One day in the late autumn of 1963, a cleaning aunt was sitting on a chair in the yard and getting the soles of her shoes. At this time, three men with the appearance of cadres walked straight into the hospital and asked: "Are you Geng Biyan? That is Zhao Biyan back then. ". When the aunt heard this, she paled with fright. She whispered for a while and then said: "I don't know who Geng Biyan you are looking for." After all, she dropped her head in a flustered manner and continued to fill the soles of her shoes.
When the visitor saw the horrified reaction of the cleaning lady, they concluded that the cleaning lady was the person they were looking for. Therefore, in order to eliminate Geng Biyan's worries, the three cadres began to report to their families.
It turned out that these three cadres were officials of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee of the State Council of the Communist Party of China. The elder who was more than half a hundred years old was Liao Chengzhi, then director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee of the State Council.
After the three reported their identities, Liao Chengzhi asked the cleaning aunt Geng Biyan: "Do you know that your husband, , Zhao Xinbo, 24 years ago, carried you a huge sum of 3 billion in Japan?"
Zhao Biyan (middle)
After listening to Liao Chengzhi's words, Geng Biyan couldn't restrain the panic in his heart, and started crying in public.
Who is Geng Biyan? Who is Zhao Xinbo? Why is Geng Biyan, aunt cleaning lady, reluctant to admit her identity? Why did Zhao Xinbo save 3 billion huge sums of money in Japan?
To solve this mystery, you must turn the hour hand back to the period of the Republic of China.
From the revolutionaries to the fall of traitors
In a small western-style building in Fengtian (now Shenyang) in 1932, the servants were busy with their lights inside and outside the house, because their master was about to take up the post of Manchuria The mayor of Fengtian, the puppet state. This man who was willing to be a Japanese running dog was the traitor Zhao Xinbo. Later, with the support of the Japanese, he also served as the president of the Puppet Manchukuo's Legislative Yuan. Because he actively participated in the preparation of the Puppet Manchukuo, he was called "the midwife of the Puppet Manchukuo."
However, who can imagine that Zhao Xinbo was an active revolutionary a few decades ago. So, what made him turn from a revolutionary to a hardcore traitor? All this must start from his life experience.
In 1890, Zhao Xinbo was born in a poor family in Baiyanzhuang (now Beijing City), Wanping County, Hebei Province. In his early years, Zhao Xinbo worked as a soldier in the Imperial Guard of the Qing government for a period of time because of his active behavior. , And was later arranged to study at the provincial Tianjin Beiyang University.
After the outbreak of the Revolution of 1911, the rule of the Qing Dynasty collapsed and Zhao Xinbo also left the army. Zhao Xinbo, who had lost his source of livelihood, became an actor in a theater in Beijing. Later, influenced by revolutionary ideas, he began a revolutionary career.
During this period, he met Wang Biyan. Wang Biyan is a Kabuki in a royal palace in Peking. In a performance by chance, the two met and fell in love. Since then, they have fallen in love and became husband and wife.
Because Wang Biyan has accumulated a lot of private money for many years, she also fully supports her husband Zhao Xinbo's revolutionary activities. After the outbreak of the second revolution, he went south to participate in the battle against Yuan, and later failed in the battle against Yuan, and Zhao Xinbo had to go into exile in Japan. During this period, Wang Biyan, his wife Wang Biyan, never left, and used his savings to fund his revolutionary activities, which greatly moved Zhao Xinbo.
During his stay in Japan, Zhao Xinbo first studied Meiji University law with the help of his wife Wang Biyan, and then went to Japan Imperial University to study law knowledge. While he was full of ambitions to go back to China, Wang Biyan suffered from uterine disease in 1921. During his treatment in the hospital, Wang Biyan lost his life due to a mistake in the operation of a Japanese doctor. Zhao Xinbo, who was grief-stricken, began to abandon himself.
At this time, Japan’s domestic militarism thought grows wildly like weeds. Zhao Xinbo, who was immersed in this trend of thought in decadence, soon lost the fighting spirit in the revolutionary body, and also lost the least he should hold as a Chinese. Some conscience. He began to frequently interact with Japanese soldiers, such as Seishiro Itahara and Kenji Doihara, who would become Class A war criminals in the future, and gradually surrendered ideologically.
Just before, Zhao Xinbo was hit by the death of his beloved wife, and at this time Geng Weifu, a classmate friend of Zhao Xinbo's sister, began to enter his world. By chance, Geng Weifu met Zhao Xinbo and began to love him. Geng Weifu, born in 1900, grew up in a wealthy home in Shenyang. She received a good education from an early age.I feel good about the talented Zhao Xinbo.
When she learned that Zhao Xinbo's wife Wang Biyan had passed away, she started chasing Zhao Xinbo, who was ten years older than her. Despite this, she still pursued Zhao Xinbo unswervingly. Of course, at this time Geng Weifu didn't know that the man in front of him was no longer the passionate revolutionary youth of the year.
Zhao Xinbo
Under Geng Weifu's enthusiastic offensive, Zhao Xinbo quickly agreed to the relationship between the two, but there is one condition: Geng Weifu must be renamed as the name of his late wife Wang Biyan! For the sake of love, Geng Weifu did not hesitate to agree to Zhao Xinbo's request. Soon, the two got married, and since then Geng Weifu has been called Wang Biyan.
After the birth of her son Zhao Zongyang (because he lost his left eye when he was 3 years old, also called Zhao Chongguang), her wife changed her name to Zhao Biyan with her husband's surname. The birth of her son finally pulled Zhao Xinbo out of the pain of losing his dead wife. In 1925, Zhao Xinbo also successfully obtained the Doctor of Laws degree awarded by the Imperial University of Japan. At this time, Zhao Xinbo was no longer the passionate young man of the year, but had fully taken refuge in the Japanese fascist camp.
With the help of the Japanese, he first served as the legal counsel of the security army headquarters under Zhang Zuolin . Later, with the support of the Japanese, he was promoted steadily, which made him determined to sell his life for the Japanese.
After the "September 18 Incident" broke out, Zhao Xinbo continued to provide the Japanese with information on Northeast Army , and actively assisted the Japanese in "maintaining public order" and persuaded a group of senior Northeast Army generals to be surrendered.
Seeing that he worked so hard, the Japanese appointed him as the mayor of Fengtian, the puppet Manchukuo. During his tenure in the puppet Manchukuo, he began to engage in illegal activities that harmed the country and the people, such as selling opium, and committing crimes to the people. Committed an unforgivable crime. Of course, he also made a lot of money.
But also because of Zhao Xinbo's various actions that touched the interests of some members of the Japanese Kwantung Army, he was soon transferred from the Northeast and exiled to Japan. At this time, Zhao Xinbo also understood that the huge amount of money he had made in the Northeast for many years had already aroused the jealousy of some people. In order to save these ill-gotten gains from disasters, in 1939,Zhao Xinbo used the dirty money to secretly purchase a large amount of real estate in Japan in the name of his wife Zhao Biyan, and entrusted all these properties to his Japanese friend Suzuki Yanosuke for safekeeping, and then he returned to China with the voucher.
Heaven is a good reincarnation, the sky forgives whom, shortly after returning to China, Japan surrendered , Zhao Xinbo was arrested for traitorous crimes, Zhao Xinbo was arrested for traitorous crimes. When the time is not up, all reimbursements will be made when the time comes.
Disputes over property returning to China
Zhao Xinbo got what he deserved for the crime of traitor, but at this time Zhao Biyan, who is already a mother, drags his family with a bunch of children to take care of. In order to avoid being pointed out, Zhao Biyan again Changed back to his original surname, called himself Geng Biyan, and took his children to live in Beijing with difficulty. On weekdays, he could only earn a little barely a living salary by sweeping the streets.
Under the devastation of life in wind, frost, snow and rain, this eldest from a rich family is almost the same as the aunt who sells vegetables on the roadside, and she has become a practical cleaning aunt. It wasn't until Liao Chengzhi, the director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee of the State Council, who was the director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee of the State Council, suddenly visited, that all this was broken.
At first, faced with the inquiries from Liao Chengzhi and others, Geng Biyan was nervous and uneasy. She thought that the people's government had asked her to liquidate the remaining crimes of traitors, so she never dared to admit her identity. When Liao Chengzhi saw Geng Biyan’s concerns, she spoke. He comforted: "Don't be afraid. Zhao Xinbo's crime has nothing to do with you. We are here to help you recover the real estate that your husband left in Japan in your name."
Hearing what Liao Chengzhi said, Geng Biyan is hanging The heart in her throat finally eased, and she knew that Zhao Xinbo had saved so much fortune in Japan 24 years ago. Immediately, she asked suspiciously: "After so many years, do I have to return this property?"
Liao Chengzhi
Liao Chengzhi said with a smile: "You are a citizen of the People's Republic of China, the country decides The property of citizens of this country is not allowed to be damaged, we will definitely help you get it back!"
soon,Geng Biyan had a little doubt: "I didn't know that I had this property for so many years. How did the country know about it?" The gold and silver jewelry was put into a safe, and then the safe was hidden in the basement of his Tokyo residence and entrusted to his friend Suzuki Yanosuke to keep it. Unexpectedly, after Japan was defeated and the United States occupied Japan, American soldiers inadvertently found this safe in the basement of Zhao Xinbo’s residence. In this way, a large number of gold and silver jewelry fell into the hands of the Americans. Fortunately, Suzuki Yanosuke was everywhere. Activities, this batch of property was transferred to the Japanese government for safekeeping, but the actual legal owner of the property is still Zhao Biyan.
Since China and Japan did not establish diplomatic relations, Zhao Xinbo did not tell Zhao Biyan any secrets about her property in Japan, so Zhao Biyan did not show up. With time, this property gradually became "ownerless property", so starting in 1962, In view of the fact that the Japanese government has been unclaimed for a long time, according to the regulations, it began to announce the announcement and began to search for Zhao Biyan's whereabouts, hoping that the property owners would come to claim it as soon as possible.
At that time, after the Japanese government's accounting, the value of this property was equivalent to RMB 3 billion. You know, in the 1960s, whether it was in China or Japan, having 3 billion yuan was definitely a rich country. Even today, with 3 billion yuan, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a “super rich”.
Therefore, the news spread all over the world soon after the announcement. Many criminals pretended to be Zhao Biyan or Zhao Biyan’s family in order to obtain this huge amount of property. What’s more, to pretend to be Zhao Biyan’s son, Zhao Zongyang, they were killed. With his left eyeball, he tried to get a huge amount of property by fooling around. According to Japanese media reports, in 1962 alone, three people pretended to be Zhao Biyan and seven people pretended to be Zhao Zongyang. There was a heated debate in Japan, and soon the news reached Liao Chengzhi through the Tokyo Overseas Chinese Association. middle.
Liao Chengzhi, then director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee of the State Council, knew well that this property was the property of citizens of the People's Republic of China and must not be allowed to fall into the hands of lawbreakers. After continuous visits and investigations by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee of the State Council, it was finally determined that a cleaning aunt named Geng Biyan in the Beijing Siheyuan was probably Zhao Biyan at that time.
After Liao Chengzhi explained the matter to Zhao Biyan, Zhao Biyan only admitted his identity at this time and said that he would actively cooperate with the government to get back the property.
is easy to say, but it is not easy to do it. Because at this time, Zhao Biyan has no evidence to prove that the Japanese property belongs to him; second, because he has changed his name several times, his identity is also confusing. In this case, it is more convincing to convince the judge. It's still hard.
On the other hand, Suzuki Yanosuke, the custodian of the property, has long coveted this huge amount of property. For this reason, he forged a document stating "Once the Zhao family died, the property under his name will be given to Ling free of charge. Muyanosuke owned it.” At the same time, he falsely claimed in the court that Zhao Biyan had long since passed away, and now he is the legal owner of the property.
Given that Suzuki Yanosuke was unable to produce evidence that convinced the judge, and since China and Japan had not established diplomatic relations at this time, Zhao Biyan was unable to testify in court, and the case was put on hold.
However, the Chinese government has never given up protecting the private property of its citizens, and the relevant departments have been trying to help Zhao Biyan get it back. However, due to the malicious obstruction of Suzuki Yanosuke and Sino-Japanese relations, the matter has not been resolved until China and Japan. After the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the death of Suzuki Yazhi, things began to turn for the better.
Atonement for the husband to thank the country
In 1973, Yasuke Suzuki died of illness, and China and Japan established diplomatic relations in the first year. At this time, the Tokyo Overseas Chinese Association once again filed a complaint with the Japanese court on Zhao Biyan’s property, and the court also decided Public hearing. However, due to the time difference being too long, Zhao Biyan's memory is blurred, and her identity is doubtful, so the case has not made a substantial breakthrough.
Zhao Biyan (right), Zhao Xinbo (left), Zhao Zongyang (middle)
After that, the case alarmed Geng Biao, then head of the Central Foreign Affairs Leading Group, and Ji Pengfei, Minister of Foreign Affairs. Barrister Fu Zhiren acted as Zhao Biyan's attorney, helping her recover her property. Fu Zhiren knew very well that the key to the case was to verify Zhao Biyan's identity. As long as her identity was confirmed, all problems would be solved.
But the problem is,How to verify Zhao Biyan's identity?
In order to trace Zhao Biyan’s identity information, with the support of the State Council and other relevant departments, Fu Zhiren spent 8 months traveling all over the country and finally collected 19 witness testimonies that could confirm Zhao Biyan’s identity, among them Puyi 's sister Sangege Jinruixiu. Jin Ruixiu traveled to Japan in her early years and had a personal relationship with the Japanese imperial family, so she was very famous in Japan, and her testimony undoubtedly played an important role.
After everything was ready, without thinking about it, Zhao Biyan was unable to go there because of a serious illness. In desperation, his son Zhao Zongyang had to go to Japan instead of his mother to settle the lawsuit. But in this way, the focus of the case has again become the verification of Zhao Zongyang's identity. Otherwise, it would be difficult for the judge to be convinced by Zhao Biyan and others alone.
So, with the full support of relevant state departments, lawyer Fu Zhiren began to travel all over China and Japan, and found the birth certificate of Zhao Zongyang in Japan that year, as well as the testimony of his friend. In the end, Fu Zhiren and Zhao Zongyang attended the court together. In the face of solid evidence, the Japanese court finally awarded Zhao Biyan the huge amount of property. At this point, a property lawsuit that lasted for more than 20 years came to an end.
After Zhao Biyan got a property worth RMB 3 billion, she was very moved. She is very grateful to the country and lawyer Fu Zhiren for all this. In order to thank the country and give back to the society, she decided to donate 80% of her property to the country.
On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival in 1984, Zhao Biyan called all 19 members of her family. After she made the decision to hand over 80% of the property to the country, the children were shocked and there was no objection, because everyone knew that this Pen fortune is ill-gotten wealth, even if all of it is donated to the country, there is no regret or regret.
After that, Zhao Biyan donated all 2.4 billion yuan in the form of a will, leaving only a very small part of the future generations, but he did not take any money. After donating most of the property, Zhao Biyan still leads a simple and poor life. When a reporter asked her: "Why don't you keep a little for yourself?", the old man Zhao Biyan replied:
"This money, if there is no country It’s impossible for my generation to get back if I help out, even if I give all the money to the country,I am also willing! What's more, the country didn't ask me for a penny and let me handle the money by myself. How can I keep a copy for myself?
Under the education of Zhao Biyan's example, the children are self-reliant and adults become talents. Later, they did well in their respective positions and made their due contributions to the construction of the country.
Of course, the country has not forgotten the elderly Zhao Biyan. During her old age, Zhao Biyan was seriously ill, and she was arranged by the state to take care of her in the intensive care unit of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital. Although she was unemployed, she enjoyed the treatment of a senior cadre.
In June 1989, Zhao Biyan died in Beijing. , At the age of 89.
It is true that during the war, Zhao Biyan’s husband committed an unforgivable heinous crime. This is an unchangeable fact, but Zhao Biyan’s active donation of his property to the country in his later years is undoubtedly a profound truth. Atonement for her husband is very respectable. Through Zhao Biyan’s claim of property from Japan, we can see that the prosperity of a country is directly related to the status of a citizen and whether the Chinese can carry it abroad. Affordable. In short, a strong motherland is the fundamental guarantee for the rights of the descendants of the Chinese people at home and abroad.
I am the Department of Historical Investigation. The next issue is exciting content. See you again. I want to know more exciting content. , Please subscribe to the Official Account History Investigation Office
.
