On October 29, 1907, the county that had interrogated and executed Qiu Jin ordered Li Zhongyue to hang himself in his home in Hangzhou, taking advantage of his family's lack of preparation, and after this news came out, the soldiers and civilians of Zhejiang all felt deplored, and the national newspapers reported that for a time public opinion was in an uproar, and everyone blamed Zhang Zengyang, the governor of Zhejiang at that time, and Guifu, the governor of Shaoxing.
As we all know, Qiu Jin is a generation of revolutionary female martyrs, so why did Li Zhongyue, the county commander who interrogated and executed her, choose to hang herself a hundred days after she was beheaded? Many people speculate that it is because of guilt.
In 1906, Qiu Jin and other revolutionaries held a meeting in Shanghai and decided to hold an uprising in Anhui, Zhejiang to overthrow the Manchu Qing government, and the Zhejiang uprising was led by Qiu Jin.
On July 6, the Anhui revolutionaries in Anqing hastily revolted, which was immediately suppressed, and when Zhang Zengyang, the governor of Zhejiang, learned of this, he immediately ordered the closure of the Datong Academy and the arrest of Qiu Jin and others, a task that eventually fell to Li Zhongyue of Shanyin County.
Although Li Zhongyue was a Manchu Qing official, he admired Qiu Jin very much, and he often used Qiu Jin as an example and taught his son to "be able to poetry with a woman, and win over many generations!" Now that he had been ordered to arrest Qiu Jin, Li Zhongyue was very entangled in his heart, and he was well aware of the local people's feelings for Qiu Jin, so he immediately reported to him that he should not be arrested by force, and should first secretly investigate whether it was true, and then decide whether to arrest him.
After all, Li Zhongyue was only a small county order, and under the pressure of his superior, Guifu, the prefect of Shaoxing, Li Zhongyue could only lead people to seal the Datong Academy and arrest Qiu Jin.
On July 14, Li Zhongyue tried Qiu Jin in the courtroom, although Qiu Jin was a sinner at the time, but Li Zhongyue did not talk to Qiu Jin as a sinner, but like an old friend, the two talked for two hours, like a guest, after this matter was learned by Guifu, he fiercely trained Li Zhongyue and asked him why he did not torture Qiu Jin, and Li Zhongyue refuted it with insufficient evidence.
At the request of Zhang Zengyang, the governor of Zhejiang, Guifu wanted to execute Qiu Jin immediately, and Li Zhongyue knew that he could not resist and could only act according to the order, and on July 15, Li Zhongyue raised Qiu Jin to the lobby. "I really don't want to kill you, but my words don't work, I hope you understand."
Before Qiu Jin died, he made several requests to Li Zhongyue, not to be beheaded, not to strip clothes after punishment, and so on, Li Zhongyue agreed one by one, and at four o'clock in the morning, Qiu Jin was heroic and righteous.
After Qiu Jin was killed, Li Zhongyue always felt guilty in his heart, and then he was dismissed from his post for shielding Qiu Jin and returned to live in Hangzhou, every time he saw Qiu Jin's last words "Autumn wind, autumn rain and autumn scorching people", Li Zhongyue was not at peace in his heart, for Qiu Jin's death, he could not be relieved in his heart, and finally he had the belief of taking his own life.
Li Zhongyue had attempted suicide several times, was guarded against by his family, and finally on October 29, Li Zhongyue hanged himself in his home, at this time, just over a hundred days after Qiu Jin.
After the founding of the Republic of China, Qiu Jin became a female martyr praised by everyone, and her ancestral hall was built to the edge of the West Lake in Hangzhou, feeling the loyalty of Li Zhongyue, the county commander, And Li Zhongyue's divine throne was also enshrined in the Qiu Jin Ancestral Hall, and then the people of the two families also became close friends.