One day in early October 1950, in Shipi Street Town, Pucheng County, Fujian Province, a sentencing meeting was underway. The person who was tried was Chen Jinting, a soldier of the 31st Regiment of the 91st Division of the 273rd Army.
He is accused of shooting a local youth and is preparing to be sentenced to death. However, just as the sentence was about to be executed, the mother of the slain youth came forward and said that there was something else hidden in the matter.
The judge was Ding Zhao, director of the Political Department of the 91st Division. He was very sad at the moment, and his heart was full of struggle. He understands that if he does not follow the legal process, he will be severely condemned and punished.
However, if he were to be tried in accordance with the legal process, then Chen Jinting would be sentenced to death, which deeply saddened him. Ding Zhao remembered Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms, and when he slashed "Ma Tan" with tears, he also faced such a dilemma.
He knew that as a judge, he had to make the right decisions in order to uphold the dignity and justice of the law. Under what circumstances did Chen Jinting kill people, and what is the secret behind it?
This requires Ding Zhao's in-depth investigation and understanding. He decided that no matter how serious Chen Jinting's actions were, he must be tried in accordance with legal procedures. Because only in this way can we truly safeguard social justice and fairness.
This sentencing conference is not only a trial of Chen Jinting, but also a test for Ding Zhao as a judge. He must make the right decisions in order to uphold the dignity and justice of the law.
It was a difficult trial, but it was also his duty and mission as a judge.
In the mountainous areas of northern Fujian, bandits colluded with bandits to brutally kill our party cadres and peasants, and were arrogant. Some people even used the name of our army to burn, kill and loot, which made the locals panic.
In order to eliminate these remnants, the 91st Division of the 31st Army of the 10th Corps was ordered to stay in the local area and carry out an anti-bandit operation.
When Shandong soldiers came to northern Fujian to carry out their mission, they encountered many challenges. First of all, the water and soil adaptation in northern Fujian has brought great trouble to their health.
In addition, they face the problem of language barriers. Although Shandong dialect is a northern dialect, Hokkien dialect is unique and very different from Jiangsu-Zhejiang dialect and Cantonese. For example, Hokkien people will use "ding" instead of "pot", "dark" instead of "evening", and "before day" instead of "morning".
This made communication between the Shandong soldiers and the locals very difficult. In this case, a misunderstanding, especially on the battlefield, can lead to serious consequences.
To make matters worse, the remnants of Chiang's army and bandits would disguise themselves as peasants without any identification on their faces, which caused great confusion for our troops to carry out their missions, and it was easy to misjudge due to language barriers.
One morning, the head of the regiment, Zhao Jiaorang, was having dinner when he suddenly received a message from Comrade Ye of the Pucheng County Party Committee, saying that a group of bandits were doing bad things here. Zhao Jiaorang immediately notified the commander of the 8th Company to lead the troops.
The fighters of the 8th Company were battle-hardened veterans, and they were very combative, and they quickly defeated the bandits and drove them away. However, there are also bandits who have fled into the mountains or hid in the corners of the town.
In order to completely eliminate them, the company commander ordered a full-scale manhunt in the town of Shipi Street. Chen Jinting, the deputy squad leader, received the task and led the soldiers to carefully search every corner and never let go of any suspicious targets.
When they came to the north of Shenming Village, the situation changed. From afar, they saw a young man running into a farmhouse with a panicked expression, still holding a glittering machete in his hand.
Seeing this, Chen Jinting quickly commanded the soldiers to outflank and rush into the courtyard. They aimed their guns at the youths and shouted: "Put down the **, raise your hands!" ”
Chen Jinting and his party were walking on a country road when they suddenly spotted a young man holding a large knife and standing in front of them with a hostile face. Although Chen Jinting tried to ease the atmosphere, the young man did not put down the knife, but held it tighter.
Seeing this, Chen Jinting warned the other party to let go of ** again, but the young man approached them step by step, and he was about to pounce on them. In this case, Chen Jinting decisively pulled the trigger, as a result, he hit the young man in the head and died on the spot.
When Chen Jinting and his party were about to leave the scene, an old lady walked out and cried bitterly when she saw the young man lying on the ground. It turned out that the young man was not a bandit, but her son, named Cai Jinsheng, the son of a poor peasant and Red Army soldier.
The old lady cried, although Chen Jinting and his party couldn't understand what she was saying, but from her painful expression, it could be seen that she had lost her beloved son. Hearing the news, Chen Jinting's heart was full of guilt and fear.
He began to wonder if he had done the right thing, because the young man was not a bandit, but an innocent man. He regretted his impulsiveness and ignorance, but it was already too late.
Cai Jinsheng's father is called Cai Toudi, he joined the Red Army with *** in 1930, and has not been heard from since. After her husband passed away, Zheng Tongmei bravely took up the burden of life and worked hard to raise her only son Cai Jinsheng**.
As an only child, Zheng Tongmei felt very sorry for Cai Jinsheng, for fear that he would not be able to grow up in the event of a disaster. For this reason, she racked her brains to give Cai Jinsheng a nickname "Jin Shengnu", which means strong and unyielding, and can withstand any wind and rain.
However, Cai Jinsheng's sudden death in her 20s left the mother devastated.
After Chen Jinting was in danger of being shot for killing his comrades by mistake, and after the company commander reported the matter to his superiors, division commander Gurry attached great importance to it and presided over a meeting to study the matter.
The atmosphere of the meeting was heavy, but in the end, in order to maintain the image of our army and strict discipline, it was decided to shoot Chen Jinting. The division commander believed that Chen Jinting should be informed of the decision before the execution, and entrusted this task to Ding Zhao, director of the Political Department.
Ding Zhao received an order to go to Shipi Town to talk to Chen Jinting. Chen Jinting was held in a hut with an area of only 5 square meters, with only a small window and very dark light.
Ding Zhao walked into the room heavily, and after being silent for a while, he spoke: "Chen Jinting, I am Ding Zhao, director of the Political Department, and I came today to talk to you. ”
Chen Jinting said very calmly: "Director Ding, I know; From the day of the accident, I was mentally prepared that it was only natural for me to kill someone, and I could not be an exception. ”
Ding Zhao originally thought that Chen Jinting would defend himself, but he didn't expect this young warrior to be so reasonable, and he appreciated it very much. Ding Zhao was very emotional, he held back his tears and asked, "Chen Jinting, do you have anything else to explain?" ”
Chen Jinting said: "Chief, can you tell my parents that I died on the battlefield? Ding Zhao nodded vigorously in agreement. Just when Ding Zhao comforted Chen Jinting and was about to leave, Chen Jinting spoke again: "Chief, I have another matter." ”
Ding Zhao turned around and looked at the other party. "Chief, I haven't paid my party dues this month," Chen Jinting said, took out a yuan from his pocket and handed it to Ding Zhao.
What an excellent comrade, tears blurred Ding Zhao's vision.
1.Chen Jinting, a 20-year-old young man born in a poor peasant family, volunteered to join the Eighth Route Army, and his firm will and fearless fighting spirit won several battles, and is now the deputy squad leader.
However, during an anti-bandit operation, he accidentally killed a person due to a language barrier, and he felt deeply guilty, and was willing to pay the price of his life and hand over the only 1 yuan of party dues to show repentance.
2.At the moment when Ding Zhao read out the verdict, the entire venue was enveloped in a deep silence. After reading out, Ding Zhao waved his hand, and several heavily armed soldiers stepped forward and escorted Chen Jinting, who was tied up with flowers, off the rostrum.
3.Suddenly, someone in the crowd broke the silence with a loud voice, and an old lady walked up to the rostrum tremblingly and said to Ding Zhao: "Sir, you can't kill this soldier!" ”
People were surprised to find that this was Cai Jinsheng's mother, Zheng Tongmei. 4.The old lady explained: "My son was sick at the time, and he wanted to kill me with a knife, and the People's Liberation Army only fired the gun. ”
An old man in the crowd also stepped forward and confirmed that Cai Jinsheng was indeed sick and had epilepsy. 5.This sudden situation left Ding Zhao confused, and he couldn't understand why a criminal who had been killed by mistake had the sympathy and solidarity of these people.
He decided to review the case again to ensure fairness and justice.
Folks, the People's Liberation Army was the Red Army of the year, and they fought for our people. This soldier came thousands of miles to Fujian to protect our safety.
We can't let him lose his life like that, right? Dr. Ye won the respect and trust of the villagers with his noble character and selfless dedication, and his words were immediately recognized by everyone.
The words and deeds of a mother who lost her beloved son, but knew the righteousness, touched a city. Her appeal resonated with the villagers, who shouted in unison the slogans of "keeping people under the knife" and "turning the merit into a crime".
Ding Zhao was teary-eyed, he was moved by the simple emotions of the villagers, and also paid tribute to the mother's bravery and deep righteousness. He saluted her on behalf of the warriors and thanked her for her understanding and support.
He said that he would report everyone's voice to his superiors before making a decision. After receiving Ding Zhao's feedback, the superiors decided to allow the mother's son to return to the army to make meritorious contributions.
The head of the regiment, Zhao Jiaorang, and the political commissar Mardong came to the town, contacted the local area, gave preferential care and condolences to Zheng Tongmei's family, and gave her land. The two chiefs said in earnest that they would do their best to help her as if they were their own sons.
Chen Jinting also said that he wanted to be her son, but Zheng Tongmei politely refused. She was worried about touching the scene, so she politely declined. Chen Jinting could only put his monthly allowance in an envelope and mail it to her.
Later, Zheng Tongmei succeeded another son, and the mother and son depended on each other. After the liberation, when local cadres came to count the families of the dead and missing Red Army, Zheng Tongmei, who was living in poverty, did not register.
She said that the country has a lot to do, and she can no longer add to the burden on the country. Even in difficult times, she did not open her mouth to make demands. In 1970, Zheng Tongmei passed away, and before she died, she told her step-son that she could not use the events of that year as an excuse to ask for compensation.
Her words and deeds will always be engraved in people's hearts and have become an indelible monument.
The great older generation is willing to endure hardships for the sake of the country. In those fiery years, there were many such excellent mothers. For example, the "Yimeng Hongsao" who used milk to rescue the wounded; Deng Yufen, Taihang's mother, who sent her six sons to the battlefield; and Hirayama's mother, Rong Guanxiu, who restored many of the wounded, ......It is precisely with the support of the masses of the people that the people's army can defeat all enemies and establish a new China, which will never fail!