In 1951, there was a peculiar scene in Shanghai: ** Rong, one of the three tycoons in Shanghai in the past, actually publicly posted "** admit his mistakes, pick up a broom and go to the streets, and start working as a cleaner."
As soon as this news came out, even Chiang Kai-shek couldn't help but sigh: "* It's amazing!" "So, who is **Rong? What's his story? Why did he not flee to Taiwan after the liberation of Shanghai, but chose to stay in Shanghai?
What kind of secret is hidden behind this *** and street cleaning?
* Rong, one of the three tycoons in Shanghai, is as famous as Du Yuesheng and Zhang Xiaolin, he is the leader of the Youth Gang in the old era, and his power is so great that even Chiang Kai-shek has to kowtow to him to celebrate his birthday.
* Rong's upbringing is unique, he was 16 years old, his parents died, he lacked discipline, and often drank and fought with gangsters. However, it was in this environment that he found his way.
In 1892, he heard that the French Concession Patrol House was recruiting Chinese patrols, so he decided to give it a try. With the neighbor's son working as a translator in the patrol house, and his strong body, he successfully blended into the patrol house.
Although ** Rong did not have much education, he was extremely intelligent, ambitious, and had some "face" among the local gangsters, so his status in the patrol house gradually improved.
*Rong, a legend from Shanghai, has solved a series of thorny problems with his unique wisdom and means. Once, the French Consul General in Shanghai and his wife were kidnapped by Taihu horse bandits, who demanded a ransom of 400,000 silver dollars.
The French were both unwilling to pay the money and feared that the horse bandits would not let them go. ** Rong used his connections and wisdom to negotiate with the horse bandits and successfully released the Verti couple unconditionally.
In addition, Rong also played a key role in the Song Jiaoren case. After Song Jiaoren was assassinated, the whole country was shocked, but his identity was unknown. **Rong relied on his keen intuition and investigation clues to successfully capture**, and found out the main messenger behind the scenes, Yuan Shikai.
These events made ** Rong famous, and he was soon promoted to the chief inspector of the patrol house in the French Concession. He realized the importance of street gangsters and began to pay attention to the largest gang in the country, the Green Gang.
*With its unique wisdom and means, Rong has successfully solved many problems and has become a unique scenery on the beach in Shanghai.
Although he is eager to use the power of this gang, ** Rong has a considerable background and is unwilling to bow to the leader of the Green Gang. He claims to be a Tianzi generation, even higher than the highest-ranking big character generation of the Green Gang.
As his influence in Shanghai continued to expand, especially after cultivating Du Yuesheng, one of the three major balances in Shanghai, even Chiang Kai-shek gave him three points. Finally, they confirmed the mentor-apprentice relationship.
* In turbulent times, Rong's deeds were full of controversy, he contributed to the revolution and helped Chiang Kai-shek in his counter-revolutionary activities. Although he had a poor reputation in the local area as the leader of the Green Gang, when Shanghai was liberated in 1949, people were surprised to find that he did not choose to escape, but stayed in Shanghai.
So, why did **Rong make such a decision?
* Rong chose to stay in Shanghai for four reasons: First, our party members promised not to kill him, and in view of his special status and role, this is of great significance for maintaining public order and stability in Shanghai after the liberation.
Second, before the liberation of Shanghai, our party had already planned the tasks of the former gangs, and as long as they did not make trouble and were willing to accept reform, the status quo would be maintained. Third, Rong has a certain influence in Shanghai, which is conducive to maintaining order and stability in Shanghai.
Fourth, staying in Shanghai is also a good choice for **Rong personally.
* Rong is very old, he is in poor health in his 80s, and his long-term smoking and indulgence have taken a serious toll on his health. Considering that he might suddenly become ill on the way to Taiwan or Hong Kong, he decided to stay in Shanghai.
He once said to others: "I am about to be buried in the ground, I have spent my whole life in Shanghai, and I don't want to scatter my ashes in a foreign land and die in another country." ”
Third, **Rong is obsessed with a large amount of property in Shanghai and cannot be parted. Although in 1949, his daughter-in-law Li Zhiqing had fled to Hong Kong with gold, silver and jewelry, and later went to Taiwan, ** Rong's property in Shanghai is still very rich, just his family's three-story house, dozens of rooms are full of smoke, enough for him to enjoy for a long time.
In addition, because Rong had already handed over the Kuomintang bandit register at the time of the liberation of Shanghai, he showed a good attitude of correcting his mistakes, and the People's Liberation Army treated him relatively leniently.
Properties such as the Great World, the Great Theater and the Rongjin Theater are still operated by Rong, and every year he can get a lot of income from these real estate properties.
* In his later years, Rong showed a certain amount of remorse and was unwilling to help the abuse. From his 1951 Shanghai "** Rong Confession Book", it can be seen that he sincerely admits mistakes and deeply regrets his past behavior.
As the old saying goes, "Those who are dying will be good in their words, and those who are dying will mourn when they sing." * Rong realized that his past mistakes could be "judged", so he hoped to find peace of mind in the attitude of the new China.
Therefore, it is somewhat understandable that he chose to stay on the mainland rather than follow Chiang Kai-shek to Taiwan. However, ** Rong was not completely innocent, and he trumpeted in his confession that he had helped Sun Yat-sen's revolution, but covered up his crimes.
*The real purpose of letting **Rong write*** is to make him admit his mistakes and accept reform, in order to gain the forgiveness of the public. Although the stability of Shanghai society at that time needed the help of ** Rong, his presence caused dissatisfaction among the people.
Under such circumstances, Su Yu and others decided to meet Rong.
*Arranged** Rong to sweep the street in order to let him experience the life of ordinary people and change his mentality. As a result, in the newspaper in 1951, there was a photo of **Rong wearing a long shirt and standing at the door of the Great World Playground and sweeping the floor**.
It is said that after Chiang Kai-shek, who was defeated and retreated to Taiwan, learned of this, he also expressed his appreciation for the approach.
* Demonstrated a talent for orderly governance in Shanghai. When Shanghai had just been liberated, he repeatedly stressed that he could not use heavy ** when fighting in the urban area, and asked the troops not to enter the houses after entering the city.
Regarding these propositions of **, it is said that *** also gave high praise and said in a loud voice"Good, good, good, good"。Under the leadership of the first company, Shanghai has gradually regained its vitality and stepped into the fast lane of development.
Shanghai's miracle amazed the editor-in-chief of India's "Business Daily". He said: "Shanghai under the management of the new people** is the pride of the East!" In fact, after the liberation of Shanghai, ** Rong has also reined in.
Perhaps he realized that his past actions were wrong, so he felt a little afraid in his heart. At the beginning, after ** and others met ** Rong, ** Rong left immediately, and he didn't even bother to say goodbye, which fully showed his weakness.
The once "arrogant" ** Rong has now become so restrained, which shows that he has changed. You must know that in order to compete for women, the former ** Rong even beat the eldest son of Lu Yongxiang, the overseer of Zhejiang and the great warlord.
This Lu Gongzi is not a fuel-efficient lamp, and later took advantage of the unpreparedness of ** Rong and led someone to rob him with a gun. If it weren't for Du Yuesheng and Zhang Xiaolin to help dredge up the relationship and spend 3 million silver, ** Rong might have died in the Governor's Palace.
It was through this incident that Rong's apprentice Du Yuesheng officially ascended to the throne and was on an equal footing with Rong.
* Rong was dissatisfied by Du Yuesheng because of his marriage change and marrying his ex-wife, Lu Lanchun, but he still respected him because of his master-apprentice relationship. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, gang leaders of the old era who reformed from evil were also won over.
Despite his old age and poor health, Rong died in 1953. What makes people curious is, why did Chiang Kai-shek kneel down to ** Rong? In the late Qing Dynasty, the gangs were influential, such as in the Xinhai Revolution, they led the uprisings in Shaanxi and Sichuan provinces, and the participation of the revolutionary party was low.
It is said that the reason why Chiang Kai-shek worshiped **Rong as a teacher was not for political help, but for money.
Chiang Kai-shek once opened a ** securities exchange in Shanghai with others, named Hengtai. At first, the business was good, but then it encountered a storm and the exchange eventually went bankrupt.
The shareholders demanded to cash in one after another, and even the exchange supervisor was forced to commit suicide by jumping into the river, and even Chiang Kai-shek felt very anxious. If these people were to be "laid-off" directly, although it might solve the problem, it would cause great damage to Chiang Kai-shek's reputation.
Therefore, after careful consideration, he decided to seek the help of ** Rong. ** Rong did not disappoint him, held a grand apprenticeship banquet, invited all Chiang Kai-shek's creditors over, and publicly promised: "Zhiqing will be my apprentice in the future, I will bear his debts, you can come to me." ”
Zhiqing here is referring to Chiang Kai-shek, and when others see that **Rong is gone, **dare to ask for that money back? didn't dare to call directly, and made a favor to ** Rong.
In addition, there was another thing that deepened the relationship between Chiang Kai-shek and ** Rong, and that was the April 12 counter-revolutionary coup that broke out in 1927. At that time, Chiang Kai-shek had already made his fortune, and ** Rong came to the door to prepare to return the protégé to worship the sticker, but he didn't expect Chiang Kai-shek to receive him warmly, and there was no taboo about that past.
Just when **Rong was puzzled, Chiang Kai-shek finally revealed his conspiracy - he wanted **Rong to lead the ruffians to the workers' pickets** and carry out a counter-revolutionary coup!
* Rong agreed to this and became a big stain on his life. He was deeply frightened and remorseful about this, and even on his 80th birthday in 1947, Chiang Kai-shek, the great Chinese great, personally attended the birthday celebration and kowtowed to him in public.
However, this was only Chiang Kai-shek's attempt to win the hearts and minds of the people, and he realized in 1947 that the situation in the Liberation War was clear and the Kuomintang had lost its advantage. He was in a hurry to go to the doctor, and naturally hoped to win over other forces.
* Rong saw through this, so he said after Chiang Kai-shek kowtowed: "Zhongzheng, what is this for?" I can't do it. Although the two appeared to have a deep friendship on the surface, the fact that Rong did not follow Chiang Kai-shek to Taiwan in 1949 is enough to prove that their relationship is only superficial.
In the end, Chiang Kai-shek's ** attempt failed to materialize, and he fled against the will of the people in embarrassment.