How much suffering did Li Kenong's family go through for the revolution?
Parents, wives and children have all made people cry. Many years later, Yang Shangkun met Li Kenong's descendants and said with emotion, I have held three funerals for your family!
Kuomintang-Communist negotiations - mother dies
Li Kenong was born in Anhui Province, the son of a government tax clerk. The Li family is a traditional family of scholars, adhering to the Confucian concept of cultivating and reading heirlooms.
So Li Kenong's character is "Sawada". However, in the troubled times, the Qing government collapsed, the Beiyang government was in chaos, and experienced the war of resistance against Japan and liberation, and later the Li family and land and real estate were handed over.
Li Kenong went to a private school when he was a child, and when he grew up, he went to a church school, which belongs to the integration of Chinese and Western, and is known throughout ancient and modern times. He worked as a newspaper editor, as a section chief of the county government, and as a school.
As the saying goes, many friends have many paths, and rich work experience is not only conducive to his intelligence work, but also can save his life at a critical moment.
After joining the party in 1926, he was in charge of undercover and organizing the struggle. In 1928, when the Nationalist government wanted to arrest him, Li Kenong fled to Nanjing, where he was discovered by the enemy at the railway station. It was still the progressive students of the school he opened who took the initiative to come forward and cover Li Kenong to get out of danger.
Later, Li Kenong ran a newspaper for our party, made movies, and organized the intelligence work of the Central Special Branch. He also participated in the 25,000-mile Long March, which was to follow our party from a small time and share weal and woe.
In 1946, Li Kenong was in charge of the armistice negotiations of the Chinese Communist Party. His mother died in Shanxi, and he was the secretary of the delegation at that time, and he could not get out.
Yang Shangkun reached out and held a simple and solemn funeral for Li Kenong's mother.
Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea - Father died
In the course of the war, Admiral Li Kenong had many physical problems, and he was even sent to the Soviet zone for a time to recuperate. After the victory of the Liberation War, his physical condition was already quite serious.
During Li Kenong's recuperation, the Chinese People's Volunteers rushed to North Korea and fought fierce battles on the Korean front.
When he learned that the Chinese People's Volunteers had suffered more than 75,000 casualties in the fifth campaign, and that the "United Nations Army" had also lost more than 80,000, he accurately judged that the two sides would enter a strategic confrontation and would need to be resolved through negotiations.
After two months of preparations, Li Kenong returned to China under the stars. After returning to his homeland, he immediately threw himself into intense work, personally inspecting every war report and intelligence.
Li Kenong is in North Korea, sitting is Li Kenong, and behind him is Deng Hua and Qiao Guanhua to reconcile the party
Whether it is the progress of the battle, the change of weather, the melting of ice and snow, and the movement of the enemy, he knows everything one by one. He formed an elite "negotiating department" ready to take on tough challenges.
He worked day and night to analyze every war report and prepare for the negotiations. Li Kenong is extremely sensitive to information about the battle situation, and he knows every set of figures in the battle report well.
His office was always brightly lit, and the guards were worried about his health, but he firmly stated, "If I can think a little more, I can protect our soldiers."
In the early days of the negotiations, the US side was full of self-confidence and arrogant attitude, and during the negotiations, Li Kenong stood firmly on the front line in the face of hot weather, mosquito bites, air raids and floods by the US military.
Li Kenong in Yan'an
Li Kenong showed tenacious perseverance and remarkable wisdom at the negotiating table. He had heated debates with US chief representative Turner Joey and had a long exchange on the "38th parallel" issue.
After two years of arduous negotiations, China and the United States signed the Korean Armistice Agreement on July 27, 1953. Li Kenong played a key role in the negotiations.
During the negotiations in North Korea, Chairman Mao felt sorry for his body and wanted to send Wu Xiuquan to replace Li Kenong, but Li Kenong disobeyed: let Wu Xiuquan stay honest.
The chairman had no choice but to order him to return to China for treatment as soon as he was over. And he treated Wu Xiuquan without reservation, and gave him everything.
In July 1952, just as the smoke of gunfire was burning on the battlefields of Korea, Li Kenong received a letter from his wife informing him of the sad news of his father's death.
After hearing the bad news, Li Kenong's physical condition became worse and worse, with several asthma attacks and fainting many times. The Americans also took advantage of the opportunity to engage in physical tactics, and each time they dragged on the negotiations for a very long time, and on one occasion they even sat in a two-hour demonstration before the negotiations began.
Representative of the US side of the DPRK negotiations
Despite his grief, as a negotiator with a heavy responsibility for the country, Li Kenong could not immediately return to China to mourn. He could only bury his thoughts about his father deep in his heart and continue to stick to the negotiating table.
At this difficult time, Li Kenong received selfless help from Yang Shangkun, who held a funeral for his father, which made Li Kenong deeply comforted.
Li Kenong and his father Li Zheqing
Under his leadership, the DPRK-China negotiating delegation was united in coping with various difficulties and challenges. But as time went on, their morale gradually weakened, and eventually they were worn out of their spirits.
An American who had been involved in the negotiations openly stated at the 1955 conference that at the time of Li Kenong's death, the CIA was even glad that it had lost a strong opponent.
The reason why Li Kenong was able to stick to his post at such a sad time was, on the one hand, because the war launched by the US military made the negotiation process extremely difficult, and on the other hand, because of Chairman Mao's judgment and trust in him.
Li Kenong is well aware of his heavy responsibility, and for the sake of the interests of the country and the nation, he must grit his teeth and persevere to the end. Despite being in a foreign country, Li Kenong's longing for his family has never diminished.
Li Kenong and his wife died of illness one after another
And what makes Li Kenong the most concerned and guilty is his wife Zhao Ying.
Zhao Ying was born in 1898, one year older than Li Kenong, and the two married in 1917. After Li Kenong joined the revolution, Zhao Ying took on the burden of taking care of the family alone and went through hardships.
In 1929, in order to get the code book from the Kuomintang officials, Li Kenong took the initiative to send his wife and children to Shanghai as hostages. Li Kenong's son recalled that at first he thought his father was picking them up for a good life.
Who knew that Zhao Ying's home in Shanghai was next to the bomb, and this woman knew everything. She was even ready to die with the enemy at any time.
This portrait was taken in 1940 in the Guilin office of the Eighth Route Army, unfortunately Comrade Zhao Ying died of illness in Beijing Cancer Hospital in 1961, and since then we have said goodbye!!
Zhao Ying not only did not enjoy any luxurious life in Shanghai, but also pawned her dowry and jewelry, and used it to help the orphans of the sacrifices of our party. Bribe corrupt officials of the Kuomintang and rescue imprisoned comrades.
At his son's wedding after the founding of New China, Li Kenong couldn't hold back his emotions and shed tears, expressing his guilt for his wife and his debt to his family.
Li Kenong's latent and intelligence work can be said to be the line of life and death, he is directly lurking under the nose of the Kuomintang, and behind every piece of information obtained for our party, there is a risk of facing death.
Behind these achievements is the enormous pressure and risk he endured. Admiral Li Kenong worked in a high-pressure environment for a long time, and his mental tension was extremely tense, and he could not rest peacefully, which eventually led to overwork and illness.
His physical condition deteriorated rapidly during this period. Li Lun, the son of Admiral Li Kenong, said in an interview that his father's death was due to brain softening caused by asthma and long-term exertion, rather than persecution as speculated by the outside world.
In 1961, his wife died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Beijing. And only the following year, Li Kenong himself died under the double pressure of asthma and encephalopathy.
The son said that his father's brain lesion was already very serious, and his work delayed treatment. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he relaxed his spirits, and secondly, his mother died, and Li Kenong had no worries, and he died of a serious illness.
Li Kenong with his family
Heroes through the ages
On September 27, 1955, Premier Zhou Enlai personally conferred military ranks on those generals who had made outstanding contributions to the Chinese revolution. Among the many generals, there is one person who stands out from the crowd and is Li Kenong.
In 1955, the scene of the award of the title of Ziguang Pavilion in Zhongnanhai, in the middle of the second row is General Li Kenong
Unlike other generals, Li Kenong did not command large-scale military operations and did not personally go to the battlefield, but he was awarded the rank of founding general, a title that did not cause any objections.
The North Korean negotiations were only part of his glorious revolutionary cause. On the intelligence front, Li Kenong has shown extraordinary talent. He also publicly displayed Chen Tiaoyuan's accounts of receiving black money, thus successfully protecting Comrade Liu Bocheng's safety.
At the tripartite joint meeting in 1945, Li Kenong saw through and defused the KMT's conspiracy based on his years of experience as a secret agent.
He was awarded the rank of founding general. This military rank is not only a personal commendation for Li Kenong, but also a respect and affirmation for all intelligence front workers.
He made great contributions to the party and the army in a low-key manner, and few people know his true identity.
Li Kenong (middle) with Liao Chengzhi (second from right) and Yang Shangkun (first from right) in Yan'an
The ceremony of conferring the rank of founding general on Li Kenong is not only an affirmation of his personal contributions, but also a high respect for the workers of the intelligence front.
Li Kenong himself also said that becoming the founding general is not only a personal glory, but also a glory for all the intelligence front workers who silently dedicate themselves to the revolution.
Whether it is a general who shows courage on the battlefield or an outstanding worker who has dedicated himself to the intelligence front, their contribution is indispensable.