In turbulent times, the life and death of underground party members are often tied to the front line. As an important person, Xu Tian encountered many crises on the way to Shanghai. Before his death, Lao Sun handed over the task of connecting to Xu Tian, but the identity of the connector has always been a mystery. It wasn't until I understood these three details that I suddenly realized that the person who connected the connector was Boss Wu of the Tongfuli Hotel! What are the three details? Let us dismantle them one by one.
1. Xu Tian's arduous road to Shanghai
In the spring of 1923, an important action concerning the cause of national liberation was about to begin. Xu Tian, who was 26 years old at the time, was selected by the Soviet organization to go to Shanghai to escort a batch of arms and pass on important information. This task was full of dangers, and Xu Tian had to disguise himself as a businessman in order to hide his eyes.
Lao Sun, an experienced underground party member, was sent to Fujian to escort Xu Tian to Shanghai. Before leaving, Lao Sun repeatedly told Xu Tian to be extra careful on the road and not to show his feet. With trepidation, the two stepped on the train to Shanghai.
Unexpectedly, a gang of robbers would get into the same carriage! The robbers soon discovered the three gold bars Xu Tian was carrying, which were arms funds donated by the Soviet District. A vicious fight unfolded in the narrow carriage, and Lao Sun tried his best to protect Xu Tian, but unfortunately he was accidentally injured by the robber's dagger.
In the chaos, Xu Tian's important letters and photos were also snatched. This is the key clue to his connection with underground party members in Shanghai, and if it is lost, the whole operation will be seriously affected.
Finally escaped, Lao Sun and Xu Tian had to get off the bus halfway to look for the letters and photos that had been left behind. They searched around and finally found a clue in a small inn. It turned out that the gang of robbers was hiding here, and Lao Sun used a trick to get the letters and photos back.
However, the three gold bars were missing, and Lao Sun judged that they were likely to fall into the hands of Wu Da, the seventh master surnamed Sanzhai in western Fujian. Sanzhai surnamed Yu is a well-known local bandit den, and Wu Da is a crazy gangster, so Lao Sun had to make a desperate bet to ask for gold bars.
Second, the old grandson's deathbed entrustment
Xu Tian was obstructed by Wu Da and finally escaped from the cottage surnamed Yu. But Lao Sun was seriously injured and finally martyred. Before dying, Lao Sun entrusted the joint task to Xu Tian and explained some key details.
First of all, Lao Sun instructed Xu Tian not to immediately go to Yang Zhi, the designated liaison of the Soviet District, after arriving in Shanghai, but to stay at the Tongfuli Hotel in the Public Concession first. Located in the French Concession, this hotel was one of the busiest areas in Shanghai at that time.
Secondly, Lao Sun specially told Xu Tian to live in a room with a Fu name. The rooms in Tongfuli Hotel are divided into different sizes according to their grades, and Fuzi is naturally the highest and most expensive. It stands to reason that Xu Tian, a party member disguised as a businessman, could have the money to live in the most expensive room? Obviously, this is a code word that hides a certain deep meaning.
In the end, Lao Sun said that if the Fuzihao is full, then open another room to live in, and then transfer to the Fuzihao room after two days. This undoubtedly further deepens the mystery of this code.
Xu Tian traveled all the way and finally came to the Tongfuli Hotel in Shanghai. He followed Lao Sun's instructions and wanted to open a Fu number room. However, the waiter told him that the Fuzi Hotel was currently full, so he could only open other rooms to live in first, and then transfer it two days later.
Xu Tian knew in his heart that this was exactly the code that Lao Sun had instructed! He immediately understood, and took the initiative to say that it didn't matter, just open an ordinary room for two days. Seeing this, the waiter also seemed to have some understanding.
In the next two days, Xu Tian was always cautious, for fear that his every move would be discovered. Sure enough, early on the morning of the third day, there was a knock on his door.
Three, three implications that Boss Wu is the connector
Although Lao Sun did not clearly inform Xu Tian of the identity of the person, he left three important clues, which implied that Boss Wu of Tongfuli Hotel was the person Xu Tian wanted to connect.
The first clue is that Boss Wu did not express any objection to Xu Tian's request to open a Fu number room. Generally speaking, innkeepers would be surprised if it was an ordinary traveler who made such a strange request. But Boss Wu seemed to have taken precautions and turned a blind eye to it.
The second clue is that Xu Tian, Zhang Jiayi and Jia Ruolan returned to Tongfuli Hotel after escaping from Songhe Tower. Due to Zhang Jiayi's injury, there were blood stains from the door to the room. As the owner of the hotel, Boss Wu should have called the police as soon as he found out about this situation. But he didn't, but went to the door first to check if anyone was following, and then washed the blood stains with clean water. This kind of action is undoubtedly covering the whereabouts of Xu Tian and the others.
The third clue is a scene that happened when the sixth uncle found the Tongfuli Hotel. At that time, Xu Tian's room had been arranged for a disguised couple to live. The lady in this "couple" found blood stains on the sheets, and immediately sat on them and folded their clothes to cover them, in case the sixth uncle found clues. What's more, as soon as the sixth uncle left, Boss Wu and the "couple" immediately went down to the kitchen, and Tao Tao, who came to look for Zhang Jiayi, was hiding there at this time.
Fourth, Xu Tian finally met with the connector "Huanyan".
Early in the morning of the third day, there was a knock on the door of Xu Tian's room, and he opened the door carefully, only to see a middle-aged man standing outside the door, looking amiable.
"You're Mr. Xu, right? I'm Wu Youde, the owner of Tongfuli Hotel. The man introduced himself.
Xu Tian was stunned, and knew in his heart that this was the connector in Lao Sun's mouth! He hurriedly invited Boss Wu in.
Boss Wu first looked around the room and confirmed that it was all right, and then he said: "Comrade Lao Sun unfortunately died in western Fujian, and entrusted you with the task of joint before he died. I'm the one he asks you to connect. ＂
Xu Tian nodded and handed Lao Sun's relics to Boss Wu with both hands. Boss Wu took it and carefully collected it.
"If you have any instructions, I will do my best. Boss Wu said, "But now the situation is critical, it is better for you to stay in the hotel for the time being, and I have arranged cover." ＂
A few days later, Zhang Jiayi and Jia Ruolan were also safely taken to Tongfuli. They had previously been attacked by the sixth uncle in Songhe Tower, but fortunately escaped under the cover of Boss Wu.
More than a month later, the sixth uncle found Tongfuli again, but he had been disguised by Boss Wu as a tenant of an ordinary couple. As soon as the sixth uncle left, Boss Wu immediately arranged for Tao Tao to come to meet Zhang Jiayi and others to discuss the next move.
In this way, under the careful arrangement of Boss Wu, Xu Tian, Zhang Jiayi, Jia Ruolan, Tao Tao and others successively joined Shanghai and made full preparations for the upcoming armed uprising.
On August 1, 1924, this armed contingent led by Xu Tian and others joined forces with various workers' movement teams in Shanghai and launched the famous August 1st Uprising. This marked that the Communist Party of China (CPC) had independently launched an armed struggle and laid a solid foundation for its eventual seizure of power.
Although the uprising ultimately failed, Xu Tian and others regained hope in the turbulent years and wrote a new chapter for the cause of national independence. And Boss Wu and Tongfuli Hotel have become an indelible heroic mark on the party's underground front.