In the shadow of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the fate of the traitor Li Shiqun was like a dangerous gamble, and every step was on the tip of the knife.
One night in September 1943, he was invited by Okamura, the chief of the special high section of the Japanese gendarmerie, to attend a seemingly ordinary family dinner.
But behind this feast, there is a deadly conspiracy that pulls the thread of power, betrayal, and death. Li Shiqun did not realize that this would be the last feast of his life.
The aroma of the beef patty is adulterated with amoebic toxins, which is a carefully planned killing game by the Japanese. Li Shiqun's body was quickly eroded by the toxin, and his life passed slowly and irreversibly.
His death is not only the end of a traitor's career, but also a microcosm of a complex history, unveiling the prelude to power, betrayal and conspiracy.
Li Shiqun: From protest to mutiny
In 1932, in the midst of the capricious political situation, Li Shiqun once again became a prisoner of the Kuomintang Central Unified Special Service.
This arrest was unlike any other in that he was taken directly to the secret interrogation chamber of the Central Union, a place of notoriously harsh torture.
The walls of the interrogation room were covered with various torture instruments, and iron locks, whips, electric batons, and other tools were placed aside, foreshadowing the harsh interrogation that would follow.
During the interrogation, Li Shiqun was confronted with an iron-faced and selfless interrogator and underwent a series of physical and psychological tortures. His moans and the interrogator's cold questions echoed in the torture chamber, a scene that seemed extremely brutal to outsiders.
The Central Secret Service is adept at psychological tactics, using not only physical pain, but also intricate psychological games to break prisoners' wills through verbal threats and intricate psychological games.
After several days and nights of interrogation, Li Shiqun's body had reached its limit. Taking advantage of this, the agents of the Central Command continued to increase the intensity and frequency of interrogations.
They recorded Li Shiqun's every reaction and change in detail, analyzed his every sentence in detail, and tried to find flaws and intelligence from it. In such an extreme environment, Li Shiqun's resistance gradually weakened.
Subsequently, Zhongtong began to exert more complex psychological pressure on Li Shiqun, promising him freedom and power as long as he could betray his original beliefs and work for Zhongtong.
Faced with the critical moment of life and death, Li Shiqun made a decision, he began to betray the faith in his original heart, leaked information to the Central Union, and gradually transformed into an intelligence officer of the Central Union.
The War of Resistance and the Complete Loss of Faith
When the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out, all sectors of Chinese society were working hard for the survival of the country. Against this historical background, Li Shiqun's life and activities have also undergone significant changes.
He was originally an intelligence officer of the Central Command, and he had become cunning and suspicious in internal struggles and external tasks. But as the effects of the war deepened, he began to feel unprecedented pressures and challenges.
In the context of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Li Shiqun's life and behavior became more and more complex and changeable. His experiences and observations within the Central Command led him to accumulate a deep dissatisfaction and hatred for this organization.
This long-term accumulation of emotions eventually led him to take decisive action: stealing a large amount of Sichuan capital and spy funds, and plotting to flee to Hong Kong.
Li Shiqun's escape was extremely secretive and meticulous. He used his experience and resources in the intelligence system to circumvent the surveillance of the Central Union and other Kuomintang forces, and successfully transferred large sums of money and important documents to Hong Kong.
After arriving in Hong Kong, Li Shiqun quickly hid his whereabouts and began to look for new backers and partners. Due to the large amount of intelligence and funds in his hands, he quickly attracted the attention of many forces, including the Japanese.
After a series of secret negotiations and negotiations, Li Shiqun chose to take refuge in the Japanese and became their partner, the so-called "traitor" in the history of the nation.
Li Shiqun provided the Japanese with a great deal of important intelligence and resources to help them better understand the political and military situation in China.
His actions not only had a certain impact on the War of Resistance Against Japan, but also made his status and influence among the Japanese rapidly increase.
He became more involved in a variety of Japanese operations in China, including intelligence gathering, strategic planning, and even direct military operations.
In cooperation with the Japanese, Li Shiqun not only provided intelligence, but also used his influence and resources to delicately balance and manipulate between the Japanese and other Chinese forces, for which many innocent citizens and patriots died tragically at his hands.
As a traitor, he must not only be always vigilant against China's anti-Japanese forces, but also carefully handle his relations with the Japanese to avoid becoming the object of their use and sacrifice. In this complex situation, Li Shiqun's actions and decisions have become more cautious and cunning.
Expansion of power and internal contradictions
Thanks to Li Shiqun's efforts, his influence continued to expand, and he not only mastered a large number of intelligence resources, but also gradually established his own network of forces.
This expansion of power allowed him to grow in influence in and around the Japanese-occupied zone. Li Shiqun began to have more frequent contacts with the top Japanese military and political leaders and participated in more decision-making and actions.
In this process, Li Shiqun's behavior began to gradually become domineering. He often ignores established rules and protocols and acts on his own terms.
This not only affected the cooperative relationship with the Japanese, but also caused serious contradictions between him and other traitor forces, including his promoter Zhou Fohai. As a result, the relationship between Li Shiqun and Zhou Fohai became strained, and there were many conflicts and disputes.
Li Shiqun's self-confidence and arrogance gradually aroused dissatisfaction and suspicion within Wang's puppet regime and among the Japanese.
Some of his actions were considered ultra vires and destabilizing factors, and even raised questions about the loyalty and controllability of the Japanese to him.
Within Wang's puppet regime, there were also many people who felt uneasy and disgusted by Li Shiqun's rapid rise and individualistic behavior.
Due to Li Shiqun's overconfidence and pursuit of power, he began to gradually ignore the opinions and feelings of those around him.
He often makes decisions unilaterally, despite the objections or warnings of others. This behavior deepened the contradictions between him and those around him, and made his position within Wang's puppet regime precarious.
In the midst of power struggles and internal contradictions, cracks began to appear in Li Shiqun's influence and control. Some of his decisions and actions were restricted, and some of his plans and ideas could not be implemented.
His power within Wang's puppet regime was gradually weakened, and some important functions and responsibilities were transferred to others. This state of being hollowed out gradually diminished his power and influence.
Li Shiqun's relationship with the Japanese was also complicated by a series of his actions. The Japanese began to monitor and restrict him more strictly, and some of his activities and plans required the approval of the Japanese to carry out. Under these circumstances, Li Shiqun's space for action is becoming more and more limited, and his power and influence are further declining.
The conspiracy of poisoning and Ye Jiqing's despair
In September 1943, Li Shiqun's fate came to a critical turning point. Until then, his relationship with the Japanese gendarmerie had been relatively stable, but a hidden rift had formed.
At that time, Okamura, chief of the special high-level section of the Japanese gendarmerie, invited Li Shiqun in the name of a family banquet. This seemingly ordinary social invitation actually hides a deadly conspiracy.
The banquet was held in Okamura's private residence, and the atmosphere seemed to be harmonious and enjoyable. The banquet was filled with a variety of Japanese and Chinese dishes, including specially prepared beef patties.
In this seemingly friendly gathering, Li Shiqun was completely unaware of the impending danger. In fact, the Japanese have already added deadly amoebic toxins to beef patties.
As the banquet progressed, Li Shiqun unknowingly consumed these beef patties. The amoebic toxin worked quickly in the body, and Li Shiqun soon developed symptoms of physical discomfort, including severe abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Although the initial symptoms seemed less severe, Mr. Li's condition soon deteriorated.
Over the next few days, Li Shiqun's health deteriorated rapidly and eventually he died of a severe infection caused by the amoebic toxin.
His sudden death caused quite a stir at the time, especially for those who knew about his relationship with the Japanese gendarmerie, and it was a clear sign that the Japanese had begun to purge them of traitors who posed a threat to them.
Li Shiqun's wife, Ye Jiqing, was shocked and unacceptable by her husband's death.
In her opinion, Li Shiqun invested a lot of energy and time for the Japanese, sacrificing his faith and nation, but finally got such an ending. Ye Jiqing couldn't stand this fact, and she decided to seek an explanation from the Japanese.
Ye Jiqing forcibly broke into the office of the Japanese gendarmerie and demanded an interview with the person in charge. Her actions caught the attention of Japanese officials, but the reaction of the other party was filled with indifference and indifference.
In a confrontation with Japanese officials, Ye Jiqing vehemently expressed her anger and dissatisfaction, accusing the Japanese of betraying her husband and demanding an explanation and compensation for Li Shiqun's death.
The accusations made by the Japanese against Ye Jiqing were clearly carefully planned. Not only did they refuse to admit responsibility for Li Shiqun's death, but instead put the blame on Ye Jiqing: "It was you who murdered Li Shiqun with Chu Linsun!", claiming that it was her inappropriate relationship with Li Shiqun's personal doctor, Chu Linsun, that led to the tragedy.
The Japanese gendarmerie even produced some so-called "evidence" to try to prove that there was some kind of improper relationship between Ye Jiqing and Chu Linsun, and implied that they conspired to kill Li Shiqun in order to cover up the relationship.
Such accusations caused some commotion in Mr. Li's former sphere of influence. Because Ye Jiqing's private life was magnified and distorted, some people began to doubt her.
In the social context of the time, this moral accusation was enough to discredit a person, especially for a woman.
Among Li Shiqun's subordinates, some of them were dissatisfied and resentful of his death, and began to listen to and believe him, turning their anger and suspicion to Ye Jiqing.
In this environment, Ye Jiqing felt embarrassed. She tried to defend herself, to refute these baseless accusations, but her voice was insignificant in the face of strong political and social pressure. Her quest for justice and innocence continues to be thwarted, and her surroundings are increasingly unfavorable to her.
Through this series of operations, the Japanese gendarmerie effectively diverted people's attention from the truth of Li Shiqun's death, and at the same time stabilized their own position and influence.
They took advantage of the morality and prejudice against women in society at the time to portray Ye Jiqing as a disloyal and unfaithful figure to cover up their own crimes.
Wang Jianguo." "Qingxiang Movement" and the death of Li Shiqun[J].Anhui Historiography,2004(6):55-589