On the night of December 1, 1966, a 74-year-old man in Taipei died in his apartment. When he was found, he was lying naked on his bed, and his body was rumored to have a patina color, a far cry from a natural death.
It is said that the sheets under him were torn to shreds, and the young woman with whom he had spent the night last night was long gone.
Soon his death attracted the attention of the media, just because the deceased was not an ordinary person, but the famous "Little Zhuge " Bai Chongxi.
Bai Chongxi
This Kuomintang army general, a former leader of the "Gui faction" within the Kuomintang, was also a figure who could influence the whole of China, and his participation in the "overthrow of Chiang" three times almost changed China's fate.
This made many people wonder if his death had anything to do with Chiang Kai-shek, who was in charge of Taiwan at that time.
You must know that it was the period of "White Terror" in Taiwan at that time, and Chiang Kai-shek had to vigorously implement a policy of terror in the face of various oppositions. And the assassination of such an extremely influential opposition naturally arouses suspicion.
However, the Bai family did not raise any objections, believing that his death was caused by a heart attack.
It wasn't until 2005 that Gu Zhengwen, a 95-year-old former military commander agent, published an oral book - "The Secret Archives of the White Terror", which told the truth behind the incident.
Masafumi Tani
Chiang Kai-shek's old rival
Bai Chongxi and Chiang Kai-shek both belonged to the new warlords of the Kuomintang, but they belonged to different factions. And Bai Chongxi's "Gui faction" is a powerful force second only to Chiang Kai-shek's faction, so he has repeatedly contradicted Chiang Kai-shek.
Since Chiang Kai-shek took control of the Nanjing government in 1927, from the Ning-Han confrontation to the Central Plains War, and until the fall of the Nanjing government, Bai Chongxi has always been one of Chiang Kai-shek's biggest opponents, and has "forced" Chiang Kai-shek three times, which has become a great shame on his resume.
You must know that Chiang Kai-shek has been in the wilderness a total of three times in his life, and each time Bai Chongxi and Li Zongren are related.
Bai Chongxi and Li Zongren
In 1927, Chiang Kai-shek was proud of the spring breeze and launched the "April 12" counter-revolutionary debate and then established the central government in Nanjing, which was the first time to grasp the power of most of China, which can be regarded as the first highlight moment of his life.
However, Kuomintang bigwigs such as Wang Ching-wei in Wuhan and Hu Hanmin in Nanjing were dissatisfied with him, but they were not strong enough to confront him head-on.
Coincidentally, Wang Tianpei, the 10th Army of the Kuomintang Northern Expeditionary Army, suffered a big defeat in Xuzhou, which greatly weakened Chiang Kai-shek's strength and prestige.
At the critical moment, the troops of Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi of the Gui faction, who had originally supported Chiang Kai-shek and were about to attack Nanjing, suddenly stagnated and joined the ranks of the overthrow of Chiang Kai-shek. This dealt a fatal blow to Chiang Kai-shek, who eventually removed him from power on August 16, 1927.
Chiang Kai-shek
Later, Chiang Kai-shek re-emerged, but for his own ambitions, he wanted to revise the then Republic of China Treaty, which caused a backlash from many bigwigs within the Kuomintang.
As a result, Chiang Kai-shek simply placed Hu Hanmin, the then president of the Legislative Council, under house arrest, which caused a violent backlash within the Kuomintang.
As Wang Jingwei and the Xishan Conference faction gathered in Guangzhou, Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi, who were based in Guangzhou at that time, were one of the main forces of this overthrow of Chiang.
Originally, Chiang Kai-shek had already achieved a great advantage on the battlefield and suppressed the opposition on all sides. However, at this time, the "918" incident broke out, and Chiang Kai-shek's policy of non-resistance triggered a nationwide protest, which gave the opposition an opportunity on all sides.
The 918 Incident
On December 25, 1931, the internal opposition of the Kuomintang was successful, and Chiang Kai-shek was forced to step down.
However, in 1932, Chiang Kai-shek returned to the mountains and seized the central power, and this power was held until 1949. This year, with the defeat of the three major battles, Chiang Kai-shek's elite descendants were completely lost in the three major battles.
The strength of the Gui warlords within the Kuomintang was superior, and the side was optimistic about the Gui faction, and this time Bai Chongxi and Li Zongren once again became the main forces to overthrow Chiang. Eventually, Chiang Kai-shek was forced to resign from all government posts and declare his resignation.
Therefore, after arriving in Taiwan, Chiang Kai-shek used various reasons to seize the real power of Bai Chongxi and Li Zongren.
Chiang Kai-shek after retreating to Taiwan
When Li Zongren returned to the mainland of the motherland, Bai Chongxi, who lived in Taipei, became the biggest target of Chiang Kai-shek's anger.
Bai Chongxi himself was very aware of this, he sensed Chiang Kai-shek's anger, and once told the people around him that since Li Zongren returned to the mainland, he had no face in Taiwan.
And Gu Zhengwen received an order from Mao Renfeng at this time, a special task.
Li Zongren Hui Guo
Mystery Quest
This time, Mao Renfeng took him to meet a big man - Chiang Kai-shek. And Chiang Kai-shek gave him the task of planning an assassination mission against Bai Chongxi.
Gu Zhengwen was the leader of the investigation and defense team of the Secret Security Bureau at this time, and he was led by Mao Renfeng, why did he find him?
Clues can be found in his memoirs, because it shows that he was a spy for the Eighth Route Army as early as he was a god, and he also participated in major historical events such as the kidnapping of Fu Zuoyi, the assassination of Yang Jie, and the Kashmir Princess.
It can be inferred from this that he was deeply trusted by Mao Renfeng, so he had the opportunity to handle this task under Chiang Kai-shek's orders.
Masafumi Tani
You must know that Bai Chongxi has a huge influence within the Kuomintang, and there must be no evidence left in this matter. And such a high-ranking official, with strict security on weekdays, is difficult to find an opportunity to start.
With these two conditions, it is extremely difficult to accomplish this task.
Therefore, after he accepted the mission, he first had to master Bai Chongxi's living habits in order to formulate an assassination plan, which required the assistance of the people around Bai Chongxi.
Soon, an adjutant surnamed Yang became a breakthrough, and after he was bribed, he told Gu Zhengwen about Bai Chongxi's living habits and daily activities.
This spy leader, who has planned many secret operations, quickly found a flaw in Bai Chongxi's living habits. General Bai Rongma was a man who couldn't be idle all his life, and after arriving in Taiwan, he was under house arrest, and he fell in love with hunting when he was bored.
Bai Chongxi hunts with Ye Gongchao (left).
However, the seventy-year-old man could not hike to the hunting ground halfway up the mountain, and could only go up the mountain by the rail car up and down the mountain, and if the rail car had an accident, it would be an accident.
Soon, the adjutant surnamed Yang sent the message that Bai Chongxi was going hunting again!
Failed assassination
After General Bai Chongxi went to the hunting ground, Gu Zhengwen sent his men to the predetermined murder site to prepare.
This is a bridge that rail trains must pass through, and they plan to loosen the screws that support the bridge deck. In this way, when Bai Chongxi took the car down the mountain, he lost his fixed rail car and derailed and fell down, and Gu Zhengwen's task could be completed.
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It's a pity that people are not as good as heaven, although after the first car fell into the deep valley under the bridge, the second car Bai Chongxi sat in didn't have time to slow down at all.
However, the adjutant in the car did not hesitate and pushed Bai Chongxi out of the car at this critical moment. Then, the car fell into the deep valley, and Bai Chongxi did not die.
After this incident, Bai Chongxi did not immediately give up his hobby of hunting, nor did he realize that this was an assassination attempt against him.
One day not long after, an adjutant surnamed Yang sent a message to Gu Zhengwen, saying that Bai Chongxi was going to Alishan to hunt. This time, he chose a safer way to travel and traveled by train.
The train is much safer than the small railcars that run through the mountains, but the railway leads to the mountains, not as a main railway line, but as a one-way railway for coal mines.
Alishan's forest train is now a famous attraction
On this railway, there are not many trains on weekdays, but each run must be strictly arranged, otherwise it will cause an accident of train collision.
Gu Zhengwen saw an opportunity for action here, as long as a little action caused the train to have a "collision" accident, wouldn't this problem be solved?
He immediately set out to arrange it, wanting to assassinate Bai Chongxi by causing a train accident.
As the intelligence determined Bai Chongxi's course of action and time, Gu Zhengwen's team immediately took action, and a conspiracy quickly unfolded.
Bai Chongxi and his entourage took the small train to Alishan that day, and not long after the train went out, they met another train arranged by Gu Zhengwen.
Alishan Train
The train on the opposite side was coming from the mountain at a very fast speed, and if the two cars collided, Bai Chongxi on the car definitely had no reason to survive.
Only this time, Bai Chongxi's adjutants reacted very quickly, after all, if they didn't react quickly, they would not be able to escape death.
So Bai Chongxi escaped with his life again and jumped off the train, avoiding this extremely dangerous killing.
At this moment, Bai Chongxi knew that someone wanted to assassinate him! So he didn't dare to go out easily anymore, and for a while, Gu Zhengwen couldn't find a chance to start.
You must know that Bai Chongxi is known as "Little Zhuge ", and he also knows a lot about spies.
Bai Chongxi
After he brought more than 20 of his family members to Taiwan, he lived in an apartment in Taipei, and the Secrecy Bureau opened a police station opposite his house.
He immediately knew that this was not an ordinary police station, but a special surveillance station, so he didn't give the other party a chance to get information at all, and took the initiative to reduce communication.
Once, Bai Chongxi's car found that the jeep following behind him had broken down, so he immediately took the initiative to stop and wait for the other party, and even asked the driver to tell the other side, don't be in a hurry to repair the car slowly. The agent sitting in the car following behind was very embarrassed.
On another occasion, Bai Chongxi was having coffee with a friend, and before leaving, he paid the bills of the other two, and these two people were the spies who monitored his whereabouts.
Bai Chongxi
Faced with such an opponent, Gu Zhengwen had no choice but to ask his spies to step up the surveillance of Bai Chongxi's residence, and many people who entered and exited the Bai family at that time were monitored and tracked.
In the case that Bai Chongxi himself has no flaws, he hopes to find Bai Chongxi's flaws through the people around Bai Chongxi in order to complete the task given by Mao Renfeng.
The way to break the game
In the end, Gu Zhengwen found Bai Chongxi's flaws and the people who could carry out this assassination plan.
It turned out that after the death of his wife in 1962, Bai Chongxi's life was even more lonely. The children have started families one after another, and some children have even gone far away, and the relatives around him are becoming more and more scarce.
Bai Chongxi's family photo
Take his son Bai Xianyong as an example, he left Taiwan for flight on the 41st day after his mother's death in 1962, and this farewell was the last time Bai Chongxi and his son met.
The lack of people around him made Bai Chongxi and Miss Zhang, the nurse who took care of him every day, gradually fall in love with each other, and the two developed a "relationship".
This relationship progressed quickly, and General Bai Chongxi and this Miss Zhang soon entered a state of "hot love".
General Bai, who has entered the prime of his life, actually wants to "regain his strength" and enjoy the joy of fish and water with Miss Zhang like real lovers.
But even Bai Chongxi, who has been strong and strong all his life, is still too difficult to satisfy a young girl at this age. Therefore, he can only rely on some "side-door" methods.
Bai Chongxi
At that time, Dr. Lai Shaosoul, the chairman of the Chinese Medicine Association, became the object of Bai Chongxi's help, so that he could enjoy the happiness of young people with Miss Zhang.
Bai Chongxi often asked his subordinates to go to Dr. Lai to buy "tonics". The effect of this medicine is indeed very effective, and after taking the medicine, the relationship between Bai Chongxi and Miss Zhang became more and more hot.
It's just that this is also regarded as a breakthrough by Gu Zhengwen. He may not be a deterrent in front of a military boss like Bai Chongxi, but for a doctor like Lai Shaoxun, he can't be provoked.
In the face of Gu Zhengwen's inquiry, Dr. Lai had no choice but to reply that General Bai was not sick, but just wanted to make up for it......
Of course, Gu Zhengwen knew, but his purpose was not to let Bai Chongxi replenish his body. Therefore, he asked Dr. Lai to give full play to his "expertise", to "take care" of General Bai more, and to take strong medicine for the other party's serious illness.
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This clearly implies that the other party wants to make a fuss about the dosage of the medicine, so that Bai Chongxi can "make up" until it is excessive.
Dr. Lai didn't know if he really prescribed such a prescription, anyway, it was said that Bai Chongxi's relationship with Miss Zhang became closer and closer after he got the medicine and wine brewed in the prescription.
However, just a few months later, Bai Chongxi died of a heart attack, perhaps closely related to Gu Zhengwen's plan.
What makes people even more suspicious is that in addition to the abnormal color of the corpse after death, there was also a nanny who saw Bai Chongxi's bedside and unfinished medicinal wine. But the next morning, Miss Zhang left, and the medicine and wine glass were gone.
A generation of heroes died in this way, but Gu Zhengwen obviously thought that this was the credit of their plan.
It's just that this has been refuted by the Bai family, especially Mr. Bai Xianyong, one of Bai Chongxi's most well-known sons, who once publicly refuted Gu Zhengwen's statement, believing that General Bai's death was caused by a heart attack.
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Son's memories
Bai Xianyong was Bai Chongxi's fifth son, but he was also the most well-known of all his heirs.
You know, he later became a famous writer, and taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara for a long time, and later served as the honorary dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Beijing Normal University.
His novel "Taipei People" was once ranked seventh among Chinese novels in the 20th century, which can be described as a remarkable achievement.
Although he has not met his father Bai Chongxi since 1963, he has always scoffed at the claim that his father was killed.
Bai Xianyong and Bai Chongxi
In 2012, when Mr. Bai Xianyong was interviewed in Nanjing, he specifically answered the question of the cause of his father's death. He believed that Chiang Kai-shek's sending people to poison his father was completely gossip news, and it was completely non-existent.
First of all, he believes that these claims come from the so-called "memories" of a retired spy Gu Zhengwen, who at the time claimed to be one of the members of the team that monitored Bai Chongxi.
There is a world of difference between this identity and Chiang Kai-shek, and it is impossible for Chiang Kai-shek to skip so many levels and directly get the direct instructions of the other party to tell him what he wants to do.
Secondly, Bai Chongxi did not have any real military and political power at that time, and there was no need for Chiang Kai-shek to kill him in this case.
"Little Zhuge " Bai Chongxi is quite influential in the international community, and the assassination of such a person is likely to trigger an international incident. It is unlikely that such a risk would be taken to do such a thing.
Mr. Bai Xianyong
And Mr. Bai Xianyong believes that the cause of his father's death is undoubtedly a heart attack. He said that the bad heart was a genetic disease in their family, and that he and his brother had both undergone heart surgery.
Of course, he did not deny that Bai Chongxi was being monitored. However, he felt that the relationship between Bai Chongxi and Chiang Kai-shek was not simple, and could be described as "very complicated".
Specifically, the relationship between the two has been unstable for more than 40 years, and Chiang Kai-shek has to rely on Bai Chongxi many times, but he has always been wary of him. Bai Xianyong even joked that the relationship between the two was complex enough to write many doctoral dissertations.
Due to different accounts, how did Bai Chongxi die? It remains a mystery to this day.
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These are difficult to verify, and Bai Chongxi died in his apartment, an environment where there are almost no outsiders, which makes people wonder why his family did not find out about his death in the first place.
The existence of doubts may never give a perfect answer, after all, most of these people have now gone west, and they can no longer give an answer.
Similarly, what Gu Zhengwen said is not without loopholes, not only as Mr. Bai Xianyong suspects, but also in his memoirs, in which he participated in a large number of important actions.
Gu Zhengwen's work
If his role is really that great, how can he have been a front-line agent without being promoted? And, if he failed many times, why would they use him to stay in the Secret Service?
Of course, there are also suspicious things about the assassination of Bai Chongxi. That is the act of sabotage that creates rail transit, whether it is loosening the bridge deck to cause a rail car to fall off a cliff, or causing a train collision. This is a huge accident that cannot be concealed, if it is really to murder Bai Chongxi to create such a big incident, and the result has not been successful, then how did he settle his boss?
However, these questions, with the death of Gu Zhengwen, have now been buried in the long river of history.
Maybe he made it up, maybe he heard it from other colleagues, but now we can only guess what happened to this general at the last moments...