In March, the city of Xi'an ushered in the first spring rain, after the rain and the sky was clear, people suddenly found that the willow shoots grew new shoots. Then, peach blossoms and apricot blossoms bloomed, and this is how the Spring Girl inadvertently walked into the ancient city of Xi'an.

In order to gain time for Chiang Kai-shek to mobilize troops, Zhang Qun and others deliberately delayed. On the one hand, because the base area was initially decided, it was the spring ploughing period, and the troops had been fighting for a long time, so they needed to rest and replenish their training, and they were not in a hurry to sit down at the negotiating table. The two sides tacitly agreed, and there was a surprising tacit understanding. Accompanied by [***], Zhang Qun and others traveled all over the scenery of Xi'an, and even went to the tombs of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Taizong of the Tang Dynasty to pay their respects.

It was not until the morning of 25 March that the two sides sat down in the five halls of Huaqingchi and began the first negotiations between the KMT and the CPC.

The negotiations were at an impasse from the outset.

The Kuomintang delegates proposed that the [***] army must withdraw from northern and eastern Sichuan, which was a prerequisite for negotiations.

The deputies proposed that the Kuomintang must withdraw the main force of the Central Army deployed on the Tongguan front line and the Xue Yue troops on the Deyang line, otherwise it would not be able to show the sincerity of the Kuomintang in negotiations.

The two sides are arguing over this issue, and they are arguing with each other.

Liu Yimin sat there without saying a word, his eyes looked at several representatives of the Kuomintang, and he smiled secretly in his heart, obviously he didn't have any sincerity, but he still pretended to be fighting for every inch of land, this scene is too real!

Look at these celebrities again, they are all images that often appear in later movies and television, and there is not much difference.

Thinking about it, these negotiators of the Kuomintang are all figures with excellent performance in history, and Zhang Qun did not say anything else, but he contributed to one thing in the Northeast to change banners, that is, great contributions. Shao Lizi's history has long been conclusive, and he is one of the symbols of the intellectuals' pursuit of progress in that era. Zhang Zhizhong made great contributions to the Songhu War of Resistance, and finally went to the revolution. Only this Chen Cheng, who looks short and thin, behaves in the world, deliberately imitates Chiang Kai-shek, and is known as the "little chairman". However, although Chen Cheng is [***] active, he is very honest, and the management of his civil engineering troops is relatively clear, and he has also made great contributions in the Anti-Japanese War. If Chiang Kai-shek did not start a civil war, but maintained the good situation of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in the early days of the Northern Expedition, I am afraid that these elites would have made greater achievements in governing the country!

Just when Liu Yimin was silently looking at Zhang Zhizhong and Chen Cheng, Zhang Zhizhong and Chen Cheng were also silently looking at Liu Yimin, it turned out that this Red Army general who had repeatedly suffered defeats was a suave young man!

Seeing that the negotiations could not go on, Zhou Enlai proposed to adjourn the meeting and continue in the afternoon. Zhang Qun agreed, and the representatives of the two sides left the five halls and went back to their residences to rest.

Zhou Enlai called [***], Liu Yimin, and Luo Ronghuan together to study countermeasures.

[***] It was suggested that two approaches could be taken: one was to make appropriate concessions to enable the negotiations to proceed; The other is to delay, which is certainly conducive to Chiang Kai-shek's adjustment of deployment, but also conducive to the rest and replenishment of our army. In particular, it is a busy time for spring ploughing, and delaying it is conducive to military and civilian production in the base areas.

Liu Yimin knew that at the moment he was in full swing planning the North China Incident, and the situation would escalate by May, but Chiang Kai-shek was not yet conscious, and he was still blindly preparing for a civil war. Thinking about this time in history, the Central Red Army was still fighting on the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan border, and Chiang Kai-shek had no time to take care of the North China Incident, so he had to blindly retreat. After the end of the North China Incident, the Liangguang Incident broke out in 36 years, and Chiang Kai-shek dealt with these things, not actively responding to the challenge of the Yue Army, but mobilizing a large army to prepare to encircle and suppress the Red Army, which led to the Xi'an Incident. It can be said that before the outbreak of the all-out war of resistance, China wasted two years in vain. If we had made good use of these two years and stepped up preparations for the War of Resistance Against Japan, it might not have suffered so much loss in the early days of the War of Resistance as it had done in history.

It would be nice if the negotiations could be substantively effective and the two sides would have a real truce.

Zhou Enlai saw that Liu Yimin didn't speak, lowered his head and didn't know what he was thinking, so he said, "Comrade Liu Yimin, what is your opinion?" ”

Seeing Vice Chairman Zhou's question, Liu Yimin said: "My personal opinion is not in favor of procrastination. Now the army is very restless in North China, and it will provoke trouble anytime and anywhere. At the critical juncture of national peril, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party should stop the civil war as soon as possible and deal with the crisis. Although this negotiation may not be successful, we will work towards success. Now Chiang Kai-shek has to take advantage of the negotiations to delay time and adjust the deployment, and we must also be busy with spring ploughing, land reform, and troop training. Both sides are actually willing to let the negotiations drag on. This is not good, the longer it drags on, the greater the accumulated war energy, and after the fight starts in the future, I am afraid that the scale of the campaign will not be beyond the control of Chiang Kai-shek or us. Allowing so many outstanding soldiers to die on the battlefield of the civil war is irresponsible to the nation and the country. Moreover, Chiang Kai-shek, once ready, would find an excuse to terminate the negotiations at any time. Therefore, we must seize the opportunity to reach an armistice agreement with the Kuomintang as soon as possible and use the agreement to restrain him. Even if he wants to fight, it will also make the people of the whole country see clearly the essence of his blind fighting of the civil war. ”

Zhou Enlai asked, "You mean to make some concessions?" ”

Liu Yimin nodded.

Luo Ronghuan said: "The appetite of the Kuomintang is too great, and it is inappropriate to give up all of northern Sichuan to them, and the comrades will have ideas." ”

Liu Yimin said: "You can first mention the surrender of Mianyang and take the Fujiang River as the boundary. However, we need to change our negotiation tactics and, on the one hand, promise the Kuomintang that if an agreement is reached, our party can make major concessions. On the other hand, I will talk about other issues first, and in the afternoon I will concentrate on the exchange of prisoners of war, and exchange Hu Zongnan for Fang Zhimin and Liu Chouxi. The results of the negotiations were immediately announced to the outside world every time an agreement was reached, creating a situation in which all walks of life throughout the country put pressure on Chiang Kai-shek and forced him to stop the civil war. ”

Zhou Enlai asked Comrade Shaoqi again if he had any opinions, and [***] said that he would do as Comrade Liu Yimin said. Even Chiang Kai-shek wanted to fight a civil war, which also gave him the notoriety of sabotaging negotiations and starting a civil war.

Zhou Enlai reported everyone's opinions to the Central Committee, and the Central Committee quickly called back to agree.

At the beginning of the afternoon talks, Zhou Enlai said: "Delegates, the fact that the Kuomintang and the Communist Party can sit together is a victory in itself. We have been entrusted by the two party committees to hold talks on stopping the civil war and unanimously resisting the war, which shows that both parties have clearly seen the fact of the current foreign enemy's aggression and that if they do not unite to resist the war in unison, there is a danger of destroying the country and destroying the species. I wonder if I can reach a consensus with you on this view? ”

After several consultations on the Kuomintang side, Zhang Qun said: "Mr. Enlai, the current situation in China has indeed reached the point where we need to unite with the outside world, and the fact that we can sit together shows this point. However, we believe that there are many factors that affect China's unity and resistance, and one of the most important is that your party uses force to confront the central authorities, resulting in the failure of state government and military orders, the loss of labor and money, and the accumulation of weakness and disease. Therefore, in order to achieve unity and resistance, your party must abandon the idea of violent revolution, obey the leadership of the central authorities, and accept the reorganization of the army, otherwise there will be no way to talk about anything. ”

Liu Yimin was annoyed when he heard this, these people should be very politically wise and able to see the current situation clearly, but they still blindly have a strong attitude, saying in the morning that giving up northern Sichuan is a prerequisite, and in the afternoon saying that if they don't give up the idea of violent revolution and accept the adaptation, there is no way to talk about it. Purely procrastinating for negotiations! If you don't teach them a lesson, it looks like they won't know who they are!

Liu Yimin was about to have a seizure, when he heard Zhou Enlai say calmly: "The previous sentence of Mr. Yue Jun's words is to agree with what I just said, isn't it?" ”

Zhang Qun nodded.

Zhou Enlai immediately confessed to the comrade who served as the record: "Please record, the representatives of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party agreed that it is time to unite and resist." ”

Zhang Qun looked at Zhou Enlai and wanted to say something, but finally he didn't say anything.

Zhou Enlai continued: "As for Mr. Yue Jun's statement that our party 'confronts the central government by force, resulting in the failure of state government and military orders, laboring the people and losing money, and accumulating weakness and disease', I cannot agree with it. As we all know, the first alliance of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party led to the Northern Expedition, and countless [***] people stained the battlefield of the Northern Expedition with blood. I myself served as the director of the Political Department of the Whampoa Military Academy and the director of the Political Department of the First Army, and participated in the leadership of the Eastern Expedition. Was it Chiang Kai-shek's betrayal of the revolution, the April 12 coup d'état, the massacre of [***] people, and forced us to pick up guns to fight him? However, we will not talk about this today, and this history will be left to future generations to comment. ”

Zhou Enlai hadn't finished speaking, and Chen Cheng couldn't sit still.

Chen Cheng is a rare cadre in the Kuomintang who is honest and self-disciplined, and he is also good at politics and is very cultivated. But there is one point, he regards Chiang Kai-shek as an idol, loyal, and the most unbearable thing to listen to others say that Chiang Kai-shek is not good. Hearing Zhou En's story about Chiang Kai-shek's betrayal of the revolution, what kind of cultivation and calming kung fu all ran to the back of his head. He stood up immediately, pointed at Zhou Enlai with his finger and said: "[***] If you don't obey the leader, you should be eliminated!" I will not allow you to slander the leader! ”

Liu Yimin, who had long wanted to have a seizure, found the flashpoint now, slapped the table, stood up and said coldly: "Mr. Chen Cheng, please withdraw your fingers." You dare to be disrespectful to Vice Chairman Zhou, I don't think you want your hand! ”

Chen Cheng sneered: "Aren't you the Liu Yimin who won a few battles by sneak attacks and ambushes?" What are you crazy about? Can you guarantee that you'll always have that luck? If we have the ability, we will really set up our troops with real swords and guns, and see if it is the elite of my Central Army or your Red Seventh Army that is powerful! ”

Liu Yimin smiled: "Setting up a formation is really a knife and a real gun, and you are not an opponent." Let me ask you first, did Vice Chairman Zhou ever be your commander at the Whampoa Military Academy? Whampoa soldiers meet the commander, is this your style? Besides, Vice Chairman Zhou just stated a fact, and did not say that Chairman Jiang has a bad character, can this also be regarded as slander? ”

Only then did Chen Cheng realize that he was Meng Lang, and said, "Mr. Enlai, I'm sorry!" He sat down in his seat stupidly.

Seeing Chen Cheng sit down, Liu Yimin also sat back in his seat, looked at the deputies who were sitting precariously, and said in a deep voice: "Please forgive me for my gaffe just now." Compared to you, I am a latecomer, and this is a place of negotiation between the two parties, so I should not be so impulsive. But I see that everyone has been fighting lawsuits, and I am anxious. Have you ever thought about it, what are we doing when we are here to talk about it? They are sharpening their knives to North China! While we were driving the soldiers of both sides to fight with rifles and grenades, the planes and warships of the two sides could pounce on us at any time. Mr. Zhang Qun, Mr. Shao Lizi, General Zhang Zhizhong, and General Chen Cheng are all famous generals of the Northern Expedition, and they are all loyal and heroic heroes who seek the country. It is General Chen Cheng, although he has not yet fought the army, specializes in fighting the Red Army, and has a deep hatred with us, but I appreciate General Chen Cheng's proposal when he was the commander of the 11th Division not to be greedy for money and not afraid of death. I believe that with the wisdom of General Chen Cheng, he will not fail to see who China's real enemy is. Including Chairman Chiang, I'm afraid it's not unclear. Guys, I don't know if I'm right? ”

The representatives of the Kuomintang fell silent. In fact, their silence is not only to agree with Liu Yimin's words, but more importantly, they can't imagine that a [***] corps commander and negotiator would evaluate them like this, which is shocking!

Liu Yimin continued: "Although I am young, I have also read some books, and I know that whether it is the Kuomintang or [***], it is a political party. Since it is a political party, it must represent the interests of the people and win the people's support and support. The Kuomintang was established in order to overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty and seek the road to enriching the country and strengthening the army, and indeed made great contributions to national liberation. It was also established to save China, and in the Northern Expedition and other national liberation movements, it also wrote its loyalty to the country and the nation with blood and life. It's just that the two parties have found different ways to save the country and the people. It doesn't matter if there are differences in isms or political views, we can seek common ground while reserving differences. However, it cannot be said that differences in doctrine and political views mean that the other side must be eliminated. There are two big parties in the United States, namely the Ming Cook Party and the Republican Party, and the two parties have different governing philosophies and different policies after taking office, and they often abuse each other for the sake of elections, but the Ming Cook Party never says that the Republican Party does not safeguard US interests, and the Republican Party does not say that the Cook Party does not safeguard US interests. Why do we have to kill you? Can't we learn to learn from other people's manners? ”

None of the representatives on both sides spoke, and Liu Yimin knew that his words would shock everyone too much and take time to digest. But since it is said, it must be finished. And then he said; "I know that now that the [***] army is strong, Chairman Chiang is also mobilizing a large army and preparing to continue to fight us. Letting you negotiate is actually letting you paralyze us and buy time for his military deployment. As long as he completes the deployment, he will terminate the negotiations and launch an offensive at any time. Let's think about it, don't say that Chiang Kai-shek's idea is wishful thinking, even if he wins, what can he do? Won't I invade us? When the time comes, we need good soldiers to fight the bayonets with the Japanese army, but these soldiers have already been consumed on the battlefield of the civil war. We needed officers with combat experience to direct the troops, but they had fallen under the guns of both of us. These people could have died with the army with explosives, but unfortunately because the leader was going to fight a civil war, they could not be recognized by the whole nation if they died. People say, what are we doing here? What do the common people think of us? What does the international community think of us? ”

There was silence in the five halls, and only Liu Yimin's unhurried words echoed in everyone's ears: "I can tell you that after our army occupies Chengdu, it is completely possible to take advantage of the situation to concentrate on destroying all the Sichuan army, and then destroy it after Xue Yue and his army arrive, and occupy all of Sichuan." Even after we occupy Xi'an, we can also capture Luoyang non-stop and eliminate the Central Army stationed in Luoyang. But we didn't. You may not believe me when I say this. But I still want to tell you that the reason why our party did not do this was to prevent the loss of [***] troops too much, to reserve a strategic rear for the national political axe, and to preserve some vitality for [***], so as not to lose Nanjing and Shanghai to himself as soon as the all-out war of resistance began. Our party hopes that the two sides will sit down and seriously discuss the strategy of national salvation in line with the aim of uniting and resisting the country, respecting each other. I hope that your party will not think that the Red Army of today or the Red Army of the past can be encircled and suppressed by you. And don't think that the negotiation is a means of responding to [***] appeals, perfunctory calls for an end to the civil war, and pushing the strings here. I can responsibly tell you that our army is ready to repel your attack. But one thing to make clear, as a soldier of the Red Army, my ideal is to go up to the battlefield of resistance to fight devils, not to fight [***]. I have stated on several occasions that anyone who dares to pursue and suppress the Red Army and obstruct the Red Army's northward march to resist will be regarded as a Han annihilation force and will be resolutely eliminated. If Chiang Kai-shek still wants to fight, then we are welcome. I can't bear to fight [***], but I don't have any psychological burden to fight Han Annihilation. I would like to ask Mr. Zhang Qun to report my remarks to Chairman Chiang. I'm done, thank you! ”

Liu Yimin said thank you, but no one applauded, and the representatives on both sides were thinking about what he had just said. After a while, Zhou En said: "Mr. Yue Jun, Comrade Liu Yimin's heartfelt words must have been heard clearly by everyone. Are we going to continue negotiations? I would like to address the first issue, which is the exchange of prisoners of war. At present, Hu Zongnan, commander of the First Division, and other officials are under the protection of our army, and our side has asked that Hu Zongnan be exchanged for our captured Fang Zhimin and Liu Chouxi. We invite your comments. ”

Zhang Qun thought for a while and said, "Mr. Enlai, we basically agree to the exchange of prisoners of war. However, I ask for your understanding that we need to adjourn the meeting, and we will consult and continue negotiations tomorrow morning. Mr. Enlai, what do you think? ”

Zhou Enlai knew that this was to discuss Liu Yimin's words and unify his understanding, so he agreed, and the representatives of the two sides withdrew from the venue again.

Zhou Enlai, in accordance with the opinions discussed in the morning, immediately reported to the outside world to the comrades in charge of propaganda, and the representatives of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party reached a consensus, and now it is time to unite and resist.

After arranging the publicity, Zhou Enlai was full of energy and praised Liu Yimin for being able to pull up and win at a critical time.

The Kuomintang representatives went back to negotiate, and Zhou Enlai, [***], and Luo Ronghuan had nothing to do and went to Lishan together.

In Liu Yimin's eyes, Lishan Mountain and Huaqing Pond are not only sweet and lovely, but also sad. Therefore, he did not want to go anywhere, so he stayed alone and sat idly in his lodgings.

After the Kuomintang delegates returned to their residences, they all concentrated at Zhang Qun's residence.

Shao Lizi is slightly older and is quite a stylish intellectual, so without waiting for Zhang Qun to speak, Shao Lizi took the lead in asking: "Yue Jun, tell me, is what Liu Yimin said true, and does the chairman let us use negotiations to delay time and let him complete the combat deployment?" ”

Zhang Qun didn't speak, he picked up the tea and drank it, and the only thing in the room was his grunting tea.

Shao Lizi sighed: "It's too late, I still have to fight!" ”

Zhang Zhizhong sat on the chair with a calm expression, and when he saw Shao Lizi sighing, he asked Chen Cheng: "Cixiu, do you think this battle can still be fought?" ”

Chen Cheng looked depressed, and when he saw Zhang Zhizhong asking, he said, "It's difficult!" ”

Zhang Zhizhong said: "Before we moved, the Red Army made our thoughts clear. In my opinion, Liu Yimin's words should be sorted out and forwarded to the chairman of the committee. My opinion is that I still negotiate seriously, and if I can win it at the negotiating table, why do I have to fight? Besides, I am afraid that the chairman of the committee has not known enough about the Red Army lately, and if he were here today, I guess he might have canceled the idea of a big fight. ”

Zhang Qun was a little surprised and asked Zhang Zhizhong: "How do you say that if the committee is here, the idea of a big fight will be canceled?" The commission is not someone who can easily change his mind. ”

Zhang Zhizhong looked at Zhang Qun: "From Liu Yimin's tone, I can judge that this guy is waiting for us to fire first!" It is likely that he wanted to beat us to the bone marrow, and never dared to fight him again, and then honestly sat down to negotiate with them again. Don't you notice that when he talks to us, he respects us very much, but in fact treats us as normal? A soldier, especially an elite soldier, has such strong self-confidence in the situation of the great enemy's pressure, it means that he is fully prepared and waiting for the enemy to collide with it! ”

Zhang Qun looked at Chen Cheng again, saw that he had a depressed face, and knew that he was in a bad mood, so he said: "Cixiu, you are now in charge of the military, what do you say we should do when we come down?" ”

Chen Cheng's answer was very simple: "Report truthfully to the committee, please make a decision." ”

Zhang Zhizhong thought for a while and said, "We should have an opinion, attach it, and the committee will refer to it." ”

Zhang Qun thought to himself, I had already advised the commission not to fight, but he didn't listen. Even if he attaches his opinion, he may not necessarily listen. He said, "Okay, let's talk about it, let's form an opinion and report it to the commission, and we can't be derelict in our duties if we don't listen to him or not." ”

Shao Lizi said: "I'll talk about it first. After I went back this time, the chairman didn't know how to punish me. I'm older, I don't care anymore, it's a big deal to run a newspaper. I think that everyone has listened to Liu Yimin's words today, at least it can show that [***] people are not as extreme as we imagined, and they are also sincerely thinking about the country and the nation. Although Yue Jun's words at the beginning of today were a little hasty, he was eager to defend the leader, and he was rude to Mr. Enlai. But from my point of view, this [***] really wants to reconcile with us and fight together. In particular, this Liu Yimin has a far-sighted vision, focuses on the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, has a novel view on the dispute between the two parties, and is also very affirmative of the contributions made by our party to the country and the nation. Being able to meet such a young man is a lifetime blessing! My opinion is that the civil war should be stopped and serious negotiations should be made. If [***] is willing to accept the leadership of the chairman, then anything can be discussed. After so many years, it's time to stop and think about it. If the chairman of the committee is determined to fight, then I will not participate in the discussion after defeat. After speaking, Shao Lizi ignored no one, closed his eyes and went to recuperate.

Zhang Qun asked Zhang Zhizhong: "Wenbai, what do you think?" ”

Zhang Zhizhong said: "I have already said that we should negotiate seriously. ”

Zhang Qun looked at Chen Cheng, and Chen Cheng said: "Negotiation is the best policy, this Liu Yimin is so capable of fighting, let him go and say that he is good." However, I carry out the decision of the Commission. ”

Zhang Zhizhong immediately said: "Is this talking about our opinions, and who can not implement the decision of the chairman?" However, it is also our duty to truthfully report our opinions to the chairman for his reference. In the end, do you still have to listen to the chairman? ”

Seeing that everyone had finished speaking, Zhang Qun said: "I think so, we will sort out Liu Yimin's words, report to the committee, and then attach our opinions on our intention to seriously negotiate with the Communist Party for the committee's reference." After the committee agreed, we negotiated seriously article by article. If the committee does not agree, my opinion is that we can't run this trip empty, at least we must rescue Hu Zongnan and them. ”

Shao Lizi's closed eyes suddenly opened: "Then what if [***] agrees to accept the leadership of the national political axe and agree to reorganize the troops?" Could it be that we still have to fight? Isn't that discrediting in front of the people? ”

Zhang Qun said seriously: "If we can talk about getting [***] to agree to accept the leadership of the political axe and the Red Army to accept the reorganization, if the commission still has to fight, then I will hang up the crown and leave." I, Zhang Qun, am not a villain who does not care about the general interests of the nation, I have my own principles of life. ”

There was a convergence of opinions on several people. Zhang Qun immediately called the staff who served as the record-keeper and asked him to immediately sort out the record of Liu Yimin's speech during the afternoon negotiations, and report it for review after sorting it out.

In the interval between waiting for the record of the conversation, several people asked Zhang Zhizhong how he felt when he fought with the Yue army.

Zhang Zhizhong briefly talked about his experience in the 128th Shanghai War of Resistance, and then said: "What Liu Yimin said today is right, my planes and warships will pounce on us at any time. That's not necessarily just North China, I think the Yangtze River line is also a key target of the army. Our army's equipment is too poor, and the sacrifice is too great to fight against the Japanese army. Now, if we don't come to our senses and get a good grasp of organizing and training our troops, straightening out the military industry, and building fortifications for war readiness, I think we will have to suffer a great loss when I call. ”

Zhang Qun immediately said: "Wen Bai's views are very insightful and should be reported to the committee." ”

Zhang Zhizhong smiled bitterly: "The commission has long known. He is the leader of a country, how can he not consider these strategic matters? It's just that he is now obsessed with chasing and suppressing the Red Army, and he has no intention of caring about anything else. ”

Several people didn't speak, they all picked up their teacups and tasted tea silently.

(To be continued)