October 1, 1949 was a day worth cheering for the people of all China!We expelled the Japanese, defeated the Kuomintang, and on this day succeeded in creating New China!
At the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China that day, watching the People's Liberation Army walk by with their heads held high, most of the founding fathers on the stage couldn't help but feel emotional!This journey has not been easy, and the road is full of difficulties and challenges.
Founding fathers An Ziwen, Liu Lantao, ** and others saw this scene with tears in their eyes, they never thought that they could witness the moment of the birth of New China with their own eyes!
Their achievements today are inseparable from the selfless assistance of one person. This man had helped them survive by being a native of Shandong, named Niu Baozheng, codenamed "Ox".
They didn't know anything else about him. Therefore, more than a dozen founding fathers such as An Ziwen and Liu Lantao jointly signed a letter asking for *** assistance in finding Niu Baozheng's whereabouts, and they hoped to repay his kindness.
What kind of person is Niu Baozheng, what is the connection between him and these founding fathers, and how does the country recognize him?Let's unravel this mystery together.
Niu Baozheng, born in 1886 in Houniu Village, Wudi County, Shandong Province, was born in a poor family, was an authentic farmer, and later traveled to many places, codenamed "OX".
Niu Baozheng's life is full of twists and turns. Although he did not have a higher education, he always actively sought opportunities to change himself. He briefly served as a prison guard at the Wudi County Police Department, an experience that had a profound impact on his later life.
Subsequently, he also joined the Zhilu coalition army and experienced first-hand the period of warlord warfare. In that chaotic era of the country, low-level soldiers like Niu Baozheng had to endure all kinds of hardships and hardships.
The wars in Shandong continued, Niu Baozheng's boss changed frequently, and his life was full of twists and turns. After experiencing these upheavals, in 1928, Niu Baozheng resolutely decided to return to his hometown, took over the family's farmland, and began a difficult agricultural career, which can be regarded as a continuation of the family tradition.
However, the meager income from agriculture and the desolation of farmland brought about by the war made Niu Baozheng's income stretched and his life was under pressure. After careful consideration at home, Niu Baozheng decided to leave his hometown again and find a new way to make a living.
Niu Bao is wandering in the field for more than two years, reuniting with colleagues who used to work together in prison guard positions. The colleague told Niu Baozheng that he had met a senior official, Gao Jiwu, in Beijing, and that if Niu Baozheng wanted to find a job, he could take his recommendation letter to this person, and he might be able to help.
After careful consideration, Niu Baozheng came to Beiping with this letter of recommendation and found Gao Jiwu. Gao Jiwu served as the captain of the Beiping Military Police Detective Team and was an enthusiastic and righteous person.
Gao Jiwu warmly received Niu Baozheng, who had a letter of recommendation from a friend, and then used his connections to arrange for him to go to Beiping to work as a prison guard. Niu Baozheng didn't know it, and took Gao Jiwu's letter of introduction to the Beiping Military Introspection Institute, which seemed to be a reflection institute, but in fact it was an important place for the Kuomintang to torture the Communist Party and crack down on dissidents, and all kinds of torture tools made people shudder.
Caolanzi Prison", a prison in Caolanzi Hutong, Xicheng District, Beijing, is notorious for its brutal treatment of prisoners. Many Communists operating in Peiping and Tianjin were terrified when they heard this name.
The prison agents were brutal and physically tortured the inmates. However, until 1934, the prison maintained a certain degree of freedom, but after Ho Yingqin took over, the prison system became stricter.
Caolanzi prison is administered in an unusually strict manner, with prisoners forbidden to read, rest, and even subjected to frequent surprise interrogations, and no heating facilities in winter, all just to torture prisoners and make them confess.
The prison guards are all fierce and vicious, and their attitudes are bad, and Niu Baozheng feels very uncomfortable when he first arrives here, which is incompatible with the atmosphere here. However, instead of slacking off because of this, he worked hard to complete the task at hand, because he had an awakened power in his heart, and that was "ox".
Although he didn't like the tense, cold atmosphere here, he persevered, and his hard work eventually paid off, and he was promoted to class president.
Niu Baozheng in prison originally thought that his fate would be with the Kuomintang, but an incident in June 1931 changed his life completely. After being imprisoned in Caolanzi Prison, our party's An Ziwen, ** Yang Xianzhen and other comrades were brutally tortured by the enemy, but they remained loyal and unyielding and never revealed any information about the Communist Party.
Once, Niu Baozheng passed by the interrogation room and saw that a prisoner in the interrogation room was beaten to a bloody pulp, and the spies still interrogated without relenting.
The prisoner shuddered and breathed a faint breath, but he insisted on not revealing any information. Niu Baozheng was deeply admired by his perseverance, and he told the people around him that this was a true manly demeanor.
* of the Communists not only did not disclose any information, but repeatedly expressed their resistance to the inhumane management system of the Kuomintang, especially after a series of adjustments taken by He Yingqin.
**Taking the lead in the hunger strike, the fearless determination of the Communist Party made Niu Baozheng's heart deeply shocked again.
Niu Baozheng's attitude towards prisoners has changed radically, and he no longer beats and scolds them, but has a gentle attitude. Prison guard Yang Xianzhen noticed the difference in him and began to approach him.
Because his surname is"Cattle", English name"ox", so everyone gave him a nickname"ox", also called him"Oyx"。** was particularly outstanding in this group of prisoners, and his talent and unique insight into foreign affairs attracted the attention of many Peiping**, who often came to visit *** to ask him for advice.
** took advantage of this condition to threaten the Kuomintang **: "If you don't let me report the plan to the party organization, I won't give you advice." At his insistence, the Communists in prison were able to get in touch with organizations outside the Party, and it was through this channel that the message of the Wayaobao Conference reached everyone in prison.
At this time, Yang Xianzhen tried to pull Niu Baozheng into the camp of our party, he got in touch with the organization through the *** line, and after getting permission from the organization, he began to try to get close to Niu Baozheng.
He often talked with Niu Baozheng and shared his life, and gradually, Niu Baozheng let down his vigilance. An incident happened later that brought them closer together.
It turned out that Niu Baozheng's mother was sick, and she wrote a letter to her son, hoping to accompany her to see a doctor. However, Niu Baozheng's prison management system was strict, and he could not leave Beiping;At the same time, he was reluctant to let his colleagues know about his familyPlus he was illiterate and had to turn to others for help.
Niu Bao is asking Yang Xianzhen for help and asking him to write a letter to his mother in reply. In Yang Xianzhen's pen, Niu Baozheng's image gradually became clear, his salary was meager, and he didn't have much money to send to his family, but he was a very filial person and was very concerned about his mother's health.
Yang Xianzhen seized this opportunity, took out her only living expenses, and said to Niu Baozheng: "Brother Niu, your mother is sick, I have nothing to help you, you can send this money to your mother!."”
When Niu Baozheng refused to accept the money at first, Yang Xianzhen encouraged him and said: "It's okay, this money has other uses." We want to read books and learn, whether it's newspapers or other books. Can you buy some for us?”
Niu Baozheng reluctantly accepted the offer, and soon after, he secretly brought Yang Xianzhen a lot of books for her comrades, such as An Ziwen and Liu Lantao, to read.
Since then, whenever Niu Bao is on duty, Yang Xianzhen will teach him to read and write, and publicize the ideology of our party. After a long time, Niu Baozheng gradually realized that the theory of the Communist Party was indeed very reasonable, and he was willing to help these Communists and pass on information to the outside world.
In this way, a dark line between our party and the outside world from prison was activated.
Under the influence of Yang Xianzhen and others, Niu Baozheng assumed the heavy responsibility of our party's secret liaison, and many key documents were successfully transmitted to the outside world through his hands, providing a guarantee for the organizational decision-making and safety of the comrades in prison.
Under the pretext of sending his wife and son out to play, he often secretly went to our party's underground transportation station or bookstore in Beiping to buy Marxist-Leninist works. After Yang Xianzhen and others got these books, they immediately copied and translated them, and set up a large lecture hall in the prison, so that more people could be influenced by them and join our party.
Niu Baozheng, who did not forget to study in ** prison, studied the theoretical knowledge of the Communist Party in depth and became a staunch proletarian fighter. The prison guards discovered his abnormality and immediately reported it to their superiors, and the Kuomintang spy chief also quickly arrived, preparing to treat 18 people, including him, as key suspects and conduct surprise interrogations.
After learning the news, Niu Baozheng immediately revealed to An Ziwen and Yang Xianzhen, and organized them to carry out a hunger strike together to resist the surprise inspection of the Kuomintang.
The political prisoners in prison were a headache for the spies, and in the end, the matter was settled. Niu Baozheng also gathered information from all over the world, which allowed us to successfully avoid enemy searches many times.
In 1936, Comrade ** presided over the work of the ** Northern Bureau, at this time the Japanese were accelerating their aggression, and the war between China and Japan was within reach. ** Stressed: "We must do our best to rescue our party personnel in the Beiping Reflection Institute, they are the key force in the party, and a special person must be sent to be responsible for the rescue operation!."”
Niu Baozheng played a leading role in this rescue operation, and he received a notice from the Northern Bureau of our Party, asking him to cooperate in rescuing our Party cadres in prison. He immediately told Yang Xianzhen the news, and Yang Xianzhen convened everyone in prison to discuss the escape plan.
They decided to take advantage of the prison stipulations that as long as one-fifth of the prisoners who had completed their sentences publicly claimed in the newspapers that they had severed their ties with the Communist Party and that they wanted to be the first prisoner, they would be able to get out of prison.
Yang Xianzhen and others were worried that no one would prove their identity after being released from prison, so in order to avoid misunderstandings, they put forward a proposal to publish a report and release from prison, and asked Niu Baozheng to convey it to the Northern Bureau.
The Northern Bureau thought it was a safe approach and agreed to their proposal. In order to ensure that someone proves their identity after being released from prison, Yang Xianzhen and others also put forward three conditions, hoping that Niu Baozheng can help convey them.
Yang Xianzhen put forward three conditions to solve the comrades' worries. These three conditions were carefully considered and readily agreed to by the organization. However, when 61 comrades pleaded to "break away from the Communist Party" while in prison, the sudden increase in numbers aroused the suspicion of the Kuomintang.
Still, they stuck to the decision and worked hard to push the plan forward, even though the process lasted more than a month.
The Northern Bureau can't wait and urges everyone to hurry up. Niu Bao is taking immediate action to understand why these people are not allowed to get out of prison through relationships. The Kuomintang said that there were many people and did not dare to make a decision lightly.
Niu Baozheng immediately told Yang Xianzhen about this reason, so Yang Xianzhen, ** and other 9 people took the lead in issuing a statement and successfully escaped, and then other comrades also submitted applications one after another, and all 61 people successfully escaped!
Niu Baozheng played a key role in this prison escape operation, he contacted the prison party branch, the Northern Bureau, and the Kuomintang prison leader, if it were not for his efforts, it might not have been so smooth!
The historical memory of Caolanzi Prison records the story of Niu Baozheng, who once aspired to join the Communist Party. However, a sudden turn of events deprived him of his chance.
At the end of 1936, with the release of a large number of our party cadres from prison, the Kuomintang began to perceive that something was wrong. Many claimed to have been released from prison, but it was later discovered that they were still in contact with the Communist Party.
That's when they realized they had been deceived. Without the help of insiders, a successful prison break would not have been possible. As a result, a campaign to catch the mole soon set off in the prison.
Niu Baozheng had previously been in close contact with imprisoned Communists and was therefore the prime suspect. Kuomintang agents arrested him and subjected him to harsh interrogation.
During this interrogation, Niu Baozheng behaved very strongly, remembering a communist he had seen back then, so he refused to reveal a word, and even though he was tortured countless times, he was resolutely unwilling to betray his comrades.
At the same time, after being released from prison, Yang Xianzhen and others were very grateful to Niu Bao for taking care of him in prison, so his safety concerns attracted the attention of many people.
The leaders of the Northern Bureau firmly believe that although Niu Baozheng has not yet joined our party, he has served our party many times and is a good friend of ours, and we must ensure his safety.
As a result, the underground party in Beiping quickly moved into contact and sought ways to rescue Niu Baozheng from prison. At the same time, another underground party team escorted Niu Baozheng's family back to their hometown safely to ensure their safety.
Since Niu Bao remained silent in prison, the Kuomintang lost patience and decided to execute him.
Within the high walls of Caolanzi Prison, we were delighted to find a ** in prison. It was with his help that Niu Baozheng successfully escaped from Beiping. Accompanied by him, Niu Baozheng returned to his hometown in Shandong, at this time, the Anti-Japanese War broke out, the country fell into the whirlpool of war, and Niu Baozheng began to gradually lose contact with the organization.
In the blink of an eye, time flies, and more than ten years have passed. On October 1, 1949, on the day of the founding ceremony, An Ziwen, Liu Lantao, ** Yang Xianzhen and many other founding fathers were very excited, they did not expect that they would be able to live to this day.
Early in the morning, these fathers who had been imprisoned in Caolanzi Prison gathered together, looking back on the past, Niu Baozheng's name was mentioned again. His help saved them from dying in prison.
However, the whereabouts of this life-saver are now a mystery. Everyone immediately signed a joint petition to ** for assistance in finding this big brother. Due to the lack of specific information about Niu Baozheng, they can only provide a name as a clue.
Niu Baozheng used to be a squad leader in a Kuomintang prison, and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, because of this status, the local prison regarded him as a bureaucrat of the old era and imprisoned him. The matter was reported to the Shandong Provincial Party Committee, which immediately sent personnel to search for Niu Baozheng's whereabouts, and a comrade who had been in contact with Niu Baozheng in Bohai provided information about his hometown.
The Shandong Provincial Party Committee immediately sent leaders there, and Zhang Yucun, the secretary of Wudi County, and Zhang Xuede, a cadre, launched a county-wide search and issued a search notice, but finally found Niu Baozheng in prison.
What's going on here?
The prison chief interrogated Niu Baozheng in prison, but he was silent and never mentioned that he had helped the Communist Party. Originally, the organization was going to sentence him to prison, but it wasn't until someone was sent down from above that everyone understood that he was a great hero.
After Niu Baozheng was released from prison, he expressed his gratitude to the state and the party for their care, but everyone asked him to go to Beijing to meet his old friends.
However, Niu Baozheng rejected the proposal, saying: "I don't want to go to Beijing, first, I feel that I have no great contribution to the party, and I feel a little guilty for being treated favorably; The second is that I love my hometown deeply and am reluctant to leave; The third is that my only son is engaged in water conservancy work outside and cannot accompany me. ”
When the leaders of Beijing learned of his deeds, they decided to take his whole family to Beijing, Yang Xianzhen, An Ziwen and other important people successively received him, and the state provided him with the treatment of 18-level cadres (a total of 20**) and put him in charge of the work of Caolanzi Prison, and also arranged a job for his only son.
In 1954, Niu Baozheng died of illness in Beijing at the age of 68. After his death, his coffin returned to his homeland, fulfilling his last wish.
Although the life of this underground liaison codenamed "Ox" is over, his story will be passed on forever and remembered by future generations!