Foreword
On April 24, 1949, the Battle of Taiyuan ended successfully, and the "Tu Emperor" Yan Xishan who had ruled Shanxi for 38 years officially collapsed.
After this battle, the entire North China region ushered in liberation.
However, winning the battle is only the first step, and there is still a lot of follow-up work. Just when Xu Xiangqian was busy, the North China Bureau of the Communist Party of China sent him a secret message, instructing in the secret message, "Zhao Zongfu must be found."
Picture丨Zhao Zongfu
broke into Yan Xishan’s internal
Who is Zhao Zongfu?
In February 1915, he was born in a feudal bureaucratic family in Taiyuan. His father, Zhao Daiwen, was a talented scholar in the Qing Dynasty. He studied in Japan and participated in the Allied League and the Revolution of 1911.
Later, Zhao Daiwen served as the Minister of Interior of the Kuomintang government, Chairman of the Shanxi Provincial Government , and became Yan Xishan's confidant.
Growing up in such a family, it was very easy for Zhao Zongfu to be exposed to all kinds of ideas. After 918, a wave of anti-Japanese and national salvation was launched across the country. However, Chiang Kai-shek implemented the non-resistance policy, and instead hit the side of the patriots with an iron fist.
At that time, Zhao Zongfu was studying at Jinshan Middle School. He was furious when he learned what Chiang Kai-shek had done, so Zhao Zongfu joined the student movement as expected.
In 1933, Zhao Zongfu was admitted to the Journalism Department of Yanjing University in Peking. In May, he joined the Communist Youth League and became a member of the Communist Party in December.
Subsequently, he was recommended to participate in the Third International's Far East Red Army intelligence work.
Picture丨Yan Xishan
This is a purely military intelligence agency established by the Soviet Red Army Staff Headquarters in China to inquire about the attitude of the upper echelons of the Nationalist Government towards the Japanese invasion of China. The job of
is simply tailor-made for Zhao Zongfu. He is Zhao Daiwen’s son, and too many people need to give him face.
At that time, Zhao Zongfu had no contact with the domestic underground party organizations. His direct contact was Liu Yiqiao from the Communist International.
During that period, he often traveled between Peking and Taiyuan. He learned about the situation of Chiang Kai-shek and Yan Xishan from his father, and then used the contradiction between the two of them to win Yan Xishan's cooperation in the war of resistance.
In July 1935, Zhao Zongfu established an intelligence agency in Taiyuan and arranged for Niu Peicong to work as a secretary in Yan Xishan's office.
In addition to Niu Peicong, he also has a right-hand assistant, that is his second brother-in-law Xu Shigong. Xu Shigong is the manager of Yuci Cotton Mill, and he and Yan Xishan seem to be inseparable.
Zhao Zongfu took advantage of the contradiction between them and actively did Xu Shigong's work, prompting Xu Shigong to actively resist Japan.
Because Xu Shigon often traveled between Peiping, Tianjin, and Taiyuan for business, a lot of Zhao Zongfu's information was transmitted through Xu Shigon.
After the July 7th Incident, the voice of resisting Japan became louder across the country. Zhao Zongfu resolutely gave up the opportunity to study in Japan and chose to go to the anti-Japanese front line.
He participated in the Second Theater National Revolutionary War Field Mobilization Committee organized by Xu Fanting, Cheng Zihua, Nan Hanchen and others, and served as the chief of the Propaganda Section.
Soon after, Zhao Zongfu received instructions from his superiors: to infiltrate Yan Xishan to do intelligence work.
In February 1938, Zhao Zongfu came to Linfen Yan Xishan's headquarters Political Department as the chief of the Transportation Section through his father's relationship.
Later, the Transportation Section was expanded into the Transportation Bureau, and Zhao Zongfu became the director. He used this position to establish an intelligence station, and intelligence work was carried out in a flourishing manner.
Picture丨Wang Jingguo
On February 16, Yan Xishan held a cadre meeting in Xiangjun in order to strengthen his rule and squeeze out the Communist Party. The meeting decided to establish the "National Revolutionary Comrades Association" . Zhao Zongfu also participated as a initiator in order to fight for legal status. this organization.
Shortly after the meeting, the Japanese invaders occupied Linfen and Yan Xishan's army was defeated. So he began to plot to seize our party's new army and force Bo Yibo to hand over military power.
In order to maintain Bo Yibo's leadership of the New Army, Zhao Zongfu did a lot, so he also aroused Yan Xishan's suspicion.
In December 1939, Yan Xishan's 13th Army Commander-in-Chief Wang Jingguo led his troops to surround the Transportation Bureau. More than 300 people, including Zhao Zongfu, were surrounded. Fortunately, Zhao Zongfu called his father in time, and Wang Jingguo was unwilling to give in. He reluctantly let him go.
Later, Yan Xishan ordered to take over the Transportation Bureau. He originally wanted to dismiss Zhao Zongfu and investigate, but considering Zhao Daiwen's relationship, he just said lightly in the end, "Young people are doing ridiculous things."
In fact, that For some time, Zhao Zongfu was planning to establish a secret radio station of our party in Shanxi. As a result, not only was the plan disrupted, but also lost contact with the Eastern Department of the Third International.
Picture丨Yan Xishan
He had no choice but to come to the Eighth Route Army’s Second Theater Office and get in touch with the CCP organization. Wang Shiying, director of the office, told him,
"On the one hand, we must get in touch with the Eastern Department of the Third International as soon as possible. On the other hand, we must continue to engage in intelligence work. We must do our best to break into Yan Xishan's key departments again. The deeper we go, the more Good."
In 1940, Yan Xishan's anti-communist measures became more stringent. In order to regain information, he had to join Yan Xishan's various reactionary organizations.
html In May 2018, Zhao Zongfu joined the Kuomintang and received training at the Chongqing Central Training Corps. After returning to Shanxi, he returned to the "Comrade Association" and served as a "backbone" and "cadre committee member".In December of the same year, Zhao Zongfu gained another title of Shanxi Government Counselor. Later, he used these titles to put pressure on Yan Xishan with another underground party member Du Renzhi, resolutely opposed the peace talks with Japan, and reported Yan Xishan's movements to the Party Central Committee in a timely manner.
The Party Central Committee attached great importance to Zhao Zongfu's report and secretly warned Yan Xishan many times. During this period, Zhao Daiwen also came forward and directly prevented Yan Xishan from surrendering to Japan.
Forced by these forces, Yan Xishan did not dare to surrender publicly in the end, nor did he become the second Wang Jingwei .
"Dances with Wolves"
In June 1944, a group of reporters were allowed to visit Yan'an . Yan Xishan specially sent Zhao Zongfu to follow him to explore the truth.
Yan Xishan must have never imagined that Zhao Zongfu, an underground party member, would feel happy just because he could go to Yan'an. After arriving in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, Wang Zhen, commander of the 359th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, first received the visiting group at Nanniwan .
html On June 9, accompanied by Wang Zhen and Ye Jianying, the visiting group arrived in Yan'an. A few days later, Mao Zedong personally received the members of the visiting group.In fact, Zhao Zongfu not only had a meeting with the visiting group, but later, central leaders such as Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Zhu De also met with him alone. Mao Zedong even gave him a woolen coat as a souvenir.
Before leaving, Mao Zedong said to him,
"Your father has passed away (Zhao Daiwen passed away in December 1943). On the issue of the Anti-Japanese War, he was leaning towards us. He also had national pride and should be counted. You are an enlightened person. You have a very arduous task in the future. You should do more work with Yan Xishan when you go back and let him take the path of resisting Japan."
During his time in Yan'an, Zhao Zongfu put down his disguise and happily reconciled with his true nature. The comrades chatted. However, happy days are always short-lived. A few days later, he returned to Yan Xishan.
In August 1945, Japan surrendered, and Yan Xishan devoted all his energy to dealing with the Communist Party.
In order to cooperate with the Liberation War, Zhao Zongfu also made job adjustments to his underground party members. For example, Zhao Zhongshu was transferred to Jinxing Machinery Industry Company as a manager and was able to master a large amount of information on the arms production level and capabilities of Yan Xishan's troops.
Yinrenzhai served as the director of the Foreign Affairs Department and had contact with many journalists and American military officers. He was able to provide important information for our representatives to fight against the United States, Chiang Kai-shek, and Yan.
Zhao Zongfu himself served as the principal of Jinshan Middle School to further develop progressive forces.
On April 26, 1945, Liang Huazhi, then a "senior cadre" of the Comrade Association, arrested 13 underground members of the "Second Drama Propaganda Team" under the leadership of the Political Department of the Central Military Commission of the Kuomintang on the pretext of "communist suspicion." Party member.
Soon, Zhao Zongfu found out that Liang Huazhi did not have any substantial evidence, so he deliberately revealed the news to Chongqing's " Ta Kung Pao " and " Xin Min Bao ". As his social influence continued to increase, Liang Huazhi He can only let people go.
In 1947, the Taiyuan Headquarters of the Taihang Military Region Intelligence Division was established, code-named "909". In February, the "Comrade Association" re-elected "senior cadres", and Zhao Zongfu was elected as the "alternate senior cadre".
Later, Zhao Zongfu also served as the director of the Information Department of the Shanxi Provincial Government and the director of the Department of Education. His diverse identities enabled him to continuously send intelligence to the liberated areas through "909".
In 1948, the People's Liberation Army had achieved victory across the country, overwhelmingly shaking Yan Xishan's status as the "Tu Emperor".
During this period, Yan Xishan's suspicion of Zhao Zongfu became more and more out of control. He frequently transferred Zhao Zongfu's work in an attempt to control his actions.
htmlIn August, after the Battle of Jinzhong, the organization contacted Zhao Zongfu and said, "Now that Taiyuan has become an isolated city, there will not be much work in the future. If necessary, buy a plane ticket to Peiping at any time, or go to the Yuci Jinsui Office in the Liberated Area in makeup." "Zhao Zongfu said, "There is still a lot of work to be done in Taiyuan. In order for the comrades to make less sacrifices and do more work for the liberation of Taiyuan, personal safety is a trivial matter."
So, Zhao Zongfu stayed. He mapped Yan Xishan's military deployment strongholds and the first and second lines of defense, and sent people to the liberated areas.
At the same time, Zhao Zongfu also tried every means to evacuate and rescue revolutionary comrades and their families. At that time, the economy was difficult, and many people left Taiyuan without travel expenses. Zhao Zongfu sold his wife's jewelry to help them buy air tickets.
At this time, A professor from Shanxi University wrote a letter to Zhou Enlai, contacting him to go to the liberated areas. Zhao Zongfu sent someone to deliver the letter, but was seized by the enemy. The man could not stand the torture and confessed, so he confessed to Zhao Zongfu.
html On August 30, Yan Xishan arrested Zhao Zongfu. Yang Zhenji, the "candidate senior cadre", took a look at Zhao Zongfu's mouth. Just this glance made Zhao Zongfu tremble. It was full of progressive students from Jinshan Middle School and those who interacted with Zhao Zongfu. friends.At night, Zhao Zongfu tossed and turned, his own sacrifice was too small, how could he save so many comrades? After much thought, Zhao Zongfu decided to wait and see.
As a result, Liang Huazhi appeared. He was worried that Yang Zhenji would ask something and take the lead, so he changed his mind.
Liang Huazhi pretended to be sad and said that he was sorry for Zhao Zongfu and did not take good care of him.
"I have known about your problem for a long time. There is a lot of material in the command office. I have wanted to talk to you for a long time. I'm afraid that if you don't admit it, the president (Yan Xishan) won't be surprised if something goes wrong now."
Then, he gave Zhao Zongfu an idea of "peace talks", which meant that Zhao Zongfu would tell him about other people and himself. Keep him safe.
After Liang Huazhi left, Zhao Zongfu calmed down and considered the situation. The top priority now was to ensure the safety of the person who gave the confession. In this way, he had only one way to go. That was to bear everything and pretend to surrender and get Liang Huazhi. and Yan Xishan’s trust.
Picture丨Zhao Zongfu
So, Zhao Zongfu wrote a "confession" to Yan Xishan, in which he admitted that he was a Communist Party member who had lost contact and was operating on a single line. He also said that he was weak and affectionate, too bookish, and he had now repented.
Of course, Zhao Zongfu also confessed some things, but they were all insignificant and even things that Yan Xishan already knew.
After reading the "Confession", Yan Xishan became interested in killing Zhao Zongfu. Zhao Zongfu noticed something from Liang Huazhi's attitude, so he fabricated a history of his early years in the Communist International to Liang Huazhi.
"In the last two years of my stay in Beijing, I had cooperation with the Soviets, Americans, and Japanese. After graduating from college, I was planning to go to Japan, so in 1938 I went from Hong Kong to Shanghai to establish relations. As a result, the original leader I quit, and later I found out that the original leader had made a mistake and could no longer contact me. As a result, I no longer had connections with the local party and could not develop the party organization. Now you understand, this is all in the past. If you don’t want to continue, you can go back and report to the president.”
Yan Xishan and Liang Huazhi were very interested in the “International Communist Party”, so they believed what Zhao Zongfu said.
Soon after, Zhao Zongfu returned to work in the Department of Education. After Zhao Zongfu regained his freedom, he was not in a hurry to leave. He continued to cooperate with the People's Liberation Army in underground struggles.
In March 1949, Taiyuan was about to be liberated. Yan Xishan struggled to his death and made another mass arrest. On that day, Zhao Zongfu was preparing to escort eight Communist Party members to leave Taiyuan. However, he was betrayed by a traitor, and all eight comrades and Zhao Zongfu were arrested.
This time, he was imprisoned in an air-raid shelter in the backyard of Yan Xishan's home in the Taiyuan Appeasement Office. Liang Huazhi came again, and he said hypocritically, "Brother, I can't save you this time, but if you fully confess to all the Communists in Taiyuan, I will keep you alive."
Zhao Zongfu Yizheng He said, "I am not a member of the Communist Party, and I don't know the Communist Party organization in Taiyuan." As he said this, he took out a letter he had written to Yan Xishan, "My father hangs out with corrupt officials and warlords, and my father and I are not the same." "If you want to kill me, just kill him."
On March 29, Yan Xishan pretended to be the acting president of the Kuomintang Li Zongren and fled to Nanjing to discuss peace negotiations.
Picture丨Yan Xishan
On the evening of April 23, Liang Huazhi prepared to carry out the decision to execute Zhao Zongfu that Yan Xishan had made before leaving, before setting himself on fire.
He sent a spy with a gun in one hand and a cup of poison in the other, forcing Zhao Zongfu to drink poison and commit suicide. Zhao Zongfu was puzzled,
"Brother, what are the benefits of forcing me to commit suicide? I have done a lot of good things for the people of Shanxi. The People's Liberation Army will soon I am about to enter the city. I will continue to do more good things for the people. Why do you want to kill me? If you kill me, you will be guilty." As soon as he finished speaking, there were two loud bangs from the People's Liberation Army shells outside the door. It has fallen into the compound of the Office of Appeasement. Zhao Zongfu remained calm and continued to do ideological work for the agent, "What are you going to do after the People's Liberation Army enters the city?"
"It's not just waiting to die."
"No! As long as you protect me now, when the People's Liberation Army comes, I will I will definitely protect you."
Perhaps out of desire for survival, the agent threw away the poison, blocked the door with a sack full of sand, and then concentrated on protecting Zhao Zongfu.
Picture | Statue of Zhao Zongfu
Two hours later, the People's Liberation Army vanguard rushed into the compound. Because they didn't understand it clearly, they took Zhao Zongfu and the Yan Xishan Group to the Yuci training camp.
After Taiyuan was liberated, follow-up work began. At this time, Xu Xiangqian received a secret message, "We must find Zhao Zongfu."
Soon after, the Military Control Commission found out the whereabouts of Zhao Zongfu and immediately sent a car to pick him up. Come back. Unexpectedly, the car broke down halfway and the group had to stay overnight in Yuci.
Zhao Zongfu, who had been imprisoned for a long time, proposed that he wanted to take a bath, so the comrades from the Military Control Commission accompanied him to take a bath.
While washing, Zhao Zongfu suddenly collapsed and cried, "I miss the comrades who sacrificed their lives. They did not wait until this day."
