Late one night in October 1940, a luxurious villa on Scotto Road in Shanghai's Hongkou District was brightly lit. This is the residence of Fu Xiao'an, the mayor of Shanghai, but the normally heavily guarded gate is now wide open, several military trucks are parked at the door, and Japan military police and Chinese police are in and out. Inside, a corpse was lying in a pool of blood, covered with a white cloth. The most powerful traitor in Shanghai fell quietly like this.
In the troubled times when traitors are in power, who is behind the scenes?
In 1937, after the Japanese army occupied Shanghai, they began to support the traitor regime. Fu Xiao'an is one of them. This former businessman has turned into a pseudo-mayor of Shanghai Special City, and he looks like a master.
But in troubled times, being a traitor is not an easy task. On the one hand, you have to curry favor with the Japanese, and on the other hand, you have to guard against your own compatriots.
Fu Xiao'an knows that he has offended a lot of people, and he walks on thin ice every day. He hired more than 20 bodyguards, and when he went out, he hugged each other, which was quite stylish.
But who would have thought that it was the cook in his own house who killed him in the end? This cook named Zhu Shengyuan, who is sacred? How did he successfully assassinate Fu Xiao'an under heavy protection?
An undercover career as a chef
Zhu Shengyuan was originally just an ordinary cook, but he became the chef of Fu Xiao'an's family by mistake. It's quite dramatic to say, when Fu Xiao'an first took office, he saw the down-and-out Zhu Shengyuan at the train station, and he became a good person and took him home as a cook. This trick not only solved his appetite, but also established a good image of loving the people like a son.
It's a pity that Fu Xiao'an didn't expect that he was luring a wolf into the room! Although Zhu Shengyuan is a cook, he is a patriot in his bones. He watched Fu Xiao'an, a big traitor, swagger through the market, and he had already held back a fire in his heart. Cooking for Fu Xiao'an every day, he can't wait to poison the dishes. But he knew that he couldn't do it on his own, and he had to find help.
In this way, Zhu Shengyuan began his own double-sided life. During the day, he was Fu Xiao'an's personal cook, but at night he secretly contacted anti-Japanese organizations. He took advantage of the convenience of the Fu family to quietly collect intelligence, and even helped the imprisoned anti-war fighters.
For example, once, Fu Xiao'an arrested Chen Xiuying, a female cadre of the Eighth Route Army. Zhu Shengyuan risked his life to send her food and goat's milk, saving her and her child's lives.
An elaborate assassination attempt
Zhu Shengyuan's actions are not alone. In fact, as early as 1938, Dai Li, the head of the Kuomintang spies, ordered to get rid of Fu Xiao'an, a big traitor. It is a pity that several assassination attempts have failed. Fu Xiao'an's guards are getting stricter and stricter, and it is difficult to attack from the outside.
Just when the spies were at a loss, Zhu Shengyuan's appearance gave them new hope. The spy leader Chen Gongshu had an idea and decided to break down Fu Xiao'an's defense line from the inside. He dressed up as a hospitable tavern owner and got to know Zhu Shengyuan, a chef who loves to drink.
At the wine table, Chen Gongshu seemed to talk about state affairs unintentionally and talked about the various evil deeds of traitors. Zhu Shengyuan was already dissatisfied with Fu Xiao'an, and after a few cups of yellow soup, he was even more indignant. Chen Gongshu saw that the time was ripe and began to instill in Zhu Shengyuan the idea of "eliminating traitors for the country". In this way, a seemingly ordinary cook became a time bomb lurking around Fu Xiao'an.
The big traitor under the kitchen knife
October 11, 1940, this seemingly ordinary day, but destined to go down in the history of Shanghai.
That evening, Fu Xiao'an enjoyed a sumptuous dinner as usual. How did he know that this was the last meal of his life? In the dead of night, when everyone fell asleep, Zhu Shengyuan quietly got up and picked up his most handy kitchen knife.
He walked lightly to Fu Xiao'an's bedroom, pushed open the door, and saw Fu Xiao'an sleeping soundly. Zhu Shengyuan suddenly had a complicated emotion in his heart.
He remembered Fu Xiao'an's various evil deeds as a traitor over the years, the anti-war soldiers who were killed by him, and the tragic situation of Chen Xiuying's mother and son who almost starved to death. A wave of anger instantly ignited his whole body.
Zhu Shengyuan took a deep breath and raised the kitchen knife. The knife flashed, and there was a muffled sound, and Fu Xiao'an didn't even have time to scream, so he closed his eyes forever. The big traitor Fu Xiao'an died at the hands of his most trusted cook.
This knife not only ended Fu Xiaoan's life, but also gave a severe slap in the face to the Wang puppet government and the Japan. Who would have thought that such an assassination would happen when the guards were so heavily guarded? The Japanese were furious and immediately launched a large-scale manhunt. But Zhu Shengyuan had long since disappeared without a trace, as if the world had evaporated.
Fu Xiao'an's death caused an uproar in Shanghai at that time. In the streets and alleys, people are talking. Some people applauded and said that this big traitor should have died a long time ago. Some people also lament that the world is impermanent, and the mayor who called for wind and rain in the past cannot escape the fate of death now.
In those turbulent times, everyone was making their own choices. Fu Xiao'an chose to be a traitor, and finally ended up in disrepute. And Zhu Shengyuan, an ordinary cook, stepped forward in times of crisis and changed history with a kitchen knife.
Looking back now, this period of history has left us with profound enlightenment. No matter what the circumstances, everyone should stick to their conscience and beliefs. Because you never know what kind of waves your small actions will stir up in the long river of history.