As soon as Chen Yi spoke out, everyone was very excited, knowing that this was a historical moment, Xiong Zhongjie was also very excited, and hurriedly went outside to call Zhao Zukang.
May 1949 Shanghai streets: Men in suits, cars parked at intersections, lux soap endorsed by actress Grecia Carson
Zhao Zukang had summoned the staff to the conference room opposite the mayor's office and waited for Chen Yi's summons.
Xiong Zhongjie greeted him, he hurriedly stood up, followed Xiong Zhongjie slightly into the mayor's office, stood still in the middle of the office, bowed a ninety-degree bow to Chen Yi, who was sitting on the mayor's seat, and then performed a sixty-degree bow to the others.
The two are similar in age, Chen Yi is 48 years old and Zhao Zukang is 49 years old. Chen Yi leaned back on his high chair, his eyes majestic, and asked in a low tone: "Are you Zhao Zukang, the acting mayor of Shanghai under the Kuomintang?" "Yes." "How well did you carry out the orders of the Communist Shanghai Naval Control Commission?" "The rules were done." "What about assets, files?" "It's intact, please check them one by one."
After asking, Chen Yi's face eased, he stood up, held out his hand, Zhao Zukang leaned forward, and the two shook hands. Zhao Zukang handed Chen Yi the seal letter of the Shanghai Municipal Government. Chen Yi smiled and pointed to an empty chair opposite the desk and said, "Mr. Zhao, please sit!" ”
Zhao Zukang leaned forward half-seated, respectful and respectful. "Mr. Zhao, how did that Chen Daqing and Chen Liang run away?" Chen Yi asked, Zhao Zukang's heart suddenly opened, this is actually Chen Yi is comforting Zhao Zukang, you are a stand-in, but you have the courage, you take responsibility and stay is right.
Zhao Zukang gave Chen Yi a brief briefing on the operation of the Shanghai Municipal Government in the last few days.
Chen Yi stood up, Zhao Zukang also stood up, and the two sides shook hands again. Chen Yi, whose Sichuan accent was loud and cordial, said to Zhao Zukang: "Mr. Zhao Zukang led the old municipal government personnel to fly the white flag, handed over to the People's Liberation Army the seal letter of the old municipal government, and preserved the documents and archives. I look forward to cooperating with the takeover of the municipal government in the future..."
The brief handover ceremony was over. Under the guidance of Zhao Zukang, Chen Yi and others came to the opposite conference room to participate in the prearranged takeover welcome party.
Before Chen Yi had deliberately asked Xiong Zhongjie to take care of Zhao Zukang and ask all the handymen to come together, Zhao Zukang of course complied.
The handyman sat in the conference room to attend the meeting, which was impossible in the past Kuomintang municipal government, and Zhao Zukang was touched by this and praised the Communist Party for loving the people.
All the people in the conference room stood solemnly, looking a little nervous, Chen Yi kindly looked around the venue, relieved everyone and said: "You did not go to Taiwan, very good, we welcome." ”
Zhao Zukang took the lead in applauding, and everyone applauded, but the applause was a little hesitant. Chen Yi continued: "Chiang Kai-shek betrayed the revolution and ruled for 22 years, making the people miserable. ”
A little beggar was sleeping at the intersection, and a rickshaw sped past him.
On February 4, 1949, a little girl was queuing up to receive food for refugees.
He turned around, pointed to the statue of Sun Yat-sen hanging in the conference room, and said humorously: "How worthy of him!" Facing everyone again, he said: "History is merciless, Chiang Kai-shek has now fled, and he will not be willing to fail." I think it is still willing to be good, not willing to end up being doomed! ”
In August 1949, after the defeat of the Kuomintang, a group of captured Kuomintang troops walked the streets of Shanghai.
There was silence in the meeting room, and everyone looked at the Communist general in cloth and shoes and listened carefully to his speech.
Chen Yi calmed down and said, "You are the staff of the old municipal government, and now you are our friends, most of you are highly educated, and you deeply understand the significance of the liberation of Shanghai." You should know that the victory of the People's Liberation Army this time is not the victory of the Communist Party as a party, but the victory of the people. We will never respond to violence with violence, and we hope that everyone will abide by their duties, obey orders, handle handovers, serve the people, and wait for the people's government to be hired according to their ability. The Communist Party will never bury talent..."
Nationalist soldiers guarded supplies on the Bund in Shanghai and were waiting for instructions to evacuate Shanghai
The applause suddenly arose, and this time the applause did not hesitate, everyone felt warm, and the stone in their hearts was put down. Under the red flag, they can still contribute to municipal management, or they still have a rice bowl.
In a park in Shanghai, several Westerners take a nap under umbrellas.
After the end of all the procedures, Chen Yi invited Zhao Zukang to the mayor's office to talk, and Chen Yi's approachability made Zhao Zukang determined to tell him and his future ideas. As soon as he sat down, Zhao Zukang said that he was ready to do his own profession and teach at Jiaotong University.
Chen Yi said to him bluntly and sincerely: "Mr. Zhao, we will certainly be able to cooperate well in the municipal aspect, and do not have other ideas." It is very good that you stay, the construction of the country needs talents like you, you can exert your expertise, I would like to ask you to do the old business, as the director of the Shanghai Municipal Public Works Bureau. "We can work well together!" Chen Yi emphasized this sentence loudly at the end of his speech.
After the handover ceremony that day, Chen Yi's words echoed in Zhao Zukang's ears. When he walked out of the gate of the municipal government, he felt much more at ease, turned around and looked up, and the sign hanging on the door was the new "Shanghai Municipal People's Government", and he had also become the director of the new municipal government.
The red flag was hunting and fluttering in the wind of the Huangpu River, and the last acting mayor of the Kuomintang looked up, his heart was warm, and tears could not help but gush out.
That night, Chen Yi returned to the Mitsui Garden where he was stationed, too busy to eat, so he asked the attendant to give him a bowl of Yangchun noodles, and while eating, he held a mayor's office meeting of the Shanghai Municipal Government as the mayor, which was open until late at night. He listened to the afternoon work reports of the various takeover committees and further discussed how to do a better job in the takeover work of the various departments.
The next day, Chen Yi went to the Shanghai Resources Building to meet with more than 200 people left behind by the Resources Committee of the National Government, and made an important speech to 70 or 80 of them, asking them to serve as usual, maintain normal operation, and join the ranks of New China serving the people.
On this day, Zhao Zukang carried a briefcase to work at the Shanghai Municipal Public Works Bureau. In the following decades, he served as the vice mayor of Shanghai for 14 years.
He often mentioned to people a sentence that Chen Yi had said in those years: "I will never forget Comrade Chen Yi's sincere and touching words in my life - 'We can cooperate very well', this sentence has played a role in many important moments in my life, he helped me make a choice, history proves that such a choice is right." ”
On June 27, 1949, the parade after the liberation of Shanghai.