Although it was the first time the two met, the upright General Chen Geng immediately said angrily to the man before he introduced himself: "Shen Yi, Shen Yi, what an outstanding talent you are, why do you do such a dirty job?" What’s the matter? You’re not satisfied with being p

In 1953, in the visiting room of a prison in Beijing, General Chen Geng, who was sitting on a chair, watched as a middle-aged man with a gloomy face was brought in by the prison guards. His hands were handcuffed and he sat opposite General Chen Geng.

Although it was the first time the two met, the upright General Chen Geng immediately said angrily to the man before he introduced himself:

" Shen Yi Ah Shen Yi, what an outstanding talent you are, why are you so... Doing such a dirty thing? You are not satisfied with holding an important position with a salary from the state, but you still want to embezzle public funds."

Chen Geng

Shen Yi lowered his head and remained silent for a moment, then whispered: "I was the one who made the mistake and failed the government. Trust me."

Chen Geng looked at Shen Yi who continued to be silent, and the anger in his heart gradually dissipated. He sighed helplessly and said, "Your talents should not be wasted. I hope you still have the opportunity to contribute to the country." Turn around and leave.

Shen Yi didn't know why this meeting happened. He guessed that Chen Geng just came to see him because he needed to handle something related to him.

What he never expected was that after Chen Geng left, he began to fight for his pardon. After

left, Chen Geng began to work tirelessly to pardon Shen Yi. He successively found Bo Yibo, the then director of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, Vice Premier Dong Biwu of the Government Affairs Council (the predecessor of the State Council), and Shen Junru, President of the Supreme Court. Finally, he asked for instructions on the matter. Chairman Mao's place.

Dong Biwu

In the end, after joint discussions between Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou and Dong Biwu, Shen Yi was commuted from death to life imprisonment.

Who is this Shen Yi? Why on earth was he sentenced to death?

Why did Chen Geng go all out for him, and in the end it was Chairman Mao himself who gave the instructions that exempted Shen Yi from the death penalty?

From the battlefield to school

Things should start with Harbin Military Engineering Institute founded by Chen Geng.

In 1952, General Chen Geng, who was commanding operations on the Korean battlefield, suddenly received an order from the central government, asking him to immediately return to Beijing to meet Chairman Mao.

Chairman Mao

A few days later, in Zhongnanhai, Beijing, Chairman Mao explained to Chen Geng the decision made by the central government:

"Chen Geng, the central government has just made a decision to prepare to build our own Military Engineering College . Do you think it will happen?" What big problem will there be?"

Chen Geng felt a little sudden, but then he realized the necessity and urgency of the central government's decision. He remembered his feelings on the Korean battlefield:

"That's great, the soldiers of our army. Everyone dares to fight, but they always suffer in terms of weapons and equipment. If we have good guns and good artillery, we will definitely take the combat effectiveness of the troops to a new level. "

Chen Geng

"If we had fought before the Korean War. With our own military industry, we can repel the U.S. military without much loss."

Chairman Mao nodded and said: "Yes, the national defense industry is an important foundation for the country's military strength, so I will leave it to you to build this school. , what do you think? "

Chen Geng is not only an excellent military commander, but also has many connections with Military Academy .

In his early years, Chen Geng graduated from Huangpu Military Academy . He also served as the guard company commander of the principal of Huangpu Military Academy. Later, during the Red Army period, he was ordered to be in charge of the Red Army Infantry School. He performed very well and trained a large number of outstanding Red Army commanders and fighters.

Chen Geng understood the chairman's painstaking efforts. He knew that because he had a lot of experience in dealing with military academies, the central government finally chose him.

He immediately said to Chairman Mao: "The Party Central Committee believes in my ability, and I cannot hold back. I promise to complete the task and run the school well." He then saluted the Chairman with a military salute.

Before parting, the chairman held Chen Geng's sign and said sincerely: "The development of the country's military education depends on you. When we can produce good weapons and equipment in the future depends on how well you do.”

Chairman Mao

Chen Geng kept Chairman Mao’s words in mind, and immediately started the preparation work after returning home.

To build a school, the first step was to select a school site, because at that time our country received aid from the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union was full of interest in Harbin. I have a good impression of cities with Soviet-Russian architectural styles.

In addition, considering the convenience of Sino-Soviet exchanges and the later expansion of the school, the central government finally adopted the Soviet Union’s suggestions and decided to establish the Military Engineering College in Harbin, so this school was later also known as "Harbin Military Industry".

After receiving the transfer order, Chen Geng rushed from Beijing to Bingcheng Harbin and personally directed the construction of the school building.

Harbin Military Industry

In the scorching summer, Chen Geng was responsible for the dispatching under the scorching sun. After a summer of work, a layer of skin peeled off from the sun.

After the construction of the school building was on track, Chen Geng not only traveled back and forth in Beijing to obtain teachers for the school, but also went to Harbin to check the construction situation whenever he had time. .

Even in the severe cold of dozens of degrees below zero in winter, he never leaves himself any personal time.

Harbin in winter

Even if he feels uncomfortable, he never stops as long as he can continue to work. , all this hard work was seen by his wife, and she tried her best to persuade her husband to pay attention to his body and take time to rest.

Facing his wife's concern, Chen Geng felt warm in his heart, but in his heart he felt sorry for the thousands of people who had sacrificed themselves. The sympathy of the soldiers on the battlefield made him never dare to slack off.

In front of his wife, Chen Geng, who had always been strong and forthright, couldn't help but burst into tears when he recalled his experience in the Korean War.

On the battlefield to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea, Chen Geng could not help but burst into tears. He once ignored the dissuasion of the guards and risked his life to go to the front line to check the fighting situation.

Korean battlefield

He saw with his own eyes that soldiers often approached the enemy's positions to throw grenades in order to kill the enemy. The soldiers were killed by the enemy's machine guns before they even got close.

Because our army did not have anti-tank guns , in order to deal with the enemy's tanks, the soldiers often crawled forward to the tanks with explosive bags to blast them.

Under the enemy's fierce fire, the demolition squad often suffered heavy casualties. Sometimes, in order to blow up an enemy tank, the entire squad of soldiers may be filled in.

Although our army will use its tenacious will to defeat the United Nations forces led by the United States. was defeated steadily, but because of its obvious disadvantages in military equipment, our army also paid a heavy price. This is mainly due to the lack of good enough weapons and equipment.

Whenever he recalls his war experience, the scene of one soldier after another unfortunately falling on the battlefield due to the gap in weapons and equipment will appear in Chen Geng's mind.

The tragic scenes of the Korean battlefield

were unforgettable to him, and he could not help but shed tears every time he thought of them.

Thinking of this, Chen Geng said to his wife: "The construction of a country's defense industry is directly related to how many soldiers will be killed or injured in the war. How dare I slack off at all."

His wife understood Chen Geng's painstaking efforts and secretly told herself in her heart , take good care of your husband who works day and night.

With the psychological support of his wife, Chen Geng went all out to build the school. In addition to building the campus, another important task was to introduce sufficient teachers to the school.

Harbin Military Industry

was looking for people everywhere to build the school

At that time, there were not many people in the country who really understood the military industry, and the only experts were distributed in various positions across the country.

Some of them work in arsenals, some are responsible for the inspection and maintenance of weapons in the army, and some are engaged in jobs that have little to do with the military industry.

It really takes a lot of work to bring these people together to form a school teaching staff.

Chen Geng attaches great importance to the introduction of talents. Whenever he hears that there are talents in the military industry, he will always try his best to "dig" them.

Beijing Street

Although various agencies and units are very supportive of Chen Geng's work, whenever Chen Geng "poachs" people from his old comrades, the other party still can't help but ridicule: "You guys are here to poach people again. Who are you targeting this time? "

Every time this happens, the bold and generous Chen Geng will smile and joke with the other person, while asking the other person to sign the transfer order, and then happily rush to the next place.

In addition to Chen Geng himself looking for teacher candidates, his subordinate Zhang Shuzu is also responsible for talent introduction.

During that time, Zhang Shuzu often came to Chen Geng's office early in the morning and handed over a newly drafted talent introduction list, and then Chen Geng would find a way to go to each unit one by one to recruit people.

Beijing Street

At the beginning, Zhang Shuzu would remind Chen Geng that some of them might be more difficult to get.

"This person is not in the military and political system, and may need to do some ideological work"

"That person is holding an important position, and the handover of work may take some time"...

As for these difficulties, Chen Geng, who has always been bold and courageous, has always been brave. He was not afraid of difficulties. No matter what kind of difficulties there were, he would try his best to get people over as quickly as possible. Therefore, Zhang Shuzu gradually relaxed and stopped giving many reminders.

Chen Geng

What Zhang Shuzu didn't know was that Chen Geng did a good job in personnel work every time, but he actually put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes.

During that time, Chen Geng became a frequent visitor to major institutions in Beijing, especially inside and outside Zhongnanhai . Chen Geng and others could often be seen alone.

The winter in Beijing was very cold at that time. Outside the door of the Xihua Hall in Zhongnanhai, the frost on the ground caused by the morning cold had not dissipated. Chen Geng was already standing there with documents in hand, waiting for Premier Zhou's appearance.

Zhongnanhai

He was afraid that Premier Zhou would not be able to spare time to see him after he started a busy day of work, so he simply came to wait for Premier Zhou before he went out.

As long as the document can be signed by Premier Zhou as soon as possible, Chen Geng would rather suffer the cold than to implement the matter as soon as possible.

He put his vigor and resoluteness as a soldier into school construction.

After seeing Premier Zhou coming out, Chen Geng hurriedly greeted him with documents. First, he greeted him with a military salute: "Good morning, Premier."

Premier Zhou was surprised and asked humorously: "Chen Geng, what made you so anxious that you blocked me at the door so early in the morning?"

Premier Zhou

"You can figure it out. I've been waiting. I'm waiting for you to sign." After saying that, he handed over the transfer order that required Premier Zhou's approval. After Premier Zhou finished signing and a few words of greetings, Chen Geng hurriedly said goodbye to Premier Zhou and rushed to his next destination.

Premier Zhou looked at Chen Geng's back, smiled and said to the people around him: "This Chen Geng left in a hurry before he said a few words. Now he is much busier than me."

Chen Geng walked around non-stop in a vigorous and resolute manner. The important person handled the matter very decisively and efficiently, but he also encountered a thorny problem in the process.

A talented prisoner on death row

Suddenly one day, Zhang Shuzu pointed to one of the names when handing over the list and said: "I'm afraid it will be very difficult to find this person. Maybe you need to ask Premier Zhou or Chairman Mao for instructions."

Chen Geng

Chen Geng curiously took the list and saw the three words "death row prisoner" written after the name Shen Yi on the list. He asked doubtfully: "The death row prisoner also wants it? Is this person that important?"

Zhang Shuzu said , this Shen Yi once studied in France to study the principles of ballistics. He made a lot of contributions to the army during the Anti-Japanese War and was a rare ballistics expert in the country.

Later, during the Liberation War, he participated in the uprising in Northeast China and joined the People's Liberation Army. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he worked as the financial director of the Civil Aviation Administration. He was sentenced to death for accepting huge amounts of bribes.

After hearing this, Chen Geng fell into hesitation. He believed that even if he wanted to use a death row prisoner, he must first understand his ideological status. If his thoughts are unrepentant, it is better not to use them.

Chen Geng

In order to understand Shen Yi, Chen Geng personally visited the prison.

General Chen Geng had an upright temper. When he saw Shen Yi in prison, he couldn't help scolding him: "Tell me, you are such a talented person, why do you do such dirty things? With a salary from the state, you serve as You are not satisfied with holding an important position."

Shen Yi lowered his head and remained silent for a moment, then whispered: "I am guilty and betrayed the government's trust in me."

Prison Visiting Room (picture from the Internet)

Chen Geng looked at Chen Geng who continued to remain silent. Shen Yi, the anger in his heart gradually dissipated, sighed helplessly and said: "Your talents should not be wasted. I hope you still have the opportunity to contribute to the country." Then he turned and left.

Shen Yi didn't know why this meeting happened. He guessed that Chen Geng just came to see him because he needed to handle something related to him.

What he never expected was that after Chen Geng left, he began to fight for his pardon.

After putting down the phone, Chen Geng immediately called Bo Yibo, the director of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission who was in charge of Shen Yi's case.

Bo Yibo

After Chen Geng expressed his hope to pardon Shen Yi, Bo Yibo pondered for a moment and said: "As long as I can get Mr. Dong's consent, I have no objection."

Mr. Dong was referring to Dong Biwu, who was in charge of the Government Affairs Council (State Council) (formerly known as the former) Deputy Prime Minister, in charge of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee.

Bo Yibo, as the person directly responsible for the case, was unable to make a decision. Chen Geng realized that the matter was not as simple as he thought. After putting down the phone, he fell into deep thought.

Since he joined the revolution, he has always punished evil and promoted good according to the principle of integrity. He never expected that he would now go around interceding for a death row prisoner who committed a serious crime.

However, in order to win talents for Harbin Military Industry, he still chose to move forward without hesitation.

Chen Geng quickly called Dong Biwu’s office.

Dong Biwu

Chen Geng originally thought that Dong Biwu would be able to make the final decision. Unexpectedly, after he explained what he meant on the phone, Dong Biwu was silent for a moment and said: "I can't make the decision alone on this matter. I will go to Shen Junru to discuss it." "Just a moment."

Shen Junru was the president of the Supreme Court at the time. After receiving a call from Dong Biwu, he said that he could not make up his mind and needed to ask Premier Zhou for instructions.

Shen Junru

Dong Biwu felt that if he went to ask Premier Zhou for instructions, if Premier Zhou couldn't make up his mind, he would ask Chairman Mao for instructions, so Dong Biwu simply went to Chairman Mao directly.

After Dong Biwu went to Zhongnanhai to express his intention in front of Chairman Mao, Chairman Mao immediately sent someone to find Premier Zhou to discuss it together.

In the end, after discussions between Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou and Dong Biwu, Shen Yi was commuted from the death penalty to life imprisonment. He was given the opportunity to serve his sentence outside the prison and was sent directly from the prison to the newly built Harbin Military Industrial Campus.

Shen Yi devoted himself to teaching military industry from then on, and due to his outstanding performance, his sentence was continuously reduced until he gained complete personal freedom a few years later.

Harbin Military Industry

At the same time, under the painstaking management of General Chen Geng, Kazakhstan Military Industry has made a good start. Over the years of development, it has not only provided a large number of military industry scientific and technological talents to the country, but also spawned many universities. were also established one after another.

What is saddening is that General Chen Geng, who devoted all his efforts to all this, unfortunately died of a heart attack when he led a delegation to visit the Soviet Union in 1957. He was only 58 years old.

Although General Chen Geng passed away, his resolute, daring qualities and courageous revolutionary spirit became the soul of Harbin Military Industry, influencing batches of students who came out of here.

The statue of Chen Geng in the Harbin Military Industry Building

pays tribute to the revolutionary predecessors who devoted themselves to the country and made selfless contributions!