National Town Counter-Revolution

Author: Bai Xi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: When Chiang Kai-shek decided to flee to Chengdu, he never expected it to be another trap for the "hunters." On the eve of Chongqing's liberation, Chiang Kai-shek and Hu Zongnan saw the People's Liberation Army advancing from east, south, and west, realizing they had been tricked. They hastily abandoned the defense lines of Qinling and Dabashan, which they had held for nearly half a year, and urgently ordered three corps to retreat to the Chengdu area, preparing to resist to the last. After Chiang Kai-shek fled to Chengdu, he immediately ordered Hu Zongnan's group, which had retreated to northern Sichuan and Hanzhong, to accelerate its southward withdrawal, attempting to continue resisting in the Chengdu area. He also ordered the Sixteenth Corps and Song Xilian's group, as well as the remnants of the Fifteenth Corps, which had retreated from Chongqing and its northern areas, to quickly withdraw to the Minjiang and Tujiang regions to delay the PLA's westward advance and cover Hu Zongnan's group's southward withdrawal. His plan was to hold Chengdu. By then, Chiang Kai-shek had little confidence that Chengdu could be held. In Chengdu, he devoted a significant portion of his energy to the future "guerrilla cause." Upon arriving in Chengdu, Chiang Kai-shek moved into a light gray two-story small villa in the southeastern corner of the Military Academy grounds, near Wudan Mountain. He lived alone in a suite on the second floor and did not leave it for several days. During these days, Chiang Kai-shek was utterly despondent and often considered suicide. Jiang Jingguo strictly ordered the guards to be cautious and frequently visited his bedroom under the guise of various reasons. Meanwhile, Jiang Jingguo and Mao Renfeng sat in the living room outside, staying almost every second and minute without leaving. On December 3rd, Jiang Jingguo and Mao Renfeng, who were waiting in the living room, heard footsteps from Chiang Kai-shek's bedroom. It seemed he had paced from the bedroom door to the window and then back to the door. It was a sound they were very familiar with. The two of them suddenly stood up from the sofa. At that moment, Chiang Kai-shek had already appeared at the bedroom door. "Renfeng, now you must immediately summon Wang Lingji and all the responsible figures in Chengdu to come to me. I need to see them!" Chiang Kai-shek, wearing a coat, instructed Mao Renfeng in a sorrowful tone. "Yes, President. I will have someone notify them immediately!" Mao Renfeng replied and turned to leave the living room in a hurry. Chiang Kai-shek looked at Jiang Jingguo, who was still standing before him, for a long time, then asked blankly, "How is the security work at Fenghuang Mountain Airport arranged?" Before Jiang Jingguo could answer, he continued, "You call Zhang Jia'an of the Twenty-Ninth Corps. This person is quite reliable. In the afternoon, have him deploy another regiment from nearby—regiments that can be confidently controlled—to Fenghuang Mountain Airport to take over the airport's security. Tell him it's my order. He must handle this personally and ensure the airport and all roads leading to it are absolutely secure!" "Yes, Father!" Jiang Jingguo nodded and quickly left the living room. Around 10:40 a.m., Wang Lingji, the President of Sichuan Province of the Kuomintang, Li Di, the deputy commander of the Chengdu Military Preparatory Command of the Kuomintang, Zhou Xunyu, the main person in charge of the Chengdu area of the Military Special Investigation Bureau, Yu Minghui, the commander of the Chengdu Police Bureau's Protection Police Brigade, Geng Shanfeng, the deputy adjutant of the Southwest Military Region Command of the Kuomintang, and more than ten heads of Kuomintang political, military, and police in Chengdu, all arrived at the's residence in the Military Academy, outside the suite where he was staying.