In April 1927, Li Dazhao was arrested by Zhang Zuolin in Beijing. On April 28, Li Dazhao was secretly executed at the age of 38. In fact, after Li Dazhao's arrest, all sectors of society actively rushed to the rescue, and railway workers even planned to organize prison robberies. But why did these rescues not succeed in the end? Why would Li Dazhao politely refuse the rescue of his comrades-in-arms?
In 1926, the Zhifeng coalition army marched into Beijing, and Zhang Zuolin took control of Beijing and took control of the central government at that time. Zhang Zuolin immediately promulgated it
Article 17 of the Security Measures. Under Zhang Zuolin's white terror, a group of progressive people such as Shao Piaoping, president of the Beijing Daily, and Lin Baishui, editor-in-chief of the Social Daily, were killed one after another, and Zhang Zuolin's next target was
Li Dazhao.
Why didn't Li Dazhao escape?
Zhang Zuolin's various actions, does Li Dazhao know? Of course, Li Dazhao knew that his relatives and friends around him had repeatedly urged him to leave Beijing for a while. But they were all rejected by Li Dazhao one by one.
Why?
In fact, as early as 1924, Li Dazhao was already on the enemy's white list. At that time, Li Dazhao went to the Soviet Union for a meeting and returned to Harbin, and his friends told him that the warlords of his immediate lineage were wanting him, and persuaded him not to return to Beijing immediately and to go to other places to temporarily take shelter.
Li Dazhao said in awe:
"Which revolutionary one is not wanted?" Can the dry revolution still be afraid of wanted? ”
Li Dazhao
And as Beijing fell into The hands of Zhang Zuolin, Li Dazhao's environment became increasingly dangerous. Once again, people around him suggested that he leave Beijing, either go south or go to the Soviet Union.
Li Dazhao's wife
Zhao Shulan was very worried about Li Dazhao's safety, and repeatedly persuaded Li Dazhao to leave the current land of right and wrong.
But Li Dazhao has always been stubborn, he said to Zhao Shulan
"I don't often tell you, I can't leave Beijing!" With me gone under such difficult circumstances, who will leave the work in Beijing to bear?"
In the summer and autumn of 1926, the organization had actually arranged for Li Dazhao to go to Wuhan to work. However, Li Dazhao believed that the work in the north was tense, and only let another comrade, Luo Zhanglong, go to Wuhan first.
At this time, Li Dazhao was responsible for leading the revolutionary work in the north, actively expanding the northern forces, and making a lot of preparations for the northern expedition of the Northern Expeditionary Army in the future. therefore
Li Dazhao believes that he cannot evacuate until the last moment, and he must stick to his post.
Moreover, for Li Dazhao, leaving Beijing at this time is an act of desertion, which can only encourage the arrogance of the enemy and have a negative impact on the morale of the revolutionary camp.
Of course, Li Dazhao did not blindly insist, he also took some countermeasures. He and the remaining revolutionary comrades went underground and went into the barracks in the western courtyard of the Soviet Embassy to continue their leadership; Li Dazhao also purchased pistols and practiced them often in case of emergency.
Why did Zhang Zuolin dare to enter the Soviet embassy to arrest people?
The reason why Li Dazhao chose the old barracks next to the Soviet Embassy to temporarily take refuge was because according to the "Xinugu Treaty", the foreign embassy district in Dongjiaomin Lane enjoyed extraterritorial jurisdiction, and the military and police of the Beiyang warlords were not allowed to enter, and in Li Dazhao's view, this place should be safe.
Then, why did Zhang Zuolin dare to enter the Soviet embassy to arrest people in the end?
In an arrest operation in 1927, the Fengzhi warlords destroyed a number of secret organs of our Party in Beijing. During interrogation, a defector confessed that Li Dazhao was inside the Soviet embassy.
Zhang Zuolin
This was the first time that the enemy had received direct and conclusive information, but because of the diplomatic concerns, the Warlords decided to send another spy to confirm the details.
At that time, the Beijing Police Department sent a spy to step on the spot, and this secret agent found the secretary of the Soviet Embassy, Petrona, falsely claiming that he was a friend of Li Dazhao, and there was a letter that Peteno troubled to hand over to Li Dazhao.
Thus, the enemy also confirmed Li Dazhao's hiding place.
After confirming that Li Dazhao was indeed hiding in the barracks of the Soviet Embassy, the next step for the Warlords was how to persuade foreign missions to let them in and arrest people.
Zhang Zuolin initially sent a letter to the ministers of various countries at that time, but the ministers of various countries asked that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contact them. At that time, Gu Weijun of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was unwilling to mix in with this, and there was much prevarication.
In the end, Zhang Zuolin had to send someone to negotiate with Odenko, the head of the legation in Beijing and the Dutch minister. After some haggling, the two sides agreed, the foreign legation agreed
Since the Soviet Union had abolished unequal treaties, its embassies naturally did not enjoy the privileges of the Treaty of Simgu and were not protected by the treaties. The ministers of various countries agreed that the Beiyang military and police would enter the Soviet embassy in Dongjiaomin Lane to arrest Soviet spies.
As a result, the Warlord Feng clan got a "pass" to arrest Li Dazhao and others, and Li Dazhao was already in danger. However, even at such a juncture, Li Dazhao still had a chance to escape.
At that time, Yang Du got the news in advance and hurriedly arranged for someone to report to Li Dazhao.
However, Li Dazhao believed that Zhang Zuolin did not dare to enter the embassy to arrest people, and the news was not necessarily true; even if the news was true, now that he left the Soviet Embassy, he would definitely be surrounded by beiyang military and police, and when he went out, he would also throw himself into the net.
In this way, Li Dazhao regrettably missed the last opportunity to leave.
On April 6, 1927, a large number of military and police officers of the Beiyang warlord broke into the old Russian barracks, and Li Dazhao was arrested along with his wife and two daughters.
Why did Li Dazhao refuse to be rescued by his comrades-in-arms?
When the news of Li Dazhao's arrest came, all walks of life began to try their best to rescue him.
On April 10, 1927, nine colleges and universities in Beijing, including Peking University, jointly sent representatives to Yu Wencan, then president of Peking University, and Zhang Yihui, president of Beijing Normal University, to visit Zhang Xueliang and make a request:
"Li Dazhao is a literati, please submit it to the court for trial according to law, and release Li Dazhao's wife and daughter."
Why is the focus on referral to the Tribunal?
Because if the court tries and rescues Li Dazhao, it will inevitably find a high-level defense lawyer to defend Li Dazhao, and the probability of Li Dazhao being sentenced to death will not be so high.
Li Dazhao in film and television dramas
On April 12, 25 universities in Beijing again issued a proposal requesting that Li Dazhao be treated leniently.
On April 15, Beijing's World Journal published an open letter from Beijing citizen Li Gongxia to Zhang Xueliang, listing 10 lenient li dazhao's demands.
Yang Du, who had previously ventilated the news for Li Dazhao, also used his position in the Beiyang government to actively run away, prompting the Beiyang government to hold a meeting to decide to transfer Li Dazhao to the court to avoid the possibility of Li Dazhao being secretly tried and killed.
Zhang Shizhao lobbied Yang Yuting, general counselor of the Fengjun Army, to intercede with Zhang Zuolin,
"Don't kill the soldiers of the country with a momentary anger, and leave a thousand notoriety."
The Soviet Embassy also protested publicly, and Moscow also organized a 100,000-strong demonstration to protest the arrest of Li Dazhao.
The most concerned about Li Dazhao was naturally the organization, and the party organization in the north at that time actively planned the rescue. At that time, the railway workers had already organized a prison robbery team to prepare to forcibly rescue Li Dazhao.
However, after Li Dazhao heard the news in prison, he politely refused the organization's arrangement. He said
This kind of action is naturally the revolutionary enthusiasm of the comrades of the workers and the love of the Party for me, but today it is completely impossible to realize this plan: because not only the armed guards of the cells, but also the prisons are under heavy armed guard, and my personal sacrifice for the revolution for the Party is glorious and deserved, but it is already a loss of the Party I can no longer ask my comrades to take risks and expend the revolutionary forces, and now you must preserve our strength, do not let the revolutionary forces suffer again
This remark vividly expressed Li Dazhao's selfless and noble and selfless spirit, and finally the organization was persuaded by Li Dazhao and adopted his opinion.
Why did Zhang Zuolin finally order the killing of Li Dazhao?
Was Zhang Zuolin determined to kill Li Dazhao from the very beginning?
As a matter of fact
Zhang Zuolin had hesitated.
Li Dazhao had a high status and popularity in the cultural circles at that time, and the education and cultural circles in Beijing were running for help, which is a proof. Killing celebrities is not a good reputation for Zhang Zuolin.
After all, he was no longer the bandit leader he was then, but a great warlord who aspired to become the world' leader.
Zhang Zuolin was undecided, and the Fengjun also split into two factions of opinion, one advocating killing and demanding military justice; the other advocating that Li Dazhao was a man of letters, not a soldier, according to the customs of various countries.
"Unheard of any military law practitioners" advocated a transfer to a court for trial.
In addition, at that time, the British and American powers were quite critical of chinese military intervention in the judiciary, which also made Zhang Zuolin have to think about it again and again.
Zhang Zuolin once agreed to transfer Li Dazhao to the court for trial.
This made Li Dazhao have the possibility of being released or even alive, and people from all walks of life who cared about Li Dazhao thought that they could breathe a sigh of relief.
However, on April 23, Zhang Zuolin suddenly ordered that Li Dazhao be transferred to a military court for trial instead of an ordinary court.
This shows that Zhang Zuolin is determined to put Li Dazhao to death.
Why did Zhang Zuolin suddenly change his mind?
There is a saying that Zhang Zuolin saw that there were different internal opinions at that time, so he sent a telegram to Yan Xishan, Sun Chuanfang, and others to inquire. Yan Xishan did not call back, but only one of the other people who called back said
"Telephone please measure the situation and deal with it"
And Zhang Zongchang said it more directly, Li Dazhao was
"The bane of the Red Party, the giant leader will not be eliminated, and Beijing will be dangerous after all"
What's more, the Beijing newspaper reported at the time
"I heard that a certain dignitary in the south also sent a telegram to someone in Beijing, advocating that the arrested party members be executed as soon as possible to avoid future troubles."
Most people in later generations believe that Chiang Kai-shek sent this telegram, but whether Chiang Kai-shek really sent this telegram, at present, the author has not seen conclusive evidence, and dare not speak falsely.
Personally, I think that the reason that eventually prompted Zhang Zuolin to kill the killer is still there
It was Li Dazhao's threat to him.
Zhang Zuolin also had a major threat in the north, that is, Feng Yuxiang.
At that time, an important job of Li Dazhao was to help Feng Yuxiang overthrow Zhang Zuolin, and Li Dazhao was not only
Contacted the Soviet Union for Feng Yuxiang, helped Feng Yuxiang obtain weapons funds from the Soviet Union, and also helped establish a positive image of Feng Yuxiang and his status as a patriotic general. Mobilize students to join Feng Yuxiang's troops and improve Feng's strength.
Zhang Zuolin also believed that Li Dazhao and others had been providing intelligence for the Northern Expeditionary Army, which was unfavorable to him.
Zhang Zuolin also had to face the Northern Expeditionary Army in the south, and there was also a Feng Yuxiang in the northwest, which made him feel like he was on his back
All this lies in Zhang Zuolin's view, which is the reason why Li Dazhao must die. In the face of their own vital interests, reputation is not so important.
Li Dazhao before the righteousness
On the afternoon of April 28, 1927, Li Dazhao and 20 other revolutionaries were secretly hanged.
A relative and friend of Li Dazhao once asked: Are you not afraid of death when you do this?
Li Dazhao's answer was:
What to be afraid of! Sooner or later we are going to triumph, and our doctrines, like the seeds of the croppers, are sown everywhere, and they destroy here and there, and it doesn't matter.
End of full text
Resources
Talk about Li Dazhao's rescue after his arrest and the reasons for his failure
Why did Li Dazhao politely refuse to be rescued by his comrades-in-arms