After the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the people in China were longing for peace, and the successive years of war and chaos had greatly damaged the country, and everyone wanted to live a small life in peace. However, Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist government brazenly provoked a civil war, which led to the loss of the people's hearts, and although it initially had an absolute advantage, it was defeated step by step.
In fact, long before the start of the three major battles, Chiang Kai-shek had already anticipated it. In the Battle of Eastern Henan in June 1948, although the Kuomintang also announced victory, the elite national army in the Central Plains was exhausted and the rescue was also very timely, and more than 90,000 people were still annihilated by the People's Liberation Army.
The changes brought about by this result in the morale of both sides are very different; our army has changed its passive situation and begun to have the determination to dare to fight and win, while the nationalist army has since had fear in its heart, and a corps does not dare to come out alone to move, and when it goes to the rescue, it also cowers and shrinks, which brings great convenience to the march of our army.
Chairman Mao commented after this campaign that "the most arduous climbing stage has passed." Chiang Kai-shek was also a man of understanding, and of course he could understand the changes in the situation, so in October 1948 he arranged for his close associate Chen Cheng to go to Taiwan to preside over government affairs and began to plan a retreat.
At this point in time, Jinzhou has just been conquered by our army, and Liao Yaoxiang's Liaoxi Corps has not yet been annihilated.
1. The First Thought of the Kmist Party
Chiang Kai-shek once considered three ways: first, to let the Nationalist army enter the southwest and rely on the complex terrain of the vast southwest region to resist; second, to withdraw to Hainan, stick to the southeast coastal area, and wait for the opportunity to counterattack again; and third, to withdraw to Taiwan on the other side of the strait; because the PLA's naval strength at that time was weak, it could survive in Taiwan and build a "counter-offensive" base.
On January 17, 1949, Chiang Kai-shek wrote a letter to Soong Mei-ling, who was seeking assistance in the United States, and there was a sentence in it: The government will never move to Taiwan, and my brother will not go to Taiwan immediately.
On February 1 of the same year, Chiang Kai-shek, who had already gone to the field for the third time, still had a glimmer of hope, and wrote in his diary: Recently, Bengbu has been in a tight situation, and on the issue of moving the capital and laying off the government, there are rumors and rumors, people's hearts are turbulent, and social disorder and uneasiness are caused.
However, as soon as the three major battles and the Battle of Crossing the River were completed, the veterans of the Nationalist army who could fight hard battles were basically lost, and the natural danger defense line that was thought to be unbreakable was easily destroyed.
Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek finally decided to move the Nationalist government to Taiwan at the Dinghai Military Conference in May 1949.
Of course, Chiang Kai-shek also made preparations in the time of hesitation, stepping up the transportation of about half a billion US dollars of assets such as gold and foreign currency and the incalculable antique calligraphy and paintings to Taiwan, and ordering the navy and air force to transfer to Taiwan, all of which directly revealed his intentions.
Second, the People's Liberation Army is pointing its sword at Taiwan
In the face of Chiang Kai-shek's move, the Xinhua News Agency of the Communist Party of China issued a commentary entitled "Chinese People Must Liberate Taiwan," which clearly pointed out: The Chinese people absolutely cannot tolerate the illegal aggression of US imperialism against Taiwan or any Chinese territory, nor can they tolerate the Kuomintang reactionaries using Taiwan as the base of their last struggle. This is to tell Chiang Kai-shek not to try to occupy Taiwan and resist.
In July 1949, when Comrade Liu Shaoqi visited the Soviet Union and talked with Stalin about the founding of New China, he said on behalf of the Central Committee that he would liberate Taiwan in 1950.
The Sanye Ten Corps marched into Fujian in July, Fuzhou in August, Zhangzhou in September, and Xiamen in October, which is quite close to Taiwan. Due to the two defeats at Kinmen and Dengbu Island, our army clearly recognized its shortcomings in fighting at sea and decided to postpone the attack on Taiwan and make sufficient preparations first. However, the goal of liberating Taiwan in 1950 was not abandoned.
On December 21, 1949, the Central Committee issued the "Letter to Frontline Soldiers and Compatriots throughout the Country", which once again reiterated that the combat mission of the People's Liberation Army in 1950 was to liberate Hainan, Taiwan, and Tibet.
Third, Chiang Kai-shek wants to go to Japan
In the face of the fierce offensive of the People's Liberation Army, Chiang Kai-shek was naturally afraid in his heart, and after he went to Taiwan, he lived in the Shilin official residence of Caoshan in Taipei, the name of this grass mountain Chiang Kai-shek disliked unlucky, very "falling grass for Kou" feeling, so he changed the grass mountain to Yangming Mountain.
He did not want to fight for Kou, and he was more afraid that the People's Liberation Army would come to him, so he also planned two other retreats.
As early as April 1949, Chiang Kai-shek recalled Zhu Shiming, who was the head of the Kuomintang military delegation to Japan, at his hometown xikou.
Chiang Kai-shek entrusted Zhu Shiming to go to Japan to hire military instructors and help buy a house in Japan, not in the city, but the scenery must be good, Chiang said, "If I really can't get a foothold in China in the future, I will simply live in Japan for a long time." And repeatedly told that "these two things should be kept highly confidential and no one can reveal them."
After Zhu Shiming returned to Tokyo, he and several assistants stationed in Japan went to the outskirts of Tokyo to find a house, and finally saw the former residence of Prince Xianyuan Palace.
However, after Zhu Shiming handed over the deposit, the news that Chiang Kai-shek wanted to buy a house and settle in Japan spread out, and several Japanese newspapers such as the Asahi Shimbun and the Yomiuri Shimbun reported it in a big way, resulting in Chiang Kai-shek's loss of face, and the matter could only be put on hold for the time being.
When Chiang Kai-shek arrived in Taiwan, he remembered this stubble, so he ordered his confidants to go to remote areas to find suitable accommodation, and this matter was much secret, until more than 50 years later, Chiang Kai-shek's secretary Zhou Hongtao revealed that it was not known.
Fourth, Song Meiling belongs to Switzerland
In addition to Japan, Chiang Kai-shek's other retreat was Switzerland, but this was chosen by his wife, Soong Mei-ling.
During the Liberation War, Song Meiling went to the United States several times to solicit aid for the Kuomintang, and flew again after the collapse of the situation in 1949. The president of the United States at that time was Truman, who was very disgusted with Chiang Kai-shek, not only the president, but most of the military and political leaders in the United States did not like Chiang Kai-shek.
Therefore, after learning that the United States may not support Chiang Kai-shek's defense of Taiwan, Soong Mei-ling sent two consecutive telegrams to her husband, advising him to emigrate to Switzerland, which is a permanently neutral country, and the couple will not be in political danger, and they can live well in the second half of their lives by relying on large savings.
However, Chiang Kai-shek ignored the telegram, and Soong Mei-ling was anxious in his heart, and asked Kong Xiangxi's son-in-law, Chen Ji'en, to make a special trip to Taiwan, saying it more euphemistically, asking Chiang Kai-shek to "go to Switzerland for a period of recuperation."
In early December 1949, Chen Ji'en first arrived in Hong Kong and met He Yingqin's wife, Wang Wenxiang. At that time, many senior Kuomintang officials were afraid that Taiwan would not be able to hold on, so they arranged their wives elsewhere. After Wang Wenxiang learned of Chen Ji'en's purpose, he immediately telegraphed the matter to He Yingqin and asked her husband to prepare for his escape.
At first, He Yingqin did not dare to believe it, and went to find Huang Shaogu, the secretary and director of the president's office, to listen to the news. Huang Shaogu said that this was indeed the case, but the old man did not agree, this matter is Madame Jiang's opinion, do not spread it, so as not to disturb the hearts of the army.
The KMT's "don't pass it on" subtext is to let everyone say that Wang Wenxiang inadvertently slipped things out of his mouth when he was playing cards with the wives of some high-ranking officials, and then these female relatives all knew, and these female relatives knew it, which also meant that the high-ranking officials in Taiwan knew, and for a while the whole of Taiwan was panicked.
Chiang Kai-shek was a little angry, but there was nothing he could do, and he once again rejected Chen Ji'en, saying: Even if the Communists fight, it will take two or three days to land, and then it will be too late to leave Taiwan, even if Taiwan cannot be saved, I will not go to Switzerland, and if I want to go, I will go to Japan.
Fifth, the international situation saved Chiang Kai-shek
At the end of 1949, Chairman Mao visited the Soviet Union in order to get back the port of Lushun and the China-Long Railway, but he was snubbed by Stalin, and he did not talk about the return of sovereignty, which was quite unpleasant.
Chairman Mao said to the Soviet liaison officer: I am fine here. But I did something very important, the first to eat, the second to, the third to sleep. Do these three things every day. They let me visit, I didn't go, I didn't go anywhere without agreeing to an alliance treaty.
It is very unusual for a national leader to visit another country and not show up all day, and the West understands the subtleties through its agents and wants to win China over.
It didn't take long for Truman to issue a statement to the effect of recognizing the Chinese Communist Party, recognizing That Taiwan as Chinese territory, and saying that he had no ambitions for Chinese territory and would never be involved in a Chinese civil war.
A week later, US Secretary of State Acheson delivered a speech entitled "The Crisis in China", which openly stated that "the Kuomintang was not defeated on the battlefield, but abandoned by the Chinese people."
These remarks were nothing short of a thunderbolt for Chiang Kai-shek, but they also led to a sino-Soviet rapprochement, with China demanding that all sovereignty in the northeast be taken back within two years, and the Soviet Union agreed.
But the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 saved Chiang Kai-shek, and Truman issued a very different statement, saying that "Taiwan's status is undecided" and allowing the Seventh Fleet to invade the Taiwan Strait to prevent new China from liberating Taiwan.
Because the war broke out in the northeast, China's strategic center of gravity was forced to shift accordingly, and in October of the same year, the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea was carried out, and the United States began to become the biggest obstacle to reunification.
This was a good thing for Chiang Kai-shek to save him from exile abroad. But for the country, it is a great evil thing, so that the compatriots on both sides of the strait have not been able to reunite so far, well, I only hope that the motherland can be reunified at an early date!