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Preface:
In 1956, Beijing welcomed a guest named Cheng Siyuan. He is a non-party patriotic democrat and social activist. Years ago, he joined the army to mediate between Chiang Kai-shek and Li Zongren against Chiang Kai-shek and help Li Zongren run for vice president. On the eve of the founding of New China, Cheng Siyuan moved to Hong Kong and rarely came out again.
But this time Cheng Siyuan came to Beijing to shoulder a heavy responsibility, that is, to lead the way for Li Zongren to return to China.
Li Zongren
Li Zongren's guide when he returned to China
In April 1956, Cheng Siyuan led a delegation from Hong Kong and Macao to visit Beijing. At a cocktail party in the auditorium of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Zhou Enlai recognized the high-profile messenger at first glance. Although 18 years have passed since they last met, and the weather has left traces of vicissitudes on their faces, their charm remains. As then.
A few days later, in the hall of the Zhongnanhai Purple Light Pavilion, Zhou Enlai and Cheng Siyuan finally had a chance to sit down and talk. The conversation lasted three hours. Speaking about Li Zongren, Zhou En: "We welcome Mr. Li to come back and visit at a convenient time. ”
In fact, Cheng Siyuan's visit to Beijing was mainly to reveal to the mainland that Li Zongren wanted to return to China.
In January 1949, more and more people in the Kuomintang were dissatisfied with Chiang Kai-shek, and more and more people opposed Chiang Kai-shek's voice. Because of this situation, Chiang Kai-shek had to find a way out on his own, so he specially became vice president and announced Li Zongren as acting president.
trump card
Although Chiang Kai-shek ostensibly stepped down, he still secretly commanded the central army. Li Zongren also soon discovered Chiang Kai-shek's political trick to relinquish de facto control, so he went to the United States under the pretext of illness. By 1954, Chiang Kai-shek had relieved Li Zongren of his vice presidency and became a commoner in a foreign land.
Li Zongren, who has struggled in officialdom for half of his life, naturally feels extremely sad when he is in a foreign country in his later years. The loneliness and loneliness of a foreign country inspired Li Zongren to miss his hometown. He longs for the reunification of the motherland, and also longs to return to the motherland as soon as possible, so that he can return to his roots a hundred years later.
But at the same time, Li Zongren was also worried about the mainland's attitude and wondered whether the mainland would allow him to return to China. Cheng Siyuan noticed Li Zongren's concerns, so Cheng Siyuan and his party came to Beijing.
After receiving Zhou Enlai's approval, Cheng Siyuan returned to Hong Kong. He wrote to Li Zongren about Zhou Enlai's words. Li Zongren wrote back to criticize him: "This return to Beijing is very important, you should discuss with me in advance, how can you decide first and then report?" Although Li Zongren said this on the surface, he was still very happy in his heart. He felt that maybe Cheng Siyuan could really be his guide back to China.
Cheng Siyuan
In 1958, Lin Dai, the daughter of Cheng Siyuan, who was studying in Columbia, USA, would come to visit Lijia every weekend. When she returned to Hong Kong to visit relatives, she told about Li Zongren's life in the United States. "Mr. Lee is not used to living in the United States, so I always wanted to go back to my home country," she said. Soon, Cheng Siyuan received another letter from Li Zongren, saying that he had some cultural relics and hoped that Cheng Siyuan could help him donate them to the motherland.
Cheng Siyuan immediately told Zhou Enlai about Li Zongren's idea, and Zhou Enlai expressed respect for Li Zongren's idea. After that, Zhou Enlai actually received cultural relics sent by Li Zongren from the United States.
These cultural relics are calligraphy and paintings collected by Li Zongren for most of his life. In addition to the calligraphy and paintings of contemporary painters such as Xu Beihong, Qi Baishi, Chen Banding, and Huang Binhong, there are also calligraphy and paintings of famous figures such as Zheng Banqiao and Wen Zhengming.
In a letter to Cheng Siyuan, Li Zongren said he spent more than $110,000 to buy the antiquities. But according to experts, most of the artifacts are fakes, estimated to be worth only $3,000.
Cheng Siyuan and Li Zongren
After much deliberation, Zhou Enlai decided to give Li Zongren $30,000. Under the circumstances, this was already a lot of money, and it was considered generous. But when Zhou Enlai told Chairman Mao about this, Chairman Mao said, "Thank you! Do you know what throwing a stone is to ask for directions? Our solidarity efforts also require strategies. ”
Therefore, Chairman Mao personally ordered Finance Minister Li Xiannian to withdraw $120,000 in cash from the state treasury and hand it to Li Zongren.
In his letter to Cheng Siyuan, Zhou Enlai said, "We have received all of Mr. Li's collection, some of which are real and some of which are fake. But in recognition of Mr. Lee's patriotism, we will send him travel expenses to Europe to express our gratitude to Mr. Lee. "Grateful.."
After Li Zongren learned the details, he was very happy and praised many times: "The Communist Party is not simple, recognize goods."
Li Zongren
In 1960, Li Zongren sent his wife Guo Dejie to Hong Kong to contact Cheng Siyuan. Guo Dejie came to Hong Kong this time to discuss with Cheng Siyuan and Zhou Enlai about his planned trip to Europe and accept US dollars sent by Beijing.
Guo Dejie and Cheng Siyuan were afraid of being discovered by spies, so they always met in the car. After talking, they tentatively agreed to meet in Zurich, Switzerland, a neutral country and a well-known tourist area. Li Zongren could go there without attracting attention in the name of visiting relatives, while Cheng Siyuan flew to Rome in the name of visiting ancient Rome and then transferred to Switzerland.
However, for various reasons, this plan did not succeed. It was not until 1964 that the continent's first atomic bomb exploded. Li Zongren's heart was once again hurt by his desire to return to China. The following year, he advised the United States from afar not to go in the wrong direction and that we needed to adjust our China policy.
Taiwan strongly attacked Mr. Li's remarks, and his friend Bai Chongxi criticized him. Although he believes that Shiro has been deceived by others, his loneliness is unbearable day by day. Another event happened that made him want to go home immediately.
Li Zongren
After a doctor's examination, it was found that Ms. Guo Dejie had breast cancer and only 6 months left to live. So, in March 1965, Li Zongren wrote to Cheng Siyuan, expressing his desire to return to China as soon as possible. The news soon reached Zhou Enlai. Zhou Enlai was overjoyed and hurriedly made a series of arrangements for Li Zongren's return.
An exciting trip home
In July 1965, 18 non-party figures sat in the Fujian Hall of the Great Hall of the People. Zhou Enlai invited them to the meeting. Just as everyone was guessing what Zhou Enlai was going to prophecy, Zhou Enlai and Xu Bing, head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, appeared at the same time.
Xu Bing couldn't hide his excitement in his heart, and said excitedly: "After nearly ten years of work by Premier Zhou, under the warm care of Chairman Mao and the Party Central Committee, Mr. Li Zongren has finally returned to China!" As soon as his words fell, everyone present began to show enthusiasm. They whispered, they had heard that Li Zongren intended to return to China before, and now that Zhou Enlai said so, it must be true.
Zhou Enlai
However, they still have a lot of doubts. Without waiting for Xu Bing to continue, Zhang Shizhao asked impatiently, "Are you sure now?" Will Lee be transferred to Taiwan? The second half of the sentence is what everyone is concerned about. , they all looked at Zhou Enlai with curious eyes.
Seeing this, Zhou Enlai said calmly: "Mr. Li will not go to Taiwan, this time he took the initiative to come back." However, Taiwan has detected his move and may take action. ”
For Li Zongren's return, one person has a view. Most agree, but some complain. These people don't understand why Li Zongren was so anti-communist back then, and the central government had to sacrifice financial resources to welcome him back?
Of course, Zhou Enlai heard this, and the second thing in today's meeting is to enlighten everyone. He said: "All thoughtful people always have a far-sighted vision and cannot put small things in their eyes. "The scene was quiet because everyone present had more or less contact with Li Zongren in the past. What would you do if Li Zongren returned to China? Do you agree with this?
Zhou Enlai
After the arrangements in Beijing were completed, Zhou Enlai flew to Shanghai as arranged by Chairman Mao, where he planned to talk with Li Zongren and then hold a formal welcoming ceremony in Beijing.
The news of Li Zongren's return spread quickly, and major newspapers in Hong Kong and the United States reported accordingly, leaving Zhou Enlai in a difficult situation. He understood that according to Chiang Kai-shek's murderous habits, the lives of Li Zongren and his wife might be in danger, so he decided to let Li Zongren and Mr. and Mrs. Cheng Siyuan take a Swiss plane and then transfer to Pakistan to China.
Realizing the damage caused by the United States and the Kuomintang, Zhou Enlai decided to let Li Zongren and the three of them step off the plane one by one at Karachi Airport. Our ambassador to Pakistan will personally pick them up, arrange for them to stay at the embassy, and then find a convenient time to send them home.
Ambassador Ding knows that there is only one way to reduce the risk, and that is to not go through customs or stay in the airport lounge after getting off the plane. But how can tariffs be avoided? Ding Guojue suddenly remembered the current CEO of Pakistan International Airlines.
Ding Guojue
The Director General is a former Commander of the Pakistan Air Force. In the past, he often visited the Chinese embassy. After Zhou Enlai learned of this, he specially instructed Ding Guojue to invite his family to China for vacation on behalf of the ambassador. In the end, Ding Guojue and the CEO formed a deep friendship.
Ding Guojue found the general manager and said: "I have a personal friend who wants to see me, he is old and in poor health, so I have to go directly to the airport to pick him up." The general manager immediately agreed, and Ding Guojue also said: "Because he is not in good health, in order to return to the embassy as soon as possible, it is only your customs." ”
The CEO hesitated, but agreed. In order to ensure the convenience of Ding Guojue, the general manager also allowed Ding Guojue's car to drive directly to the plane, and Li Zongren could enter the car as long as he walked through the aisle.
After Ding Guojue's careful arrangement, Li Zongren and the three smoothly moved into the embassy. The whole process was extremely confidential and no one found out.
Ding Guojue
Fortunately, the continent has prepared twice. The next day, both the United States discovered that Li Zongren and his party had not arrived in Hong Kong. All three are believed to have disembarked in Karachi and have never flown to Hong Kong again. As a result, they began an extensive search for various hotels and restaurants in Karachi.
After receiving Li Zongren, Ding Guojue arranged for them to go to the second floor of the ambassador's residence, and sent embassy staff to patrol day and night, strictly ordering that no one was allowed to leak any news. But despite this, Kuomintang agents found some clues. The mainland received intelligence that Kuomintang agents were going to carry out sabotage activities in Karachi. If they fail, their planes will be shot down over Myanmar.
In order to learn the lessons of the Kashmir Princess incident and ensure the safety of the flight, Ding Guojue decided to tell the Pakistani government the actual situation and get their help.
Li Zongren and his wife
Upon learning of this, Pakistani Foreign Minister Bhutto and the CEO of the airline took the matter very seriously and thoughtfully arranged a very safe plane. On the evening of July 17, Ding Guojue accompanied Li Zongren and the other three to return to China by plane. During the trip, Li Zongren and his wife seemed extremely excited. When they reached the skies over Myanmar, they clearly felt the danger and were a little nervous.
Fortunately, nothing happened. The plane flew quickly over Myanmar, and the atmosphere in the cabin became relaxed again.
Early the next morning, the plane landed smoothly at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport. A few hours later, Li Zongren and four others appeared in Shanghai. As they walked along the passage, they found that Zhou Enlai was already standing on the side of the road. Li Zongren was so excited that he quickly stepped forward to hug Zhou Enlai and burst into tears.
Two meetings after returning home
A week after returning to China, Li Zongren was visiting a textile factory in the eastern suburbs of Beijing when he suddenly received news of Chairman Mao's reception. Near noon, Li Zongren, Cheng Siyuan and others got into the car and rushed to Zhongnanhai. When they arrived, Chairman Mao was already waiting in an open bamboo lounge by the pool.
After returning to China, Li Zongren and his entourage were received by central leaders
When Chairman Mao saw Li Zongren and his wife, he stepped forward excitedly, stretched out his hand to shake hands with them, and said happily: "You guys are back, it's great, you're welcome." Then, Chairman Mao held Cheng Siyuan's hand tightly and said, "Nine heard of its name, like thunder. ”
When everyone was seated, Chairman Mao said to Li Zongren in witty language: "You have been fooled, and this time you returned to China and mistakenly boarded the 'rogue ship.'" Li Zongren was puzzled, and Chairman Mao added: "In the past, Chiang Kai-shek, in particular, said that we were 'bandits,' but now he says that the mainland is a 'bandit area.'" "This time on the mainland, you don't board the pirate ship, what else do you want to do?"
Li Zongren listened and laughed. Under Chairman Mao's humorous words, the tense atmosphere eased a lot. Cheng Siyuan also responded: "We are honored to board this ship and land on the other side. ”
After Li Zongren returned to China, he truly felt the kindness of the motherland. In the week since returning to China, he and his wife have visited many places in Beijing. Li Zongren was surprised by the dramatic changes in Beijing. I remember that the land of China was a sea of fire, and people's lives were miserable and there was no life at all. Everywhere you go, you can now see people living and working in peace.
Chairman Mao met with Li Zongren and his wife and Cheng Siyuan
Li Zongren said: Many people abroad miss the great motherland and want to return to the motherland. Chairman Mao lived a kind life with gestures: "We welcome anyone who is willing to come abroad, and when he returns, we treat him with courtesy." Li Zongren was deeply moved.
In addition to Peng Zhen, Guo Moruo, Zhang Shizhao, and other democratic patriots also attended the meeting. At about 1 p.m., Chairman Mao hosted a banquet at Fengze Garden to entertain Li Zongren and his entourage. Before lunch, Jiang Qing also appeared at the venue and shook hands with Li Zongren and others one by one. At that time, Li Zongren did not know Jiang Qing, thought that she was someone's family, and did not care.
At the ceremonial luncheon, Beijing and Tianjin dishes are diverse and rich. Chairman Mao spoke with great interest about the past and the present. He said to Li Zongren: "The army we are talking about now refers to the three armies, and the army in ancient times was the sixth army. Immediately afterwards, Chairman Mao read the poem to confirm this, but he accidentally missed a sentence.
At this time, Jiang Qing, who was sitting on the side, immediately made up for the missing songs and tried her best to express them. She said to Li Zongren: "Mr. Delin, I am not involved in politics, but I have made a lot of contributions to the theater arts. Wait a minute, I'll show you the ballet I directed. ”
Chairman Mao met with Li Zongren and his wife
After a while, Jiang Qing deliberately complained again: "I once wrote to Chairman Liu Shaoqi asking for a job. He said, 'You have received Chairman Mao very well, and this is the best job.' Jiang Qing thought that her performance at today's banquet was enough to impress, but in fact, Li Zongren had a very bad impression of her.
October 1, 1966 was the 17th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Li Zongren, who has been back to China for more than a year, was recuperating at Beijing 301 Hospital when he received a notice to attend the National Day celebration.
Li Zongren was very happy. He arrived at the Tiananmen toilet early that morning. The people who were originally going to attend the event today are still sitting in the lounge. Li Zongren looked around and found that he didn't know these people, so he had to sit down and chat with Zhengjiezhi. As everyone was talking, a woman in black pushed the door out, and everyone in the lounge greeted him.
Li Zongren
Seeing this, Li Zongren asked Fu Zuoyi on the side: "Who is she?" Fu Zuoyi said, "This is Chairman Mao's wife, don't you know her?" Li Zongren suddenly felt that she was a little familiar. He met her at a banquet that day. Li Zongren nodded: "I've seen him before, I changed my clothes, and I don't know him."
It was at this National Day celebration that Li Zongren met Jiang Qing, and the name appeared frequently until his death. Soon, Chairman Mao also came to the salon and took everyone to meet the Red Guards. What made Li Zongren even more lamented was that the Red Guards cried loudly when they saw Chairman Mao. He couldn't help but secretly admire: "Chairman Mao's prestige is really deeply rooted in the hearts of the people!" ”
At this time, Chairman Mao suddenly walked up to Li Zongren and stretched out his hand. Seeing this, Li Zongren immediately stretched out his hand, firmly held the president's hand, and said, "Hello president!" ”
"You must take care of yourself, the Communist Party will not forget you." Chairman Mao said. When Li Zongren heard this serious concern, he was so moved that he didn't know what to say. He only felt some pain in his nose.
Li Zongren and Premier Zhou
In 1969, Li Zongren's condition deteriorated. Before his death, he left a letter to Chairman Mao and Zhou Enlai. The letter said: "My decision to return to China in 1965 proved to be correct. I am deeply touched by this great era. I feel extremely privileged to be a member of the Chinese people. ”
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