Chapter 33 into town

Various siege preparations and plans did not come in handy, and on January 20, 1949, negotiations suddenly accelerated.Both Fu Zuoyi and the mayor of Beijing understood the disparity in the strength of the attacking and defending sides. From 10 o'clock on January 22, the two sides entered a truce.In order to save the last face of the old government, the wording of the "Joint Communiqué" was very well thought out.Fu Zuoyi "withdrew the soldiers from the city" and stationed them in the west, a committee of democrats and celebrities led by the mayor took over the transition, and the People's Liberation Army would enter the city to "maintain order."Everyone understands that this is just a symbolic procedure in which the old regime is handed over to the new government.

"More than 260,000 people from the Beiping Kuomintang army moved out of the city in batches and stationed in designated places, waiting for reorganization." Zhou Zhitong said, "One day later, we received five new regulations from our superiors after entering the city: Foreign consulate personnel are expatriates. , do not give a military salute when entering and exiting the gate; protect the safety of the expatriates; do not allow foreigners to enter the room; respect the receivers; Fu Zuoyi's personnel enter and exit exclusively through the Fucheng Gate." The siege officially came to an end, and the withdrawal of Fu Zuoyi's troops continued until the end of January. "Our two officers changed into plainclothes twice and entered the city secretly." Zhou Zhitong recalled, "The first time was on January 25, when seven or eight people were organized by the military headquarters and entered from Xizhimen. Wait. The liaison officer led the way in a car and led our people directly to the fellowship office of the former Japanese embassy at the south entrance of Wangfujing, where they met Su Jing, the chief of the Shino staff office, and Fu Zuoyi's adjutant. When the adjutant left, Director Su Jing said to our comrades: You come to pay attention to concealment and pretend to be their people. Your task is to familiarize yourself with the main defense area of ​​their urban troops so that they can come in and take over. After lunch, the Ministry of Fu sent two The officer led our people to move around the city and sent them out of Xizhimen after dusk. The second time was on January 29. The people who entered the city included the battalion commanders of the three regiments of our division. The main task was to divide the defense area so that the troops could enter the city After that, the battalions will go directly to the designated defense area."

The picket corps of the Pingjin Garrison where Kang Pengshou was located was notified to be fully armed and enter the position to supervise the withdrawal of Fu Zuoyi's troops from Peiping. "We were informed on January 30 that Fu Zuoyi's troops would withdraw from the Jizhong area through Liangxiang that night." Kang Pengshou recalled, "We entered the position at dusk, and the position was still some distance from the road. It was dark at night. It was too dark to see, only the voices of people and horses were heard, hundreds of thousands of troops walked all night, and did not pass our surveillance point until dawn." "At 12:00 noon on January 31, the People's Liberation Army Under the leadership of General Mo Wenhua, enter the city from Xizhimen, Deshengmen, and Fuxingmen to take defense."

The People's Liberation Army has entered one of China's most emblematic cities.The city entry ceremony took place on February 3. The army passed through the Qianmen Gate and marched along Dongjiaomin Lane. During the Qing Dynasty, Dongjiaomin Lane was the only street that could pass from east to west, except for the square between Qianmen and Tiananmen, the south gate of the palace itself.There is no doubt that the victorious people's army chose this road to enter the city to emphasize the independence of the new regime and the power it possessed. "We learned a week before the city entry ceremony that the Central Military Commission approved the proposal of the Pingjin General Front Committee to hold the city entry ceremony. The participating infantry units included the 118th Division of the 40th Army and our 121st Division. The regiment has 80 trucks, the mechanized unit has 60 tanks and armored vehicles, the artillery division includes anti-aircraft guns, anti-aircraft guns, chemical mortars, American and Japanese howitzers, cannons towed by trucks, and a cavalry division also participated in the ceremony. There are specific regulations on the formation sequence, equipment, and dress of the marching army. Master Cai Zhengguo told us that the entry into the city should be based on experience. It is not a military parade but a demonstration in nature to show strength and improve the confidence of the masses.” Zhou Zhitong recalled .

Qian Haobing's unit was the first to enter the city to take over the defense. "We assembled on Baishiqiao Road, inspected the military's appearance and discipline according to the regulations, and then walked a certain distance to check once. The division asked us to designate a platoon for each company to put bullets in the guns. The heavy machine guns took off the gun jackets and were carried by others. , to prevent the enemy from attacking. The team turned to Xizhimen Outer Street. The cadres of our regiment rode on horseback at the west end of Xizhimen Outer Bridge. Salute each other and hand over the defense." Qian Haobing said, "The headquarters of the 361st regiment is stationed at Northeastern University, and the headquarters of the 363rd regiment is stationed at No. 5 Cangnan Hutong (also known as Laoduanfu). The second battalion of the 363rd regiment is stationed at Huanghuamen Minsheng Factory, and the third battalion is stationed at Dongdan In the Youth Theater, one guard company is stationed in Liuguo Hotel, one platoon guards in Tuancheng, one platoon guards Zhongnanhai, and two anti-aircraft artillery companies are stationed in the bungalow on the north side of Jingshan Park."

The Pingjin Garrison Picket Corps, responsible for maintaining social order in Beiping and defending the Party Central Committee and the Central People's Government, was divided into four brigades after entering the city, and Kang Pengshou was assigned to the first brigade.He said, "We were stationed in Shijia Hutong, which governed seven or seven administrative districts in the inner city. I was in charge of the Dongsi and Chongwenmen districts, and I patrolled the streets with machine guns on trucks every day." The cadres who took over also drove into the ancient city.Ma Ju recalled: "We, the CPC Beiping Eighth District Working Committee, were sent into the city by military trucks from the Military Control Commission at 20:00 on January 31. We got on the bus from Haidian, entered the city from Xizhimen, and drove all the way to Dongzhushikou, Qianmen. Dajie used to be the office of the Eighth District Office of the Kuomintang. That night, more than 20 of us slept on the floor in the district office office.” Early the next morning, Ma Ju went to the gate of the district office and took down the old district office sign , and replaced it with a new brand of "People's Government of the Eighth District of Beiping City".In order to celebrate the establishment of the People's Government of the Eighth District of Beiping City, Ma Ju set off a string of firecrackers in front of the door.