Chapter 10 3. Zhang Zhizhong, General of Peace

The Kuomintang is gone. Li Zongren planned to form a delegation to negotiate with the Communist Party before the liberation of Beiping. At that time, the suitable candidate he considered was Zhang Zhizhong, who was known as the General of Peace. Zhang Zhizhong lived in Nanjing for a while, because Chiang Kai-shek, who had already stepped down, did not express his opinion on his participation in the peace talks, and Li Zongren was also a little hesitant, and the delegation was not organized. Zhang Zhizhong believed that under such circumstances, the peace talks could not start for a while, so he asked Li Zongren: "Should I go back to the northwest?"

Li Zongren asked: "You just came, what's the rush?" Zhang Zhizhong looked distressed, and said what was in his heart: "I came here for the peace talks, but now the situation is complicated, we can't move, and it is meaningless for me to live here." Li Zongren looked at him and said: "I understand your feelings. You are the chief executive of the Northwest. It is okay to go back to deal with official business temporarily, but we must negotiate with the Communist Party. It's just a matter of timing. You have to go back quickly." what!" Zhang Zhizhong, who is good at foreign affairs, has always advocated peace. Why did he retreat at this time?This is also very simple. After he came to Nanjing, he felt that the Kuomintang was exhausted, and he was full of contradictions. He thought that no matter how the peace talks would be impossible, he had no confidence in the peace talks and wanted to retreat to the northwest.In addition, he also has opinions on the inside story of the Nanjing government.

After Li Zongren came to power, he wanted to reorganize the cabinet to win people's support and facilitate peace talks by refreshing the internal affairs. He said many times that he would let Zhang Zhizhong be the executive president. Unexpectedly, Zhang Zhizhong had no interest in this and made it clear that he would not accept it.Under such special circumstances, he felt that the overall situation was hopeless. Instead of staying in Nanjing, he might as well return to the northwest to see the situation. After he made up his mind to return to Lanzhou, he stated that he would not leave the Northwest, and sent a special telegram to Li Zongren requesting his resignation as a representative of the peace talks.When leaving Nanjing, Zhang Zhizhong once said to Li Zongren:

"It's best to invite Mrs. Sun and Li Jishen to reorganize the government first and then negotiate peace. If you can invite Mrs. Sun to be the head of the administration and Li Jishen to be in charge of party affairs, the situation will definitely improve a lot, and there will be exciting scenes." Li Zongren said: "This suggestion is very good, and I will work hard." Later Li Zongren did send someone to invite these two elders, but without success.In that case, of course it will not succeed, this is just Li Zongren's subjective fantasy. Zhang Zhizhong, the military and political chief of the Northwest, has been more disturbed since he returned to Lanzhou, and the war is still going on.At this time, the major issue he was considering was how to preserve the Northwest. At that time, apart from Xinjiang, he was most worried about the two horses in Ningxia and Qinghai. At that time, Gansu had a large territory and exposed many problems. .Once, when he held a commemorative meeting at the Party Headquarters of Gansu Province, he gave a long speech entitled "Review and Prospect of the Peace Movement in the Past Three Years".In addition to telling people about the peace movement in the past three years, he also frankly stated his consistent views.In the end, he also pointed out the reason why he wants peace, implying that the Northwest will also have to make peace in the future.

At that time, he himself wanted to do some work in Lanzhou, but Li Zongren called and telegraphed many times to urge him to return to Nanjing to participate in the peace talks.At this critical juncture, Li Zongren would naturally not agree with him to stay out of the matter, and many friends wrote letters to persuade him to participate in the peace talks, thinking that no matter whether the peace talks are successful or not, since you have always advocated peace, saying that both sides are now in peace talks, you cannot shirk your responsibility.Zhang Zhizhong also believes that although the possibility of peace talks is very small at this time, if he stays out of the matter, it is not the right attitude towards the people and the country; Hold out a little hope.

After serious consideration, he still accepted Li's invitation and flew back to Nanjing. The weather in Nanjing was extremely bad that day, the visibility was only 200 meters, the clouds were low and there was drizzle.After the plane landed safely, he was almost in a cold sweat. He got off the plane, and He Yingqin, who came to pick him up, smiled and said, "Brother Wen Bai is really a lucky star! We are really worried about the plane accident." Zhang Zhizhong said: "The weather was bad along the way, and I almost couldn't see you." Bai Chongxi shook his hand and said, "I heard the sound of an airplane in mid-air, and saw that it had been hovering for half an hour, and I was still praying for your safety! You survived a catastrophe, and there will be future blessings."

Zhang Zhizhong laughed, and said, "What a blessing! Maybe it's tofu..." The officials who came to greet him all laughed. Zhang Zhizhong went to see Li Zongren the same day he arrived in Nanjing. Li Zongren was still not in a good mood at this time. Peiping had been peacefully liberated, and the liberation army was clearly going south to cross the river. His acting president was just a decoration. Chiang Kai-shek was still monopolizing power behind the scenes. He could not mobilize the army. There is no money in the second hand, the status quo is difficult to maintain, the situation is very bad.

He advocated peace talks, intending to retain half of the country south of the Yangtze River.Since Zhang Zhizhong came here for the peace talks, of course he is most concerned about the negotiations.As soon as he entered Li Zongren's mansion, he asked: "I really came here for the peace talks this time. You asked me to go to Beiping for peace talks with the Communist Party on behalf of the government. Do you have any policies?" Li Zongren asked his secretary to bring a hot towel to Zhang Zhizhong, sat on the couch and said: "Don't be in a hurry, take a breath, wipe off your sweat and let's talk again."

He Yingqin and Bai Chongxi sat aside without speaking, watching Li Zongren smoke.Zhang Zhizhong took a few sips of tea and said, "I'm in a hurry. Do you think you can sit still with such a heavy responsibility on your shoulders?" Li Zongren spoke: "Brother Wen Bai, I talked to you about the policy of the peace talks last time, and it cannot be changed. The relevant plan has not been finalized, but our principle is clear, that is, the Communist Party's army cannot cross the river. This place!" Bai Chongxi went on to say: "If the Communist Party's army is determined to cross the river, we will not be afraid. It will be them who will suffer, not us."

Li Zongren said: "Not crossing the river is a major event that concerns our fate, and you know it well in your heart." Zhang Zhizhong was silent for a while, and said to them: "I have repeatedly studied the eight terms of the CCP's peace talks announced by Mao Zedong, and they will definitely not share the world with us." Bai Chongxi said: "I have already said, don't be afraid. Although the main force of our army has been partially wiped out, we have a strong air force, navy, and nearly a million troops that can be put into the battlefield. The strength is still there. The Communist Party's point There's nothing amazing about the military."

He Yingqin's mental state is very poor, and he looks a little depressed.After listening to Bai Chongxi's high-spirited speech, he shook his head and said, "We can't be too optimistic." Bai Chongxi was a little unhappy, he asked: "How do you say this?" He Yingqin said: "Everyone understands very well that there are too many internal problems in our government. How much power does De Gong have? Mr. Jiang has gone to the field in name, but he is still controlling the army..." Bai Chongxi fell silent.Zhang Zhizhong didn't say anything, and Li Zongren said worriedly: "Yes, my job is too difficult. Few people carry out the orders I gave here. What do you think should be done?" Zhang Zhizhong said: "In my opinion, if this is the case, the only way is to let Mr. Jiang hand over all the power and make De Gong a real president. What acting president? This approach is not appropriate." Bai Chongxi said: "You are right, if we don't do this, we won't be able to continue." Li Zongren lacked confidence. He looked at everyone and said: "I have a deep grudge with Jiang. When I became the vice president, he made a lot of fools of me. Now he is hiding behind the scenes and watching my jokes. Let him completely confess to me. Quan, I'm afraid it's not that easy..." Zhang Zhizhong stood up suddenly, looked at the rainy sky outside for a while, then turned around and said, "There is a solution, it depends on whether you agree or not." Li Zongren hurriedly asked: "What's your opinion?" Zhang Zhizhong said: "We can only persuade Jiang to go abroad." Bai Chongxi clapped his hands and said, "Mr. Wen Bai has an excellent opinion." Li Zongren said: "This is a way, but now the people around Jiang are very complicated, and most of them are the main fighters. They are firmly opposed to our peace talks. It is very difficult to hire someone to do Jiang's work. You are the most suitable person, so I invite you to go." A trip to Xikou, other people, Mr. Jiang, will not buy it." He Yingqin said: "In our Kuomintang, brother Wen Bai is someone who dares to sing against Mr. Jiang. If you try to persuade him, no one else will say anything, let alone Jiang." Zhang Zhizhong looked at Li Zongren and said, "I'm the only one going." It was originally agreed that Zhang Zhizhong’s trip to Xikou should not be announced in advance, but when Zhang Zhizhong left, Bai Chongxi intentionally disclosed this action to the press, and a newspaper published the news that afternoon, persuading Jiang to go abroad. spread like wildfire. At this time, people often heard Li Zongren's cronies complaining, saying that Chiang Kai-shek had stepped down on the surface, but in fact he was still directing everything in Xikou, communicating with various parties, especially with the senior generals in various places. However, the seven measures announced by Acting President Li, especially the release of political prisoners (named Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng) are impossible to achieve. "We can't manage it, so let's hand it over to Mr. Jiang and continue to manage it! President Li is just an agent, and it can be done as soon as he leaves." Under such circumstances, Zhang Zhizhong came up with the idea of ​​persuading Jiang to go abroad. He believed that only in this way could Li Zongren let go of his work, which would be beneficial to Jiang himself. Zhang Zhizhong came out of Li Zongren's mansion, and went to his good friend, the Kuomintang veteran Zhang Qun and Wu Zhongxin to discuss it.Zhang Qun's attitude was also very clear. He told Zhang Zhizhong: "The current situation is very delicate. I completely agree with your suggestion. Mr. Jiang can go abroad now, which is beneficial to the country, the people, and himself." Wu Zhongxin also agreed, he said: "This is a good idea, but the old man has a bad temper, maybe he won't accept it. Ordinary people try to persuade him, and he will be angry." Zhang Zhizhong said with a smile: "That's why I asked you two to go to Xikou with me to persuade the old man. You two have a deep personal relationship with him, and you are the elders of the party and state. He doesn't want to make things difficult for you." Zhang Qun said, "I was supposed to go with you, but I'm not in good health recently, so I can't accompany you." Wu Zhongxin expressed his willingness to go with Zhang Zhizhong on the spot. So the two of them took a special plane and set off under Li Zongren's arrangement.