Chapter 6 Section 5

Mao Renfeng, known as the "Smiling Tiger", is also an extremely intelligent person. He has been in the military command for a long time, licking blood at the knife edge. It is not easy for a small lieutenant colonel secretary to defeat many competitors and sit on the top of the military command. Being a subordinate is the most loyal.But loyalty alone is not enough, one must also understand and figure out the will of the master. The key is not to be too smart, and to maintain and reflect the will and level of the master at all times.Even if the chief makes a mistake, he should take the initiative to take responsibility for himself, which shows the superiority and foresight of the chief.

Before Chiang Kai-shek officially announced his retreat to Xikou, Mao Renfeng first expressed to Chiang that he would "advance and retreat with the president", and then reported that in order to cope with Li Zongren's claim, he had already taken all the property, confidentiality, files, personnel and command of the general. Institutions, etc., were all moved to Taipei.In order to deal with President Li, Xu Zhidao was appointed as the short-term director. At that time, Chiang Kai-shek was very happy, and he even praised: "Good! Good! You come in front of me!" Mao Renfeng followed Chiang Kai-shek back to Xikou.Unexpectedly, within a few days of following, Mao Renfeng was scolded by Chiang Kai-shek for Li Zongren's No. 1 order.

"Director Mao," Jiang Jingguo looked at his father cautiously, and then asked, "What is the most urgent thing to do to remedy it? Acting President Li wants to release him, and it is published in newspapers and broadcasted. Is it that simple?" "President!" Mao Renfeng nodded gratefully to Chiang Ching-kuo, understood, and boldly stepped forward to stand next to Chiang Kai-shek and said, "Don't worry, those people who were ordered to be released by President Li on behalf of President Li are in the hands of the military commander. If the military command is not ordered, there will be no talk of releasing people."

Chiang Kai-shek glanced at Mao Renfeng, tapped his fingers on the round table, scolded, pushed forward, and revealed a little bit of his intentions, "Zhang and Yang have wronged the country and the people, and they don't want to repent. Also... Most of the political prisoners in custody are stubborn and endanger the Republic of China. Of course we cannot let them go back to the mountain. He Li Delin (Li Zongren) wants to curry favor with the Communist Party and release these people, which is simply unreasonable!" "President, don't worry. I've given the military commanders all over the place a clear discipline. Without the president's letter, any order from Acting President Li will not be accepted."

"Okay, okay." Chiang Kai-shek's tone was much calmer, "Director Mao, you should handle it right away, and you must not take it lightly. As for Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng, they can't be placed in Guizhou. You should go through it quickly and find another one for them." A safe and hidden place." "Yes." Only then did Mao Renfeng feel relieved and retreated. Chiang Kai-shek watched Mao Renfeng's chunky figure slipping out of the door, a sneering smile could not help but appear on the corner of his mouth, and said, "I want to see how Dai President Li releases people. There is an old Chinese saying that is called lifting a rock." Smash yourself in the foot."

On January 24, 1949, the winter in Chongqing was covered with overcast clouds. Although it was noon, the atmosphere of the sky was no different from that at dusk. Li Zongren took the top spot in the "Nanjing government", and issued the first order to "release Zhang Xueliang, Yang Hucheng and all political prisoners in custody".He also claimed that he would send planes to welcome Zhang and Yang to discuss the state affairs.The news spread to Chongqing, where the most progressive patriots were imprisoned. Progressive reporters from various newspapers relied on President Li's order to carry out rescue activities.

On this day, a group of reporters visited the KMT Chongqing Municipal Government to inquire about the implementation. The mayor Yang Sen avoided showing up and was received by Secretary General Li Huan. He said: "The mayor has violated peace and is still recuperating. The release of the prisoners has not yet been ordered. No comment." The reporters flocked to the Chongqing District Command of the KMT's "air division" to visit the commander Yan Yucong. Yan replied: "The headquarters has not received an order from the headquarters to send an aircraft to pick up Yang Hucheng."

The reporters worked tirelessly and turned to Yang Sen again.After all, Yang was a soldier, so he spoke more simply. Surrounded by reporters, he said, "I haven't received an order, but I have received an order. How can I release people?" The reporters asked together: "Aren't Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng imprisoned at Ciqikou?" Yang Sen glanced at the noisy crowd and replied angrily: "You know better than me, I can't control this matter." The reporters kept chasing after him: "Who can control it?" Yang Sen became angry and blurted out: "The second office of the Southwest Chief's Office, they control the people."

The reporters then flocked to the second office of the Kuomintang's Southwest Executive Office, but they couldn't see anyone at all.It turned out that the reporters who were doing all-out rescue activities discussed how to visit the "second place" after hearing Mayor Yang Sen tell the truth.Reporters from various newspapers generally deal with the "Political Office" and always keep a respectful distance from the "Second Office".Make an exception this time.However, finding the "second place" is still a new topic for these reporters. The Southwest Chief Executive's Office is the original site of the "Military Commission" during the Anti-Japanese War. It has a large area, many houses, and numerous agencies.Enter the gate of the office from the Jinzi gate in the lower half of the city, cross the square, go up the big steps and pass through several halls, go down the stone ladder, go uphill from the left side, turn into the small gate, and there is a small road not far away that is hard to find. Alley, across the alley is "Bieyoutiandi" - an elegant three-story Western-style building, the big conference room is on the top floor, and the director's office of the second office is in the main room.If you walk through the back door of the Old Street Office, it will be much closer, but the gate is heavily guarded, and anyone who is not inside is not allowed to enter. In 1948, a peripheral publisher of "Advanced News" didn't know the details of the old street and only thought it was a back alley connecting the main road. When he was distributing newspapers, he was pulled in by the guard at the "back door".

These progressive journalists searched for the second place separately, making inquiries from east to west, but bumped into walls everywhere.A reporter with considerable skills fumbled through the main entrance to an external reception room inside the back door. He was hesitating as he approached the alley that was hard to find. Then he asked, "Which way do you go?" The familiar face casually pointed to the alley. This is really "there is no place to find when you break through the iron shoes, and it takes no effort to get it."The reporters broke into the second floor and knocked on the door of the director's office.

"Duk! Duk!" The inside responded habitually: "Come in!" It wasn't his subordinates who came in, but a stranger. The reporter sent a business card to explain the purpose of their visit. Xu Yuanju suppressed his panic and pretended to be calm and said: "As a soldier, my brother takes obeying orders as his bounden duty. So far, we have not received any definite notice from Director Mao Renfeng about the release of Zhang and Yang. Please understand that I am a soldier and I only know how to obey orders."