On July 18, 1949, Chairman Mao, in the name of the Central Military Commission, sent a telegram to Lin Biao, Deng Zihui, Xiao Ke, and others, saying: The 12th Corps may be ordered to occupy Pingjiang, Liuyang, and Liling, and the frontal troops should occupy Yuezhou and Xiangyin, and not to get too close to Changsha, so as to negotiate with Cheng Qian and Chen Mingren to resolve the Hunan issue peacefully. Therefore, after the People's Liberation Army occupied the pingjiang, huanghua, liuyang, and liling lines, it did not launch an attack on Changsha.
Liu Chunzheng, who was sent by Cheng Qian to Wuhan to contact the CCP representatives, returned to Changsha on July 24, and because Cheng Qian had already gone to Shaoyang, Liu Chunzheng reported Wang Shoudao's words to Chen Mingren: "We have organized a peace negotiation delegation, please convey to Director Cheng Qian, and also organize a delegation." The place of negotiation, please ask Director Cheng Qian to determine, in Pingjiang, Chunhua Mountain, Huanghua City, Changsha City and beyond. ”
Chen Mingren thought for a moment, and then called to inform Cheng Xingling to come to the Corps Headquarters quickly and discuss important matters. Chen Mingren said to Cheng Xingling: "The 12th Corps of the People's Liberation Army and Wang Shoudao, a representative of the Chinese Communist Party, have all arrived in Pingjiang, and Li Zhongjian (Li Mingjian) has also come with the army to ask our side to send representatives to negotiate. ”
Cheng Xingling was willing to go. After Chen Mingren made arrangements, he called Cheng Qian with a password on the 27th: "Please return to Changsha quickly on the 29th." Cheng Qian, as scheduled, took the guard's pistol platoon and set off in a Japanese-made bullet-avoiding vehicle in the early morning of the 29th. In the afternoon, they changed to the patrol boat "Dongting" near the Wujia Garden, about 10 kilometers from Xiangtan City, and went down the Xiang River, trying to avoid the surveillance of agents sent by Bai Chongxi, and successfully returned to Changsha that night.
In order to successfully welcome Li Minghao, Cheng Xingling specially found Yu Zhihong of the Xiang Work Committee and asked him to send a guide to Pingjiang. With the approval of the Xiang Work Committee, Ouyang Fang, Cheng Xingling and Li Junjiu set off by car and arrived in Pingjiang on the 28th. The CPC peace talks delegation headed by Jin Ming warmly received them. Cheng Xingling hurriedly said: "This trip was entrusted by General Chen Mingren to invite Mr. Li Minghao to Changsha in order to make necessary preparations for peace talks. Director Cheng Qian will also return to Changsha in the future, at which time formal negotiations can begin. I wonder if the CCP thinks this is feasible? ”
Jin Ming said: "General Chen would like to ask his teacher to go to Changsha first in order to further understand our attitude towards him, so that he can be more at ease, which we think is feasible." ”
After Cheng Qian arrived in Changsha, he secretly lived in the Shuiluzhou Music College. At the same time, Li Minghao also arrived in Changsha accompanied by Cheng Xingling and three other people. In the afternoon, Li Minghao met with Chen Mingren. During the banquet, Li Minghao enthusiastically introduced the peaceful and grand situation in the Liberated Areas, the courtesy he received after Fu Zuoyi's uprising, and his feelings when he was in charge of educating the officers and men of the Fubu uprising, and then told Chen Mingren very sincerely: "At present, the People's Liberation Army has stopped advancing, and the CPC Central Committee and Chairman Mao are very appreciative of Director Cheng and your actions, and I hope to cooperate with the Platon Army and raise a shout to save the people of Sangzi from the suffering of war." But I wonder what difficulties you have? ”
Chen Mingren said: "The act of praising the gong for peace is the trend of the times and the desire of the people, and even if I have a hundred immutable sins against the Communist Party, I am willing to put the interests of the Sangzi people first, and I will never be brave again, even if I cut my post to the people in the future, I will not hesitate." ”
Li Minghao heard that Chen Mingren's attitude toward the Communist Party after the uprising was not yet at the bottom, and he felt the need to enlighten him, so he said: "I only arrived in the Liberated Areas in 1948, and I feel that the Communist Party is a wise party for more than a year. Chairman Mao and Vice Chairman Zhou are superb in strategy and open-minded, and unparalleled in the world. The People's Liberation Army is a teacher of benevolence and righteousness, and it does not remember its former enmity for the interests of the people. Far from saying that after Mr. Fu Zuoyi returned to the embrace of the people, the CPC Central Committee and Chairman Mao treated him as guests of honor. If you talk about anti-communism and anti-people, you are nothing more than Fu Zuoyi, right? Before there is a division table, you don't have to worry much, the old accounts of Siping Street, the People's Liberation Army will not look for you to calculate, although rest assured! If Chairman Mao's request to Mr. Zhang Shizhao to pass on to you is not enough to prove it, then Chairman Mao's handwritten secret letter is not enough to be a letter? ”
Chen Mingren nodded as he listened, "Yes, yes! He couldn't help but raise a glass of respect again, drank it all, and said casually: "I just don't know if the CHINESE communists have any specific explanations for my uprising?" ”
"I was personally sent by the CPC Central Committee and Chairman Mao this time to speak on behalf of the CPC and Chairman Mao. I think when you see me, you see your future. Before I came, Chairman Mao had already said that after your uprising, the official ranks and ranks would not be lower than they are now, and the specific issues could still be discussed, and you would never be cut from your post to the people! I can say this to you responsibly. ”
The worries in Chen Mingren's heart were finally dispelled, and he said happily: "Well, Gong Song will return to Changsha today, and the major uprising will be put into practice in the near future." ”
Li Minghao raised his glass again and said, "I wish you success." Then he asked, "What about your generals?" Should some of the necessary measures be taken? ”
Chen Mingren smiled and said, "What the teacher wants is that tomorrow morning I will summon the commanders of the army and divisions to give a lecture, know the great righteousness, and take tough measures when necessary, and in any case, we cannot let a few die-hard elements sabotage the uprising." ”
"Well, you have such determination that the uprising will be held smoothly!"
"Cheers!" The two wine glasses touched powerfully.
The next day, Li Minghao secretly met with Cheng Qian. They are also old superiors and subordinates, and they meet at this time and have a lot of emotions. Li Minghao said: "My visit was personally ordered by Chairman Mao. Before leaving, Chairman Mao and I had a long talk all night, praising Gong Songgong as an outstanding talent, who was born in a scientific class, who fought quite well in battle, and who was able to write poetry and write well, worked in calligraphy, and wrote poems that followed the ancient style of han and Wei, was simple and vigorous, and had a magnificent momentum, which was the sound of a generation of Bells and Lüs. ”
After Cheng Qian listened, he hurriedly said: "Mr. Chairman Mao has really won the prize, and He Gongshi does not dare to be one." In the act of insurrection, our side will certainly act in accordance with the decisions of the CPC side and Chairman Mao. ”
The official entry of THE CCP deputies into Changsha was transmitted to Chiang Kai-shek, Li Zongren, and Bai Chongxi on the same day, and in order to reverse the irreversible defeat, they still pinned their hopes on Chen Mingren. Because the use of force was beyond the reach of the whip, and it was possible to face the enemies of the People's Liberation Army and Cheng and Chen, they did not dare to send troops to go, so they had no choice but to use the high-ranking official Houlu to try to win over and appease them.
After formally dismissing Cheng Qianben from various posts, the National Government in Guangzhou appointed him as the president of the Examination Institute of the National Government; in addition to formally appointing Chen Mingren as chairman of the Hunan Provincial Government, it also announced the abolition of the Changsha Appeasement Office and the establishment of the Hunan Appeasement General Headquarters, appointing him as commander-in-chief. At the same time, Chiang Kai-shek also specially approved the emergency airlift of 300,000 silver dollars, a large number of silver coupons and 40 American heavy machine guns from the joint logistics headquarters.
Regarding Jiang Zhi's move, Cheng Qian and Chen Mingren only smiled and ignored it, let alone sent a telegram to thank the committee. Seeing that Changsha had no reaction, Jiang and Li saw that the situation was not good, but they were still not dead-hearted, so they instructed Executive Yuan Yan Xishan to come forward and send Huang Jie, vice minister of national defense, and Deng Wenyi, director of the Political Work Bureau, to fly to Changsha with heavy gold to act as lobbyists in an attempt to persuade Chen Mingren to stick to Changsha and hold Cheng hostage and sneak to Guangzhou.
On August 1, when Chen Mingren was preparing to convene an emergency military meeting of the commanders of the army and division, someone suddenly came to report that the special plane taken by Huang Jie and Deng Wenyi had arrived at Changsha Airport. Chen Mingren only sent two jeeps and did not send any officials to greet him. When Huang and Deng arrived at the provincial capital building, Chen Mingren came forward to greet his two old classmates of the Huangpu Phase I at the staircase.
After taking a seat in the small conference room, Huang Jie first said: "The central authorities have appointed Cheng Qian as the president of the government examination institute, and his brother is on the mission of welcoming President Cheng to Guangzhou to take up his post. Brother Zi Liang asked Song Gong to come and meet him. ”
Chen Mingren smiled darkly in his heart and said, "Gong Song has already gone to Shaoyang to avoid the battle, and now he hears that his whereabouts are unknown." ”
Deng Wenyi asked in confusion, "How could the whereabouts of Song Gong be unknown before and after the song gong's action?" ”
"Yeah, he took a guard company with him when he left Changsha 10 days ago?" Chen Mingren acted again.
As soon as Huang Jie saw that there was nothing to talk about Cheng Qian, he turned the topic to Chen Mingren. He said: "Brother Ziliang Ren is the proud protégé of the principal, and in the past he was not thin to Brother Ren, but now that the principal has fallen to such a point, I and other Huangpu students must not take advantage of the danger of the principal and fall into the well and fall into injustice!" ”
Chen Mingren bowed his head for a moment, and Huang Jie thought that Chen Mingren was moved, so he immediately handed over Chiang Kai-shek's handwritten letter to Chen Mingren. Chen Mingren took it apart and read it, and saw that it read:
My brother is the backbone of the party-state, and he has cherished the glorious historical relics of the revolution all his life, and he is deeply believed by the Zhongzheng, and now he entrusts himself with the heavy responsibility of Hunan, and he will not bear the heavy trust. Now that the revolution is at a critical juncture, this is a moment to test the will of the revolution, that is, to create a heroic time, and I hope that my brother will carry forward the spirit of Siping and set an example for the national army... Those who sell themselves and surrender should be ashamed to be in the company, and if necessary, they should not hesitate to kill their relatives at great righteousness, and then they should be sentenced to death, and then they should retreat to Xiangxi, and I will go to Sichuan as a backing, and Yu Bingxue (Huang Jie) will report in person.
If you don't mention Siping, if you mention Siping, the anger in Chen Mingren's heart will not come out, and he will sneer as he looks at it. After reading it, he thought that after all, he had followed Chiang Kai-shek for many years, and he was the most moralistic in his life, and in the face of two old classmates, he always had to give them a step down, so he said: "We are all fellow villagers in Hunan, and we are classmates of the huangpu phase I, to tell the truth, my personal future is of no importance, but the lives and property of the people of Changsha can no longer be lost." My principle is: If you go to the soup and fight the fire, your brother will not quit; but if you abandon your father and elder in Changsha and even Hunan, even if there is a high-ranking official Houlu, my brother will not be bothered! ”
After the luncheon, the three of them continued to talk in secret, Chen Mingren was already a little unable to sit still, and the commanders of the army and division were waiting for the meeting at the big meeting of the garrison area. At this time, song Yingzhong, chief of staff of the garrison area, sent Luo Wenlang to the provincial capital to ask Chen Mingren. His mind wandered, he had a plan, walked outside the meeting, and whispered a few words to Luo. After a while, Chen Geng, deputy chief of staff of the corps, hurriedly came to report: "The vanguard of the communist army has advanced to the west of Huanghua City, and guerrillas have also appeared on the outskirts of the city and near the airport, as if there is an attempt to sabotage the airport." ”
When Huang Jie and Deng Wenyi heard this, they were a little nervous and said, "Since the airport is in danger, let's hurry up!" ”
Chen Mingren pushed the boat along the water and said, "Well, just in case it happens." ”
Huang Jie also said: "However, we still hope that Brother Ren can consider our opinions." "Of course, of course." Chen Mingren said.
The three of them stood up, and Chen Mingren held out his hand, signaling them to go first, sending them to the staircase, and arched his hand: "Forgive the brother's military affairs, you can't send it far, there will be a period later." ”
Chen Mingren then drove directly to the security headquarters in a jeep, and when he approached the door of the conference room, he heard the senior generals talking about each other, and he had just stood at the door, and the whole conference room was immediately silent. He went straight to the rostrum and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, the current military situation is extremely tense, and Changsha is in danger, but the reluctance to fight a civil war is entirely the common aspiration of the 30 million soldiers and civilians of the province. As the chairman of the province, I would rather disregard my personal safety than go against the wishes of the people. We must make sure that the people of Changsha cannot hear the sound of gunfire, and this is the gist of my remarks at today's meeting. ”
Chen Mingren has always spoken simply and clearly, why is it so vague this time. However, Chen Mingren habitually asked, "Do you understand?" ”
The answers of the senior generals were naturally also vague, some of them said that they understood it, some said they did not, and some did not know what was said in their mouths. Therefore, Chen Mingren once again emphasized: "I just hope that you can fully obey the order at the critical moment, obey the command, and do not act without permission." ”
Because Chen Mingren was still unwilling to explicitly state the preparations for the uprising, he was afraid of causing an unmanageable situation. As a result, many generals were not mentally prepared, and after the announcement of the uprising, many army and division commanders led their troops to defect.
After the meeting was adjourned, Chen Mingren immediately rushed to Cheng Qian's residence, reported to him what had happened that day, and handed him Chiang Kai-shek's handwritten letter. After Cheng sneaked in, he threw the letter away and scolded: "This big rogue! ”
That evening, Chen Mingren summoned Li Junjiu, Wen Jimo, Wu Xianghe, Chen Chulao, Chen Zangzhong, and other close friends to a meeting at the mayuanling official residence to study whether to reply to Chiang Kai-shek. Chen Mingren said: "I have a teacher-student relationship with Chiang Kai-shek for more than 20 years, and there is no public showdown at present. ”
Li Junjiu said: "When is it, and what letter is returned?" ”
Wu Xianghe said: "But there is no harm in replying to the letter. ”
"At this time, if the letter is replied to, the old Chiang Kai-shek is likely to publish it publicly, be used by it, make a big fuss, and even cause misunderstandings on the Part of the Chinese Communists and be unfavorable to the uprising."
Due to the disagreement, the matter of replying to the letter was closed.
Chen Mingren was still forced by the situation and was willing to follow Cheng Qian in the uprising, but his heart had always been very contradictory, and his performance over the past few months had clearly shown this. Until the evening of August 3, another unexpected thing happened:
Deng Dingyuan, chief of staff of the 1st Corps, left his post and fled at a time of crisis in Changsha. On the recommendation of Tang Shengming, Huang Kehu acted as chief of staff of the corps. Through Tang Shengming, the Xiang Work Committee of the CPC informed Huang Kehu: In order to ensure the smooth progress of the uprising and the personal safety of Senior Generals such as Cheng Qian and Chen Mingren after the uprising, it is necessary to immediately try to detain Mao Jianjun, the head of the secret service of the military command, and there is no need to consult with Chen Mingren before the seizure. At 2 p.m. on August 2, Huang Kehu arranged for Zhang Yisan, director of the General Affairs Department, to detain Mao Jianjun in the office of the chief of staff. Afterwards, Huang Kehu made a report to Chen Mingren, who did not say anything at that time.
On the evening of August 3, Li Junjiu, Wen Jimo, and others gathered at the mayuanling official residence to study the draft of the uprising. Late at night, Li Minghao came to visit and wanted to discuss with Chen Mingren the problem of disposing of Mao Jianjun. Li Minghao said: "Zi Liang and Mao Jianjun are full of blood debts, have committed many evil deeds, and the people are extremely indignant, so how to deal with him has a bearing on the overall situation." I think we should still hand him over to the CCP to deal with. Otherwise, I am afraid it will be difficult for the civilian population to be indignant..."
Before Li Minghao could finish speaking, Chen Mingren's face suddenly changed, he was furious, and completely disregarded the feelings of teachers and students in the past and Li's current status as a negotiator of the CPC, stood up, slammed his hand on the table, and shouted loudly: "Everything Mao Jianjun did was to carry out my orders, and I am responsible for something." If you want to liquidate him today, don't you liquidate him tomorrow on my head. Lao Tzu's army has not yet driven out of Changsha City, and even one person cannot be the master, and this is worth it! If Mao Jianjun was not released and sent away by plane, Lao Tzu tore up the telegram of the uprising, stopped working, and killed all the way out of the city. ”
Chen Mingren's words were like thunderbolts on a sunny day, and the room was suddenly filled with tense air, everyone was overwhelmed, and Li Minghao was also embarrassed. In order to take into account the overall situation, Li Minghao hastily explained, saying: "What you just said is Tang Shengming's meaning, not the opinion of the CPC, and if you do not agree, everything will be handled according to your opinion." ”
The next morning, Chen Mingren sent a plane to send away Mao Jianjun and his family.
About the author: Nerve endings, engineering history enthusiast, works scattered in various newspapers and magazines.