In 1944, the war of resistance against Japan was cruel and ruthless, and Chen Ke, an underground intelligence officer of the Eighth Route Army, was arrested by the Japanese puppet army. Just before he was escorted to the execution ground and awaited the execution, a traitor actually volunteered to "deal with" Chen Ke, and said to the Japanese officer, "Taijun, leave this person to me, I can handle it." Immediately after, only two gunshots were heard, and the next day Chen Ke woke up outside the blockade area, but the face of the traitor leader appeared in front of him. What is going on? Why did the traitors save the Eighth Route Army? What happened to Chen Ke? Let's find out.
1. Chen Ke's past and present life
On the loess of the Shandong Peninsula, a small village stands quietly, which is Chen Ke's hometown. In 1914, Chen Ke was born into a family of scholars. His father, Chen Wenyuan, was a well-known local private school teacher, and his mother, Zhang Shuxian, was a gentle and virtuous traditional woman.
In that turbulent era, the Chen family's life was quite decent. Chen Wenyuan is well aware of the importance of knowledge and hopes that his son will become a learned man in the future. So when Chen Ke was 6 years old, Chen Wenyuan let him study in a private school. Chen Ke was bright and studious since he was a child, and coupled with his family history, he quickly mastered the curriculum of the private school. By the age of 15, Chen Ke was able to master various subjects such as composition, character practice, and arithmetic.
In 1929, Chen Ke was admitted to Shandong Provincial First Normal School as he wished. Soon after the start of the school year, a patriotic upsurge was set off on the campus, and Chen Ke was also infected by this wave. He began to come into contact with Marxist theory and gradually established a lofty ideal of seeking happiness for the Chinese people. In 1932, on the recommendation of a progressive teacher, Chen Ke joined the Chinese Communist Party.
After graduating from university, Chen Ke could have found a decent position in the city with a good academic degree, but insisted on returning to his hometown to teach. During the day, he taught and educated people in the school, and at night, he secretly carried out party propaganda work in the village. In 1937, under the arrangement of the party organization, Chen Ke went to northern Shaanxi and joined the Eighth Route Army. Since then, he has become an underground intelligence agent and has silently dedicated his youth to the cause of the party and the people.
2. The mission to assassinate traitors is in crisis
In 1944, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression had entered its final stage. At this critical juncture, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to take action to eliminate the potential threat of traitors to the revolutionary cause. As a senior underground party member, Chen Ke was ordered to go to Shanghai to assassinate the traitor leader Liu Bengong.
Liu Bengong was originally Chen Ke's fellow villager, and the two have known each other since childhood. However, Liu Bengong was greedy and murderous, and defected to the Japanese puppet regime after the Japanese invasion of China. With the betrayal of his compatriots, Liu Bengong soon rose to prominence among the traitors and was appointed as an important member of the Shanghai puppet government. His hands were stained with the blood of his compatriots, and his crimes were too numerous to mention.
In order to complete the assassination mission, Chen Ke disguised himself as a businessman and infiltrated the Shanghai Concession. He secretly investigated all the whereabouts of Liu Bengong, and finally ambushed near Liu Bengong's mansion in the middle of the night. That's when an unexpected episode happened. A thief suddenly appeared and cut through Chen's package, scattering newspapers inside.
Just as Chen Ke was scrambling to clean up the mess, a Japanese officer unexpectedly arrived. The officer found the contents of the newspaper on the ground suspicious and immediately ordered Chen Ke to be arrested. Chen Ke was quickly escorted to the Japanese base camp and put in a cell.
From then on, Chen Ke began a long and painful life as a prisoner. The Japanese army tortured him in various ways and tried to extract the secret information of the underground party from his mouth. But Chen Ke gritted his teeth and never said a word. The guards mistreated him more and more cruelly, and even on several occasions, Chen Ke thought he couldn't hold on.
Just when Chen Ke thought that he was destined to be martyred, an unexpected turning point appeared. A familiar figure appeared in the cell......
An unexpected turning point
The night shrouded the Japanese prisoner's cell, and Chen Ke huddled in the corner, covered in scars. Just when he thought his life was near, the door to his cell was suddenly pushed open. A familiar figure appeared at the door, it was the traitor leader Liu Bengong.
Chen Ke never expected that he would reunite with Liu Bengong in this situation. Anger and incomprehension churned in his heart, and he scolded: "Liu Bengong, you have actually taken refuge in the Japanese devils and committed such traitorous acts! I would rather die than bow down to something like you!"
To Chen Ke's surprise, Liu Bengong did not get angry, but walked slowly to his side and said in a low voice: "Chen Ke, I know you must hate me now. But I'm not here to convince you to surrender, but to make amends for your mistakes. ＂
After speaking, Liu Bengong suddenly took out a pistol and aimed it at Chen Ke's neck. Chen Ke was startled, thinking that Liu Bengong was going to kill him on the spot. However, at this moment, Liu Bengong suddenly dropped the muzzle of the gun and smashed it Chen Ke's neck. Chen Ke only felt a sharp pain in his neck, and as soon as his eyes went dark, he lost consciousness.
By the time Chen Ke woke up again, it was already dawn the next day. He found himself lying in a modest hut, his wounds bandaged. And right next to him, there was Liu Bengong's figure.
It turned out that on that night, Liu Bengong risked his life and secretly infiltrated the base camp of the Japanese army. He first pretended to torture Chen Ke so as not to arouse the suspicion of the guards. Then, taking advantage of the trap, he stunned Chen Ke with the handle of his gun and took him out of the base camp.
In order to hide people's eyes, Liu Bengong also deliberately arranged a "stand-in" to act as Chen Ke. Early the next morning, the stand-in was escorted to the execution ground, and Chen Ke had left safely by the time of the execution.
IV. Final Ending
After this thrilling experience, Chen Ke finally got rid of the threat of death and returned to the arms of the Eighth Route Army. And Liu Bengong's fate went to a completely different path.
Liu Bengong's rescue made Chen Ke surprised. It turned out that in his years of traitorous career, Liu Bengong had also felt guilty and remorseful several times, but he never had the opportunity to make up for his mistakes. When he learned that Chen Ke had been arrested and was about to be executed, Liu Bengong made up his mind to try to rescue this fellow countryman at the risk of his life.
After Chen Ke was rescued by Liu Bengong, he immediately returned to the garrison of the Eighth Route Army and reported the matter truthfully. After studying, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to give Liu Bengong a chance to reform himself. Under the arrangement of the Eighth Route Army, Liu Bengong was sent to a secret labor camp, where he underwent a seven-year labor reform.
During the period of labor reform, Liu Bengong was diligent and performed well. He deeply reflected on his past crimes and vowed to spend the rest of his life serving the people and making up for his past mistakes. In 1951, Liu Bengong regained his freedom and was placed to work in a state-owned factory until his retirement.
At the same time, Chen Ke did not disappoint the expectations of the organization and continued to contribute his strength to the revolutionary cause. He successively served as the head of several underground intelligence sites, and provided a lot of valuable information for the battles of the Eighth Route Army. After this operation in Shanghai, Chen Ke was ordered to carry out several dangerous secret missions, which can be said to have established many meritorious achievements.
In 1949, New China was finally born. Under the party's arrangement, Chen Ke was transferred to work in a certain central organ and served until his retirement. In his later years, he recalled those difficult years many times and was relieved that Liu Bengong finally chose justice.
All the past has finally turned into the dust of history. That brutal war is long gone. Peace and freedom, on the other hand, have become the new goals that people are pursuing.