Chapter 11 "Jiang" and "Gong" married together

Just when the Communist Party changed its course and began to work hard for the establishment of the anti-Japanese national united front, Chiang Kai-shek, who had always been regarded by the Communists as a "traitor", realized the "impossibility" of the Sino-Japanese War under the pressure of the Japanese invaders. "Avoid" and began to change the previous policy. On the one hand, "started to negotiate with the Soviet Union" in order to obtain assistance from the Soviet Union; Chiang Kai-shek first reached out to the CCP in 1935. On Christmas Day in 1935, two people with the aliases Li Rongqing and Jiang Fannan traveled from Shanghai to Berlin on a German cruise ship as an attache of the newly appointed ambassador to Germany, Cheng Tianfang.Li Rongqing is Chen Lifu, a senior member of the Central Committee of the Kuomintang and the Minister of Organization.Jiang Fannan is the pseudonym of Zhang Chong, an important member of the Central Organization Department of the Kuomintang.They were assigned by Chiang Kai-shek to secretly visit the Soviet Union to discuss the issue of the military alliance with Japan, and to seek an opportunity to have a dialogue with the CCP.

In order to avoid public opinion, Chen Lifu lied in China that he went to Hangzhou to recuperate due to illness.Before Chen Lin left, he specially wrote several letters to his relatives and friends, which were carried by his family to Hangzhou and posted, making people believe that he was in Hangzhou.After going to Berlin, Chen Lifu also acted mysteriously.However, his trip to the Soviet Union was learned by Japanese secret agents and made public in the newspapers.The Soviet Union was afraid, Chiang Kai-shek was nervous, and Chen Lifu was recalled to the country.This trip was unsuccessful. But another communication channel arranged by Chen Lifu was opened.

Chen Lifu's confidant, Zeng Yangfu, who was the deputy minister of the Ministry of Railways at the time, got in touch with the Northern Bureau of the CCP through his subordinate Chen Xiaocen, and took the first step in contact with the CCP. In late November 1935, Chen Xiaocen wrote a letter to Lu Zhenyu, a professor at China University who was associated with the underground party of the Communist Party of China in Beiping. In the letter, he used a clever metaphor: "In recent years, my east neighbors have been bullying me too much. Only the 'Jiang Mansion' and 'Gong Mansion' are married. Fang Qi can work together and plan countermeasures to protect the family's wealth. Brother, if you want to attack, I hope you will come south."

"Jiang" and "Gong" are the homonyms of the first word of Chiang Kai-shek and the Communist Party.After Lu Zhenyu received the letter, he immediately approached Zhou Xiaozhou, the Propaganda Minister of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China who was often in contact with him. And it was Soong Ching Ling who first sent the information that the Kuomintang wanted to negotiate directly to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. In the second half of 1935, Chiang Kai-shek asked Song Ziwen to try to get in touch with the CCP.Soong Ziwen immediately discussed with his second sister Soong Ching Ling.Soong Ching Ling decided to invite her old friend Dong Jianwu to visit northern Shaanxi.Dong's real identity at that time was a member of the Shanghai Special Branch of the Communist Party of China, and his public identity was the pastor of St. Peter's Church in Shanghai, who had a close relationship with the Song family. In January 1936, Soong Ching Ling invited Dong to her apartment, handed him a package of essentials, and asked him to send them to northern Shaanxi to present to Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai.Soong Ching Ling urged that this matter should be done well, and success will benefit the country a lot.

In mid-January, Dong Jianwu, under the pseudonym Zhou Jiwu, set off from Shanghai as an "investigator of the Ministry of Finance" with the pass that Soong Ching Ling had obtained for him.When he arrived in Xi'an, it was snowing heavily, so Dong went to Zhang Xueliang to help solve the traffic problem.From this, Zhang Xueliang realized that the Kuomintang Central Committee was in secret contact with the CCP, and sent people to send Dong to the Soviet area.Afterwards, Zhang Xueliang carried out the activities of uniting the Communist Party against Japan more boldly, and thus the Luochuan negotiations took place.

On February 27, Dong Jianwu arrived in Wayaobao.At this time, Mao Zedong and Zhang Wentian were on the front line in Shanxi, and Zhou Enlai was on the front line in northern Shaanxi.Bogu, the head of the CPC Central Committee who stayed in Wayaobao, met with Dong Jianwu.Dong explained the purpose of his visit, "implicitly revealing that Jiang can agree: A, not to attack the Red Army; B, unanimously resist the Japanese; C, release political prisoners; D, arm the people; Shuqing (incline) Jiang still has money."And handed over a pack of "essentials": a pack of Yunnan Baiyao that Soong Ching Ling gave to the Red Army for treatment, and the call sign and password of the radio station that contacted her.

Bogu is about to telegraph Mao Zedong, Zhang Wentian and others about the situation of the people coming from Nanjing.Mao Zedong and other leaders of the Communist Party of China attached great importance to this situation. On March 4, they jointly sent a telegram to Wayaobao, clearly expressing their "willingness to start specific and practical negotiations with the Nanjing authorities" and proposed a negotiation plan. The next day, the red pastor Dong Jianwu returned to Shanghai with this plan and returned to Soong Ching Ling. As a result, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, which had been at war for ten years, finally began to marry in front of the national enemy.

According to the change of Chiang Kai-shek's posture, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China responded quickly. On January 29, 1936, the "Red China" newspaper published a speech by the leadership of the Communist Party of China, saying: "If Chiang can truly resist Japan", "of course we can join hands with him on the anti-Japanese front."It was the first time to clearly express the attitude of "uniting with Chiang Kai-shek to resist Japan". On April 25, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued the "Declaration for the Establishment of the Anti-Japanese People's Front of All Parties in the Country", publicly declaring for the first time that the Kuomintang was included in the united front.

On August 12 of the same year, Mao Zedong sent a telegram to Zhu De and others in the "Suggestions on Future Strategic Guidelines", affirming that "Nanjing is the necessary and main opponent for the United Front", and raised the issue of "forcing Chiang to resist Japan". In northern Shaanxi in August, the weather was already very hot, but Mao Zedong and others were not overheated.They were soberly aware that Chiang Kai-shek's change was forced by the situation, but in their hearts they still wanted to "recruit" the Communist Party and incorporate the Red Army. The Communist Party cannot be fooled.At the same time, Chiang Kai-shek was still on the sidelines for the joint resistance against Japan. Only by forcing Chiang to resist Japan can the goal of uniting Chiang to resist Japan be achieved.

Regarding the policy of "forcing Chiang Kai-shek to resist Japan", Mao Zedong had a vivid metaphor.He said: This is like a fellow from northern Shaanxi driving a donkey up a mountain. Someone must pull it in front and push it in the back. Mao Zedong began to implement this strategy.Beginning in the summer of 1936, he entrusted Zhou Enlai with full authority to be responsible for the united front work against Chiang Kai-shek, and let Zhou Enlai continue to communicate with Chen Lifu and others;In about half a year, Mao personally sent letters nearly a hundred times, flying from north to south, and addressed almost all the leading figures in the Kuomintang party, government, military and cultural circles.In the letter, he lamented the CCP’s worries about the enemy’s deep calamity, and stated the truth that if you suffer from each other, you will perish, and the whole country will survive if you fight hard.

This has had a remarkable effect.Mao Zedong's sincerity and sincerity won widespread approval, and many Kuomintang members brought up the old motto "Brothers stand outside the wall to defend against their insults" and called on the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to cooperate in the resistance against Japan as soon as possible.Soong Ching Ling, Feng Yuxiang, He Xiangning, etc. repeatedly put forward the plan of uniting Russia and the Communist Party to resist Japan, forcing Chiang to resist Japan from within. On December 1, 1936, Mao Zedong led the entire Red Army to send a letter to Chiang Kai-shek himself, again stating the wishes of the Communist Party. His attitude was sincere and very touching.Here are a few excerpts for sharing: "The hearts of the people and the hearts of the soldiers are like this, sir, why don't you think about it clearly at night? "The world is in a state of turmoil, and we belong to one person. The current plan only needs to be decided by one word. Stop the civil war today. Tomorrow, the Red Army and the army of "suppressing communism" in the northwest can immediately move from the battlefield of the civil war to the anti-Japanese front. The national defense force in the distance has suddenly increased dozens of times. If you change your mind and focus on it, you can avenge the country, protect the country, and recover the lost land. You can also be a glorious anti-Japanese hero. The fragrance will last forever, Mr. Guo still doesn’t come here because of it!” "Today's matter is to resist the Japanese and fall to the sun. Choose one of the two. Wandering astray, destroying the country, being a slave, losing the hearts of the country, and being insulted for thousands of years. We sincerely don't want to see the people of future generations gather together and say Said: The one who subjugated China was none other than Chiang Kai-shek. I hope that future generations will regard you as a hero who can save the country and the people in time." "There is a saying, don't be afraid to change your mistakes. It is also said, put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha immediately. Where to go, I hope you can learn from it." However, how can the solid ice that has been solidified for a long time melt in an instant. In the second half of 1936, under the coercion of Japan, Chiang Kai-shek reversed his attitude and took a tough attitude towards the CCP, and no substantial progress was made in secret negotiations. Beginning in late October, Chiang Kai-shek believed that there were only five minutes left to suppress the Communists, and urged Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng to fight the Red Army, which finally led to the Xi'an Incident on December 12, when Chiang Kai-shek was imprisoned. The Xi'an Incident is of great significance. As Snow said, "a historical leap has been realized on the Grand Canyon of history."Chiang Kai-shek, who had experienced sudden changes in Xi'an, knew that public opinion could not be violated, and public opinion could not be insulted. He began to seriously adjust domestic and foreign policies, and went to the negotiating table to conduct formal negotiations with the CCP on the issue of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party and joint resistance against Japan.From January to September 1937, Zhou Enlai, Bogu, Ye Jianying, Zhu De, Lin Boqu, etc. successively visited Xi'an, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Lushan, etc. with Gu Zhutong, He Zhonghan, Zhang Chong, Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Lifu, Song Ziwen, Kang Ze, Shao Lizi, etc. Numerous negotiations took place. At the beginning of the negotiations, the Kuomintang insisted that the Red Army should only have 3 divisions, and that if there were more than 3 divisions, it would set up a political training office directly under the leadership of the battalion, instead of setting up a certain route army headquarters or commander-in-chief. The chief of staff could only be appointed by the Kuomintang Nanjing government. It also stipulates that the Political Training Office is only responsible for liaison and has no right to command, and it is recommended that Zhu De and Mao Zedong "go abroad" for investigation.Zhou Enlai and others resolutely rejected these unreasonable demands. Just when the negotiations were deadlocked, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, which shocked the world, broke out. On July 8, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a telegram, shouting loudly: Pingjin is in danger!North China is in danger!The Chinese nation is in danger!The only way out is for the whole nation to carry out the War of Resistance!Call on all compatriots, government and army to unite to build the strong Great Wall of the anti-Japanese national united front, resist the aggression of the Japanese invaders, drive the Japanese invaders out of China, and shed the last drop of blood to defend the country. On July 9, Peng Dehuai, He Long, Lin Biao, Liu Bocheng and others, on behalf of the entire Red Army, sent a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek, saying: "The entire Red Army is willing to change its name to the National Revolutionary Army, and please name it as the Anti-Japanese Vanguard to fight the Japanese invaders to the death. " On July 15, the representative of the CCP handed over to Chiang Kai-shek a document entitled "The Communist Party of China Announces the Kuomintang-Communist Cooperation Declaration". The "Declaration" proposed three basic political programs: launching the whole nation to resist the war, realizing civil rights politics, and improving people's lives.In order to overcome the difficulties together, the Chinese Communist Party made major concessions, showed an open and impartial attitude, and made four guarantees in the "Declaration": "1. Mr. Sun Yat-sen's Three People's Principles are necessary for China today. Our party is willing to fight for their thorough realization. "2. Cancel all riot policies and redification campaigns to overthrow the Kuomintang regime, and stop the policy of confiscating landlords' land by violence. "Three, abolish the current Soviet government and implement civil rights politics in order to unify the national political power. "4. Cancel the name and designation of the Red Army, reorganize it into the National Revolutionary Army, be under the jurisdiction of the Military Commission of the Nationalist Government, and be on standby to serve as the front line of the Anti-Japanese War." With the national anti-Japanese and national salvation movement on the rise and the Communist Party advocating the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in the war of resistance, Chiang Kai-shek issued a speech on July 17, "Solemn Statement on the Marco Polo Bridge Incident", claiming that "in case of the inevitable last moment, we will certainly There is only sacrifice, only resistance.” On August 13, the Japanese invading army suddenly launched a large-scale attack on Shanghai, and the flames of war have reached the heart of the Nanjing government.Chiang Kai-shek saw that the door of his house was on fire, and if he did not try his best to resist, his downfall would be imminent.He urgently needed the Red Army to go to the North China front to join the war in order to contain the Japanese army and reduce the pressure on Shanghai.So he had to make some concessions. On August 19, Chiang Kai-shek agreed to reorganize the Red Army into the Eighth Route Army, and appointed Zhu De and Peng Dehuai as the chief and deputy commanders.The long-standing stalemate of the reorganized command and personnel issues of the Red Army was finally resolved.The Communist Party also made some concessions, such as abolishing the political committee system, and changing the political department of the division to the political training department. On August 22, the Kuomintang government officially released the designations of the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army and the divisions under its jurisdiction. In mid-September, representatives of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party held the second Nanjing negotiation.Through the efforts of the representatives of the CCP, Chiang Kai-shek recognized the legal status of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia government, with Lin Boqu as the chairman of the border region government and Zhang Guotao as the vice-chairman. On September 22, the Kuomintang Central News Agency broadcast the "Communist Party Central Committee Announcement of the Kuomintang-Communist Cooperation Declaration" to the whole country. The next day, Chiang Kai-shek delivered a speech in which he promised the legal status of the Communist Party throughout the country. He believed that "the interests of the entire nation are ultimately above the interests of all individuals and groups." All of them should be fully vigilant to the people of the whole country, and they should strive for unity so as to jointly protect the life and survival of the country." He expressed his willingness to "openly accept" "any faction in the country". With this as a sign, the anti-Japanese national united front advocated by Mao Zedong was formally formed. The two governments of "Jiang" and "Gong" abandoned their past prejudices and 10-year old enmity.