Li Zongren, an important figure in China's modern history, had a very delicate relationship with Chiang Kai-shek, and although the two belonged to the same camp, they were not united. As everyone knows, there is a serious factional struggle within the Kuomintang, and the main contradiction is the open and secret struggle between Li Zongren and Chiang Kai-shek.
In his later years, when Chiang Kai-shek summed up the reasons for his failure, he regarded Li Zongren as one of the reasons for his failure. Li Zongren had both strength and ambition, and he repeatedly forced the old Chiang Kai-shek to step down and wanted to replace him. After the three major battles, Li Zongren, with the support of the Americans, replaced Chiang Kai-shek as acting president of the Kuomintang.
After the kuomintang-communist negotiations broke down, our army successively liberated Important cities such as Nanjing and Shanghai, and the nationalist army retreated to Guangzhou, Guilin and other areas to continue their resistance. In November 1949, under the command of Bai Chongxi, the main force of the Gui clan was completely annihilated by our army, and Li Zongren lost the conditions for political toughness.
After the main force of the Gui clan was annihilated, Li Zongren came to Hong Kong under the pretext of seeking medical treatment, and he refused the "good intentions" of the old Chiang Kai-shek to invite him to Taiwan, went directly to the United States, and spent sixteen years in exile abroad. In 1965, Li Zongren, who had been preparing for several years to return to China, returned to China and was warmly received by Premier Zhou at the airport.
After Li Zongren returned to China, the chairman and other state leaders personally hosted a banquet to receive him, and once, Li Zongren made his own request to the chairman, hoping to become the personal vice chairman. After some consideration, the Chair decided to decline his request. The chairman believes that there are three reasons for not supporting Li Zongren's appointment as vice chairman of the NPC.
Premier Zhou commented that Li Zongren had done two good deeds in his lifetime, the first was the Battle of Taierzhuang, and the second was his return to the motherland. As everyone knows, the Battle of Taierzhuang commanded by Li Zongren was a major victory won by our army on the frontal battlefield of the War of Resistance Against Japan, annihilating more than 10,000 enemy personnel, dealing a heavy blow to the Japanese Kou, and inspiring people's hearts. Li Zongren was a famous anti-Japanese general, and when foreign enemies invaded, he was able to put the interests of the country first, resolutely resist Japan, defend his family and defend the country, and was a national hero.
As early as the Period of the Northern Expedition, the New Gui Seventh Army led by Li Zongren formed an alliance with Chiang Kai-shek and broke the combined forces of various warlords. For the sake of his own interests, Li Zongren acquiesced to chiang kai-shek's "April 12 coup" and supported the "Qing Communists." Li Zongren was an ambitious man, and in order to compete with Chiang Kai-shek for power, the two sides did not hesitate to fight each other, depleting the strength of the revolutionary army, and was finally defeated by Chiang Kai-shek.
During the Liberation War, both Li Zongren and Chiang Kai-shek hoped to eliminate our army, but with the unfavorable situation of the Kuomintang, Li Zongren's ambition to replace Chiang Kai-shek became more and more inflated, first running for vice president of the Kuomintang under the opposition of the old Chiang Kai-shek, and soon forcing Chiang Kai-shek to go to the wilderness again, becoming the acting president himself.
After Li Zongren assumed the post of acting president, he also did many things that were meaningful to the national revolution, such as announcing various measures to "promote peace negotiations", in which the release of "political prisoners" saved more than 10,000 Communist Party and democrats from being slaughtered.
In general, Li Zongren has both patriotic righteousness and political ambitions, and is a complex person. From four things, it can be seen that he is worthy of a Chinese.
Blood Battle Taierzhuang, Li Zongren is a person with national blood. During his tenure as acting president, he signed a document releasing "political prisoners" and saved more than 10,000 Communists from massacre. After learning of the atomic bombing in China, Li Zongren was very happy and congratulated his relatives and friends. Returning from overseas in 1965 had a far-reaching impact and was conducive to united front work.
The chairman was not a stingy man, and he entrusted many high-ranking kuomintang officials who revolted to heavy responsibilities, such as Fu Zuoyi, who was appointed minister of water resources, and Zhang Zhizhong, Cheng Qian, Chen Mingren, and other former senior Kuomintang generals, all of whom were entrusted with heavy responsibilities after switching to the camp. Li Zongren's position within the Kuomintang was not weaker than that of Fu Zuoyi and Zhang Zhizhong, and he once became acting president, second only to Chiang Kai-shek.
In order to allow Li Zongren to return to China smoothly, Premier Zhou spent a lot of thought and made careful arrangements. In order not to be discovered by the United States and Taiwan, Li Zongren and his wife announced to go to Europe to investigate, but in fact, under the arrangement of Premier Zhou, Li Zongren's plane back to China arrived at Guangzhou Baiyunshan Airport.
The plane landed at the mainland airport, Li Zongren was full of emotions, he sighed: Back, I am finally back! Soon, the chairman invited Li Zongren to reminisce about the past, and the two talked about many things, during which Li Zongren told the chairman that he wanted to serve as vice chairman of the people's congress and continue to contribute to the country.
The reason why Li Zongren wanted this post was also because the high-ranking Kuomintang officials who had previously worked with him, such as Cheng Qian, Zhang Zhizhong, and others were vice chairmen of the Npc, and Li Zongren believed that his position was not lower than theirs, and that he might be competent to serve as vice chairman of the People's Congress of New China.
After thinking for a while, the Chairman did not respond to his request on the spot, which meant that he declined. Li Zongren did not understand why the chairman rejected him, and the chairman was worried that he had some bad ideas, so he asked the prime minister to go to Li Zongren's residence instead of him to explain to him.
Premier Zhou conveyed the chairman's meaning to Li Zongren and explained to Li Zongren three reasons why he was not allowed to serve as vice chairman of the NPC:
(1): Li Zongren's previous status was very high, once he became the acting president, and the position of vice chairman of the people's congress was too low, and he was also wronged for himself.
(2): Li Zongren can use his former status as acting president of the Kuomintang to do united front work for those old subordinates who are still in Taiwan, and if he gives up this status and becomes an official of the Communist Party, the meaning and taste of doing united front work will change.
(3): Our party wants to give a signal to the Kuomintang personnel in Taiwan that they can come to the mainland to become officials or not to become officials, return to their roots to retire, and return to their hometowns to see them.
epilogue
After listening to the premier's explanation, Li Zongren also understood the chairman's good intentions, and in addition to apologizing for the accident, he was more admiring the chairman's great righteous act of putting the people of the country first and unifying. Although Li Zongren did not become vice chairman of the National People's Congress, the standard of living treatment was still very high, with drivers, nannies, and daily life without worry. Li Zongren can return to the roots, which is a wish for him personally, and for the country, it is also a very meaningful thing, which is a win-win situation.