On December 12, 1936, Yang Hucheng and Zhang Xueliang launched the Xi'an Incident that shocked the whole country.
Chiang Kai-shek then not only imprisoned Yang Hucheng, but also sent people to guard him, during which he was brutally murdered in prison at the age of 56.
In 2006, Yang Hucheng's grandson, Yang Han, found the murderer in a rural village in Henan: Yang Qindian.
What is puzzling is that after the two met, Yang Han clasped his hands and said with a smile: I wish you to live to be 100 years old.
Obviously he should be an enemy who hates him to the core, why does Yang Han still smile and bless him?
And Yang Qindian, as a member of the Kuomintang reactionary faction, killed countless innocent people, why was not only not arrested, but still able to enjoy his old age in peace?
The content of this article is based on reliable sources, and it is repeated at the end of the article, and some of the content is apocryphal.
01. The Xi'an Incident, Chiang Kai-shek held a grudge
In 1936, when Japanese imperialism was ambitious and wanted to occupy Chinese territory, the Kuomintang was still obsessed with eliminating the Communist Party, completely ignoring the safety of the country and the nation.
Yang Hucheng and Zhang Xueliang, who were senior Kuomintang generals, were very worried about this.
In order to promote the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party and jointly resist Japan, they detained Chiang Kai-shek in Xi'an regardless of their personal safety, and demanded that the civil war be stopped and that they should unite with the outside world.
After persuasion by the Communist Party and his own trade-offs, Chiang Kai-shek finally agreed to the demand for an end to the civil war and a united resistance against Japan.
The peaceful settlement of the Xi'an Incident ended the decade-long civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party and created conditions for the establishment of the anti-Japanese national united front.
But it also made Chiang Kai-shek hold a grudge against Yang Hucheng and Zhang Xueliang from then on.
Chiang Kai-shek was usually short-tempered, and he beat and scolded the people around him at every turn, and even his original wife was scolded by him.
This also caused many people to dare not refute his opinions, for fear that one day Chiang Kai-shek would get angry because of his speech, and then pull himself out and shoot him.
But Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng were bold and directly detained Chiang Kai-shek in Xi'an, which made Chiang Kai-shek very annoyed and felt that he had lost face.
But because Zhang Xueliang was the son of Zhang Zuolin, a great warlord in the Northeast, Chiang Kai-shek did not dare to be ruthless to him, so he was simply placed under house arrest.
As a result, Yang Hucheng, who had no background, suffered and became the main target of Chiang Kai-shek's hatred.
Chiang Kai-shek showed no mercy to Yang Hucheng, first in exile and then for 12 years in prison and torture.
And Yang Qindian is one of the main personnel in charge of guarding Yang Hucheng.
02. Ordered to kill Yang Hucheng
Yang Qindian, born in 1918 in a poor peasant family in Henan, was later admitted to Hu Zongnan's teaching group, and also served as a guard for Chiang Kai-shek, Song Ziwen, Kong Xiangxi and others.
In 1945, Yang Qindian was sent to the Bai Mansion in Chongqing to guard Yang Hucheng and other important political prisoners.
During his time in the White Mansion, Yang Qindian and other spies tortured Yang Hucheng inhumanely.
On the evening of September 6, 1949, Yang Hucheng's family and Xiao Radish Tou's family were escorted to the Dai Gong Temple in Chongqing.
At this time, the People's Liberation Army had crossed the Yangtze River and liberated Nanjing, while the Kuomintang was losing and retreating, and the general trend had long gone.
Chiang Kai-shek was also keenly aware of his disadvantage, so before he evacuated the mainland, he ordered the killing of all political prisoners in the Chongqing concentration camp, including Yang Hucheng's family.
The task of execution was given to Yang Qindian and three other spies.
In the middle of the night, Yang Hucheng and his party had just walked into the gate of Dai Gong Ancestral Hall, and an accomplice of spies who had been hidden long ago came out of the darkness and stabbed Yang Zhengzhong, the eldest son of Yang Hucheng, into the waist. Yang Zhengzhong screamed and fell in a pool of blood.
At the moment when Yang Hucheng turned around, another spy also stabbed him in the back with a dagger. Blood suddenly stained Yang Hucheng's clothes red.
In this way, Yang Hucheng's family of four was brutally killed, and their blood stained the ground of the Dai Gong Ancestral Hall. All this was planned by Chiang Kai-shek in retaliation for the Xi'an Incident that year.
And Yang Qindian, as an accomplice, personally participated in this massacre, and his hands were stained with the blood of innocents.
In this massacre, there was another well-known child, and he was the little turnip head.
03. Kill the little radish head
It was a dark night, and in the Dai Gong Temple in Chongqing, tragedy was unfolding.
Yang Qindian and several other Kuomintang spies were lying in ambush in the outhouse, waiting for Song Qiyun and his son to enter the trap in the inner room.
Song Qiyun took her son's little radish head by the hand and slowly walked into the inner room.
At this moment, Yang Qindian rushed in like a fierce beast, grabbed the little radish head, and his thick palm stuck the child's thin neck.
The little radish head widened in horror, and his little hand desperately grabbed Yang Qindian's wrist, trying to break free from his claws.
But just an eight-year-old child, where is the opponent of a well-trained agent. Yang Qindian pressed the little radish head to the ground in three or two clicks, and rode on him, without relaxing his hands at all.
"Daddy, save me—" Little Radish cried out in despair, tears blurring his eyes.
But Song Qiyun had been subdued by Yang Jinxing and couldn't move at all.
Little Radish Head's face turned red, and his breathing became weaker and weaker, but Yang Qindian's hand was still stuck, trying to strangle the poor child to death.
Little Carrot struggled with all his might, his thin legs kicking helplessly on the ground. But gradually, his struggles became weak, and only faint moans remained.
Just when the little radish head was about to die, Yang Jinxing killed Song Qiyun and walked over.
He held a shiny bayonet in his hand, and his eyes were grim and cold. "I'll help you. "
After speaking, Yang Jinxing raised his bayonet and stabbed the backbone of the little radish head fiercely.
With a "poof", the blade sank into the immature body, and blood splattered.
The little turnip let out a terrible scream, and its thin body bounced violently, and then lay flat forever, no longer sound.
Yang Qindian let go of his hand and stood up. He looked at the corpse at his feet, the poor child, who was not yet eight years old, whose eyes were once innocent, and now only the hollow of death remained.
Yang Qindian suddenly had a complicated mood, the little radish head was just a child, was it really good to kill him so cruelly?
In his heart, a sense of guilt and self-reproach surged out, and now that the Kuomintang had the upper hand, it seemed that there was no hope of winning.
04. Wake up and save the Communist Party
On October 1, 1949, the founding of the People's Republic of China made Yang even more panicked, fearing that he would be caught by the Communists and end up in the same fate as Yang Hucheng.
At this time, the Bai Mansion was still imprisoned many Communist Party members, one of whom was Luo Guangbin, who wrote the masterpiece "Red Rock".
He also saw Yang Qindian's panic, and every time he inspected the prison, he always looked in a trance and looked uneasy.
So Luo Guangbin planned to convince him with a few comrades.
Once, when Yang Qindian was inspecting, Luo Guangbin said, "Old Yang, do you know? ”
Yang Qindian was startled by these words, and then Luo Guangbin said, "Old Yang, the Kuomintang is going to be finished, don't give them any more life." ”
Yang Qindian was almost frightened into a cold sweat by him, but he just scolded Luo Guangbin, don't talk nonsense, and then left in a hurry.
But Luo Guangbin's words echoed in his mind repeatedly.
Yang Qindian fell into deep thought, he was born poor, and when he joined the army, he just wanted to eat. But under the corruption of the Kuomintang, he degenerated step by step and became an executioner who killed people without blinking.
In particular, the killing of the little radish head made his conscience condemned greatly.
Luo Guangbin saw Yang Qindian's inner struggle, and they patiently enlightened him, made him recognize the reactionary nature of the Kuomintang, and encouraged him to stand on the side of the people.
Slowly, under the inspiration of the Communist Party members, Yang Qindian's heart loosened, but he always hesitated.
On November 27, 1949, with the defeat of the Kuomintang imminent, Chiang Kai-shek ordered a massacre of imprisoned Communists.
After Yang Qindian received the order, his heart was very tormented. He knew that the massacre of these communists was tantamount to sentencing himself to death. But if you disobey the order, it is also a dead end.
At this critical moment, Luo Guangbin found Yang Qindian again and said earnestly: "Old Yang, the People's Liberation Army is about to enter the city, if you don't let us go, there will really be no chance!"
Yang hesitated, he was afraid that the Communist Party would not let him go.
Luo Guangbin seemed to see through his thoughts, and added: "Don't worry, after we go out, we will definitely testify for you." You have done a lot of good things for us, and your merits outweigh your faults, and the organization will not treat you badly!"
This promise completely dispelled Yang Qindian's concerns. He made up his mind that he must let these communists go!
Yang Qindian handed Luo Guangbin the key and a hammer, telling him to open the door and throw the hammer out first, and when he heard the sound, he would release false news that the People's Liberation Army had entered the city, so as to scare away a large number of guards.
At this time, you can listen to the sound of me stomping three feet upstairs, and you can run.
He didn't forget to tell Luo Guangbin: "You must flee to the back mountain, don't look back!"
In this way, with the help of Yang Qindian, 19 communists successfully escaped from the White Mansion and escaped this bloody massacre.
On November 30, 1949, the day after the liberation of Chongqing, Yang Qindian, accompanied by Luo Guangbin and others, came to the Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau to surrender. He confessed all his crimes to the organization and asked for severe punishment.
However, the Communist Party pays attention to punishing the former and saving the future.
Luo Guangbin and others came forward to testify, saying that Yang Qindian had risked his life to rescue Communist Party members in prison and had made great contributions. The organization, taking into account his final performance, decided to be lenient, not to blame for the past, and gave him a chance to mend his ways.
Not only that, but the Communist Party also found him a job working in the Public Security Bureau, which paid him well.
This made Yang Qindian even more guilty.
He politely rejected the organization's kindness, and just wanted to return to his hometown, become an ordinary farmer, and spend the rest of his life atoning for his sins.
The organization respected his choice, and also sent him travel expenses, allowing Yang Qindian to return to his hometown.
05. Enjoy your old age in peace
Since then, Yang Qindian has been working in the fields, although life is very poor.
His son Yang Cunliang was able to get married at the age of 31 because of his father, and his life was not easy. The villagers knew about Yang Qindian's past, and it was inevitable that they would point fingers.
But Yang Qindian never complained, because he knew that this was all the retribution for his sins back then.
Yang Qindian's life in his later years was very poor, and although he was reminded that he could apply for subsidies from the government, he always believed that he was too guilty to enjoy them, so he never spoke.
He still eats coarse tea and light rice, and wears simple peasant clothes. When he saw the villagers, he always greeted him with a smile, and if he was not an insider, it was hard to imagine that he had such an extraordinary experience.
After reforming, Yang Qindian did not become depressed, but turned his regret into motivation, and since the 90s, he has returned to Chongqing with his family again and again, returning to Geyue Mountain, where he once did a lot of evil.
Every time he went, he suffered, but he still gritted his teeth and insisted, that is, he wanted to use his personal experience to educate future generations and warn the world.
He unreservedly made his story public, so that more people could understand the cruelty and heroic deeds of that era.
Yang Qindian also assisted Luo Guangbin in completing the creation of the book "Red Rock".
Yang Han, the grandson of General Yang Hucheng, once made a special trip to visit Yang Qindian.
Knowing that Yang Qindian is now living in poverty, Yang Han was full of emotion.
He said that the past is gone, and people must always look forward. Yang Qindian has tried his best to make up for his mistakes back then, and now he should enjoy the blessings. Money is something outside the body, as long as there is enough food and clothing. The most important thing for Yang Qindian now is to take care of his body and live well.
Before parting, Yang Han told Yang Qindian to take more care, and he would come to visit again when he was free. He hoped that Yang Qindian would keep his words in mind, live well, and live a long life.
On November 17, 2007, Yang Qindian passed away in his hometown of Zhouzhuang at the age of 89.
What do you think of Yang Qindian?
Resources:
[1] People's Daily Online-"Yang Qindian's "Black" and "Red" Life
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmwz/html/2010-05/01/content_543453.htm
[2] CCTV - "CCTV.com-The Truth of the Historical Mystery: It Turned Out That He Killed the Little Radish Boss (Picture)" (1)
[3] Communist Party of China News Network-"The Story Behind the "Eight Articles in Prison"-Revisiting the Entrustment of Blood and Tears Left by the Martyrs of the Dregs Cave of the White Mansion--Party History Channel-People's Daily Online"
[4] Phoenix News-"57 years after Yang Hucheng was killed, Sun Tzu found the murderer and said with a smile: I hope you can live to be 110 years old_Mobile Phoenix Network"