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In August 2007, a sudden flood destroyed the Zhazidong ruins in Chongqing. When was being repaired, workers discovered a hole in the No. 2 Women's Prison. Judging from the size and depth, it was not formed naturally or by flood erosion.
Moreover, more than ten iron tools such as nails and iron bars were found in the cave. The engineering team, who thought they had dug cultural relics, immediately stopped the construction and reported to the relevant units.
After experts’ on-site inspection and explanations, people realized that behind these iron tools was a touching history of blood and tears, which was also evidence of the numerous crimes committed by the Kuomintang reactionaries.
What is the origin of these iron tools, why do they appear in Zhazi Cave, and what is a story full of blood and tears behind them?
Let us slowly turn back the clock of history to 1938, and return to that war-torn era. Under the iron heel of the Japanese invaders, the Chinese nation suffered humiliation. There was no rooster crow for thousands of miles, and the bones were exposed in the wild. This is the most true portrayal of that era.
With the successive defeats in the frontal anti-Japanese battlefield, Chiang Kai-shek 's National Government was forced to move to Chongqing. Along with it, a large number of political prisoners and revolutionary patriots were arrested and imprisoned by the Kuomintang reactionaries.
In Chongqing, these people were first imprisoned in the residence of the former Sichuan Army warlord Baiju , which was the Bai Gongguan.
In 1943, the Bai Gongguan was converted into a Sino-US cooperation guest house. All political prisoners detained here had to be relocated and a new place of detention had to be found. Dai Li, the head of the Kuomintang military command, handed over this task to Shenzhen , who was then the director of the military command general affairs department.
Shenzui drove a jeep around the mountainous areas around Chongqing every day, and soon noticed that at the foot of Gele Mountain less than three kilometers away from Bai Gongguan, there was a place called Zhazi Cave, which was very suitable as a detention place.
Zhazi Cave is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with high mountains and dense forests. It is possible for ordinary people to climb in with great effort, and there is only a muddy path leading to the outside world. This geographical advantage destined Zhazi Cave to be a well-hidden place.
As long as we set up sentries on this only small road, and then surround it with high walls and power grids, this will be a fortress that cannot be attacked from the outside and cannot be escaped from the inside.
After Shenzui completed the survey, he immediately reported the situation of Zhazi Cave to Dai Li. After Dai Li went to Zhazi Cave for on-site inspection, he expressed that he was very satisfied with the choice of location and told Shenzui to capture it as soon as possible.
As for why we use "take" instead of leasing or other slightly civilized terms, it is because Zhazidong was a still-operating mine at that time. It was the only way for the mine owner to survive in that war-torn era, and it could not be easily changed hands.
But what kind of organization is the military commander? It is a man-eating tiger of the Kuomintang. Dai Li, the person in charge of the military commander, is a celebrity in front of Chiang Kai-shek. As long as the military commander is interested in something, there is no reason why he cannot get it.
After receiving Dai Li's instructions, Shen Zui immediately led agents from the Military Control Bureau to find the mine owner, and said arrogantly:
"On behalf of the National Government, I inform you that the Zhazi Cave has been requisitioned by the national government. You and your people, Move out as soon as possible."
When the mine owner heard this, he immediately said that although the mine did not produce a high amount of minerals, it was his only source of income to support his family and was related to the lives of his family. He begged the government to leave a way for him to survive.
But Shen Zui ignored the mine owner's pleading. Instead, he ordered his men to seal the mine entrance and search all the mine owner's belongings. This is all the property left behind by the mine owner who has worked hard for half his life.
After learning the news, the mine owner was very angry and ran to Shen Zui to ask for an explanation, but Shen Zui still asked the mine owner to move out of the Zhazi Cave immediately and hand it over to the Military Command Bureau.
The mine owner had no choice but to force him to death. He believed that the Military Command Bureau, as an agency of the National Government, and Shen Zui, as a government official, would not really force him, a common man, to death.
But he obviously underestimated the military command bureau, which eats people without spitting out their bones. Even if the mine owner hanged himself in front of the military commander, Shenzui's determination to occupy this place did not change at all, and his life was in vain.
After driving away the other people in the Zhazidong mine, Shenzu carried out a surgical transformation of the Zhazidong from the inside out and built an outer courtyard and an inner courtyard. The outer courtyard was used as the military command office, and the inner courtyard was used as a prison, with 16 men's cells and 2 women's cells.
On the high wall outside Zhazi Cave, in addition to a circle of power grid, Shen Zui arranged six sentry posts and a machine gun position. The Kuomintang also equipped a company of troops for this purpose.
Not only that, for the sake of confidentiality, the Military Command Bureau also set up roadblocks on the only path into the mountain. Non-military commanders are not allowed to enter, making this place a military restricted area. Therefore, ordinary people have to detour more than ten or twenty kilometers on the road from Geleshan to Ciqikou.
In this way, Zhazidong was forced from a mine with a small production capacity to into a concentration camp where the Kuomintang held political prisoners. The once beautiful mountains were covered with blood by the Kuomintang reactionaries.
Shen Zui, the director of the General Affairs Department of the military command, led the military command agents to inspect the Zhazidong Mine. After forcing the mine owner to commit suicide, he occupied the place and transformed the mine into the infamous Zhazidong Concentration Camp, creating horrific massacres one after another.
It was not until more than sixty years later that the discovery of more than ten iron tools revealed the bloodstained past here.
So, what revolutionary heroes have been imprisoned in this terrifying mountain prison, and what heinous crimes have the Kuomintang reactionaries committed here?
The Zhazidong Concentration Camp is hidden among deep mountains and dense forests. There are deep valleys in front and mountains behind. It is difficult for ordinary people to find its exact location. Even the residents at the foot of Zhazidong Mountain only know that this place is classified as a military restricted area and have no idea what is going on inside.
Behind the high walls and power grid of Zhazidong, in addition to the offices of the Kuomintang military commanders, there are 16 men's cells and 2 women's cells. The most feared place in these 18 cells is probably the torture room.
Torture is a common method used by the Kuomintang secret service. In the torture room in Zhazidong, tiger bench , electrocution chair, bamboo sticks, soldering irons, pepper water and other torture instruments are all available, which is shocking.
On the walls of this torture chamber, you can still vaguely see the bloodstains left by the tortured people back then. Through these bloodstains, you can seem to hear their wailing.
A Kuomintang interrogator in Zhazidong once wrote in his memoirs in his later years:
"The torture room was filled with the disgusting smell of blood every day, and people with poor psychological quality could not survive here for a day."
This is evident from the vicious torture methods used by the Kuomintang agents to extract confessions.
Since 1947, including the "June 1st Arrest" case, the "Little Revolution" case, and the "Advance Report" case, more than 300 communists or revolutionary patriots have been detained in the Zhazidong Concentration Camp.
Among the people imprisoned in Zhazi Cave, perhaps the most well-known name is Communist Party member Jiang Zhujun, who is affectionately called "Sister Jiang."
In June 1948, Jiang Zhujun was imprisoned in Zhazidong Concentration Camp.
At that time, Sister Jiang was working in the "Advance Newspaper", the publication of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China. The Kuomintang agents firmly believed that as long as Sister Jiang's mouth was opened, they could follow the clues and kill all the Communist Party personnel in Chongqing.
Therefore, as soon as Sister Jiang entered the Zhazi Cave, she received "special care" from the military commanders.
From chili pepper water, tiger benches, to soldering irons, the military commander used all available torture tools on Sister Jiang, and even drove bamboo skewers into Sister Jiang's ten fingers one by one in an attempt to get information about the CCP from her.
The pain was unbearable. Even so, Sister Jiang did not give in. Instead, she said disdainfully to the interrogators: "Bamboo sticks are made of bamboo. The will of our Communist Party members is made of steel. You can't even expect to get any information from me." They used Guang Jiang's clothes to insult her, and Sister Jiang scolded them: "When you insult me, you are insulting your own mother, sister and daughter."
In desperation, the military special agents had to release Sister Jiang from the torture room and re-detained her into the No. 2 Women's Prison, where she was imprisoned with Li Qinglin, Yang Hanxiu and others.
While the comrades in prison were fighting an unyielding struggle against the Kuomintang reactionaries, our party outside the prison also began to actively plan the rescue of Sister Jiang and others. Their original plan was to instigate the guards to rebel and cooperate inside and outside to escape with arms.
But Zhazidong is isolated from the world. In order to keep it secret, even the Kuomintang's own guards are not allowed to enter and exit at will. They have no way of knowing the revolutionary situation outside, let alone persuading them to abandon the dark side and turn to the light.
Just as the revolutionary comrades in prison were racking their brains to choose a target to instigate rebellion, one day, while talking to a female comrade named Zeng Zixia, Sister Jiang learned that one of the guards was named Huang Maocai, who was half of her hometown, and might be a suitable target to instigate rebellion.
It turns out that in May 1948, Huang Maocai signed up to join the Kuomintang and entered Zhazidong as a guard in order to make a living.
When he first met Zeng Zixia, Huang Maocai's status as a fellow villager made him sympathize with Zeng Zixia. He also said: "If you need help in the future, just ask me."
After hearing Zeng Zixia's description, Sister Jiang also felt that she should win Huang Maocai over and let him abandon the dark side and turn to the bright side to help the comrades in prison.
Therefore, Sister Jiang and others kept looking for opportunities to get close to Huang Maocai, instill revolutionary ideas in him, and persuade him to think more about his fellow villagers who were still in dire straits, and to think more about what it meant to do more good things for the people.
Huang Maocai originally joined the Kuomintang just to earn a living. As a result, not only was his military pay deducted every three days, leaving him unable to support his family, he was often beaten and scolded by his superiors.
himself witnessed an unworldly tragedy staged in Zhazi Cave. After Jiang Jie and others intentionally or unintentionally instilled revolutionary ideas into him, Huang Maocai finally agreed to help the revolutionaries in prison.
In this way, Huang Maocai became the secret liaison between our party and the comrades detained in the Zhazidong concentration camp, responsible for delivering letters to them and passing on information from the outside. The prison escape plan of Sister Jiang and others was further developed.
So, can the prison escape plan of Sister Jiang and other comrades succeed? After the Kuomintang's failure, what will happen to the detainees in Zhazi Cave?
On the occasion of the Spring Festival in 1949, after protests and struggles by the prisoners in Zhazidong Prison, the Kuomintang guards were forced to agree to let them celebrate the Spring Festival.
At that time, the Liaoshen Campaign had been successfully concluded, the Pingjin and Huaihai campaigns had already eliminated the last remaining enemies, and the Communist Party's nationwide victory was just around the corner.
Celebrating the Spring Festival at this time is not only to celebrate the arrival of a new year on the calendar, but also to celebrate the coming of a new era in China.
The revolutionaries in Zhazidong, under the leadership of our party comrades, dyed the thin sheets red and made bright red flags. They gathered in the open space of the prison, sang revolutionary songs and gave each other gifts.
At that moment, their eyes showed firm confidence in the revolution and an ironclad belief that the revolution would eventually win.
On the door of the cell, the revolutionary patriots also posted this handwritten couplet: The old scene is still the same in the cave, and the New Year is already there when looking out the window.
After celebrating the festival, Sister Jiang led the comrades to continue to carry out the prison escape plan. As the Kuomintang's military failed one after another, the guards in Zhazi Cave became increasingly strict.
Huang Maocai also seemed to have been suspected by the secret agents and was ordered not to approach the cell at will, let alone deliver information to Sister Jiang and others.
In desperation, Sister Jiang and others decided to use tools to escape from prison on their own. They quietly collected some iron tools during the break, and then used these iron tools to dig a hole under Sister Jiang's bed and put the iron tools in and buried them for the purpose of jailbreaking.
The dozen or so iron tools unearthed more than sixty years later are part of them.
The comrades hid the dug up soil in their sleeves or pockets, and when the next time they were released, they would be sprinkled on the ground bit by bit.
In order not to be suspected by the spies, the whole process must be done carefully, and the soil can only be scattered irregularly. It looks like the soil has been blown by the wind.
In the summer of that year, a sudden heavy rain fell in the Geles Mountain area and washed away a section of the outer wall. The spies drove the revolutionaries to repair it.
took this opportunity to tear up the cotton from his clothes and stuff it into the soil used to build the wall to reduce the stickiness of the soil. He also cleverly made a few numbers on the wall, making the wall an escape route for the survivors of the Zhazidong Massacre.
On October 1, 1949, Chairman Mao solemnly declared the founding of New China in Tiananmen Square . When this news reached the Zhazidong concentration camp, the revolutionary patriots were excited.
They waved homemade red flags, sang " March of the Volunteers " and shouted long live the People's Republic of China.
Realizing that there was no way to save the day, the Kuomintang began to lose interest in the intelligence held by the detainees in Zhazidong, and began to raise the butcher knife in their hands and become a bloody butcher.
On November 14, 1949, Jiang Zhujun was killed by the Kuomintang at Lanya, the Geleshan Radio Station. He was only 29 years old. The frantic Kuomintang agents also poured hydrochloric acid over Sister Jiang's body to destroy her body and eliminate any traces.
As most of Sichuan was liberated, the rumble of PLA artillery could be vaguely heard outside Chongqing. The Kuomintang reactionaries decided to carry out a large-scale massacre of the detainees in Zhazi Cave.
Late at night on November 27, 1949, a large number of heavily armed reactionary military police poured into Zhazi Cave, waking up the prisoners who were still sleeping, and shouted: "Get up quickly, and carry out the handover procedures."
The so-called handover procedures were actually an excuse for the Kuomintang agents to facilitate the massacre. They rushed more than 200 male and female prisoners in Zhazi Cave into eight male cells.
Afterwards, the reactionaries raised their machine guns and carbines , and fired wildly at the unarmed detainees.
In an instant, the revolutionaries fell in droves, and the walls of the cell were soaked with blood. At this time, someone shouted: "Protect women comrades and children."
So the revolutionaries spontaneously formed a human wall and blocked the women and children. Even though their bodies were riddled with bullet marks and stained with blood, they refused to give in.
Such an iron will and such a hell-like tragedy on earth deeply shocked the Kuomintang reactionaries in front of them, and also awakened some Kuomintang officers with lingering consciences. These officers risked their lives to open the prison door, allowing some comrades to survive.
In order to cover up the evidence of such a heinous crime, after the massacre, the Kuomintang military commander burned the entire Zhazidong concentration camp to the ground. Soon after, he fled to Taiwan with Chiang Kai-shek and retreated to the isolated island.
Today, the dozen or so unearthed iron tools are lying quietly in the museum, telling people about the bloody storm more than sixty years ago, and accusing people of the atrocity of the Kuomintang agents back then.
What the Kuomintang reactionaries did not expect was that the Zhazi Cave might be burned to the ground, but their ugly behavior and heinous crimes they committed would forever be nailed to the pillar of shame in history and they would have to accept a fair and just trial.
