On this day, at the Empire State Building in Nanjing, the much-anticipated peace talks between the KMT and the CCP officially began. The main representatives of the Communist Party of China include Zhou Enlai, Ouyang Jian, Lin Boqu, Ye Jianying, etc. On the Kuomintang side, Foreign Minister Song Ziwen was the leader, and Chen Bui, He Yingqin, and Gu Zhu formed a strong lineup. In addition, democrats include Sun Yat-sen's wife, Soong Ching-ling, and other party representatives. In a spacious hall of the Empire State Building, a rectangular table stands out, reporters are blocked out of the negotiation hall, and representatives of all parties, namely democrats, are already waiting outside the room.

A respected person without party affiliation presided over the announcement of the KMT-CPC negotiators, and then the representatives of both sides entered in turn. Before the formal negotiations began, Zhou Enlai first spoke and reaffirmed the far-reaching significance of signing peace talks and promoting the united front of the whole people, and the central content was still to form a pattern of national resistance against Japanese aggression. Subsequently, the essentials of the peace talks put forward by Song Ziwen did not deviate much from imagination, and the focus was on the issue of disarmament. According to the conditions put forward by the other party, Zhou Enlai answered one by one, agreed to peaceful coexistence under the unified framework of the Nationalist Government, and agreed to his peace proposition. There was also no objection to the reorganization of the Red Army into the National Revolutionary Army. However, with regard to the reduction of the number of troops, it was emphasized that the 20 divisions of the main Red Army units in Jiangxi and Fujian cannot be changed.

In addition, Enlai deliberately emphasized that the reorganization of the Shaanxi-Gansu Red Army into three divisions could not be changed, and in short, the Red Army troops should maintain the 23rd division as the bottom line. It should be said that no other issue has become a problem, except that the two sides are facing each other in terms of the number of troops, and they are debating each other. Zhou Enlai once again showed his eloquent ability, fighting everyone, and he was reasonable. On the first day of the talks, the issue of army reductions was discussed, and the two sides did not make any concessions and did not make any substantive progress. During the intersessional recess, Enlai talked with the democrats, and the central content was that the current national crisis was at hand, and that the Red Army was retaining its existing units in order to fight against Japan. Winning the backbone is negotiated before the negotiation.

The meeting was adjourned that afternoon, and Ouyang Jian walked into Enlai's room and said, "Vice Chairman Zhou, since the Kuomintang has made unreasonable demands, we must strike back. It is also a valid reason to suggest that the party army withdraw from Jiujiang and retain the integrity of Jiangxi. Jiujiang was the weakness of Lao Chiang, and the shipping of the Yangtze River involved the interests of Europe and the United States, and its strategic position was far higher than that of reducing a few divisions and troops. It's up to me to sing the black face. "Disrupting the other side's negotiation plan is also a good move, Chiang Kai-shek will not easily make concessions in terms of disarmament, this is his usual means of eliminating dissent, let's study tomorrow's countermeasures."

In the afternoon, Lao Chiang convened the negotiators to listen to the report, and Minister of Military Affairs He Yingqin said: "President, the Communist Party does not let up on the issue of disarmament, and their attitude is very resolute. The veteran said: "Brother Yan and brother, you have to seize this point to make a big splash in public opinion and prove that the Communist Party is not sincere." In addition, we are not in a hurry, and we have reached a package of arms purchases with the German government, first of all, equipping several German armourers and rapidly increasing the armament of the army is a top priority. At present, there is no sign of a large-scale war in Japan, so we must be patient and not overly irritate the Japanese. ”

Gu Zhutong, commander of the Nanjing Guard, said: "President, only Zhou Enlai of the Communist Party is singing a one-man show, and the Communist Party legend is incredible. Lao Jiang said disdainfully: "I don't deny that Ouyang Jian has two tricks in the military field, but he still needs experience to play politics." Tomorrow we will continue to deal with the representatives of the Communist Party, and we will have time. Foreign Minister Song Ziwen said: "The Communist Party has no objection to the negotiation conditions we have put forward in other aspects, and it seems that the other side is really anxious." Since the other side is in a hurry, we can use it skillfully and see how long the communist representatives can hold out. ”

The next day, the KMT and the CCP continued negotiations. Song Ziwen, the chief foreign minister of the other side's talks, continued to talk eloquently, and although he did not openly criticize the Communist Party for being unreasonable in reducing the army, his words revealed that the Communist Party was not sincere. He also talked a lot about one leader, one country, and one whole, and that the reduction of the army is for the sake of the national economy and the people's livelihood. Ouyang Jian looked at Song Ziwen's eloquent speech, carefully observed Song Ziwen's elegant face, a pair of shrewd eyes behind his glasses, and the trajectory of this person's life appeared in his mind. Song Ziwen is 39 years old this year, and his identity now presents a unique aura.

Song Ziwen, as Lao Jiang's eldest brother, is definitely an important figure in Lao Jiang's inner circle. As the president of the Central Bank of the National Government and the Minister of Finance, he held the power to coordinate the economy of the Republic of China. Not long ago, for the sake of peace talks between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, Lao Chiang appointed him as Minister of Foreign Affairs and negotiated on behalf of the Nationalist Government with full powers. It was the turn of his own representative to speak, Ouyang Jian stood up first and said, "Everyone, what Mr. Song said is very comprehensive and specific. But I can tell you that if we do not accept disarmament, the drawdown of the force will be insincere. ”

"Speaking of sincerity, I would like to know that in the face of the increasing provocation of Japanese militarism, it is difficult for us to put Nanshan and put our swords and guns into storage. At present, there is a terrible trend of thought, that is, the fear of fighting the Japanese army, and some people even say that resisting Japan means destroying the country, and this kind of argument is very loud. It is this fear in our hearts that makes us lose the great rivers and mountains of the three eastern provinces and lose Chahar. Now the Japanese army is making frequent provocations on the front line of the Great Wall, and the crisis in North China has emerged. At this time of national survival, our party retains the army in order to fight against Japan, and I don't understand why there is no sincerity. ”

"Gentlemen, when it comes to reducing the army, why don't the local warlords cut it? Taking Yan Xishan as an example, he has 30 divisions under his command, and he is not controlled and has his own faction. Although Yan Xishan is nominally under the jurisdiction of the Nationalist Government, anyone with a discerning eye knows what is going on. If you want to give more examples, it is a joke to say that we are not sincere. When it comes to reducing the army, we can also make concessions, but there is one precondition, that is, the party army must withdraw from Jiujiang, and we need the integrity of Jiangxi. I can tell you that there is no problem in taking Jiujiang with our strength at present. ”

One stone stirred up a thousand waves, and there was a buzzing sound below. Ouyang Jian unceremoniously continued: "Everyone, I am a soldier. From the perspective of the soldiers, if we consider our sincerity from the standpoint of both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, we will complete the strategy of going south and going east in Jiangxi. It is completely possible to enter Guangdong and Zhejiang in one go, and militarily we already have the absolute initiative. However, it is said that taking Guangdong and Zhejiang is just around the corner. Gentlemen, why didn't we do this? Because of the result of cannibalism, it was Japanese militarism that reaped the benefits. At the stake of the survival of the nation, bloody Chinese soldiers should unreservedly plunge into the battlefield of resistance against Japan and sprinkle their blood on the battlefield of defending the country's territory. ”

"Everyone, words must be done, deeds must be fruitful, this is our sincerity, please think twice!" Ouyang Jian's toughness played a role. In particular, Ouyang Jian threw out the withdrawal of the party army from Jiujiang, and the Communist Party could make concessions on the issue of disarmament. This move left the Kuomintang negotiators without any mental preparation, and the two sides engaged in heated debates back and forth. In the end, Song Ziwen announced that the differences between the two sides were too great and decided to adjourn the negotiations for two days. Ouyang Jian was shocked, and after the meeting ended, in front of the Imperial Building, he was surrounded by reporters. Faced with a tricky question, Enlai took the opportunity to come out to solve the siege.

After listening to Song Ziwen's report, Lao Jiang was embarrassed and said angrily: "The Communist Party's appetite is too big, and it makes no sense to want Jiujiang." "President, Ouyang Jian showed a strong side, but he hit the nail on the head, and we couldn't refute it. The communist army voluntarily declared a ceasefire after its military victory, and according to the situation at that time, the communist army had a good chance of capturing Guangdong and Zhejiang, which gave them the upper hand. Now the Communists are offering concessions in exchange for Jiujiang. Song Ziwen said: "Once Jiujiang is controlled by the Communist Party as a strategic location, the golden waterway of the Yangtze River is in danger of being cut off at any time."

"In particular, the Yangtze River waterway involves the interests of European and American countries, if European and American countries get too close to the Communist Party, the Communist Party will be like a tiger with wings, it seems that the Communist Party has already premeditated!" Song Ziwen saw it very clearly. "Jiujiang must not be used as a quid pro quo, and the goal of disarmament of the Communist Party must also be achieved, and neither of these points can be compromised." Chen Bui advised: "Since the Communist Party will not make concessions on the issue of disarmament, we can adopt roundabout tactics. Since the Communist Party is under the leadership of the Nationalist Government, and the Communist Party has proposed that the government can not pay a penny for retaining the army, we can adopt the tactic of drawing salaries from the bottom of the kettle and demand that Jiangxi and Fujian, which are occupied by the Communist Party, pay taxes. ”

"A good idea is long said that it is difficult for a good woman to cook without rice, and even if the Communist Party retains 23 divisions, it may be difficult to continue without strong financial resources." Song Ziwen agreed. Two days later, the peace talks began as scheduled, and Soong Ziwen announced that the issue of disarmament would be put aside for the time being, that the national economy and the people's livelihood were now a major matter, and that the central government was in financial difficulties, and that it demanded that Jiangxi and Fujian, which were occupied by the Communist Party, pay 50 percent of the taxes. Song Ziwen came up with a difficult problem, which means that the other party does not agree, and which Cheng wants Enlai to agree very happily. In fact, I have already thought that 50 percent of the tax is paid, and the key is to decide how much tax is collected. ”

Originally, there was a problem, but he didn't expect the other party to agree so happily, and Song Ziwen immediately felt deceived. In the following days, Song Ziwen issued countermeasures, asking the Nationalist Government to send people to supervise the taxation of Jiangxi and Fujian. However, while the two sides were fighting each other, an unexpected event put an end to the negotiations. It turned out that in Yonghe County, in the northwest of the Linfen region of Shanxi, the Red 4th Army Corps lived in a regiment here. The Communist Party has a bridgehead in Shanxi, which has always kept Yan Xishan in his throat, and in addition, Yan Xishan has always had dealings with the Japanese secretly sending Qiubo.

The Japanese promised to provide weapons and ammunition on the condition that the Red Army be driven out of Shanxi. Yan Xishan understood the intentions of the Japanese to sabotage the peace talks between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. But Yonghe County has always been Yan Xishan's heart disease, and the territory of Shanxi is his foundation, an independent kingdom, and no one is allowed to touch it. Therefore, Yan Xishan mobilized a brigade to launch a surprise attack on Yonghe County. A regiment of the Red Army stationed here was unprepared, and had to abandon Yonghe County and retreat to the west of the Yellow River by surprise, thus causing a temporary suspension of negotiations.

Public opinion accused Yan Xishan of sabotaging the peace talks, but in fact, the spearhead was pointed at Lao Jiang. However, the Communist Party hit the nail on the head and pointed out that Yan Xishan was instructed by the Japanese to sabotage the peace talks and was a traitor and traitor. Yan Xishan quibbled that the Red Army entered Shanxi and created a military conflict, and the responsibility lay on the Communist Party's side, and that he was just taking back his own territory, and this move cleared up Lao Chiang's involvement, and Yan Xishan caused trouble for the Communist Party. Subsequently, the Central Soviet Region issued a statement, hoping that Yan Xishan would keep his word, and in order to take into account the overall situation, the Red Army would retreat to the west of the Yellow River and no longer take hostile actions.

A farce led to the suspension of the talks, and the KMT and the CCP planned to start anew in early July. In his spare time, Ouyang Jian decided to visit Lu Wenting in prison.