With regard to the victory in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, everyone often attached importance to the factor of military struggle but ignored the factor of negotiation. Indeed, armistice negotiations have played a crucial role in ending the war and its consequences.
After the end of the fifth campaign, our side and the United States held an armistice negotiation, but the United States was ostensibly negotiating with our side, but in fact it was pressing on the volunteer army step by step, and who would participate in the negotiations for a time also became a headache.
After Chairman Mao knew that he would have to negotiate with the US side, he immediately sent a senior general and said: "Let him quarrel, we will not be able to suffer losses!" ”
So who is this general? Why did Chairman Mao deliberately choose him to go to the negotiations? What is the end result?
Chairman Mao: He went to quarrel, and we couldn't afford to lose
After the U.S. army landed in Inchon, it pushed north quickly, so they were also very arrogant. The U.S. military believed that the Soviet Union did not dare to risk going to war with itself, and at most gave weapons support to the mainland and the North Korean army, but even with the support of Soviet weapons, it could not stop the PACE of the US military's northward attack, so their occupation of all of Korea was just around the corner.
But to the surprise of the U.S. army, the volunteer soldiers fought side by side with the Korean People's Army, fighting five consecutive battles, causing serious losses to their army and Rhee's army.
The U.S. military calculated an account for this:
In terms of the number of troops lost, the five battles fought by the Chinese and North Korean armies have caused an average loss of 20,000 US troops each time, and if they continue to fight for half a year, the US troops will lose 120,000 to 180,000 people.
In terms of capital and material losses, the United States has consumed $10 billion in a year's war, and the average monthly consumption of materials in a year is 850,000 tons. If the fight continues, the US military expenditure and material losses will increase significantly.
In any case, continuing to fight is not cost-effective for the U.S. military, so they must end the war as soon as possible and get out of Korea. There are two ways to end this war, the first is to win the war and end the war after achieving the desired purpose; the second is to end the war through negotiations.
The first path is obviously impossible, the US military cannot put all its military power on North Korea, they have other fierce enemies to defend, and they continue to fight according to the current situation, and they are in a passive state.
There is only one way out, then, and that is to end the war through negotiations. However, although the US military thinks so, they do not want to admit that they have lost, and they also want to negotiate an armistice with dignity, and they also want to create a favorable situation on the battlefield through certain military actions.
On April 5, the U.S. military concluded that military action alone could not resolve the Korean War and looked for opportunities to negotiate.
On May 1, the U.S. National Security Council convened a meeting in which it presented the memorandum and made policy recommendations accordingly: "Conduct a military operation of a certain scale in North Korea in order to establish a more favorable line of defense, while seeking an armistice through political negotiations." ”
Truman
On 17 May, Truman agreed to this proposal, but MacArthur, who was surprisingly commanding operations on the front lines, was so arrogant that he did not approve of armistice negotiations and offered to continue a large-scale military offensive north.
By this time Truman had made up his mind to negotiate, while the generals in the front opposed his opinion. Truman was so angry that he dismissed MacArthur from his post by radio address without prior notice.
When MacArthur learned of the news from his radio-loving wife, he complained, "Even a handyman in the office can't be so ruthless, right?" From this incident, you can also see that Truman's determination to negotiate at that time was very resolute.
However, Truman wanted to negotiate was not so easy, at that time China and the United States did not establish diplomatic relations, naturally there was no normal channel of communication, and the United States and North Korea had no way to communicate.
In order to convey the message of armistice negotiations to the leaders of the mainland government and the North Korean government, the United States has made great efforts. In this case, the U.S. government thought of communicating with the Soviet side and then having the Soviet Union communicate it to the mainland.
The Soviet Union did not react when it learned of this, but immediately told the news to the mainland and North Korea.
Chairman Mao and Kim Il Sung
On June 3, 1951, Kim Il Sung secretly came to Beijing to meet with Chairman Mao, and the two of them discussed the possibility of armistice negotiations. Chairman Mao and Kim Il Sung agreed that negotiations were feasible, but that the United States must cease fire and withdraw troops from the 38th Parallel, and this opinion was soon fed back to the Soviet side.
On June 5, the Soviet side told the U.S. government: "I hope that the issue of negotiations can be resolved peacefully, but since our personnel are not directly involved in the war, any way to resolve it must go through the Chinese and the Koreans." ”
Chairman Mao knew very well in his heart that although the mainland participated in the negotiations in the form of representatives of the volunteer army, in fact this was the first time since the founding of New China that it had held important negotiations with hostile countries in the West, and this negotiation was also related to the outcome of the Korean War.
The most important thing is that Chairman Mao conceived of this negotiation in terms of comprehensive state-to-state relations, so Chairman Mao had careful consideration in selecting the main responsible persons for the negotiations. In the end, Chairman Mao chose Zhou Enlai to preside over the negotiations.
Before the negotiations began, Chairman Mao recalled Zhou Enlai, who was recuperating in Dalian, to Beijing and agreed with him on the principles of the negotiations and the candidates for the negotiations. At that time, Chairman Mao and Zhou Enlai wrote down on a note that they thought were the most suitable candidates for negotiation, and then exchanged notes to view.
At the moment when the two men took the note and examined it, Chairman Mao and Zhou Enlai looked at each other and smiled, and it turned out that they had both written the same names on the note: "Li Kenong, Qiao Guanhua." ”
Li Kenong
In Chairman Mao's heart, in fact, the most important thing is Li Kenong, and in Chairman Mao's view, Li Kenong is not only a master in the negotiation circles, but his level of quarrelling is also very admirable. Chairman Mao smiled and said to Zhou En: "If Li Kenong goes, we will not be able to suffer losses in quarrels!" Zhou Enlai laughed.
One day in June 1951, Chairman Mao summoned Li Kenong in Zhongnanhai, and he said to Li Kenong in a straightforward manner: "I have ordered your generals and asked you to sit in Kaesong, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately formed a team, not only you, but also Qiao Guanhua, and the army must also have people to participate!" ”
Li Kenong replied without hesitation: "I am ready to go immediately!" ”
Why did Chairman Mao choose Li Kenong?
Everyone must be very curious to see here, Li Kenong is the famous "king of secret agents" and is very powerful in intelligence, so why did Chairman Mao let Li Kenong go to negotiate?
After the Arrival of the Red Army in Northern Shaanxi, Li Kenong served as the director of the Liaison Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and he was ordered to assist Zhou Enlai in carrying out liaison work with the Northeast Army as a representative of the CPC.
Chang
Gao Fuyuan, commander of the 619th Regiment of the Northeast Army, was Zhang Xueliang's right-hand man and a person Zhang Xueliang trusted, and he also happened to be captured by our army at that time. After our army captured Gao Fuyuan, it sent Li Kenong to do his ideological work, and Gao Fuyuan's ideological consciousness instantly increased a lot, and he expressed his willingness to go back to do Zhang Xueliang's work.
Later, under the persuasion of Gao Fuyuan and others, Zhang Xueliang agreed to hold talks with our army. Soon after, Li Kenong reported to Chairman Mao and Zhou Enlai on Gao Fuyuan's situation, and Chairman Mao and others were very happy about this.
Chairman Mao said to Li Kenong: "The work of the Liaison Bureau is very good! This is a good opportunity, we must use this line well, but also pay attention to the safety of Gao Fuyuan, we do united front work, we can't be sorry for our friends! ”
In February 1936, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to send Li Kenong as a representative, with several attachés, to the Northeast Army garrison to negotiate with Zhang Xueliang.
After the talks with Zhang Xueliang, Li Kenong and his party went directly to Shilou, Shanxi, to report to Chairman Mao, Zhou Enlai, and other central leaders there on the situation of the negotiations, as well as Zhang Xueliang's request to meet with Chairman Mao and Zhou Enlai.
Chairman Mao was very happy and praised: "Li Kenong has done a very good job this time alone!" ”
On March 27, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held a meeting and decided that Zhou Enlai, as the plenipotentiary representative, would take Li Kenong to Yan'an to negotiate with Zhang Xueliang again. This secret meeting also laid the groundwork for the Xi'an incident that occurred more than half a year later.
Before the Chongqing negotiations, In order to protect Chairman Mao's security and put the CCP in the initiative in the political struggle, Li Kenong and the intelligence system he led made many efforts.
When Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to Chairman Mao inviting him to Chongqing for negotiations, Chairman Mao could not understand Chiang Kai-shek's intentions for a while, so he asked Li Kenong to collect intelligence at home and abroad and on the Kuomintang.
Li Kenong sorted out the information and then made a detailed report to Chairman Mao, who said: "Chairman, I think that the purpose of old Chiang Kai-shek's invitation to you is not pure, and this is obviously a trick he played. ”
Chairman Mao nodded, agreed with Li Kenong's view, and said: "As for Chiang Kai-shek's telegram, we should leave it alone for the time being and talk about it in a few days." However, you must pay close attention to Chiang Kai-shek's movements, and I want to see what tricks he is playing! ”
Subsequently, Li Kenong arranged for the arrangement of a radio station for the Kuomintang to closely monitor the Yan'an liaison station, and also deciphered a telegram from it, understanding that Chiang Kai-shek's invitation to Chairman Mao to Chongqing for negotiations was to create public opinion and thus win the hearts and minds of the people, but in fact Chiang Kai-shek was not prepared for peace talks.
Li Kenong reported this information to Chairman Mao, and Chairman Mao and other central leaders decided after studying it: Since the Kuomintang wants to engage in a fake peace, let's do a fake trick and do it, first study a few peace plans, and then Chairman Mao personally leads a delegation to Chongqing to participate in the negotiations and turn passive into active.
After the central authorities decided to let Chairman Mao go to Chongqing for negotiations, Li Kenong also grasped the security of preparing Chairman Mao for Chongqing, and carefully selected Chen Long, who had rich experience in defending, to serve as Chairman Mao's personal bodyguard.
On the day Chairman Mao set out from Yan'an, although sufficient preparations had been made in advance, Li Kenong was still not at ease. When bidding farewell to Chairman Mao, Li Kenong couldn't help but shed tears, and Chairman Mao saw that Li Kenong was very understanding of this, and he smiled and said, "How do you send me with salted beans?" Boy has tears not flicking, quick wipe! ”
When Chairman Mao boarded the plane and left Yan'an, Chiang Kai-shek received Chairman Mao's telegram to Chongqing, and he looked at the telegram and was furious: "Waste is a bunch of waste. Mao Zedong was almost in Chongqing, and they only received the news! The military command and the central command are all rice buckets! ”
Chairman Mao and Chiang Kai-shek
The Chongqing negotiations have made the world admire Chairman Mao's boldness and courage incomparably, but few people know that Li Kenong and the intelligence agencies under his leadership played an extraordinary role in Chairman Mao's decision-making in the Chongqing negotiations.
Afterwards, Chairman Mao praised Li Kenong more than once: "Good job! Intelligence work is done in a timely, accurate and highly confidential manner! ”
After the founding of New China, Li Kenong served as director of the Central Intelligence Department and deputy chief of general staff of the People's Liberation Army. In December 1949, Chairman Mao visited the Soviet Union and signed a treaty of friendship and alliance between the two countries on behalf of the mainland government and the Soviet Union.
The journey from Beijing to Manchuria on the northeast-China-Soviet border is very far away, many places have just been liberated, social order is not too good, and there are many lurking Kuomintang remnants and spies. The central authorities sent Li Kenong to escort the delegation to the border station of Manchuria, and on the way, Chairman Mao and Li Kenong talked about everything and were inseparable.
At this time, Mao Renfeng, director of the Kuomintang Military Unification Secrecy Bureau, learned that Chairman Mao had led a delegation from Beijing, and he thought that this was the best time to assassinate Chairman Mao, so he ordered their lurking "Northeast Technical Column" to chase Chairman Mao's special train from both wings and tails, destroy the Changchun No. 14 Railway Bridge, and plant a time bomb at the Harbin City Station to prepare to assassinate Chairman Mao.
However, the enemy's conspiracy plan was also monitored by the intelligence system to which Li Kenong belonged, and then he immediately reported it to Chairman Mao, who instructed: "The Ministry of Public Security, before I return to China, must sweep it all away!" ”
Li Kenong did not disappoint Chairman Mao's expectations, laid down a net of heaven and earth, and annihilated this secret service organization in one fell swoop.
From the above, we can see that Li Kenong not only did a good job in intelligence work, but also in terms of negotiations, he should not be underestimated.
Successful signing of the armistice agreement
As the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea entered its later stages, the US side decided to negotiate with the mainland and the DPRK side in order to end the war. In Chairman Mao's mind, the most suitable candidate for negotiation was Li Kenong, who was very excited after accepting the order and immediately went home to prepare for going to the DPRK.
However, when Li Kenong calmed down, he began to worry about whether his body could support him to complete this difficult task. Li Kenong knew that Chairman Mao's personal order would represent high hopes for himself, and as an old revolutionary, it was incumbent upon him to obey the Party's orders.
But what Chairman Mao didn't know was that he usually needed to rely on a lot of drugs and morphine to maintain normal breathing and sleep, in case his body affected the negotiations, this was not a joke!
So Li Kenong reported his concerns to Chairman Mao, and Chairman Mao thought about it for a while, and finally decided to let Li Kenong go to North Korea for negotiations. After receiving the order, Li Kenong did not say more and immediately organized a delegation to go to North Korea.
Li Kenong came to North Korea with his sick body in tow, and as soon as he arrived in North Korea, he threw himself into intense work.
In those days, everyone was meeting day and night, and when everything was done, everyone could seize the time to rest, and at this time the sky was completely bright.
With the in-depth development of the negotiation work, the intensity of the work of the negotiators has also increased, and the intense work has made everyone very tired, not to mention Li Kenong, who is seriously ill.
During that time, Li Kenong's eyesight gradually weakened, resulting in his eyes almost sticking to the desktop when he was working. As a result, Li Kenong's body was also depressed, and his chest was severely squeezed, resulting in him often having difficulty breathing, chest swelling and pain and other symptoms.
In order to alleviate the pain caused by the body, Li Kenong often put a large amount of medicine into his mouth while working. With the onset of winter, the weather in North Korea is also very cold, and Li Kenong's pressure is very high, which also causes his health to deteriorate.
One day, when Li Kenong was in a meeting with the staff, he suddenly fainted on the way to the meeting, but fortunately he was rescued in time to get out of danger.
Although Li Kenong's health is deteriorating day by day, in order not to affect everyone's emotions and morale, in order not to let everyone worry about their bodies, he often jokes with everyone during work to enliven the atmosphere.
It was at this time that the Central Committee learned of the actual situation of Li Kenong's body, and after repeated consideration, Chairman Mao decided to send Vice Foreign Minister Wu Junquan to replace Li Kenong and let him return to China to rest.
In November 1951, Wu Junquan came to Korea to prepare to take over Li Kenong's work, to which Li Kenong insisted on "not changing generals before the battle", he said to Wu Junquan: "Although my health is not too good, I am very familiar with the negotiation work, not to mention that I have now touched the rules of all aspects, if I change people now, it will be detrimental to the whole work, so I insist that I will not change people if I can continue." ”
What Li Kenong said was very reasonable, if he changed generals before the battle, it would inevitably give the US military an illusion, so he had to stay, but Li Kenong's health was not too good, and Wu Junquan did not know what to do for a while. In the end, after consultation, Wu Junquan and Li Kenong decided to report the matter to the central authorities, and the central authorities made a decision.
The central authorities agreed that Li Kenong would continue to preside over the negotiations, while Wu Junquan would remain in Korea for the time being, and if Li Kenong was unwell, Wu Junquan would take the top. In this way, although Li Kenong's health was not too good, he insisted on staying in North Korea to lead the difficult negotiation work.
The Korean armistice negotiations were a complex and lengthy one, and although the "United Nations Forces" came to the negotiating table because they could not make any profit on the battlefield, they were not willing to concede defeat. Therefore, in the process of negotiations, the "United Nations Army" made many unreasonable demands, which also led to the unhappiness of the negotiations.
At that time, the negotiations mainly revolved around three issues:
First, when should the war stop;
Second, the question of how to supervise the armistice, and what to do if one side does not comply;
Third, the question of prisoner-of-war exchange.
When the negotiations entered the substantive discussions, they got stuck on the first issue.
Before the two sides negotiated, because our volunteer army had won many battles, Truman said: "Willing to return to the state before the war began." Our side proposed to take the "38th Line" as the dividing line, and the two sides would retreat 10 kilometers backwards.
Because the two sides did not agree, the negotiations were also deadlocked.
During the negotiations, the United States often responded to the negotiators of china and the DPRK by silence, and in the negotiations on August 10, 1951, after the representatives of China and the DPRK finished speaking, the US side did not move at all, and there was a long cold scene in the venue.
Some of the Chinese and DPRK deputies could not hold their breath, and at this time Chai Chengwen, who was in charge of liaison, was very anxious, and he used his status as a "liaison officer" to quietly come to a tent, and it was Li Kenong who was sitting in the tent.
Chai Chengwen whispered, "What should we do now?" Li Kenong did not speak, just smoked in silence, and then wrote three big and powerful words on a note: "Sit down!" ”
Chai Chengwen
Chai Chengwen returned to the negotiating table with the note, quietly handed the note to the deputies next to him, and the delegates passed them down one by one, and the delegates who read the notes also calmed down and sat there like "playing Zen".
After 132 minutes, the US representatives were the first to bear it, they had to declare the meeting over, and the Chinese and North Korean representatives also psychologically defeated each other.
The North Korean armistice talks not only created a record of the longest 132 minutes of silent confrontation, but also the shortest length of negotiations: 25 seconds.
At that time, Li Kenong and the US representative had just sat down, and after only 25 seconds, Li Kenong announced that he had adjourned the meeting, which also made the US representative angry. From here, it is enough to see that the Korean armistice negotiations are really a tit-for-tat and fierce "white-knife war"!
After 10 months of long and arduous negotiations, the two sides reached an agreement on the determination of military demarcation lines and the establishment of demilitarized zones, but it is a great pity that the two sides have been entangled in endless entanglement and quarrels over the repatriation of prisoners of war.
The US side went so far as to put forward unreasonable demands such as "one-on-one exchanges," which was also resolutely rejected by China and the DPRK, and the negotiations once again announced an indefinite adjournment.
It was not until April 26, 1953, that the two sides held negotiations again, which lasted more than 50 days, and a final agreement was reached on the repatriation of prisoners of war, and it was decided to hold a signing ceremony for the armistice on July 27.
The three-year-long negotiations finally came to an end, and the delegation was filled with joy. But at this time, Li Kenong was not immersed in a joyful atmosphere, he knew that Rhee would not stop there, after all, Rhee was forced to agree to the negotiations. If Syngman Rhee had sent someone to sabotage the signing ceremony, the consequences would have been unimaginable, and Lee Kenong's years of hard work would have been destroyed.
After careful consideration, Li Kenong proposed that the commanders of the two sides sign without being present, and the representatives of the two sides would sign for the first time, and then send the exchange texts to their own commanders separately. Li Kenong's cautious idea was also agreed by the central authorities and the United States.
On July 27, the two sides formally signed an armistice agreement, and peace finally came to the Korean Peninsula!