In 1955, Wei Lihuang, a senior Kuomintang general stranded in Hong Kong, was received by ***, and the two sides had a very happy exchange. After the end, ** personally set up a banquet to entertain Wei Lihuang, and six marshals accompanied him at the banquet, Wei Lihuang was flattered, and everyone was quite confused.
The six marshals were so high that even on the day of the 1955 award, three marshals were unable to attend for some reason. So, why was there six marshals to accompany Wei Lihuang, a general of the Kuomintang?
What is the historical relationship between Wei Lihuang and our party? Is there another hidden reason why he went to Hong Kong to take refuge? Wei Lihuang spent the first half of his life in ups and downs, and in the turbulent situation of modern society, as a revolutionary soldier with independent thoughts, he mediated among many forces and barely saved his life.
During the reign of Chiang Kai-shek, Wei Lihuang experienced many ups and downs and almost broke away from the army, but due to the turbulence of the times and the scarcity of talents, the people still used him many times at critical moments to turn the overall situation around.
This shows that Wei Lihuang's abilities were recognized by Chiang Kai-shek, but his political ideas were questioned.
At first, when the Northern Expedition broke out, Wei Lihuang was just an ordinary soldier in Mr. Sun Yat-sen's guards. With the influence of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Wei Lihuang was able to join the Northern Expeditionary Army and fight actively.
After the Northern Expeditionary Army successfully captured Wuhan, the warlords in the Central Plains were largely eliminated, but Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Ching-wei staged a counter-revolutionary coup against the party in the Central Plains and North China, leading to the defeat of the Great Revolution.
Despite this, the National Revolutionary Army was not disbanded, and Wei Lihuang gained the trust of Chiang Kai-shek for his outstanding military exploits. In 1932, Wei Lihuang was promoted to the commander of the 14th Army of the ** Army and became a popular man in front of Chiang Kai-shek.
At that time, the Whampoa students in the later stage of the Liberation War were only battalion and regimental officers, and Wei Lihuang's status in the Kuomintang should not be underestimated. At that time, Wei Lihuang was proud of the spring breeze and had been on the road of rising, and had not encountered any major setbacks.
However, the Xi'an Incident of 1936 broke out, and forces under Zhang Xueliang seized Chiang Kai-shek and his retinue of officers, including Wei Lihuang.
Wei Lihuang once commanded the fourth encirclement and suppression of the Communist Soviet area, and believed that he would definitely die if he fell into the hands of the Communist Party. However, the peaceful resolution of the Xi'an Incident changed his view of the Communist forces.
After the Central Plains War in 1930, Wei Lihuang entered Yan Xishan's army and became the deputy commander of the Second War Zone. By this time, he had already made contact with the Communist Party. In the film and television dramas of the Anti-Japanese War, although the Eighth Route Army and Chief Yan in the northwest of Jin are often mentioned, Wei Lihuang, the deputy commander, is rarely mentioned.
In February 1938, Wei Lihuang commanded the main force to build positions in the area of Taihang Mountain, preparing for the second major war with the Japanese army. Although the frontal battlefield withstood the pressure of the Japanese army, the Handan and Wu'an areas on the flank were broken through by the Japanese army.
In desperation, Wei Lihuang led a small force to take advantage of northern Shaanxi to join the main force of the Jin Sui army. In northern Shaanxi, Wei Lihuang met *** where the CCP is located Although they have already known each other through others, this is the first time Wei Lihuang has seen *** with his own eyes
This meeting is of great significance to both sides, and Wei Lihuang is full of curiosity about the people who insist on the revolution in the big ravine and himself. Yan'an also welcomed this deputy commander, one of the five major theaters, and his words and deeds will have an important impact on the overall situation.
The two sides will take this opportunity to jointly defeat the enemy's strategy and seek strategies for China's peace and stability. After the meeting, the two sides had an in-depth discussion on the revolutionary situation at that time. **Praise Wei Lihuang for his persistence in resisting Japan, and praise him as a rare fierce general.
Wei Lihuang also spoke highly of the Eighth Route Army as a positive force for persisting in resisting Japan, and the two sides had a very happy conversation.
Through in-depth exchanges, Wei Lihuang felt more and more shocked. It turned out that the people had been short of supplies for the Eighth Route Army, and ammunition, clothing, and medicine were always insufficient.
This made him extremely distressed by Chiang Kai-shek's favoritism. Wei Lihuang was deeply moved by the courage and belief of the Eighth Route Army, and decided to use his own strength to help them solve the problem of material shortages and provide medicine and assistance.
This experience became the most unforgettable memory of Wei Lihuang's life. In the same year, a brutal and inhumane wounding incident occurred in Queshan County, Henan Province, killing more than 200 Communist Party members and their families.
After the incident, ** was very angry and immediately negotiated with Wei Lihuang.
When Wei Lihuang learned of this incident, he immediately ordered his subordinates to arrest the culprit and conduct a trial on the spot, avoiding the expansion of the incident. Although such skirmishes could not be avoided, Wei Lihuang always insisted on restraining his subordinates and met with ** and others many times to minimize the conflict and impact.
Soon after, Chiang Kai-shek learned of this and ordered Wei Lihuang to be removed from his post and let him go home to support his old mother, but his treatment and salary did not change. In the face of such a change, Wei Lihuang did not fight against the decision of the national **, but went home to retire with peace of mind and lived a quiet life.
However, there could be no shortage of talents like Wei Lihuang within the Kuomintang, so in 1943, Wei Lihuang, who had just retired, was reactivated by Chiang Kai-shek, because the war situation in the Yunnan-Burma region was becoming clearer, and the front needed a commander who was both famous and capable to command the Chinese expeditionary force ** the Japanese invaders in the Yunnan-Burma region.
Wei Lihuang, a general of the Kuomintang Party, was the best candidate for the war in the southwest. He successfully commanded the Yunnan-Burma region. However, because Chiang Kai-shek was suspicious of Wei Lihuang's "pro-Communist" behavior in the past, he did not hand over all military power to Wei Lihuang.
After the end of the war in the Yunnan-Burma region in 1944, although Wei Lihuang was not dismissed, he was forced to give up his military power and retreat to the second line. During this period, Wei Lihuang actively contacted the Communists through intermediaries and expressed his willingness to cooperate with them.
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek had already made clear his intention to start a civil war, while Wei Lihuang expressed his willingness to stand by the people. Later, Wei Lihuang was appointed deputy commander-in-chief of the Chinese army, but he had no real power.
He then visited Europe and the United States, and with this was able to break free from Chiang Kai-shek's control and live a peaceful life. However, as the situation in the northeast battlefield deteriorated, Chiang Kai-shek once again thought of Wei Lihuang and ordered him to go to the northeast to calm the situation.
Wei Lihuang insisted on not taking office at first, but under the persuasion of our party, he finally came to the northeast as commander-in-chief. However, he did not carry out Chiang Kai-shek's orders.
Wei Lihuang took a cautious attitude, believing that the PLA was powerful and should not act rashly. He advocated building fortifications, training troops, and waiting for the best time. Although Chiang Kai-shek emphasized this point many times, the generals outside the country could not help themselves and could only delay.
In desperation, Chiang Kai-shek ordered his confidant Du Yuming to go to the northeast to preside over the war. This decision led to the emergence of two commands in the northeast, which, on the contrary, weakened the combat effectiveness of the Kuomintang army and exacerbated the deterioration of the situation in the northeast.
In Wei Lihuang's command in the northeast, he only had the power to transfer troops, but could not adjust personnel appointments. In other words, he could only use the people arranged by Chairman Chiang, and could not replace them.
Even when directing the front-line deployment operations, he was suppressed by Chairman Chiang. Faced with this situation, Wei Lihuang chose to procrastinate rather than take risks.
In the middle of the Liaoshen Campaign, the PLA conquered Jinzhou and began a large-scale offensive in the northeast. Although Wei Lihuang remained in Shenyang, Chiang Kai-shek was deeply outraged and vowed to fire him.
However, it was too late.
The command system of Liao Yaoxiang's corps was destroyed, the offensive of the Eastern Advance Corps was blocked, the Kuomintang army was divided on the Shenyang battlefield, and the defeat of the Northeast Battlefield was assured. Wei Lihuang flew back to Nanjing, and in the face of Chiang Kai-shek's questioning, he could not refute it.
Although Chiang Kai-shek had always suspected him of "colluding with the Communists", there was no evidence. In the end, he was removed from his post and placed in Nanjing to await processing. At this time, the Kuomintang army was losing ground on the battlefield, and Chiang Kai-shek was exhausted.
However, the turning point of the war of liberation has already appeared. On New Year's Day in 1949, "People**" published a list of first-class war criminals of the Kuomintang, and Wei Lihuang's name was prominently listed.
Wise people know that the more the Communists hate Wei Lihuang, the safer he will be within the Kuomintang. While he was under house arrest in Nanjing, he received news from "relatives".
With tears in his eyes, he said, "I'm saved!" ”
As the Kuomintang surveillance of Wei Lihuang gradually relaxed, he traveled to Shanghai under the pretext of seeing a doctor, and then flew to Hong Kong to live in seclusion with the help of friends, successfully avoiding Chiang Kai-shek's control.
In 1955, ** issued a call for "patriotism in no particular order", Wei Lihuang was deeply moved by this call and decided to return to the motherland. In March of the same year, he returned to the mainland with his wife and received great attention from the leaders.
**Personally met with him, ** and other six marshals attended to accompany him, Wei Lihuang deeply felt the trust and enthusiasm given to him.
In order to bring people closer, Wei Lihuang published a "Letter to Friends in Taiwan" at Xinhua News Agency, calling on friends in Taiwan to return to the embrace of the motherland as soon as possible.
After Wei Lihuang returned to China, he served as a deputy to the National People's Congress, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and vice chairman of the National Defense Commission, and lived a very happy life in his old age.