On December 9, 1949, the Sichuan generals Liu Wenhui and Deng Xihou telegraphed an uprising, and the Yunnan general Lu Han had also released all the captured Communists and was ready to announce the uprising at any time. The end of Chiang Kai-shek's reactionary regime on the mainland is approaching. Chiang Kai-shek decided to flee to Taiwan, and Chen Lifu wanted to follow him, but was stopped by Chiang Kai-shek.
Chiang Kai-shek's purpose in leaving Chen Lifu was to let him "spy" on one person, that is, Yan Xishan, who was once the "King of Shanxi." When the Kuomintang generals were scrambling to defect, Chiang Kai-shek was very afraid that his "chief executive" Yan Xishan would surrender to the Communists, so he arranged for Chen Lifu to monitor: "If any tendency is discovered, it can be stopped immediately, and extraordinary measures can be taken." ”
When the People's Liberation Army launched the Taiyuan Campaign the previous year, it really thought about winning a peaceful settlement for Yan Xishan, and for this reason, it also sent Yan Xishan's teacher, an old Xiucai who was nearly eighty years old, to carry Xu Xiangqian's letter to the city to test. As a result, Instead of listening to his teacher's advice, Yan Xishan disregarded the friendship between teacher and student and killed his teacher.
While Yan Xishan was singing in Taiyuan, "Kill to become a benevolent person" and "Sacrifice his life for righteousness," he called Fang Wen, the director of his office in Nanjing, three times, asking him to move around and find ways to transfer him out of Taiyuan. Eventually, Li Zongren called Yan Xishan and sent him to Nanjing in the name of discussing peace plans. Holding Li Zongren's telegram, Yan Xishan hurriedly convened a meeting of dignitaries and told everyone: "Maybe three days and five days, maybe ten days and eight days, and when the peace talks have a result, I will come back." ”
After the meeting, Yan Xishan boarded the plane and left. Yan Xishan's seemingly clumsy escape trick deceived his subordinates. Everyone thought that if Yan Xishan wanted to leave, he would definitely take his cousin Yan Huiqing, but Yan Huiqing stayed. Of course, this is a trick played by Yan Xishan to create an impression on people: he really wants to return to Taiyuan.
Of course, Yan Xishan did not return to Taiyuan. When Taiyuan was liberated, others in Shanghai fabricated the myth of the martyrdom of the "Five Hundred Perfect People of Taiyuan" headed by Liang Huazhi, and trumpeted it. Yan Xishan sent them to their deaths, and sang an elegy for them to comfort their souls, such a ruling power technique can be described as superior.
After that, Yan Xishan fled around with the crumbling Kuomintang regime, ostensibly playing the role of a "peacemaker" between Chiang Kai-shek and Li Zongren, but the cunning man had long understood who had the greater power and had long sat on Chiang Kai-shek's side. But how could Chiang Kai-shek really believe in this "King of Shanxi" who had met with his soldiers many times? Because of this, when the People's Liberation Army besieged the city again, Chiang Kai-shek would let Chen Lifu monitor him.
On the evening of December 9, Yan Xishan, Chen Lifu, Zhu Jiahua, Qiu Changwei, Liu Shiyi and 14 other people took off from Chengdu in a plane. The plane flew to the junction of Sichuan and Hubei, encountered a cold current, and both wings of the plane were covered with thick ice, forced to fall 700 feet down, unable to go any further, and had to return to Chengdu.
Chen Lifu looked down and saw that the landing place was brightly lit, thinking it was Hankou. He suspected that the Communist underground had plotted against the pilot or someone on the plane who had deliberately thrown himself at the Communists and had deliberately driven the plane to Hankou. Thinking of this, Chen Lifu took out his pistol and made a gesture of preparing to shoot himself. At the same time, he also kept a close eye on Yan Xishan, and as soon as there were special circumstances, he would shoot and kill Yan Xishan first. Knowing that the plane had landed in Chengdu, Chen Lifu temporarily breathed a sigh of relief.
The next morning, the PLA's artillery fire was already rumbling, and Chen Lifu was worried that if the flight was lost again, once the PLA fire blocked the airport, it would be impossible to leave, so he asked the pilot in detail how to fly safely if he encountered the same situation. The pilot hesitated for a moment, but finally said bluntly: "Dean Yan (Xishan) has brought too many things, there are dozens of boxes of gold bars alone, the plane is overloaded, and it is impossible to rise in the face of cold currents." The only solution is to reduce the weight of the aircraft. ”
Chen Lifu listened to the pilot's account and went to consult with Yan Xishan, hoping that he would bring less things, such as those gold bars. Yan Xishan listened very unhappily and said, "My property cannot be brought out in Shanxi, and now I have this little savings left, and the family members, servants, and relatives who have already arrived in Taiwan, as well as the old subordinates in the past, will all live on this in the future and will not be lost." ”
In fact, as early as 1948, Yan Xishan sent his wife, stepmother and second daughter-in-law to Taiwan, set up a "Yan Mansion" in Taipei, and found another apartment for his separated wife; sent his fourth son to the United States and set up an apartment in the United States. In April 1949, Yan Xishan also asked his subordinate Xu Shijue to transport a large amount of gold and silver from Shanghai to No. 34 Huaining Street in Taipei, and then Peng Shihong transferred to Japan in the name of doing business, and also purchased an apartment in Japan.
Yan Xishan's attitude made Chen Lifu very annoyed, thinking that this "Yan Laoxi" really wanted money and did not want to die, and at this moment, he did not want to escape for his life first. Thinking of this, he said very unceremoniously: "You are now the head of government, and the Taiwan side is anxiously waiting for us to pass, for the safety of everyone, you must give up the small and take the big, and unload part of the materials on the plane." In the end, After careful deliberation, Yan Xishan decided to leave a few of the entourage behind, and the dozens of boxes of gold bars were still taken to Taiwan one by one.
When he first arrived in Taiwan, Yan Xishan also did enough superficial work, frequently held press conferences, repeatedly publicized the administrative policy after coming to Taiwan, and delivered many speeches criticizing the KMT for not stressing honesty and unity, summing up the experiences and lessons of failure on the mainland, and having great determination to base himself on Taiwan and do a good job.
However, I believe that Yan Xishan himself also understands that after arriving in Taiwan, he has no use value for Chiang Kai-shek, and it is only a matter of time before he is abandoned. After Chiang Kai-shek arrived in Taiwan, everything he did revolved around how to smoothly let Chiang Ching-kuo succeed him and realize the Chiang family dynasty that succeeded his father and son. In order to achieve this goal, any powerful member can become an obstacle to being removed. The Song, Kong, and Chen of the four major families were all stripped of their rights under various pretexts, not to mention a "King of Shanxi" who had left Shanxi for more than a year?
What's more, Chiang Kai-shek, a man with a narrow heart, did not have a "deep hatred" for Yan Xishan as he did for Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi of the Gui clan, but in history, Yan Xishan had overthrown Chiang Kai-shek many times, especially in the Great War of the Central Plains, Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang joined forces to fight with him in the dark. If it were not for Zhang Xueliang in the northeast, Chiang Kai-shek would probably have been defeated. How could old Jiang write off such hatred?
In fact, from the moment he escaped from Taiyuan, Yan Xishan had no possibility of making a comeback. The reason why he can still become the head of the government is that Chiang Kai-shek needs to find a balanced person between himself and Li Zongren to fill the façade. After fleeing to Taiwan, Li Zongren had already gone to the United States to become a yugong, and although he did not let go of his hand in the name of "president", he was no longer able to pose any threat to Chiang Kai-shek. It was only a matter of time before Old Jiang regained power, and Yan Xishan would not be of any use.
Just after New Year's Day in 1950, Chiang Kai-shek summoned Yan Xishan to his office and said that he had discussed with him about the selection of people for the government reorganization, but in fact, he was informed that the government should be replaced. Gu Zhenggang, Gu Zhutong, Yu Hongjun and other Chiang kai-shek men and horses succeeded Yan Xishan's men and horses.
One night, Yan Xishan had just eaten dinner and was walking in the courtyard when a group of Sichuanese "public opinion representatives" broke into Yan Xishan's official residence, and they questioned Yan Xishan in an atmosphere: "Why is it that no one from such a large province as Sichuan has entered the cabinet?" This question actually brought Yan Xishan down, how could he answer this question? Yan Xishan's stomach was bitter and there was nowhere to fall, and he did not end up with benefits, but instead became the scapegoat of old Jiang, and was complained about everywhere.
Yan Xishan's distress did not last long, and in March 1950, Chiang Kai-shek officially kicked Li Zongren away and announced his reinstatement. Yan Xishan's mission was also over. Sure enough, it wasn't long before he was dismissed by Chiang Kai-shek and replaced by Chen Cheng, a close confidant of the old Chiang Kai-shek.
Yan Xishan, who was dismissed from his post, like most prominent Kuomintang military and political officials during the mainland period, was awarded two positions by Chiang Kai-shek, the senior minister of the "Presidential Office" and a member of the Kuomintang Central Committee Review Committee. After leaving his post, Yan Xishan moved to a Japanese-style villa in Lishui Street, southeast of Taipei City.
Yan Xishan, who has no power and no power in Taiwan, knows very well that Chiang Kai-shek's means of cutting off dissidents are used to the extreme, and Chiang Kai-shek has many eyes and ears, and if he is not careful in his own words, he may cause great disasters. In order to avoid provoking trouble, he lived in simplicity, Dumen thanked guests, was cautious in words and deeds, and did not ask about politics. He had wanted to settle in the United States or Japan, but when he tentatively inquired about Chiang Kai-shek," Chiang Kai-shek said, "It's still good for Taiwan, so why go abroad?" ”
Yan Xishan knew that Chiang Kai-shek would not let go of his former political enemies easily. Li Zongren, a man in the United States, has given old Jiang enough headaches. And those who have already volunteered or been coerced, those who have arrived in Taiwan, it is certainly impossible to go out again. Bai Chongxi was invited by the King of Jordan to visit the Middle East as the president of the Islamic Association, and when Chiang Kai-shek learned of this, he simply signaled to the Islamic Association to re-elect.
Since he could not go abroad, the only way in front of Yan Xishan was to find a remote place far from downtown Taipei to hide. Yan Xishan, who grew up in Wutai Mountain, Shanxi, eventually found a place called "Jingshan" deep in Taipei's Yangming Mountain.
During the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, it was originally planned to build a farm in Jingshan, but it was intended to be built but not built. It's very remote and extremely inconvenient, so you have to walk along a gravel path for 30 minutes to reach the nearest highway and drive into downtown Taipei. Jingshan was overgrown with weeds at that time, artemisia grass grew half a person tall, and the road was rough and very desolate, only hares running around. There wasn't even electricity in that place, no lights, no telephones, no running water, and all that was drunk was spring water.
Yan Xishan built a grass house in Jingshan, named "Jingshan Caolu", which is actually a simple wooden house. In August 1950, Yan Xishan moved to "Jingshan Caolu", and his secretary, driver, cook, 30 bodyguards in charge of security and a company of gendarmes also moved with him to Jingshan and lived in a simple wooden house.
However, Yan Xishan, the "king of Shanxi", did not understand the severity of the typhoon in Taiwan, and the roof of the wooden house was completely lifted off in the typhoon, and heavy rain poured into the house, and the guards and gendarmes cried bitterly. Later, Yan Xishan remembered the cave kiln in his hometown in Shanxi, and thought that the cave must not be afraid of typhoons, can resist guns and bombs, and is warm in winter and cool in summer. Taiwan's mountains are still different from Wutai Mountain, where the soil is damp, and if you dig a cave, you will be dripping water all day long. So he decided to build a stone house in the shape of a cave using local andesite rock. In this way, Yan Xishan's "Jingshan Caolu" became "Jingshan Cave".
Since there was no way to walk, Yan Xishan also added a long corridor in front of the house. This building, modeled after a cave dwelling in Shanxi, also became the last link between Yan Xishan and his haunted hometown.
Yan Xishan poses with his attendants in Taiwan
At the height of power, Yan Xishan was keen on pomp and circumstance. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Yan Xishan was accompanied by a large group of lieutenants, secretaries, staff officers, and officers. Among the lieutenants were those who held warm pots, those who carried cushions, those who carried cloaks, and even those who pounded their waists and legs. Every day, Yan Xishan would convene all kinds of meetings, and his subordinates would even shout "Long live the president."
When he arrived at Yan Xishan, where Jingshan lived, it was impossible to have such a style anymore, but he would still have meetings with his subordinates every day, but on each meeting record, he wrote down some trivial matters of life. The frustrated Yan Xishan in the political arena has no way to open, which is just the inertia of past life.
In addition to meeting every day to take notes, these subordinates who followed Yan Xishan from Shanxi and migrated all the way to Taiwan must also reclaim wasteland on the mountain, and even raise chickens and pigs. He later rented a large plot of land nearby and built a farm with many citrus and pine trees.
Yan Xishan lived in Yangmingshan for a total of 10 years, during which time, except for Chiang Kai-shek and Chen Cheng, who each visited him once out of courtesy, no Kuomintang politicians went up to the mountain to see him. Entering the elderly Yan Xishan, he was still surrounded by the few subordinates who followed him. But gradually, the old subordinates around him, because they could not stand loneliness and meager income, were planning to leave him.
Yan Xishan, who had been obsessed with power and power all his life, lived an extremely monotonous life in his later years, and listening to Peking Opera was his only entertainment, and he only listened to it, never went to see it. A friend was afraid of his loneliness and wrote to suggest that he accept his religious beliefs. Many of the Kuomintang members who were beaten into the cold palace by Chiang Kai-shek chose such a path. However, Yan Xishan, who is over seventy years old, has the stubbornness unique to Shanxi people. He wrote back: "I'm very busy throughout the day, and I'm not lonely. ”
However, no amount of stubbornness could resist the loneliness of reality, and the secretaries and attendants who had originally followed Yan Xishan gradually lost from nearly 40 at the beginning to less than 10. Yan Xishan's greatest reliance in his later years, Yuan Futing, who assisted him in writing books, also considered his growing old age and began to waver, and someone in Taipei invited him to work in an institution with a much more stable income. Yuan Futing told Yan Xishan about this idea, and Yan did not speak for half a day, then sat forward and said, "You can't leave me!" ”
In 1960, at the age of 77, Yan Xishan fell seriously ill. During his serious illness, Yan Xishan dictated a six-point will to his wife Xu Zhuqing, who had been with him, and jia Jingde, an old subordinate who cared for him:
1. Everything should be simple and not luxurious;
2. Collect the tie and do not collect the tie;
3. Flowers and trees for flowers and trees before the spirit;
Fourth, it is better to come out of the funeral early;
Fifth, do not cry loudly;
6. The tombstone inscribes the 100th and 128th paragraphs of his ideological diary;
At the same time, Yan Xishan, when he was about to die, wrote several poems himself, instructing his family to stick them in the designated location after his death.
Pasted in front of the spirit is: "Avoidance and avoidance, breaking and breaking, and transformation are three steps; exhortation, continuation, continuation, all, for the first class of work." The horizontal curtain reads: "Decay and dissolve desire." ”
Sticking it in front of the cornice reads: "Get rid of it, get rid of it, it is not easy to wash it off on the sticky stain; it is very difficult to hold it, hold it, and it is very difficult to fall down and climb up." The horizontal screen reads: "Try to hold"
The courtyard is attached to the courtyard as follows: "When there is a big need, it can only become a big cause; if you go without great certainty, you will eventually find a big opportunity." The horizontal curtain reads: "Love people justly." ”
On May 23, 1960, Yan Xishan died of acute pneumonia complicated by coronary artery sclerosis heart disease at the age of 77. In front of Yan Xishan's tomb, a large "Middle" character was built with cement, which was the so-called "Middle Way" that he had practiced all his life.