The chairman took the list and looked at it carefully. The other party was a little surprised. Chairman Mao sighed and continued: "If it weren't for him, Enlai and I would have died long ago."

Foreword

On the occasion of the conferment of the title in 1955, Lai Chuanzhu handed over the drafted list of generals to Chairman Mao for review. The chairman took the list and looked at it carefully.

After reading the list, he was a little annoyed. He raised his head and asked: "Why is there no Li Kenong? Isn't he qualified to evaluate the rank of general?"

The other party was a little surprised. Chairman Mao sighed and continued: "If it weren't for him, Enlai and I were already dead."

Why did Chairman Mao say this, and what did Li Kenong do?

Li Kenong’s red development history

In 1899, Li Kenong was born into a family in Chao County, Anhui. At that time, Li Kenong was quite lucky. His family was well-off. Although it was not as wealthy as the wealthy, it was still a well-off family, so he did not suffer too much when he was a child.

Soon, Li Kenong began to go to school, private school, elementary school, and middle school. Under the protection of his family, he lived an orderly and happy childhood life.

However, as Li Kenong grew up, he gradually recognized the true face of the darkness of the society at that time. At the same time, he also understood that family was not a shelter after all, and he needed to do something for this turbulent era.

In 1919, the May Fourth Movement broke out. Driven by revolutionary thoughts, he and his classmate Aying participated in the patriotic student movement. They took to the streets to encourage more students to join the parade and do something for our dying country. Order something.

After that, Li Kenong's patriotic spirit was completely ignited. Seeing the great powers' wanton oppression of China, and seeing the lives of ordinary people across the country becoming increasingly difficult, he vowed to change this situation.

In 1926, under the guidance of our party's revolutionaries, Li Kenong officially joined the Communist Party. He strongly agreed with the advanced theories of the Communist Party and identified his own revolutionary direction.

Not long after Li Kenong

joined the Communist Party, the Party Central Committee asked him to go to Anhui to promote revolutionary ideas and recruit more patriots. That was his hometown, which also facilitated his work.

But not long after arriving in Anhui, the evil old Chiang Kai-shek began to suppress the Communist Party. Many revolutionaries died tragically. The Anhui area where Li Kenong was located was also swept away by the Kuomintang troops.

In 1927, the National Revolution failed, and a more terrifying cleanup work was launched against our party's comrades. Many comrades were arrested by the Kuomintang because they had no time to move.

In such a dangerous situation, Li Kenong hid in Tibet to avoid the enemy's tracking. In addition to hiding, he would also collect intelligence everywhere in Wuhu, Anhui, to help the central backbone escape from the clutches of the clutches.

During that time, Li Kenong showed his extraordinary ability to gather information, which saved many comrades.

Everything Li Kenong did was seen by the organization. It was after this that his revolutionary work officially changed from propaganda on the front to intelligence collection on the hidden front.

Kuomintang

In 1929, with the approval of the party organization, Li Kenong applied for the position of news editor of the Shanghai Radio Administration Bureau. With his outstanding ability, he was successfully admitted.

This management office is not ordinary. It looks ordinary on the surface, but it is actually the headquarters of the Kuomintang Central Unification Secret Service. Li Kenong naturally knows this, but the reason why he came here is to infiltrate the Kuomintang and collect more intelligence for the organization.

The Kuomintang spy organization is not a simple place. It is called the "heart" of the enemy. He wants to collect intelligence in the enemy's heart. It is conceivable how dangerous Li Kenong's future situation will be, and the counter-investigation of these people Their abilities are all top-notch.

Before departure, Premier Zhou asked him: "Are you ready?"

Li Kenong looked nervous. He was still a fledgling on the intelligence front and had no confidence that he could complete the task, but even so, he had no hesitation.

Li Kenong is ready to sacrifice. Only by being fearless can he walk on the tightrope. He is the next person to walk on the tightrope.

Afterwards, under the arrangement of the organization, Li Kenong entered the spy organization.

After entering inside, Li Kenong discovered that the lifestyle gap between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party was huge. The arrogant and luxurious style of the Kuomintang officials made him unable to adapt for a while, but every time, he would think of Zhou Enlai's advice:

" we get this piece The position is not easy, you must defend it as much as possible, and do not expose it until it is absolutely necessary. In order to be able to hide for a long time, your surface life must be acceptable. "

Yes, in such a dangerous place, you must not be discovered. , he must be no different from others. After

, he really integrated into it. The salary of the bureau is very generous. The officials here wear crisp suits every day and shuttle through the bureau with oily hair and pink faces.

Li Kenong also followed their example. He wore suits and leather shoes all day long, as if he had made a fortune as an official. He was also condemned by a large number of people for this, but it didn't matter, at least it proved that he was hiding very well. in place.

In addition, he often visited casinos and horse racing halls, and hung out with the Kuomintang officials all day long.. As a result, no one doubted his identity. Over time, he gradually gained a foothold within the spy organization.

Rushing to tell each other to complete the intelligence mission

After the Kuomintang's internal stability, Li Kenong officially began to work latent. With his good ability, he was quickly spotted by the spy chief Xu Enzeng.

Xu En once liked to discover new talents. He repeatedly wanted to let Li Kenong move up the ladder, and persuaded him: With his ability, he has every chance to continue climbing up.

But faced with Xu Enzeng’s suggestions, Li Kenong rejected them all. It stands to reason that the higher the position, the more secrets Li Kenong has access to. This is definitely a great opportunity, so why would Li Kenong refuse?

It is true that the higher the position, the more intelligence can be collected, but he is surrounded by spies, how can he steal the information so easily, and if it is not kept intact, could this be Xu Enzeng's test?

However, although he rejected Xu Enzeng's proposal, he still showed his kindness to him from time to time. As time went by, Xu Enzeng appreciated this young man even more.

With Xu Enzeng's "help", Li Kenong's work under the ambush of Central Committee went more smoothly. After that, he successively reported the latest situation of the Kuomintang to our party. With the help of intelligence, party work in various places was able to continue smoothly. .

Xu Enzen

Li Kenong performed well. In 1930, Zhou Enlai officially approved him to join the Central Special Branch and continue to serve the organization.

But in that era, dangers were everywhere, and that time the central agency almost suffered a devastating blow.

In April 1931, Gu Shunzhang, an intelligence agent of the Central Special Branch, was arrested and immediately rebelled.

To say that this person is not an ordinary person, the Party Central Committee set up a special group to facilitate the work of the Central Special Branch in Shanghai. Gu Shunzhang is the section chief of the third group and occupies a very important position like Chen Geng, the section chief of the second group. At the same time, he also holds many important secrets of our party. The rebellion of people like

will undoubtedly be a devastating blow to our party. After

was arrested in Wuhan, he immediately confessed the members of the Wuhan underground party. Subsequently, the underground party there was brutally destroyed and many comrades were killed.

Later, in order to increase his social status, he told the Kuomintang that he knew the addresses of our party's central organs and leaders, and demanded that he be sent to Shanghai quickly so that he could meet Chiang Kai-shek .

The interrogators had never seen such a situation, so they wanted to quickly report to Xu Enzeng before making a decision. During this period, Gu Shunzhang reminded them many times: Do not send telegrams, as there are also lurking CCP members in the secret service.

Xu Enzeng

Gu Shunzhang can be described as a completely despicable villain. For his own safety and future plans, he directly revealed all the secrets of our party. But fortunately, he did not win the trust of the Kuomintang interrogators at that time.

After he repeatedly stressed, they still sent the telegram, but it was precisely because of this telegram that the leaders of our party agencies were given a buffer opportunity.

Xu Enzeng's secretary Qian Zhuangfei immediately discovered something was wrong after receiving the telegrams. These were urgent telegrams, and they had the words "Xu Enzeng personally translated" on them, so he secretly translated them.

Yes, Qian Zhuangfei is also a latent agent of the Central Special Branch. He was placed within the secret service to cooperate with Li Kenong. After the translation, he immediately realized something was wrong. While sending the original telegram, he arranged for his son-in-law to This news was brought to Li Kenong and he was asked to convey it to the central government as soon as possible.

After a moment, he calmed down and quickly thought of a response plan. This incident happened so suddenly. It was not the time for him to communicate with his liaison officer Chen Geng that day, and his traffic officer happened to be away for business, so he had no way of sending the information out.

At that time, Li Kenong was like an ant on a hot pot, anxious. He wanted to come up with a good response, but time was running out. If the intelligence was not sent out, the central leader Zhou Enlai and other comrades would definitely be arrested soon.

Forced, Li Kenong could only run on his own. Regardless of his own safety, he found Jiangxi Provincial Committee , and then found Chen Geng through them, so that the news could be passed on.

Everyone must be aware of the dangers of the hidden front. For their own safety, they must not reveal their flaws in anything they do, otherwise they will be easily seen through, especially within the spy organization where there are many talented people.

But Li Kenong can no longer control so much. For the safety of the CCP agencies, he can only risk the danger to deliver intelligence. However, thanks to the timely intelligence, after the party organization working in Shanghai received the information, it was immediately sent out and the transfer began.

Zhou Enlai was not afraid of danger and made sure that every department was informed of the news before leaving his post. Finally, during the evacuation, he passed by the Kuomintang and stayed away from danger.

Party organizations in other places also moved to safe areas within 20 hours. The CCP organs were not completely wiped out by the enemy.

Chen Geng

CCP leaders and CCP agencies were not hit, but the Central Special Branch was paralyzed after that. Gu Shunzhang’s plan failed. In order to please the Kuomintang, he gave away all the intelligence personnel who had been in contact with him. Many comrades had no time to evacuate and were captured by the Kuomintang and have since died.

Gu Shunzhang's rebellion dealt a huge blow to the party organization. The survival of the CCP organization depended on it in an instant. But fortunately, Li Kenong sent the information as soon as possible regardless of his own safety.

Sacrifice on the Hidden Front

With Li Kenong's running around, the CCP agencies and leaders were able to safely relocate, but Li Kenong's family was left living on the streets.

Although Li Kenong had already moved his wife Zhao Ying and their children out at the beginning of the mission, because there was no one to take care of them, they could only dress up as beggars and beg on the street.

The organization originally planned to take them back as soon as the storm was over, but they did not expect that the wait would last for a month. During that month, Zhao Ying and her children wore shabby clothes and huddled in the corners of the street every day, hiding from each other. Enemy tracking.

Until the organization found them, this miserable life ended.

Li Kenong and his wife

But even so, his wife did not complain at all. She knew what her husband was doing, and she also knew that her husband’s job was more dangerous than she imagined, so no matter how difficult it was, she would protect her from the rear. Good boy, waiting for her husband's return.

For Li Kenong’s intelligence work, not only Li Kenong, but also their whole family made sacrifices. After that organizational change, Li Kenong continued to fight in dangerous areas alone, and was reunited with his family many years later.

Of course, some people may say that all people of that era have endured the pain of separation, but they on the hidden front are different.

Due to the need for latent work, they inevitably have to integrate into the Kuomintang, so criticism behind them is inevitable. They always have to worry about whether the latent work is going well, and at the same time they have to bear the inevitable criticism.

But Li Kenong and others don't care about these. As long as they contribute to the country, it doesn't matter.

In 1952, Li Kenong, who was negotiating in North Korea, received news that his father had passed away due to illness a few days ago. After hearing the news, Li Kenong's inner defense was suddenly broken. He was often busy with work and rarely had time to go home to visit his parents. Even after hearing that his father was ill a few years ago, he had no time to visit.

Li Kenong wanted to rush home to say goodbye to his father, but circumstances did not allow him to do so. He put away his grief and quickly returned to work.

Li Kenong's feelings for his father are self-evident, but due to work reasons, the only way he can express his pain of missing his father is to wait until the negotiation is over and bow three times in the direction of home to bid farewell to his father.

Li Kenong sacrificed his family for the country, but he had no regrets about it. This was his own choice. This was his deep-rooted belief in sacrificing his family for everyone.

Without him, Enlai and I would have been dead

In 1955, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China finally had the opportunity to evaluate military ranks. Revolutionaries have sacrificed so much for the motherland, and they deserve such an honor. On the eve of

, each unit made the final determination of the list of military rank assessments. This matter was important, so the list required Chairman Mao to carefully review it before making the final decision.

On this day, Lai Chuanzhu showed the latest revised list of generals to Chairman Mao for review. The Chairman calmly took the list and scrutinized it carefully.

Looking at the name above, Chairman Mao had an indescribable emotion. Everyone on

has come back from the revolutionary years. They have witnessed the development of China with themselves, and they have made great contributions to New China.

Chairman Mao read it very carefully. He confirmed every word and recalled it over and over again.

The list was not long, but Chairman Mao looked at it very slowly. Suddenly he frowned and asked: "Why is there no Li Kenong? Isn't he qualified to evaluate generals?"

Chairman Mao's expression became more and more serious, and Lai Chuanzhu hurriedly turned his head Low, hesitant response:

"We have also thought about the evaluation of Comrade Li Kenong for a long time. The nature of his work is special. Everyone agrees that he has never been on the battlefield, and his evaluation as a general is not enough to convince the public."

The words are rough and unreasonable, those people on the list Which one has not experienced a hail of bullets? They fought with the enemy on the battlefield and achieved great success. However, Li Kenong has never been on the battlefield. If he were to be put into it, it would indeed easily cause dissatisfaction.

Li Kenong

Hearing this response, Chairman Mao was a little angry:

"Why don't you convince the public? It's because you don't understand him. Without him, Enlai and I would have been gone long ago, and half of the current generals might not be here either." ”

Chairman Mao said, pointing to the list.

Yes, the hidden front where Li Kenong fought was not much safer than the hail of bullets on the front line, and was even more dangerous. Although they did not fight all year round, Li Kenong and other comrades encountered knives hiding in the dark. As the saying goes, it is easy to hide from open guns, but difficult to prevent hidden arrows. The dangers Li Kenong has faced for so many years are definitely not what ordinary people can imagine.

As Chairman Mao talked, his mind went back to the past. He thought about Li Kenong's contribution, felt deeply in his heart, and shed tears inadvertently.

In 1955, at the conferment ceremony, Li Kenong became the most special one in the list of generals. He had never been on the battlefield, but he enjoyed the same glory as those generals who had experienced hundreds of battles.

He deserves such an honor. Those heroes on the hidden front are often misunderstood by people because they do behind-the-scenes work. But others will misunderstand, but the Party Central Committee will not. The honors they deserve will be awarded to them by the Central Committee without fail. them.

Therefore, Zhou Enlai commented on him many years later:

"Comrade Li Kenong, although he never led troops to charge into battle, his contribution was greater than that of an army."