The Ming family young master Ming Lou in the TV series "The Pretender" is an important member of the Wang puppet government, an agent of the Kuomintang military command, and also an underground party member of the Communist Party of China, which combines multiple identities into one, which is a legend!
But in fact, the character of Ming Lou is not fictional, but has a real historical prototype, and his prototype is the legendary agent of our party, Yuan Shu.
However, compared with Ming Lou, Yuan Shu's identity is more multi-faceted and complex, and his spy career is more thrilling and bizarre, which can be said to be the only secret agent master in the history of modern espionage warfare!
In addition to his identities as military commander, central unification, Qinghong Gang, and Japanese puppets, Yuan Shu also has a secret identity- a ccp special branch personnel, so people also call him a "five-sided spy".
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he single-handedly penetrated into the enemy's interior, obtained a large amount of useful strategic intelligence for our party in the midst of the crisis-ridden spy sea, and made immortal contributions to the victory of China's War of Resistance Against Japan. ”
In this article, we will talk about the story of Yuan Shu, the legendary "five-faced agent" of our party!
Figure | Ming Lou in the TV series "The Pretender" - stills
Yuan Shu, whose real name was Yuan Xueyi, was born in March 1911 to a family of officials and eunuchs in Puchun County, Hubei Province. His father, Yuan Xiaolan, was a member of the League led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen and worked in the Kuomintang office in Shanghai after the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution. His mother, Jia Shi, was the daughter of a former Qing official salt merchant.
When Yuan Shu was eight years old, due to the family's financial difficulties, his mother had to take him to Shanghai to join his father.
However, in the face of his wife and children coming to run, Yuan Xiaolan was not happy at all, because at this time he had fallen in love with a female student again, and he was still living with others, so he was very cold to Yuan Shu's mother and son.
In the end, in order to make a living, the young Yuan Shu had to work odd jobs to earn money to supplement the family. At the age of 12, Yuan Shu was also sent to a printing house as a typography apprentice.
However, although Yuan Xiaolan did not provide financial support to Yuan Shu's mother and son, he still cared about his son's growth. After the introduction of his friend, Yuan Shu was able to enter the famous private school in Shanghai at that time, "Rieter Academy".
Although the tuition is free here, he still has to pay for eating and dressing, so Yuan Shu has always been in a state of half-work and half-study! Although life was very fortunate and hard, here he recognized many famous progressive people at that time, such as Yuan Shaoxian, Feng Zikai and so on.
Figure | Yuan Shu
In 1925, the "May Thirtieth Movement" broke out in Shanghai, and Yuan Shu, who was only 14 years old, was influenced by various advanced ideas and followed many advanced young people to participate in large-scale demonstrations such as strikes, strikes, and school strikes, and became an active member of the school. After that, he also changed his original name "Yuan Xueyi".
In 1927, at the age of 16, Yuan Shu joined the Northern Expedition and was promoted by his father's friend Hu Baoyi, then commander of the National Revolutionary Army's Jiangnan Special Movement, to become his secretary.
Soon after, he was appointed instructor of the Political Department of the Eighteenth Division of the Sixth Army of the National Revolutionary Army and joined the Kuomintang.
However, Yuan Shu did not stay in the army for long, and soon he left the army and returned to Shanghai, where he joined the anarchist literary and art group presided over by Gao Changhong, the "Crazy Racing Society".
Later, Yuan Shu traveled east to Japan to study journalism and Oriental history at Waseda University and Nihon University in Japan.
It was during his studies in Japan that Yuan Shu came into contact with the writings of Marx and Engels, and since then, he has also shifted from the original ideological "anarchist" cognition to "communism". From this time on, Yuan Shu began to gradually undergo transformation!
After returning to China, Yuan Shu began to serve as a member of the Standing Committee of the General League of Chinese Left-Wing Culture and participated in many left-wing literary and artistic activities held in Shanghai.
It is worth mentioning that Yuan Shu also let his wife return to his mother's home to borrow 500 yuan, founded the weekly "Literature and Art News", introduced the dynamics of Chinese and foreign cultures from an objective and fair standpoint, and encouraged the people to participate in the Northeast Anti-Japanese Patriotic Movement, which once caused a sensation in society.
Figure | In 1927, Yuan Shu was photographed on the border of Anhui and Gansu on the way to the Northern Expedition
At this time, Yuan Shu, whether in thought or action, was already on the same footing with communism! After becoming the executive director of the "General Association of Chinese Cultural Leagues" led by the Communist Party of China, Yuan Shu proposed to join the Chinese Communist Party!
In October 1931, under the introduction of Pan Hannian, Yuan Shu finally joined the Communist Party of China as he wished, officially becoming a glorious Communist Party member.
In addition, considering his tact and boldness, coupled with his "connections" at the top of the Kuomintang, his superiors decided to recruit him as a member of the "Special Branch of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China" and asked him to break into the upper echelons of the Kuomintang and use his legal status to collect important strategic intelligence.
Since then, Yuan Shu began to disappear in the progressive cultural circle and began his 15-year career as a legendary agent!
Figure | Pan Hannian
Since the ancient road: There are people in the DPRK who are good at doing things! This is not false at all, after Yuan Shu entered the central unification, he went all the way to the clouds, and soon became a red person of the central unification.
Later, under the introduction of Wu Xingya, Yuan Shu also became a reporter for the "Xinsheng News Agency", one of the most important news agencies in China at that time. The agency's press card, like a pass token, allows him to enter and exit all kinds of receptions.
During the interview, Yuan Shu got to know many kuomintang and social elites, and obtained a lot of useful information from them.
Of course, the reason why Wu Xingya will reuse Yuan Shu, in addition to his original popularity in left-wing cultural activities, the most important thing is to benefit from the recommendation of one person, he is - Jia Botao.
Jia Botao was a student of the first phase of Huangpu and a big red man in front of Chiang Kai-shek, so Wu Xingya could not help but give him face.
The reason why Jia Botao would recommend Yuan Shu was because in the early years, Yuan Shu's father had instructed him to go to Guangzhou to join Chen Lifu, so that he would make a career from then on, so he wanted to repay Yuan Shu with this!
Of course, there is also another point that is also very important, that is, Yuan Shu's outstanding ability has left a good impression on Wu Xingya.
In the academic field of journalism, Yuan Shu can be said to be a standard "genius" type figure, he was the first to put forward the concept of "reportage", and also left many "firsts" in the history of Chinese journalism. In addition, Yuan Shu is also a very communicative person.
And all this provides him with great convenience as a journalist!
During this period, Yuan Shu not only got to know a lot of upper-class people in the Kuomintang and society, but also got to know a Japanese!
Figure | Wu Xingya
The Japanese man, named "Eiichi Iwai", was the vice consul of the Japanese consulate in Shanghai at that time. He said that he was a vice consul, but in fact his real identity was that of an agent of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
After the two became acquainted, the relationship became closer and closer, and they even established a relationship of "intelligence exchange".
At that time, in order to allow Yuan Shu to provide more information about the Kuomintang, Iwai Eiichi also paid him a "communication fee" of 200 yuan per month. In this way, Yuan Shu became an intelligence officer of the Japanese side. Of course, Yuan Shu's becoming an intelligence officer on the Japanese side was naturally approved by his superiors!
It was precisely because of this relationship that he was able to provide his superiors with a lot of favorable information about japan.
It is worth mentioning that at that time, the Kuomintang government was negotiating with Japan on currency exchange rates and tariff issues, which attracted the attention of many parties for a time, Yuan Shu obtained the latest news from Iwai Hideichi, and reported it in a timely manner, which also made Yuan Shu once become a "big star" in the press.
But that's not enough! In order to add more protective colors, with the approval of the superiors, Yuan Shu and Yun Yiqun and 10 other news reporters "righteous knot Jinlan" and worshiped as brothers of the opposite sex!
And among these brothers, the identity of one person is not simple!
This man's name was "Hang Shijun", he was the eldest brother of the brothers, and he was also the trusted secretary of Jin Jinrong, the leader of the Shanghai Youth Gang.
As a brother in law, Hang Shijun introduced Yuan Shu into the Qing Gang. Since then, Yuan Shu has become a member of the Green Gang, and has close contacts with The Big Men of the Green Gang such as Jin Jinrong and Du Yuesheng.
But the weather is unpredictable! In 1935, Yuan Shu was suddenly arrested by the Kuomintang authorities! What's going on here?
It turned out that a Western agent from the Third International at that time, "Walton", was engaged in activities against the Kuomintang with the Chinese Communists in Shanghai, and as a result, he was whistleblown by traitors and arrested by Kuomintang agents.
During the interrogation, Walton refused to give any information, and the media at the time was helpless against it, and finally called this incident a "strange Westerner" case!
However, although Yuan Shu was imprisoned, he not only did not suffer from flesh and skin, but also became a "fragrant feast" that both the Central Command and the Military Command competed for.
At that time, the person who directly handled the case was Wang Xinheng, a subordinate of Dai Kasa, a big man in the Kuomintang Military Command Bureau, who had known Yuan Shu and had a good relationship, and after learning that Yuan Shu had a BACKGROUND in the CCP, he did his best to win him over!
In addition to the military command, Wu Xingya, the big man of the Central Command, also wanted to include Yuan Shu under his own door!
You must know that at that time, Yuan Shu's secret identity, in addition to being a special section member of the CPC, was also an agent of the "Far East Intelligence Bureau of the Communist International." How could such a talent, Dai Kasa of the military command, and Wu Xingya of the Central Unification easily let it go?
Because of this, although Yuan Shu was arrested and imprisoned, he himself did not suffer from the pain of half a skin and flesh, but was still cared for everywhere.
Later, Dai Kasa also sent people to Shanghai many times to do "ideological work" for Yuan Shu and conveyed to him:
"When the storm subsides, I can join our group." You are still young, and there are only two paths in front of you: one is to end here, and the other is to join the anti-Japanese work led by Chairman Chiang Kai-shek. ”
Yuan Shu naturally knew in his heart what kind of medicine was sold in Dai Kasa's gourd, but he did not want to hide it at all, and replied firmly:
"I don't know the Strange Westerners, but I have engaged in the secret intelligence work of the Communist Party, and now the problem between China and Japan is the issue of anti-Japanese resistance, and I hope that Mr. Jiang can lead the people of the whole country to resist Japan."
In fact, Yuan Shu's answer is reasonable, although he is a CCP's Kot personnel, he does not know this "strange Westerner", because he joined the work of the Far East Intelligence Bureau shortly before this incident.
Soon after he gathered intelligence for the Far East Bureau, the "Strange Westers" case occurred. So the incident was also a sudden blow to him!
Despite this, Yuan Shu was eventually sentenced!
Figure | Li
Soon after, Yuan Shu was escorted to Wuhan and tried by the Wuhan Xingying Court!
However, for Yuan Shu's "crimes", someone had already "doted" him up and down, so that when the verdict was pronounced, the court did not give a heavy sentence, but gave it a light sentence. Even when describing his "crime", he deliberately excused him!
For example, Yuan Shuming was secretly arrested by the military command, but at the time of the verdict, he was said to have "voluntarily surrendered himself." At the time of conviction, it was only sentenced to "ideological and cultural crimes" of "propagating ideas incompatible with the Three People's Principles", and finally sentenced to 2 years and nine months in prison, but the actual sentence was only one year and three months.
In addition, Yuan Shu did not complete his sentence on time, but was rescued by all parties and was released early in the second year.
After Yuan Shu was released from prison, in order to get rid of the surveillance of secret agents, he returned to Shanghai to find Feng Xuefeng, who had just come to Shanghai from northern Shaanxi.
Yuan Shu reported to Feng Xuefeng on the situation in recent years, and proposed that he wanted to study in Japan for a while and avoid the wind, Feng Xuefeng agreed, and gave him 50 yuan as a travel fee.
It is worth mentioning that before Yuan Shu left, he also went to the Japanese Consulate in Shanghai for a walk. In view of the fact that Yuan Shu was once an intelligence officer of the Japanese side and took the initiative to come to the door after his release, the consulate naturally welcomed him, not only handling all the formalities for him, but also giving him 200 yuan as a coil.
Later, after Yuan Shu arrived in Japan, he immediately went to find Iwai!
For his former "old friends", Iwai Hideichi took good care of Yuan Shu, not only introducing him to the history department of Waseda University, but also introducing many big men from academic and political circles to him. In addition, Iwai will provide him with 150 yuan per month as living expenses.
Of course, the reason why Iwai will take such care of Yuan Shu is naturally not out of any so-called "best friend" feelings, and it is a pure "political investment".
But Yuan Shu is also well aware of this, but he is also happy to use this "special care" of Iwai to plan for himself.
At the beginning of 1937, Sino-Japanese relations became increasingly tense, and various anti-Chinese incidents continued to occur, and many international students, including Yuan Shu, were expelled back to China.
On the eve of Yuan Shu's return to China, Iwai suddenly found Yuan Shu and hoped that he could continue to cooperate with the Japanese side after the "breakdown" of relations between the two countries. Although Yuan Shu did not explicitly reply to Iwai, he was very reluctant in his heart, but if his superiors had a request, then he would also unconditionally obey the arrangement!
Therefore, after returning to China, Yuan Shu immediately went to Feng Xuefeng and reported to him on his situation in Japan, hoping that the party would give him some instructions for his future work.
In fact, at this time, Yuan Shu's situation had become more and more special and complicated, so Feng Xuefeng didn't know how to be good for a while after listening to it. Moreover, at that time, many comrades already had doubts about Yuan Shu, and some even said that he was already a "turning figure" and could not be easily believed.
Suddenly, Feng Xuefeng was also caught in a dilemma! In the end, he had to let Yuan Shu use his old relationship to find something to do first.
Yuan Shu, who was originally ambitious and had a clear political stance, turned out to be a "blind stream" with no political foothold at this time, and he felt extremely hesitant about it!
Gold always shines! After diving silently for several months, due to the appearance of a person, Yuan Shu saw the dawn of hope again!
Figure | Feng Xuefeng
He is Pan Hannian!
In 1933, Pan Hannian left Shanghai and first went to the Central Soviet Region of Jiangxi, then followed the Red Army to participate in the Long March, and then to the Soviet Union, Nanjing and other places. It was not until the end of 1936 that he returned to Shanghai and, as a representative of the Communist Party of China, began negotiations on a second cooperation with the kuomintang representatives to promote the anti-Japanese national united front.
Later, Pan Hannian served as the director of the CPC Working Committee in Shanghai, and after the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, he served as the director of the Eighth Route Army's office in Shanghai, taking full responsibility for the party's work in Shanghai.
Therefore, Yuan Shu wants to return to the party work, and looking for Pan Hannian is undoubtedly his best choice!
Therefore, Yuan Shu reported to Pan Hannian his experience in recent years, and also handed over several military maps he had brought back from Japan to Pan Hannian, the purpose of which was to continue to work under the leadership of the party!
At the same time, after the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Dai Kasa, the big man of the Kuomintang Military Command Bureau, urgently needed intelligence from the Japanese army, but he was suffering from no way out, and finally under the reminder of Du Yuesheng, Dai Kasa made a special trip to visit Yuan Shu and said that he would entrust him with a heavy responsibility.
At that time, it was the period of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communists in resisting Japan, and if Yuan Shu joined the military command according to Dai Kasa's intentions, then the great plan of resisting Japan undoubtedly played a positive role; in addition, Yuan Shu's entry into the military command bureau was bound to play a positive role in intelligence in the future.
Therefore, at this time, allowing Yuan Shu to participate in military unification is undoubtedly beneficial and harmless. Because of this, after Yuan Shu reported the matter to Pan Hannian, Pan Hannian readily agreed, saying: "This is a good thing, the opportunity is rare, you must not miss the opportunity, you must agree to all the requirements of Dai Kasa." ”
After joining the military command, Yuan Shu can be said to want the wind to get the wind and the rain to get the rain!
After joining the military command, Yuan Shu became the leader of the international intelligence group in the Shanghai district of the military command!
In this way, Yuan Shu gained the five-party background of military unification, central unification, Japan, the Qinghong Gang, and the CCP, and became a veritable "five-sided spy."
After that, Dai Kasa personally assigned him two important tasks: one was to collect intelligence from the Japanese side; the other was that no matter how the situation changed, he must stay in Shanghai;
In fact, from the two tasks arranged by Dai Kasa, it is not difficult for us to see that the first is of course for the purpose of the War of Resistance, but the second is somewhat targeted to our side!
After that, Yuan Shu conveniently used his various connections to obtain a large amount of Japanese intelligence, and with the consent of Pan Hannian, selectively reported it to the military command.
On August 13, 1937, the Battle of Songhu broke out! In order to detect the movements of the Japanese army, Yuan Shu stayed outside the degree, disguised as a Japanese student, and went deep into the Japanese position alone to investigate.
During this period, Yuan Shu reported all the information obtained from the investigation to Pan Hannian, and some of the information was screened and then provided to the military commander. It is precisely because of the information provided by Yuan Shu that the Chinese side has avoided great losses to a certain extent.
After Shanghai became an "isolated island," Pan Hannian evacuated Shanghai for Hong Kong, while Yuan Shu was ordered to continue to work in Shanghai and set up a "secret action group" to punish aggressors and traitors. In addition, he also led the agents of the military command to successfully blow up the Japanese naval munitions warehouse in Hongkou, and the Military Command Bureau also gave him a great credit for this!
It is worth mentioning that Yuan Shu, who stayed in Shanghai, often used the sign of "Iwai Mansion" and used his "old friend's" money to set up radio stations for party organizations and provide activity funds;
The residence of a Japanese person has thus become a working base for CCP intelligence, and I have to admire Yuan Shu's wisdom!
But that's not all! Soon after, Yuan Shu held a series of pseudo-positions in the Wang puppet government, such as the director of the Jiangsu Provincial Education Department and the pseudo-security commander. Deeply trusted by the Wang puppet government.
In early December 1941, the Pacific War officially began, and the Japanese army began a large-scale attack on Hong Kong.
In order to better cover the safe evacuation of Soong Ching-ling, He Xiangning, and other cultural and democratic figures in Hong Kong, Yuan Shu was instructed by his superiors to take advantage of his position in the Wang puppet government to successfully help them leave Hong Kong safely!
In addition, he also took advantage of his position on many occasions to provide the CPC Central Committee with many important information such as the change of personnel in the Japanese puppet government, the deployment of Japanese troops in southern Jiangsu, and the operation to clear the countryside. For example, he used his position to rescue captured soldiers of the New Fourth Army and more than thirty local party and group cadres.
In the autumn of 1942, Liu Xiao and Pan Hannian, then secretaries of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, received orders from their superiors to transfer to the base areas of the New Fourth Army. In order to enable them to move safely, Yuan Shu accepted the task of covering the retreat.
Zhenjiang was originally a major transportation route connecting northern Jiangsu, but Yuan Shu took advantage of his position and power, coupled with his relationship with Wang puppet government personnel, to obtain a large amount of intelligence, making Zhenjiang, where he held a puppet post, a key diversion route for CCP personnel.
This pass is nothing more than an amulet, allowing Pan Hannian to travel safely. And to do this, Yuan Shu is naturally indispensable!
However, when the War of Resistance Came to an end, Yuan Shu was faced with a difficult choice for his future destination!
At the beginning of 1945, China's war of resistance was nearing its end, the world anti-fascist war had become an irreversible situation, and the Wang puppet government was about to run out of gas. To this end, Yuan Shu resigned from his pseudo-post and retained only a pseudo-Shanghai municipal government senatorial title.
In fact, for Yuan Shu at that time, there were three paths in front of him: one was to go to Japan; the second was to accept the kuomintang's incorporation; and the third was to return to the revolutionary road that he had pursued and fought, that is, to return to the CCP!
If he chooses the first one, then he will become a veritable "traitor", and this is naturally undesirable for Yuan Shu, who has strong patriotic feelings.
If he chooses the second way, although he can get a high-ranking official Houlu, this is not what he is pursuing, and during the period of participating in the revolution, he has long believed that only the Communist Party can save China, and only by supporting the Communist Party can the people live and work in peace and contentment...
Therefore, he chose the third way - to continue to dedicate his life to the cause of the revolution!
Before leaving, he packed up all the assets worth tens of millions of yuan in the "Iwai Mansion" and handed them over to the Shanghai secret party organization! It embodies the spirit of being a Communist Party member!
Yuan Shu chose the right path for himself, but the Kuomintang wanted him as a "traitor"! What's going on?
Figure | In 1984, Yuan Shu took a group photo with Pan Han's sister Pan Yuqin at Pan Hannian's former residence
In early October 1945, Yuan Shu, under the meticulous arrangements of the Shanghai Communist Party secret organization and the Liaison Department of the Central China Bureau, went to the Huaiyin Liberated Area through the zhejiang east column detachment of the New Fourth Army.
After arriving at the station, Chen Yi, Rao Shushi and others picked up the wind and dust for him and warmly welcomed his arrival. After that, Yuan Shu secretly transferred to the Liberated Areas of Northern Jiangsu, officially ending his 15-year secret intelligence career.
It was not until the following year that the Kuomintang side learned of Yuan Shu's return to the Liberated Areas, so they regarded him as a "traitor" and even sent someone to Suzhou to raid Yuan Shu's home.
After returning to the Liberated Areas, Yuan Shu was specially re-registered with the Party by the Organization Department and appointed him as the director of the First Liaison Work Committee of the East China Bureau, mainly responsible for the counter-insurgency work in the Ninghu area of the Kuomintang Region. Later, in order to facilitate his work, Yuan Shu changed his name to "Zeng Dazhai". The name was used for forty years.
After the liberation of Peiping, Li Kenong personally transferred Yuan Shu to work in the Liaison Department of the General Intelligence Administration of the State Council and the Central Bureau's Military Commission, which can be said to be the highest moment in Yuan Shu's life.
In order to thank the organization for its cultivation and trust, Yuan Shu worked very seriously, working until late at night every day. Later, Yuan Shu was also invited to the ministry to give a report on intelligence work to the young comrades, and Commander-in-Chief Zhu also praised him after listening to it: Yuan Shu is "a rare talent on the intelligence work front of our party!" ”
However, the queen of heaven is unpredictable! Yuan Shu, who was at the peak of his life, suddenly suffered from the Waterloo of life!
Figure | Yuan Shu (second from right) poses with his son Zeng Hu (first from left) and students in 1984
In April 1955, the Pan Hannian unjust case suddenly occurred, and the "mountain rain is about to come and the wind fills the building", and almost none of the secret party members who had worked for Pan Hannian in Shanghai were spared.
On the 26th of the same year, Yuan Shu, who was now 44 years old, was suddenly arrested and imprisoned, and sentenced to 12 years in prison. However, after completing his sentence, he was imprisoned for another 8 years.
In 1975, Yuan Shu, who had been imprisoned for 20 years, was released from prison and was sent to a farm in Dajunshan, Wuchang, for farm transformation. It was not until 1982 that Yuan Shu was rehabilitated and restored to his party membership.
On the same day, Yuan Shu wrote in his diary:
"At this point, after 20 years in prison, I have experienced a chaotic career and have begun to see the light of day again; the greatness and glory of the Communist Party of China have reached my body, and all unjust, false and wrongly decided cases have been rehabilitated under the illumination of the spirit of seeking truth from facts."
On November 26, 1987, the legendary "five-faced spy" Yuan Shu officially completed his life at the age of 76 and was buried in the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery.
At the end of the article, let us pay high respect to the revolutionary Yuan Shu of the older generation!