Chapter 2 Section 1

January 21, 1949.Xikou Town, Ningbo, Zhejiang. The gray sky is like a huge pot cover covering the head and brain in the boundless world.A row of bamboo rafts floated from the green and clear Shanxi River next to the town, and they moored slowly. The street already has a post every five steps, and a post every ten steps. There are many soldiers and policemen, and the atmosphere is extremely solemn and tense. "Young and young leave home and the old one returns, the native accent remains the same, and the hair on the temples fades." An old man with leather shoes on his feet and a poplin gown, as thin as a stick of dry bamboo, walked ashore with a stick, surrounded by several strong guards. , he was half laughing at himself, half sighing, and after reciting two poems, he forced a smile on his face and ran straight to an old house called Fenghaofang at the bottom of the town.

The mountains and rivers are still the same, and things are different.This old man is the well-known figure Chiang Kai-shek who has been in power in mainland China for 22 years.At this time, due to the failure of the Kuomintang in the three major battles of Liaoshen, Pingjin, and Huaihai, Chiang Kai-shek had Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi from the Xingui family forcing the palace inside, the American master was shaking his sleeves, and there were millions of Jiangbei People's Liberation Army troops outside. Besieged on all sides, it attracted ridicule and abuse from home and abroad. On New Year's Day in 1949, as a last resort, Chiang Kai-shek was forced to change his previous tough and unyielding character, and issued a New Year's Day peace statement.However, the situation at this time was already "too late to make up for leaks" in terms of Chiang Kai-shek's rule, and the KMT's regime in the mainland was completely precarious.

The next step for the People's Liberation Army will be to fight across the river and destroy the Chiang dynasty.Factions within the Kuomintang saw an opportunity to take advantage of it, and forced Chiang to hand over power one after another.Especially in the Xingui Clan, Li Zongren pressed on every step of the way, and Bai Chongxi, Chen Bing and Wuchang echoed each other from afar, and they did not hesitate to use 400,000 elite soldiers in their hands to press against each other.At this time, in the three towns of Wuhan, the streets and alleys were covered with slogans, including "President Jiang does not step down, the CCP refuses peace talks!"What's more, there are rumors everywhere in Shanghai and Nanjing: If Jiang does not step down, Bai Chongxi's troops will withdraw from the Wuhan area and give way to the CCP on the Yangtze River.

The house leaked and it rained all night.In his report to the President of the United States, Leighton Stuart, the US ambassador to China, stabbed Chiang Kai-shek again. "Except for Chairman Chiang's immediate confidants and some senior military officials, there are not many Chinese who continue to support him wholeheartedly. This government, especially Chairman Jiang...is more and more deserted." Chiang Kai-shek had to re-examine his personal advances and retreats.He wrote in his plan: "Reasons for entering: A. Reluctantly support the crisis situation and maintain the system; B. Wait for changes in the international situation; C. Wait for changes within the Communist bandits.

Reasons for retreat: A. The party, government, and army have accumulated so much that it is difficult to return, and they cannot be completely rectified and reformed without retreat; B. Break the half-dead environment; C. Start a new stove and reset the revolutionary foundation. " After Chiang Kai-shek's consideration matured, on the evening of December 31, 1948, he convened a dinner with 40 members of the Kuomintang Central Executive Supervisory Committee at the Presidential Palace.After the meal, Jiang said coldly to the crowd: "The situation is serious now, and some people in the party advocate peace talks. I have to express my opinion on such an important issue. I am now drafting a statement and preparing to publish it on New Year's Day. Now I invite Yue Jun (Zhang Qun, Vice President of the Executive Yuan of the Kuomintang, confidant of Chiang’s staff) Read it aloud and ask for everyone’s opinions.”

The gist of the statement is: willing to "discuss with the CCP the specific measures to stop the war and restore peace."But at the same time, Chiang Kai-shek set out five prerequisites for peace. In summary, the peace talks with the CCP can only be resumed under the conditions of preserving the "constitution", "legal system" and the army of the Kuomintang.In a word, it is not to touch the existing dictatorship system of the Kuomintang.As for Chiang Kai-shek's future advances and retreats, he did not give a clear explanation, but only hinted at the end of the statement: "As long as peace can be realized, the individual's advances and retreats will never be taken into account, and the public will of the people must be followed."

After Zhang Qun finished reading the proclamation, Chiang Kai-shek asked the dinner party for their opinions. When Jiang asked about Li Zongren, Li Zongren replied with a smile: "The president and I do not agree with the opinions expressed." As soon as this statement came out, Gu Zhenggang, Zhang Daofan, Wang Shijie and other members of the Standing Committee of the Kuomintang who were present all disapproved of the announcement. Chiang Kai-shek looked around for a while, and then said angrily: "I don't want to leave, but your party members want me to resign, and I am willing to resign not because of the 'communist party', but because of a certain faction of our party. "

Li Zongren's face flushed up to the ears.The "certain faction" mentioned by Jiang obviously refers to the new Guangxi faction represented by him and Bai Chongxi. On January 1, 1949, Chiang Kai-shek's "summation" statement was published.On the same day, Xinhua News Agency broadcast a commentary on "Carrying the Revolution Through to the End" written by Mao Zedong, revealing that Chiang Kai-shek "hoped to seize the invention right of the peaceful offensive from Bai Chongxi and continue his old rule under his new trademark." Mao Zedong's comments hit the nail on the head. On January 14, Mao Zedong wrote the "Statement on the Current Situation" for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, putting forward eight political propositions for peaceful negotiations.Among the first conditions are the punishment of war criminals and the abolition of pseudo-laws and pseudo-legislation.These eight conditions were like thunderbolts to Chiang Kai-shek, seeing them as a "sorrowful letter of Medton" asking him to surrender unconditionally.

He had no choice but to hypocritically say to Li Zongren: "As far as the current situation is concerned, of course I can't do it anymore." On the 21st, he officially announced the handover of power and his retirement, and Li Zongren would be the "acting president" of the Kuomintang Nanjing government.Immediately, he returned to his hometown of Xikou Town, Fenghua, Zhejiang. But this time he went to the wild, can he really stay in his hometown and rest in the shadows of the mountains and forests? Near nostalgia is more timid.Feng Hao Fang's ancestral house is in sight.Chiang Kai-shek leaned on his staff, took off his top hat, and looked at it attentively, but hesitated a little.

"Father," the round face of Jiang Jingguo, the accompanying son, leaned next to his father, "I have made all the arrangements properly, father, please go back to the house early to rest." Chiang Kai-shek looked at his son, nodded, and was about to take a step. Unexpectedly, there was a loud noise interspersed with noisy footsteps.Chiang Kai-shek turned his head and saw a row of military police blocking the crowd who wanted to approach this way. He was startled, and hurriedly told his son, "Jing Guo, go and have a look." Jiang Jingguo nodded and hurriedly ran over.After a while, he turned around and said to Chiang Kai-shek: "Father, the folks heard that you are coming back all the time. They wanted to see you. Out of safety concerns, they stopped you."