General Li Zongren died, leaving behind a last sentence that made people think deeply: "Give the bottles of wine I treasured to *** He is the leader of the Guangxi Gui warlords, and he had a hostile relationship with the Communist Party."
But after the Liberation War, he chose to go into exile in the United States. However, in 1965, he took the initiative to return to the mainland and established a good relationship with ***.
So, why did Li Zongren choose to return to the mainland in his later years? What is the origin of this treasured wine? Let's find out the story.
Li Zongren, the challenger of the old Gui line Born in Guilin, Guangxi Province in 1891, Li Zongren was one of the representatives of the new Gui warlords, and his relationship with Bai Chongxi was so close that people affectionately referred to the two of them"Li Bai"。
Before Li Zongren came to prominence, there was already a group of deep-rooted old warlords in the Gui lineage, who were known by the people"Old Gui lineage"。In order to compete for territory, in 1920 and 1921, the Guangdong-Guizhou War broke out, and the power of the old Gui system was seriously impacted, and the new Gui forces represented by Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi and Huang Shaohong began to emerge gradually.
In Guangxi, Bai Chongxi won the reputation of "Little Zhuge " with his shrewd strategy, while Li Zongren won the highest leadership position among the three with his excellent leadership skills.
In 1925, Li Zongren realized the limitations of Guangxi and decided to join Sun Yat-sen's Kuomintang** in order to contribute to the reunification of the country. They deeply identified with the concept of the Three People's Doctrine and had deep respect for Dr. Sun Yat-sen, and although Sun Yat-sen's status at that time was relatively low, they chose to join Sun Yat-sen's camp and carry out the Northern Expedition together.
In 1926, the Gui troops led by Li Zongren were reorganized into the 7th Army of the National Revolutionary Army, and he led the troops to repeatedly charge bravely in the Northern Expedition. By April 1927, when Chiang Kai-shek launched a large-scale crackdown on the Communists, Li Zongren did not hesitate to express his support.
However, there was a contradiction between Li Zongren and Chiang Kai-shek, because Chiang Kai-shek always believed that the Gui troops were not "his own people", and every battle was fought by the Gui troops.
He tried to weaken the Gui troops through attrition on the battlefield, and even when the military salaries were paid, the treatment of the descendants was higher than that of the Gui family. Li Zongren, on the other hand, had great ambitions, and he did not want to be held hostage to Chiang Kai-shek, nor could he tolerate such unequal treatment.
Therefore, the Chiang-Gui War was inevitable.
In 1929, the confrontation between Chiang Kai-shek and Li Zongren ended in a victory for Chiang Kai-shek, who expelled Li Zongren from the party and accused him of rebellion, forcing Li Zongren to retreat to Guangxi.
In Guangxi, Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi made up their minds to revitalize their hometowns, using it as a base, and after Guangxi prospered, they would then pursue the great cause of the whole country. During this time, Li Zongren effectively governed Guangxi, and he curbed corruption by restricting the luxurious life of **, and even his own sister was required to cultivate the land and not work at ease.
Li Zongren has always been concerned about the overall development of the country, after the Japanese invasion of China, he repeatedly published articles criticizing Chiang Kai-shek's inaction, and in September 1936, he was willing to laugh with Chiang Kai-shek and fight against Japan together.
Li Zongren, a heroic fighter against Japan, participated in many battles during the Sino-Japanese War, the most notable of which was the Battle of Taierzhuang in March 1938.
Taierzhuang, as the last line of defense in Xuzhou, is a north-south water transportation hub, and has always been a battleground for soldiers. In this battle, the Chinese side committed a total of 290,000 troops, including the motley army of Chiang and Gui within the Kuomintang, and the active participation of the Communist New Fourth Army.
Although the Japanese army only had 50,000 men in the war, they had a much more advanced **. However, Li Zongren's wise command, as well as the heroic struggle of the squadron, finally won this battle, which is undoubtedly the most glorious moment in Li Zongren's life.
After fierce fighting, although our army was 50,000, it successfully annihilated 10,000 Japanese troops, achieving the first major victory on the frontal battlefield, and greatly boosting the anti-Japanese morale of the Chinese people.
After the war, the sound of cheering firecrackers echoed in the streets and alleys, and even Chiang Kai-shek praised in surprise: "So you can still lead a ragtag army?" "Li Zongren's broad-mindedness is reflected in the treatment of miscellaneous troops, and he handles affairs impartially and impartially.
On the front-line battlefield, he carefully deployed, allowing the Gui troops to rush to the front, and the soldiers of the other factions also had high morale after seeing it and fought together. This allowed Li Zongren to command the ragtag army with ease and achieved victory after victory.
Li Zongren recalled this incident and was still proud: "What he couldn't do, I did, maybe in his opinion, it's unbelievable." "The three giants of the Gui family have coexisted in the Kuomintang for a long time, but they have always been united, and they have always supported Li Zongren when facing interest decisions.
For example, at the end of 1947, the Kuomintang wanted to elect a deputy **, and Chiang Kai-shek, for his own interests, and at the same time did not want to let the Gui warlords rise, he wanted to recommend Sun Yat-sen's son Sun Ke.
But Bai Chongxi, Li Zongren and Huang Shaohong hoped that Li Zongren would take the position.
Bai Chongxi and Huang Shaohong did their best to use their influence to canvass for Li Zongren, and finally won the victory with a result that exceeded Sun Ke's 143 votes, and Li Zongren was successfully elected as the deputy **.
However, Li Zongren's ambitions did not stop there, he was eager to go further within the KMT. Therefore, before the battle of crossing the Yangtze River, when the Kuomintang and the Communist Party were negotiating, Li Zongren ostensibly agreed to the conditions of our party, won the support of the majority of the people within the Kuomintang, and succeeded in forcing Chiang Kai-shek.
However, Li Zongren's real intention was to stall for time and wait for the army to be fully prepared before confronting the Communists in order to achieve the goal of ruling across the river.
After Li Zongren's schemes were revealed, his political position plummeted within the Kuomintang, and Chiang Kai-shek seized the opportunity to seize his power, eventually losing the war of liberation.
So in November 1949, he flew from Nanning to the United States via Hong Kong on the pretext of medical treatment. Before fleeing, Li Zongren had thought deeply. Although Chiang Kai-shek pretended to invite him to Taiwan Province, Li Zongren knew Chiang Kai-shek's personality very well, and he knew that under Chiang Kai-shek's sphere of influence, his life would certainly not be easy.
However, Li Zongren's good partner Bai Chongxi did not realize this.
He was deceived by Chiang Kai-shek's sweet words, mistakenly believing that Chiang Kai-shek valued him very much, and promised him that he could become defense minister when he arrived in Taiwan. Therefore, he scoffed at Li Zongren's advice that "I would rather go to hell than Taiwan," believing that Li Zongren was "selfish, too weak, and not like a soldier."
When Li Zongren learned in the United States that Bai Chongxi had gone to Taiwan, he was so angry that he stomped his feet, thinking that Bai Chongxi had been deceived by Chiang Kai-shek. Sure enough, after Bai Chongxi arrived in Taiwan, not only did he not get Chiang Kai-shek's reuse, but was used by Chiang Kai-shek many times to contain Li Zongren.
For example, Chiang Kai-shek dismissed Li Zongren from his post as "deputy **".
Bai Chongxi was in Taiwan, and he said a lot of bad things to Li Zongren, advocating that he move to Taiwan, Li Zongren knew that Bai Chongxi couldn't help himself, and he didn't blame him. Li Zongren lived a rather boring life in the United States, and could only spend every day playing cards with his wife, but he was always concerned about the development of the motherland and gradually set his sights on the mainland.
In October 1964, when the news of the success of China's first atomic bomb** came, he was proud of China. In his later years, Li Zongren was homesick and longed to go back to the mainland to see, but when he was opposed to the Communist Party, he did not kill the Communists, and now if he wants to return to China, he must first test the attitude of the Communist Party.
So, he sent Cheng Siyuan back to China many times to communicate with ***.
In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, China actively carried out the work of the whole country and advocated the unity of the people of the whole country. In dealing with democrats, China adheres to the principle of tolerance and disregard for past suspicions, which is also an important reason for welcoming Li Zongren's return to China.
However, Li Zongren was still worried about his past, so he decided to donate a batch of antiques to the country as his collection for many years through Cheng Siyuan to show his sincerity.
**After receiving Li Zongren's antique, although happy, it has been verified by experts and is worth up to three thousand dollars. He found *** to discuss: "It's better to give him $30,000." ”
**In order to show sincerity, I was willing to buy it for 10 times**, but *** was more generous and decided to give him 120,000. He patted *** on the shoulder and said earnestly: "To do *** work, we must pay attention to ways and means."
Li Zongren said that after spending 110,000 yuan, we should give him more and let him feel our sincerity. *'s generosity made Li Zongren see the sincerity of the Communist Party and prepare to return to China with confidence.
In July 1965, Li Zongren returned to China with his wife, and ** warmly greeted him in Shanghai and held his hand tightly. Despite repeated attempts by Chiang Kai-shek and Bai Chongxi to obstruct him, Li Zongren was determined to return to his homeland.
** Promise complete freedom for his journey, no matter whether he chooses to stay in the country or go abroad, there will be no restrictions. A few days after Li Zongren arrived in China, he hosted a banquet in Zhongnanhai to entertain the couple.
At the banquet, ** said humorously: "At the beginning, the Kuomintang said that we were bandits, but now it seems that you have strayed into the thief ship." ”
When he sincerely told Li Zongren that our country was still developing and there were some difficulties, Li Zongren replied indifferently: "Our ship has successfully reached the other side." ”
He knew that his sister and three brothers-in-law had been disposed of by the Communist Party because of their status as large landowners during the land reform, but he believed that since he had decided to come back, he should let go of everything in the past.
At the banquet, ** also asked Li Zongren: "What are your plans after returning to China?" ”
Li Zongren wanted to take up the post of vice chairman of the National People's Congress, but *** did not accept his request and did not seem to want him to take this position. After returning home, Li Zongren realized that he was too eager.
However, his former subordinates have all held positions such as vice chairman of the National People's Congress in China, and if his own position is lower than theirs, won't he be able to face them when he goes out in the future?
However, ** is not dissatisfied because Li Zongren wants this position. He just believes that if Li Zongren can do a good job in China in his personal capacity, it will be more conducive to the return of Taiwan Province.
**conveyed the deep meaning of *** to Li Zongren, Li Zongren was deeply admired, and decided to let go of the doubts in his heart. On the National Day of 1966, ** held Li Zongren's hand on the tower of Tiananmen Square and said with a smile: "The Communist Party will not forget your contributions." ”
In December 1966, Bai Chongxi died suddenly at home, for unknown reasons, probably poisoned by Chiang Kai-shek. After Bai Chongxi arrived in Taiwan, he was suppressed by Chiang Kai-shek, and Chiang Kai-shek also put the responsibility for the defeat of the Liberation War on Bai Chongxi, which made Bai Chongxi's life very difficult.
After Li Zongren learned about it, he deeply felt Bai Chongxi's wrong, and at the same time, he was glad in his heart about his decision.
After he returned to China, the Communist Party not only did not deal with him, but gave him preferential treatment, which also prompted more Chinese to be willing to return to China for development.
In his later years, Li Zongren was deeply affected by the death of his wife and his health deteriorated, and when he arranged the funeral in 1969, he decided to donate the books he had treasured for many years to the Guangxi Library to make his final contribution to his hometown.
And a few bottles of famous wine that he shipped back from abroad, he said that he wanted to give *** These wines are reluctant to drink on weekdays, so he just took them out and touched them, and carefully put them back in the wine cellar.
He was able to give wine to ***, which shows that his recognition of *** is very high.
He passed away in January 1969, but he was still deeply relieved on his deathbed that the path he had taken to return from overseas had always been the right one. As a young man, Li Zongren was an ambitious politician, but after returning to China, he became a patriot who was enthusiastic about the country.
He and Bai Chongxi faced similar circumstances in the later stages of the Liberation War, but due to different choices, their later fates were very different. In the end, Li Zongren was able to take the initiative to return to China for development and run for the reunification of the country, which undoubtedly proved that he was a person with foresight and a sense of the overall situation.