Chapter 16 1. Facing the national calamity bravely

Song Meiling married Chiang Kai-shek, and the four families of Chiang, Song, Kong, and Chen began to be linked together.The Chinese political arena has begun the era of comprador bourgeois rule. Chiang Kai-shek began to sacrifice the butcher's knife again, and rushed towards the Chinese Communists fiercely. Soong Meiling began to stand beside Chiang Kai-shek, and went to various political occasions. Chiang Kai-shek influenced Song Meiling. Song Meiling also began to influence Chiang Kai-shek. The warlords fought in a scuffle, and bones piled up.Massacre of communists, lonely souls everywhere. "One general succeeds and ten thousand bones dry up".On one side are generals, big and small, and on the other side are displaced refugees.Chiang Kai-shek, wearing a butcher's knife, was busy conferring the honor of "Blue Sky and White Sun".Soong Meiling dressed in a light dress and became a philanthropist with a smile on her face.

The full display of Soong Meiling's talent and charm was mainly during the Anti-Japanese War. The fall of the Northeast and the crisis in North China, Chiang Kai-shek was busy suppressing the Communist Party under the banner of "to fight against the outside world, we must first settle down at home". "Seven Seven" In the event of the incident, Chiang Kai-shek sat firmly on the fishing boat, unmoved. The Japanese attacked from the sea, and the "August 13" Anti-Japanese War broke out in Shanghai. Chiang Kai-shek finally stood up and called for "there is no distinction between the north and the south, and people regardless of age".Chiang Kai-shek became the commander in chief of defending the soil overnight.

Soong Meiling, who stood beside Chiang Kai-shek, could finally show her talents. She, together with her dear second sister, can openly campaign for the nation and the War of Resistance. The sisters finally have a common language and common political aspirations. In May 1938, Song Meiling planned to hold a talk meeting for well-known women from all walks of life in Lushan to discuss the issue of women's resistance to Japan.As a preparation for the meeting, she first invited Wu Yifang, Yu Qingtang, Lei Jieqiong from the education field, as well as Chen Wangdao's wife, Cai Kui, Zhang Aizhen, and Chen Jiyi, the general secretary of the YWCA, to discuss the list of invitations.

Soong Meiling said that the talks should not be too politically factional, not too many from the Kuomintang side, and two must be invited from the Communist Party, and it is best to invite more people from academic and cultural circles.At this point, she showed a higher political courage and strategic vision than her husband.Not long after, Deng Yingchao and Meng Qingshu, who were communists, received Song Meiling's invitation. Song Meiling delivered an opening speech at the meeting: "The first purpose of my convening this meeting is to bring together the leaders of the women's world and let everyone know each other.

"In many ways, we women can influence men. If we women can cooperate sincerely and inspire the whole country with a spirit of unity, I believe that compatriots all over the country will work together and fight for the interests of the country." She elaborated that the second purpose of this meeting is to "formulate a national women's work program through the talks, so that all aspects of women's work across the country can be linked with each other", "listen to each other's reports and learn from each other", "unify Step by step, move forward together."

Song Meiling summarized the purpose of the talks as follows: women's work in wartime, women's mobilization, improvement of women's lives, women's groups, and so on. Soong Meiling hoped that the spirit of this conference could be truly put into practice and persisted for a long time.She said that we Chinese have a big problem, too much empty talk and talk, too little real action, especially for women, so that all work often cannot produce lasting results, I hope we are not like this this time. In the end, she made a witty comparison: "The dense fog on Lushan Mountain looks very solemn, but it is very erratic, and it will disappear in a blink of an eye without a trace. We are meeting here today, and I hope that all our discussions and resolutions can be achieved." It should become a concrete foundation to formulate valuable work programs, and not be like a thick fog on Lushan Mountain." When she said this, her face was full of passion.

After several days of group discussions, the meeting made two important decisions: First, the "New Life Movement Women's Steering Committee" was reorganized and expanded into a national general organization for mobilizing and leading women to participate in the war of resistance and national construction, referred to as the "Women's Guild".The second is to adopt a "Outline of Mobilizing Women to Participate in the Anti-Japanese War and National Construction" as a common program for the future women's movement to follow. The 5-day Lushan Women's Talk published the "Message to Women Compatriots All Over the Country", calling on women across the country to unite to fight against the Japanese invaders.The Lushan Women's Talk Meeting hosted by Song Meiling played a positive role in mobilizing women to unite in the war of resistance.

Song Meiling is the commander-in-chief of the "Women's Guild" and is fully responsible for the daily work of the "Women's Guild".Song Meiling continued to go in and out of nursery homes, women's cadre training classes, hospitals for wounded soldiers, cold clothes sewing shops, and shelters for evacuated female workers, guiding the work in Wuhan and the rear. Song Meiling often came to the wounded ward of the rear hospital quietly, walked slowly, put a towel, a can and a bag of sugar in front of the bed, asked the wounded about their living conditions from time to time, and personally changed the dressing for the wounded. , asked the director of the hospital to improve the medical condition.

She is a man of action, and her mantra is "no empty talk, only hard work".During the Anti-Japanese War, her best work was field service, helping orphans, fundraising, "Gonghe Movement" and international diplomacy.She presided over the establishment of the "Chinese Women's Consolation and Self-Defense Anti-Japanese War Soldiers Association". Song Meiling never had children, but she loved children very much. When Shanghai and Nanjing fell one after another, people were massacred, countless families were destroyed in the flames of war, thousands of children became orphans and wandered everywhere, and a large number of refugee children begged along the streets, or even died on the roadside.

In order to rescue these impoverished children, Song Meiling, together with Deng Yingchao, Li Dequan, Shen Junru, Cai Yuanpei, Guo Moruo and others, established the Wartime Child Care Association, with Song Meiling as the chairman.The Nursing Association has successively established more than 20 branches and 53 wartime childcare centers across the country, sheltering and caring for more than 30,000 difficult children.She also ran a Zhongzheng school in Qinjiagou, Xiaolongkan, Chongqing, and served as the principal, mainly accepting difficult children. Japanese planes bombarded Chongqing indiscriminately, and more than 6,000 children urgently needed to be evacuated. Song Meiling gave up her car and stood in the middle of the road like a traffic policeman, waving a flag in her hand, asking the passing vehicles to stop , Transport the child.

For the enemy's aircraft, she contemptuously called "silver poisonous bug". In order to fight against Japan, Soong Meiling used her good American background and flexible diplomatic skills to establish an "Air Force Flying Tigers". In 1941, she traveled to the United States of America on the other side of the Pacific Ocean as the secretary-general of the Aviation Committee, and gave lectures in major cities to win the assistance of the US government and the sympathy of the American people. Finally, the flying brigade with retired American pilots as the keel was finally established.This is the "Flying Tigers", after entering the Chinese battlefield, they fought again and again with the swarming Japanese air bandits. protection of.Filled in the gaps in China's air war of resistance.Soong Meiling is known as the "Mother of the Air Force". Song Meiling is a person who is prone to airsickness, but she realizes that China must first have a high-level air force if it wants to build a strong military.Moreover, I deeply feel that the Air Force must be led by "our own people" and cannot pretend to be others.Therefore, in the absence of suitable candidates, Soong Meiling, who was only educated in music, literature and social virtues, spent a lot of time on technical publications about aviation theory, aircraft design and comparing the advantages and disadvantages of various aircraft parts.She negotiated with foreign businessmen and ordered products worth 20 million US dollars for the construction of the Air Force. Song Meiling set strict discipline for this baby air force.It even mentioned that anyone who steals from this elite team will be sentenced to death. Song Meiling hired Holbrook, a former U.S. Army Air Corps pilot, as a consultant.She asked Holbrooke, who could transform the Chinese Air Force into a decent military service in a short period of time, and Huo Brook immediately thought of an old pilot who looked exactly like an "Eagle" and was full of toughness. This person was Chennault. From then on, Chennault began to participate in the training and combat of the Chinese Air Force, commanding the air battles against Japan in Shanghai, Nanjing and Wuhan.until the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. In the spring of 1938, Song Meiling resigned from the post of secretary-general of the Aviation Committee due to health reasons, and her brother Song Ziwen took over.But Soong Meiling has always been in control of the Air Force's personnel, procurement, and even training and operations. Her favorite brooch in her life is the gold and silver Chinese Air Force emblem.In her press releases, there will always be such a proud phrase from time to time: "My Air Force!" Song Meiling is also a born excellent speaker.Not to mention her successful performances that caused a sensation in the U.S. government and the public, her fluent and beautiful English played a huge role in various diplomatic occasions at the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War. In Nanjing, as China's "chief announcer", she exposed the atrocities of the Japanese army to the world, criticized the connivance policy of the Western countries towards Japan, demonstrated the determination of the Chinese soldiers to resist bravely, and won the support and sympathy of the American government and the public for China's war of resistance.In one of her broadcasts to the United States, she said: "Friends in the United States, I wish you good morning. I only use a few minutes to say this, to let all freedom-loving people know that China should immediately receive justice. , this is China's right. Ladies and gentlemen, you may be able to hear the sound of cannons on the radio, but here are also the painful cries of the wounded and the groans of the dying. You cannot hear them. I hope you can imagine get." She also said: "Please tell me, Western countries just sit and watch this kind of carnage and destruction without saying a word. Can it be regarded as a sign of the victory of a civilization that emphasizes humanity, emphasizes morality, upholds benevolence and righteousness, and believes in Jesus? Besides, now The first-class power, standing on the sidelines, seems to be intimidated by the violence of Japan, and dare not say a word to criticize, can it be regarded as the harbinger of the degeneration of international morality, Jesus morality, or the so-called beautiful morality of the West?" , aroused strong repercussions from the international community. Nanjing fell, and Song Meiling entered Sichuan with her husband and came to Chongqing, the companion capital, under the hail of bullets from the Japanese invaders.As soon as she got off the bus, at the invitation of the Chongqing Women's Federation, she went to the Xinjiao Hall in Chongqing to give a mobilization speech for resisting Japan and saving the nation. Her language is so strong and passionate, like a lion's roar and thunder, resounding everywhere.She angrily denounced the brutal and bloody massacre by the Japanese robbers: "The sky there is filled with demonic rage, and the ground is sprayed with flames, and human blood is splashed." "Millions of women and children are suffering, escaping death in the ruthless war, being massacred and humiliated. They are all our sisters, our mothers, and our sons and daughters." Song Meiling's speech won bursts of warm applause. In less than a week, Chongqing organized five women's groups, including the service team for the families of the anti-enemy soldiers, the public education team, the ambulance team, the sewing team, and the propaganda team, and immediately put them into rescue work. Song Meiling's speech was very inspiring and combative. Song Meiling's radio speeches are well-known overseas, and foreign friends affectionately call her "international announcer". She pioneered live broadcasting in China, allowing reporters from international radio stations to place a microphone in front of her and speak directly to audiences around the world. She also sat across from the representatives of German fascism and attacked the gangster logic of fascism face to face. On August 8, 1939, Hitler's secret envoy Gonin came to the Huangshan Mansion in Chongqing to have a secret talk with Chiang Kai-shek, but Chiang Kai-shek asked Soong Meiling to receive him, saying that "everything my wife talks about is my talk." Gonning said that he came to mediate the war between China and Japan on behalf of Hitler, and the two sides made peace. Soong Meiling asked him: "Have you obtained the consent of the Japanese side?" Ge Ning said yes.She asked: "What kind of peace?" Gonin said that the situation before the "July 7th Incident" had been restored, and China and Japan were on good terms. Song Meiling said solemnly: "Our country's leader Jiang Zhongzheng, myself, our country's national government officials, all generals, officers, soldiers, and all citizens are united and vow to fight the Japanese aggressors to the end! We must kill the aggressors." Drive them all out of China! Now and in the future, we will never make peace with the invaders—the Japanese bandits! " Ge Ning said embarrassingly: "What do you rely on to win this war? For example, weapons, relying on Britain and the United States? It may not be reliable, right?" "In your country, there is also the issue of the Communist Party seizing power. Haven't you fought against the Chinese Communist Party for several years?" War? Since the Sino-Japanese War, the CCP has developed rapidly, don’t you think about this deep-rooted worry?” Song Meiling said: "There is an idiom in China that has been practiced for thousands of years-'Brothers fight against the wall, and they resist their insults'. It is said that two brothers fought fiercely in the courtyard of their home, but when robbers came outside, the brothers immediately Stop fighting and work together to resist the robbers. Today, the Japanese invaders are a gang of robbers who want to destroy our country and our race. All the people of China, including our party and the CCP, in addition to promoting brotherhood and brotherhood. Germany, there is no other choice but to defend against the Japanese invaders together!" The sonorous words are loud! Another important activity of Song Meiling is to carry out the campaign of donating money to save the country, raising funds from all walks of life for the War of Resistance.She established a liaison committee and mobilized more than 4,000 women to participate.She said: "We want to show the rest of the world, and even the enemy, how passionately Chinese women love their motherland." "Please don't be afraid of persuasion. You tell the rich wives and civil servants that the soldiers who are suffering from hunger and cold are fighting desperately. If you still live a leisurely life in the rear, how can you hope that the strong men will fight if you have money but not money?" Automatically enter the camp? How can the War of Resistance be won in the end? Treat the soldiers as our father, brother and son, and they will give everything for the danger of the motherland." On March 8, 1939, she organized 8 propaganda teams and prepared more than 1,000 donation books. Eight publicity teams held donation tubes and distributed in each main street.At the same time, she organized two mobile donation vehicles. Girls with make-up stood on the vehicles, sang anti-Japanese and national salvation songs along the way, and publicized donations along the street, which caused a sensation in the city.In this day alone, more than 630,000 yuan of patriotic donations were received. In April 1940, Song Meiling and her two sisters went to Chengdu to carry out national salvation activities. At that time, it took two days to travel from Chongqing to Chengdu.The road is bad, the car is bumping back and forth, and the mosquitoes are chasing and biting people. It is miserable.These three "golden branches and jade leaves" have never suffered such hardships, but they can bear it, and they also gave speeches along the way and launched fund-raising activities.When passing by Jianyang, Song Meiling sent a Nubi sheep from Georgia, USA to Jianyang Girls Middle School. Fast big-eared sheep. Jianyang later became a well-known hometown of goats, and Song Meiling's first contribution should be traced to the origin. Together with her two sisters, she mobilized women to make handkerchiefs and paper flowers and take them to the street for charity sales, and used the money from the charity sales to buy cloth for military uniforms.The women responded positively, and made more than 500 embroidered handkerchiefs and more than 1,000 beautiful paper flowers in 3 days, and sold them loudly on the street: "Gentlemen and wives, buy a handkerchief and a flower, you guys Donate a little more money, and we can make one more military uniform, let the frontline soldiers fight the enemy bravely, and drive the Japanese devils out of China!" The citizens unloaded their pockets one after another and rushed to buy. Seeing the warm patriotic scene, the three sisters were so excited that they cried. During the difficult years of the Anti-Japanese War, Song Meiling fought for the country and the nation.How far has she traveled?Nobody knows.How much did she say?It is even impossible to count. Her beautiful image stayed on the front line and the north and south of the river; her voice resounded in the rear, resounding inside and outside the Great Wall.