preface
Chiang Ching-kuo once said in his memoirs: "After my father decided to go to the wilderness, he was very miserable and could not eat for a few days. ”
Indeed, after Chiang Kai-shek issued the New Year's Message on the first day of 1949, he made new adjustments to important personnel and appointed Chen Cheng as chairman of Taiwan Province.
At this time, Chiang Kai-shek's state of mind is not difficult to understand, his heart is full of unwillingness, can not accept that the Republic of China created by Sun Yat-sen was buried in his hands, under this scene, Chiang Kai-shek remembered his past with Dr. Sun Yat-sen...
Chiang Kai-shek was in power
In 1922, after Chen Jiongming rebelled against the revolution, Sun Yat-sen was trapped in the Yongfeng ship, Chiang Kai-shek heard the news and immediately returned to escort Sun Yat-sen, and finally let him escape from danger, and thus was appreciated by Sun Yat-sen, Sun Yat-sen specially inscribed for him "The journey of the avenue is also the world is public".
Later, Sun Yat-sen adopted Chiang Kai-shek's suggestion to establish the Whampoa Military Academy, appointed Chiang Kai-shek as the president of the Whampoa Military Academy, and also made him the chief of staff of the Guangdong Army, and the basis of Chiang Kai-shek's power was established.
After the establishment of the Whampoa Military Academy, Chiang Kai-shek stepped up the training of cadres and recruits, and soon gained a firm foothold in the military, and later grew up at an extremely rare rate of promotion.
After Sun Yat-sen's death, with the establishment of the Nationalist government and the adjustment and combination of Kuomintang powers, at the Second National Congress of the Kuomintang and the First Plenary Session of the Second Central Committee, Chiang Kai-shek became a member of the Kuomintang Central Executive Committee, a member of the Central Standing Committee, and the commander-in-chief of the National Revolutionary Army.
At this time, Chiang Kai-shek had become second only to Wang Jingwei.
Subsequently, in order to consolidate his power and position, Chiang Kai-shek directed and staged a "Zhongshan Ship Incident" with the intention of squeezing out Soviet Russia and attacking the CCP and Wang Jingwei.
In this incident, the suspicious Chiang Kai-shek disarmed the Zhongshan warship, surrounded the strike committee in Guangzhou, arrested many Communists, and also armed the surrounding, searching, and monitoring of the residences of the Soviet advisers in Dongshan, as well as the Naval Bureau and the Bomb Factory.
Chiang Kai-shek's actions aroused great disgust from Wang Jingwei, but at that time there was no actual force in Guangzhou that could give him military support, and in this background of helplessness, Wang Jingwei had to compromise and give in.
In fact, since the Zhongshan incident, Chiang Kai-shek has violated Dr. Sun Yat-sen's three major policies of "uniting with Russia, uniting with the Communist Party, and supporting peasants and workers," and thus embarked on a road that runs in the opposite direction from our party.
After ousting Wang Jingwei and launching the "April 12" counter-revolutionary coup, the Nationalist Government in Nanjing, under the control of Chiang Kai-shek, was established on April 18, 1927.
Thus began the kuomintang's ruling period throughout the country
。
In 1928, Chiang Kai-shek combined the power of the Chinese government and the Kuomintang, and Zhang Xueliang also announced to the outside world that the Northeast Army was willing to obey the Nationalist government, and Chiang Kai-shek became a veritable dictator in Chinese politics.
After Chiang Kai-shek came to power, one-party dictatorship and ensuring the centralization of personal power became the focus of his domestic and foreign policy. For this reason, Chiang Kai-shek openly declared to the outside world in the early days of his administration, "It is better to kill a thousand in vain than to let one person slip through the net." ”
Data show that by 1932, as many as a million Communists and revolutionary masses had been killed by the Kuomintang.
Until the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in 1937, the Nationalist government under Chiang Kai-shek always maintained a narrow position and adhered to the anti-communist position. In fact, it can be seen from this that Chiang Kai-shek is defending narrow personal interests, not the interests of the people.
During the arduous eight-year War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Kuomintang troops fought on the frontal battlefield, while the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army under the leadership of the Communist Party of China advanced behind the enemy lines.
After the outbreak of the Pacific War, the United States adjusted its China policy, provided China with an unprecedentedly high amount of borrowing, and did not even propose the terms and means of repayment in a timely manner, and the Nanjing government, which represented China internationally, was the main beneficiary.
With the assistance of the international community, the weapons and equipment of the Kuomintang army were in fact greatly strengthened, in addition, after the victory of the War of Resistance, it also received all kinds of military equipment and economic infrastructure left by the Japanese army.
Chongqing negotiations
In addition, Chiang Kai-shek's defeat can also be seen in one thing.
On the afternoon of August 28, 1945, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and others flew to Chongqing Jiulongpo Airport. As soon as he got off the plane, Mao Zedong issued a written statement explaining to the people at home and abroad the purpose of his trip.
On this trip to Chongqing, Mao Zedong took great risks to come to Chiang Kai-shek's invitation, and he expounded the political views of the Communist Party of China on the current situation in a few short speeches:
"At present, it is most urgent to ensure peace in the country, to implement democratic politics and to consolidate unity in the country. All urgent problems existing in domestic politics and military affairs should be rationally resolved on the basis of peace, democracy, and unity, with a view to realizing the reunification of the whole country and building an independent, free, prosperous, and strong new China. ”
On the night of arriving in Chongqing, Mao Zedong and others were arranged to live in the official residence of Chiang Kai-shek in the cave forest garden. Chairman Mao's car drove toward the cave forest garden, and landed in the forest garden surrounded by mountains, which was heavily guarded outside the high walls.
In the early morning of August 29, Mao Zedong got up early to go for a walk outside, stretching his body with open arms from time to time, and as he strolled down the winding forest trail, he made a face-to-face with Chiang Kai-shek, who was also up early.
It was a historic meeting, and they climbed up the mossy stone steps and sat down as they walked to a cobblestone table.
Chiang Kai-shek said to Mao Zedong: "Mr. Runzhi, how did you get up so early?" I heard that you have the habit of working at night, why, don't you get used to coming here? ”
Mao Zedong shook his head and said with a smile: "The years are like flowing water, there is a saying that is called the first thirty years can not wake up, the last thirty years can not sleep, I don't know if Chairman Jiang has this experience?" ”
Mao Zedong's words seemed to be just a very ordinary sigh, but Chiang Kai-shek felt a sharp edge from it, quickly diverged from the topic, and said: "Well, how does it feel to runzhi to come to the fog capital of this heavenly kingdom?" ”
Without waiting for Mao Zedong to speak, Chiang Kai-shek then expressed his own feelings: "The land in Sichuan is very fertile, and Mr. Lin Sen once said to me that any piece of land here, even if it is just a dragon head crutch, can take root and blossom and bear fruit in the next year." The old man has a deep affection for this land, and after his death, he will be buried in this landscape, and the year before the government moved the coffin of the gentleman from the auditorium of the official residence into the tomb, and if Runzhi is interested, Yu (I) can accompany you there to see..."
In this regard, Mao Zedong said:
I dare not be accompanied by a member of the Labor Committee, and on another day, I will personally visit chairman Lin's tomb. During his tenure as chairman of the National Government, Mr. Lin Lao took a tough attitude toward Japan and vigorously advocated the War of Resistance, which was deeply loved by the Chinese people.
”
Mao Zedong had great respect for Lin Sen. Although Lin Sen was once a fuehrer, he always lived a civilian life, dressed simply, eating lightly, preferring a quiet and simple residence, and traveling was generally light and simple.
Lin Sen inherited the legacy of Sun Yat-sen and devoted all his life's efforts to the cause of the liberation of the Chinese nation.
In his attitude toward the anti-Japanese resistance, Lin Sen always stood with the country and the people, and after the July 7 Incident, he called on "the whole people to rise up and resist with all their might"; on December 9, 1941, Lin Sen declared war on Japan on behalf of the Nationalist government.
On August 1, 1943, Lin Sen died in a car accident in Chongqing, and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China wrote in a telegram of condolences sent: "Leading the War of Resistance, contributing to the country, passing away, mourning the same deeply!" ”
It can be seen from this that while Mao Zedong praised Lin Sen for being respected and loved by others, he also made Chiang Kai-shek feel unreasonable about his "passive anti-Japanese" practice of ignoring the overall situation.
On the afternoon of August 29, 1945, when the Kuomintang and the Communists began formal talks, Chiang Kai-shek put on a demeanor at the negotiating table and said to Mao Zedong: "The purpose of the government not yet proposing a specific plan is to show that the government does not have any prejudice against the negotiations and is willing to listen to all the opinions of the Chinese Communists, hoping that the Chinese Communists will put forward their own opinions in the spirit of sincerity and frankness." ”
Mao Zedong went straight to the point and said sincerely: "We have come here for peace, in a word, for the sake of peace, and the Chinese Communists hope that through this negotiation, the civil war will be truly over and permanent peace will be achieved." ”
Just then, Chiang Kai-shek interrupted Mao Zedong and said, "There is no civil war in China."
Faced with such unconvincing remarks, Mao Zedong immediately retorted: "
To say that there is no civil war in China, Chairman Jiang is probably deceiving himself! Since the '918' incident, the need for peaceful nation-building has been generated in the country, we have expressed, but it has not been realized... In the eight years of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, we have repeatedly expressed our willingness to negotiate and resolve various frictions...
In the presence of Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Zedong counted the ten years of civil war and various events that have occurred since the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, which fully proved that civil war not only existed in China, but never stopped.
In the face of this pile of ironclad evidence, Chiang Kai-shek was dumbfounded, and wrote in his diary for the day: "
The brain is very stimulating
”。
Chiang Kai-shek's invitation to Mao Zedong to Chongqing for negotiations was not sincere, and Mao Zedong also saw his plot of "fake peace and real civil war", but he never gave up the possibility of seeking peace.
In the last few days in Chongqing, Mao Zedong met with Chiang Kai-shek several more times.
During the conversation, Chiang Kai-shek once again put himself in a condescending position: "The negotiations are coming to an end, and I have a few words in my heart that I would like to say to Mr. Mao again, otherwise I will not spit out and be unhappy!" ”
In this regard, Mao Zedong smiled lightly and said: "Please Mr. Jiang speak bluntly, I should listen to it." ”
Chiang Kai-shek said: "The Communist Party should not engage in the army, and if you are exclusively engaged in political competition, then you can be accepted." The two parties are indispensable, both parties have their own shortcomings and strengths, we can learn from each other's strong points and complement each other's weaknesses, as long as the two of us can cooperate, China's problems will be easy to handle, within ten years, we must always make a name, otherwise, sorry to the people. ”
Obviously, chiang kai-shek had something in his words, and he wanted to put the Communist army in the air.
In this regard, Mao Zedong said: "The efforts of the Liberated Areas should be recognized and helped, and I am in favor of the nationalization of the army, as long as the army serves national defense, the party will do its best to run politics." ”
The failure of the first cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party has left a profound lesson for our party, and Mao Zedong summed up the wise conclusion of "power out of the barrel of a gun" at that time. That is why he proposed the nationalization of all armies.
Mao Zedong's proposal was very clever, on the one hand, it said that the Communist Party could not engage in the army, but the premise was that the army led by the Kuomintang should be the same, and put forward the proposal of nationalization of the army, which Chiang Kai-shek had never thought of.
The idea in his heart was thus pointed out to his face, and Chiang Kai-shek had no choice but to change the topic again and sum up the entire Chongqing negotiations: "This time there was no good talks. ”
Unlike Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Zedong said with a smile: "I think it is still very fruitful, mainly the policy, which has determined the line of peaceful nation-building, and we fully support this." ”
Why Chiang Kai-shek failed
On October 10, 1945, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party signed the Double Tenth Agreement. However, not long after the promulgation of the "Double Tenth Agreement", after receiving the support of the United States and making full preparations, Chiang Kai-shek unilaterally tore up this agreement and waged an undeclared war against the Communists.
In June 1946, Chiang Kai-shek launched an all-out attack on the Liberated Areas, and a nationwide civil war broke out.
It can be said that Chiang Kai-shek at this time was somewhat inflated, and he once commented: "No matter from which aspect we look at it, we have absolute superiority. Whether it is army equipment, combat technology or experience, the communist army is inferior to us, and as for military supplies such as food and ammunition, we are also ten times richer than the communist army. ”
Although there was strong support and assistance from the United States, since the outbreak of the civil war, the Kuomintang has gradually evolved from offensive and weak on the battlefield to defeat and defeat.
In this regard, Badawi, head of the US military advisory group in Nanjing, once commented on the Kuomintang's performance on the battlefield:
Since I came here, they have not lost a single battle because of a lack of ammunition or equipment. In my view, these military fiascoes can all be attributed to the world's worst leadership and many other factors that lower morale that have led to a complete loss of will to fight.
For this, even if Chiang Kai-shek is optimistic about his own strength, he has to admit it. Chiang Kai-shek once complained: "Now most of our soldiers are really sleeping in their minds." Because we are all backward and talented in China, you shoulder such a heavy responsibility with your meager talents. ”
In August 1948, in the face of its own frequent decline on the battlefield, the Kuomintang held a military review meeting in Nanjing, in which Chiang Kai-shek admitted: "As far as the whole situation is concerned, we are indeed contained at every turn and are losing. Not only did the psychology of the people of the whole country shake, but the army generals lost confidence and demoralized. Moreover, the satire and slander of our national army by Chinese and foreign people is unbearable. ”
After the three major battles, at the same time as the military rout of the Nanjing government, the financial economy in its national area also fell into a general collapse.
Faced with huge deficits, rising prices, and inflationary pressures from the ever-expanding war spending, the Nanjing government had to rely on the printing press to make up for it, but this method simply could not solve the problem at the source.
In November 1948, the U.S. Advisory Corps had lost the confidence to guide the Nationalist army into battle, and they unanimously concluded:
In this deteriorating political, military, and economic situation, no amount of aid from the United States will be able to save chiang's regime, and the advisory group's continued stay in China will no longer help.
In December of the same year, Badawi wrote in a telegram to the War Department: "Due to the humiliation and loss of face caused by the defeat of the Nationalist Government north of the Yangtze River, it is extremely doubtful whether the Nationalist Government can obtain the necessary popular support to mobilize the full manpower of this region (South China) and rebuild its army, despite the time allows." Only unrestricted American assistance, including the policy of directly using the United States armed forces to prevent the southward advance of the communist army, can enable the Nationalist government to maintain its foothold in south China in order to resist the resolute advance of the communist army, but this policy is the last thing I advocate... The complete defeat of the Nationalist army ... It is inevitable. ”
What the United States needs is an independent and unified China that is close to and friendly to the United States, but Chiang Kai-shek does not seem to make their wishes come true, on the contrary, the Chinese people chose Mao Zedong.
In fact, as early as the Chongqing negotiations, through this period of contact with Mao Zedong, after getting to know more about the other side, Chiang Kai-shek was already vaguely aware of his own threat.
Chiang Kai-shek once revealed to his secretary Chen Bray: "
Mao Zedong is not a man to be taken lightly, he is addicted to smoking, it is said that he has to smoke once a day (50 cigarettes), but he knows that after I do not smoke, I will never smoke a cigarette during my conversation, this determination and spirit can not be underestimated!
After Chiang Kai-shek retreated to Taiwan, he never understood why he had been defeated by the Communist Party, which was inferior to his own strength, in just four years. Chiang Kai-shek thought about this question for a long time and could not understand it.
Later, Chiang Kai-shek analyzed and summed up the reasons for the defeat, believing that the root causes were "unclear doctrines, lack of mental determination, and the so-called 'selling of the original' that appeared within the party."
However, Chiang Kai-shek never thought straight, refused to admit it, and at the same time, most importantly, the rule of the Nationalist government under his leadership was unpopular. However, Chiang Kai-shek's dealings with Mao Zedong did not end because of his retreat to Taiwan.
Later, Mao Zedong once said to the central leadership: "Does Taiwan want Hu Shi, Chen Cheng or Chiang Kai-shek?" In my opinion, it is still necessary to ask Chiang Kai-shek to be good. ”
In this regard, Mao Zedong explained that from the turmoil and twists and turns experienced by Chiang Kai-shek's retreat to the island of Taiwan, no matter what kind of political motivation and political consciousness he had, he was consistent in his stand of adhering to "one China" and affirming that Taiwan was a part of China.
On this major issue of principle, Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong had a strong consensus, and even in his later years, Chiang Kai-shek repeatedly openly opposed the "two Chinas" proposition.
Whoever wins the hearts and minds of the people wins the world. The wheel of history rolled forward, the Chinese people chose Mao Zedong, while Chiang Kai-shek was abandoned by the times and the people, and his merits and deeds were also commented on by posterity...