00 p.m. on September 6, in the "Dai Gong Ancestral Hall", because of the ambush and sneak attack of the secret agents, Yang Hucheng and his children, Song Qiyun and his wife were tragically killed, and even Xu Linxia was stabbed and fell to the ground at the moment, still begging them not to hurt her son, although there was a struggle in his heart, in front of everyone, Yang Qindian, who was ordered, still walked to the "little turnip head" Song Zhenzhong he was responsible for, and when he choked the neck of Song Zhenzhong, who was only 8 years old, the painful moan made him panic, and Yang Jinxing, who killed Song Qiyun at this time, walked over. Decisively stabbed into Song Zhenzhong's spine with a bayonet, the child who was affectionately called "little radish head" by everyone, or sacrificed... After the operation, Yang Qindian received a reward of 50 yuan.
But after that day, Yang Qindian, who had been indoctrinated by our party for a long time, whenever he thought of this scene, a sense of self-blame would come to his heart and could not be calmed down for a long time.
A turning point in life, the opener who suddenly woke up
On October 1, 1949, Chairman Mao announced the establishment of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China on the upper floor of Tiananmen Square, and the whole country celebrated, and later this news reached Luo Guangbin's ears, as the author of the novel "Red Rock", everyone is familiar with it, but few people know that in 1948, he resolutely threw himself into the underground party of the Communist Party of China in Chongqing, and was later unfortunately arrested and imprisoned in the Baigongguan concentration camp. After learning of the founding of New China, Luo Guangbin excitedly shared the news with Yang Qindian, who was on patrol, and warned him not to be obsessed with it anymore, and the Kuomintang was about to run out of gas, so he must leave a way back for himself. In fact, compared with the imprisoned "political prisoners", Yang Qindian knows better what the outside scene is like now, and as the Kuomintang falls apart and Chiang Kai-shek retreats to Taiwan, his heart is becoming more and more panicked!
On November 14, Chiang Kai-shek returned to Chongqing, and Mao Renfeng presided over the meeting, issuing a number of heart-wrenching massacre orders. On the 27th, Chongqing was about to be liberated, and at this crucial juncture, the ruthless Kuomintang reactionaries carried out a frenzied persecution of hundreds of volunteers from our Party in concentration camps such as bai mansions and zha di dong before they fled in all directions.
Yang Qindian, who happened to be on duty, watched the more than 40 people in the White Mansion being processed in batches, and by 10 o'clock in the evening, only 19 people were left, and Yang Jinxing, who was involved in the killing of the "little radish head" at that time, had already fled with his subordinates. The time came to more than 11 o'clock, and the slag cave requested emergency reinforcements, so the White Mansion was only left with Yang Qindian and Li Yusheng to watch over, at the same time, Yang Qindian's sense of uneasiness also reached its peak, he couldn't bear to face the murderous behavior, and he was even more guilty of thinking of the tragic death of "Little Radish Head", but he was just a small guard who could not do anything.
At this time, Luo Guangbin persuaded again: "Today, the Kuomintang has reached a strange road, what will happen to those of you who have blood on your hands in the future?" It is better to let us go now, and you may as well make up for it. But Yang Qindian still had some scruples in his heart, not to mention whether he would be retaliated against by the Kuomintang agents, after the incident was over, would the People's Liberation Army spare him who had blood on his hands? In the face of his hesitation, Luo Guangbin and other surviving volunteers made three promises to him: 1. These people can prove his contribution to the Communist Party. 2. Strive for the Government to arrange work for him. 3. No longer pursue his past. The three promises completely dispelled Yang Qindian's concerns and was determined to get lost, so he gave Luo Guangbin the key and hammer, and told him to seize the time to escape to the back mountain after hearing the stomp signal he gave him for a while. With the help of Yang Qindian, the 19 surviving people successfully escaped.
On the 30th, Chongqing was finally liberated, and the next day, Yang Qindian, accompanied by Luo Guangbin and others, took the initiative to register and surrender himself to the Public Security Bureau, and Luo Guangbin and others also proved for him according to the promise, and finally got leniency, not only did not pursue his responsibility, but also planned to give him a job. However, after Yang Qindian received the letter missed by his mother at home, he still chose to return to his hometown to live an ordinary farming life. The government also respected his personal wishes and gave him a lump sum of money to go home and reunite with his family.
Compared with others, Yang Qindian was undoubtedly lucky, the indoctrination of people of insight in the concentration camp, the advice of many heroic martyrs, finally at a critical moment in exchange for an opportunity to make meritorious atonement, especially after hearing at home that Yang Jinxing, the leader of the white mansion guards, was arrested and shot even after hiding under a pseudonym, Yang Qindian was even more grateful that he was lost at that time and seized the last opportunity, which was also one of the most important turning points in his "very" life.
The forgiveness of the descendants of song and Yang families, the old man who unloaded the psychological shackles
Since 1998, Yang Qindian began to go to Chongqing many times to participate in the propaganda activities of martyrs accompanied by his relatives, even if he did not want to recall these pasts, even if in most cases, he appeared in a negative role, but in order to restore the real history of the time and make a wake-up call for future generations, he still opened his heart again and again, and told the unforgettable experience in detail.
In the summer of 2002, the old man over eighty years old welcomed two special guests, song Zhenhua, the second brother of the "little radish head", brought his daughter to Yang Qindian's home, even with cooking oil, eight treasure porridge and other gifts, but the old man who had been guilty for most of his life still subconsciously felt that "retribution is coming again!" And when Song Zhenhua said that the trip was just to understand the details of his parents and brother in prison at that time, and to relieve the feelings of missing for many years, Yang Qindian's hanging heart was considered to have landed. With full of apologies, Yang Qindian solemnly apologized to Song Zhenhua, asked for their forgiveness, and tried his best to keep them to stay and eat, while eating at a table, Yang Qindian told the bits and pieces of the past, until the sun was about to set, Song Zhenhua's father and daughter got up and went home. Yang Qindian felt guilty and insisted on sending it a few kilometers away before returning home in tears, and after that day, Yang Qindian's burden was unloaded.
In 2006, Yang Han, the grandson of Yang Hucheng, came to visit Yang Qindian's home, at this time, 57 years had passed since General Yang Hucheng was killed, and only Yang Qindian was left with the experience, and at this time, he was old, and the events of that year could no longer be described in detail, but blindly said" I was just a soldier. Looking at this thin old man who was about to die, Yang Han said that the events of that year were all historical things, he had completely relieved his heart, and when he left, he also wished Yang Qindian good health and lived to the age of 110.
Yang Qindian's life was long and complicated, and the forgiveness of the descendants of the Song and Yang families finally allowed the old man to unload the shackles that burned his soul all the time in the remaining years.
In those war-torn times, stories were never black and white. In Yang Qindian's life, he never went to battle to kill the enemy, did not have great achievements, still had a conscience of the "executioner", the awakened person on the blood-colored road, the contradiction and struggle was a portrayal of his past, the depression was difficult to relieve was the background of the rest of his life, the two ends of the balance, the weight of the heroic soul always needed to be compensated for by the apology of the whole life!
On November 17, 2007, the story ended, and this nearly 90-year-old man completed his "very" life. A person's life will encounter many forks in the road, not necessarily every time will choose the right one, but fortunately, the final road, just like the evaluation of his fellow villagers for his "merit is greater than excess", he clearly and clearly walked...