In 1999, Ji Pengfei, the former vice premier of the State Council, who was nearly ninety years old, was busy running around for his son's affairs. Ji Lao's son, Ji Shengde, was a senior officer of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army and served as a major general and deputy director of the Second Department of the General Staff, mainly focusing on military intelligence work. However, in the spring of '99, this person was isolated and examined and strictly controlled, because he was involved in commercial bribery, embezzlement of military property, betrayal of important intelligence on the mainland and other serious crimes, amounting to tens of millions of yuan. The "accident" of his son is tantamount to a bolt from the blue for Comrade Ji Pengfei, who has been honest and upright all his life.
It happened suddenly, but it will eventually be investigated. As a retired senior cadre, Ji Pengfei should have believed in the organization and treated this incident calmly; But maybe it's because he's getting older, Ji Lao loves his son very much. The nature of Ji Shengde's case is very serious, especially for engaging in espionage activities and selling intelligence, which is enough to be punished with capital punishment. Between national law and family affection, Ji Lao's bottom line seems to have loosened, and he began to walk around and try to "dredge the relationship" for Ji Shengde. In Ji Pengfei's heart, a very important layer of "relationship" is the old general Zhang Aiping.
Why did Ji Pengfei go to Zhang Aiping? The two can be regarded as close friends, both served in the Third Field Army of "Chen Su" when they were young, respected each other, knew each other's roots, and the two families have maintained close contact since the founding of the People's Republic of China. Zhang Aiping was the founding general of the People's Republic of China and served as Minister of National Defense in the 80s, and although he had retired at this time, he still had a major influence on military affairs.
But Ji Pengfei didn't find the right person. Zhang Aiping was very strict in administering the army, he had a fiery temper, and he especially hated the corruption of cadres. In the 80s, Zhang Aiping worriedly pointed out that the army's "business" was to destroy the Great Wall and create a miasma. The lessons of foreign countries abound, and the people's army must not engage in these things! Later, thanks to the efforts of the third-generation leadership collective of the Party Central Committee, the relevant chaos was effectively curbed. However, in the process, there are still some fish that have slipped through the net. Didn't the things Ji Shengde commit fulfill Zhang Aiping's worries?
So in 99, in order to avoid suspicion, Zhang Aiping did not see Ji Pengfei, and the Zhang family found some reasons to ask Ji Lao to go back. Later, when the two communicated on the phone, the old general advised Ji Pengfei to calm down, not to take advantage of loopholes in front of party discipline and state law, and he would not come forward. In the end, Zhang Aiping said eight words earnestly: obsessed, the evening is not guaranteed. As an old friend, such words are very heavy, but if they are not heavy, it is difficult to wake up Ji Pengfei, who is eager to save his son. Sure enough, after hanging up the phone, Ji Pengfei still didn't give up. After that, he contacted Song Renqiang and Song Ping's old friends, but the replies he got were similar to Zhang Aiping's, and no one was willing to "say a few words" for the Ji family. The party spirit of the veteran cadres is generally very strong.
Ji Pengfei's activities were in vain, and they also alarmed the central leadership. Comrade Wang Gang, then director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, was ordered to come to Ji's house in early 2000 to greet Ji Pengfei's body, and at the same time euphemistically put forward relevant warnings, hoping that he could "spend his old age in peace" and not take non-organizational behaviors. In 2001, Ji Shengde was sentenced to death with a suspended sentence in accordance with the law, which was later changed to life. However, before the court pronounced the verdict, his old father, Ji Pengfei, had passed away in February 2000. It is worth mentioning that it was after the death of Ji Lao that Ji Shengde, whose psychological defense line collapsed, really actively cooperated with the investigation, took the initiative to explain the list of spies in the central department, and made meritorious contributions.
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