Chapter 7 Chapter 1 The Burning Land (7)

6 By the time Wang Jingwei crossed the Yangtze River and arrived at the Wuchang military headquarters, the meeting on national defense issues had ended, and the participating government officials, members of various ministries, and senior counselors were leaving the venue one after another.People made way for the respected Vice President Wang and took off their hats, because this veteran KMT leader is not only prominent and powerful, but also the only political giant in the party today who can sit on an equal footing with Chiang Kai-shek. Wang Jingwei was dignified and unhurried. Of course, he came late on purpose. He had known the content of the meeting in advance. It was to pass several documents related to land reform, conscription and punishment of traitors.The call from the Military Commission the day before also specifically emphasized that the chairman of the committee will meet with Speaker Wang in person, and I implore Speaker Wang to spare time to attend on time.

Wang Jingwei couldn't help but sneer. Generally speaking, Chiang Kai-shek would not take the initiative to ask him to meet him if the frontline war went smoothly, but it was different when he lost a battle. Military defeat was Chiang Kai-shek's weakness.In this sense, the Japanese and Wang Jingwei were allies on the same front. They helped Wang Jingwei weaken and even overthrow Chiang Kai-shek's rule on the frontline battlefield. Since the Anti-Japanese War, Chiang Kai-shek has pursued a resistance line of "using war to force peace", while Wang Jingwei advocates a flexible strategy of "using talks to promote peace". These two lines of tit-for-tat seem to have different strategies for Japan, but in essence they are still leadership struggles.If Chiang Kai-shek won battles everywhere, made the Japanese flee in embarrassment and became a commander in chief and an anti-Japanese hero supported by the people, wouldn't Wang Jingwei, who was always vocal about his dissent, slap himself in the face, dig his own grave, and cut himself off from the party and the people of the country?Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek's defeat is Wang Jingwei's victory, and vice versa, which shows that the struggle between the two major forces in the Kuomintang has reached a life-and-death intensity.

Now there is news of Xuzhou's defeat on the front line, which makes Wang Jingwei's spirits excited like a spring breeze, which shows that the Japanese have posed another problem to Chiang Kai-shek.Of course, Chiang Kai-shek will never take the blame lightly. He is an old and cunning nine-tailed fox who is used to playing tricks to escape the shell. For example, the capital Nanjing fell. Those soldiers who fought bloody battles became Chiang Kai-shek's scapegoats for playing power.But Wang Jingwei is full of confidence in taking defense as offense. He believes that the situation is in his favor. That is to say, once the calm Vice President Wang makes a move, he will be fatal.

A small door on one side of the meeting room quietly opened, revealing a backstage path leading to the Iron Curtain of China's politics.Chiang Kai-shek appeared at the door with a smile on his face, and extended his hand as a sign of welcome to the visitors, showing concern and friendship beyond words.Wang Jingwei also walked forward quickly, stretching out his hands to the political opponent in the party who shared the same bed with different dreams, and the two shook hands with joyful expressions.This was one of many secret meetings held between Chiang and Wang in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War.

Wang Jingwei did not leave the Wuchang Military Commission until after dark that day. History shows that Wang Jingwei in 1938 was only one step away from realizing his political goals. He not only won the power to preside over the "Central Political Council" (that is, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Kuomintang Central Committee), but also controlled the Central Party Committee, the National Assembly, and multiple governments. Key departments also received Chiang Kai-shek's concession of "not refusing to negotiate", and accelerated behind-the-scenes transactions with the Japanese.Chiang Kai-shek tried to ease the opposition's forced palace through compromise, and in fact he would have to swallow his own bitter wine, because Wang Jingwei would never be satisfied with gaining partial power, and it was Chiang Kai-shek's throne that he coveted.

When the car carrying the Kuomintang figure quietly disappeared in the hazy night, another round of secret peace talks with the Japanese was about to begin.We will see that it is only half a year before Wang Jingwei openly fell into the arms of the Japanese and became a notorious traitor for thousands of years.