On the eve of the Lunar New Year in 1949, Chiang Kai-shek, the dictator of the reactionary Kuomintang authorities, deliberately returned to his hometown of Fenghua Xikou, Zhejiang.
Perhaps sensing that this was his last New Year on the mainland, Chiang Kai-shek stayed in Xikou for a long time.
At that time, the War of Liberation had come to an end, and the Kuomintang army was losing ground on battlefields all over the country. After Chiang Kai-shek returned to his hometown in Xikou, how did the villagers treat him?
At the beginning of 1949, because of the military defeat, the overall intensification of various political contradictions, and the continuous persecution of the Gui clique headed by Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi, Chiang Kai-shek, who deeply felt that the general trend had gone, announced his resignation as president of the Nanjing Nationalist Government and retired to the wilderness.
On January 21, 1949, the Nationalist Government issued a proclamation announcing that Li Zongren would act as president from now on.
In the afternoon of the same day, Chiang Kai-shek left the presidential residence in Nanjing and took a plane to Hangzhou, Zhejiang. That night, Chen Yi, then chairman of the (puppet) Zhejiang Provincial Government, hosted a banquet to entertain Chiang Kai-shek, Soong Meiling, and Chiang Ching-kuo in the outer building of Hangzhou's West Lake.
The next day, Chiang Kai-shek, escorted by a large group of people, drove to his hometown in Fenghua Xikou. According to the memories of the villagers, this was the most low-key of Chiang Kai-shek's several return to his hometown after his career.
In accordance with Chiang Kai-shek's prior orders, the local guards and spies did not carry out the welcome ceremony of beating gongs and drums, and strictly sealed the news. So much so that when the convoy of Chiang Kai-shek and his entourage suddenly arrived in the center of Xikou Town, even the local town government officials were dumbfounded.
The common people looked at Qing Yishui's black car, and even discussed, is it "Lao Jiang" coming back or "Xiao Jiang" coming back this time?
On the other side, Chiang Kai-shek, Soong Meiling, and Chiang Ching-kuo returned to Xikou and stayed in the "Ci'an" that night. As soon as he returned to his hometown, Chiang Kai-shek was furious over a trivial matter.
After entering the bedroom, he took off his coat and prepared to hang it, but found that a vertical hanger that had been placed in the room was missing, so Chiang Kai-shek angrily asked the attendants, where did the hanger go?
That night, Chiang Kai-shek lost his temper again because of the meal arranged for him in the kitchen, which made the scene so embarrassing, and Soong Meiling and Chiang Ching-kuo did not dare to dissuade him.
A few days later, on January 28, 1949, Chinese New Year's Eve, Chen Lifu, Zhang Qun and other KMT dignitaries came to Xikou to have a Chinese New Year's Eve dinner with Chiang Kai-shek. This was Chiang Kai-shek's last Chinese New Year's Eve meal on the mainland, and the dishes were naturally very rich.
After the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, Chiang Kai-shek drank tea and talked with Chiang Ching-kuo, Zhang Qun and others, and it was not until midnight that the sound of firecrackers sounded outside.
In the early morning of the first day of the new year, Chiang Kai-shek, in accordance with the rules of Fenghua, got up and set off three firecrackers, and had a hearty breakfast with Chen Lifu and other guests.
At this time, Chiang Kai-shek was in high spirits, and he wanted to lead a group of guests to the town to have a look. Arriving at the center of the town, the streets are bustling on both sides, and there are many opera troupes singing on stage in various places in Xikou.
It turned out that before returning to his hometown, Chiang Kai-shek considered the need to whitewash the peace, and specially contacted famous opera troupes in Shanghai and Ningbo, and had to perform in Xikou uninterrupted during the half month from the first day of the Lunar New Year to the Lantern Festival.
In order to allow the people of the whole town to watch the performance, Chiang Kai-shek used the Kuomintang public funds to reimburse the board, lodging and remuneration of the troupe, as long as they were locals in Xikou, they were free to watch the play.
When Chiang Kai-shek and Chen Lifu's guests walked through the town, the villagers spontaneously gathered around. Chiang Kai-shek walked down the street surrounded by everyone, and he seemed to enjoy the feeling of "returning home", nodding and smiling at the people from time to time.
When he saw his childhood playmate, he stopped to accept each other's greetings and gave them his blessings, and when he met the elders of the clan, he took off his top hat to greet them.
However, all this was only a deliberate gesture by Chiang Kai-shek, who knew best how bad the situation had become.
According to the "Chiang Ching-kuo's Diary", on the New Year of 1949, a group of senior Kuomintang military and political officials went to Xikou from all over the country to visit Chiang Kai-shek, who had retired to the wilderness.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Huang Shaogu, secretary general of the Kuomintang "Executive Yuan," arrived at Xikou to accept Chiang Kai-shek's instructions.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Mao Renfeng, director of the Kuomintang "Ministry of National Defense" Secrecy Bureau, came to Xikou from Hangzhou to listen to Chiang Kai-shek's instructions on the work of spies. On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Lin Wei, vice minister of defense of the Kuomintang, arrived in Xikou from Nanjing to discuss military affairs with Chiang Kai-shek.
On the 10th day of the Lunar New Year, the People's Liberation Army was defeated in the Huaihai Campaign, and Li Mi, then commander of the 13th Corps of the Kuomintang Army, made a detour from Chenguanzhuang in Yongcheng, Henan Province to Qingdao and Shanghai, until he arrived at Xikou, Zhejiang Province to listen to President Jiang's instructions.
In addition, Yan Xishan, Zhang Zhizhong, Tang Enbo, Chen Cheng, Zhou Zhirou, Hu Zongnan, and other important Kuomintang military and political officials came to Fenghua Xikou one after another to report the situation to Chiang Kai-shek and listen to instructions.
After Chiang Kai-shek arrived at Xikou, the town immediately replaced the original command center Nanjing, and Chiang Kai-shek also ordered people to arrange a number of radio stations to keep in touch with the Kuomintang military and political dignitaries scattered throughout the country at any time.
So how many days did Chiang Kai-shek and his son stay in Xikou's hometown this time?
According to records, on April 21, 1949, the peace talks between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party broke down, and the next day the PLA troops forcibly crossed the Yangtze River in three ways, and the troops were directed at Nanjing. On the same day, Chiang Kai-shek invited Li Zongren, He Yingqin, Zhang Qun, and Bai Chongxi to Hangzhou for talks and to discuss countermeasures.
Soon, the battle of crossing the river ended, and the red flag had been planted on the presidential palace in Nanjing. On April 23, 1949, Chiang Kai-shek hurriedly returned to Xikou and prepared to leave.
Specifically, from January 22, 1949, when they returned to their hometown in Xikou to April 23, when they were ready to leave, Chiang Kai-shek and his son stayed in Fenghua Xikou for three months.
As the Kuomintang army retreated on the battlefields across the country, Chiang Kai-shek and his son were already in panic, and fled to Taiwan in a hurry from the southwest at the end of 1949.
In order to whitewash the peace and appease the villagers, Chiang Kai-shek deliberately pretended to be "approachable" and "amiable" to send blessings to everyone on the street.
At that time, it was the Lunar New Year, and the villagers in Xikou still treated Chiang Kai-shek, the dictator of the reactionary Kuomintang authorities, with the greatest kindness, and let him spend the last "stable" year in his hometown.
Bibliography:
[1] Wang Fan.The last days of Jiang's father and son in Xikou[J].Tongzhou Advance,2011(02):34-38.
[2] Fang Xinde.From Chiang Kai-shek's Diary to see Chiang Kai-shek's hometown complex[J].Zhejiang Academic Journal,2010(05):23-30. DOI:10.16235/j.cnki.33-1005/c.2010.05.004.