In May 1951, at the execution ground in Mianyang County, nine prisoners were waiting to be executed. On their backs were labels such as "landlord", "bully" and "counterrevolutionary". When the prisoners were tied to the torture pillars, their faces were all pale, except for the prisoner on the ninth pillar, whose eyes were wide open and showed no fear.
On the sign behind him, there are seven big characters written "Honghu Traitor Huang Biao".
When the time is up, the execution officer gives the order, and the execution soldiers draw their guns and shoot in turn. Just as the eighth gunshot was fired, a jeep suddenly rushed into the execution ground. The people in the car shouted, "Stop the execution!" Before the car stopped, a policeman jumped out of the car and handed over an extra copy. The urgent telegram was handed to the supervisor.
The content of the telegram was simple and clear: "Send Comrade Huang Biao back to the province as soon as possible." The signature was Chen Yixin, the deputy governor and director of the Public Security Department. The supervisor was stunned for a moment. Why was the traitor Huang Biao called "comrade" by the deputy governor?
"Doesn't this make me a traitor?"
Huang Biao was born in a poor peasant family in Mianyang, Hubei Province in 1895. Due to successive years of famine, young Huang Biao often followed his adults to flee and beg. When he was 11 years old, he was accidentally separated from his mother. Fortunately, he was taken in by a Taoist priest in the mountains and learned martial arts.
After living with the Taoist priest for three or four years, Huang Biao missed his mother and bid farewell to the Taoist priest and returned home. Unexpectedly, my mother had already cried blindly because she missed her son so much. Huang Biao felt very guilty. From then on, he served tea and meals to his mother every day. Whenever he had time, he went to a nearby temple to pray for his mother.
Later he married Shu Xin'an, a daughter of a scholarly family, and gave birth to three sons.
Picture | Huang Biao’s old photos
Because Huang Biao has a bold personality and extraordinary skills, he has gathered a group of friends around him. In order to resist excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes, Huang Biao mobilized nearly a hundred villagers and launched the massive Dongting Lake Peasant Movement.
lacks experience in revolutionary struggle, and this peasant movement is bound to end in failure. It happened that a group of Communist Party members were working in the Honghu area of Hong Kong. After the failure of the peasant movement, Huang Biao led his team and resolutely defected to the Communist Party.
With his bravery and resourcefulness, Huang Biao quickly showed his talents in the Red Army and held various important positions in the Soviet area many times. In 1932, the Kuomintang army launched a siege on Honghu Revolutionary Base Area. The Second Red Army Corps led by He Long had to leave temporarily. The Honghu area was once again shrouded in white terror.
During an outing, Huang Biao ran into the Kuomintang's suppression team and was unfortunately caught. Because he was wearing plain clothes at the time, the enemy could not identify him. Although he was tortured by the enemy, Huang Biao insisted that he was a gangster.
The enemy had no evidence to prove that Huang Biao was a Red Army commander. He had to be released after being imprisoned for a year and a half.
When Huang Biao returned home, he found that his home had been transformed by the enemy. The eldest brother and sister-in-law are dead, the third brother is missing, and his wife is living in a foreign land with her old mother and children. The homeless Huang Biao used a pseudonym to hide in Tibet while secretly looking for party organizations.
Picture丨Kuomintang's "Purge"
By chance, Huang Biao rescued the niece of the local Jinhua village owner, and was elected as his successor by the elderly village owner, becoming the boss of the "Hong Gang". He set rules for his men: when the road is rough, draw your sword to help; to help solve difficulties, rob the rich and give to the poor.
Under the leadership of Huang Biao, the "Hong Gang" was very popular among the working people. Since he is the fourth eldest child in the family, the people respectfully call him Fourth Brother and Fourth Master.
After his life settled down, Huang Biao found his wife, children and old mother, and opened a teahouse in the town, doing business while inquiring about news from the party organization.
In 1938, Mianyang was occupied by the Japanese army. In order to better control the Honghu area, the Japanese army sent a traitor named Lei who was proficient in Japanese to win over Huang Biao and wanted to appoint him as the deputy captain of the security brigade, but Huang Biao Then he avoided it again and again.
One day, a man dressed as a monk led four people to find Huang Biao. Huang Biao was very excited when he saw him. It turned out that the monk was Ge Pinshan, an underground party member in the Honghu area in his early years. The four people who came with him were the main leading comrades of the Communist Party of China working in the Jianghan Plain.
They came this time to give Huang Biao a new task, to accept the solicitation of the traitor surnamed Lei and to infiltrate the enemy.
When Huang Biao heard this, his face immediately sank and he said, didn't this make him a traitor? Several leading comrades quickly explained that his job was decided after five secret studies by the prefectural committee. It was like acting. Everyone has a different role. If they were all the same, what would be the point of the play?
Picture丨Li Xiannian during the Anti-Japanese War
Huang Biao was still a little confused and continued to ask if he could send someone else? Secretary Gu of the Tianhan Prefectural Committee patiently enlightened him, saying that his status and influence in Honghu cannot be replaced by others, and that this job was personally designated by Commander Li Xiannian:
"You are invited to go now. Just use the trick to hit the enemy's heart."
Everyone was talking to Huang Biao. After some ideological struggle, Huang Biao finally made up his mind and slammed his fist on the table: "Okay, in order to fight. Japanese invaders, I will fight for it!"
In order to ensure his safety, the organization assigned three deputies to him. Soon, the traitor sent over the letter of appointment and the pass. From then on, Huang Biao became a special party member. He had no contact with local party organizations and his identity was known to only a few people.
Penetrate into the heart of the enemy
Relying on his influence, Huang Biao pulled up a team of more than 300 people, stationed in the town, and kept the town in order. The Japanese commander admired Huang Biao very much. Not only did he appoint him as the chairman of the maintenance committee and the captain of the county security brigade, he also moved the headquarters to the town.
Gendarmerie Captain Chen Guizhang In order to please the Japanese invaders, he took to the streets and arrested 33 women, planning to build a "comfort station". Huang Biao was furious when he heard about it, but he immediately calmed down and thought about a "smart rescue" method.
Picture | Chinese women captured by the Japanese army
Huang Biao used the excuse that infectious diseases were spreading in these women's hometowns and applied for military doctors to check their bodies. When Huang Biao approached the Japanese commander with the result that only 6 women were healthy, the vicious Japanese commander decided to burn all the sick women to avoid infection.
The next day, Japanese soldiers doused the house where women were detained with gasoline. Just as they lit the match, Huang Biao jumped out of nowhere and grabbed the Japanese soldier's hand. The Japanese commander was furious, put his sword on Huang Biao's neck, and asked him what he wanted to do.
"Even if you kill me, I don't agree with you! We Chinese never use this method to eradicate infectious diseases. This method is too cruel and will only attract people's hatred. How can we talk about Sino-Japanese goodwill!" Huang Biao calmly said replied.
The Japanese commander felt that what he said made sense and asked him what better way to deal with it. At Huang Biao's suggestion, the Japanese commander ordered the houses to be opened, and the women rushed home and adopted "isolation" methods to deal with infectious diseases.
Yu Qing, a comrade who fought guerrillas with Huang Biao, heard that Huang Biao had become a traitor and decided to assassinate him. Unfortunately, he was arrested by the Japanese army. At that time, Huang Biao was drinking with the Japanese army leaders. When Yu Qing, who was covered in blood, was brought up, Huang Biao couldn't bear to watch anymore and had someone take him down first, waiting for his personal interrogation.
That night, Huang Biao found Xia Zhengqing, the adjutant assigned to him by the organization, and asked him to "change the civet cat for the prince" and drafted a notice to kill the New Fourth Army man.
Xia Zhengqing took a bandit out of prison overnight and beat him beyond recognition. The next day, Li Daitao died and killed a "New Fourth Army" member.Although the Japanese commander did not come to the scene in person, he greatly appreciated Huang Biao's action of shooting down the "New Fourth Army": "Mr. Huang, you are our good friend!"
Later, the Japanese army captured several batches of the New Fourth Army, and Huang Biao used the same weapon to method, and successfully rescued the comrades from prison.
Picture | New Fourth Army soldiers
After the "Southern Anhui Incident", the Fifth Division led by Li Xiannian was attacked by the enemy. This force has 60,000 regular troops and 300,000 militiamen. Once the military pay is cut off, the situation will be very difficult. Huang Biao was instructed to raise 800 silver dollars every month and transfer them to the Fifth Division.
But this was only a drop in the bucket and could not fundamentally solve the problem. Huang Biao hatched a more risky plan in his mind.
At that time, the Yangtze River was blocked, and many ships began to use the Inner Jing River. This inland river has been an important water transportation artery in the Jianghan Plain since ancient times, leading directly from Jingmen to the Yangtze River.
Huangbiao used the excuse of escorting Japanese military transport ships, and under the banner of "cleaning up the countryside", they eliminated bandits along the waterway. They only set up checkpoints in one place to collect taxes, and often sent troops to protect passing merchant ships to ensure the smooth flow of the waterway.
In less than half a year, Huang Biao turned this waterway into a "golden waterway" connecting the upper and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Every day, ships passed by and the silver dollars collected poured in.
The Japanese army greatly admired Huang Biao, believed in him deeply, and repeatedly entrusted him with important tasks. From then on, Neijinghe became Huang Biao's world.
Picture丨Neijinghe
But what the Japanese don’t know is that Huang Biao will withdraw 200,000 silver dollars from taxes and fees every month and give it to the Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army. With Huang Biao’s support behind the scenes, the New Fourth Army and The enemy fought and won many battles and continued to grow stronger.
Huang Biao's action was so seamless that not only the Japanese army was not aware of it, but also few people within the party knew about it. As a result, where the salary of the Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army came from has become a mystery in the historians. It was not until 1978 that Li Xiannian revealed:
"During the Anti-Japanese War, the Huangbiao Special Party Group of the Communist Party of China in Jingzhou handed over 200,000 yuan in silver dollars every month to maintain the supplies of our army. It was an amazing contribution!" When he was labeled as "dedicated" to the Japanese army and greatly facilitated our army, his reputation as "traitorous to the country and seeking glory" also spread to his hometown. All the men, women and children in the village felt ashamed for having such a traitor. The Huang family members even used scissors to cut Huang Biao's name out of the family tree.
"The family tree is cut out", which is the most severe punishment in the genealogy culture.
Huang Biao has no energy to take care of the family, and all the burden of life falls on his wife Shu Xinan. This woman who came from a scholarly family has long lost her ladylike charm. She is just like an ordinary peasant woman who works in the fields all day long. She personally handles all the big and small things at home and outside.
Ever since Huang Biao "surrendered" to the enemy, Shu Xinan had to endure the glares from his fellow villagers.
Picture丨Huang Biao’s son tells his father’s life
Huang Biao’s old mother was already in her 70s at the time. Ever since Huang Biao became a “traitor”, she had refused to see her son and refused everything he sent. The old man chanted sutras and prayed all day long, praying that the Buddha would appear and give his son a "new heart."
On a stormy night, Huang Biao's mother invited her father-in-law to help her write a will. Under the dim kerosene lamp, Huang Biao's mother spoke uprightly about her disappointment in her son Huang Biao. Shu Lao shed tears and carefully recorded it on paper for his mother-in-law.
After the will was written, the two old men burst into tears sadly.
Huang Biao's brother and sister-in-law were worried that their mother would commit suicide, so they stayed by her side day and night, not daring to leave even half a step. One morning, Huang Biao's mother took her own life when she saw an empty space around her.
Huang Biao hurried home after hearing the news. When he walked in the door, the crying in the house gradually stopped, and the people who came to worship seemed to have seen the "God of Plague" and avoided them one after another.Huang Biao rushed to his mother's window, knelt down with a "plop", and burst into tears:
"Mom, I didn't die for you!"
Everyone in the room looked at Huang Biao coldly, and the second brother even shouted angrily. He yelled a few times, turned around and walked out of the house. The third brother ignored him and just threw him a piece of rice paper.
Picture丨Relevant leaders of Honghu City delivered a eulogy at the memorial ceremony for martyr Huang Biao
Huang Biao opened it and saw that it was his mother's suicide note. Every word on it was like a knife, piercing Huang Biao's heart:
"Unfortunately, I am old. He gave birth to an evil son, and in a time of national calamity, he recognized a thief as his father, sold himself to seek glory, helped Zhou to abuse him, and acted as a villain. I am ashamed to meet my ancestors. Even if I die, I will not be able to wash away my shame. After my death, I left behind three grandchildren. The eldest grandson adopted the name of the second son, and the second grandson adopted the name of the third son. The younger grandson was raised by the Shu family... The burial was simple, with only two layers of white cloth covering the face to show that he was too old to see his ancestors."
Looking at his mother's blood-red handprint at the signature, Huang Biao shouted "Unjustly", cried loudly, and fainted. past.
In 1945, Japan announced its unconditional surrender. At this time, Huang Biao still had more than a thousand troops and a large number of sophisticated weapons. Chiang Kai-shek The government was busy snatching the fruits of victory, and Huang Biao once again became the target of wooing.
This time, Huang Biao persuaded the visitor to lead an uprising and abandon the dark side for the bright side. In mid-September, Huang Biao led his subordinates and the revolting troops in two directions to the Xiangnan Military Division garrison and returned to the embrace of the organization.
On the vast grassland, the Xiangnan Military Region held a welcome ceremony for them. Commander Li Renlin, on behalf of Li Xiannian, welcomed Huang Biao, read out a congratulatory message from the political commissar of the Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army, and appointed Huang Biao as the commander of the Xiangnan Military Region. Deputy commander of the headquarters.
" Huang Biao is not a traitor, he is a member of the Communist Party and a pillar of our family! He endured humiliation, fought in the heart of the enemy, and made great contributions! " Listening to the kind words of the comrades, Huang Biao burst into tears. , years of grievances completely erupted at this moment.
Picture丨The people of Wuhan celebrate the victory of the Anti-Japanese War
Soon after, Chiang Kai-shek brazenly launched a civil war, and Huang Biao was unfortunately seriously injured in a battle. Before the breakout, the leaders took into account Huang Biao's physical condition and sent two guards to hide with Huang Biao in disguise and recover from injuries on the spot. They also left behind 300 yuan of Koyo and two pistols.
Unexpectedly, the two guards defected with their guns and money when they saw the troops heading west. After Huang Biao recovered, as a monk, he went around Hunan doing alms and doing good deeds, waiting for the return of the troops.
After Hunan and Hubei were liberated one after another in 1949, Huang Biao didn't know where his unit would be transferred. In desperation, he found a comrade in Wuhan. After being introduced, he joined the Intelligence Station of the Political Security Division of the Wuhan Municipal Public Security Bureau as a station. long.
According to organizational procedures, Huang Biao had been away from the organization for nearly four years and could only decide whether to reinstate his party membership after a review. Therefore, Huang Biao's party membership was not immediately reinstated.
When he arrived at his new job, Huang Biao solved two spy cases in a short period of time and was commended by his superiors.
After the founding of New China, because Huang Biao's secret identity was rarely known, he was regarded as a leading figure of the old regime and was brought back to Mianyang County to prepare for his execution.
Zhu Dixin, then director of the Wuhan Municipal Public Security Bureau, immediately reported the incident to the Public Security Department. Director Chen Yixin made the decision on the spot and rescued Huang Biao from gunpoint on the pretext that Huang Biao was needed to solve the case.
This is the scene that happened at the beginning.
Huang Biao, who survived a narrow escape, unfortunately died of illness in 1953 at the age of 58.
Picture | Memorial ceremony for the burial of Huang Biao at the Martyr Cemetery
In 1995, after the main leaders of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee learned about the whereabouts of Huang Biao’s widow and children, they went to visit them in person and solved their housing problem in accordance with relevant policies. In 2005, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the Political Department of the Wuhan Municipal Public Security Bureau made a special trip to visit Huang Biao's family and sent a condolence payment of 1,000 yuan:
"Comrade Huang Biao was a national hero during the Anti-Japanese War, and the people will never Will forget him!”
