Chapter 48 1. The choice of the old general

The People's Liberation Army sent troops to Jiuquan and knocked on the door of Xinjiang. At this time, Mao Zedong no longer wanted to use force to solve the Xinjiang issue. One day he invited Zhang Zhizhong to Shuangqing Villa in Xiangshan and said to him: "Today I specially invite you here, and I want to tell you that my People's Liberation Army has decided to march to Xinjiang from Lanzhou and Qinghai in two routes. I don't want this war to continue. For more than half a century, Xinjiang has been invaded by imperialist powers, People of all ethnic groups are suffering from the cruel rule of warlords big and small, and the war has ruined their good life. We hope that the military and political leaders in Xinjiang will take the road of peace, what do you think?"

Zhang Zhizhong said happily: "It is a wise move to solve the Xinjiang issue in a peaceful way, which is beneficial to the country and the people, and I have long wanted to do so." Mao Zedong smiled and said: "According to what I have learned from Xinjiang, as long as Mr. Wen Bai calls, they will definitely do so." Zhang Zhizhong was very excited when he heard this, and said: "I am willing to run for peace, but after I received calls from Tao Zhiyue and Bao Erhan in May to inquire about my situation, the audio was cut off. They get in touch." Mao Zedong said: "Don't worry, we have established a radio station in Yining. Your telegram can reach Yining first and then transfer to Dihua. I can inform Comrade Deng Liqun who is in charge of Yining."

"That's great, I'll call them as soon as possible." "Then it's up to you." "Please don't be polite, Chairman, this is also my duty." "I believe you can do well. You are most familiar with the situation in Xinjiang." "General Tao Zhiyue and Chairman Bao Erhan have long been dissatisfied with Chiang Kai-shek's rule. They are patriots and have great prestige there. As long as they agree, there will be no problems." "Xinjiang is a region of ethnic minorities. If you want them to take the road of peace, the generals of the army are important, but you have to do a good job in Bao Erhan. How about this person?"

"He is trustworthy. He was born in a poor herdsman family. He went to Russia to study in his early years, and later returned to Xinjiang to do business for the Russians. He was imprisoned by Sheng Shicai because of his ideological progress. He is indeed a patriot. He is very popular among ethnic minorities. Prestige, after he was released from prison in 1944, I went to Xinjiang to deal with work and met him, so I recommended him to be the commissioner of Urumqi.” "When did he become the chairman of the Xinjiang Provincial Government?" "Earlier this year." "He is the last provincial chairman of the Nationalist government."

"yes." "When there is peace in the future, let him be the chairman." Zhang Zhizhong was originally the military and political officer in Northwest China. He knew the situation in Xinjiang like the palm of his hand, and he had an extraordinary relationship with Tao Zhiyue and others. Of course, he was the most suitable person for the peaceful uprising work in Xinjiang. When he returned to the city from Xiangshan that day, he immediately sent a telegram to Xinjiang according to Mao Zedong's instructions, the content of which was as follows: After the telegram was sent out, Zhang Zhizhong was looking forward to hearing from Xinjiang every day, but because of the turbulent situation in Xinjiang at that time, Tao Zhiyue did not make a statement for a long time.So he sent a separate report to Tao Zhiyue:

A few days later, Zhang Zhizhong finally received a reply from Tao Zhiyue and Bao Erhan. They stated that they had carefully discussed the peaceful transformation and took action under the principles of safeguarding the national territory, maintaining peace in the whole province, and avoiding unnecessary sacrifices. That is to sever relations with the Guangzhou government and accept the leadership of the People's Revolutionary Military Committee. Tao Zhiyue's heart is still very complicated, he is a very cautious soldier.He said to Deng Liqun, the head of the Communist Party of China: "I am in favor of peace. General Wenbai sent two telegrams in a row asking me about the situation in Xinjiang. I will reply to him separately and report on the situation. Can you help me further?" Turn once?"

Deng Liqun is the person in charge of the CCP in Xinjiang, and of course he is willing to do this job.He said: "General Zhang is a model of peace. I hope that General Tao will step up contact with him. If you need my help, just say it. This is my duty." Then he forwarded the call back to Zhang Zhizhong on behalf of Tao Zhiyue: After Zhang Zhizhong saw this reply, he immediately forwarded it to Mao Zedong.Mao Zedong instructed that Peng Dehuai had already arrived in Jiuquan, so that the Xinjiang side could send people to negotiate and strive to bring about a peaceful uprising as soon as possible.So he sent Tao Zhiyue another power, hoping that he would make up his mind early and return to the embrace of the people.