Chapter 50 Chapter Ten Teasing Li Zongren

The first quarter I defeated, you regret After Chiang Kai-shek was elected as the first president after the so-called constitutional implementation on April 19, 1948, he originally wanted to boost morale and hope that the war with the CCP would turn defeat into victory and at least stabilize his footing, but the result was still going from bad to worse. First, in January of this year, the Kuomintang claimed that it could wipe out the visible power of the Communist Army within a year, but it lost Liaoyang and Anshan in February; Sipingjie and Yongji in March; Luoyang in April; and lost in May. Laohekou; lost Kaifeng in June; lost Yanzhou and Xiangyang in July; lost Jinan in September; lost Jinzhou, Changchun, Zhengzhou, and Baotou in October; lost Shenyang, Yingkou, and Baoding in November In December, Huaiyin, Huai'an, and Zhangjiakou were lost; in January 1949, the so-called "Battle of Xubang" ended, and Chiang Kai-shek lost another 400,000 troops and lost Tianjin at the same time.A year later, the Kuomintang not only failed to wipe out the Communist Army within the year, but the situation that it would be wiped out by the Communist Army was imminent.On January 1 of this year, Chiang Kai-shek had no choice but to issue a New Year's Day proclamation.The wording of this statement clearly shows the ideology of Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuomintang.According to Dong Xianguang's "President Chiang's Biography", this statement "has two important goals. On the one hand, it presents the government's minimum conditions for peace talks to the "Communist Party"; The President may conduct peace talks with the "Communist Party" without compromising his responsibility as the leader of a democratic government and a loyal citizen of the Republic of China." (Pages 510-511) In fact, what is noteworthy in the announcement is not the "declaration of the government's minimum conditions for peace talks" and the "foreshadowing outline", but the display of Chiang Kai-shek's personal mentality.There are two most notable aspects of this mentality: First, it shows us: "In the past year, since the fall of Jinan, Jinzhou, Changchun, and Shenyang have fallen one after another", and the "bandit suppression" has been losing. "Because the bandit suppression military has increased the burden on the people and deepened the people's suffering", the people hope for peace.But the key to being able to reconcile with one another "is the moment when the Communist Party changes its mind." "We must first ask what is the Communist Party's intention for peace?" As long as the Communist Party "has the sincerity of peace," "the government will see each other openly."Second, "If the Communist Party persists in its armed rebellion to the end and has no sincerity for peace", it can only resort to "decisive battles." Defend with all your strength and carry out a decisive battle."Chiang Kai-shek declared that "he firmly believes that not only the government is sure of victory here, but also the cardinal who turns the whole country from danger to safety and the whole people from disaster to blessing." ("Collection of President Jiang Gong's Thoughts and Speeches", Volume 32, pp. 205-208) This means that the government is not afraid of fighting, and will win if it wants to fight.

One week before Chiang Kai-shek issued this statement (December 24, 1948), he received a secret telegram from Bai Chongxi, the commander-in-chief of the "bandit suppression" in Hankou, stating that the fight could not continue , and put forward three comments: 1. The camera relayed the true peace-seeking sincerity to the United States, and asked the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union to intervene and mediate peace together. 2. Public opinion organs appeal to both parties for peace and resume peace talks. 3. The armies of both sides should stop military operations on the spot and wait for a peaceful negotiation. ("Mr. Bai Chongxi's Interview Record", pages 875-876)

After sending out the secret telegram, there has been no response, so Bai Chongxi sent another secret telegram (December 30), acknowledging the dilemma of peace and war, but still urging external forces to support peace.He appealed to "make a decision as soon as possible", "Whether it is peace or war, we must make a quick decision. Only when the whole unites, can we have a chance, and we must not be divided by the enemy, so as to end up in the tragic situation of being defeated..." (same book, p. 876) After receiving two secret telegrams from Bai Chongxi, Chiang Kai-shek's 1949 New Year's Day announcement was announced.The most interesting thing is that he turned Bai Chongxi's request for the government's "sincerity for peace" in the two secret telegrams to the Communist Party.The day after the announcement of the New Year's Day (January 2), he sent a call back to Bai Chongxi, saying, "We have poured out our sincerity and reopened the door of peace, so that the Communist Party can really repent..." Yunyun, he Wouldn’t it be ridiculous to ask others to “repent” before they can “reconcile” after losing a battle? Coincidentally, in 1949, on the same day, January 2, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to the Chairman of Henan Province, Zhang Zhen, saying: It also talked about "communist bandits" and "repentance".

When Chiang Kai-shek asked Tao Xisheng to draft the New Year's Announcement, in fact, he had already planned his resignation.So three weeks after the announcement on New Year's Day (January 21), Chiang Kai-shek finally stepped down.However, he stepped down very dishonestly and played tricks. Li Zongren happened to be the first to bear the brunt. What Li Zongren himself did not expect was that on the eve of his resignation, Jiang Yu ordered the director of the Yunnan Station of the Ministry of National Defense Secrecy Bureau to Shen Zui presided over the plan to assassinate the Vice President. When Li Zongren left Nanjing, he was shot to death no matter by water, land or air. (See the first volume of Shen Zui's "Inside the Military Regime" for details, pages 241-245) In 1965, Li Zongren returned to the motherland from the United States, and only then did he learn about the inside story disclosed by Shen Zui. The "Meiling" plane was given to the Li couple. It turned out that sending the plane was fatal, but luckily they didn't take it. (See the same book, pages 245-246) Li Zongren was also fortunate not to leave Nanjing before Jiang went to the field, otherwise his old life would have been lost.

It is said that the Kuomintang is most happy to talk about Chiang Kai-shek as the first president of the Republic of China after the constitution was implemented, and the least talked about is that Li Zongren was the first vice president of the Republic of China after the constitution was implemented.Li Zongren belonged to the Guangxi faction in the Kuomintang faction, which is the so-called "Guangxi faction". The Guangxi faction was neither Whampoa nor Zhejiang.However, the "Guangxi Clan" made great contributions in the Northern Expedition and the War of Resistance, but it was not easy to get rid of them.After the implementation of the constitution, the first president and vice president were elected. The presidential throne was won by Chiang Kai-shek, but the vice-presidential throne was won by Li Zongren.Although Li Zongren became the vice president, he was not liked by Chiang Kai-shek, and he was left out in the cold. Ask for leave to mourn in Guizhou. (See "Memoirs of Li Zongren", page 874)

However, by the end of 1948, the Battle of Xubeng was coming to an end, the Kuomintang army was defeated, and the Nanjing government was shaken. Chiang wanted to internationalize the civil war and asked the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, and France to intervene, but ten days later , was rejected by Shikoku. (See Shaw Yuming, An American Missionary in China, p. 243) Chiang also had a long talk with Stuart in Guling on a weekend in early August, emphasizing the need to organize an international anti-communist alliance, but the response was not good.Jiang also wanted to bring the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to the United Nations as a case of threatening world peace, which was the forerunner of the later "accusation of Soviet Union".But these "distant waters" cannot save "near fires".At this time, the voice of civil peace talks rose again, and when Chiang Kai-shek felt embarrassed, he went to Li Zongren to discuss.He himself is too embarrassed to turn his back on the grass and make peace with the CCP, so he can only ask the vice president to take the blame or act as a "scapegoat".When the situation became more and more serious, Jiang made an exception to visit Li Zongren for advice on January 4, 1949, and expressed his willingness to retire, asking Li to take the lead.Li Wei immediately agreed.

In the end, Chiang Kai-shek asked Li Zongren to do it according to the constitutional procedures, and promised Li Zongren not to interfere in politics within five years.In this way, on January 21, Jiang went to the field.Jiang also prepared a manuscript for Li Zongren, and asked Li to sign it before adjourning the meeting.Jiang’s own manuscript was read by Zhang Qunjiao Li Zongren before publication. The full text is as follows: Since Chiang Kai-shek issued a proclamation advocating peace on New Year's Day, the whole country responded with one voice and supported it unanimously.It has been more than ten days, and the war has not stopped, and the goal of peace cannot be achieved.The misery of the people is extremely extreme.In order to save the Communist Party of Georgia and save the people in case of any eventuality, according to Article 49 of the Constitution of the Republic of China, "When the president is unable to take care of the matter for some reason, the vice president shall perform his functions and powers" on the 21st of this month From now on, Vice President Lee will act as President.I hope that the military and civilians of the whole country and governments at all levels will work together with sincerity, one heart and one morality, and praise Acting President Lee, and work together to promote permanent peace.Chung Cheng devoted his whole life to the national revolution and kept in mind the Three Principles of the People. From the 15th year of the Northern Expedition in Guangzhou to the completion of reunification, he always took it as his duty to defend the nation, realize democracy, and improve people's livelihood. At the same time, he believed that peace must be ensured. There is no solid foundation for economic improvement.Therefore, for more than 20 years, only the war against Japan was persevered to the end. In addition, even though the military was used as a last resort at home, they did not hesitate to sacrifice everything personally and endured for the sake of the country.Assuming that the Communist Party can realize this, stop the war and make peace, save the people from the fire and water, maintain the vitality of the country, make the territorial sovereignty complete, the history, culture and social order will not be destroyed, and the people's life and freedom rights will indeed be guaranteed. Under the principle, the achievement of peace is the one who prays for it with a solid voice. ("Collection of President Chiang Kai-shek's Thoughts and Speeches", Volume 32, Pages 209-210)

The most noteworthy thing in this report is that he used the words "pretending to make the Communist Party awaken from this", which was not in his New Year's Day report 21 years ago.In his New Year's announcement, Chiang Kai-shek only hinted that the Communist Party did not have "peaceful sincerity," but he did not explicitly point out that the Communist Party should be "awakened" for its crimes.This word is obviously exactly the same as in his reply to Bai Chongxi's telegram that "if the Communist Party can really repent", it shows Chiang Kai-shek's mentality.The so-called "regret for misfortune" is a more serious word than repentance. Repentance just means that you regret your mistakes, while "repent for misfortunes" means that you have caused disasters. "Zuo Zhuan" (the eleventh year of Yingong) said: "If the widow is lost to the earth, the heavens will regret the misfortune to Xu with propriety, and I would rather give Xu Gong and return to his community." Liu Zongyuan's "Mr. Liu Collection" (by Bi Fangwen ) said: "Zhu Rong regrets the misfortune, Huilu holds his breath." These all show the true meaning of "regret for misfortune".When Chiang Kai-shek used this term, it was obvious that he still regarded himself as a victor, as a superior, and as a superior.Because in common sense, only people in this position would ask others to "repent"?

Regarding Chiang Kai-shek’s mentality, John Leighton Stuart, the US ambassador to China at the time, later wrote in his memoirs “Fifty Years in China” (Fifty Years in China), Chapter 10, “The Dream That Did Not Come True”. True), once added the onlooker's clear argument.Leighton Stuart said that Chiang Kai-shek's "retirement plan and report" "is a solemn and solemn statement, but it also has a fatal flaw, that is, he used the benevolent position of a powerful ruler to deal with the rebellion.叛徒，同时也漠视政府本身所处的绝望境况。”（Ｏｎ ｔｈｅ ｗｈｏｌｅ?熏ｉｔ ｗａｓ ａ ｄｉｇｎｉｆｉｅｄ ａｎｄ ｎｏｂｌｅ ｓｔａｔｅｍｅｎｔ．Bｕｔ ｉｔ ｈａｄ ｔｈｅ ｆａｔａｌ ｆｌａｗ ｏｆ ａｓｓｕｍｉｎｇ ｔｈｅ ｇｒａｃｉｏｕｓ ａｔｔｉｔｕdｅ ｏｆ ａ ｐｏｗｅｒｆｕｌ ｒｕｌｅｒ ｉｎ ｄｅａｌｉｎｇ ｗｉｔｈ ｔｒｏｕｂｌｅｓｏｍｅ ｒｅｂｅｌｓ ａｎｄ ｏｆ ignoring the desperate plight of his government.) This kind of comment really hits the nail on the head. ——At the moment when the enemy is so strong that the soldiers are approaching the city, the ruler who has been defeated can still relax and proclaim to the world in the tone of the winner, the superior, and the superior. This contrast, this strangeness, this style , It can be said that it is unprecedented!

What Stuart didn't point out was that after he put on such a strange demeanor, he immediately asked Li Zongren to bear the consequences.However, others are required to bear the responsibility, and they are unwilling to give up the presidency to others. The report neither mentions resignation nor retirement, and it is not the vice president who succeeds the presidency, but "acts on behalf of power."Since it is "acting on behalf", the "acting on behalf" can be suspended at any time, leaving a foreshadowing for the re-execution.Therefore, Li Zongren requested to amend it to read: "Vice President Li will succeed to execute the presidency", and emphasized that Chiang Kai-shek's presidential resignation announcement cannot be published without amendment.Jiang promised to revise it on the phone, but when he saw the newspaper the next day, it was still the old draft that had not been revised.At the same time, the draft statement signed by Li but not carefully read is published as follows:

President Jiang Gong resolutely resigned because he thought of the dangers of the country, sympathized with the suffering of the people, and promoted the early realization of peace.According to the provisions of Article 49 of the Constitution of the Republic of China, Zongren assumed the power of the president on behalf of the president.However, Zongren has followed the presidential revolution for more than 20 years, and he knows that he always puts the people of the country as the most important thing in his handling of affairs, and he is strict and bright in terms of personal entry and exit, and his determination will never be changed.Zongren takes the responsibility of supervising and cannot be excused. Only Xu Mian will serve as a general and be loyal to the country, hoping that the government affairs of the central government will not fall, and the president's ambition of saving the country and the people will be successful.It is hoped that all our military and civilians will cooperate sincerely, civil and military officials will keep their duties, sincerely unite, and unite with one heart. This is the policy of peaceful nation building, and we will work hard for democracy and freedom. The national and national benefits depend on it. ("Memoirs of Li Zongren", Volume 2, pages 902-903) The proclamation written by the substitute still does not forget to praise himself again and again, which is really interesting. The purpose of the substitute is obviously to be said through Li Zongren's own mouth, which is only to "exercise the power of the president" and wants to play with Li in the palm of his hand.What made Li even more angry was that Wu Zhongxin, the secretary-general arranged for him by Chiang Kai-shek, circulated these two proclamations to the whole country in the name of the president and stamped the president's seal, but Li didn't know anything about it beforehand.Li Zongren approached Wu Zhongxin and said, "Brother Liqing, why didn't I hear about this order when it was sent out?" Wu Zhongxin said, "This is Mr. Jiang's intention. I will notify you after it is issued." President Li said: "Mr. Jiang has already resigned, and he still wants to order you to issue an order not to let me know?" Wu Zhongxin said: "You know Mr. Jiang, Mr. Jiang asked me to do this, how can I not do it? Li Yu protested by not taking office, but Wu actually threatened by "running spies".After issuing proclamations and circulars on behalf of President Li, he was unable to control the Executive Yuan. Executive Premier Sun Ke actually moved the Executive Yuan from Nanjing to Guangzhou under the command of Chiang Kai-shek.As a result, after the news spread, "the crowd was full of enthusiasm and discussions", and Bai Chongxi even borrowed the words of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty: "If you want to be the real emperor, don't be a fake emperor? Choose." On the contrary, Li Zongren was discouraged and felt that he should not care about whether to replace him or not in times of crisis. In this way, the turmoil was calmed down, so on January 24, 1949, he was sworn in by Ju Zhengjian as the deputy. president. After Chiang Kai-shek stepped down, he immediately returned to his hometown in Xikou, Fenghua. He was sixty-two years old. Although he had to leave the presidency, he still had the title of president of the Kuomintang. It made Dai President Li helpless. Chiang Kai-shek’s important personnel deployment before his resignation included the appointment of Chen Cheng as the chairman of Taiwan Province on New Year’s Day 1949 and the commander-in-chief of Taiwan’s garrison. The director of the Appeasement Office, Zhang Qun is the director of the Chongqing Appeasement Office, Song Ziwen is the chairman of Guangdong Province, Yu Hanmou is the director of the Guangzhou Appeasement Office, and Chiang Ching-kuo is the chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Party Committee.The soon-to-be-dismissed head of state unceremoniously placed the remaining half of the Kuomintang firmly in the hands of his cronies.Through the layout of personnel, although Jiang is in opposition, he can still control the economy, mobilize troops, and influence politics.In fact, as soon as Jiang returned to Xikou, Xikou became the political center of the Kuomintang.There are also seven radio stations in the home, which can issue orders at any time and control everything remotely.Even if Li Zongren, the acting president in Nanjing, did not want to be a puppet, he had no choice but to be ostracized.We know from "Li Zongren's Memoirs" that the deployment of Jiang's defense, the organization of the new cabinet, and the disposal of important officials, such as the detention of Zhejiang Provincial Chairman Chen Yi, were all decisions made by Chiang Kai-shek in Xikou, and Li Zongren in Nanjing could not make the decision. The most serious thing is that Jiang claimed that he went to the field for peace talks, and asked Li Zongren to come out to advocate peace, but within a few days of retreating to Xikou, he ordered the party, government, army, and special leaders from Fenghua to "fight to the end." This is not secretly destroying peace. ?When the peace talks broke down, Jiang ordered Tang Enbo to guard Shanghai and destroy Li Zhijiang's defense plan. In Li's view, Jiang's deployment was tantamount to stealing from the door.Later, Jiang secretly sabotaged Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi's plan to defend the Southwest.Li and Bai planned to "move Tang Enbo's main force to the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line and the Nanxun line, and form horns with about 400,000 troops in Central China, so as to firmly defend Hunan and Jiangxi and prevent the enemy from invading the southwest." ("Memoirs of Li Zongren", pp. 942-943) Chiang has already decided to retreat to Taiwan, but if it is for the sake of the "party state", at least Li's Taiwan should not be dismantled. will.Not to mention that Southwest is the base of the Guangxi Clan. If it wins the battle, it will increase the momentum of the Guangxi Clan and the prestige of the acting president; if it loses the battle, it will definitely affect its layout in Taiwan.It can be seen here whether Jiang is public or private.Li Zongren said that it is not unreasonable for Jiang to deliberately punish him and let him collapse as soon as possible. After Li Zongren fled Nanjing, instead of going to Guangzhou, he went straight to Guilin.So far, the Kuomintang regime has reached a critical moment of life and death, and Jiang is still secretly manipulating it.Li Zaigui invited Li Pinxian, Gan Jiehou, Cheng Siyuan and others to draw up two plans, A and B. Case A required Jiang to go abroad, and case B required Jiang to hand over power. (See "Memoirs of Cheng Siyuan") On May 2, Bai Chongxi, Ju Zheng, Yan Xishan, Li Wenfan and others went to Guilin to invite Li Zongren to return to Guangdong to take charge of the government. That night, a mimeograph of "Conversation Records" was planned, which is now in the possession of Columbia University, New York, USA Rare Books and Manuscripts Room Zhang Fakui file.The full text is as follows: 1. Since Zongren took over the power of the president, in view of the frequent wars and the deep suffering of the people, ending the war and seeking peace has become the unanimous desire of the whole country. The root cause of all the military, political and economic failures of the previous government lies in the political The uncultivation, corruption, and corruption spread all over the country, which has caused the evil results of today's people's grievances, demoralization, and overall corruption.Therefore, from the day of self-government, in order to obey the will of the people and address the disadvantages of the times, we decided to make peace and political reform the two most urgent tasks at present, in order to hope for salvation.After three months of materializing, despite all my best efforts, things backfired and ended up being fruitless.The failure of the peace talks was due to the fact that the conditions proposed by the CCP were too harsh. However, the inconsistency of our internal will and the inconsistency of the steps, such as the inability of the government to implement the peace measures and the failure to show sincerity, must be recognized as a major factor.As for the political reformation, it was finally banned by the situation. Therefore, the efforts of the past three months have been put into vain. This is all due to Zong's benevolence and lack of ability to make achievements. He should be the first to blame himself . 2. Now that the communist army has crossed the Yangtze River, the capital has fallen, and Shanghai and Hangzhou are in danger. The situation is approaching the final critical moment.Based on the facts of the past three months, it is difficult for Zong Ren to continue to face such difficulties, and he is even more confident that under such circumstances, he has absolutely no ability to turn the crisis into peace.For today's plan, instead of letting Zongren take the vacant position and have no real effect, it is better to ask for the removal of the acting president's power from now on, and the president will still be in charge of handling everything, so that the authority is unified and the order is implemented.As a member of the Kuomintang, Zong Ren has shared hardships with the president for a long time, and he never dared to retreat in the face of danger. He should still do his best to assist, and planned to go abroad to engage in national diplomatic activities and seek international assistance as the vice president.There are many international precedents for this method, and according to the current situation, there is indeed a need for it. At the same time, Zongren can not only get the opportunity to serve the country, but also have the effect of division of labor and cooperation with the president. 3. If the president sticks to his original intention of retiring, Zongren must continue to be responsible. Based on the failure experience of the past three months, in order to ensure that the government's orders can be fully implemented in the future, to meet the requirements of reorganizing the army and reforming politics, and to complete our anti-communist and national salvation. For the mission, there are a few things that must first be approved by the president and implemented, which are listed below: (1) The Constitution stipulates that Zongren should have absolute freedom to adjust the military, political and personnel affairs and those who belong to the presidency. (2) All gold, silver and foreign exchange deposited in the National Bank of Taiwan, please agree with the president to be shipped back by order of the government. (3) All U.S. aid ordnance transferred to Taiwan shall be transported back by the government's order with the approval of the president, and allocated to each department for use. (4) All troops shall obey the dispatch of the Ministry of National Defense, and violators shall be punished by the government according to law. (5) In order to establish the spirit of constitutionalism and avoid personnel disputes within the party, the system of using the party to control the government during the political training period should be stopped. For example, the recent proposal to establish an extraordinary committee should be cancelled. All internal party decisions can only be regarded as suggestions to the government. (6) According to Mr. Ju Juesheng’s report back from Xikou, the president once said that for personal purposes, it is best to go to the country as soon as possible and as far away as possible. The current crisis is urgent and foreign aid is urgently needed. Bring Huaiyuan together to benefit from internal and external cooperation. 4. The above six items must be accurately fulfilled, so that Zongren can lead the government and be responsible for making the last effort. Otherwise, he has to ask himself to be relieved of the power of the acting president, so as not to jeopardize the party and the country. Li Zongren finally learned from the painful experience and showed his cards to Jiang. He used the "Conversation Record" as the "Meidun Book of Sadness" and urged Jiang to "go to the country as soon as possible, and the farther away from the country is the best."This "ultimatum" was sent to Chiang Kai-shek in Shanghai by special plane (see Li Zongren's letter to Zhang Fakui, hidden in the Special Collections of Columbia University, New York).Jiang Zhi's answer was excellent. He did not admit to manipulating behind the scenes at all, and he said it in a high-sounding way, such as: "Since the presidency is exercised by Mrs. Li, the acting president has the right to freely adjust military affairs and personnel affairs according to the Constitution, and no one can violate it." Yunyun, so the first five requirements, which he took for granted, seemed to mean that there was no need to ask them at all.As for the last item requiring him to go abroad, he played tricks again, saying: And in the past, those who advocated peace meant that I was disturbing peace and asked to go to the wild.Today's peace talks failed, and I was charged with the crime of restraining the government, forcing me to go abroad, and giving me the responsibility of asking for help from abroad.If foreign aid does not arrive in the future, China will be responsible for obstructing diplomacy and holding back the government.It is neither allowed to gain a foothold in the country, nor can it be accommodated abroad.China is a free citizen of a democratic country. I don’t know that the country is not yet dead, but I have nothing to do. As for this extreme? Election (see Zhang Fakui’s file) He insisted that he did not dare to "take any action that transcends boundaries and interferes in politics."After denying it, he said: "Today, the country is in dire straits, and Brother Delin is so isolated from China. It is beyond our expectations. Those who assisted the government in the past have been considered to contain the government. I don’t know anything about politics anymore.” Is that so?Obviously insincere words.The power is in his hands, the words can be beautiful as much as possible, and Li Zongren still has no choice but to leave the country for medical treatment in the United States when he is sick.After Chiang Kai-shek lost the battle, he asked Mao Zedong to "regret the misfortune" first, and asked Li Zongren to "take the blame" later, which is also strange.