Chapter 28 V. Meeting with Chiang Kai-shek

In the afternoon, Zhou Enlai met with Ma again at the Marshall Mansion. Marshall gave Zhou Enlai a brief introduction to the meeting with Chiang Kai-shek in the morning and the five points proposed by Chiang Kai-shek.Marshall knew that it was impossible for Zhou Enlai to agree to these terms, but in order to fulfill his role as a "mediator" and promise to Chiang Kai-shek, he still asked Zhou Enlai seriously for his opinion. Zhou Enlai said with a serious face: It seems that Chiang Kai-shek did not issue a crusade order, and forced us to submit!Since the government forces occupied Siping and Changchun, Chiang Kai-shek's demands began to gradually escalate.Then he said that although Chiang Kai-shek tried to strangle the CCP through various means, the CCP's position and principles of adhering to the resolutions of the CPPCC will not change.

Marshall said helplessly: "In view of the differences between the CCP and the government, I suggest that General Zhou and Chiang Kai-shek meet directly, which may bring us two good news!" Back in Meiyuan New Village, Zhou Enlai immediately telegraphed the situation of Marshall's meeting Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Yan'an: After the armistice period expires, Chiang Kai-shek will try his best to challenge the enemy. Northeast China will fight openly in the name of accepting sovereignty, and central China will use various excuses to fight secretly.In the telegram, Zhou Enlai also put forward five strategic proposals, such as the CCP not making concessions in the negotiations and eliminating the vital forces of Chiang Kai-shek's direct line.

That night, in order to publicize the truth about the peaceful negotiations between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party and prevent the civil war from spreading across the country, Zhou Enlai held a press conference for Chinese and foreign journalists at the residence of the CCP delegation in Meiyuan New Village. Before the meeting began, the staff distributed the "Written Conversation of the Spokesperson of the Chinese Communist Party Delegation on the Current Situation" to the participating Chinese and foreign journalists. The "Talk" pointed out: During the 8-day extension of the truce, agreements have been reached regarding the cessation of conflicts in the Northeast, the restoration of traffic, and the settlement of certain disputes in the Executive Department.Marshall's efforts to amend the terms of the military reorganization plan, through the third party's efforts, and the CCP's concessions, could have completed the preliminary agreement. Unfortunately, the government insisted on unreasonable demands and undermined the principles of the CPPCC and the military reorganization, so the agreement failed.At the press conference, in response to the statement just issued by the Kuomintang government, Zhou Enlai said: Today, the truce in Northeast China expired, and Peng Xuepei issued a rather special statement. On the one hand, he said that he would not take military action against the CCP; The action, in essence, is to cover up the civil war conspiracy and lay the groundwork for launching a new offensive.A reporter asked: "The Communist Army in northern Jiangsu threatens the security of the government. Why can't the CCP make concessions on the northern Jiangsu issue?"

Zhou Enlai immediately sternly retorted: The government believes that northern Jiangsu threatens Nanjing, Chengde and Zhangjiakou threaten Peiping, and the CCP troops along the railway line threaten traffic, so they should all retreat, which is really unreasonable.Because after reorganization, everyone is the national army, and it cannot be said who threatens whom.Conversely, if we also say that Nanjing threatens Subei, Beiping threatens Chengde and Zhangjiakou, and the troops stationed on the railway line threaten the villages in nearby counties, then the problem cannot be solved.Such a formulation.Not from a national point of view.

The next day, at 10 am on July 2, Zhou Enlai and Dong Biwu were invited to drive to the presidential palace. It takes about three to five minutes by car from Meiyuan New Village to the Presidential Palace.The meeting with Chiang Kai-shek was held in the "Zichao Building" of the presidential palace. "Zichao Building" was built in the early 1930s. It is a typical administrative building with a new nationalist form and a combination of Chinese and Western styles. It is also the main building of the Presidential Palace.Because it was built when Lin Sen, the chairman of the National Government, was named Zichao, it was also called "Zichao Building" to commemorate the late Lin Sen in Chongqing.The building abandons the traditional Chinese palace-style large roof style, and adopts reinforced concrete pouring as a whole. The facade adopts Western-style architectural plane combination and three-dimensional composition. It is high in the middle and low on both sides, showing a completely symmetrical shape.The main body of the Zichao building has 5 floors, and some parts have 6 floors. It is about 33.34 meters long and 20 meters wide. The whole building is simple and bright, with harmonious colors.The huge glass-steel windows facing the south have few decorations but clear lines.The protruding columns of the entire wall are pasted with light brown refractory bricks, and the other places are painted with colored water-brushed stone powder with three-dimensional patterns.

The terrain in front of "Zichao Building" is relatively high, and there were some old-fashioned tall buildings, so when designing, one floor was half underground.There are two vertical street lamps standing in front of the building. The base and pillars are made of white marble, and the lanterns are made of cast iron. The shape is simple and elegant, just like street lamps in Western European countries.The two cedar trees next to the lamp were hand-planted by National Chairman Lin Sen. The saplings were imported from India and were very expensive.Before entering the building, go through ten white marble steps and pass through the colonnade before entering the first floor.The ground is made of terrazzo, with bright colors and exquisite patterns, and the door of the room is made of solid wood.Thick and strong.The first floor is the Civil Affairs Office of the National Government.After the Nationalist Government "returned the capital", the organizational setup did not change much from Chongqing, and there were still three main offices, namely the Civil Affairs Office, the Military Enlistment Office, and the Accounting Office.

The meeting was deliberately arranged on the second floor of the building. The second floor is the pivotal area of ​​the national government, and you can take the elevator upstairs.The elevator is produced by Odis Company of the United States, the cage is made of iron, and the up and down are controlled by the hand crank.On the southeast corner of the second floor is a large suite with three rooms, which is Chiang Kai-shek's office.To the east is the lounge and toilet. The lounge area is small, only more than 10 square meters. The floor is made of oak wood. The bathroom floor is pasted with specially made blue and white mosaics, which is similar to the blue sky and white sun of the Kuomintang flag.The middle one is Chiang Kai-shek's reception room, which is surrounded by antique shelves and filing cabinets embedded in the wall, and the ceiling is hung with chandeliers imported from France, which is magnificent and elegant.On the opposite side of the chairman's office is a small suite, which is slightly different from the large one. The two suites on the west are the office of the clerical office and the secretary-general.

Wu Dingchang, the civil servant with a short, round figure and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, called Zhou Enlai, Dong Biwu and his party to sit down in the living room. Wu Dingchang was born in 1884 in Wuxing, Zhejiang Province, and his style name is Daling. He was born in a family of masters.During the Qing Dynasty, he joined the Tongmenghui and worked in the Bank of Qing Dynasty. After the Revolution of 1911, he served as the president of the Bank of China and also served as a councilor of the State Council. In 1917, he participated in the founding of Jincheng Bank and soon served as the president of Salt Bank. He began to enter politics in 1918, served as the deputy minister of the Ministry of Finance, and served as the representative of the South during the North-South peace talks. In 1927, he served as Minister of Industry of the National Government. In 1945, Wu Dingchang served as the civil servant of the Nationalist Government.After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Chiang Kai-shek couldn't wait to jump out and crazily snatch the victory. Facing the sudden victory, Chiang Kai-shek seemed a little caught off guard.As an aide, Wu Dingchang offered advice to Chiang Kai-shek: he invited Mao Zedong of the Communist Party of China to come to Chongqing to "discuss the affairs of the state."Wu Dingchang, who thought he was smart, thought that Mao Zedong would not and would not dare to come to Chongqing to negotiate.If Mao Zedong did not go, Chiang Kai-shek could use the excuse to exaggerate the Communist Party's lack of willingness to negotiate peacefully.Even if Mao Zedong is gone, Chiang Kai-shek can use the peaceful negotiations to force him to submit with the power of the Kuomintang.Wu Dingchang's "good plan" hit Chiang Kai-shek's arms, and Chiang Kai-shek immediately accepted it, and Wu Dingchang drafted a "cold telegram" and sent it to Yan'an immediately.Unexpectedly, with awe-inspiring righteousness, Mao Zedong resolutely flew to Chongqing to participate in the Chongqing peace talks.The Kuomintang was caught off guard, and all plans were proposed by the CCP.

"Generalissimo Jiang is here!" The attendant sent a message. Wu Dingchang hurriedly stood up, staggered and stood still.A Chiang Kai-shek walked into the living room full of resentment. Zhou Enlai was about to get up to give up his seat, when Chiang Kai-shek waved his hand and said, "We are old acquaintances, you are welcome." After sitting down, Chiang Kai-shek said straight to the point: "It has been a while since I negotiated with Special Envoy Marshall yesterday. As long as you do something Make concessions, and the world will be peaceful." He repeated the old tune that he had said with Marshall yesterday, "Do you have any opinions on this?"

After the war, the deterioration of US-Soviet relations also gave Chiang Kai-shek an opportunity to take advantage of.Due to a series of conflicts of interest between the United States and the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, by this time it had almost reached a freezing point. Chiang Kai-shek, who prayed day and night for the war between the United States and the Soviet Union, thought that his sincerity moved God, and a new world war was about to come.He clearly knew that the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union was inversely proportional to the relationship between the United States and Chiang Kai-shek.The worse U.S.-Soviet relations deteriorated, the tougher U.S.-Chiang relations became.Therefore, the antagonism between the United States and the Soviet Union greatly benefited Chiang Kai-shek's tough attitude towards the CCP.He also knew that Truman and Marshall did not like him from the bottom of their hearts, and it was hard to believe that his government could play the role of stabilizing Asia.At the same time, he also firmly believes that whether the US government supports him or supports the CCP, there is no historical choice.For him, this opportunity was once in a lifetime.The support of the United States is crucial. Without the support of the United States, the Kuomintang cannot fight a large-scale civil war. This is proved by facts.

However, it was also here that Chiang Kai-shek made an unforgivable mistake.He greatly underestimated the strength of the Chinese Communist Party and the people after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War.The Chinese Communist Party has a history of 25 years. It has grown from childishness to maturity. It has a large number of well-tested leadership groups including Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, and Liu Shaoqi. At the same time, it also has the support of the majority of democrats who represent the interests of the Chinese petty bourgeoisie. Zhou Enlai: "My opinion is to convene a three-person meeting as soon as possible to quickly resolve the issue of the armistice." He said that there are now two documents, that is, the issue of cessation of conflict in the Northeast and restoration of traffic has been resolved. The issue of authority has also been resolved, leaving only the issue of reorganizing the army and some administrative issues.In my opinion, as far as the cessation of conflict is concerned, with the existing document as a guarantee, the conflict can be completely stopped.Because administrative issues involve politics, it is difficult to solve the three-person meeting. According to the principles of the CPPCC, a CPPCC meeting can be held to discuss the reorganization of the government. Chiang Kai-shek, who disapproved from the bottom of his heart to discuss the issue of government reorganization at the CPPCC meeting, said: "It is better to settle the unresolved issues first, so that conflicts can be stopped, and then we can discuss the convening of the National Congress and the issue of government reorganization." Marshall raised the topic of asking the CCP to give up northern Jiangsu, Anton, the Jiaoji line, and the area south of Chengde.He also pointed out: If this is resolved, the whole country will be at peace, and in a month's time the National Congress will be established and the government reorganized. Seeing Zhou Enlai shaking his head with a smile and wanting to interrupt, he persuaded Zhou Enlai in an understatement tone, "Northern Jiangsu is not big, so it's nothing to let it out. You still have a lot of places to survive. Now everyone can see that you are in northern Jiangsu. It poses a great threat to Nanjing and Shanghai. There is also the Jiaoji line. If you don’t give up, the railway will often be damaged, and there will be no stability. There is no security on Beining Road without Chengde’s cover.” Zhou Enlai: We only have two divisions in northern Jiangsu, but none in the south of Huai'an. In the past, when discussing the reorganization of the army with the government, the government admitted that it would retain one army in the first phase and two divisions in the second phase.On the Jiaoji line, we also admit that we do not have to garrison troops, but the government has three divisions.Rehe, we have already admitted that there are no troops stationed south of Chengde, only Chengde and Zhangyuan are stationed.In Hebei, the CCP has only one division in Handan, and the government has two armies or more.This proves that the government is not threatened.I have discussed the Anton problem with General Marshall, and it can be solved in other ways, which are under discussion. Chiang Kai-shek raised the so-called "Northern Jiangsu refugee issue" again. He said: "You are carrying out land reform in northern Jiangsu, and 5 million refugees have entered the government area from the areas under your control. They demand to return to their hometowns." A number of refugees from northern Jiangsu surrounded the governments of Nanjing and Zhenjiang, asking the governments to take back their homes and beg for food. This problem cannot be solved unless you make concessions! Zhou Enlai: These "refugees" cannot represent the broad masses of the people in the Liberated Areas.If the Kuomintang troops returned to that area, there would be many more refugees than there are now.Large numbers of refugees also flow from government areas into communist areas.But the Communist Party welcomes them back and helps them rebuild their homes instead of using them for propaganda purposes and creating chaos. Chiang Kai-shek said: "If you give up these places, the people all over the country will say good to you, and you will not suffer." Zhou Enlai retorted tit-for-tat: The administrative problem in northern Jiangsu is related to more than 20 million people. We have worked in this area for six or seven years. The rural reform has benefited the vast majority of the people, and only a few people are dissatisfied.In politics, we welcome the return of "refugees" and use the CPPCC method to re-election to solve administrative problems.It is a violation of the CPPCC agreement and the army reorganization plan to ask the CCP troops and local democratically elected governments to withdraw from northern Jiangsu and let the Kuomintang army occupy it. Chiang Kai-shek said: "The CCP's surrender of northern Jiangsu cannot be regarded as a disadvantage. After the government takes over, the agricultural reform must always pay attention. Northern Jiangsu is only one step away from Nanjing, and it always poses a threat to the government. The administrative issues you raise can be discussed by the CPPCC. Let’s discuss.” Chiang Kai-shek said again: Negotiations require mutual concessions and mutual understanding. If you don’t make concessions, the talks will not go on. Dong Biwu couldn't help but interjected: Chairman Jiang, since the Chongqing negotiations, you should be aware that in many places, we have made a lot of concessions, resulting in many refugees, where the Kuomintang may oppress even more severely.For example, the area where General Li Xiannian's troops are located has a population of several million. If General Li leaves, the area will be even more oppressed, that's for sure.We have given up many places, such as Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Anhui, and there is a lot of oppression.We have no legal status and cannot organize these people. If we organize, there will be several times more "refugees" than those organized by the Kuomintang.This does not solve the problem.Zhou Enlai answered Chiang Kai-shek's questions one by one and said: "To save the current situation today, we must seek a comprehensive armistice, hold a CPPCC meeting, and talk about reorganizing the government." If one cannot be done, agreements on other issues cannot be established." Chiang Kai-shek's request to cede areas such as northern Jiangsu, Andong, and the Jiaoji line has gone far beyond the scope of the armistice negotiations in June, and he tried in vain to abolish the democratically elected government to be taken over by a one-party dictatorship. Of course, Zhou Enlai and Dong Biwu rejected it. reject. Zhou Enlai said firmly: "If the three-member conference cannot be held, I agree with General Marshall's proposal to convene a five-member group to quickly solve the problem of local power, or to hold a political consultative conference to solve the problem of reorganizing the government." Seeing that there would be no results in further talks, Chiang Kai-shek said impatiently: "Well, Chen Cheng, Wang Shijie, and Shao Lizi will participate in the five-member meeting as government representatives. I hope you can negotiate as soon as possible!" Wu Dingchang sent Zhou Enlai and Dong Biwu to the elevator. The next day, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China called Zhou Enlai: Chiang Kai-shek made an inch of progress, don't make any further concessions at present, and watch the movement; in the future, the situation will be to fight while talking. Zhou Enlai replied to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and said: The overall situation is just as the Central Committee pointed out, and there is no crusade order, and talks are made while fighting.It is recommended to focus on exposing Chiang Kai-shek's attack as a big fight in propaganda.In the current situation, we are talking while fighting, and fighting is the main thing. Before the fight, there may be a period of pretending to be peaceful.In the future negotiations, they will propose countermeasures to force Marshall to bring about a comprehensive armistice, urge Chiang to convene the CPPCC, and suggest that Xinhua News Agency systematically report the war situation, so as to expose the essence of Chiang Kai-shek's civil war and criticize the United States for aiding Chiang's civil war. Regarding our party's propaganda work, Zhou Enlai also telegraphed the subordinate organizations of the Nanjing Bureau in Chongqing, Wuhan, Hong Kong, Peking, etc.: publicly expose Chiang Kai-shek's active civil war conspiracy, and strive to expand the anti-civil war peace movement.