In August 1950, Zhang Shaoji came to Fushun War Criminals Management Center early to wait for the second batch of puppet Manchukuo war criminals to return from the Soviet Union. Among the extradited war criminals from the Puppet Manchukuo state was his biological father, the former Prime Minister of the Puppet Manchukuo State, Zhang Jinghui .
met again after a few months. The father was a war criminal of the Manchurian puppets, but the son became a correctional cadre of New China. The different identities made the father and son speechless. From his father's eyes, Zhang Shaoji read a complex emotion.
Many years later, recalling his relationship with his father, Zhang Shaoji still felt a faint pain in his heart: "My father liked me very much. He enabled me to receive a good education since I was a child, and I was able to study in Japan and join the anti-Japanese organization. However, From a national perspective, how could he, as a Chinese, have no integrity and betray his country to seek glory and become a traitor? "
From tofu merchant to prime minister
Zhang Shaoji's father, Zhang Jinghui, was born in Liaoning. Zhang Jinghui came from an ordinary farming family. Due to his poor family background, Zhang Jinghui only attended private school for two years and had to drop out of school and stay at home. After his father passed away, the burden of the family's life fell on Zhang Jinghui's brother, Zhang Jingquan.
Fortunately, Zhang Jingquan had a skill in making tofu, so he took his younger brother Zhang Jinghui and opened a tofu shop. Zhang Jinghui still had some savvy when it came to doing business, and it didn't take long for the Zhang family's life to change a lot.
At that time, beards were everywhere in western Liaoning, and gambling was common. Zhang Jinghui saw that selling tofu was not as fast as winning money by gambling, so he entered the casino and became a gambler. Later, he was not satisfied with the money he won from gambling, so he simply became a "beard" himself.
Picture | Zhang Jinghui’s old photo
With his two years of private schooling, coupled with his flexible mind and a eloquent mouth, Zhang Jinghui attracted a group of illiterate “beards”, and not only quickly developed his own power, but also Relying on this momentum, they captured the county seat.
Zhang Jinghui also "changed his identity". Under the guise of maintaining law and order and protecting the people, he changed the name of the bandit team to the insurance team, served as the captain himself, and used "legal" means to collect "protection fees" from door to door.
This kind of "official and gangster" approach makes other gangsters very envious. At that time, Zhang Zuolin was suffering from his own weakness. After careful consideration, he decided to join Zhang Jinghui. Zhang Jinghui saw that Zhang Zuolin was courageous and knowledgeable. If his team was handed over to him, it would definitely develop faster and bigger.
Therefore, Zhang Jinghui decisively gave up his position as the leader to Zhang Zuolin. In this way, Zhang Zuolin and Zhang Jinghui became brothers who wanted to be the boss. Relying on Zhang Jinghui's team, Zhang Zuolin quickly developed his power in western Liaoning, and Zhang Jinghui also became his rare helper.
912, Zhang Zuolin's army was incorporated into the Central Regular Army, and Zhang Zuolin was appointed division commander. In order to repay Zhang Jinghui, Zhang Zuolin appointed Zhang Jinghui as the commander of the artillery regiment of the division, and was later promoted to the commander of the 53rd Brigade of the Army.
Picture丨Zhang Jinghui presided over a meeting of ministers of Manchukuo
As Zhang Zuolin became more and more powerful, the relationship between Zhang Jinghui and him became deeper and deeper. After the "Huanggutun Incident" happened, Zhang Jinghui was pushed from behind the scenes to the front of the Japanese.
When the Japanese detonated the explosives, Zhang Jinghui and Zhang Zuolin were on the same train, but Zhang Jinghui was not lucky and was only injured in the leg. Zhang Xueliang inherited his father's legacy. Regardless of the warnings of the Japanese, he resolutely announced the change of flag and obeyed the Nanjing National Government .
After the "September 18 Incident" occurred, Zhang Xueliang was ordered by Chiang Kai-shek to adopt a "non-resistance" policy. When he saw that Nanjing showed no signs of solving the problem in the three eastern provinces, Zhang Jinghui began to feel a little shaken.
A Japanese who knew Zhang Jinghui's brother took the opportunity to connect Zhang Jinghui with the Japanese Kwantung Army.
Shortly after the "independence" of the Northeast, Zhang Jinghui, under the control of the Japanese, began to be responsible for preparing for the establishment of the Puppet Manchukuo, welcoming and arranging for Puyi to "enthrone" in the Northeast. This series of actions not only earned him high remuneration, but was also recommended as the Speaker of the Senate.
Picture丨Zhang Jinghui took a group photo with the heads of state of the Greater East Asia Conference
Later, the Prime Minister Zheng Xiaoxu was replaced by the Japanese because of his public remarks of disobedience to the Japanese, and Zhang Jinghui was elected as the successor Prime Minister. Doihara Kenji once described Zhang Jinghui to Emperor Hirohito:
"He has a certain reputation in Manchuria, but he has no knowledge. He has no great ambitions and far-sighted plans, and his subordinates are all sycophants, and there is no talent at all. I and others are the consistent policy of our empire. The plan to achieve the goal quickly will make these people exploitable.
The image of the "good old man" father has collapsed
In Zhang Shaoji's memory, after the "September 18th Incident", there was an endless stream of people coming to his home. The Chinese hope that Zhang Jinghui can take the lead in resisting Japan; the Japanese hope that Zhang Jinghui will cooperate with the outside world and enter Harbin directly without firing a shot; his subordinates ask Zhang Jinghui what they should do all day long.
Zhang Shaoji was only 9 years old at the time, and he still had the impression of his father as a "good old man" because his father never quarreled with anyone or said anything disrespectful. Even the servants at home called him father affectionately. As "old man".
Compared with his mother, Zhang Shaoji liked his father more in his childhood. What "disgusted" him the most about his mother was that she "forgot her roots". Zhang Shaoji's mother used to be a famous opera actress. After marrying Zhang Jinghui, she did not allow others to mention "operating".
Picture | Zhang Jinghui’s family photo
Since Zhang Shaoji’s father was already 51 years old when Zhang Shaoji was born, Zhang Jinghui naturally doted on his little son and pampered him since he was a child. Even when he was 9 years old, he still needed a servant to carry him after going to the toilet. Pants.
But Zhang Jinghui was very concerned about his youngest son's education and hired a Polish Russian tutor. Therefore, Zhang Shaoji has been able to speak fluent Russian since he was a child, and he also learned a lot about the Soviet Union, planting the seeds of "eliminating exploitation and oppression" in his heart.
Since Zhang Jinghui took office as the Prime Minister of the Puppet Manchukuo State, although his status has been improved, the whole family has been involved in discussions. At school, many friends who used to play well began to alienate Zhang Shaoji and even called him a little traitor.
The original image of a tall and omnipotent father completely collapsed in Zhang Shaoji's heart. He was distressed but had nowhere to express his inner distress. He had no choice but to make the only resistance he could: running away from home.
This childish behavior of the youngest son was not worth mentioning in Zhang Jinghui's eyes. He sent his youngest son's characteristics to all the levels, and it didn't take long for him to be captured.
In order to relieve his inner depression, Zhang Shaoji could only find a way out from novels such as "Home" and "Thunderstorm".
Picture丨Zhang Shaoji in his later years
In 11938, 16-year-old Zhang Shaoji received a letter from Japan. The letter was written by his cousin Zhang Shaowei. He encouraged Zhang Shaoji to go to Japan to learn advanced culture. It happened that Zhang Shaoji also wanted to escape from this home and did not want to bear the reputation of "traitor" together with his father, so he proposed the idea of ​​going to Japan.
After hearing Zhang Shaoji’s thoughts, Zhang Jinghui was very happy. He also wanted his son to learn Japanese culture and serve Japan like himself in the future.
Two years later, Zhang Shaoji entered Japan's Waseda University to study. Under the guidance of his cousin, he began to come into contact with Marxism-Leninism and joined a peripheral organization of the Communist Party of China, the Northeast Youth National Salvation Association. Through study and exchange, these upper-class Puppet Manchukuo students studying in Japan have undergone great changes in their thinking. Zhang Shaoji also established his own life goal:
"Not to be a slave to the subjugation of the country, but to be an upright Chinese.""
Picture丨Photo of Zhang Shaoji (left) studying in Japan
In October 1941, in accordance with the organization's requirements, Zhang Shaoji used his family background to understand the movements of the enemy and puppet upper-class people in the name of "returning to visit relatives".
In the face of the country and family ties, Zhang Shaoji chose the country without hesitation.
Lurking beside his father
At that time, the world anti-fascist war entered the most difficult stage. The Soviet Union suffered huge losses due to the German invasion, so the Soviet Union was worried that the Japanese Far East Army would take advantage of it. It is urgent to obtain the movements of the Japanese army in order to adjust the front line in time.
The Puppet Manchukuo is an important supplier of supplies to the Japanese Far East Army. As Prime Minister, Zhang Jinghui has access to important secrets of the Japanese army. In order to gain access to intelligence, Zhang Shaoji took the initiative to repair the relationship with his parents. The family enjoys a harmonious relationship.
Zhang Jinghui carries a small satchel with confidential documents, which he often puts in Zhang Shaoji's mother's room. Whenever his mother is playing cards, Zhang Shaoji sneaks into her mother's room to copy important documents. One time, Zhang Jinghui lost money while playing cards and asked his son to go to the office to withdraw money. Normally, no one was allowed to enter Zhang Jinghui's office. Zhang Shaoji finally had the opportunity to go in and take a look openly. At that time, Zhang Shaoji wasted some time looking for confidential documents, which attracted his father to come up in person. View.
Fortunately, Zhang Shaoji hid the document in his arms in time. Zhang Jinghui was too doting on his son and did not notice anything strange.
Picture | Zhang Jinghui’s speech
What was written in this document was that the elite of the Kwantung Army had begun to gather. Going south, Yamashita Fengfumi, known as the "Tiger of Malaya", had been ordered to go to Southeast Asia.
The Japanese army was "moving south" instead of "going north". This was the issue that the Soviet Union was most concerned about. After Stalin took over, Stalin judged that the threat from Japan in the Far East no longer existed, and the Soviet army could be transferred back to the European battlefield.
After Japan's defeat in the Pacific in 1943, Zhang Shaoji was ordered to end his study abroad life early, return to his father, and officially start "lurking". "Life, using his father's identity in Puppet Manchukuo, he obtained intelligence and placed comrades of our party.
Since then, Zhang Shaoji often used his father's name to place comrades of our party into upper-level organizations and key departments of Puppet Manchukuo.
One time after Zhang Jinghui came home from work, Zhang Shaoji asked his wife to take the opportunity to take his father's briefcase and secretly take a business card from it. Later, Zhang Shaoji gave the business card to a comrade in the party and asked him to take it to the bank to apply for a job. Due to Zhang Jinghui's position in the puppet Manchukuo government, this comrade quickly found a job in a bank.
Zhang Shaoji often followed his father to attend high-level gatherings of the Puppet Manchukuo. This "young master" got a lot of valuable information amidst the feasting and feasting.
At a party, Zhang Shaoji met Gu Ciheng, the deputy director of the puppet government. This man studied in Japan in his early years and was highly trusted by the Japanese. He was the only Chinese minister among the puppet Manchukuo ministers who served as "Deputy Minister of the General Affairs Department". Zhang Shaoji flattered himself as a junior, and since both of them had studied abroad, there were many topics to discuss.
Picture | Gu Ciheng's old photo
Zhang Shaoji's compliment made Gu Ciheng elated, and he proudly revealed the situation of the "Huoyaohui", the core organization of the Puppet Manchukuo government. This information provided the party organization with the anti-Japanese and national salvation movement , It played a huge role in combating the Japanese puppets.
Sent his father to prison with his own hands
After the defeat of the Japanese army, the puppet Manchukuo government was panicked and planned to escape Changchun as soon as possible. In accordance with the instructions of his superiors, Zhang Shaoji established contact with the Soviet "Changchun City Defense Headquarters" as Zhang Jinghui's Russian translator, but he could not reveal his identity.
Through this channel, Zhang Shaoji provided a large amount of intelligence to the Soviet army, helping the Soviet Red Army eliminate the remaining bandits and maintain public order. At the same time, he also provided the escape trends of senior puppet Manchukuo officials, and found an excuse to bring the puppet Manchukuo minister to the headquarters of the Soviet Army in China.
At that time, the Soviet general Gvalev told the puppet Manchukuo ministers brought by Zhang Jinghui that they would be sent to the place where Puyi was and meet Puyi. Later, Zhang Shaoji and others were escorted to Changchun Airport. The Soviet army checked them one by one according to the list. At the end of the roll call, the name "Zhang Shaoji" was suddenly called out.
Picture丨Puyi boarded the Soviet aircraft
Zhang Shaoji was suddenly stunned and asked the Soviet army why he wanted to get on the plane. He was just invited by the Soviet army to act as a Russian translator. A Soviet colonel present said that this was the list from the headquarters and could not be changed. Admiral Gvalev on the side explained that it was better to let him serve as a translator and send him back when he is no longer needed.
In this way, Zhang Shaoji was mixed with a group of traitors and was imprisoned in the Soviet Union's Khabarovsk asylum. Due to the sudden incident, Zhang Shaoji did not have time to report to the organization, and even his family did not know his movements. The party organization later inquired through various connections, but never received a clear answer.
Being imprisoned with Japanese war criminals and puppet Manchu traitors made Zhang Shaoji feel very uncomfortable. He reported to the Soviet army many times and requested to return home immediately. But the Soviet manager said: "Such a big world war has just ended, and there are too many things. Where can I find the time to study and identify you? As soon as your government is established, I will send you back immediately." "
When Zhang Shaoji saw that this was the case, he had no choice but to take it as it comes.
At that time, Zhang Shaoji, as a "general detainee", lived in the same cell with Pujie, Runqi and others, and met Puyi every day. At that time, the prison subscribed to Soviet newspapers for inmates. Since Zhang Shaoji was the only one who understood Russian, he read every copy carefully from cover to cover.
Picture丨Zhang Jinghui and Puyi in the Soviet Union
At that time, the prison issued 15 rubles of pocket money to inmates every month, and Zhang Shaoji used it to buy novels and literary and historical reading materials. Seeing that the Manchukuo traitors in his cell were sleeping, gambling and being bored all day long, Zhang Shaoji took the initiative to read books and newspapers to them.
The Soviets thought it was good, so they asked him to insist on "reading it every day", and sometimes even read newspapers to Puyi alone.
While in detention, although life was difficult, it gave Zhang Shaoji and his father the opportunity to get along day and night. In autumn, Zhang Shaoji and several young people went up the mountain to pick some wild vegetables and wild grapes to make pickles for his father. Zhang Jinghui liked to eat the hard core of cabbage, so Zhang Shaoji marinated it in soy sauce and the two of them ate it as pickles.
Growing up, Zhang Jinghui rarely had meals with his son. However, while in prison, the father and son had time to get together, which made Zhang Shaoji feel the presence of "father".
Sometimes when Zhang Shaoji came back from work, Zhang Jinghui always asked with concern what kind of work he had done and whether he was tired. Since he ate less, Zhang Jinghui always handed the remaining steamed buns to his son, and Zhang Shaoji happily took them.
In this way, Zhang Shaoji spent five years with his father in the Soviet Union. In his eyes, his father was no longer the Prime Minister of the Puppet Manchukuo, but an old man in his dying years.
Picture | Zhang Jinghui in his later years
In May 1950, Zhang Shaoji, as the first batch of repatriated war criminals, finally returned to his motherland and was imprisoned in Shenyang Prison. At that time, he was worried that there was no material to prove his identity. It happened that the prison issued a resume, and one of the columns was "Have you participated in any reactionary associations?"
Zhang Shaoji finally waited for this opportunity and crossed out "reactionary" with a pen. "Huidaomen", write "Have not participated in the reactionary Huidaomen, but have participated in the Northeast Youth National Salvation Association", and indicate the certifier.
Fortunately, the witness he wrote works in the Northeast Public Security Department and manages this prison. The Northeast Public Security Department quickly released Zhang Shaoji after learning about his situation. When the organization informed him that he could disclose his identity, Zhang Shaoji immediately chose to disclose his identity and changed his name to " Zhang Mengshi ", which means the realization of his ideal dream.
Since then, Zhang Mengshi has become a correctional cadre at the Fushun War Criminals Management Center, responsible for the management and reform of Japanese war criminals.
War criminals were pardoned in 1956. Zhang Jinghui, who was over 80 years old, could be taken out of prison according to regulations. However, because Zhang Mengshi's living conditions were not good at the time and his father could get better care in the management center, he decided not to take his father out.
In the same year, Zhang Mengshi was transferred to work in Beijing. Before leaving, arrangements were made for the couple to meet their old father again. When the section chief of the management office pointed to Zhang Mengshi's wife, he introduced to Zhang Jinghui, "This is your daughter-in-law." Zhang Jinghui was still a little surprised and said, "Really? Oh!"
Picture丨After Zhang Mengshi and his wife chatted for a while in Hangzhou
, Zhang Mengshi and his wife said goodbye to their old father. After returning to the prison cell, Zhang Jinghui also said to others: "Is this little wife my daughter-in-law? I don't recognize her!"
In fact, Zhang Mengshi's wife was a servant of Zhang Jinghui's family in the early years. According to his status at that time, He didn't even take a glance at it. Now in the new society, how could he still recognize it?
In June 1958, Zhang Jinghui was critically ill. With the full rescue efforts of medical staff, he barely managed to maintain his life. Later, with the approval of his superiors, Zhang Jinghui was sent to the city hospital for treatment, and the medical staff tried their best to extend his life until January of the following year.
Zhang Mengshi’s evaluation of his father is that he is politically confused and has become a traitor, but in terms of personality he is a “good old man”. As a son, from the perspective of his father, he is not a good son, but from a political perspective, it should be said that he is still his good son.
Many years later, Zhang Mengshi accidentally discovered a "confession" from his father's archives, in which his father recounted his nephew's past:
"Thanks to the government for being lenient to me, and also to the government for giving my son and nephew a Way out.”
