On July 22, 1948, Deng Wenyi, director of the Political Work Bureau of the Kuomintang Ministry of National Defense, announced at the behest of Chiang Kai-shek that Kang Ze had died in the battle of Xiangyang. Kang Ze was a confidant of Chiang Kai-shek, who founded the "** Army Officer Academy Special Training Class" and personally served as the head teacher.
However, most of the Kuomintang did not regret his death in private, because Kang Ze had killed a large number of Communist Party cadres and the masses, and he could not escape death if he was caught by the Communist Party.
However, the Xinhua news agency issued a statement soon after, saying that Kang Ze did not die, but was captured by the People's Liberation Army and accepted the obligation**. As an executioner with his hands stained with the blood of revolutionary martyrs, the reason why Kang Ze was not shot after being captured by our army was because *** personally instructed Nakano to send Kang Ze to the liberated area of North China, and ordered that his life should not be harmed.
So, why did you want to keep Kang Ze alive? What happened to him after he was sent to North China?
Kang Ze: From killing pigs to Chiang Kai-shek's "right-hand man" Kang Ze, he was born in Anyue County, Sichuan Province in 1904 from a poor family. His father died young, and the help of his clan allowed him to complete his education.
In 1924, Kang Ze heard the news that Sun Yat-sen founded the Whampoa Military Academy, and resolutely went to Guangzhou and successfully became the third student of the Whampoa Military Academy. He admired Wang Zhaoming, changed his name to Kang Zhaoming, called "Ze", and called himself "Kang Ze".
One day, Kang Ze was sorting out the records of Chiang Kai-shek's lectures in the classroom, and he happened to be seen by Chiang Kai-shek. Kang Ze was notable for his solitary efforts, and Chiang Kai-shek had a good impression of him, and after graduation, he went to study in the Soviet Union on the recommendation of Chiang Kai-shek.
After returning to China, Kang Ze was appointed as a staff officer to the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and later served as the captain of the Jiangxi "Suppression of the Communist Party" Propaganda Brigade of the General Headquarters, and brutally killed many patriots.
In the early 30s of the 20th century, the British journalist Ludwig wrote a book called "Mussolini's Conversations", which detailed Mussolini's methods of "managing" the people.
This greatly inspired a secretary named Liu Jianqun next to He Yingqin, so he took the initiative to write a "10,000-word letter" for Chiang Kai-shek entitled "Proposal for the Reorganization of the Kuomintang".
In this "10,000-word letter," Liu Jianqun suggested that the Kuomintang should learn from the "advanced experience" of Germany and Italy, establish a secret fascist group, and follow the example of the German SS and the Italian "Husers" to form an organization called the "Blue Coat Society."
By learning from the organizational forms of Germany and Italy, we will consolidate and rebuild the absolute authority of the leaders. Chiang Kai-shek was very appreciative of this "10,000-word book", and he gave this suggestion to He Jinhan, Kang Ze and others, and asked them to draft the specific constitution and regulations of the fascist organization.
Kang Ze lived up to expectations, and the draft "Fuxing Society Regulations Plan" made Chiang Kai-shek very satisfied. In March 1932, Chiang Kai-shek presided over the establishment of the "Fuxing Society", a secret society with a fascist nature, and served as the "president" of the Nanjing Inspirational Society.
Chiang Kai-shek also followed Zeng Guofan's example of distinguishing loyalty and traitors through "physiognomy", and paid special attention to people who looked more unusual, such as Zeng Guangqing's "pig shape", Dai Li's "horse face" and Kang Ze's "leopard head".
In July 1933, Kang Ze accepted the important task of Chiang Kai-shek, went to Nanchang to set up the "** Military Academy in Jiangxi Summer Research School", and organized the training of 500 Whampoa students during the students' vacation.
By October 1933, a total of 2,000 cadets had graduated and were reorganized into three brigades of the "Nanchang Camp Special Brigade of the Military Commission", with Kang Ze as the general captain.
After the Einsatzgruppen arrived in Jiangxi, the three brigades were divided into small detachments and went deep into the Soviet area to carry out ** activities. Kang Ze believed that the reason why the Red Army was able to break the "encirclement and suppression" was mainly because of the support of the local masses, so he proposed to Chiang Kai-shek the "five households joint guarantee" armor protection system, stipulating that the five households monitored each other, and any one household provided material assistance to the Red Army, and the other four households also had to bear responsibility.
He also set up the "Zhuangding Team" and the "Shovel Communist Volunteer Brigade" in an attempt to win the support of the youth of Jiangxi and cut off the Red Army's military resources. Kangze's poisonous plan made the people in the Soviet area dare not come into contact with the Red Army, resulting in a shortage of materials and a smaller space for the Red Army's activities, which had a serious impact on the Red Army's fifth anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaign.
Kangze's Einsatzgruppen carried out a large-scale ** in the Soviet area, killing tens of thousands of people, and the crime was extremely heinous. Kang Ze considered himself Chiang Kai-shek's "Imperial Army" and looked down on other armies, leading to discontent within the Kuomintang.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Kangze set up concentration camps to detain soldiers of the New Fourth Army and patriotic democrats and torture them brutally. After the end of the Anti-Japanese War, Kang Ze became infamous and was sent to the United States to investigate and study.
Kang Ze always wanted to return to China, but after receiving the notice to return to China, Chiang Kai-shek told him that he did not need to rush back and could do research in the United States with peace of mind. In 1947, Kang Ze secretly returned to Shanghai, but Chiang Kai-shek was not satisfied with his approach and finally decided to send him chairman of Rehe Province, but Kang Ze refused.
In January 1948, Chiang Kai-shek appointed commander of the 15th Pacification Zone, responsible for guarding Xiangfan. Before Kang Ze took office, Chiang Kai-shek told him that the 65th and 202nd Divisions, as well as the three brigades of the Sichuan Army, were under his command, with air support if necessary.
However, when Kang Ze arrived in Xiangyang, he found that he had been "given a blank check". The 65th Division was on the front line and could not be mobilized; The two brigades of the 202nd Division are in the field and cannot be transferred; Of the three brigades of the Sichuan Army, only the 146th Brigade is in Fancheng, and it is incomplete and has low combat effectiveness.
Although Kang Ze knew that this was a trap, he could not change it, so he could only take office. On Kang Ze's 44th birthday, he set up a large table of banquets at the headquarters and invited cadres at and above the section level to have a dinner together.
However, just as he was dining with everyone, he received a message that ** was attacking Laohekou and the situation was critical! ** Wang Jinshan was dispatched to lead the Sixth Column of Zhongye, the main force of the Tongbai Military Region and the 12th Brigade of Southern Shaanxi to launch an attack on Xiangyang, and the Battle of Xiangfan officially began.
Wang Jinshan and Kang Ze have a lot of experience in terrorist activities, but getting them to lead the troops is a big problem. Although he once sent a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek to "live and die with the city", this backbone did not last long.
As the People's Liberation Army was about to break through the city, Kang Ze quickly appealed to Chiang Kai-shek for help, but it was already too late. On the afternoon of July 16, the People's Liberation Army successfully captured the headquarters of Kangze and arrested the Kuomintang officers one by one.
Before attacking Xiangyang, the PLA received an order from its superiors: to capture Kangze alive as much as possible. However, when the PLA soldiers entered the headquarters, it took a long time to find his traces, as if he had "evaporated from the world".
At this moment, Fu Qirong, a captured Kuomintang officer, stood up and said that he knew the whereabouts of Kang Ze. After that, Fu Qirong led the PLA soldiers into a deeply hidden tunnel, and finally found Kang Ze in a "dead man's pit" full of corpses.
Kang Ze's "death" marked the loss of Xiangyang, and Kang Ze was captured, which made Zhou Jiantao, who was the leader of the ** special field inspection team, feel very frightened. He was worried that Chiang Kai-shek would punish him for this, so he took the initiative to send a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek, saying: "Kang Ze attempted suicide, was wounded and captured, and he is preparing to recapture the city."
Kang Ze was captured, and Chiang Kai-shek announced that he had committed suicide. But Kang Ze's wife insisted that he was loyal to the country, much to Chiang's surprise. After hearing this, Jiang sent someone to comfort her and held a memorial service to ease the embarrassment.
However, the Xinhua news agency issued a statement saying that Kang Ze was not dead, but was captured and accepted**, a news that undoubtedly slapped Jiang in the face. Kang Ze was afraid of death, and after seeing the People's Liberation Army, he asked to see a doctor, and his desire to survive was shocking.
After Kang Ze was captured, opinions within the party were divided, with some advocating his execution and others advocating his reform. ** Personally instructed Kang Ze to be escorted to the liberated areas of North China for reform, which shows the tolerance and leniency of our party.
Kang Ze was a war criminal with blood on his hands, and after being captured by the Communists, he thought that the Communists were trying to extract information from him and spare his life, just "Huairou".
However, the Communist Party members who guarded him treated him very gently, arranged for medical personnel to treat his wounds, and ate very carefully, and Kang Ze ate better food than the guards.
He came into contact with the Communist Party in the liberated areas and gained an in-depth understanding of their way of dealing with the world, and was deeply moved. Therefore, Kang Ze began to take the initiative to ask the guards to help him find some Marxist-Leninist books and newspapers and periodicals such as "People's **" to study.
He even wrote a letter home to his mother in his hometown in Sichuan, telling her that he was now in the liberated area, in good health, and that he should not worry. Kang Ze gradually began to reflect on his past, he realized his mistake, not only did he not stand on the position of the poor to serve the poor, but ran into the camp of the big bourgeois big landlords to open up the reactionary class, which is really a very wrong thing.
In May 1949, Kang Ze was sent to Gongdelin Prison in Beijing for reform, during which he wrote a reflection material reviewing his wrongdoings while in the Kuomintang.
Although he was worried that if he wrote all about what he had done back then, the Communist Party might "settle scores" with him, he decided to reflect on and apologize for the major crimes he had committed.
Kangze's three unsuccessful applications for amnesty left him feeling deeply disappointed and losing hope for his future. However, in 1963, when he heard the news of his amnesty, he burst into tears and accepted the certificate of freedom.
After his release from prison, Kang Ze, like other amnesty war criminals, served as a commissioner of culture and history and wrote his own memoirs, exposing the dark rule of the Kuomintang. He died in Beijing at the age of 63.
After knowing the news of Kang Ze, it was decided to escort him to the liberated area for ideological reform, rather than hand him over to the people for trial. He explained this point in "Ten Relations", arguing that counter-revolutionaries should not be killed at once, but should be given a way out of life and a chance to reform themselves.
The decision proved to be very wise, and many amnesty war criminals had their minds changed during the reform, and after being released from prison, they contributed to the construction of New China, and even the Xuantong emperor like Pu Yi was transformed into a qualified citizen by our party.
It may be easy to destroy a person's body, but it is extremely difficult to change a person's mindset. However, isn't it a very great thing that our party has succeeded in doing this?