January 1949,"China***"Chiang Kai-shek announced his third descent into the wilderness, ending his half-year career. After going into the wilderness, he did not stay in Nanjing, but returned to his hometown in Fenghua with a depressed mood, and swept his mother's grave by the way.
This news caused quite a stir in the township, and the villagers rushed to watch, and some people even asked him curiously: "I heard that you are not the best?" ”
Chiang Kai-shek was officially established on April 19, 1948"Constitutional", and was successfully elected as the first term of China's **"**", which is intended to boost morale. However, his mood was not happy.
However, the decline of the Kuomintang did not change due to the "constitution", and Luoyang lost in the same month as the first day of his tenure, and the situation became more and more unfavorable after that. In May, the old estuary was lost, at the end of June, Kaifeng was lost, and in July, Yanzhou and Xiangyang were lost.
Jinan was lost in September, Jinzhou, Changchun, Zhengzhou, and Baotou fell in October, Shenyang and Baoding were lost in November, and Xuzhou, Huaiyang, Huai'an, and Zhangjiakou were also captured in December.
Clearly, the Kuomintang regime was under threat of total annihilation. Chiang Kai-shek tried to internationalize the civil war, asking the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain and France for help in the hope that they would intervene.
However, one of the important reasons for the three major battles was the Berlin crisis in Europe, and the attention of all countries was focused on that crisis and there was no time for Asian affairs.
Now that the main forces of the Kuomintang have been lost, there is no reason to help them anymore. The United States and the Soviet Union only hoped that the CCP and the Kuomintang would divide the river and rule. Under these circumstances, Chiang Kai-shek had no choice but to issue the "New Year's Day Proclamation" on New Year's Day in 1949, stating that as long as peace was realized, personal fate would no longer be considered, and everything would be subject to the will of the people.
This passage is *** called "war criminals suing for peace".
Chiang Kai-shek was ready to go into the wilderness, but he did not really go into the wilderness, and the CCP regarded him as "China's No. 1 war criminal and Kuomintang bandit leader", so he decided to push Li Zongren out as a substitute for the dead.
He predicted that there would be a war between the United States and the Soviet Union, that World War III would break out in 1950, and that if he held out for another year and a half, the United States and Britain might give him their full support.
So, on January 4, 1949, he visited Li Zongren and asked him to take charge of the overall situation and retire. However, Li Zongren refused, so Chiang Kai-shek made it clear that he would not do such a thing for five years.
Just as Li Zongren hesitated, on January 10, the Battle of Huaihai ended in the defeat of the Kuomintang, and all the elites of the 55th Army were eaten by the People's Liberation Army, and Nanjing *** was paralyzed.
Chiang Kai-shek was forced to ask Zhang Qun to read out the "Retirement Proclamation" on January 21. In this process, the Kuomintang members expressed their support one after another, emphasizing that they could not go out of the opposition in extraordinary times.
Chiang Kai-shek, however, was outraged, believing that his downfall was not due to the Communists, but to a faction within the party. Li Zongren, who was sitting next to him, didn't care about this, just drank tea quietly.
In the end, Li Zongren signed the "Inaugural Report" drafted by Zhang Qun, and trumpeted Chiang Kai-shek's contribution to the country and the people, and said that he would act as the first authority. Although the report was signed by Li Zongren, it still emphasized Chiang Kai-shek's determination and contributions.
After the signing ceremony, Li Zongren asked Chiang Kai-shek with great respect when he would leave so that he could see him off at the airport in person. However, Chiang Kai-shek snorted indifferently, saying that the exact time had not yet been determined, so there was no need to see him off.
In a wail of "**", Chiang Kai-shek left the venue.
After Chiang Kai-shek announced his departure from the wilderness, he was accompanied by Chen Cheng, Tang Enbo and others and arrived in Hangzhou by plane. Chen Yi, chairman of Zhejiang Province, personally went to the airport to greet him, and as usual at the "Louwailou" Hotel for Chiang Kai-shek, he knew that Chiang Kai-shek had a soft spot for vinegar fish in the West Lake here.
When Chiang Kai-shek saw the fish, he couldn't help but fall into deep thought, and although his chopsticks had touched the food on the plate, he finally put it down. His eyes were moist, as if he had been deeply touched by some emotion.
Seeing this, Chen Yi hurriedly comforted him: "Sir, don't dwell too much on the past, learn to let go." When Chiang Kai-shek heard this, he was so angry that he almost attacked, he snorted coldly, left his seat, came to the window, and looked at the West Lake in a daze.
Chen Cheng showed his wit and tactfulness, saying: "The president's way of advancing and retreating is bright and fair, and we are deeply moved. Great monarchs in history have had their share of difficult times, but as long as those of us support him, sooner or later he will recover. ”
Chiang Kai-shek was so comfortable with his words of praise that he sat back in his seat and asked Chen Yi: "What do the people in my hometown think of my retreat?" ”
Although what happened just now made him a little embarrassed, Chen Yi still said frankly: "It is the right time for the president to retreat bravely in order to achieve domestic peace. His words silenced everyone present.
Although Chiang Kai-shek had been in a state of anger before, Chen Yi's words made him feel supported, and he did not get up again, but sat there awkwardly.
Chen Yi immediately stood up, sincerely apologized, and said, "Please allow me to tell the truth. Although this was asked by Chiang Kai-shek himself, he could not be angry, but could only pretend to be tolerant and say: "It's okay, it's okay to say it directly." ”
At 10 a.m. the next morning, Chiang Kai-shek took off from Hangzhou by plane, arrived at Lishe Airport on the outskirts of Ningbo, and then transferred to a car back to his hometown of Fenghua Xikou Town.
When Chiang Kai-shek returned to Xikou, he realized that his days in his hometown were numbered. He spends his days with his wife, children and grandchildren in his hometown, enjoying the beautiful scenery.
On January 21, when they came down the mountain from Longtan to Yanxia Village, they happened to meet a villager surnamed Shan who got married. Chiang Kai-shek also joined in the fun, chatted and laughed with the guests, and also accepted the old wine and flower candles presented by the host's family.
Time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye, it was the Qingming Festival, and Chiang Kai-shek took Chiang Ching-kuo and his wife and grandchildren, with sacrifices and incense candles, to sweep the tomb. He knelt three times and asked the juniors to kowtow a few more.
However, because his daughter-in-law Jiang Fangliang was a Soviet, she did not understand traditional Chinese etiquette and filial piety, but only bowed, which made Chiang Kai-shek feel very dissatisfied: "* People do not understand the rules and do not know filial piety!" ”
Since Jiang Fangliang was not familiar with the dialect, he did not understand the old man's words. After the Qingming Festival, Chiang Kai-shek began to worship his ancestors in Xikou, Fenghua, Ningbo and other places. Although he is no longer there"**", but the one in Nanjing is only"False Emperor", he is the real one"Emperor"。
Everywhere they went, they were guarded by guards, and the local security chiefs, armor chiefs, patriarchs, and local tyrants and gentry all had to carry incense and candles to welcome them. In the process of worshipping his ancestors, Chiang Kai-shek came to the Chiang family ancestral hall in Louai Village, Houlang Township, Fenghua.
As soon as he entered, he heard an old man shouting from behind"We're going to go in and see**, why don't you let us in? "Chiang Kai-shek turned his head and found that it was an elderly man who had been stopped outside by the guards.
He opened his mouth and said:"The folks want to see me, what are you doing in the way? "Then he turned and walked out of the ancestral hall and said to the old man"I am Chiang Kai-shek, please come in, Grandpa. "
Chiang Kai-shek didn't expect that the old man asked unceremoniously: "I heard that you are no longer a **, is it true?" Although Chiang Kai-shek couldn't get angry for the sake of face, he could only smile and nod.
The old man continued: "Someone said that ** is leaving, you can't go, otherwise what will we do?" Chiang Kai-shek comforted: "Don't worry, I won't leave, with you good people, we will win in the end."
You can live in peace. After that, Chiang Kai-shek visited the ancestral tomb and ancestral hall in Sanling Village. The local patriarch was not polite when he saw Chiang Kai-shek, and directly called him by his name: "Ruiyuan, this ancestral ancestral hall is broken in several places, and it will leak when it rains, so it is better to repair it." ”
Chiang Kai-shek behaved like a qualified junior: "What Uncle said is that it must be repaired, and I will send someone to handle it in a few days, and I will pay all the expenses." Chiang Kai-shek was so generous, and the patriarch was very grateful: "Then thank Ruiyuan first." ”
Chiang Kai-shek replied: "Do you still need to thank you?" I am also a descendant of the Jiang family, this is what I should do! But the patriarch did not wait for Chiang Kai-shek to send someone to repair the ancestral hall, but waited for the news of Chiang Kai-shek's hasty escape half a month later......After leaving Sanling Village, Chiang Kai-shek went to Shadongtou Village and Ge'ao Village, sometimes casually asking for the names of several villagers.
He was very superstitious and said to a person named "Jiang Xingbao": "Your name is reversed, just call Jiang Baoxing." Later, he met an old man surnamed Wang, and felt that this was in line with the sign of "prosperity", so he took off his hat and greeted others.
When he met a man surnamed Xie, Chiang Kai-shek thought that this meant "refuse", so he was very angry and walked away. Unconsciously, on April 21, Chiang Kai-shek went to the auditorium of Wuling School to watch Peking Opera in order to boost morale.
Nanjing emergency call, ** across the river, Nanjing emergency! Chiang Kai-shek dropped the word "go" and walked straight out of the scene with his attaché, which was also the last scene he watched on the mainland.
I thought that the "Yangtze River Defense Line" would last for three months, but in fact it was vulnerable. After the liberation of Nanjing on the 23rd, Chiang Kai-shek made up his mind to leave. On April 25, Chiang Kai-shek and his son went to his mother's grave to say goodbye, and then took the "Taikang" to Taiwan, never returning in this life.