On this day, 77 years ago, on April 12, 1948 (March 4, 1948, the "Wanli" Tianjin-Shanghai Express passenger ship sank. On April 12, 1948, the "Wanli" Tianjin-Shanghai express passenger liner sank. The "Imperial Jade Seal" that was said to have been used by Qin Shihuang when he ascended the throne also sank into the sea. Fortunately, however, due to the timely rescue by the People's Liberation Army, all 1230 passengers and crew on board landed safely, including the famous "Jade King Iron Million" Tiebao Pavilion at the time. Pingjin's wealthy businessmen evacuated to Shanghai and Nanjing. The "Wanli" Tianjin-Shanghai Express passenger ship sank. In March 1948, the Chiang Kai-shek clique frequently issued secret orders to evacuate elites in the scientific, technological and cultural circles and the richest businessmen in Pingjin to Shanghai or Nanjing as soon as possible despite continuous defeats on the battlefield. Tie Baoting was ranked first among the wealthy jewelry merchants in Peking who moved south, but despite frequent visits by Kuomintang officials, Tie Baoting was unmoved. The underground party in Peking quietly established contact with him through his son-in-law Ma Chang, who joined the Communist Party. Unexpectedly, at this time, his sworn brother, the "King of Northwest" Ma Hongkui, sent a special plane to take him to Yinchuan, Ningxia, to discuss plans to stay and leave, causing a dramatic change in the situation. It turned out that Ningxia at that time could not withstand Peng Dehuai's powerful offensive with a mere few brigades. Although Peng Dehuai sent him a handwritten letter more than once, promising to treat him with sincerity and jointly seek the country's future, Ma Hongkui, who had killed many officers and soldiers of the West Route Army back then, had doubts and was ready to join Chiang Kai-shek. He wanted to use Tie Baoting's connections at the top of Nanjing to lobby south. Tie Baoting tactfully persuaded Ma Hongkui to join the Communist Party without success, so he promised to go to Nanjing for activities. This time south, Tiebaoting brought 8 trunks of treasures, one of which is said to be the jade seal used by Qin Shihuang when he ascended the throne. The imperial seal was later collected by emperors of various dynasties as the imperial seal. Legend has it that when the Yuan army left Dadu in a hurry, Emperor Yuan Shun buried it in the desert of northern Saibei. Later, some herdsmen dug it up and presented it to the Mongolian lord until it fell into the hands of Huang Taiji. People never expected that this treasure seal would later be sent to a foreign firm by Pu Yi as collateral. Fortunately, Tie Baoting was hired by a foreign firm as an appraiser to determine the collateral of the palace, and he spared no expense to rescue him. The "Wanli" sailed to the Bohai Bay with hidden dangers. Because the Jinpu Railway was cut off and air tickets were scarce at that time, sea transportation became the main channel to Jiangnan. The express passenger and cargo ship "Wanli" that Tie Baoting took belonged to the Shanghai Fumin Shipping Company supported by Chen Lifu. However, the "Miles" that is about to set sail is full of hidden dangers. Just one day before the "Wanli" ship was about to set sail, the military suddenly proposed to add another 200 tickets to cope with the emergency "military transport" after the "Wanli" ship had provided a batch of tickets as required by the authorities and the military. At this time, the "Wanli" ship, which was rated to carry 450 passengers, had secretly overcrowded and sold 580 tickets at a high price. Now the military has forcibly added 200 tickets, bringing the number of passengers to 1230. In fact, there is also an "inside story" that even the captain is unaware of: the freight chief of the "Wanli" ship and the freight director of the terminal colluded with each other to overload a large amount of cotton and kerosene. In the early morning of April 11, 1948, the severely overloaded "Wanli" ship struggled to sail towards the Bohai Bay. The danger of capsizing after hitting a reef is approaching. In the early morning of April 12, a huge storm was set off at the exit of the Bohai Bay. When the severely overloaded "Wanli" ship reached the inner line of Rongcheng Bay on the north side of Chengshantou, Shandong Province, it deviated from its course on the steep channel between Hailu Island and Chengshanjiao, accidentally hit a reef, and a big hole was opened in the bottom of the ship. Seeing that the plug could not keep up with the speed of water inflow, the captain issued an order to seize the beach and issue an emergency distress signal. At 9:27 a.m., one side of the ship ran aground on the beach under Cangdao and was leaning to one side. On the inclined side, the sea water is so deep that it cannot be seen. The danger of the entire ship sinking or overturning is still approaching... On the morning of the same day, major domestic and world news agencies and newspapers rushed to send out news: The tragedy of the "Titanic" seems to be repeated in China... The "Wanli" ship carries more than 1,000 passengers, including dozens of Pingjin businessmen and some foreigners. The well-known Beiping jewelry magnate "Jade King Iron Million" and more than a thousand passengers are still alive... A foreign news agency specially snatched an exclusive message: "According to officials who declined to be named, the sea area is now being tightly controlled by the Communist Party. If they are captured, they will be immediately put into communism, and their lives and property will be doomed..."All 1230 passengers and crew members were rescued. At that time, there were many ships ordered by the Kuomintang to participate in the rescue, but at most they only drove to the sea east of Chengshantou Sea Lighthouse and watched. The People's Liberation Army took eight large wooden boats for emergency rescue. By 2 o'clock in the afternoon, all 1230 passengers and crew members on board were safely rescued ashore. Despite repeated propaganda and efforts by the People's Liberation Army and militia to maintain order, there was still chaos in unloading supplies. Suddenly, a blue cloth bag was thrown from the room adjacent to the captain's cabin. Due to the severe tilt of the ship, the blue cloth bag crossed the ship's side and fell into the vast sea with a "plop". Tie Baoting was pale with fright-inside the blue cloth bag was the imperial seal! In this way, the legendary collection of "Imperial Jade Seal" was buried in the vast waves. The "Wanli" ship immediately sank and the passengers were temporarily placed in the Rongcheng Jiefang District. In Shanghai, family members go to the dock every day to inquire for information. However, a few days after the incident, the shipowner Fumin Shipping Company still did not know clearly about the lives and deaths of the passengers. It has also been concealing the overloading of the ship and has not released the passenger list. It was not until April 15, when the "Zizhong" sailing from Huludao to Shanghai brought the situation of the people on the "Wanli" ship, that the family members were looking forward to news that their loved ones were safe.