Chapter 33 Chapter 14 The critical moment of the peace agreement, twists and turns

(April 15-22, 1949, Peking-Nanjing) Huang Shaohong did not expect that Zhou Enlai rushed to the airport early in the morning to see him and Qu Wu off. In the early morning of April 16, Huang Shaohong and Qu Wu arrived at Xiyuan Airport by car.They were elected by the Nanjing government delegation late last night, and they flew back to Nanjing to ask for instructions with the CCP's terms of peace.The reason for choosing him is naturally that he was once one of the three giants of the Guangxi family, and hoped that he could persuade Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi to accept the terms.Qu Wu was recommended because Qu Wu was the son-in-law of Yu Youren, a veteran of the Kuomintang, so it was convenient for him to do persuasion work in Nanjing.

This time, the apron of Xiyuan Airport was particularly lively.Zhou Enlai led the CCP peace talks representatives Ye Jianying, Lin Biao, Lin Boqu, Li Weihan, etc. to come, and Zhang Zhizhong, Shao Lizi, Zhang Shizhao, Liu Fei, Li Zheng and other representatives from Nanjing also went to the airport to see him off.Everyone said words of blessing, wishing for the early realization of peace, which made the atmosphere at the airport very warm, which was in stark contrast to the low-standard and deserted reception received by the Nanjing government delegation when they arrived at the airport half a month ago.This shows the sincerity of the CCP to reach a peace negotiation agreement.Huang Shaohong also recognized Bai Chongxi's nephew Hai Jingqiang in the crowd; Hai Jingqiang was the commander of the 188th Division of the Forty-sixth Army of the Guangxi elite unit. He was captured alive by the People's Liberation Army in the Battle of Laiwu, Shandong. , Zhou Enlai asked him to return with Huang Shaohong on the same plane this morning.This is a way for the CCP to show its friendliness to the Guangxi faction.

This time Huang Shaohong didn't come to Peiping for a long time, but he had a deep feeling and will never forget it.Originally, seeing the cold weather in Nanjing, he wanted to stay out of the matter, so he flew to Hong Kong to live in Xiaoyao at the end of February.However, Li Zongren repeatedly sent telegrams urging him to go back to Nanjing as a representative of the peace talks, and it was hard to refuse in face. He had to rush back to Nanjing on March 29, and hurried to Peiping with a delegation on April 1. In fact, he had already seen through Chiang Kai-shek wanted to use Li Zongren to come forward for peace talks to take a breather. How could Lao Jiang agree to the eight conditions of the CCP!He fell ill shortly after he arrived in Peiping, and his old heart disease relapsed, so he was sent to Beijing Hospital from the Liuguo Hotel.Several things touched him in Peking.The two things that touched me the most were Fu Zuoyi's speech and Mao Zedong's interview.Fu Zuoyi invited him to dinner at home. The two were old acquaintances, and they talked about everything. After listening to the introduction of the Peking Peace adaptation, he deeply admired Mr. Fu for alleviating the suffering of the people and preserving the thousand-year-old ancient capital. I think this is an important contribution to the country and the nation.He is also the most unforgettable Mao Zedong's interview in Xiangshan. He has benefited a lot from the great man's demeanor of hard work after entering the city, and he is deeply moved.What surprised him most was that Mao Zedong had heard that he could write good words and praised him for his literary genius.Seeing that Mao Zedong came back and lived in the ward of the Beijing Hospital, he was very happy, and he was so happy that he wrote two poems "Good Things Are Near", titled "Sense of Time".The reality is recorded as follows——

He used the scenery to express his feelings, and wanted to ask when the new moon will be full, expressing his yearning and prayer for the early success of the peace talks. After Liu Fei saw it, he was full of praise, and even said: "Excellent words! Excellent words!" He is satisfied with the progress of the peace talks.It is not easy to come up with a clause that both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party representatives agree with.In this peace talk, before the formal meeting, representatives of the two sides had separate talks, repeated consultations, fully exchanged views, and clarified their views.When the official meeting was held in the Hall of Qinzheng, the representatives of Nanjing put forward their amendments to the draft agreement in written form. A total of more than 40 points were adopted, and more than half of them were adopted.It seems that the first of the eight most controversial articles, the punishment of war criminals, is based on the principle recognized by Li Zongren on behalf of the President. After repeated requests from the Nanjing delegation, Chairman Mao Zedong of the Communist Party of China agreed to leniency. The first paragraph of the first item has been changed to "All war criminals, no matter who they are, who can recognize right from wrong, come to repentance, have sincerity, have shown facts, and are therefore conducive to the advancement of the Chinese people's cause of liberation and to the use of peaceful means to solve domestic problems, are allowed to be cancelled. War crimes will be given lenient treatment." After making such amendments and additions, it is fair to say that the CCP has insisted on what it should insist on, and tolerated what it can tolerate. He and all colleagues in the Nanjing delegation have to admire.

The eight articles and twenty-four clauses of the "Domestic Peace Agreement" were announced by Zhou Enlai, the chief representative of the CCP delegation, at the second meeting of the two parties held in the Hall of Qinzheng on April 15, and set a deadline for negotiations on April 20, Nanjing Whether the delegation is willing to sign the agreement must express its attitude before April 20, and April 20 is the date of signing. Due to time constraints, the Nanjing delegation returned to the Six Nations Hotel after the meeting in the middle of the night. The vitality of the country and the lives and property of the people are the most important. Therefore, accepting the agreement, admitting mistakes with sincerity, and accepting failure with courage is better than resisting to the end and failing to the end. In the middle of the night, after full discussion, everyone unanimously expressed their acceptance of this "Domestic Peace Agreement", He also recommended Huang Shaohong's representative and Qu Wu's adviser to return to Nanai with the documents, and advised Li Zongren and He Yingqin to accept them.

At around 2 o'clock that night, Zhou Enlai learned that Huang Shaohong was recommended to return to Nanjing for instructions, and immediately summoned him alone in the Liuguo Hotel.As soon as the two met, Zhou Enlai asked with concern: "Mr. Ji Kuan, is your heart disease better?" He said: "About tonight I was a little excited, and my heart stopped intermittently. I still have to go there tomorrow morning." Zhou Enlai said, "You've worked hard! Tomorrow you have to take the plane sick. To be on the safe side, I'm going to ask the Beijing Hospital to send a doctor to accompany you there."

He said two words of thanks. Zhou Enlai looked at him and said: "The burden on your shoulders is not light. We will wait for you to come back. Let me tell you that the Central People's Government, which is about to be established, has selected Zhongnanhai as its office. A few days ago, our staff there In this room of the Palace of Government, a peace agreement was discussed. I hope that after the agreement is signed, the leaders of the KMT and the Communist Party will continue to discuss state affairs together in the Hall of Qinzheng for a long time to build a powerful new China of the people themselves. You put This meaning, conveyed to Mr. Li Delin again. I hope he can fly to Peiping to sign."

He said: "From my point of view, whether the agreement is signed or not is at most a 50-50 hope, or even less. I just try my best to carry it out." Zhou Enlai also told him: "I just talked with Chairman Mao on the phone, and he wished you and Mr. Qu a safe journey. Chairman Mao said that he had an appointment with you, and you will write lyrics and sing together after signing the agreement." He was a little excited: "Mr. Zhou, no matter whether the agreement is signed or not, I will come back." Zhou Enlai finally said to him: "In order to express our sincerity for the peace talks and our hope for the Guangxi faction, we have released Mr. Bai's nephew, Mr. Hai Jingqiang. You can take him back to Nanjing together tomorrow."

He bid farewell to Zhou Enlai, left Liuguo Hotel and returned to Beijing Hospital, it was already past 3 o'clock at night.A few hours later, on the morning of April 16, when he and Dr. Zhao sent by Beijing Hospital arrived at Xiyuan Airport by car, Zhou Enlai and other representatives came to the airport to see him off. . At noon that day, the plane arrived in Nanjing.He and Qu Wu went to live in the official residence of Li Zongren in Fu Hougang, and Dr. Zhao from Beijing Hospital lived in the Capital Hotel.At around 4 o'clock that afternoon, Li Zongren held a small meeting in the mansion. Only six people including Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi, He Yingqin, Huang Xuchu, Huang Shaohong and Qu Wu attended.He glanced at the expressions of the few people present, knowing that they all hoped that he would bring back peace terms that suited their tastes.When he took out the document from his purse, he said: "Zhou Enlai, the chief representative of the CCP, has repeatedly stated that this "Domestic Peace Agreement" is the final draft that cannot be changed. The time limit for signing is April 20. If the government agrees, it will be signed; otherwise, They will cross the river immediately. After the agreement is signed, the CCP will select ten counties in the upper and lower reaches of the Yangtze River to be peacefully crossed by the PLA and accept the Jiangnan area. If the government agrees to sign before April 20, the CCP hopes that Mr. Li Delin, Mr. He Jingzhi, Mr. Yu Youren, Mr. Ju Juesheng, and Mr. Tong Guanxian came to Beiping to participate in the signing ceremony. Mr. Wen Bai appointed me and Mr. Qu to bring this finalized proposal back to Nanjing for instructions. Mr. Wen Bai and all representatives hope that the agreement will be signed as soon as possible .”

He briefly reported the process of the peace talks, and then handed over the "Domestic Peace Agreement" to Li, Bai, and others for circulation.After hearing his introduction, these people read the documents hastily, all looked at each other in blank dismay, without saying a word, the air was extremely dull, and everyone's faces were extremely gloomy and ugly.Bai Chongxi couldn't bear it anymore, and first pointed at Huang Shaohong angrily and said, "It's embarrassing for you, you can bring back documents like this! Can we accept such harsh terms?!" He Yingqin said coldly: "Such an important issue cannot be decided arbitrarily. The Executive Yuan has to hold a meeting to study and discuss it before answering it. Fortunately, there are still a few days before the deadline for answering."

Li Zongren and Huang Xuchu did not say a word from the beginning to the end.The meeting broke up badly.Huang Shaohong went to Beiping to call Zhang Zhizhong that night to report the situation of his arrival in Nanjing, but said that the terms of peace would have to be discussed and studied by the Executive Yuan before replying. The next day, April 17, Li Zongren sent Zhang Qun to Xikou by special plane, and handed over the "Domestic Peace Agreement" to Chiang Kai-shek for review.This action has shown that Li Zongren does not want to sign the peace agreement, but does not shirk responsibility.In fact, Gu Zhutong had already telegraphed the full text of the agreement to Chiang Kai-shek on the evening of the 16th.Chiang Kai-shek was furious when he saw the agreement, and slapped the table and cursed: "Wenbai is incompetent, loses power and humiliates the country!" Chiang Kai-shek also immediately telegraphed the regular meeting of the Kuomintang Central Committee and the Central Political Conference in Guangzhou, using the Kuomintang Central Committee to issue a statement rejecting the "domestic peace policy." agreement". On the evening of April 17th, Li Zongren called Bai Chongxi, Huang Xuchu, Li Pinxian, Xia Wei, Wei Yongcheng, Qiu Changwei, and Cheng Siyuan, who had been summoned to Nanjing earlier, to Fu Hougang's official residence for a meeting to listen to Huang Shaohong's report and discuss countermeasures.Huang Shaohong originally wanted to stay out of the matter, but Li Zongren called him to Beiping to participate in the peace talks; this trip to Peiping changed his thinking, and he suddenly realized that he had a stronger sense of responsibility to promote peace.That night, seeing that it was the Guangxi faction who was holding a meeting by himself, and all of them were acquaintances, he cut straight to the point and spoke more openly: "In the past two days, there have been a lot of public opinions about the peace talks. Some people think that the "Domestic Peace Agreement" is an agreement of unconditional surrender. The agreement of humiliating power and humiliating the country depends on how we approach it. The situation we are facing now is neither the situation of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in Guangzhou in the 14th year of the Republic of China (that is, 1925), nor the situation of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party at the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War. The situation of the party. We are now a defeated army seeking peace. At present, it is impossible to maintain a balance of power in the military, and it is impossible to achieve absolute equality in politics. Due to the situation, we must not share the same breath and fate with Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang Kai-shek still We can retreat to Taiwan and linger on. We are in a state of crisis, and there is no other way to go. Only a peaceful situation is enough to protect ourselves. We cannot rely on Chiang Kai-shek. Not only I, Huang Shaohong, but also all of you here have a deep understanding .” He glanced at everyone, and continued: "If we make up our minds as soon as possible, Degong will come forward to sign a peace agreement with the CCP, Degong can serve as the vice chairman of the Central People's Government, and our soldiers in Guangxi can also be preserved. Land reform will not be implemented. These conditions are still beneficial to us. At this point, we should face the reality and find a way to protect ourselves." Li Zongren said at this time: "I don't care about leaving a place for myself. I came to power in advocating peace. What I plan and do should be for the benefit of the country and the majority of people. If peace cannot be reached, I will resign and return to the field without hesitation." , to thank the people of the country. So at the meeting tonight, we will discuss it from the perspective of the country and the overall situation." Bai Chongxi had contradicted Huang Shaohong not long ago on the issue of peace talks. This time, Bai had already heard it impatiently, and said angrily: "Why can the Guangxi troops be kept, and the land reform will not be carried out for two years? It's a dish on someone else's plate, and it's just for dinner in the morning and evening! Ji Kuan, when your delegation went north, it clearly brought the "belly case" discussed by the Executive Yuan; how could you bring back such a surrender agreement? How could Zhang Wenbai be so confused? This kind of situation? We don’t even want our basic standpoint. I’ve said it long ago, ‘Han and Cao are not compatible’!” After Bai Chongxi finished speaking, he walked away angrily.This evening's meeting was over, and we left in despondency. On the evening of the 18th, the leaders of the Guangxi faction continued their secret business in the official residence of Fu Hougang and Li Zongren, and Bai Chongxi and Huang Shaohong continued to confront each other without any results.According to Mr. Cheng Siyuan, who participated in the meeting, recorded in "Politics Memories": "On the evening of the 18th, the talks continued in Fu Hougang. Li Zongren proposed that the peace agreement agreement should be handed over to the 'Peace Talk Steering Committee' for discussion. to kick the ball into the opposing camp (KMT conservatives).” Seeing this situation, Huang Shaohong was very annoyed, so he went to the Drum Tower Hospital run by the Americans on the pretext of having a heart attack.He already knew that there was definitely no hope for peace. On April 19, the Executive Yuan held a secret meeting in the conference hall of the Ministry of National Defense of the Military Academy to make the final decision on the terms of peace.Huang Shaohong was invited from the hospital to give a report at the meeting, introducing the peace talks.The meeting was chaired by Premier He Yingqin.Huang Shaohong came to see the meeting and felt that the form of the meeting was very strange.Acting President Li Zongren attended the meeting.Wu Tiecheng, the secretary-general of the Central Party Committee, flew from Guangzhou to participate, and Yan Xishan, who had just escaped from Taiyuan, was also invited to participate.Chief of Staff Gu Zhutong was also invited to participate.Executive Yuan Secretary-General Huang Shaogu and several other ministers also attended the meeting.Bai Chongxi did not participate.Huang Shaohong felt that this form of meeting was like the joint meeting of the highest party, government and army before Chiang Kai-shek went to power, but the acting president Li Zongren sat on the sidelines and attended as a non-voting observer.At the meeting, Wu Tiecheng, Huang Shaogu, Yan Xishan and others made speeches to criticize the "Domestic Peace Agreement" point by point and opposed the signing.Gu Zhutong also cited the mobilization of the People's Liberation Army and judged that the CCP is deploying cross-river operations, which shows that the CCP's peace talks are not sincere. Huang Shaohong saw Li Zongren sitting quietly, his face was embarrassed, and he didn't say a word.He understands Li Zongren's current situation very well.If Li speaks out against the peace terms, it is tantamount to reneging on his own words; because Li has issued a statement not long ago, acknowledging the eight peace terms proposed by the CCP as the basis for negotiations, but in his heart he feels that the peace terms contradict the vested interests of his acting president.He also knew that Li Zongren had even greater concerns. If he expressed his approval of the representatives of the peace talks, he would inevitably conflict with the party and the military. As long as Chiang Kai-shek said a word in Xikou, Li would be detained or coaxed to step down, and he might even die. Danger.So Li Zongren had to sit aside and keep silent. In the end, He Yingqin declared that the terms of peace were unacceptable, and the Executive Yuan decided to call Zhang Zhizhong tomorrow to ask the CCP to extend the time so that the two sides could continue to negotiate on some basic issues. Huang Shaohong already knew this result, so he was not surprised.It was 12 o'clock when the meeting ended.After lunch, he and Li Zongren returned to Fu Hougang mansion.Their hearts were heavy.He felt that Nanjing could not stay any longer.He thought that tomorrow, the 20th, is the last time for the CCP to sign, and Zhang Zhizhong is anxiously waiting for an answer in Beiping.He immediately hung up a call at Li's mansion and went to Peiping.Zhang Zhizhong received a call and asked, "How is the situation?" He said: "It is inconvenient to discuss the details over the phone. The Executive Yuan will have a written reply tonight or tomorrow, and you will know then. I plan to fly to Hong Kong this afternoon." He was stunned for a while when he heard the microphone, and then Zhang Zhizhong said, "Heh, heh, heh." He knew that Zhang Zhizhong had understood from his hint that the peace talks had broken down. He made up his mind to go, put down the phone, and said to Li Zongren: "Mr. De, I have nothing to do here. Last month you called me back from Hong Kong to be a representative of the peace talks. I have done my best." Li Zongren looked at him for a moment and agreed.Li called Liu Shiyi, the chief of the army at the presidential palace, on the spot and asked if there was any opportunity to fly south.Liu said there were two trips in the afternoon, one was a passenger plane to Shanghai and the other was a special plane to Guangzhou.Without any delay, he hailed a car and headed straight to the Ming Palace Airport. Even Dr. Zhao, who had come with him from Peking, left before he could settle in properly.Liu Shiyi sent him 1.5 million gold dollar coupons, which were regarded as travel expenses on behalf of the president.The special plane flying to Guangzhou is "Freedom", which is Chiang Kai-shek's worn-out special plane, which has been downgraded to be used by minor figures of the Nanjing government.This time, Wu Tiecheng was picked up from Guangzhou for a meeting in Nanjing, and Wu Tiecheng was sent back to Guangzhou on a special trip. He met Qu Wu at the airport.Qu Wu came to see people on the plane, and he was very surprised to see him, so he hurriedly asked: "Mr. Huang, how are things (referring to the terms of the peace talks) going?" There were so many people at the airport, it was inconvenient for him to say more. He just said, "I'm going back to Hong Kong soon. I hope you will go back to the Northwest soon. There is no benefit in staying in Nanjing for a long time." Qu Wu suddenly realized it, and said yes repeatedly. He flew to Guangzhou that night and then flew to Hong Kong the next day.As soon as he settled down, he received news that the People's Liberation Army had fully crossed the river.In his memoirs, he described his feelings after returning to Hong Kong—— Within a few days of my return to Hong Kong, Nanjing was liberated, and soon Shanghai was also liberated.I only know from the newspaper that Li Zongren flew to Guilin for a while, Chongqing for a while, and Guangzhou for a while.Guangzhou is the place where the Kuomintang first originated and became the place where it was finally buried.If Li and Bai wake up early, they can still sign a partial peaceful settlement.I have been classmates with Li and Bai since childhood, and we have known each other the most for decades, especially the true intention of the final peace negotiations, so I did not want to be a representative at the beginning.As the saying goes, "You don't shed tears when you don't see the coffin." They don't shed tears when they see the coffin!What is the use of my going to give last counsel? On April 20, Li Zongren and He Yingqin formally replied to Beiping Zhang Zhizhong and other representatives, declaring that they did not agree to sign, asked to discuss the draft peace agreement again, and opposed the immediate crossing of the People's Liberation Army. At night, Huang Qihan, who lives in the Li mansion at No. 69 Fuhougang, felt that the house was completely silent, and no one came to the door.A few days ago, there were people coming and going here, and it was extremely noisy. The leaders of the Guangxi Clan held a secret meeting here for two consecutive nights.No one called Huang Qihan to the meeting as usual.He thought that maybe because he was enthusiastic about spreading the word for the CCP, he no longer had much trust in him.He doesn't care either.He has made up his mind to go his own way. That night, he saw Li Zongren sitting silently in the study, looking very tired and old, accompanied by his wife Guo Dejie.Li Zongren told him: "I am going to hold a press conference for Chinese and foreign journalists at the Presidential Palace tomorrow morning. I will deliver a speech calling on the military and civilians across the country to fight the Communist Party to the end." He said: "Mr. De, is it okay for you to make such a speech? I think it's better not to speak." Li Zongren said: "I am not afraid of offending the Communist Party." He persuaded again: "This is not a question of whether you are afraid of offending the Communist Party, but Degong, you seem to have just played a bad face on the stage, and now you immediately come to sing a bad face. How can this make sense? Maintain a 'peaceful president' Is it not good?" Li Zongren listened and remained silent. He also said: "If you want to make this kind of speech, why don't He Jinggong (He Yingqin) or Bai Jiangong (Bai Chongxi) give the speech instead of Degong?" Guo Dejie also interjected: "Yes! Let them talk about it. Why bother to drag everything on you?" Li Zongren remained silent, but seemed to have moved. In the early morning of the 21st, he was woken up to see Li Zongren.Li asked him to accompany Guo Dejie to Guilin first, and Li said that he would not leave Nanjing until the last moment.But he had made up his mind when he left Peking this time, and told Zhou Enlai that he would resolutely rely on the people and not go against the trend of the Guangxi clique.Since he flew from Beiping to Nanjing on April 3, he conveyed Zhou Enlai's opinions and Li Jishen's oral message to Li Zongren.Li Zongren did not express his opinion, but instead told him to fly to Hankou to report to Bai Chongxi.Bai Chongxi insisted that the CCP should not cross the river.He persuaded: "This is impossible. Mr. Zhou Enlai said that during the peace talks, the CCP's army will not cross the river; Partition, asked: "How is Li Rengong (Li Jishen)? Have you told Rengong, can he come to Wuhan?" He said: "Mr. Ren said that if our attitude is not clear, he is unlikely to come. He hopes that we will have our own plans, and we must make up our minds to break with Jiang and act independently, and get closer to the people." But Bai Chongxi didn't listen to his words, instead he was busy deploying Wuhan's military defense every day. On April 9, Li Zongren called Bai Chongxi to Nanjing to discuss the situation, and he flew to Nanjing with Bai Chongxi.During this period, he still remembered Zhou Enlai's words, and proposed to Li Zongren: "The problem of dispatching a Gui army to Nanjing to defend must be solved immediately." At that time, he hoped that Li had already outnumbered Bai.Li Zongren said: "Why are you transferred? You are still a softshell in a urn when you are transferred to defend Nanjing!" After a while, Li said to him angrily, "Just say you want to be transferred, and I can't make the decision." He saw that after many times of persuasion, it didn't work, so he decided not to go on with Li and Bai.At that time, Li Zongren sent a plane to send his wives Guo Dejie and Huang Xuchu, Cheng Siyuan's wife Shi Hong, and Wei Yongcheng's wife Jiang Huaxiu back to Guilin, and let him accompany them.He reasoned that his family members were in Shanghai and needed to go to Shanghai first.Li Zongren agreed, and sent others to accompany Guo Dejie and other wives to fly back to Guilin.At this time, the sound of cannons was vaguely heard in Nanjing, and the People's Liberation Army had already approached the capital of the Kuomintang. On the morning of the 22nd, he, Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi took the special plane "Chasing the Cloud" sent by Chiang Kai-shek to Hangzhou.Then, he took a train to Shanghai in Hangzhou. In early May, because he was a member of the Legislative Council, he entrusted someone in Shanghai to obtain a plane ticket to Guangzhou from the Shanghai Office of the Legislative Yuan under his name in order to evade the eyes and ears of the secret agents.He stayed in Shanghai.Unexpectedly, by a very accidental opportunity, he learned the inside story of Bai Chongxi's strong opposition to the peace talks.In his article "Memories of the "Peace Talks" in 1949", he described—— One day, I happened to meet Bai Huaimin who worked in the Central Bank Business Bureau. He told me that the Ministry of Finance asked the Central Bank to allocate 4 million yuan to "Central China Chief" Bai Chongxi Dayang, because the bank did not have such a large amount of cash, and part of it was paid at 1.5 yuan. Ten thousand taels of gold was discounted, and a special plane was sent to Hankou to Bai. ... (This question, when I saw Mr. Li Zongren for the last time in Beijing in October 1967, he personally confirmed to me that it was true.) On May 27, when Shanghai was liberated, Huang Qihan and Mr. Shao Lizi contacted more than 50 KMT legislators Wu Hexuan and Fan Yusui who stayed in Shanghai and Nanjing, and sent a telegram to declare that they would break away from the KMT and support the Chinese Communist Party and Chairman Mao. (April-September 1949, Guilin-Hong Kong-Peking) April 23rd was a Saturday, the noon cannon had just been fired on Duxiu Peak, and Li Renren was just about to have lunch.At this time, Huang Xuchu called and told him that Li Zongren could not land when he took off from Nanjing to Guilin this morning, because the airport staff slowed down, so Li flew to Liuzhou Airport and landed, and he also called.Huang Xuchu said that he had already made arrangements for the airport, and Li Zongren would fly over from Liuzhou soon.Li Renren said that he also rushed to the airport to meet him. In the past few days, the peace talks could not be signed, and the People's Liberation Army crossed the Yangtze River in an all-round way, and marched towards Nanjing. In addition, two days ago, Huang Xuchu and Guo Dejie led several officials' wives of the Guangxi clan whose husbands were in Nanjing, and flew back to Guilin from Nanjing to seek refuge in a hurry. Most of the Guilin officials in Guilin have a dark cloud over their hearts.The general situation is over, panic, and some are even planning to avoid Hong Kong.People are concerned about the situation in Nanjing and the fate of Li Zongren from different angles.Among the officials of the Guangxi family, Li Renren was indifferent, thinking that this was something he had expected.He regretted that Degong was hesitant at the critical moment, unable to let go of his burden and make up his mind. In February, he was invited by Bai Chongxi to Hankou to discuss the situation.He advocated peace talks with the CCP, but Bai Chongxi ignored him, and he also turned back to Guilin unhappy.Soon, Li Zongren called many times to invite him to Nanjing for business talks.He thought over and over again, and felt that the attempt of Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi to rule the river was impossible to realize.He also saw that Chiang Kai-shek was holding on to military power and financial power behind the scenes, Li Zongren was ineffective in deploying troops, and the money was not effective. Even the emperor's order to release Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng was a dead letter, let alone any political and economic reform measures.Chiang Kai-shek's army, gendarmes, and spies were all over Nanjing. Li Zongren was alone, and his own safety was not guaranteed. When we people arrived in Nanjing, our safety would also be threatened.Therefore, he felt that going to Nanjing at this time would not be of much use, to be loyal to the Guangxi Clique and realize its attempt to rule by the river?There is no way to recover; do something good for the people and bring about real peace?not sure.Therefore, before Huang Xuchu was summoned to Nanjing for a meeting and set off to invite him, he evaded it on the grounds of old illness.He declined Li Zongren's invitation many times and stayed in Guilin.During his stay in Guilin, he still kept in touch with all parties, and he also invited some comrades to prepare for partial peace when the national peace talks failed. Li Renren felt a little sudden when he heard the news that Li Zongren was about to fly to Guilin.It has already been reported that the presidential palace moved south to Guangzhou, why didn't Li Zongren fly to Guangzhou, did he stop by for a short time? After Li Renren answered the phone, he ate a few mouthfuls of food and rushed to the airport to meet him.At 1:00 p.m., Li Zongren's special plane "Chasing the Cloud" landed at Yangtang Airport. He, Huang Xuchu, Zhang Renmin and military and political officials from Guangxi went there to greet him.When everyone saw Li Zongren's sunken eye sockets, tired expression, and gloomy face, everyone present had an indescribable feeling in their hearts.Everyone drove Li Zongren and his party to the newly built Li Mansion at No. 103 Wenming Road, Guilin. Li Zongren took a short break, and called a meeting of senior military and political officials from Guangxi in the mansion that night.Li Zongren expressed his attitude to everyone and said: "Nanjing fell today. I flew out at the last moment. The plane was originally arranged to fly to Guangzhou. After takeoff, I decided to fly back to Guilin. Before Nanjing fell, Yesterday, I flew to Hangzhou to have talks with Chiang Kai-shek. I originally wanted to have a showdown with Chiang Kai-shek. If he wanted to fight, let his surname Jiang come out to fight. Unexpectedly, he launched a surprise attack and proposed to set up an extraordinary committee of the Central Committee of the Kuomintang. Vice, He Yingqin, Zhang Qun, etc. here all agree, so I can't object. Chiang Kai-shek wants me to jointly send a telegram to the whole country with him, announcing that the KMT-CCP ​​peace talks have broken down, and the CCP has no sincerity. I left Hangzhou and flew back to Nanjing without signing the joint telegram. The presidential palace will be moved south to Guangzhou. This time, Zongren plans not to fly to Guangzhou for the time being, because I want the people in my hometown to live a peaceful life.” After hearing this, Li Renren thought that Degong had become calmer and more realistic.He thought that Li Zongren returned to Guilin instead of Guangzhou, maybe he was unwilling to die with Chiang Kai-shek.Guilin was beyond the reach of Chiang Kai-shek's military and police secret agents. If Li Zongren really wanted to change course and be determined to make peace, sign a peace agreement or agree to a partial peace, Guilin was the most suitable place. The next day was Sunday, and Li Zongren continued to call everyone to discuss the situation in his mansion.Li Zongren received a telegram from Shao Lizi and Zhang Shizhao from Beiping, urging Mr. De, "This is your second chance to rein in the precipice. Although the situation of covering the Yangtze River has changed, the territory of the Southwest still exists. I hope Mr. De will open a mansion in Guilin and stand still. Continue to call for peace and righteousness." Li Zongren also said to everyone: "Never go back to Guangzhou, and never corrupt Guangxi." Li Renren was inspired by this, and wanted to use collective strength to push Li Zongren to sign the peace agreement. He discussed with Chen Xiong, another backbone of the Guangxi faction, and planned to call the senior cadres of the Guangxi faction to discuss and give Li Zongren a letter of opinion to let him know his position. The cadres also tend to be peaceful, and they are no longer reliable internally, so they are determined to sign the peace agreement.Provincial Chairman Huang Xuchu agreed with this opinion, and held a meeting in the conference hall of the Guangxi Provincial Government Building in Wangcheng one day in late April.Attendees included directors and committee members of the Guangxi provincial government, some members of the Legislative Council, supervisory committee members, and senior military officers Li Pinxian, Mo Shujie, Yao Huai, etc.Li Pinxian had just been arranged by Bai Chongxi to return to Guilin to serve as the director of appeasement in Guangxi. During the meeting, Chen Xiong, who had just returned from Hong Kong, reported the situation first, saying: "I met Huang Jikuan (Shao Hong) in Hong Kong. Ji Kuan said that Nanjing was under the control of Chiang Kai-shek's forces at that time, and there were many secret agents. There was his difficulty in signing the peace treaty. At this time, he flew back to Guilin, and he could try to get him to sign in Guilin. For this reason, Ji Kuan also wrote a letter to De Gong, in which he urged to sign the peace treaty in Guilin. I have already Give the letter to Mr. De." Li Renren continued to speak, emphasizing the importance of peace, saying: "Even if other provinces cannot be persuaded to act together, Guangxi should have local peace." At this time, Li Pinxian rushed to speak: "Our Guangxi army has not suffered any losses, and Guangxi is our own territory. Since the Communist Party wants to fight over, of course we must fight it to the end. As the old saying goes, it is better to die than to fight Wa Quan!" Li Renren immediately stood up and retorted: "Peace is the trend of the times and what the people of the people want. After fighting for so many years after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, people's resentment has boiled and people's hearts have been lost. Chiang Kai-shek's millions of troops have been completely defeated, and the current situation is very different. If you do not strive for peace and continue to act recklessly, you may be unable to achieve anything." Li Pinxian was dissatisfied and got up to argue.Li Renren refuted them one by one.This meeting became a tit-for-tat debate between him and Li Pinxian, and few others spoke.In the end, Huang Xuchu agreed to write a proposal for peace to Li Zongren, and recommended that the then secretary-general of the Guangxi Provincial Government, Huang Zhongjin, draft it. He, Chen Xiong, and Zhang Renmin would revise and polish it, and sign it freely. Anyone who wants peace can sign it, and those who don’t Don't sign it, don't force it. After the manuscript was completed, there were dozens of signatories, including directors and members of the Guangxi Provincial Government, members of the Legislative Council, and so on.Only a few senior military officers such as Li Pinxian, Mo Shujie, and Yao Huai did not sign.This opinion was handed over to Huang Xuchu and forwarded to Li Zongren. This titled "Opinion Letter to Acting President Lee" contains thousands of words, the main points of which are—— First, as far as the overall situation is concerned, the Kuomintang government is at the end of the day, and it is hard to get back. Sooner or later, it will inevitably collapse, and there is absolutely no possibility of recovery; Second, Guangxi Province is still peaceful and stable, and there are still 200,000 to 300,000 troops from Guangxi, who are guarding against danger, and have conditional peace talks with the CCP. Third, the military and political leaders of Guangxi have always been at odds with the central government, but they have a deep friendship with Li Jishen, chairman of the National Revolutionary Revolutionary Committee. Now it is extremely appropriate to use Li Jishen to mediate and make peace with the CCP; Fourth, if Guangxi wants to confront the CCP with its strength, it is tantamount to hitting a stone with an egg. At present, it should do everything possible to compromise with the CCP. This letter of opinion prompted Li Zongren to think about resuming the peace talks with the CCP.In the article "The Inside Story of the Peace Talks on the Eve of the Collapse of the Kuomintang" written by Li Renren during his lifetime, there is a vivid record—— One or two days after sending this opinion letter, one day, it was raining heavily, and Li Zongren came to my house by car alone.He got out of the car and walked straight to my room. Although it was not a few steps, his clothes were very wet from the rain.When he saw me, he didn't greet me, so he said straight to the point: "I still want to resume the peace talks, and I would like to ask you to go to Peiping for me." Even Guangxi will be corrupted. You know a lot of people in the CCP and cultural circles, so I want you to go once." I said, "As long as you are determined to make peace, I will go." After saying a few words, he left. Li Renren was a member of the Central Committee of the Kuomintang Revolutionary Committee at that time. Li Zongren came to him in the rain to reopen the peace talks, which made him very excited. He was preparing to contact the Kuomintang Revolutionary Organization in Hong Kong on this matter; Flying back to Guilin on the 2nd, things changed again. The night Bai Chongxi flew there, he and Huang Xuchu invited everyone to Li Zongren's mansion on Wenming Road for a meeting.No fewer than dozens of people attended the meeting, including directors and committee members of the Guangxi Provincial Government, senior officials of the Guilin Appeasement Office, and some legislators and supervisory committee members.During the meeting, Li Pinxian rushed to speak, and tried his best to slander the CCP, saying: "The CCP does not want Chinese history and culture, the elderly, and tear up families. It is absolutely impossible to negotiate peace with them." Li Renren couldn't help but retort, saying: "Yan'an has a Chinese history research association, also performs Beijing opera, and writes old style poems. How can we say that we don't want Chinese history and culture? Many of the leaders of the CCP are old people, such as Dong Biwu, Xu特立、林伯渠等，都是六七十岁的老人，徐特立抗战时来桂林，我们好些人都见过。非共产党员也有个李鼎铭先生是六七十岁的老人，中共还请他当边区政府的副主席，怎么能说人家不要老人？延安就有夫妇、子女、家庭，怎么能说拆散家庭？” 李品仙听了又喋喋不休地起来争论。这一夜，发言的人虽然不少，但主要还是他和李品仙针锋相对的辩驳。白崇禧阴沉着脸起来说话：“和战取决于德公！” 大家都不作声了，望着李宗仁和黄旭初。黄旭初当晚一言不发。李宗仁也一直不吭声。白崇禧说话之后，李宗仁还是一声不响。 李任仁望见李宗仁的样子，想起两天前李宗仁冒雨来找他说的话，不由得苦笑了一下。 当晚就这样无结果地散了会。 第二天晚上，他还得到消息说白崇禧已经召集高级军官开过一次会，吩咐他们说：“以后谁再言和者，给我抓起来。” 当时，居正和阎锡山是偕同白崇禧一起飞到桂林的。居正和阎锡山是来敦促李宗仁前往广州的，被招待于榕湖畔的“桂庐”中休息。李任仁没有得到邀请参加李宗任与居正、阎锡山的商谈。只是到了5月6日，居正和阎锡山要飞离桂林时，李宗仁请这两位客人吃饭，才邀他作陪。席间只有李宗仁、郭德洁、居正、阎锡山和他五人。吃饭时大家都不谈什么，尤其是不谈涉及时局的话，空气沉闷得很。饭后他就告辞了。 5月8日，李宗仁飞往广州去了。报上传来消息，李宗仁到达广州之时，发表了一篇表示要对中共“戡乱到底”的决心。李任仁在家读了，一笑置之。至此，本来在桂林已经很浓的和谈空气大变，主战者的气焰不可一世。连执笔写那份意见书的黄中廑，也来了一个180度角的转变，不但闭口不言和平，甚至在道上遇见李任仁也绕路而避之。 在这种情况下，李任仁只好家居闭门不出。5、6月间，白崇禧回过桂林几次，也曾到他家里看他一两次，但都是说些闲话，涉及时局的话两人都避而不谈。后来，他为避免麻烦，索性称病留医，搬到桂林浸信医院居住。 这时，正在北平为新中国诞生而日夜操劳的周恩来没有忘记这位在桂林的老朋友，没有忘记李任仁在抗战的桂林文化城中与中共的真诚合作；周恩来曾嘱咐中央统战部长李维汉于7月10日致电中共驻香港负责人乔冠华，请乔“负责邀请并帮助在广西的李任仁经港来平，参加新政协会议”。 于是，7月间，他接到民革驻港机构从香港派人秘密给他捎来的信，说民革要他到北平去参加新政协。此时，正好李宗仁从广州给黄旭初打来长途电话，叫黄旭初转达，请他到广州去。他一想，正好顺水推舟，借此机会离开桂林到广州伺机转去香港。黄旭初登门来征求他的意见，他表示同意。黄旭初就嘱人为他买好飞机票把他送到广州。他到广州后住在广西省政府驻粤办事处，稍事休息后就去中华北路李宗仁的官邸，与李宗仁见面之后才知并没有什么要事；李宗仁除了询问他的身体健康情况和广西最近发生的水灾情况外，没有谈什么。第二天，李宗仁请他去吃午饭，吃饭时也没有谈及有关时局的话，对和谈更是绝口不提。饭后他即告辞回到广西省驻粤办事处，一位友人已买到一张即刻飞往香港的机票，他就迅速地乘汽车赶往广州机场，搭上班机，飞抵香港。不久，他就在乔冠华的帮助下乘上一艘挂着巴拿马旗号的轮船前往东北转去北平，参加人民政协。在新政协会议期间，周恩来曾经前来看望他。他还见到了以华南解放军首席代表身份参加政协会议的张云逸，两人在一起紧紧拥抱，兴奋地回忆起12年前抗战爆发前夕在会仙乡秘密会谈的情景。张云逸告诉他，人民解放军很快就要向广西进军了，还向他征询将来在广西开展革命和建设工作的意见。那些日子，他真有说不出的高兴，也有说不尽的感慨。