Chapter 24 6. The second peace talks

The representatives Fu Zuoyi sent for the second peace talks were no longer Cui Zaizhi, but Zhou Beifeng and Zhang Dongsun. Zhou Beifeng was originally a famous professor at Shanxi University. He studied in France when he was young, obtained a master's degree, and went to the Soviet Union, Germany and other seven countries for sightseeing and study. He is a well-known figure in the cultural and educational circles of North China. He met Fu Zuoyi and became friends since then. He served as Fu Zuoyi's counselor to the Suiyuan Provincial Government and the director of the Political Department of the Seventeenth Army.Fu Zuoyi once invited Zhou Beifeng as a representative to visit Mao Zedong, He Long, Xiao Ke and other leaders of the Chinese Communist Party in Yan'an.Since then, most of Fu Zuoyi's dealings with the Chinese Communist Party were represented by Zhou Beifeng.After the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Fu Zuoyi was also represented by Zhou Beifeng in the three-person team of the military dispatching department composed of the Kuomintang, the Communist Party, and the United States.At that time, Zhou Beifeng's nominal position was the major general and director of the land department of the "Suppression General" in North China, but he was actually a senior counselor of Fu Zuoyi.

Zhang Dongsun was also a well-known university professor and a patriotic democrat. At that time, he was the chairman of the North China General Branch of the China Democratic League and a professor at Yenching University in Peking.According to the decision of the Central Committee of the Democratic League, Zhang Dongsun once formally made a suggestion to Fu Zuoyi on behalf of the Democratic League: immediately stop the army to make peace, protect the ancient cultural capital from loss, and expressed his willingness to act as a bridgemaker for peace talks.Fu Zuoyi believed that having a third party like the NLD to participate in the peace talks and having a well-known figure like Zhang Dongsun come out in person would be of great benefit to his negotiations, so he agreed to invite Zhang Dongsun as his representative to go to the Pingjin Front Command of the People's Liberation Army for the second peace talks.

On January 6, 1949, before Zhou Beifeng and Zhang Dongsun set off, Cui Yueli, the head of the Beiping underground party, visited Zhang Dongsun's home and paid a visit to Zhou and Zhang.Cui Yueli said that the underground party in Beiping and the Pingjin Frontline Headquarters of the Chinese People's Liberation Army in Jixian County already knew about the arrangements for the peace talks with General Fu Zuoyi, and he came here on behalf of our Pingjin Frontline Headquarters to welcome them. Cui Yueli explained to them that the route out of the city was from Xizhimen to Haidian. After meeting the People's Liberation Army, the contact code was "Look for Wang Dong", and the People's Liberation Army made arrangements for them.According to the route Cui Yueli explained, Zhou and Zhang successfully entered the PLA garrison and met Cheng Zihua, the commander of our East Field Second Corps stationed in Xishan.Zhou Beifeng had been in contact with Cheng Zihua in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, and he was considered an acquaintance, so the atmosphere when the two met was quite harmonious.Under the escort of the guards and squad sent by Cheng Zihua, Zhou and Zhang arrived at Balizhuang, the place where the last peace talks were held, on January 7.The person who received them was none other than Li Bingquan, the representative of the last peace talks.At this time, Li Bingquan was already a staff member of my Pingjin Front Command.

My Pingjin Front Command attaches great importance to this peace talks. Before that, I have asked the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for instructions on relevant issues in the negotiations. On January 6, the Central Committee sent a telegram to the Pingjin Front Command, clarifying again the basic policy of the negotiation: as long as Fu Zuoyi allows us to peacefully take over Pingjin and Tianjin, and allows him to form two armies, his war crimes can be pardoned, and his private property can be The safety and property of its subordinates shall not be violated.Apart from this, no other conditions can be agreed.

On the second day that Zhou Beifeng and Zhang Dongsun arrived in Balizhuang, that is, on January 8, Nie Rongzhen personally met them and had a long conversation.Zhou Beifeng told Nie Rongzhen that Fu Zuoyi was sincere in asking them to come to talk about peace this time, because this is what the current people want and the trend of the times. This is the only way to go. I hope that the talks can be as specific as possible.Zhou Beifeng conveyed Fu Zuoyi’s opinions to Nie Rongzhen: first, Ping, Tianjin, Tang and Suiyuan should be resolved together; second, other parties and newspapers should be allowed to exist in Ping, Tianjin and other places; third, progressive people should participate in the government; It is the army that should not be resolved by surrender, but can be resolved by reorganization outside the city.

In the afternoon of the same day, Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen immediately reported to the Central Committee the status of the negotiations on the day. After reporting the main points of the talks, Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen analyzed the most important issue of troop reorganization in the negotiations: Our judgment is both true and false (note: Fu Zuoyi’s attitude towards peace talks at this time is both true and false), if Fu is true, his intention is to please the people by not fighting in peace and Tianjin; not surrendering and disarming To please Chiang Kai-shek; give up Ping and Tianjin to please the CCP.When our army disarms him in the future, the responsibility lies with me.It is difficult to realize Fu's plan, whether it is true or not, because we judge that Jiang's troops will not obey their orders.We plan to answer two things as follows: If Fu can guarantee that the troops will leave the city according to his orders, then we are ready to reply that he will transfer the troops out at the specified time and place, and station them in different places to disarm them;If neither of these two things can be done, I will publicly announce military action.Please call back immediately, because Zhang is about to leave, and the Tianjin attack is imminent.

After Mao Zedong received the telegrams from Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen, he immediately conducted research with Zhou Enlai and others.Then, at 2:00 a.m. on January 9, they called Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen back and gave clear instructions on the negotiation: Telegram at 15:00 on the 8th.You should answer the following points: (A) Ping, Tianjin, Tang, and Sui should all be resolved, but the difficulties of the people of Tang and Sui are still small, and the difficulties of the people of Ping and Tianjin are very serious. . (B) In order to avoid damage to Pingjin and Tianjin, the People's Liberation Army can follow the proposal of Fu Fang's representative, and Fu Fang's troops will be transferred out of Pingjin and Tianjin, and follow the orders of the People's Liberation Army to the designated places. It was reorganized into the People's Liberation Army, and the representatives of both sides stipulated the specific measures within 3 days, and it was implemented at 1:00 p.m. on January 12.After the processing of Ping and Tianjin is completed, the problem of Tang and Sui can be solved in this way.

(c) There are progressives in the government, and the newspapers in Pingjin are not the only ones of the CCP. They are part of the CCP’s democratic program, so it is not a problem. On January 8, the official talks between the two sides began. All the top leaders of the Pingjin Front Command from our side, such as Lin Biao, Nie Rongzhen, and Liu Yalou, participated (Luo Ronghuan went to Xibaipo for a meeting at the time, so he did not participate in the meeting).During the talks, Zhou Beifeng and Zhang Dongsun stated that according to Fu Zuoyi's instructions, the talks were not only about the Beiping issue, but the entire North China currently controlled by Fu Zuoyi with Ping, Sui, Tang, and Tianjin as the centers.After Zhou Beifeng once again expressed the four points he made to Nie Rongzhen yesterday, he also expressed the following requirements: All captured personnel in the Xinbao and Zhangjiakou operations should be released, treated leniently, and not treated as prisoners of war; The personnel should be properly arranged for work and given a way out of life; the past crimes of the military and political personnel under Fu's Ministry will not be investigated, and Fu will be responsible for everything.

In this regard, Lin Biao formally expressed the basic position of the Communist Party of China on behalf of our side: "Ping, Tianjin, Tang, and Sui can talk together. But please tell Mr. Fu again, and hope that he will make up his mind this time. Our opinion is: all troops All places will be turned into military areas, and all places will be turned into liberated areas. According to this general principle, the problems of Pingyang and Tianjin were first resolved, and General Fu Zuoyi ordered the troops to be transferred out of Pingjin and Tianjin to designated locations. The People's Liberation Army. Fu Zuoyi will not be treated as a war criminal, the private property of Fu Zuoyi and his subordinates will be preserved, and they will be given a certain status in politics. All captured personnel in Xinbaoan and Zhangjiakou will be released, and Fu Zuoyi's subordinates will not be blamed for the past. Anyone who is willing to participate in the Workers can stay and arrange suitable jobs; those who are willing to return to their hometowns will be paid enough travel expenses, fill out a certificate, and be repatriated to their hometowns, and notify the local government that they will not be discriminated against.”

Lin Biao particularly emphasized the "two modernizations" in his talk.He said: "Please tell Mr. Fu that our opinions are concentrated on the 'two modernizations'. All armies should be transformed into military regions, and all places should be transformed into liberated areas. What do they mean? , All Commander Fu’s troops went to the designated places according to the negotiated agreement to take the form of reorganization and reorganization into the People’s Liberation Army. The People’s Liberation Army marched into Beiping and Tianjin to take over these two cities peacefully.”

At the meeting, Nie Rongzhen focused on the current situation and Fu Zuoyi's way out.He pointed out that General Fu Zuoyi had no other way out except to deal with the Kuomintang troops in Ping and Tianjin and do good things for the people in this way. He hoped that General Fu Zuoyi would make up his mind early. In the afternoon of the same day, Zhou Beifeng reported to Fu Zuoyi the situation of the talks on the radio station Cui Zai left behind last time.Fu Zuoyi did not express any specific opinions in his reply, but only hoped to discuss it further and be more specific. On January 9, the second meeting was held, and our side was still attended by Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen.The content of this meeting is based on the previous meeting, discussing how to liberate the army that Fu Zuoyi belongs to, how to liberate districts to which Fu Zuoyi belongs, how to reorganize administrative organs, how to arrange military and political personnel, and how to make these people serve the people well. Serve.Zhou Beifeng said that regarding the reorganization and reorganization of the army, when he came, he brought a draft opinion, which can be reorganized out of the city in units of regiments.For those captured in the battles of Xinbaoan, Zhangjiakou, and Huailai, it is hoped that they will be released and not treated as prisoners of war. Arrangements were made for the military, administrative, cultural and educational personnel affiliated to the Ministry of Fu, and they were given a way out of life.Zhou Beifeng especially emphasized that Fu Zuoyi believes that he has followed Chiang Kai-shek for many years and done some things that are not conducive to the country and the nation. The people who worked with him under his leadership have more or less committed mistakes or even crimes to varying degrees. He alone is responsible for all the crimes committed by his military and political personnel. Please don't hold them accountable.Lin Biao immediately said that the above-mentioned issue was discussed the day before yesterday, and that all the prisoners of war in various places you mentioned just now can be released, and they will not be held accountable in the past.Those who are willing to continue to work can stay and arrange appropriate jobs; those who do not want to work but want to return to their hometowns can be dismissed, and they will be given severance pay and a severance certificate to make them return to their hometowns, and the local government will be asked to take care of them. They will not be discriminated against after returning home.Lin Biao especially emphasized that we not only treat General Fu Zuoyi as a war criminal, but also give him a certain status in politics, please rest assured.After Lin Biao finished speaking, he emphasized another sentence: "General Fu Zuoyi, please rest assured!" Then, the meeting was adjourned. This meeting was recorded by Liu Yalou himself.Lin Biao ordered Liu Yalou to sort out the records and talk about it tomorrow. On January 10, the two sides continued their talks.There was nothing new in this meeting. The main thing was that Liu Yalou read out the transcript of yesterday's meeting after sorting it out and asked if he had any comments.Lin Biao instructed Liu Yalou to sort out a "summary" based on the minutes of the meeting so that both parties could initial it.In the afternoon of the same day, Liu Yalou sent two copies of the compiled "Meeting Minutes", and Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen first signed it.Then Zhou Beifeng also signed on it as Fu Zuoyi's representative.Zhang Dongsun said that he is a member of the Democratic League and cannot represent Fu Zuoyi. He is only acting as an intermediate mediator and witness, and after this meeting is over, he will not return to Beiping City, but will go to Shijiazhuang to meet Mao Zedong, so he does not need to signed.In this way, Zhang Dongsun did not sign the "Meeting Minutes". In this "meeting minutes", there is also a very important "note" agreed by both parties. The "postscript" stipulates: "All items must be answered before midnight on January 14." This is actually our deadline for Fu Zuoyi, because we have already signed it by the top person in charge of the Pingjin Front Command, and now it depends on Fu Zuoyi's attitude. In this meeting, the attitudes of both parties were sincere and the atmosphere was harmonious. Everyone was very happy after the signing.When parting, Lin Biao enthusiastically said that he should give some gifts to the guests as souvenirs, but he couldn't produce anything in Balizhuang at that time.Nie Rongzhen said that any spoils of war are fine.Su Jing said that when our army attacked Jinzhou, they seized a batch of high leather boots, which were of good quality.Therefore, Zhou Beifeng and Zhang Dongsun were given a pair of high leather boots as a souvenir of the meeting. That afternoon, under Liu Yalou's persuasion, Zhou Beifeng sewed the "summary of the meeting" into his clothes and returned to Peiping immediately.After arriving in Peiping, Zhang Dongsun returned to Yenching University, while Zhou Beifeng entered the city from Yanwang City north of Deshengmen.According to his agreement with Wang Kejun in advance, the defenders here are Fu Zuoyi's troops, and Wang Kejun will send someone to pick him up.Unexpectedly, the people sent by Wang Kejun were at the gate of Deshengmen, and they had not left the city to go to the front line.Zhou Beifeng actually ran into Chiang Kai-shek's youth army here, and asked him to take off his clothes for inspection, and confiscate all money, goods and cigarettes. Fortunately, he listened to Liu Yalou's advice in advance and sewed the "meeting minutes" into his underwear, so he passed the checkpoint and returned to the city smoothly.If he was found by the Youth Army this time and the "meeting minutes" were found, the peace process in Peiping might have another twist. Zhou Beifeng returned to the city and immediately called Wang Kejun.After a while, Wang Kejun called and asked Zhou Beifeng to see Fu Zuoyi immediately.Fu Zuoyi didn't even open the ongoing military meeting, and was anxious to read the "summary of the meeting".After reading it, Fu didn't say a word, just sighed.Zhou Beifeng reminded Fu Zuoyi, "This document was compiled after we finished talking, and the last note said that everything discussed must be answered before midnight on January 14." Fu Zuoyi still didn't say a word, just paced.Finally, he told Zhou Beifeng: "You can call the People's Liberation Army to say that you have returned to Peiping. This document will be discussed in two days." Obviously, Fu Zuoyi was not satisfied with the minutes, and he could not make an immediate decision. Zhou Beifeng didn't know how Fu Zuoyi planned to deal with the outcome of the talks, but he believed that an answer must be given to the PLA before midnight on the 14th, otherwise it would be difficult to negotiate with the PLA in the future.He had no choice but to ask Fu Dongju to do Fu Zuoyi's work, but Fu Zuoyi didn't express his opinion, but he showed strong depression, fierce ideological struggle, and very painful heart.He groaned, lost his temper, bit a match, and even wanted to commit suicide.Fu Dongju reported Fu Zuoyi's specific performance to the underground party organization every day, and the underground party's radio station reported to the Pingjin Front Command, so that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Pingjin Front Command knew Fu Zuoyi's situation well.Nie Rongzhen was very satisfied with this and specially praised it.He said to the comrades of the Ministry of Urban and Industrial Affairs, "You have a very clear understanding of Fu Zuoyi's dynamics. On the battlefield, it is rare in the history of warfare to quickly and accurately understand the dynamics and emotional changes of the enemy's top commander. It plays an important role in our military making correct judgments, making correct determinations, and making correct deployments." On the 13th, Fu Zuoyi said to Zhou Beifeng: "You can telegraph Lin, Luo, and Nie, and say that you have studied everything you talked about last time, but you can only reply at midnight on the 14th. The time is too short, and you will be with me soon. General Deng Baoshan will go again." Zhou Beifeng immediately telegraphed this reply to me at the Pingjin Front Command.In the evening, Zhou Beifeng received a telegram from our Pingjin frontline headquarters: "I have received the telegram, please come again." so.Even if the second negotiation came to an end, there was a "meeting summary", but there was no concrete result.The specific results are subject to a new round of negotiations after Deng Baoshan's arrival.