Chapter 14 Going to life and death, Song Ziwen confides the inside story to Li Mingrui

The reorganization faction headed by Wang Jingwei, Chen Gongbo and others, who were excluded by Chiang Kai-shek from the "Three All" Congress of the Kuomintang, tried their best to contact the anti-Chiang faction forces, and in the name of the "orthodoxy" of the Second Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang, Under the banner of "protecting the party and saving the country", they attempted to unite with Feng Yuxiang, Yan Xishan, Tang Shengzhi, Shi Yousan and other military groups to jointly oppose and overthrow Chiang. However, Chiang Kai-shek, using the name of the legitimate central government, implemented military deployment, determined to kill, fundamentally eradicate the feudal separatist regime, and use force to unify the country by force, which caused the conflict between the local power faction and Chiang to become increasingly tense and sharp.Zhang Fakui, Shi Yousan, Tang Shengzhi, etc. who had already taken refuge in Chiang Kai-shek were all sitting on pins and needles, in constant panic.

At this time, Wang Jingwei and others had already realized that Chiang Kai-shek could not be defeated by political struggle alone, and the reorganization faction also had to engage in military struggle.In August of that year, Wang Jingwei hurriedly returned to Hong Kong from France to organize the Second Central Committee of the Kuomintang and issue letters of appointment to various powerful factions.Therefore, Zhang Fakui, who was unwilling to be dismissed by Chiang Kai-shek, and Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi, and Huang Shaohong, who were in exile in Hong Kong and Vietnam, jointly sent a telegram to support Wang against Chiang. In the name of "protecting the party and saving the country", they decided to attack Guangzhou first, and then captured Nanjing. .Tang Shengzhi, who was stationed in Zhengzhou, and Shi Yousan, who was stationed in Pukou, Nanjing, also secretly joined the ranks of the "Party Defender and National Salvation Army".On the one hand, Wang Jingwei instigated Zhang Fakui's Fourth Army to attack Guangdong from western Hubei via Hunan and Guangxi, intending to seize Guangdong as an anti-Chiang base;

After Xue Yue arrived in Nanning, he tentatively lobbied between Yu and Li, and obeyed his master's secret order-don't scatter eagles if you don't see a rabbit. Yu Zuobai and Li Mingrui believe that although opposing Chiang is their established goal, they are not yet firmly established, and the military expenditure and military pay are very scarce. The ministries under their jurisdiction, such as Lu Huanyan, Yang Tenghui, and Huang Quan, are clamoring for military pay all day long. hesitate. When Li Mingrui received Chiang Kai-shek's persuasive and intimidating phone call, he suddenly felt in a bad mood, so he went to Yu Zuobai to discuss countermeasures.

Yu Zuobai scolded angrily: "Throw him away! Lao Jiang is pointing at Sang and scolding Huai, killing a chicken for the monkey to see! Let's unite with Zhang Fakui to turn against him, I'm afraid it won't work!" Li Mingrui said: "Although Lao Jiang is intimidating, he is also able to see through the attempts of the Wang family. We weigh the pros and cons, and it is the best policy for us to proceed with caution." "Lao Jiang is cunning, cunning, cunning, and cunning. He turns his hands into clouds and turns his hands into rain. Sooner or later, we will not escape the fate of being plotted by him. Why don't we take advantage of this opportunity and fight him to the death, so as to save ourselves from being punished by swords in the future? Woe!"

Seeing his cousin's pained and angry look, Li Mingrui immediately took out a big cigar from the chimney on the table and handed it over, lit a lighter for his cousin, and said: "Cousin, don't be impulsive. Ruined the whole game of chess. I told Lao Jiang that Wang Zhaoming sent people to Guizhou to lobby, but I ignored it; There was no immediate answer. Cousin, do you think I should go or not?" Yu Zuobai immediately smashed the cigarette in the ashtray: "Yusheng, don't go! Besides, you can't leave now, brother can't live without you." Li Mingrui thought for a moment and said, "I think, since Lao Jiang's invitation ’, if you don’t go, it will arouse his suspicion even more, and it will also hit his tricks; if you go, you can complain to him face-to-face and get back the military expenses owed.”

"Yu Sheng, I'm afraid that your going will be bad luck!" "Cousin don't have to worry. At this time, Lao Jiang will not act recklessly. If I don't obey, the worst thing is to take me as a hostage." "I can't go here! I can't go! I can't go! If you're not around for a day, I'll be lost." Li Mingrui lit another cigar for his cousin, and said very relaxedly and confidently: "For our For the long-term plan, I still want to go. If something happens to my brother, I am willing to sacrifice my life to arouse everyone to rise up and fight against Chiang!"

Yu Zuobai's face was full of sadness: "What should I do?" Li Mingrui said: "There is no need to delay, I will leave today! After I leave, brother Yu and Zhang Yunyi will be fully responsible for military affairs. You might as well call Wei Baqun here; if necessary, please invite Mr. Deng, the representative of the CCP, to discuss major plans." These words and expressions do have the feeling of "the strong man will never return".Yu Zuobai stroked his cousin's shoulder, and two lines of tears fell down: "Yusheng, you have to be more prepared." Li Mingrui nodded: "Please don't worry, brother."

At 2 o'clock in the afternoon that day, Li Mingrui set off from Nanning to Wuhan, and then transferred directly to South Nanjing.Office of the President of the National Government.Chiang Kai-shek was dressed in military uniform, pacing back and forth on the thick red carpet with his hands behind his back.At this moment, he was listening to Zheng Jiemin who came over as soon as he got off the plane to report to him the new situation in Guangxi. Zheng Jiemin listed the "crimes" of Yu and Li after they came to power: the public release of political prisoners; In the name of the brigade, peasants are armed; and so on.

"Mother Xipi! Yu Zuobai and Li Mingrui have bad intentions! Alas, they shouldn't have...but...alas" Chiang Kai-shek cursed and murmured in a bit of pain, but immediately suppressed his emotions and showed a peaceful face. "Jiemin, you did a good job in Guangxi, I will reward you." "Thank you for the cultivation of the principal! Students should do their best to share the worries of the principal and be loyal to the party and the country!" "Well. I want you to come back this time to discuss how to coerce Yu and Li to prevent them from slipping too far."

"Principal, from the perspective of the students, Chen Jitang and Lu Di were assigned to attack in two equal ways, and Yu and Li..." "No!" Chiang Kai-shek raised his hand to interrupt Zheng Jiemin's words, "It is too early to use troops at this time, and it will ruin my plan. Now Zhang Fakui has attached himself to Wang Jingwei to rebel against the Central Committee; ...Our party and country are in troubled times, and everything must be considered in the long term.” "Yes! Please tell the principal." Zheng Jiemin got up and stood at attention. "Jiemin, sit down, sit down." Chiang Kai-shek waved his hand, asking this loyal subordinate to sit down. "What can Yu Zuobai and Li Mingrui do with their 5,000-6,000-member security brigade? They can't rely on Lu Huanyan, Yang Tenghui, and Huang Quan, the old Guangxi faction? So, you have to use your brains on Lu, Yang, and Huang."

"Yes! Yes! It's still the headmaster's opinion." Zheng Jiemin praised again and again. Zheng Jiemin knew very well that the three divisions of Lu, Yang, and Huang were the main military forces of Yu Zuobai and Li Mingrui in charge of Guangxi.At present, Lu Huanyan's department is stationed in Yulin, Yang Tenghui's department is stationed in Wuzhou, and Huang Quan's department is stationed in Liuzhou. On the surface, they accept the jurisdiction of Yu and Li, but that is to ask for military pay.Recently, Chiang Kai-shek implemented the policy of "closing the gates and cutting off fuel" in Guangxi, and the military expenditure allocated to Guangxi became pitifully small. Lu, Yang, and Huang visited Yu and Li one after another to ask for it.And what about Yu and Li?Guangxi is short of finances and its treasury is empty, and it is impossible to cope with it. Chiang Kai-shek gave an opportunity to Zheng Jiemin face-to-face: he had asked Song Ziwen to stop allocating a cent of funds to Guangxi.He asked Zheng Jiemin to work hard on the three commanders Lu, Yang, and Huang. If Yu Zuobai and Li Mingrui were instigated by Wang Jingwei to join Zhang Fakui's rebellion, he would let Lu, Yang, and Huang set fire to their backyards so that they could not see each other from head to tail. disintegrate collapse. "Yu Zuobai and Li Mingrui don't eat or drink fine wine when toasting, they are obedient to others, and they are on two boats, mother Xipi! I want to see how capable they are!" Chiang Kai-shek walked to the large desk, opened the drawer, and put the already He took out the three checks he had prepared, put them on the table, and pushed them towards Zheng Jiemin. "Jiemin, it's worth taking it with you and using it on Lu, Yang, and Huang. You tell them that as long as they support the central government and get out of Yu Zuobai's jurisdiction, everything will be fine." Zheng Jiemin took the check and looked at it. There were three cash checks, one million yuan each.I thought: With this huge sum of money in hand, Zheng is absolutely sure that Lu, Yang, and Huang will part ways with Yu and Li!So he stood up and said confidently: "Please rest assured, the principal, the students will definitely handle this matter well!" Chiang Kai-shek nodded, a strong desire to conquer and rule filled his chest: "Ambition, adventure, wisdom and morality alone are not enough to achieve great things. At critical times, you must rely on this." Zheng Jiemin echoed: "Yes, yes! You can't do anything without money in China. If the central government doesn't give money, Yu Zuobai and Li Mingrui can't get along for a day!" Chiang Kai-shek repeatedly warned: "As long as the kung fu is used on Lu, Yang, and Huang, the vital point will be grasped! Even if Wang Zhaoming pulls the bald commander Yu Zuobai over, it will not be worth a damn! Jiemin, you must firmly grasp the vital point. Everything will be fine." Zheng Jiemin stood up with his legs together: "The principal's teaching, the students will remember it in their hearts! Can the students go?" "The situation in Guangxi, you have to report to me at any time." "yes!" Nanjing.The private residence of Minister of Finance Song Ziwen. Li Mingrui arrived in Nanjing all the way, and did not immediately go to see Chiang Kai-shek, but first went to worship the "God of Wealth" Song Ziwen. "General Li is here. I'm so sorry, I'm sorry!" Song Ziwen shook hands with the visitors, took a seat, and asked the butler to serve tea and cigarettes. "General Li came to Nanjing, why didn't you call me first? However, I know why you came. Two weeks ago, you sent Jiang Zuwu here, but I happened to be away from Nanjing." "That's right, my subordinates were 'closed doors' and returned empty-handed." Li Mingrui said with a smile, "I came today by coincidence, I happened to meet Minister Song." "I really didn't expect that General Li would come here in person." "It's hard for a clever woman to cook without rice! There are so many people waiting for the rice to go into the pot, howling! I had no choice but to come to the door and reach out." "I understand your difficulties very well." Song Ziwen's gentle face suddenly showed a look of embarrassment, and he said softly, "General Li must know our family background, and all directions of the country are reaching out to me, wishing to tear me apart. Cut and torn. But I am light and fleshy, and my desires are hard to fill! Therefore, the central government has recently stipulated that all allocations to provinces must be approved by Chairman Jiang himself.” "Oh——" Li Mingrui immediately realized something, took a sip of tea, and asked, "Could it be that Chairman Jiang must personally approve the appropriation within the normal plan?" "The central government is short of finances, and the funds in the plan must be approved by Chairman Jiang himself. This is an emergency measure by the central government to reduce expenditures recently." "Minister Song," Li Mingrui's emotions became impulsive, "You can't let my brothers tie their necks and cover their eyes and stop eating, drinking, and shitting?!" "General Li, listen to me," Song Ziwen quickly explained, "I have personally reported to Chairman Jiang about the funding for Guangxi, but it is very difficult!" . "Why? Could it be that Guangxi is a stepmother?" Of course, Li Mingrui could hear intentions in this specially emphasized tone. "There is still a way in Guangxi." Song Ziwen was still reluctant to speak out, and he still seemed very sincere, "General Li, Guangxi is located in the 'Golden Triangle', and when the 'hard currency' (referring to opium) passes through the border, the taxes are quite rich. No matter what, you can always live in a perfunctory way, right?" "It's okay to talk about this kind of sarcasm." Li Mingrui said earnestly and solemnly, "Minister Song knows the truth. The government's repeated orders to ban drugs, coupled with years of wars, few people dare to take that risk. Then again, it belongs to the central government. Allocate funds to Guangdong, why not Guangxi?" "General Li calm down." Song Ziwen felt that he should clarify his words. He lowered his voice and said, "To be honest, Chairman Jiang knows everything that happened in Guangxi. It seems that the Chairman is not satisfied! So, please Li General and Chairman Yu understand, Ziwen is really helpless!" "Thank you Minister Song for speaking out, Yu Sheng understands!" Li Mingrui got up, shook hands with Song Ziwen and said goodbye. "Since General Li is here, do you want to meet Chairman Jiang?" "..." Li Mingrui couldn't figure out what was behind his words, he just pursed the corners of his mouth, smiled faintly, wanted to say something, but turned around and walked away without saying anything. Li Mingrui felt that it was completely unnecessary to meet Chiang Kai-shek, and he had to leave Nanjing immediately.