Chapter 20 Chapter 20 Chiang Kai-shek's Retirement

Leighton Stuart brought Chiang Kai-shek a message from Secretary of State Marshall. Marshall said, I have told you that military aid alone cannot cure China's diseases. When Chiang Kai-shek asked Leighton Stuart what Ambassador Marshall meant, the ambassador replied: "Power must be exercised through delegation, the freedom of the people must be protected, and a close relationship must be established between the government and the people." Chiang Kai-shek said: "I understand." However, as before, he did not take any measures in fact. In 1946, China experienced a serious economic crisis, and the situation was out of control.

It was in this catastrophic economic crisis that Chiang Kai-shek confronted the Communist Party. In Shanghai, the wholesale price of commodities at the end of the year is seven times that of the beginning of the year.The exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Chinese currency market was relatively stable at 20:1 during the war, and it has now reached 3350:1, while the market opening price was even higher, as high as 6500:1 by December 1946. At the same time, China's gold reserves fell sharply.When the Anti-Japanese War was won, the value of gold reserves was 900 million U.S. dollars, which was surprisingly high.By the end of 1946, however, it had fallen to less than half that figure.

Throughout 1946, foreign aid funds continued to flow.From November 1945, the United Nations Rehabilitation and Rehabilitation Administration began to ship supplies to China until the end of 1947 until the end of the program. The "Alliance General" provided a total of 474 million yuan in aid to China, of which the United States accounted for 358 million yuan.Most of the supplies are clothing and food, but there is also a large amount of infrastructure equipment. Many technicians came to China to help China distribute goods and set up factories. From the victory of the Anti-Japanese War to 1947, the US Export-Import Bank loan of 82.8 million yuan and Canada 60 million The long-term loan of 10,000 yuan is included in the planned project of "Lian Zong".

However, much of the supplies and cash flowed into the private stores and banks of Nationalist officers and ministers. If the country's economy returns to normal, the tide of total bankruptcy will slow, if not stop.However, the Northeast, the largest industrial center, has been plundered by the Russians. The most promising industry is the textile industry.During the Japanese occupation, the textile industry developed.However, the transportation industry declined and trade activities were extremely difficult.Railroads were destroyed, tracks were demolished, bridges were blown up, and sleepers were pulled out.The main traffic artery in North China was constantly affected by the war.Seaborne tonnage is satisfactory because of US aid, but protectionism, high freight and port charges are an unnecessary burden.

Under such circumstances, capitalists in Shanghai and other cities would rather engage in speculative business than production. At the end of 1946, the loan interest rate was 15% to 28% per month.Song Ziwen ordered that banks should provide production funds for industrial enterprises at an interest rate of 5% to 8% per month.However, this interest rate is still too high for production investment, so companies often transfer loans to private banks at an interest rate of 15%, which can make a monthly profit of 10%. In early 1947, the authorities took measures to ban the import of goods and stop the sale of gold.

However, paper money continued to be printed and issued, and inflation not only did not abate, but intensified. This year, the harvest of agricultural products was not good, which made the situation even worse. In February 1947, the price ratio between the US dollar and the French market was as high as 12,000:1. On pay day, people's pockets are filled with barely worthable banknotes, which are immediately exchanged for rice, kerosene, cooking oil, coal, etc. Otherwise, after a few hours, the price of the goods will drop It has risen again, and the standard of living of wage earners in 1947 has fallen by a third compared with 1946.

On March 12 of this year, news from the United States made Chiang Kai-shek mistakenly believe that the United States had finally changed the policy that had led to his current difficult situation. On this day, President Truman announced a new policy toward Greece in his speech to both houses of Congress. Greece was facing the danger of being controlled by the revolutionary communists. The United States formulated a plan for immediate military and economic assistance to Greece A new policy, that is, "to support those free people who have suffered from aggression and rise up to resist." Under the guidance of this policy, the United States will also assist Turkey.

This is the birth of the famous "Truman Doctrine". Chiang Kai-shek believed that the situation facing China was very similar to the situation in Greece, and Truman's policy was also applicable to China; Chiang Kai-shek took Truman's "good intentions" for granted and immediately ordered his army to resume the counterattack on the 14th. The next day, he convened a meeting of the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang, at which he announced that relations with the Communist Party had broken down and that he had decided to suppress "armed riots." Chiang Kai-shek also saw this as a good time to get rid of Song Ziwen.He has always disliked Song Ziwen, and Song Ziwen was no better than his predecessor in curbing inflation, so Song Ziwen was dismissed and replaced by Zhang Qun.

Zhang Qun appears to be personable, gentle and stable, and he is also a little famous among Americans. He is a Christian who has become a monk halfway.In addition to his ability, he is also very kind. He knew very well that the first thing Chiang Kai-shek wanted him to do was to follow Chiang's will; in order to show that he sincerely wanted to end the "political training" period of the Kuomintang, Zhang Qun allocated four "cabinet" seats to the Youth Party, two seats to the Democratic Socialist Party, and two seats to the Independent Party. 2 seats, the KMT 14 seats.

A new government was formed on April 18, a transitional government that will not cease to exercise power until a new president is elected under the constitution. On March 24, the Central Executive Committee voted to abolish the Supreme Defense Council and replace it with the State Council.Later, when the vice presidents were inaugurated, Sun Ke ranked first. Shortly after President Truman issued his proclamation, a cold wind blew from Washington— Deputy Secretary of State Dean Axon declared at the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee that "the Chinese government is not in the same situation as the Greek government. The Chinese government is not on the verge of collapse and is not in danger of being defeated by the Communist Party." Therefore, China should not be given military aid.All in all, this was a disappointing spring for Jiang.

On March 19, the news that the Kuomintang troops had occupied Yan'an, the capital of the Communist Party, greatly boosted their morale.But in fact, the Communist Party voluntarily withdrew from Yan'an, and the Kuomintang did not capture any Communist prisoners. Chiang Kai-shek was not yet sure whether his army would have enough supplies for a major counteroffensive.He discovered that the Communist Party was launching an attack on the Northeast, Rehe and Shaanxi. Disturbing news also came from Taiwan.The Taiwanese organized an orderly demonstration, which turned violent when troops from the mainland opened fire on the demonstrators. The governor of Taiwan, Chen Yi, was a rough and clumsy man who called in reinforcements, and what followed was a massacre of at least 10,000 Taiwanese, including many of the protest leaders. The U.S. embassy in Nanjing protested. On April 22, Chiang Kai-shek appointed Wei Daoming, former ambassador to the US, to succeed Chen Yi, who was later executed. The news from China surprised Truman and his administration. The Americans did not want Chiang Kai-shek to go to war, but they also did not want him to lose China. They have temporarily lifted a ban on arms shipments to China. The "central government" can now buy 130 million yuan of weapons and equipment, which is enough for defense, but not enough for offense.The Nationalists now found themselves confronting new Japanese weapons that the Russians had bequeathed to the Communists. On May 1, 1946, Mao Zedong named his army the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and the irreconcilable hostility between the KMT and the Communist Party ushered in a new period of the "Third Civil Revolutionary War". In June, the People's Liberation Army advanced 150 miles south.In the Northeast, they grabbed the initiative and haven't lost it since. On July 4, 1947, the Nationalist government declared that the Communist army was a "rebel" army.It is absurd that under the circumstances at the time, Chiang Kai-shek actually named his military command "Bandit Suppression Headquarters". The general mobilization order for war had been issued, but Chiang Kai-shek also demanded immediate reforms in his July 6th and 7th speeches. In his second speech, referring to the 10th anniversary of the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, Chiang Kai-shek said: "If reforms are not made immediately, China is likely to disappear from the forest of nations of the world." On July 6, between his two speeches, Stuart brought him a message from Secretary of State Marshall.Marshall said, I have told you that China's disease cannot be cured by military aid alone. When Chiang Kai-shek asked Leighton Stuart what Ambassador Marshall meant, the ambassador replied: "Power must be exercised by delegation, the freedom of the people must be protected, and a close relationship must be established between the government and the people. Chiang Kai-shek said: "I understand." However, as before, he did not take any measures in fact. In September, President Truman decided to send General Wedemeyer to China to understand the situation in China.This news was officially announced on the 11th, which aroused enthusiastic reactions in Nanjing, because in Nanjing, Wedemeyer was regarded as a friend of the Kuomintang and an enemy of the Communist Party. In the following 8 weeks, Wedemeyer traveled all over most of China, such as Shenyang, Beiping, Tianjin, Taiwan, Shanghai and Guangzhou.After he returned to Nanking, Chiang Kai-shek invited him to speak to government officials and military generals, telling him to speak out. Wedemeyer had a lot of worries, so he went to discuss with Ambassador Stuart, but the ambassador asked him to do what Chiang Kai-shek said. On August 22, Wedemeyer delivered a speech.The American ambassador and the Chiang Kai-shek couple were present.In an atmosphere of hushed silence, Wedemeyer described what he saw as mismanagement, corruption, inefficiency and incompetence.After the speech, according to Wedemeyer, Chiang Kai-shek, Mrs. Chiang and some other officials shook hands with him warmly and thanked him for his speech.On the way back to his apartment, Ambassador Stuart praised him, saying that what he said must not offend Chiang Kai-shek, and that no one he knew could speak so convincingly and to such a beneficial effect. Wedemeyer also said that a respected and senior government official was moved to tears after hearing his speech, because he knew that Wedemeyer was a friend of the Chinese people, and he spoke the truth. However, Ambassador Stuart said that those present found Wedemeyer's speech offensive to them, and President Chiang was obviously offended by him. Two days later, when Wedemeyer left Nanking, he issued a statement complaining of "insensitive, lifeless, miserable defeatist sentiment" and a lack of "inspiring leaders."He did not name Chiang Kai-shek, but it was obvious what he was referring to. Perhaps precisely because of these keen observations, Wedemeyer’s report introduced a new plan for China—provide military and economic assistance to China within five years, so that China can immediately purchase military equipment, daily necessities, and military supplies. September 19, 1947.This report was suppressed by Marshall when it was submitted to President Truman, probably because Wedemeyer had severely criticized the US policy toward China, so the Secretary of State had no intention of getting his report approved. When Weidemeyer recalled these things, he regretted publicly accusing the Chiang regime on August 24.His press aide, Mark Watson, had firmly opposed his speech at the time. It was still acceptable for him to make this speech two days before the concentration of the elite Kuomintang troops, because it was in private.But the public speeches, which disgraced Chiang Kai-shek and his entourage, did not achieve the desired effect, were a gift to the Communist Party, and depressed the already low morale of the Kuomintang. While Wedemeyer was observing the situation in various parts of China, the Chinese Communist Party had infiltrated 150,000 troops into five or six areas of the Central Plains. Although this did not pose a direct threat to the political center of the Kuomintang, Chiang Kai-shek had to send most of his troops to the Central Plains. Strategic reserves remain in the area south of the Great Wall. Jiang Geshi was very angry about Wedemeyer's visit to China.However, this is not so much angry with the Americans as it is with members of the party. On September 9, while Wedemeyer was still writing his report, Chiang Kai-shek called a meeting of the Central Executive Committee in Nanking, at which he severely criticized the KMT for failing to solve China's problems, saying that these responsibilities were not in him. The Communist Party has proven that they are more capable and more focused than the KMT.If the KMT does not reorganize and revive it, it is doomed. Chiang Kai-shek asserted that China could no longer rely on American aid. The U.S. embassy reported that the "CC" faction showed great strength at this meeting, and the central government is still relying on the U.S. to help it solve China's problems. A few days later, Ambassador Stuart commended that President Chiang had at least taken steps to curb corruption, and that after the son of an old friend of Chiang Kai-shek was accused of blatantly speculating, Chiang Kai-shek was desperate to have him punished. punishment. In general, the anti-freedom and anti-reform trend within the Kuomintang is still intensifying. Foreign Minister Wang Shijie was accused of being servile to Washington, and the capable General Chen Cheng was dismissed as chief of the general staff, who had been replaced by He Yingqin. On October 28, Chiang Kai-shek issued an order to ban the Democratic League because it followed the Communist Party.But this order made many liberals and intellectuals feel that they had nowhere to live, so they had to turn to the Communist Party.Public opinion reacted strongly to this matter.The NLD leaders were not arrested, but their offices were sealed up by the police, and many writers and ordinary workers were detained. Inflation is still rising.At the beginning of the year, the total face value of banknotes in circulation was 3.5 trillion, and by July this figure had tripled again. In September, the exchange rate between China and the United States was 38,000:1; in November it was as high as 730,001. Regardless of this chaotic and depressed situation, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the election of the "National Assembly" to proceed as usual.In fact, the election was held from November 21 to 23 in most of China, and there is no doubt that the results of elections in such a wartime country are not reliable.in many rural areas.The number of people who participated in the election was very small.Only 100,000 of Shanghai's 3 million voters participated in the election, but in most cities ruled by the Kuomintang, this number is still satisfactory.Of course, there are no elections in Communist-controlled areas.Of the 1,744 representatives selected, 48%, or 847, were "independents"; the KMT accounted for 42%, or 725 seats; while the Youth Party and the Democratic Socialist Party accounted for only 10%, or 172 seats. 1947 was drawing to a close. On December 25, Chairman Mao Zedong issued a manifesto.His voice was loud and full of confidence.He declared: The turning point of history has come, and the Chinese Communist Party has now moved from the defensive stage to the offensive stage.He condemned the United States as the enemy of the people of the world, and the United States should be responsible for the civil war in China.When talking about Chiang Kai-shek, he said: Chiang Kai-shek is "the lackey of American imperialism." Mao Zedong was right, and the tide of history has indeed turned. In 1948, everyone (except probably Chiang Kai-shek) could clearly see that the failure of the central government had become an irreversible trend, and the Chinese People's Liberation Army was expanding in number and strength, and had become an irresistible force. With high enthusiasm, they are launching an attack on the Kuomintang army, which is constantly decreasing in number, internally divided, and morale is constantly declining. However, in January 1948, the Kuomintang army still outnumbered the Communist Party, and the ratio of the two sides was almost 2:1. Yes, this is no longer a purely quantitative issue. Provide weapons and ammunition. Chiang Kai-shek seriously considered the grim situation at the end of the year, and finally had to make a distressed choice. From a strategic point of view, the wise approach is to cede the Northeast to the Communists, strengthen the defenses in North China, and negotiate peace with the Communists while they still have the ability to negotiate. However, in the eyes of Chiang Kai-shek, the Northeast has a special symbolic meaning. In 1931, the Shenyang incident happened here, and the land began to be divided up.Chiang Kai-shek could not accept such a withdrawal from the Northeast. Not only was it a matter of losing face, but it was also out of character with his nature and feelings. Besides, if he throws China's largest industrial center to those who destroy what he has always called "communist bandits" without firing a single shot, how will he maintain his prestige in people's minds in the future?Chiang Kai-shek didn't know, or he didn't want to know, that by early 1948, the morale of the Nationalist army had collapsed, and his prestige was long gone. Chiang Kai-shek came to Peiping to plan to implement his strategic policy. His plan is to keep the major cities of Jilin, Changchun and Shenyang in the Northeast at all costs, defeat or reduce the strength of the Chinese People's Liberation Army in the North, and then launch a counter-offensive in the Northeast.If you think that the northeast of Zhuangzhuang should be protected, then the design of this plan is still acceptable. However, there are many "ifs" attached to this plan as prerequisites.for example: "If" the Communist Party does not continue to cut off the main railway lines in Northeast and North China; "if" When the railway cannot be used, the Kuomintang Air Force has enough strength to ensure the supply of its garrison; "if" the United States can send military supplies to China in time; "if" none of the Kuomintang officers surrender to the Communist Party, they will fight resolutely; Keep getting worse and so on. As for the attitude of the Americans, Chiang Kai-shek couldn't help himself at all. On February 18, President Truman asked Congress to provide 570 million yuan in loans to China as economic aid. He never mentioned military aid at all. Secretary of State Marshall solemnly told members of Congress that he He has been warning Chiang Kai-shek and his advisers that "the Kuomintang and the Communist Party will engage in an armed contest, and the situation will be extremely unfavorable to the Kuomintang." His words are extremely sharp: "To a large extent, the Chinese Communist Party has succeeded in proving that their movement is in tune with the current popular desire for change. On the other hand, today's Nationalist government shows no sign of meeting the popular desire, either in its tradition or in its approach. Such demands cannot create satisfactory conditions for the Chinese people, let alone prevent violence and domestic chaos from worsening." Marshall's attitude clearly showed that under such circumstances, the United States did not want to recognize the efforts made by the Kuomintang during the civil war. At this time, some Chinese lobbyists resumed their defense of Chiang Kai-shek, but with little success. Congress formulated an amendment stating that 125 million yuan should be allocated to the Chinese government as a "special fund" that can be used as it sees fit, such as the purchase of military supplies. In fact, the Secretary of State has been advocating providing economic aid to the KMT so that it has the funds to purchase American-produced military equipment.He pointed out that his main purpose was to prevent the United States from being involved in the vortex of the Chinese civil war.President Truman announced the "China Aid Act" in April, deciding to provide 400 million U.S. dollars in aid to China, including 125 million U.S. dollars in "earmarked funds." The attitude of the United States to openly deny the Kuomintang, especially Marshall's declaration, undoubtedly shook Chiang Kai-shek's position in the Kuomintang.Chiang Kai-shek has ruled the Kuomintang for a long time. On March 29, when the "National Assembly" was held in Nanjing, although it was not obvious, Chiang Kai-shek's loss of prestige had already been manifested.Chiang Kai-shek adopted the method of "half-resignation" and announced that he was not a presidential candidate. Chiang Kai-shek's followers were disappointed. The delegation pleaded with Chiang Kai-shek to change his mind. He defeated the mediocre opponent with an absolute advantage of 2430:369 and was elected as the "President". No one is surprised by this. When it comes to electing a vice president: The National Party allows dissidents to participate.Chiang Kai-shek named Sun Ke, the son of Sun Yat-sen, as a candidate.However, Li Zongren was elected vice president with a narrow majority.Li Zongren was originally a warlord in Guangxi, and Chiang Kai-shek never fully trusted him.This was the first round of the power struggle between Li and Chiang, and Li Zongren became Chiang Kai-shek's opponent. From 1946 to 1947, Li Zongren had established prestige throughout the country when he was the chairman of the committee and the director of Beipingyuan. Before Leighton Stuart became ambassador, Li Zongren met him.His sincerity and open-minded attitude towards the Chinese civil war left an impression on Leighton Stuart. Gradually, people said that if the peace talks between Chiang Kai-shek and the Communist Party failed, the US government would definitely choose Li Zongren as the leader of China.When these words reached Chiang Kai-shek's ears, he became more suspicious of Li Zongren. Li Zongren's campaign for vice president was very successful, and Chiang Kai-shek was extremely disturbed by this. He wants Sun Ke to be the vice president. There are two reasons for this. One is that since the Sino-Japanese War is over, electing a non-military person as the vice president will make the government appear more normal; the other is that Sun Ke is the father of the nation The son of Sun Yat-sen will be more attractive to Kuomintang members. Chiang Kai-shek did not expect that Sun Ke would lose the election, because the "National Assembly" was controlled by the "CC" faction, and Chen Lifu had assured Chiang Kai-shek that Sun Ke would be elected.However, the current situation surprised Chiang Kai-shek: Li Zongren, a mediocre Guangxi warlord, would win a majority of votes in the "National Assembly" election.Chiang Kai-shek once promised Sun Ke that the position of vice president must be his, and the election was just a formality.Therefore, Li Zongren was elected as the vice president, making Chiang Kai-shek feel that he was losing face. Worst of all, Li Zongren deliberately disobeyed him, which in Chiang Kai-shek's view was the most unforgivable "crime". The "National Congress" did not go well in other respects.Among the elected representatives, some were turned away from meetings by Nationalist agents because their seats were allocated to Nationalist nominees. Some representatives of the "Congress" who were rejected declared a hunger strike, and one of them lived in the reception room with a coffin.He threatened to die if he was not given a seat.When discussing this, Archbishop Yu Bin of Nanjing persuaded the "hunger strikers" to drink a certain amount of water, orange juice and milk to sustain life.In the end, the delegates finally got their seats.In order to accept and accommodate them, the meeting had to expand. The Nationalists, deeply disturbed by their failure to win the vice-presidential election, wanted to redeem their lost status by proposing the election of He Yingqin as prime minister.However, they were too weak to win.Later, this position was taken by the capable and honest Weng Wenhao.The appearance of Weng Wenhao has given the new cabinet a somewhat more liberal tinge, but it is too late to completely change its image. In the face of all these setbacks, Chiang Kai-shek continued to give people an image of high-level and calm. On May 20, 1948, when he took office as President of the Republic of China, he said: He does not deny that the road ahead of China is full of difficulties, nor does he deny that rebuilding China is not an easy task. He believes that the basic conditions for the implementation of democracy have not yet matured, but the power of the times has made the Kuomintang move forward on the road of constitutional democracy... He also said: The experience he has gained in leading the country over the past 40 years has made him more convinced of Mr. Sun Yat-sen's maxim that any measure "as long as it conforms to the laws of nature, as long as it conforms to the level of human understanding, as long as it conforms to the world trend, as long as it reflects the people's wishes, and serves the society. What the elite discovers, it will surely be successfully realized.” Chiang Kai-shek was calm on the outside, but he couldn't hide his inner uneasiness, and it was more obvious than ever at this time. The Kuomintang gradually lost control of its stronghold in the Northeast.They withdrew from Jilin on March 12, explaining in military clichés that this was to shorten the shipping lines.The garrison withdrew to Changchun, which added a great burden to the besieged city.The Communist Party blocked all food supply routes to Changchun, and as many as 100 people starved to death every day.After fierce competition, Siping fell three days after the fall of Jilin, and the Communist Party could now attack Shenyang. The head of the US military advisory group, David G. Burr, begged Chiang Kai-shek to withdraw from Shenyang, but in vain, Chiang Kai-shek's self-esteem did not allow him to accept David's suggestion. On April 24, General Peng Dehuai of the Communist Party recaptured Mao Zedong's original base in Yan'an after a bitter battle.Then, the Kuomintang also won the battle, but not for long. At this time, it became obvious that the Chinese People's Liberation Army was no longer a guerrilla army, but a regular army. In June, in the Battle of Kaifeng, Henan, General Chen Yi led an army of nearly 200,000 to fight against an equal number of Kuomintang troops. The city fell on the 22nd, but was regained on the 25th. A survey conducted in the money market in Shanghai showed that the rate of inflation in China was astonishing. Within a few days, the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the French market rose from 1:2 million to 1: 4000000.A few weeks later, the unofficial exchange rate reached 1:8 million, and the French market lost another half of its value. In August, the ratio rose to an unbelievably high 1:11 million.When the inflation started to increase, President Jiang said in a speech that the economic situation was satisfactory and that the inflation was all the result of the propaganda of the Communist Party, the nonsense of foreigners, and the speculation of Shanghai businessmen. Of course, Chiang Kai-shek was more worried about the military situation than inflation. In July, he was mainly worried about the situation in Taiyuan, because the Nationalist garrison in Shanxi was besieged there.Except for the period of Japanese occupation, Shanxi has been ruled since 1912 by the shrewd veteran warlord Yan Xishan. Shanxi has coal mines, iron mines, steel factories, and arsenals, which are enough to supply Yan Xishan's normal military needs. Chiang Kai-shek thought that Yan Xishan was now being pressed by the Communist Party, and he might be able to compete with the Communist Party.Yan Xishan's loyalty remained unchanged, and on the 22nd, Chiang Kai-shek ventured to Taiyuan and landed at the only government-controlled airport among the three. Prior to this, Chiang Kai-shek had risked his life to fly to Zhengzhou, which was in danger of being occupied by the Communist Party at that time.He also flew to Jinan and Shenyang to boost morale.Due to the constant running around, trying to control all forces in his own hands, Chiang Kai-shek later suffered from insomnia. Sleeping pills gave him little solace.Night is no longer the time for him to sleep, because at this time he mostly makes long-distance calls with field generals to discuss military situations.However, he still needs some sleep.Later, Chiang Kai-shek found that drinking a glass or half of whiskey every night before going to bed helped him fall asleep. Now, Chiang Kai-shek had to pay attention to rising inflation and began to take measures. On August 19, 1948, he issued a presidential decree to issue a new national currency, gold dollar notes.At that time, the value of the old money had practically dropped to zero.The exchange rate between gold dollar certificates and U.S. dollars is 4:1. The government ordered people to hand over old banknotes to the government at a ratio of 3 million:1, and to hand in all private gold and silver and foreign exchange before September 30, and use the newly issued currency. .The people hated those worthless old coins from the bottom of their hearts, so they were very happy about it, at least at the beginning. Chiang Kai-shek gave his son Chiang Ching-kuo great power to implement currency reform. For Jiang Jingguo, this was the first opportunity to show his talent.He moved to Shanghai, where he opened fire on black marketers and speculators. No one was spared. A senior police officer and a well-known black marketer was one of hundreds arrested. During this extraordinary period, the courts continued to impose death sentences, and they were executed immediately.Therefore, after a short time, Jiang Jingguo won the hearts of the people in Shanghai. However, he was thwarted by a strange occurrence. One evening in September, Mrs. Chiang received a call from Shanghai saying that her stepson had intercepted a large shipment of what was apparently black market shipments from the Yangzijiang Development Company, a powerful company owned by the Kong family. , Mrs. Chiang was very annoyed when she heard that Chiang Ching-kuo wanted to arrest her nephew and general manager Kong Lingkan, and Chiang Kai-shek decided to leave the matter to her. Mrs. Jiang set off for Shanghai as soon as she heard the news.Kong Lingkan was not arrested, but left Shanghai to travel to the United States for several months.The Yangzijiang Development Company also stopped looking for trouble, and its activities in Shanghai gradually decreased.Soon, the company's headquarters moved to Florida. A subsidiary opened in London under a different name in the 50s and closed about 10 years later. This incident made Jiang Jingguo lose face, but the worse situation is yet to come.The government wants to reform the economy when the economy is empty.But this approach can neither increase income, nor reduce expenditure, nor increase production.The market value of gold dollar bonds fell, and prices began to spiral up again. By October 31, people's salaries simply cannot buy daily necessities.After people trusted Chiang Ching-kuo for the first time, they no longer obeyed his orders to turn in U.S. dollars and valuables to exchange for gold dollar certificates.Some people understand it later. Chiang Ching-kuo's biographer Holrington Tang was one of them.While having dinner in a restaurant in Nanjing, he said: At his insistence, his wife agreed to exchange the 4,000 US dollars they had hidden all their lives for 16,000 yuan in gold dollar certificates, but now they are worthless.An invisible passive resistance formed around Chiang Ching-kuo and his entourage.His staff, all of whom had worked alongside him, felt at a loss in the chaotic world of Shanghai, and there was an air of impending doom.Everyone knows that the days of Kuomintang rule are numbered. Chiang Ching-kuo, with true Confucian humility, offered to resign and apologized: "I worked 70 days and felt that I was not doing my job.... In some ways, I even exacerbated the suffering of the people.... Today, besides asking the government to punish me and clarify my responsibilities, I also hope to use this opportunity to apologize to the people of Shanghai....I sincerely hope that the people of Shanghai will use their abilities to stop profiteers, bureaucrats, politicians and gangsters, and control Shanghai...  " In late September, Chiang Kai-shek finally admitted that Shenyang could not be kept. On the 25th, he ordered the garrison commander Wei Lihuang to withdraw from Shenyang to rescue the besieged Jinzhou garrison.But Wei Lihuang did not want to confront Lin Biao's victorious master. For two weeks he hesitated, but finally obeyed.He paid the price for this hesitation when 12 of his divisions were attacked by the Chinese People's Liberation Army with heavy casualties.He himself fled by plane and was later militarily sanctioned, but survived and joined the Communist regime in 1955. (When he died four years later, he was given a grand funeral.) Today, the vigor of the Kuomintang army has been completely destroyed, and some people have begun to change their positions.Under Chen Yi's attack, garrison general Wu Huawen led most of his troops in the surrender of Jinan, capital of Shandong Province, and provincial chairman Wang Yaowu was quickly captured alive. Following Wei Lihuang's defeat, the Northeast quickly collapsed across the board. On October 23, Changchun, which was ridiculed in famine, was breached. On November 2, Shenyang fell, and 300,000 Kuomintang troops surrendered to the Communist Party. Shortly thereafter, war correspondent Hu Lin made a detailed analysis of the reasons for the KMT's defeat in a conversation with Eric Zhou in Hong Kong. He put the blame entirely on Chiang Kai-shek's psychological mistakes. Chiang Kai-shek's attitude towards the young marshal Zhang Xueliang made the people of the Northeast extremely disgusted with him.Imprisoning Zhang Xueliang for a long time can only make the young marshal more popular, make Chiang Kai-shek unpopular, and deepen the people's distrust of him.If he released Zhang Xueliang and sent him back, the Young Marshal might be able to win popular support for the Kuomintang. Chiang Kai-shek was unpopular for other reasons.He acted arbitrarily and redivided the northeastern provinces without consulting the locals at all, which greatly hurt their feelings. In addition, the new officials sent from Nanking had supreme power over the newly demarcated areas. Locals objected to the officials, who felt they represented "southerners," that is, the central government. Many non-locals held important positions, so the KMT government gave the impression in the Northeast that it occupied the Northeast.After the Kuomintang officials took over the Northeast, they plundered property, corrupted and corrupted, embezzled and bribed, and other atrocities made many Northeast people hope that the Japanese would continue to occupy this territory. KMT officials also persecuted people on "groundless" charges, resulting in many defecting to the Communist Party. However, for the Kuomintang, perhaps the biggest mistake was that Chen Cheng dismissed the puppet government's 300,000 Chinese troops in the Northeast according to Chiang Kai-shek's order.These people had no way to survive, and most of them voted under the banner of the Communist Party.Lin Biao warmly welcomed them.Indeed, they later became the backbone of the "Democratic Alliance". There was another reason for the great defeat of the Nationalist army, which was also purely military. From a strategic point of view, the Nationalist army was forced to take defensive measures from the beginning.The Russians left the cities to the Kuomintang, but the countryside to the Communists. In Chinese military terminology, the Kuomintang has only grasped the "point", while the Communist Party has controlled the "surface". "Points" can be isolated and surrounded, but the Kuomintang failed to level the entire "face".All they could do was to connect these "dots" by protecting "lines" (railway lines and road lines), with the result that their limited military forces were brought to the brink of collapse. In desperation, Chiang Kai-shek sent his wife to the United States for assistance on December 1. 3日，蒋夫人见到了马歇尔，10日见到了杜鲁门。但是，这两人看来谁也不大同情他们。她提出了许多要求，想在3年内得到30亿元的援助。 12月20日，杜鲁门派往上海的经济合作司的头头保罗·G·霍夫曼回来了，带来对蒋夫人极为不利的消息，21日，美国停止了对中国的建设援助计划。蒋夫人不想这样一无所获地回国，便在美国呆了近一年，不知疲倦地为国民党奔波，但终于一无所获。 在此之前，美国曾使国民党在华北的希望受到打击。国民党最优秀的将军傅作义以11个训练有素的军来守卫京津地区。 然而，这11个军中，有4个军完全缺少装备，3个军装备不全。 1948年夏，美国援助人员对蒋介石越来越感到失望，他们便单独与傅作义谈判，给他武器装备。他们觉得傅作义能够稳定华北局势，这样傅作义能为东北的国民党军队打开突围大门。 7月初，他们提议给天津的傅将军1，600万元的军事供应。虽然参谋长联席会议同意了，但第一批武器到11月29日才运到，并且发现这批枪支因缺少关键部件而不能使用。 傅作义虽被看作国民党最坚定、最有能力的军官之一，然而枪支运送的失败却大大动摇了其军队的士气。1949年1月14日，天津失守，北平失去了屏障，同时也断了向海上撤退的路。 傅作义在走投无路的情况下，不愿意让战火燃烧这个有着悠久文化传统的古都，于1月21日带领军队接受整编，把北平交到了共产党手中。 天津失守后，阎锡山曾给傅作义拍了6次电报，要他“勇于牺牲，坚决作战，不要有任何生存的想法”。但是，阎锡山对傅军所受到的压力及其内心的紧张状态一无所知。 实际上，傅作义投降共产党，是毛泽东统一战线政策的巨大成功。共产党在未来的政府中为傅作义安排了一个职务，这都是机智地通过在陕西、甘肃一带活动的西北军阀，傅作义女儿的公公邓宝珊促成的。燕京大学的常同山教授领导的民主党的一些人告诉傅作义，北平人都愿意投降共产党。以市议会议长许辉同为首的商业集团也恳求傅作义“理智些”，不要做损害北平这个历史名城的事情。 傅作义在军事上也感到孤立。蒋介石最精锐的部队已在东北溃败，傅作义明白他不能依靠答应要来救他的中央军。那时，他的心腹董其武将军在绥远已向共产党投降。 除此之外，从傅作义当时所处的环境来说，要是继续反抗，形势将会对他极为不利。北平和天津的学生虽然并不一定亲共，但大多数都是反蒋的。这样，这个古老的首都和平地交给了共产党。 在南面，蒋介石在徐州和长江一线的防御也被攻破，国民党失去了40万军队。12月3日，徐州失守，通往南京和上海的道路被打开。徐州之战确实是现代军事史上最大的战事之一。 这场战役持续近3个月，注定了蒋介石中央政府在大陆的命运。埃里克·周自始至终关注着这场战役，并看到了一位逃到南京的军官。他就是李弥将军（他后来跑到缅甸，成了国民党残部的首领，以种鸦片为业）。 根据和李弥将军的谈话，加上他本人观察，埃里克·周分析了国民党失败的原因： 1、徐州战场总司令刘峙忠贞不二，深得蒋介石信任。但他一生中从来没打过一次胜仗。他在国民党将军中成了人们的笑料。 2、45万国民党军队与150万共产党人作战，人数相差悬殊。 3、何基沣军队的倒戈在左侧打开了一个缺口，共产党人无需一枪一炮就穿了过去。这个军队原来是宋哲元手下29军的一个师，它在1937年的芦沟桥事变中获得极大声誉，因此它的倒戈对其他部队来讲是当头一击，使他们的士气大挫。 4、国民党军队由广东、四川、云南的部队和蒋介石的嫡系部队组成，缺乏统一领导。在各个部队中，互相不是合作，而是勾心斗角。 5、蒋介石干涉过多。他几乎每天都在南京给各位军官打电话，下命令，往往考虑不到战场上的新动向。 6、共产党通过蒋介石总部的军事助手刘飞把国民党的行动计划了解得一清二楚。刘飞1949年4月被李宗仁派到北平，作为和谈代表团的一员和共产党和谈时，投奔了共产党。 7、通货膨胀加剧，国民党军队苛扣军饷，给养不足。他们被围困时，整连整营的士兵用武器跟共产党人换馒头、米饭吃。 8、国民党缺乏空军支持。美国拒绝为他们提供新飞机，甚至拒绝提供他们的飞机所需要的零件。 1957年，历史学家陈晓伟在香港与埃里克·周谈话时分析说： 1、原广西将领白崇禧是国民党最有能力的将领之一。他是在最后一刻被任命为徐州战场总司令的，但他拒绝了这项任命。白崇裕反对蒋介石在徐州打这场决定性战役的计划，他提议在长江南岸安徽芜湖设下据点、万一共产党打到那里，他们的运输线将会大大拉长。 2、陈纳德将军告诉蒋介石，他有信心只用40架战斗机就能在徐州扭转局势，但大家都知道，美国政府没有答应国民党关于飞机的要求。 3、共产党到处挖洞，作为坦克陷井，因此阻止了国民党的机械化部队。 4、总的来说，国民党军队在战役中，设备和火力方面都劣子对手。 5、国民党打的是防御性阵地战，而共产党则机智灵活猛烈攻击。 徐州战役之后，共产党对同国民党和谈彻底失去了兴趣。 即使李宗仁等对此还存有幻想，但至少蒋介石心里是清楚的。 在徐州战役国民党即将败退之际，蒋介石内心深处受到极大的打击。 他的私人秘书陈布雷自杀了。 埃里克·周两星期前和陈布雷谈话时，发现他异常忧郁。 陈布雷责备自己没能更好地为国家效力。蒋介石参加了他的葬礼，看起来很悲痛的样子。在陈布雷的日记后面有这样一句话：“我现在已到了灯枯油干的时候了。”他身体虚弱，患有失眠症，心情总是很忧郁。然而，最不能使他忍受的是，他发现自己唯一的女儿竟是共产党的地下党员，她把重要机密送给了共产党。陈布雷感到国民党的失败已是不可避免的、并责怪自己没能影响蒋介石的政策和决定。 风云多变的1948年就要过去了。这时，国民党政府内部出现了一个和平团体。起初，这些人的头头是蒋介石的优秀将领白崇禧，但很快这些人就由白崇禧的广西老朋友李宗仁负责了。 这一年的12月，白崇禧与湖南省政府主席程潜频繁地在一起秘密商议。两人都认为只有和共产党谈判，才能延缓共产党的进攻。白崇禧马上发出很多电报，以采取行动。第一封电报是让官兵传阅的，倡导和谈。然后他给张群和张治中发电报，要他们向蒋介石提议同共产党和谈。接着，湖南、湖北、河南、广西各省参议会议长联合签发了一份电报，谴责蒋介石，要他对他自己的前途马上作出决定，以便使和谈不受阻碍地按时进行。河南省政府主席张诚还发电要总统辞职。 蒋介石对此大为震惊，认为这些迹象都是不服从命令和失败主义的表现。 此时，白崇禧控制着50万军队，对他的要求，蒋介石不能掉以轻心。所以，蒋介石派他忠诚的朋友张群两次去汉口，和白将军商讨形势，试图消除误会。不久，人们就发现白崇禧起码不是个失败主义者。蒋介石不断被各种来电所震动，而此时，共产党军队则继徐州战役获胜之后，正在坚定地向长江以南挺进。 在白崇禧看来，现在应是和淡停战的时候，这样，国民党军队可以在湖南、湖北、江西、广西、云南、贵州等地重新组织力量防御。但是，主和派中却有些真正的失败主义者，甚至有亲共人员，张治中想让蒋介石辞职，以便李宗仁能立即与共产党和谈。 根据张群的汇报，蒋介石原以为能和白崇禧达成一些理解。 但圣诞节那天，他收到了白崇禧的电报，要他在美苏联合调停下立即与共产党和谈，这使蒋介石醒悟过来了，他对此极为恼火。 这时队香港也传来了令他烦恼的消息：共产党控制的“国民党革命委员会”正在和李宗仁副总统的密使“谈判”。而且，甚至张群都对蒋说他也赞成和谈，当然美国大使司徒雷登也不会例外。 从根本上讲，蒋介石己无后退余地，正象他已表示的那样他也想下野但必须按他自己提出的条件下野。如果是按别人提出的条件下野，或者他在压力下下野的话，那他可受不了。然而，没有政治同僚的支持他怎么能再打下去呢？ 12月31日，蒋介石发表新年致词时，邀请了大约40名国民党中央执行委员会委员吃饭。他默默地听完了他们谨慎的发言，接着咆哮说： “我不想引退，你们这些国民党官员却想让我引退。我引退并不是因为共产党，而是因为国民党内部的某些人。” 他已准备好了新年文告，宣布他愿意和谈，但他知道他提出的和谈条件共产党是不会接受的。他的条件是：不违背“宪法”；维护民主形式；维护现有武装力量的存在。他表示只要能够和平，他将不在乎自己的地位。他要在这种情况下，和人民大众的感情保持一致。当来宾们重新进行讨论时，蒋介石下令发表他的新年文告。 几小时之后，主和派（现在的领袖为李副总统）开始在报纸或城墙上用口号来打扰蒋介石，“蒋总统不辞退，共产党就不和谈”，“蒋总统不辞退，就没有希望得到美国的援助。”事实上，美国大使馆一直赞成和谈，支持李宗仁及其主和派。 现在已是1949年1月14日，毛泽东发表了使国民党感到失望的宣言。共产党的电台播送了和谈的8项条件，宣布一开始就指控蒋介石为“中国第一号战犯”，“国民党匪帮头子”,“把中国人民的利益全部卖给了美国政府的民国伪总统”。年底之前，共产党公布了43名“一级战犯”的名单，蒋介石当然被列为榜首。 共产党的和谈条件是： 1、惩办战犯；2、废除伪宪法；3、废除伪立宪政府；4、在民主原则基础上，改组所有反动军队；5、没收官僚资本；6、进行土地改革；7、废除一切卖国条约；8、召开没有反动分子参加的政治协商会议，成立民主联合政府，接管反动的南京政府和各级地方政府的一切权力。面对这些条件，主和派认为别无选择，只好接受，1月19日，行政院宣布准备“立即与共产党停战，双方派代表开始和谈。” 现在蒋介石已拿定了主意，他要从现实中退出来，而不是辞职。 如果李宗仁认为他与共产党和谈能成功，那就让他去谈好了。 无论李宗仁成功与否，一切都将咎由自取。 至于蒋介石本人，尽管和共产党的斗争曾“停止”过一段时间，但现在还得继续斗下去，在发表新年致词前，他就决定要不惜一切代价保住台湾，以作为最后的防守阵地。为此，他任命蒋经国为台湾国民党首领，陈诚为省政府主席。 1月21日，蒋介石宣布引退： “如果从此以后共产党能认识到中国面临的严峻形势而下令停战，同意与国民政府进行和谈的话，那我的愿望也就实现了。这样，人民就会免受极大的痛苦，国家的物质和精神财富便能得以保护，国家领土完整和政治主权也能得以维护。并且，国家的历史、文化和社会秩序将会永远地继续下去，人民的生活和自由亦将得到保障。” 事实上，蒋介石很清楚，在当时的“宪法”条款中，没有总统辞职的规定。蒋介石只不过是根据“宪法”第49条的规定，把权力移交给了副总统。 为了表明他并没有完全从政治舞台上消失，他仍保留了国民党总裁的职务。 蒋介石下野之后，回到了他的家乡浙江省。