Life is short, some are heavier than Mount Tai, and some are lighter than feathers. In modern criminal investigation dramas, there are usually not too many characters who die, but "Punishment" is different.
In the play, the Zhao family's criminal gang ruled Changwu for more than 30 years, and its methods were cruel and vicious, and countless murder cases were committed. In Zhao Pengcheng's USB flash drive alone, there are more than 40 cases of various violent crimes.
Sixteen of the characters who appear in the play and have names and surnames have passed away, and their causes of death are different, and the meaning and value behind their deaths are also very different.
Let's review the deaths of these characters one by one in chronological order.
Deng Lijun, the safety supervisor of Qiongya No. 5 Mine, disregarded his personal safety and exposed the mining disaster caused by the tofu slag project. However, his courageous actions were suppressed by the mine manager, Zheng Guangtian, and the director of the supervision department, Qing Chenglin.
When he asked Xiao Zhenbang for help, he was betrayed. Zheng Guangtian instructed Cao Dalong to strangle Deng Lijun to death in the mine, and detonated explosives, creating the illusion of a second mining disaster.
Deng Lijun's sacrifice was to uphold justice, and his bravery and tenacity deserve to be remembered forever.
Chang Fei, Zhao Xiaosheng instructed others to cause a car accident, causing the deputy captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade to roll off the cliff and unfortunately die. Chang Fei is a righteous and upright policeman, the more dangerous the situation, the more he dares to face difficulties, his sacrifice is heartbreaking, after all, such a person is rare in the world.
Of course, Chang Fei is indeed a little too rigid in his struggle strategy, and being too persistent sometimes inevitably brings risks, but it is precisely because of this tenacious character that Chang Fei's character is more worthy of our admiration.
In order to protect their rights and interests, Luo Ming and his wife suffered cruel treatment in a short period of time. was thrown downstairs by Zhao Pengxiang and fell to death, and was beaten to death by Zhao Pengxiang.
What's even more outrageous is that their deaths were wrongly identified as a husband beating his wife to death and then jumping off a building, and Zhao Xiaosheng also took the opportunity to pretend to be charitable. The deal behind it all feels creepy.
Some people may ask, is it worth paying so much for the house? However, the experience of Luo Ming and his wife revealed to us the illegal violence and lack of justice of the Zhao family, which made Luo Ming deeply feel that "the sky in Changwu is too dark".
Xia Zonghai, chairman of Changwu Seafood Group, died under Zhao Pengxiang's gun. Compared with Luo Ming and his wife, Xia Zonghai undoubtedly has huge energy, he has a ** car, and his brother Xia Zongtao is a top thug, and the Xia family is strong in Changwu.
However, such a powerful person was intimidated by Zhao Pengxiang during the negotiations, and was even shot dead after he failed, but Zhao Pengxiang was fearless, and even openly committed crimes in front of the public, and the arrogance of the Zhao family was chilling.
The murder of Xia Zonghai seemed simple, and Chang Zheng quickly solved the case, but the Zhao family completely exonerated Zhao Pengxiang through behind-the-scenes operations, which not only exposed the terrifying strength of the Zhao family, but also made Chang Zheng understand a truth, it is simply impossible to bring down the Zhao family with just one case.
This also further proves that the existence of Yan Guohua's secret task force is necessary.
Zhao Pengcheng: Investigated 46 crimes of the Zhao family in three years, although he was the second brother, he completed it independently. His bravery and perseverance are admirable, and his sacrifice is even more touching.
The night before he was blown up by Zhao Pengzhan, he arranged a lot of trivial matters, and handed over the USB flash drive backup to Chang Fei's son Chang Zheng. His preparation was not only to deal with possible dangers, but also because he was ready to be martyred for the Zhao family and disappear with the Zhao family in his heart.
Zhao Pengcheng's sacrifice is the most shocking scene in "Punishment", his attitude of going forward and succeeding, treating death as home, and his determination to kill his relatives in righteousness make us deeply feel his courage and loyalty.
Deng Xiaojun, the son of Deng Lijun, redressed his father's grievances for 20 years but had no way, Zhao Pengcheng fled after his death, and was found by Chang Zheng sent someone to find him, and returned to Changwu but was stabbed to death by Xia Zongtao, this incident is more like a tragedy than his father's death.
He was not given the protection he deserved, and it was a shame that he was killed under the noses of two police officers. It is worth mentioning that Deng Xiaojun said "Excavation Captain Cao Dalong" in full before he died, which is a progressive performance in domestic dramas, and he no longer reveals his ** identity through a lot of nonsense as in the past.
Cao Dalong, the former leader of the Qiongya No. 5 mine excavation team, was sentenced to life in prison for killing Deng Lijun. Compared with Zheng Guangtian, Qing Chenglin and Zhao Xiaosheng and other people involved in the mining disaster, Cao Dalong's life does not have many bright spots.
He worked as a security manager in the Zhao family all his life, and it was not until nearly thirty years later that he was promoted to the rank of petty leader. Although Zheng Guangtian may be worried that he will be too popular, let Zhao Xiaosheng restrain him.
However, Cao Dalong's ignorance and blindness led him astray, not knowing that only prison could guarantee his life. Fortunately, he did not suffer another "mining accident" or "traffic accident" after Deng Lijun, and survived for nearly 30 years.
In general, a small person like Cao Dalong, who is unprincipled and easily swayed by others, often ends very tragically.
Xia Zongtao, a strange person, he had an enmity with the Zhao family, but he was once close to Zhao Pengxiang. However, when Zhao Pengxiang killed his eldest brother Xia Zonghai, Xia Zongtao was grateful because he was saved by Zhao Pengchao and began to work for Zhao Pengchao.
In the end, Xia Zongtao's fate did not change because of this, but was killed by Zhao Pengchao at the command of Li Bodong. Could it be that Xia Zongtao has no other way out than to play for Zhao Pengchao?
The biggest possibility is that Xia Zongtao himself is not clean, when his eldest brother was killed, he didn't even dare to call the police for help like ordinary people, so he could only hide behind Zhao Pengchao and be a killer for him, and finally ended up in a situation where the world is big but there is no place to live.
Some viewers think that Zhao Pengchao's raising Xia Zongtao is a bad policy, especially after he killed Deng Xiaojun. In fact, this is also Zhao Pengchao's viciousness. Xia Zongtao is an outlaw, and at the same time he is extraordinary, raising him can make the people in the orchard see the effect of killing chickens and monkeys, avoid the sad situation of rabbits and foxes, and also let Xia Zongtao perform dangerous tasks.
Xiao Chen, a young and talented prosecutor, the son of Xiao Zhenbang, and the object of Jin Yan's affection. Xiao Chen's death seems to be an accident, but in the dark, his identity seems to determine his ending.
He is the son of Xiao Zhenbang, but he discovers that his admired father may have been involved in the Zhao family's criminal gang, and the collapse of his faith makes him unacceptable. He was a prosecutor who did not hesitate and was brave in the face of danger.
He was in love with Jin Yan, and when he saw her in danger, he did not hesitate to stand in front of her. The audience couldn't help but feel sorry for it, and Xiao Chen's life came to an end.
Xiao Zhenbang, who holds the important position of deputy director of the Public Security Bureau, is an out-and-out scum. As a public official, he used his power to become a minion of the underworld forces.
He is Xiao Chen's father, but what he does makes him the target of ridicule for his son. He was Chang Fei's old comrade-in-arms, but at a critical moment, he betrayed the old squad leader.
He is a ** of Changzheng, but when his apprentice investigates the case, he becomes a stumbling block for him. He is Zheng Guangtian's son-in-law, although he listened to his father-in-law's mercy, he still failed to save Zheng Guangtian.
He couldn't bear the stares that people looked at him after the truth was revealed, so he chose to escape and commit suicide. He was also unable to face his crimes, so his suicide was his most cowardly manifestation.
Bobcat, the killer of the small leader of the Zhao family, is Zhao Pengxiang's loyal follower. If Zhao Pengxiang was just an ordinary gentleman, then the lynx that followed the third brother might become a joke in a comedy, and the third brother would be a joke.
However, Zhao Pengxiang is *** Lynx is his minions. In "Punishment", the lynx is the initiator of many vicious cases and homicides, and the crime is so great that it is not a pity to die.
Qiu Tao, as Zhao Xiaosheng's driver and personal bodyguard, is also Zhao Pengchao's life-saving benefactor and confidant, but he is actually an undercover agent who broke into Longtan alone. His sacrifice is deplorable, if ** can cooperate more tacitly and in a timely manner, he may be able to retreat from the Zhao family.
Even if he gave up the mission because it was too dangerous to copy the data from Zhao Pengchao's computer, he could wait until the day he returned home, because he had already passed on a lot of valuable information.
However, Qiu Tao chose to ignore the danger and resolutely carry out the mission. In the face of Zhao Pengchao and his thugs' forced confessions, he still remained calm, and he could not fully describe his calmness at the last moment.
Although the bobcat and the mourning cow are not good people, at least the mourning cow gave Qiu Tao a pleasure, and the bobcat gave Qiu Tao a cushion, which can be regarded as a reflection of the value he paid.
In the mourning of "Punishment", Zhao Pengchao killed the daughter of Chang Zheng's ex-girlfriend Ji Wei, who is also his partner. Although Ji Xi's daughter behaved willfully, unreasonable, and distrustful of Chang Zheng most of the time in the play, it wasn't until she saw Zhao Pengchao's documents that she realized her mistake.
Her bravery and fearlessness deserve our respect, and although her life was terminated by exposing Zhao Pengchao's disguise, her actions will always be remembered.
Han Ya, the executive vice mayor of Changwu City who shot himself, Zhao Xiaosheng's ex-wife, Zhao Pengchao and Chang Zheng's mother, Lin Bai's friend, Zheng Guangtian's protégé, and Qingchenglin's boss.
On her deathbed, Hana wrote a sincere plea in which she felt deeply guilty for Zhao Pengchao's tragic ending from her mother's point of view. From the perspective of the deputy mayor, although she is not a member of the Zhao family's criminal gang, in fact, her connivance and assistance to the Zhao family have allowed the Zhao family's crimes to breed.
She should have had a deeper understanding of this, but she did not take action to stop it, which undoubtedly aggravated the harm done by the Zhao family's criminal gang to the victims and the people of Changwu. Therefore, Hana's suicide is a way to apologize for the victims of the Zhao family's criminal gang and the people of Changwu.
Mourning Niu, the killer of the Zhao family, was killed by Jin Yan and Chang Zheng, Zhao Pengchao's confidant and admirer. Mourning Niu is the direct ** of Zhao Pengcheng, Qiu Tao and Xiao Chen's case, as a killer, her loyalty and persistence are commendable, but her existence is dangerous for the Zhao family.
In the end, her death was deserved and a relief for her.
If "Punishment" can continue to be filmed, the death list will continue to increase, including Zhao Xiaosheng, Zhao Pengzhan, Zhao Pengxiang, Zhao Pengchao and Zhao Heitou, etc., if Zheng Guangtian, Qing Chenglin, Li Bodong can also join them, it would be great.
Finally, Zhao Pengchao once told Chang Zheng and Zhao Xiaosheng about a Greek myth in which the protagonist Sisyphus pushes a boulder up a mountain every day, then the boulder rolls down, and repeats the process the next day.
In the case of overthrowing the Zhao family's criminal gang, the contributions of Deng Lijun, Chang Fei, Luo Ming and his wife, Zhao Pengcheng and Qiu Tao cannot be ignored, they are the ones who pushed the boulder.
In the end, with the assistance of Yan Guohua, Chang Zheng and others, the Zhao family's criminal gang was successfully overthrown. Their names should also be engraved on the medal of meritorious service, because their dedication is worth remembering.
Although someone's life is lost, his contribution is as heavy as Mount Tai, and some people may be lighter than a feather, but their sacrifice should also be respected.