Chapter 2 Chapter 02 The United States saw that the defeat of the Kuomintang was set, and Jiang and Li prepared for war while "peace talks"

With successive victories in the Chinese People's War of Liberation, especially after the strategic decisive battle began, the U.S. government had to admit that the military defeat of the Kuomintang government was a foregone conclusion.After the Liaoshen Campaign ended, the US Embassy in China held a meeting of the Joint Military Advisory Group and military attachés of various arms to discuss the military situation of the Chinese Civil War. On November 6, Leighton Stuart, the US ambassador to China, called Secretary of State Marshall, saying: "We are very reluctant to come to the conclusion that the early collapse of the current Kuomintang government is inevitable."

On December 31, the New York "Herald Tribune" commented: "Nanjing's military power has collapsed so quickly that many authorities now believe that resisting communism in China is a failure." The Intelligence Summary on Military Developments in 1948 states: "As a result of developments in the past year, and especially in the last four and a half months, the Kuomintang army has suffered such heavy losses that its military status has fallen to the point where independent recovery is impossible. On the other hand, the same developments have reduced the status of the Communist Party It has greatly increased, its capabilities have been greatly enhanced, and it is now capable of achieving complete military victory over the Kuomintang army."

According to the situation of the civil war in China, the US government had to re-examine its China policy and began to consider changing the policy. On September 7, 1948, the U.S. Department of State’s Policy Design Division presented a document entitled “Revisiting and Formulating U.S. Policy toward China.”After a detailed description and analysis of China's population, geography, history, resources, and social contradictions, as well as the reasons for the failure of the Kuomintang and the victory of the Communist Party, the article argues: "'All-out assistance' to the National Government is a huge, endless and very risky strategy. The U.S. government cannot gamble with the reputation and financial resources of the United States in this way.” “The current development of the situation in China is not good for us, so we need to be free to change course, or even anchor until we find the right direction.” At the same time, the document argues that due to factors such as China's demographic and economic factors, the victory of the Communist Party "does not mark the end of their troubles, even if they achieve their wish and achieve a national coalition government. ... The civil war may continue." and will There will be troubles and difficulties such as managing the country, realizing socialist collectivization and industrialization, ethnic issues, and so on.The former Soviet Union is unlikely to help much.In this way, when the Chinese Communist Party encounters the above-mentioned series of insurmountable difficulties, especially when the conflict with the former Soviet Union deepens, the opportunity for the United States will come.

Based on the above understanding, the document believes that the "traditional goals of the United States are impossible to achieve at present and in the future. Therefore, we need to formulate a practical policy to guide us through China's maze in the foreseeable future." According to this, the document Proposed "China policy for the foreseeable future", namely: 1. Continue to recognize the existing national government; 2. After the demise of the national government as we expected, decide who to recognize according to the situation at that time; 3. Try to prevent China from becoming a political and military vassal of the former Soviet Union. "

When the Liaoshen and Huaihai campaigns were successfully concluded and the Pingjin campaign had achieved a decisive victory, the National Security Council of the United States put forward a policy proposal on China on January 11, 1949, stating: "1. The goal of the United States toward China is to let the Chinese themselves eventually develop a unified, stable and independent China that is friendly to the United States, so as to prevent any threat to our national security caused by any foreign country ruling China. 2. The United States should realize that in the foreseeable future, it is unlikely that any one or several groups that can be seen in China will establish a unified, stable and independent China acceptable to the United States.

3. Therefore, the current goal of the United States should be to prevent China from becoming a vassal of the former Soviet power.To achieve this goal, the United States should: (a) Plan accordingly and be ready in time to take advantage of opportunities in China as they arise, while maintaining flexibility so as not to become irrevocably tied to one course of action or faction. (b) In terms of priority, China is ranked after other regions that are more directly related to the security interests of the United States and are more commensurate with the financial resources spent by the United States on them.

On February 4, 1949, US President Truman officially approved the above two proposals, requiring the National Security Council to formulate specific measures. On February 28, the National Security Council issued a report stating that the United States "should now: (1) No further aid to other anti-Communist forces unless it can prove effective against the Communists even without foreign aid. (2) Maintain the most extensive contact with various components in China. (3) Continuously strengthen cultural propaganda work and publicize the "traditional policy" of the United States towards China.

(4) Under the premise of carefully avoiding interference in internal affairs, the political and economic friction between China and the Soviet Union should be used as much as possible. " According to the above-mentioned policy, on November 12, 1948, Truman rejected Chiang Kai-shek's proposal to the US government on November 9 to "promptly grant and increase military assistance"; ; "Dispatch a senior military officer as soon as possible to discuss with this government a specific plan for military assistance, including the participation of US military advisers in command operations" and other three requirements. On January 2, 1949, the U.S. government officially announced that it would stop training the Kuomintang troops, and recalled Badawi, head of the U.S. Joint Military Advisory Group in China. On the 27th, it announced the withdrawal of the US Military Advisory Group. On March 15, the U.S. State Department rejected a proposal proposed by Senator Pat McCarron and supported by more than 50 senators to use US$1.5 billion to aid the KMT government.

In short, during this period, the U.S. government realized that the failure of the Kuomintang government was a foregone conclusion, and no amount of aid from the U.S. would help, so it was prepared to give up aiding Chiang.In terms of policy, it changed from "doing our best to prevent the CCP from winning in China" to "doing our best to prevent China from becoming a vassal of the Soviet Union." However, the class nature of the US government determines that they will never be reconciled to failure in China.They have never stopped opposing the Chinese revolution, but there have been some changes in the strategy of opposing the Chinese revolution. "It has changed from simply supporting the Kuomintang's counter-revolutionary war to a struggle in two ways: the first is to organize the remnant military forces of the Kuomintang and the so-called Local forces continue to resist the People's Liberation Army in the south of the Yangtze River and in remote provinces; the second is to organize opposition groups within the revolutionary camp and try to stop the revolution; Infringe upon the interests of imperialism and its lackeys."

In early November 1948, after the Battle of Huaihai began, Wedemeyer asked Jiang Yuntian, one of the leaders of the Democratic Socialist Party, to send a letter to Chiang Kai-shek, suggesting that the Kuomintang government withdraw insurance from southeast China, Taiwan and Penghu after the fall of Xuzhou, and guard the triangle from Fuzhou to Kunming , while trying to defend Sichuan as much as possible.Wedemeyer also informed that the U.S. Navy will stick to the Qingdao base to support Fu Zuoyi's garrison in the Pingjin area, so that it can contain the CCP army and delay its southward movement, so that the Kuomintang government has time to deploy defense in the southeast region.

For this reason, the U.S. government added the 36th Special Fleet to Qingdao in October, bringing the strength of the U.S. navy stationed in Qingdao to 3 aircraft carriers, 4 cruisers, and 13 destroyers, and the number of personnel increased to 9,700. In November, the United States sent additional marines to China.The New York "Herald Tribune" said on November 17: "After the United States sends an additional 1,250 marines to China, the total number of American marines in China will reach 4,850. It is the single largest concentration of the United States Marine Corps on foreign soil right now."In order to help the Kuomintang government maintain half of the south of the Yangtze River, the US government also planned to directly send troops to interfere in China's internal affairs. On December 10, 1948, Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Western Pacific Naval Fleet officially announced in Shanghai that the Marine Corps would be transported to Shanghai by transport ship. , saying that the U.S. Marine Corps will "land" in Shanghai at any time under the pretext that "Americans' lives and property are threatened." In December 1948, on the eve of Hoffman's visit to China, the director of the General Administration of Economic Cooperation, the US government held a consultation on its China policy and decided to "support the warlord system in South China and Central China".After Hoffman came to China, he had many secret talks with Stuart and Chiang Kai-shek on this matter. In order to help the Kuomintang government continue to resist the attack of the People's Liberation Army, the U.S. government continued to aid the Kuomintang government. Although Truman rejected the demands and proposals of Chiang Kai-shek and McCarron to continue to increase aid to China, he did not completely stop the delivery of the "1948 Aid to China Act" "The remaining $60 million in "special grants" (i.e. arms). From November to December 1948, the arms delivered by the United States to the Kuomintang government reached 4 million U.S. dollars per week. At the end of January 1949, Badawi and Weidemai proposed to the US State Department to stop sending weapons to the Kuomintang government. In early February, the National Security Council of the United States also passed a proposal asking the president to suggest to Congress to suspend all arms supply to the Kuomintang. The arms were not stopped, but no measures were taken to expedite them." On March 15, the new U.S. Secretary of State Acheson, with the support of Truman, sent Connery a memorandum, rejecting McCarron’s proposal to increase aid to the KMT government by 1.5 billion U.S. dollars, pointing out that “the U.S. The areas under the jurisdiction of the Chinese government that continue to be recognized should not suddenly stop aid. China's future development, including the results of ongoing political consultations, is still uncertain. Therefore, we are now considering asking Congress to extend the deadline for the 1948 China Aid Act be extended for a certain period.” On April 3, 1949, the "China Aid Act" expired, but there was still a payment of 54 million US dollars that had not yet been paid. On the 14th, the U.S. Congress passed the State Department’s request to extend the "Act", which clearly stated that "the new Act of Congress authorizes the President to use this fund in accordance with the method and conditions he decides to provide for the areas of China that are not under the control of the Communist Party. aid. Moreover, and extend the deadline for the use of this money until February 15, 1950". While continuing to assist the Kuomintang government, the U.S. government stepped up its "horse exchange" activities.As the military, political, and economic situation of the Kuomintang government continued to deteriorate, the U.S. government believed that Chiang Kai-shek was no longer an ideal tool. They felt that Chiang Kai-shek had done more than failed for U.S. interests in China. In order to maintain the interests of the United States in China as much as possible, the U.S. government is preparing to "change horses" halfway, replacing Chiang Kai-shek with Li Zongren in order to conduct "peace talks" with the Chinese Communist Party. On November 15, the U.S. Consul General in Shanghai sent a letter to Marshall saying: "For the current desperate situation, Chiang Kai-shek must take responsibility. He must go away." The U.S. government also disclosed to the Chinese ambassador to the U.S. Gu Weijun through various channels that the U.S. People in the government concerned with foreign policy believed that Chiang Kai-shek should give way to others. As long as he was in power, the United States would do nothing for China.Someone also revealed to Gu Weijun that the US government is interested in Li Zongren and is asking people to write Li Zongren's resume.The U.S. State Department has repeatedly reported that as long as Chiang is in power, it is impossible to expect the U.S. government to increase aid. At the same time, the United States directly contacted Li Zongren. In late November 1948, Stuart had a long talk with Li Zongren.Li Zongren said that Chiang Kai-shek's continued reign is extremely detrimental to national interests and does not conform to the wishes of the people; the attitude of the US government has a great influence on him. He should be told that the US government believes that if he has not completely failed in the current military If he leaves office to open a path for a new non-communist leader of the government and country, then he has done a great service to his people." This new leadership requires the unambiguous support of the United States.In this way, it will be able to obtain the strong support of Southwest China in order to contain the Communist forces in the area north of the Yangtze River.Li Zongren further pointed out: "If the current situation is allowed to develop, he will lose any political influence."At that time, "except for returning to his hometown in Guangxi, he will do nothing."Subsequently, Leighton Stuart suggested to Marshall that the U.S. government "issue a statement clarifying its policy towards China", expressing its unambiguous support for the new, but non-communist regime, so that when the "Chairman of the Generalissimo withdraws from the political arena, he can still Save Southwest China, at least temporarily, from slipping behind the Iron Curtain, or at any rate strengthen their position in the almost inevitable future negotiations with the Communist Party". On December 13, when Leighton Stuart met with Zhang Qun, he made it clear: "The impression of most Americans I have talked with is that the majority of the Chinese people feel that Generalissimo Chiang is the main obstacle to ending the war, and that Generalissimo Chiang should be abolished and that The thoughts and demands of the Chinese people are the main factors in the formulation of U.S. policy." On December 17, Leighton Stuart said in a conversation with Sun Ke: The United States is in a dilemma, "We oppose the spread of communism all over the world and are eager to help stop this spread in China; but on the other hand, we cannot To do so by a government supported by the people of this country", "It would be in the President's interest if he were advised to abdicate his emergency powers, and to delegate more powers to the Executive Yuan, or, if that were too embarrassing, A small group of people whom he trusts to truly represent, or at least express, the will of the people. It need not involve the resignation of the President, but the delegation of power should be full and genuine." In mid-December, Hoffman came to China. In addition to supporting the remaining military forces of the Kuomintang government to continue to resist the People's Liberation Army's offensive, he also instigated the Kuomintang to "propose an armistice to the People's Liberation Army, thereby seizing the initiative from the victor's People's Liberation Army and giving Traumatized KMT with respite". The U.S. Foreign Policy Bulletin published on December 26 also said: "Nanjing may form a more liberal regime, and thus negotiate with the Communist Party to peacefully establish a coalition government. This development may balance the power of the Communist Party, so as to prevent extremist policies. , and protect the Chinese who are friendly to us.” On December 30, Capote, the U.S. Consul General in Shanghai, also clearly stated in a letter to Butterworth, Director of the Far East Department, that Chiang Kai-shek "must go away" and then form a "decent, popular and vigorous regime." , to put it "in a better position for peace talks" to "achieve some better peace conditions." On January 1, 1949, after Chiang Kai-shek published a "New Year's Announcement" "seeking peace", Leighton Stuart He told the Central News Agency reporter: This is what he himself "has been striving for personally in the past." Some people in the U.S. government and the public opinion circles are also preparing to carry out a conspiracy of "internal sabotage". They try to win over some liberal bourgeois right-wing elements who have ties to counter-revolutionary forces at home and abroad, and instruct them to sneak into the revolutionary camp and organize an "internal sabotage" against the Chinese Communist Party. A strong and effective opposition". On December 13, 1948, Hoffman said in a statement issued in Shanghai: "If liberal elements and parties are generally represented in the coalition government", "the United States may assist the coalition government including the Communist Party." On November 17, the US "Newsweek" published an article saying: "As some kind of new anti-Chiang coalition government will soon be formed in China, the State Department is currently looking for ways to make friends with any new regime that may emerge after Chiang is forced to step down. .. the hopes were more centered on the military and liberal politicians who seemed certain to rise to prominence in any new government."The New York Herald Tribune, which is recognized as often reflecting the policies of the U.S. State Department, said more bluntly: "When the CCP rules China, there must be many opponents, and anti-communist forces can make a comeback." On December 17, the newspaper said in a commentary titled "The Climax of Tensions in China": "The United States has no other choice but to let things develop naturally until the communist government is replaced by a government with the right form." Until the opportunity presents itself. . . . The United States should look for signs of weakness in the communist regime and be ready to help the enemies of communism in China.” To sum up, during this period, the U.S. government realized that the collapse of the Kuomintang government was irretrievable, and that it could do nothing about the development of the situation in China, so it was prepared to give up aid to the Chiang Kai-shek government.Its policy was adjusted from preventing the Chinese Communist Party from ruling China to "preventing China from becoming a vassal of the Soviet Union."On the other hand, it is unwilling to be reconciled to its failure in China, and hopes to continue to support the Kuomintang government to resist the attack of the People's Liberation Army through "limited assistance", or to conduct "peace talks" with the Chinese Communist Party, and try its best to help the Kuomintang government maintain half of the south of the Yangtze River, so as to Maintain its aggressive interests in China.At the same time, after the defeat of the Kuomintang government, it is preparing to carry out a conspiracy to sabotage from within, to support the "opposition" in the Chinese Communist Party, and to oppose the Chinese revolution. With the Chinese People's War of Liberation about to win national victory and the Kuomintang government about to perish, the Kuomintang ruling clique launched a "peaceful" offensive with the support and planning of the U.S. ambassador to China, Leighton Stuart, in an attempt to achieve peace through peaceful negotiations. "Draw the river and rule" in order to gain time to breathe, regroup the army, and wait for an opportunity to counterattack. In mid-December 1948, Chiang Kai-shek approached Li Zongren twice, expressing his intention to "retire immediately", hoping that Li Zongren "can stand up to this situation and make peace with the Communist Party."After being rejected by Li Zongren, Chiang Kai-shek sent Wu Zhongxin, Zhang Qun, Zhang Zhizhong and others to persuade him.After repeated talks, Li Zongren reached an informal agreement with Zhang Qun, Zhang Zhizhong, Wu Zhongxin and others: "(1) President Chiang voluntarily resigned to facilitate policy changes; (2) Vice President Li acts as the President in accordance with the law and announces peaceful propositions; (3) The peace talks are presided over by the Executive Yuan; (4) Preparations for peace talks: A. To organize a nationally unanimous cabinet whose candidates will be studied separately; B. Use diplomacy, especially to strengthen relations with the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union, in order to facilitate the realization of peace; C. Actively win political groups and democrats who are dissatisfied with the government and advocate peace, and work together for peace. " This informal agreement was brought back to Chiang Kai-shek by Wu Zhongxin, and at the same time, Cheng Siyuan informed Bai Chongxi, another leader of the Guangxi faction and the commander-in-chief of the Central China "Suppression General", by long-distance telephone.Bai Chongxi immediately said: "Jiang Xiaye must resign, and Li Degong will officially assume the presidency. He cannot use the name of an agent. If the name is not correct, then nothing can be done." In order to preemptively raise the banner of "peace talks" and further force Chiang to step down, Bai Chongxi called Chiang Kai-shek on December 24 and 30 to say: "(1) The camera relayed the true peace-seeking sincerity to the United States, asking the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to come forward to mediate and jointly mediate peace. (2) Public opinion organs appeal to both parties for peace and resume peace negotiations. (3) The armies of both sides should stop military operations on the spot and wait for a settlement through peaceful negotiations.We also hope that Beijing, Shanghai, Pingjin and Tianjin are still under our control, and we can make arrangements for internal and external peace talks quickly to buy time. "In today's situation, war is neither easy nor peace is difficult."Considering the time is short and fleeting, the contempt seems to be quick to convey the sincerity of the peace plan to the allies and the people of the country, so that external forces can support peace, and the people support peace.If the other party accepts it, they can use this to get out of the predicament and create new opportunities, which will benefit both in one fell swoop.In short, no matter whether it is a war or a war, we must make a quick decision, and the time is not with me, so please make a decision as soon as possible. "Under Bai Chongxi's instruction and influence, the Kuomintang's Hubei Provincial Senate, Zhang Zhen, chairman of the Henan Provincial Government, and Cheng Qian, Chairman of the Hunan Provincial Government and Director of the Changsha Appeasement Office, also successively called Chiang Kai-shek, proposing to hold peace negotiations with the Chinese Communist Party and directly Chiang Kai-shek was asked to "resolutely go down to the field" to facilitate the peaceful negotiations between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. Under the circumstances of domestic and foreign difficulties, Chiang Kai-shek had no choice but to issue a "New Year's Announcement" on New Year's Day 1949 calling for peace talks, saying: "As long as the Communist Party has peace sincerity and can make a definite statement, the government will meet with each other openly and is willing to stop the negotiation with the Communist Party." War, the specific method to restore peace." He also claimed: "If peace can be realized, the individual's entry and exit will never be remembered, and the general will of the people will be followed." On January 4, Chiang Kai-shek went to Li Zongren's house in person, Once again, Li Zongren was asked to come forward for peace talks with the Chinese Communist Party. Jiang bluntly said to Li: "After Xu Bang's defeat, the bandit army will go to Jiangbei immediately", "It's not a problem to continue like this! I think I will retire, and you will stand up to this situation and make peace with the Communist Party."In this way, "the communist army's attack may be eased," and "at least the communist party will not push us so hard." On January 8, Chiang Kai-shek sent Zhang Qun to invite Huang Shaoshe to fly from Nanjing to Wuhan and Changsha, where he met with Bai Chongxi and Cheng Qian. Discuss about Jiang's retirement.At the same time, Sun Ke, then Premier of the Executive Council, also made a gesture of peace talks with the CCP and invited Shao Lizi from Shanghai to Nanjing for talks. On January 4th, Shao Lizi and Zhang Zhizhong discussed issues related to the peace talks with the cultural press at Jieshou Hall in Nanjing.The Overwatch Council also passed a declaration calling on the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to immediately cease fighting and seek peace. From January 5 to 14, 1949, Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, successively wrote comments for Xinhua News Agency, such as "Comment on War Criminals Seeking Peace", "Why the Fragmented Reactionaries Still Cry "Comprehensive Peace"", and "Statement on the Current Situation". ", exposed Chiang Kai-shek's hypocritical peace statement, and put forward eight conditions for peace negotiations with the Kuomintang government.At the same time, the Kuomintang government's request on January 8 to the governments of the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union to "mediate" the Chinese civil war was also rejected by the governments of the four countries.Under the above circumstances, Chiang Kai-shek was forced to issue a "retirement" statement on January 21, saying: "Since Chiang Kai-shek issued a statement advocating peace on New Year's Day, the whole country has responded with one voice and supported it unanimously. It has been more than ten days, and the war has not stopped, and the goal of peace cannot be achieved.The misery of the people is extremely extreme.In order to save the Communist Party of Georgia and save the people in case of any eventuality, according to Article 49 of the Constitution of the Republic of China, "When the President is unable to take care of the matter for some reason, the Vice President shall perform his functions and powers" on the 21st of this month. Beginning today, Vice President Lee will assume the powers of the President.I hope that the military and civilians of the whole country and governments at all levels will work together with sincerity, one heart and one morality, and praise Acting President Lee, and work together to promote permanent peace. Later, Chiang Kai-shek returned from Nanjing to his hometown of Xikou Town, Fenghua, Zhejiang, and officially "retired". After Li Zongren assumed the power of the president, he issued a statement on the 22nd, saying: From now on, the goal of the government's work is to focus on the realization of peace.He also expressed his willingness to negotiate on the basis of the eight conditions proposed by Mao Zedong.At the same time, some measures were taken to "cultivate a peaceful atmosphere in the country".He telegraphed to invite Li Jishen, Zhang Bojun, Zhang Dongsun, etc. to "jointly promote the peace movement", and invited Soong Ching Ling, Huang Yanpei, Zhang Lan, etc. to sponsor the peace talks.He ordered the release of Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng; the release of political prisoners across the country; the abolition of special criminal courts; the restoration of the legal status of all parties; the cancellation of martial law;The "Bandit Suppression General Headquarters" was renamed the Military and Political Chief Office, etc. At the same time, Li Zongren was actively planning peace talks. On January 23, he sent Huang Qihan and Liu Zhonghua to Peiping to ask for an interview with the leaders of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. He expressed his willingness to use the eight conditions proposed by the Communist Party of China as the basis for negotiations.Ask the Chinese Communist Party to stop its military offensive and start peace talks as soon as possible. On the 29th, Huang Qihan and others returned to Nanjing from Beiping and reported to Li Zongren the content of the conversation with Ye Jianying and others: The Chinese Communist Party is willing to conduct peace negotiations with the Kuomintang Nanjing government and any other Kuomintang local governments and military groups on the basis of eight conditions . On the 31st, Li Zongren convened a cabinet meeting and a joint meeting of various parties in Shanghai. After repeated discussions, he decided to form the "Shanghai Peace Delegation" by four seventy-year-olds including Yan Huiqing, Zhang Shizhao, Jiang Yong, and Shao Lizi. On February 13, the "Shanghai Peace Delegation", accompanied by Huang Qihan, flew from Shanghai to Peiping. Before leaving, Li Zongren asked Huang Qihan to convey his opinion to Ye Jianying or other leaders of the CCP, hoping to achieve comprehensive peace; Some people oppose it, and then join forces to deal with it with political and military forces; the peace talks are based on the eight principles proposed by Chairman Mao, but it is best to leave the handling of war criminals after the establishment of a new government; never expect foreign aid to carry out civil war, as long as it is agreed For peace talks, a public statement can be made; it is hoped that representatives can be dispatched as soon as possible to start discussing a peace plan. On the 22nd, Mao Zedong and others met the "Shanghai Peace Delegation" in Xibaipo and talked about their attitude towards peace talks. On the 27th, after Yan Huiqing and others returned to Nanjing, they reported to Li Zongren the attitude of the Chinese Communist Party towards the peace talks.Li Zongren once again expressed his willingness to work hard for the realization of the peace talks. On March 24, the cabinet meeting of the Executive Yuan of the Kuomintang government decided to organize a "Nanjing government peace negotiation delegation", and appointed Shao Lizi, Zhang Zhizhong, Huang Shaoshe, Zhang Shizhao, and Li Zheng as members of the delegation. On the 28th, Liu Fei was added as the representative, and Zhang Zhizhong was decided as the chief representative. Chiang Kai-shek, Li Zongren and others were not really willing to achieve the unification of China in a peaceful way.The purpose of Chiang Kai-shek asking Li Zongren to come forward for "peace talks" is to achieve "government by drawing the river", so as to take this opportunity to gain breathing time, withdraw all the remaining troops to the south of the Yangtze River, organize the Yangtze River defense line, and prevent the People's Liberation Army from crossing the river. He also recruited recruits in the south of the Yangtze River, formed a second-line corps, and waited for an opportunity to counterattack. Chiang Ching-kuo said in the article "The Autumn of Critical Survival" that his father decided to retire because he considered the following three factors: "A. The Party, the government and the army have accumulated so much that it is difficult to return, and they cannot be completely rectified and reformed without retiring; environment; C, start anew and redefine the foundation". In his 1949 New Year’s Announcement, Chiang Kai-shek put forward the conditions for the peace talks: the “sacred” constitution should not be violated, “democracy and constitutionalism will not be undermined, the state system of the Republic of China can be ensured, the rule of law of the Republic of China will not be interrupted, and the military will have a solid guarantee. Before retiring, Chiang Kai-shek convened a meeting of more than 10 people including Chen Lifu, Gu Zhenggang, and Peng Zhaoxian to discuss the statement made by Chairman Mao Zedong of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on January 14. Send out 500,000 troops.It was also decided that Chiang Kai-shek would maintain the unified leadership of the "peace" movement, be protected by the leader, and not be "sanctioned" by the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, the KMT's secret service agency authorized by the leader. In early March, when Zhang Zhizhong and Wu Zhongxin went to Xikou to ask Chiang Kai-shek about peace talks, they proposed: "We hope to ensure the integrity of several provinces south of the Yangtze River and be led by the Kuomintang, just like the Northeast and North China are led by the CCP." Chiang Kai-shek fully agreed , And said: "Now it is time to prepare for war and seek peace. We still focus on military rectification and should not be distracted." On March 30, the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the KMT and members of the Central Political Committee held a joint meeting in Guangzhou and decided that the truce must be achieved before the peace talks began; On April 2, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Chiang Ching-kuo to convey instructions to the Central Party Headquarters of the Kuomintang: the peace talks must first conclude an armistice agreement; when the CCP crosses the river, the peace talks will stop. Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi and other leaders of the Guangxi clan, although they have repeatedly expressed "sincerity" for the peace talks.But their real purpose is to prevent the People's Liberation Army from crossing the south of the Yangtze River through negotiations, and to ensure that the provinces south of the Yangtze River can achieve "rule by drawing the river."Li Zongren once said that after he came to power, the most urgent tasks to be dealt with were to seek peace with the CCP and end the civil war; Inflation, a bigger threat than the communist army. Li Zongren also said to Liu Fei: "Now I am studying it. I want to rule the river. The Communist Party is always satisfied!? As long as the southeast half is preserved, we have a solution." "If we can ensure the southeast half, at least A democratic coalition government can be organized on the basis of an equal share.” Li Zongren also said in a talk with Tang Shengzhi: Only when there is war can there be peace, and time can only be equal.Bai Chongxi also said to Huang Qihan many times: "It is best for the Communist Party's army not to cross the river. With the Yangtze River as the boundary, they are in the north of the river, and we are in the south of the river. If we divide and rule, things will be easy." He also said that as long as the CCP insists on crossing the river , the peace agreement cannot be accepted. On January 14, when Bai Chongxi received the Kuomintang government's legislative and supervisory committee members and local gentlemen in Wuhan, he said: "We must recognize the seriousness of the current situation, and we must deeply understand that peace must not happen by luck. We should confirm that war can only lead to peace. Only when we are able to fight can we be able to make peace, and we should prepare for war to seek peace. Don’t seek peace and forget about war. Everyone should keep their posts, perform their responsibilities, be vigilant, and never slack off.”For this reason, Li Zongren's government formulated three basic principles for peace negotiations: both parties to the peace talks must be based on equality, the CCP cannot pretend to be a victor and force the government to accept humiliating conditions; the government should not accept the CCP as the ruling party's coalition The government, for this reason, the government should propose to the Communist Party to divide the territory and rule; the government must not fully accept the eight demands put forward by the CCP, and can only use them as the basis for negotiations under the principle of the coexistence of two governments. To strengthen his position in the negotiations, Li Zongren asked the US government to provide a loan of 1 billion or at least 500 million US dollars to help curb inflation.And asked the governments of the United States, Britain, and France to issue a statement to prevent the People's Liberation Army from crossing the river. In short, the "peaceful" offensives launched by Chiang Kai-shek and Li Zongren were all aimed at "ruling the river."However, Chiang Kai-shek hoped to have a breathing space after sweeping the river to rule, to accumulate strength again, and wait for the opportunity to counterattack the Chinese Communist Party and restore its reactionary rule in the whole of China.However, Li Zongren and others hoped to consolidate the status of the Guangxi Clique with the support of the U.S. government after planning the river to rule, completely replace Chiang Kai-shek, and fight against the Chinese Communist Party in Jiangnan. While carrying out the "peace" offensive, the Kuomintang government continued to step up war propaganda and war preparations. On December 25, 1948, Wu Tiecheng, who had just been elected as the vice president of the Executive Yuan of the Kuomintang government, told reporters from the United Press that the only goal of the new government was to continue to fight against the Communist Party.In his 1949 New Year's Day proclamation, Chiang Kai-shek slandered the Chinese Communist Party for "launching its full-scale armed rebellion and endangering the survival of the country" after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War.He also claimed: "If the Communist Party persists in the armed rebellion to the end and has no sincerity for peace, the government can only fulfill its duty of defending the country and saving the people. It has no choice but to deal with the Communist Party to the end. Especially the Beijing-Shanghai area is the political center. Where, we must defend with all our strength and carry out a decisive battle." On February 13, the Central Propaganda Department of the Kuomintang issued "Special Propaganda Instructions" to all party departments and party newspapers, saying that "the government is worse than surrendering unconditionally, fighting to the end." "Mao Zedong January 10 The eight points mentioned in the 4-day statement are the conditions for the subjugation of the country, and the government should not have accepted it." "The CCP should bear the responsibility for destroying peace."After the Kuomintang and the Communist Party decided to conduct peace negotiations, the Kuomintang propaganda organization continued to clamor for war. On March 31, the Editorial Committee of the Central Propaganda Department of the Kuomintang issued a propaganda instruction stating: "We cannot admit that today's failure is the final failure of China's anti-communist struggle," and must continue to struggle. On the eve of his resignation, Chiang Kai-shek made arrangements for the continuation of the war, and appointed his close relatives to hold important military and political positions in various places. On December 29, 1948, the Kuomintang Central Committee appointed Chiang Ching-kuo as the chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Party Committee. On January 1, 1949, Chiang Kai-shek appointed Chen Cheng as the chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Government. From January 18 to 21, Chiang Kai-shek successively appointed Chen Cheng as the garrison commander of Taiwan Province; abolished the Quzhou Appeasement Office and re-established the Fuzhou Appeasement Office, appointed Zhu Shaoliang as its director and chairman of the Fujian Provincial Government; appointed Fang Tian as the Chairman of the Jiangxi Provincial Government, Xue Yue was the chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Government, Zhang Fakui was the governor of the Hainan Special Administrative Region, Wang Lingji was the chairman of the Sichuan Provincial Government; Zhang Qun was the director of the Chongqing Appeal Office, and Yu Hanmou was the director of the Guangzhou Appeasement Office; Hu Zongnan was appointed to be responsible for planning military operations in southern Shaanxi and northern Sichuan. In order to strengthen the control of Jiangnan, South China and Southwest China, and prevent the People's Liberation Army from advancing to the above-mentioned areas.At the same time, Chiang Kai-shek also expanded the Beijing-Shanghai Garrison Command into the Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou Garrison Command, appointed Tang Enbo as the commander-in-chief, unified command of the military in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and eastern Jiangxi, actively deployed the defense of the Yangtze River between Hukou and Shanghai, and prevented The People's Liberation Army crossed the river. After Chiang Kai-shek's "retirement", he established 37 radio stations in Xikou, and continued to command the army and the secret service system as the president of the Kuomintang, controlling the power of the party, government and military, making the orders issued by Li Zongren a dead letter, and none of them could be implemented. On January 21, Gu Zhutong, Chief of Staff of the Kuomintang Army, stated in an order to the commanders of the various armies: "The president left Beijing for Hangzhou, and there were planned steps in advance. The political aspect was handed over to Vice President Li and President Sun. The military aspect The chief is in charge, and both the economy and the military are fully prepared. If the Communist Party has no sincerity for peace, it will fight to the end in order to win the final victory." On January 24, the Central Propaganda Department of the Kuomintang also stated in the "Special Urgent Propaganda Bulletin": " Although the president is not exercising the power of the president for the time being, he still continues to lead the party in his position as president and is committed to revolution. Comrades in the party must also sincerely accept the president's instructions." Regarding the issue of peace, you must "study the president's New Year's Day statement and the January 21 statement , as the benchmark of speech". 25日，蒋介石在溪口召见何应钦、顾祝同、汤恩伯等人，指示关于长江的布防问题，决定把长江防线划分为两大战区：湖口以西归华中“剿总”白崇禧指挥，湖口以东归汤恩伯指挥。会后，蒋派专人把作战方案送交白崇禧，命其执行。 26日，蒋介石自奉化致函在南京、上海的国民党军事、政治、党务、特务首领，命令他们必须作战到底。29日，顾祝同给各部队下达了应付时局的密令：应下最大决心与中国共产党进行长期自救、自卫之战争；军队最近作战重点，在于封锁巩固长江，并保卫西北、西南；第一线部队要加强戒备，切实演练歼灭敌人的战术；后方整训部队及无作战任务部队，务须加紧补充训练，以提高作战精神及能力，争取在短期内变成劲旅；加紧维护后方治安秩序，肃清地方散匪，取缔造谣生事、罢工怠工等行为；应特别注意激励部队士气。 李宗仁上台后不久，即召集国防部有关人员召开江防紧急会议，讨论江防计划。3月31日，即在国民党和谈代表团赴北平前夕，李宗仁在总统府召集何应钦、白崇禧、顾祝同、汤恩伯、宋希濂等人举行军事会议，进一步部署长江防务，会议责成京沪杭警备总司令部及华中“剿总”各部队严密防范人民解放军南渡，并决定了海军沿江巡逻，空军分区侦察以及交通补给等问题。同时，考虑到长江以南战线过长，兵力不敷分配，会议同意国防部的建议，将驻新疆近10万军队东调。会后，国防部多次电催新疆驻军加速东调。虽然由于种种原因，此项计划最后未能实现，但从中可看出李宗仁“和平”的真正目的。3月，李宗仁还多次到汤恩伯在上海举办的“高级人员作战训练班”上讲话，他说，我们有海空军，共产党则没有，共军官兵都是北方人，他们不适合在江南地区长久作战，因此，我们要在上海守6个月到1年是不成问题的。又说，国际局势最迟到明年这时，在远东必有大变化。我们的作战不是单独进行的，我们的胜败与美国有直接关系，美国决不会站在一旁看着我们失败。白崇禧也曾对黄绍说：共产党如果逼我太甚，仍然还是打，你知道我们以前是穿草鞋出身的，最后还可以上山打游击，同他们拼一下。 在蒋介石、李宗仁的命令和指挥下，国民党军队加紧进行战争准备。汤恩伯多次召开军事会议，研究江防计划；举行陆海空联合军事演习；封锁长江水面交通；增筑沿江公路。同时派部队不断“清剿”苏南、皖南地区的人民游击队，以消除江防心腹之患。 1月间，由工兵指挥部会同上海市政府及淞沪警备司令部等机关组成所谓“上海工事构筑委员会”，负责实施构筑上海地区的现代化防御设施。3月间在上海举办“高级人员作战训练班”，汤恩伯自兼主任，研讨作战计划、军队指挥、工事利用、诸军兵种协同以及其他有关战术战斗等问题。2月22日，重庆绥靖公署在重庆召开西南四省(四川、西康、云南、贵州)及重庆市军政首脑会议，决定在西南地区编组18个军，加紧扩军备战。3月9日，国民党政府国防部兵役局宣布本年内征兵200万。 为加紧编练部队，至1949年4月，国民党军在闽、浙、赣、粤、湘、云、贵、川、陕等省区，设置了14个编练司令部，负责组训新兵，企图将国民党军重新扩充到350万至500万人。 国民党政府不仅积极进行战争准备，而且还继续进行战争活动。国民党空军飞机不断轰炸解放区城镇，据不完全统计，自1月上旬至2月中旬，国民党空军飞机连续轰炸了济南、徐州、濉溪口、廊坊、北平南苑、朝阳门、天津唐官屯、湖北随县等地。炸毁房屋300余间，伤亡和平居民200余人。国民党特务也继续进行恐怖活动，镇压爱国民主运动。1949年4月1日，南京军警特务向真正要求和平，欢送国民党政府和谈代表团赴北平的中央、金陵等11所专科以上院校的6000余名爱国学生行凶，造成当场死2人、重伤11人、轻伤80余人，失踪几十人的惨案。 国民党统治集团在继续进行战争准备的同时，也意识到依靠其现有的力量是无法阻止人民解放军渡江南进的，其在大陆的失败已无法挽救，遂作了放弃大陆，退守台湾的准备。企图以台湾为基地，等待国际形势的变化，在第三次世界大战爆发后再反攻大陆，重新夺取政权。为此，蒋介石在“引退”前夕，即任命陈诚为台湾省主席，蒋经国为国民党台湾省党部主任委员；密令将国库所存全部银元、黄金、美元运往台湾，并秘密将海空军实力逐渐南移，以台湾为中心。 1948年12月中旬，国民党中央党部举行“加紧撤退的紧急讨论会”，命令京沪、浙赣、粤汉各铁路车辆及招商局轮船加紧撤运人员、物资和文物挡案至台湾、广州及华南其他地区。至1949年2月底，国民党政府90％的机关及80％的人员已经撤离南京；国民党的海空军总司令部和联勤总部的若干部门和大批参谋人员已撤到台湾；国民党特务机关也在台湾建立了总部；汉阳兵工厂和南京4个工厂的设备，亦由专轮运往台湾；在上海的国民党中国、交通两银行总行，亦在香港、台湾等寻找房屋，准备撤离上海。 就连蒋介石本人的大部家庭杂物、文件及3辆“白卡尔”汽车也已运到台湾；何应钦、桂永清、周至柔、陈立夫、徐永昌、汤恩伯、胡宗南、顾祝同等人的眷属也已逃到台湾。位于西安地区的胡宗南集团也将其主要物资、文件、军火、军官眷属和后勤机关、医院、兵工厂撤至汉中、成都、贵阳等地，部队也由关中地区逐步向陕中、汉中撤退，并准备退入四川。总之，在中国革命即将取得全面胜利的形势面前，美国政府和国民党反动派并不甘心自己的失败，又一次玩弄和平与战争的反革命两手，企图以此达到“划江而治”。但是，在久经考验的中国共产党和人民解放军面前，他们的反革命阴谋必将遭到彻底的失败。