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墨書 Inktalez
This is a case known as the "North China's Number One Killer," a major criminal case that shocked the police force in the 1990s.
He first organized a "tunnel warfare" that lasted for more than half a year, successfully leading over ten fellow inmates to escape from prison. During his time on the run, he brutally murdered 16 people and even shot a female police officer when his whereabouts were exposed.
Incredibly, the reason he committed all these crimes and earned this notorious title was due to another identity he held—he was famously known as the "Shanxi Thief King," renowned for his ability to crack corporate safes faster than others could with keys.
So how did this "Thief King" transform into the "Number One Killer"?
Date of the incident: December 15, 1989.
Location: Shanxi Province Taiyuan City.
On this day, the Taiyuan police received a tip-off that an escaped convict named Wu Shuangxi might appear in Taiyuan City. Due to the numerous surveillance points that needed monitoring and insufficient manpower, the Taiyuan police had to deploy household registration officers to assist with the task.
To ensure the safety of female officers, Liu Wenying was assigned to monitor the escapee's parents' home. Normally, someone like Wu Shuangxi, who possessed strong counter-surveillance awareness, would not be foolish enough to return home. However, no one expected that such an unimportant surveillance point would witness an event that would shock the entire police community.
At 1 PM, while carrying out her duties, Liu Wenying suddenly saw two men sneaking into Wu Shuangxi's parents' house. Upon recognizing them from photographs, she was astonished to discover that one of them was indeed Wu Shuangxi, while the other was the top wanted criminal Wang Yanqing.
Unexpectedly, both men were extremely vigilant and prepared to leave within five minutes of entering. Lacking communication devices, Liu Wenying had no time to report back to her superiors. She realized that if she let these two fugitives escape, it would be nearly impossible to track them down again.
Determined, Liu Wenying instructed one of her team members to call for backup while she led three other team members armed with batons toward the suspects. Just as Wang Yanqing and Wu Shuangxi were about to exit through the door, they suddenly found four people blocking their way and immediately ran into the kitchen, forcefully kicking open a window to jump out.
Seeing this, Liu Wenying and her three teammates rushed after them. However, they were caught off guard when Wang Yanqing suddenly pulled out a handgun and fired several shots at them, hitting all four and causing them to fall wounded.
At the moment Liu Wenying was shot in the chest, she exerted all her strength to leap onto Wang Yanqing, gripping his arm tightly and refusing to let go.
Wang Yanqing found himself unable to escape, and aimed his weapon at Liu Wenying's thigh, shouting fiercely, "If you don't let go, I'll blow your head off!"
At that moment, blood was gushing from Liu Wenying's chest, and her consciousness began to fade. After being shot in the thigh, she could no longer stand and collapsed to the ground.
Yet, even in her weakened state, Liu Wenying clung tightly to Wang Yanqing's legs. The mission of the People's Police compelled her to prevent a ruthless armed criminal from escaping.
Sadly, Wang Yanqing was oblivious to the fact that Liu Wenying had slipped into unconsciousness. With a slight effort, he could have freed himself, but instead, he aimed at her head and fired again, ending her life completely.
Minutes later, supporting officers arrived at the scene. Upon seeing the brave sacrifice of Liu Wenying, they were filled with grief and vowed to bring Wang Yanqing, who had brazenly shot a police officer in broad daylight, to justice.
From that moment on, Wang Yanqing's name sent shockwaves throughout North China. Most people learned for the first time that he was not only an escaped convict but also known as "North China's Number One Killer," with blood on his hands from dozens of lives.
What shocked people even more was that before becoming "North China's Number One Killer," Wang Yanqing had another identity; his viciousness was not innate.
Born in 1966 into a scholarly family in Taiyuan, both of his parents were teachers at the Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Plant's affiliated school. In such an environment, Wang Yanqing developed a love for reading from a young age, particularly fascinated by mechanical books.
From elementary school onward, he exhibited strong practical skills. He would often help neighbors repair appliances and various machines. Coupled with his consistently high grades, he quickly became known as "the other kid" in the neighborhood.
Unfortunately, Wang Yanqing did not channel his intelligence into positive pursuits. As he grew older, he lost interest in simple household devices and turned his attention to lock-picking techniques. Each time he successfully opened a complex lock, he felt a unique sense of accomplishment that he thoroughly enjoyed.
Gradually, he developed a set of lock-picking skills through self-exploration. He began picking locks for fun and fell into the habit of theft while gathering a gang of delinquents who spent their days fighting and causing trouble. In 1985, as an adult, Wang Yanqing took a job at the Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Plant.
One day, he heard that the factory had purchased an advanced safe that supposedly no one could open without a key. Feeling challenged by this claim, he sneaked into the office at night and skillfully opened the safe using homemade tools.
The next day, after the factory reported the incident to the police, he boasted about opening the safe right in front of his superiors. As a result, Wang Yanqing was handcuffed with silver cuffs and sent to prison for six months of re-education through labor.
In prison, Wang Yanqing experienced a turning point in his life. He became a disciple of an old thief, which not only significantly improved his skills in theft but also allowed him to learn various criminal knowledge.
It must be said that both scientific laboratories and prisons are gathering places for talent. Six months later, upon his release, Wang Yanqing began to frequently infiltrate various enterprises at night, using the knowledge he acquired in prison to rob large sums of cash. Thus, the legend of the "Shanxi Thief King" began to circulate in the underworld.
It wasn't until 1988 that Wang Yanqing was accidentally captured by the police during one of his crimes, revealing his identity as the "Shanxi Thief King" to the world. Due to the enormous amount stolen, he was sentenced to death by the court. However, just before his execution, he suddenly offered to use his lock-picking skills to assist the authorities, hoping for a reprieve.
At that time, the police needed such expertise to solve cases, so the court later commuted Wang Yanqing's death sentence to life imprisonment, allowing him to serve time at Fen Yang Prison and reform.
However, no one expected that shortly after entering prison, Wang Yanqing would become the leader among inmates due to his skills, gathering 17 followers and forming the "18 Arhats."
In that era, prison "bullies" had privileges that allowed them some freedom of movement within certain limits. Nevertheless, Wang Yanqing did not take advantage of these privileges; he was unwilling to spend his life in prison and began devising ways to escape.
After a long period of observation, Wang Yanqing finally discovered an unsealed area in a corner of the workshop. He ordered his followers to dig a little dirt from there every day after finishing their work and secretly take it away in their pockets.
To everyone's astonishment, Wang Yanqing and his crew managed to dig a 70-meter tunnel over six months using this ant-like method. Then, on a deep winter night in 1988, he stealthily opened what seemed like a non-existent cell door and successfully escaped from prison with 11 followers.
After their escape, Wang Yanqing planned to take his followers to Hong Kong, where there was no extradition agreement—a paradise for criminals. However, among these followers were several minor offenders. To ensure their loyalty, Wang Yanqing ordered them to pledge allegiance by brutally killing the owner of a small convenience store.
Realizing they could never turn back, these followers had no choice but to join Wang Yanqing as they roamed across the country, committing murder and robbery with reckless abandon. In October 1989, Wang Yanqing and his gang stole two handguns from two police officers and committed several armed murder cases.
This finally caught the attention of law enforcement across various regions. Hundreds of police were mobilized and within just a month, they apprehended ten of Wang Yanqing's followers; only the cunning Wang Yanqing and Wu Shuangxi remained at large.
To the disbelief of the police, these captured followers revealed that during their year on the run after escaping from prison with Wang Yanqing, they had committed crimes across 11 provinces including Hebei, Henan, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang. They had killed 27 people, seriously injured 13 others, stolen over ten vehicles, pried open eight safes, and stolen hundreds of thousands of yuan.
Had it not been for Wang Yanqing's desire to commit several major crimes with firearms in preparation for fleeing to Hong Kong, perhaps law enforcement would still be in the dark today. Unfortunately, these followers were unaware of the whereabouts of their victims' bodies.
Aside from confirmed cases of theft and armed robbery leading to murder, the vast majority of homicide cases remain unverified by the police. Upon learning of Wang Yanqing's plan to flee to Hong Kong, the authorities immediately set up targeted surveillance to completely block his escape route.
In December 1989, Wang Yanqing was preparing to pull off another major crime with Wu Shuangxi. However, Wu Shuangxi felt that this time he might never see his parents again and expressed a desire to return home for a final visit.
At this point, police across various regions analyzed the situation and concluded that the two were likely to escape back to Taiyuan City, which led to the tragic scene involving female officer Liu Wenying's heroic sacrifice.
After this incident, Wu Shuangxi turned himself in under family pressure, while Wang Yanqing remained at large. The title of "Shanxi Thief King" escalated to "North China's Number One Killer." Although the criteria for this designation were unclear, it indirectly indicated that he was an exceptionally brutal murderer.
On May 30, 1990, police in Hunan inadvertently discovered his whereabouts.
It turned out that after killing officer Liu Wenying, Wang Yanqing had unexpectedly met an eight-year-older divorced woman during his flight and developed a romantic relationship with her. Under her protection, he successfully evaded several police searches and eventually escaped to her hometown in Hunan, specifically Chenzhou.
On the night of May 30, while Wang Yanqing and his lover were staying at a guesthouse, they encountered a security team leader from a certain unit who was attempting to make extra money by catching clients of prostitution. Since the couple did not have a marriage certificate and were living together illegally, the security team leader questioned them and discovered a Type 54 pistol in the bedside drawer.
Ironically, the security team leader and his men easily believed Wang Yanqing's lie that it was a toy gun and chose not to report it.
What was even more amusing was that since Wang Yanqing did not "play along" and showed no intention of paying off the security team leader to avoid trouble, the leader decided to take them to an office for interrogation. To reach the office, they had to pass by the entrance of the police station.
Thinking they were being taken to the police station, Wang Yanqing panicked. He suddenly broke free from the security team's grasp, seized the gun, and fired several shots at them.
In the end, the police paid a heavy price to capture Wang Yanqing, who was ultimately sentenced to death without any surprises.
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