【Fate Choice on the Edge of War】
January 21, 1949, Peiping.
Fu Zuoyi in Peiping faced a difficult choice between deciding whether to make peace with the Communists. When he convened a meeting of senior generals, the two corps commanders, Li Wen and Shi Jue, objected and were unwilling to surrender.
Fu Zuoyi was deeply pressured, and he knew that this decision was at stake for his future and the fate of the entire country. In order to be able to convince these two commanders, Fu Zuoyi did not hesitate to spend time negotiating with the Communist Party to test the attitude of the Communist Party. In the end, the two sides reached a consensus, and the Communist Party promised not to hold the generals accountable for their past and promised not to blame them.
However, at the meeting, Li Wen and Shi Jue still stood by their position and asked Fu Zuoyi to send them back to Nanjing. This is actually their helpless choice, they feel unable to accept the leadership of the Communist Party, and prefer to choose to leave Peiping.
Li Wen eventually returned to Nanjing and then joined Chiang Kai-shek, but he did not live a stable life. He fled to Hong Kong and then to Taiwan after a year. In Taiwan, however, he was not particularly favored by Chiang Kai-shek, but only held some positions, and his political stance wavered, eventually losing Chiang Kai-shek's trust as well. After retiring from military service in Taiwan, he held a number of advisory positions until his death in Taipei in 1977.
In contrast, Shi Jue's fate was better. After leaving Peiping, he defected to his old leader Tang Enbo and became Chiang Kai-shek's confidant for a time. However, he also continued to lose troops and was transferred back to Taiwan by Chiang Kai-shek after becoming a target for mainland attacks in the Zhoushan Islands. Although his later years in Taiwan were relatively comfortable, he was not reused by Chiang Kai-shek and could only hold some positions.
The two corps commanders had different choices and very different fates. They made personal decisions at this turning point in history, whether staying or leaving, that influenced the trajectory of their lives later in life. Fu Zuoyi's choice and decision to peacefully negotiate peace eventually became a milestone in the peaceful liberation of Beiping, and also established Fu Zuoyi's position in the PLA.
No matter how big or small the choices in life are, they will change a person's destiny to a certain extent. Everyone faces their own choice, either accept change or stand true to their beliefs. These choices of fate shape our personalities and also make up the story of our lives.
