In modern Chinese history, there is a special place called Gongdelin, which is not a scenic spot, but a war criminals management center, hiding many Kuomintang big brothers. Among them, Wang Lingji is a very interesting figure, and his military rank has left a lot of topics in history. In 1949, Wang Lingji's scene in Chengdu, hand in hand with tens of thousands of taels of gold, mysteriously disappeared from everyone's eyes, but finally ended up being captured.
Looking back at the turbulent years of 1949, the Kuomintang was like a great enemy, and the fate of Wang Lingji could be described as unfortunate. He had held a lot of power as chairman of the Kuomintang Sichuan Province in Chengdu, but as the situation reversed, his choice came as a surprise. In the chaos of Yan Xishan, Chen Lifu and others evacuating Chengdu, Wang Lingji did not follow the crowd, but chose to stay. He is unwilling to give up the power in his hands, and he is also afraid that he will become an insignificant little person after arriving in Taiwan.
As the situation took a turn for the worse, Wang Lingji had to flee in a hurry with tens of thousands of taels of gold given by his cronies and Yan Xishan. On the way, they were in an extremely dangerous situation, with people defecting along the way, and the gold was constantly being consumed, and they even threw the remaining gold into a dry well, which can be described as a strong man's broken wrist.
In the process of escaping, Wang Lingji skillfully disguised himself as a clerk in a small county town, and this "undercover" life was full of wartime absurdity and helplessness. His short-sighted eyes, coupled with the civilian clothes he had changed, made the soldiers of the People's Liberation Army believe it and let him go many times. Later, Wang Lingji hid in a relative's house in Yibin, but the good times were short-lived, and as his identity was revealed, he was intercepted and eventually sent to Chongqing, and then to Gongdelin in Beijing for reform.
In Gongdelin, Wang Lingji is not alone. There were also high-ranking Kuomintang generals such as Wang Yaowu, Fan Hanjie, and Liao Yaoxiang. Many of them have held heavy armies and held high positions.
In fact, Wang Lingji's military rank is quite special. According to the Kuomintang's military rank system, there were special generals above the generals, but this rank was set up exclusively for Chiang Kai-shek and was difficult for others to reach. And ordinary generals are divided into first-class generals and second-class generals. Wang Lingji was a first-class general in the Kuomintang, and although little known during his escape and capture, it showed his importance and influence to some extent. However, to say that he is the only general in the merit forest is too one-sided. Because before he was captured, there were also people such as Wang Yaowu, who were also generals with considerable military ranks, but they were captured at different times, or were imprisoned for different reasons.
Wang Lingji's life trajectory is embarrassing, from the lord of a city to a deserter in exile, to the last prisoner of war, his story reflects the cruelty and vicissitudes of that era. During his escape, he thought that he could escape the arrangement of fate with his cunning and gold, but the great wheel of history was cruel, and neither the gold he abandoned nor the lies he weaved won him freedom in the end.
During his time in Chengdu, he used to be a powerful man, but in the midst of the war, all this glory and power quickly dissipated. His choice, undepartingly guarding the empty title, with gold and loyal cronies, trying to find a glimmer of life in the troubled times.
The story of Wang Lingji is also a microcosm of many people in that era. They may have had infinite scenery, but in the face of the torrent of history, their personal fate is like duckweed, drifting with the tide, and finally have to face the cruelty of reality. This is not only a personal historical evaluation of him, but also a remembrance of that era.
Through the story of Wang Lingji, we not only see the ups and downs of a person, but also get a glimpse of the changes of an era. His experience, while full of drama and twists, also reflects the ruthlessness of history and the unpredictability of personal fate.