In the early morning of March 25, 1949, Mao Zedong arrived in Beijing by train with excitement. After the train arrived at Qinghuayuan Station, Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De, Ren Bishi, etc., took a jeep to the Summer Palace in the hazy morning light.
Mao Zedong was extremely concerned about the safety of the Summer Palace. After the victory in the Liaoshen Campaign, the Fourth Field Army of the People's Liberation Army was ordered to march into the pass in two directions, and together with the main force of the North China Military Region, it unexpectedly formed a siege posture against Zhangjiakou and Beiping Tianjin. One of the rapid troops, after a short rest at the south entrance of the important town in the western part of Beiping, immediately approached the Summer Palace. The special mission of this rapid force is to completely control the Summer Palace, the pearl of oriental culture, in its own hands before the People's Liberation Army launches a general attack on Peiping, so that it will not be damaged in the slightest.
At that time, the Kuomintang troops stationed at the Summer Palace had two infantry battalions and an artillery battalion. They occupied the commanding heights of Manju Mountain, set up cannons, and dug trenches. The Zhichun Pavilion, the Buddha Pavilion, the Lilac Temple, and even the stone boat on the shore of Kunming Lake have all become military barracks, and the Summer Palace is about to become a battlefield. Just as the two sides were preparing for a fierce battle, Mao Zedong's order came: "Leave this oasis of safety." "The Telegram from the Central Military Commission specifically instructed the People's Liberation Army not to tie war horses in front of the palaces of the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, nor to let guns and bullets break through the walls. After receiving Mao Zedong's instructions, the Pingjin Front Command urgently ordered this advance force to stop attacking the Summer Palace and instead attack the Red Mountain Pass northwest of the Summer Palace. After capturing the Red Mountain Pass, the enemy of the Summer Palace quickly fled, and the People's Liberation Army protected the royal garden intact. The Summer Palace became the seat of the People's Liberation Army's North China Front Command. Today, it has become the first stop of the CPC Central Committee's march into Beiping, and the first stop after Mao Zedong and other central leaders entered Beiping.
When Mao Zedong and his party arrived at the Summer Palace, there was no one there. It turned out that because Peiping had just been liberated, there were many Kuomintang agents lurking, and sabotage and assassination activities were rampant, so it was impossible not to take strict precautions, so all the tourists were cleared out by li kenong, minister of social affairs.
Of course, Li Kenong and others are correct from the perspective of safety. However, this measure violated Mao Zedong's "taboo" . According to the usual custom, Mao Zedong and other leaders of the Central Committee always had to find some people to pull in a new place, and many social conditions were clarified in this "short parents". This time it was good, after entering Beiping, even the shadows of the masses were gone. After all the people were driven away, they wanted no water, no food, and in the afternoon they had to go to Xiyuan Airport to hold an entrance ceremony.
Mao Zedong couldn't help but lose his temper: "What are you doing?" What did the first people eat? ”
Li Kenong hastened to explain that it was safe to clean people out.
Mao Zedong shouted, "Are you stupid! You drained the water completely, what else do you say about safety with that fish? You're safe and dead there, starve there! ”
At this time, Zhu De, who was at the side, enlightened the staff of the Ministry of Social Affairs in a gentle tone: "I said comrades, security guards are very important, but we can't believe the masses, and see everyone as a problem. ”
Finally, the entourage took the opportunity to run to the restaurant outside the Summer Palace, bought rice and three dishes and a soup, and solved the first meal of the central leaders after arriving in Beiping.
Mao Zedong called Liu Linxi, the head of the Summer Palace, to talk to the Gyeongbok Pavilion and inquire in detail about the situation in the Summer Palace. Liu Linxi did not expect that Mao Zedong was already so tired, and he asked him to talk to Jingfu Pavilion, and his heart was very excited. He hurried to Gyeongbokgok Court.
Mao Zedong shook Liulinxi's hand and said with a smile: "Comrade Liulinxi, we are also old acquaintances. ”
Liu Linxi said excitedly: "Yes, when I was studying at the Yan'an Administrative College in 1943, I listened to your report many times. Subsequently, Liu Linxi reported to Mao Zedong on his work in Yan'an in those years.
After Mao Zedong listened, he then asked about the summer palace. Mao Zedong read a lot of books, knew the history of ancient and modern times, and was very clear about the history of the Summer Palace, as well as the history of several ups and downs, so he asked not about these, but about the situation after the Summer Palace was taken over.
Mao Zedong asked, "How many old staff did the Summer Palace take over?" How many workers? Are there any eunuchs? What is their life like? ”
Liu Linxi reported to Mao Zedong: "We accept more than 20 old employees, more than 30 workers, and no eunuchs. When Peiping was surrounded, the life of the whole park staff was relatively poor, and they could not even receive their wages. Individual employees can't spend the Spring Festival. After we went to the city to take over, we learned of this situation, immediately reported it to the municipal government, and borrowed money from the Municipal Finance Bureau to pay the employees two months' wages. ”
Mao Zedong nodded and said, "For the lives of the original workers, we must take care of them, do not dismiss them, do not fire them, and pay as much as the original salary is." Don't let people say that during the Kuomintang period we had food to eat, but when the Communist Party came, there was no food to eat. If that's not good. ”
After a pause, Mao Zedong continued: "In the past, we had experience in fighting guerrilla warfare in ravines, but we could not go into big cities to engage in parks. To learn to manage the park, no, to learn from the old workers, from no experience to experience, first manage the original park. In the past, the parks were visited by landlords and bourgeoisie, and the working people had no money and no time to visit the parks. We will build many new parks in the future so that working people can visit the parks. In addition to work, there is time to rest and recreation in the park, eliminate fatigue, and then return to work to do more work for the country. ”
Mao Zedong was energetic, and this night they talked late. After staying in the Summer Palace for a few days, Mao Zedong moved to the Shuangqing Villa in Xiangshan.
——Excerpt from "Reading the World with Mao Zedong", published by Contemporary China Publishing House
Author: Li Kuicai
Editor: Zhou Yiqian