During the years of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the Civil War between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, China's intelligence battlefield was not only a rain of bullets, but also a silent war of torture. In this war, both the military commanders of the Kuomintang and the underground agents of the Communist Party experienced unimaginable tribulations. But have you ever wondered why those iron-clad agents would rather commit suicide than be captured by the enemy? Today, we are going to uncover those horrific torture methods and those secrets that are difficult to reveal in the shadow of history. How did they maintain their last dignity in the face of torture, and what kind of psychological struggle made them finally make that decision?
In 20th-century China, military command was not only the Kuomintang's most powerful intelligence agency, but also one of the most feared. The brutality of the torture methods of this intelligence empire built by Dai Li has terrified countless people. Among them, the most well-known are probably those legendary torture chambers. In these gloomy rooms, ordinary torture instruments could no longer meet the needs of interrogators, who began to introduce more modern equipment in an attempt to pry the most secret information out of the prisoners' mouths.
Let's start with the traditional torture instruments. In ancient times, axes, knives, saws, etc. were common torture tools, but in modern times, there are more tools such as tiger chairs, chili water, and bamboo sticks. Although these torture instruments are simple, they are no less painful than any high-tech product. The agents of the military command, often under these torture instruments, could not bear the torture, and apostasy became a common choice. Chen Gongshu and Wang Tianmu, among the four killers of the military commanders, chose to defect after their arrest precisely because they knew that they could not bear the torture of those tortures.
However, for military commanders, it is not enough to rely on these traditional torture tools. With the help of the United States, the military commanders introduced some of the latest torture equipment. These include lie detectors, bright light interrogators, and electrocution equipment. The introduction of these devices made the torture chamber of the military commander more like a high-tech laboratory than a simple interrogation room. Chiang Kai-shek, as the ultimate leader of the military command, was full of praise for these new torture instruments. Every time he visited the U.S. criminal lab, he nodded his head at the effectiveness of the equipment.
Among them, the improvement of electrocution equipment is particularly significant. Compared with the electric torture equipment used by the military before the hand-cranked telephone, the American-made electric torture equipment can control the strength of the electric current and use different degrees of electricity for people of different physiques. The cruelty of this equipment has forced many hard-hearted agents to succumb.
In addition to upgrading the hardware, the military commanders also attach great importance to the training of torture techniques. They do not simply use violence, but more often through psychological tactics to make the interrogated mentally break down. For example, they often exploit the prisoners' families, friendships, and fears in a psychological struggle that is often more mentally excruciating than physical pain.
And for those agents who are tough to the end, the military commanders also have a special "treatment", that is, the torture method called "night visit". This method is usually carried out late at night, and the purpose is to take advantage of the psychological characteristics of people who are lax at night to carry out sudden interrogations, so as to disrupt the prisoner's psychological defenses and make them inadvertently leak information.
In this high-pressure and brutal environment, many agents would rather end their own lives than betray their comrades. Their choice is not only a renunciation of life, but also an insistence on faith and loyalty. Chen Gongshu mentioned in his memoirs that the days of torture were worse than death. He said that his mood at that time was like being in hell, fighting the devil every moment.
This extreme situation caused many originally determined agents to collapse in the face of torture. Even a tough guy like Chen Gongshu eventually had to give in to torture and choose to defect. After the apostasy, he was not at peace, and his inner struggle and self-blame made him suffer. His experience makes us wonder if the pain and sacrifice of those who have suffered silently in the shadow of history will be understood and respected by future generations.
It also makes us think about the cruelty of history and the complexity of human nature. In those turbulent times, every choice could be a matter of life and death. The torture room of the military commander is just a shadow in the long river of history, which not only records the cruelty of history, but also witnesses the richness and complexity of human nature. When we look back on these histories, we should not only have fear and anger, but also a deep understanding and respect for those who give everything for their faith and loyalty.