949, Shanghai was on the verge of liberation.
Du Yuesheng fled to Hong Kong, while Huang Jinrong, who was also a tycoon, did not go anywhere and remained in Shanghai.
He chose to live in seclusion in the old house of Junpeili on Tuomen Road. He kept a low profile and lived in seclusion. He only went out every day to drink tea in the teahouse and take a bath in the bathhouse.
Huang Huangrong once did many evil things. After the army led by Chen Yi took over Shanghai, Huang Huangrong chose the path that best protected himself, which was to live what people in Northern Jiangsu call "a skin full of water in the morning and a skin full of water in the evening" Life of idleness.
However, as a former lackey of imperialism who once dominated the people, the people's government cannot easily let him live a life of "no desires and no demands".
After the new government was established in Shanghai, it sent people to his house to state the new policy, although the government would treat him leniently.
But he also had to undergo certain transformations, and one of the transformations was beyond many people's expectations.
Chen Yi gave Huang Jinrong a broom and asked him to sweep the streets in front of Shanghai World .
Chiang Kai-shek who was far away in Taiwan, after learning about Chen Yi's behavior, he praised Chen Yi repeatedly and regretted that he did not have such a beloved general.
So, what is the magic of sweeping the streets that made Chiang Kai-shek admire him so much?
Chen Yi
We might as well go back to that long-ago 1949 and feel the charm of General Chen Yi.
一 How to deal with evil Huang Jinrong
In May 1949, Shanghai citizens who went out to take to the streets were surprised to find such a scene.
None of the People's Liberation Army troops who entered the city did not disturb the people and slept on the streets in an orderly manner.
Since then, the reputation of the People's Liberation Army has spread in Shanghai. Everyone says that the People's Liberation Army is an army of benevolence and righteousness.
And it is generally felt that the Kuomintang will never come back!
After stabilizing the situation in Shanghai, Chen Yi began to deal with various affairs in Shanghai.
banned brothels and arranged for freed prostitutes to be sent to women's correctional centers so that they could live with their own hands.
cares about the lives of millions of residents in shanty towns and strives to solve their problems of water and electricity difficulties.
Shanghai in the last century
In addition, Chen Yi also paid attention to urban construction, cultural construction and other aspects.
Among the many problems that Chen Yi wants to solve, one is the top priority, and that is the old gang problem.
Among the major cities in China, Shanghai is quite special. It was the first to start the modernization process. At the same time,
developed in a chaotic environment and formed various gangs.
They are both destroyers and builders of order, and the problems involved are complex and extremely difficult.
How to deal with Huang Jinrong is the key point.
Huang Huangrong studied in a private school for a period of time in his early days.
When he was seventeen, he worked as an apprentice in his brother-in-law's painting shop. After he was twenty, he completed his studies and started doing business in a painting shop in Nanmen City.
liberate Shanghai
If he had continued working there, maybe Huang Huangrong would have been just an ordinary businessman for the rest of his life.
But after doing it, he still felt that the framer was not very promising, so five years later, he went to the patrol room of the former French Concession to make inquiries.
In Huang Huangrong’s own words, this was the beginning of his sinful life.
While working for the patrol house, he rose through the ranks, rising to detective and chief inspector until he retired at the age of sixty.
And as a patrol officer, he is not simply maintaining order.
is a lackey of French imperialism, and he uses the power given to him by imperialism as a backing to oppress good people and do evil.
Huang Huangrong gradually became accustomed to things like selling tobacco and opening casinos, and countless people were harmed by this.
Not only that, he also accepted many disciples, who in turn accepted disciples. These disciples and grandchildren relied on his influence to dominate society. Instead of stopping it,
Huang Huangrong used it as a means of making profit.
Shanghai in the last century
Huang Jinrong can be called a microcosm of old Shanghai. How to deal with Huang Jinrong means how to deal with Shanghai's old gangs.
We must not tolerate them, but we must not use too much firepower. After all, the situation in Shanghai has not yet completely stabilized at this time. If we are not careful, it may cause extremely bad effects.
So what should we do with Huang Jinrong? It can be said that Chen Yi put a lot of thought into it, and the final results were quite satisfactory.
The first meeting with Huang Jinrong
On the eve of the liberation of Shanghai, Du Yuesheng, a tycoon who had also been all-powerful in Shanghai, kindly persuaded Huang Huangrong, saying that now that the world has changed, it is better to go to Hong Kong together.
But Huang Huangrong rejected Du Yuesheng. He was not indifferent to life and death, but he was already eighty-two years old at that time, and the road was not good. If he really ran to Hong Kong, he might die before reaching the place.
Based on this consideration, Huang Huangrong told Du Yuesheng - that's all, I won't go, I might as well return to my roots.
Huang Jinrong thought to himself that he had always remained unchanged in response to all changes in his life.
When the Japanese invaded, Zhang Xiaolin , one of the three tycoons in Shanghai, became a traitor and was beaten to death.
Du Yuesheng fled to the rear. If he didn't run away at that time, what would the Japanese do to him?
Later, Chiang Kai-shek came back. Although he was not as famous as Du Yuesheng, didn't Chiang Kai-shek, his former disciple, still come to him respectfully?
So Huang Huangrong made up his mind: rather than die at sea, it is better to stay in Shanghai and leave the rest to fate. Maybe he still has a way to survive.
Huang Huangrong was somewhat confident about this way of survival.
Before the liberation of Shanghai, the Communist Party conveyed a message to Huang Huangrong through his old friend Yang Hu, who was the former Songhu garrison commander: As long as Huang Huangrong does not do bad things in the future, the past can be forgotten.
Receiving this news was like a reassurance for Huang Huangrong.
Shanghai in the last century
As a veteran in the world, he knows best that "those who understand current affairs are heroes."
Feeling calm, Huang Huangrong immediately sent someone to hand over the roster of more than 400 Youth Gang leaders and the Kuomintang property report he sent to hand over to the Communist Party to show his sincerity in atonement.
Since then, Huang Huangrong has restrained himself a lot in Shanghai. He often warned his disciples to restrain themselves from going out to cause trouble.
This has made a certain contribution to deterring the remaining forces in Shanghai and consolidating our party's construction in the Shanghai area.
Since the People's Liberation Army invaded Shanghai, Huang Huangrong has kept a low profile and remained indifferent to outside affairs.
He knows that "evil forces" like himself will be in big trouble if they don't keep a low profile.
For Huang Huangrong, the party's policy is to treat him leniently.
On the one hand, this was because the country's situation was not stable at that time, so the party's main policy was to unite all those who could be united, eliminate stubborn forces, and stabilize social order.
On the other hand, we also consider that Huang Huangrong has not done much evil in recent years and is quite cooperative with our party's work, so we should be lenient with him.
One day, two jeeps drove up at the door of Huang Huangrong's mansion. They were Du Xuan, the representative of the Military Control Commission, and he was accompanied by more than ten People's Liberation Army soldiers.
Huang Huangrong was a little scared. Looking at this battle, it seemed that some of the attackers were evil. But Du Xuan's mission was not to arrest or harm him, but to convey Chen Yi's ideas.
Du Xuan first stated the mistakes Huang Jinrong had made in the past, and then announced to him the new government's policy towards him, and emphasized that he should obey the discipline of the people's government.
Huang Huangrong was still a little frightened at first, but after hearing what Du Xuan said, he felt a little relieved. He nodded repeatedly and expressed his feelings to Du Xuan. He had indeed done a lot of evil things over the years.
The new government did not kill him, which is really a great tolerance. He will definitely strictly control his disciples and not cause trouble to the new government.
At that time, Huang Jinrong was already very old, and his teeth had fallen out. His accent was mumbled when he spoke, and he could not understand clearly. It would have been difficult to understand him if there were not someone around him to translate for him.
Huang Huangrong
As for Huang Huangrong, Du Xuan also had some words of praise, saying that although he and his disciples had done evil things.
However, he also made a contribution that cannot be ignored in the construction of Shanghai. Especially during the Anti-Japanese War, he was also very dignified and did not become a traitor. These are all worthy of praise.
What moved Huang Jinrong the most was what Chen Yi asked Du Xuanda to say - in view of Huang Huangrong's various performances, the new government decided not to list him as a target of dictatorship, on the condition that he must submit to reform.
Huang Huangrong is quite satisfied with this. He was deeply moved and took out the gold watch given to him by Chiang Kai-shek and gave it to Du Xuan. The cover of the watch was engraved with the words: "His Majesty Jin Rong Hui Cun, Chiang Zhongzheng respectfully presented it."
Submitting such a table to the government showed his determination to make a clean break with Chiang Kai-shek.
This time, it was Chen Yi’s first encounter with Huang Jinrong.
Since then, Huang Huangrong has kept a lower profile.
Although the new government allows him to operate his "big world", "shared stage", etc. as in the past.
However, he was still very careful and gave all the properties to his disciples to take care of, and he did not dare to show his face casually again.
Chen Yi
Three Sweeping the streets and writing the "Book of Repentance"
Huang Jinrong is no longer as majestic as in the past, and the door gradually becomes deserted.
A year later, our party promulgated the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Punishing Counterrevolutionaries" in Shanghai, and launched a campaign to suppress counterrevolutionaries in full swing.
During this movement, calls for Huang Jinrong to be punished resounded among the people.
In fact, as early as after Chen Yi liberated Shanghai, people were clamoring for the death of Huang Jinrong.
However, due to policy considerations at the time, Chen Yi did not touch Huang Jinrong, but launched an attack on his disciples and disciples.
During this movement, ordinary people reported many of Huang Huangrong's disciples and disciples. The police quickly arrested them and found a large amount of ammunition and opium in Huang Mansion.
Among Huang Huangrong's disciples, Ding Yongchang was the most rampant. After Huang Huangrong retired, Huang Huangrong handed over his big business in Shanghai, Rongji World Amusement Park, to Ding Yongchang, who took full charge of it.
However, Ding Yongchang exploited the employees of Big World very seriously. Although Big World has constant visitors every day and earns a lot of money, the employees' income is pitiful.
Ding Yongchang did not understand why his boss and a generation tycoon Huang Jinrong was so low-key.
He still goes his own way and bullies innocent employees in the big world without any scruples.
After the suppression of the counter-revolutionary movement, Ding Yongchang finally received retribution for his previously unscrupulous behavior. Not only was Ding Yongchang reported and accused in letters by employees of Great World, but Huang Jinrong was also implicated.
Chen Yi, who received the report letter, fell into thinking.
From the perspective of Big World employees, Huang Huangrong is definitely the embodiment of evil.
Moreover, employees’ rights have been damaged, and there is naturally Huang Huangrong’s instruction or tacit approval behind it.
At present, the employees of Great World are already boiling with resentment and say they will continue to fight Huang Huangrong.
Does he want to satisfy public opinion or turn a blind eye? Both options of
are obviously unwise.
First of all, he cannot undermine the party's policies and touch Huang Jinrong at will. When the current situation is not stable at that time, touching Huang Jinrong will undoubtedly have a certain impact on the fight against gangs and evil.
Chen Yi
But it is really inappropriate to ignore the voice of the people. After all, the legitimate rights and interests of employees have indeed been harmed.
After some thought, Chen Yi finally decided: He must give an explanation to his employees to serve as a warning to the monkeys, and at the same time, his handling of Huang Huangrong should not be too outrageous.
So on this day, representative Deng, a government worker, went to the Huang Mansion under Chen Yi's instructions.
When Huang Jinrong greeted him tremblingly, he showed a serious expression, just like Du Xuan last time.
once again laid out Huang Jinrong's past crimes, and then solemnly told Huang Jinrong that the people needed him to complete a task.
How dare Huang Huangrong disobey? He immediately expressed that he was willing to complete any task.
However, to his surprise, Representative Deng conveyed Chen Yi's instructions to him - asking him to go to the streets to clean.
Representative Deng said that Huang Jinrong did not know the sufferings of the people, and hoped that he could put himself into the people's situation through cleaning, so as to realize his crime of oppressing the people.
Shanghai Great World
The place Chen Yi chose for him to sweep the streets this time was actually the entrance to the Great World, a treasure-producing place that Huang Huangrong could no longer be familiar with.
Later, major newspapers spread the unbelievable scene - the then dignified Shanghai tycoon Huang Jinrong was sweeping the floor on the street in a waning manner. It is really sad that
has gotten to this point.
Citizens who passed Huang Huangrong at that time also lamented that the world had indeed changed, and reporters rushed over to capture this scene.
The reason why Huang Huangrong was placed at the gate of the Golden World was largely due to the fact that Huang Huangrong was already old and could not be allowed to do too heavy a job. Otherwise, if something happened to Huang Huangrong, it would be a big disaster. trouble.
On the other hand, arranging the location in the Golden World is also very dramatic.
The Golden World is actually a microcosm of the life of Huang Huangrong, an arrogant tycoon.
And being swept away in front of the golden world with such an old posture makes this tall figure look so downcast.
Huang Jinrong
To achieve this goal, Chen Yi only used a broom.
This is why even Chiang Kai-shek had to admire Chen Yi's methods after hearing about this incident, and regretted that he did not have such a shrewd and capable subordinate.
After all, Chiang Kai-shek's methods were far inferior to Chen Yi's in dealing with gangs.
We all know that Chiang Kai-shek once worshiped Huang Huangrong. Later, after Chiang Kai-shek became powerful in the Kuomintang, he always wanted to get rid of his gangster identity.
But this level of identity is not so easy to get rid of.
In 1927, Chiang Kai-shek held a wedding with Soong Meiling . After the wedding, Chiang Kai-shek sat on the throne of commander-in-chief, and this was the time when he needed to exert his authority.
However, there is an unwritten rule in old Shanghai, that is, all celebrities and dignitaries who want to gain a foothold in Shanghai must pay insurance premiums to the Qinggang.
Although Chiang Kai-shek was the commander-in-chief, he could not break this rule.
Seeing that her husband was in trouble, Song Meiling repeatedly advised Chiang Kai-shek that even though he was the commander-in-chief, he could not be so cowardly.
Chiang Kai-shek gritted his teeth and decided to offend the Qing Gang, neither paying the insurance premium nor saying hello to Du Yuesheng.
Du Yuesheng knew about this, so he "invited" Soong Meiling into Du Mansion. Chiang Kai-shek had no choice but to admit defeat, and finally fulfilled the "insurance premium" procedures.
Du Yuesheng
Later, Chiang Kai-shek's status became higher and higher, and he always gave it three points to the Youth Gang, and even collaborated with them, conspiring together to seize interests and power. In contrast, when Chen Yi ordered Huang Jinrong to be disgraced, he did not make unlimited compromises or suppress his prestige, nor did he go too far.
In doing so, it not only demonstrated Chen Yi's mind and magnanimity, but also demonstrated our party's principle and flexibility of not compromising on the evil forces while not beating them to death with a stick.
Of course, Chen Yi did not often let Huang Huangrong be so disgraced.This "transformation" measure is more of a symbolic meaning. If done for a long time, it may damage Huang Huangrong's body.
And under this silent treatment, Chen Yi once again made Huang Jinrong bow under his wrist.
But here, the story between Chen Yi and Huang Jinrong is not completely over yet. Later, Chen Yi struck while the iron was hot and used the remaining power of the broom incident to further get Huang Jinrong to publish a "confession" in the newspaper and express his "willingness to confess his repentance to the people."
"Support the people's government and the Communist Party" and "cleanse the stains in personal history and start a new life."
After suppressing the counter-revolutionary movement, Huang Huangrong became more and more frightened and under increasing pressure, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Not long after, Chen Yi sent comrades from the Shanghai People's Government to summon Huang Jinrong. On the premise that his previous policies would remain unchanged, he hoped that he would publicly publish a "letter of repentance" in the newspaper.
The then Deputy Mayor of the Shanghai Municipal People's GovernmentSheng Pihuafirst said: "Some representatives at the National People's Congress filed a complaint and asked the government to deal with you. You have committed a crime in your life. The evil is very serious, but you have not committed any evil in the years before liberation, and you can still keep your peace after liberation, and you are 86 years old. You can confess your crime to the people first and then deal with it."
Fang Xing, deputy prosecutor of the People's Procuratorate at the time, also advised Huang Jinrong. , gain the people’s tolerance.
Huang Huangrong, whose arrogance has been suppressed, will naturally not object. Instead, he repeats the same old tune, saying that he has indeed committed a serious crime and that he will definitely support the government's instructions.
Huang Huangrong's Confession
In the end, Huang Huangrong finally wrote the famous "Huang Huangrong's Confession".
However, after the book of repentance was published in the newspapers, it aroused even more indignation among the citizens.
Huang Huangrong was even more frightened. He did not dare to go out every day and was always worried at home.
Huang Huangrong was already very old, and after being criticized by the public, his physical condition worsened to the point where he could no longer move.
The house leaked and it rained all night. When his condition was at its worst, his wife Li Zhiqing also took the money and fled to Hong Kong.
At this time, Huang Huangrong's family's finances were also in trouble. Just like that, his sick body finally couldn't bear it anymore. On June 20, 1953, the 86-year-old Huang Huangrong finally stopped breathing.
Editor: Xiaoxian
Editor: Lin Hua
