1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

Because a luxury cruise ship was about to pass through, the government ordered a semi-blockade of most shipping. Except for merchant ships from the United States, Britain, Japan and other countries, all ships along the way had to dock at the shore and wait for the ship to pass before they could continue sailing.

Yes, it was our great Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. He finally “escaped” from Wuhan!

Ahem... You can't say escape, you can't say escape, you have to say "returned from the western hunting trip from the Wuhan camp."

In short, as the Red Army gradually withdrew from Hankou and ostensibly gave up Wuchang and Hanyang, Chairman Chiang, who had been besieged for several months, could not wait to leave this heartbreaking and painful place.

Fortunately, the ship was moving slowly enough and the bed was soft enough, so Chairman Chiang, whose wounds had broken several times and gradually improved but had not yet fully healed, could evacuate comfortably;

Of course, what made him feel more at ease was the person who came to pick him up.

"Yanji, it's really hard for you to come pick me up."

"Chairman..."

A man with short pointed hair, thin build and pale face was pouring water. Hearing this, he forced a smile and said nothing for a while.

Yanji, Chen Bulei, a native of Cixi, Zhejiang, was a fellow townsman of Chiang Kai-shek and an extremely important chief of staff in the post-Yang Yongtai era. He was praised by Chiang as "the perfect man of the modern era" and "my literary advisor";

The famous article "If the war breaks out, regardless of north or south, age or gender, everyone has the responsibility to defend the country and fight the war" was drafted by Chen Bulei himself.

Without going into too much detail, this man's achievements and tragedies in history can be summed up in one sentence:

A scholar who was more talented, capable, knowledgeable, ambitious and moral than Yang Yongtai, who actually could not stand many of Chiang's behaviors but was trapped by feudal blind loyalty and eventually committed suicide by taking medicine in the conflict between ideals and reality.

Here are three examples to help those who don’t know him get to know him better.

1. After the "Xi'an Incident" in history, Chiang Kai-shek asked Chen Bulei to compile "Xi'an Half-Month Record" and asked him to hide his embarrassing deeds in the "Pajama Night Run Contest" and change it to:

"How Chairman Chiang calmly rebuked Zhang Yang and others who were attempting to rebel, forcing them to retreat in shame and respectfully request the Generalissimo's decision";

In any case, we must highlight Zhang Yang's wolfish ambitions, highlight Chiang Kai-shek's wisdom and bravery, who was blessed by God, and not mention a single word about the role of the Communist Party represented by Wu Hao and others in resolving the incident.

This is of course a little different from the truth, and out of a scholar's pride and moral constraints, Chen Bulei did not want to make it up.

But Chiang Kai-shek forced him to write it, and he was unwilling and afraid to refuse. He was entangled in the dilemma, writing and throwing away, throwing away and writing again, going back and forth dozens of times;

In the end, this traditional intellectual, known for his gentle temperament and refined elegance, was forced to break his beloved brush and yell at his wife and sister who were trying to comfort him:

"You don't understand! You don't understand! How can I make it all up? How can I make it up?"

2. In 1943, Kong Xiangxi slipped an envelope to Chen Bulei, then Chiang Kai-shek's first chief of staff. Chen Bulei, upon discovering it was a bank draft for 100 million yuan, returned it with a red face.

This behavior itself made Kong Xiangxi, then Vice Premier of the Executive Yuan, very embarrassed. This guy even sighed on the spot: "Corruption! Corruption!"

(His dislike for officialdom and politics, as well as his complete ignorance of official rules, are clearly revealed.)

3. In 1948, the KMT issued gold yuan notes. Everyone in the KMT's upper echelons knew it was a worthless thing, and some people even advised Chen Bulei to buy more gold and silver to preserve their value.

However, Chen Bulei insisted on depositing the 100 billion French currency funds of the KMT Central Propaganda Group into the bank, and then asked his wife Wang Yunmo to sort out all the gold, silver and foreign exchange in the family to exchange for gold yuan coupons, and to take the lead in "obeying the law";

Everyone knows what happened later.

(Even more difficult, even Shanghai rickshaw pullers knew that exchanging gold yuan notes for real money and foreign exchange was a shady business, yet Chen still believed that the Party-state was getting things done.)

Similar things happened countless times in Chen Bulei's life.

He was very "loyal," but not to the country, nor to the people, nor to his party, but to Chiang Kai-shek alone.

He and his family were very moral (his daughter even joined the Communist Party), and they lived a simple and poor life. When he died, he was left with only 700 gold yuan. Yet, the master he served was the worst bastard in modern Chinese history.

Therefore, it is completely understandable that a person who has been struggling for half his life was later forced to commit suicide and end his life.

Chen Burei's visit to welcome Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing was not actually his own idea, but mainly Chiang Kai-shek's order.

Therefore, no matter how unhappy he was, he could only be grateful for the "favor of recognition" he received back then. He put aside all his work as the Director of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Education and took the risk to bring the boat to Wuhan.

Seeing that Chen Bulei seemed reluctant to speak, Chiang Kai-shek's eyes flashed with dissatisfaction and he said with a smile:

"Yan Ji, I know you've always been reluctant to get involved in political matters, but the party and the country are in dire straits right now. I can only ask you to come out and help me clean up the mess..."

With Yang Yongtai having escaped and disappeared, many Kuomintang generals killed, wounded or captured, and the rest of his confidants each having their own tasks, Chiang Kai-shek really had no one left to use, especially in the "literary" field.

Zhang Jingjiang, after 27 years, became increasingly disobedient;

Dai Jitao was loyal, but his abilities and personal ethics were quite poor. Zhang Qun had good executive abilities and was loyal, but it was difficult to get him to offer advice or write articles.

Yang Yongtai, his abilities, insights, and methods are all top-notch, but he's gone now!

Looking at it this way, only Chen Bulei is capable, knowledgeable, obedient, well-behaved, and honest. Whether he is offering advice or acting as a writer, he is top-notch.

Therefore, even though Chiang Kai-shek knew that Chen Bulei had gone to Hangzhou precisely because he hated politics, he still summoned him back with an order.

Without this person, how could Chiang Kai-shek send all kinds of brilliant and brilliant articles to the whole country?

After hearing what his "benefactor" said, Chen Bulei no longer dared to show his displeasure and could only bow and say:

"I dare not, Chairman. I was just thinking about the current situation, so I lost my mind for a moment."

"Oh? Yanji, why don't you tell me what the situation is like now?" Chiang Kai-shek pretended to be heroic and waved his hand.

If he wasn't lying on the bed with his buttocks pressed up, this might have had a 1% taste of the indomitable spirit of Cao Cao or Liu Bei during the Three Kingdoms period.

"Chairman, please forgive my bluntness, but the situation is very bad right now!"

Since Chiang Kai-shek wanted to listen, Chen Burei, who didn't know what to say, began to talk incessantly about his analysis of the domestic situation.

How should I put it? If Yang Yongtai had not gone to Wuhan a few months ago to express his loyalty, perhaps Chairman Chiang would have greatly appreciated Chen Bulei's words.

But the problem was that Yang Yongtai had just said almost the same thing! So, after just listening for a while, Chairman Chiang, who had been lying there uncomfortably, lost most of his patience:

"Okay, Yanji...just tell me your solution!" "Uh..."

Chen Bulei, who was speaking enthusiastically, was almost choked to death. He was stunned for a full ten seconds before speaking again, but his tone was much lower and a little bored:

"The only solution for our party now is to continue reforming and rectifying its internal affairs..." Now, Chiang Kai-shek became even more impatient.

It cannot be said that what Chen Burei said is unreasonable or not the right way, but compared with Yang Yongtai's ideas such as "borrowing the enemy to quell the bandits", it is not very feasible in reality and takes longer.

Disarmament and reorganization?

Yes, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek also knew that laying off the old and weak and saving money to buy weapons and build new troops would improve the combat effectiveness of the troops;

The question is, does he dare to lay off employees? And who should he lay off?

Strengthen education?

Yes, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek also knew that strengthening education and cultivating talents could make the country prosperous and strong. At the very least, he could get a few more dogs.

The question is, how long will it take? How much will it cost? I won't care if there's a flood after I die!

A truce with the Communists? A coalition government?

The entire party and the country knew that the "Declaration of Cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party" was just a stopgap measure forced upon them. So, were they really going to bring the Communist Party into the government?

Chiang Kai-shek was afraid that he would not be able to control himself, so he sent people to kill all the Communists who came to Nanjing to take up their posts on the first day, and then start a full-scale war again.

Especially Li Desheng, the man who had brought him to this state, must be chopped into pieces!

Land reform?

This is even more troublesome.

Revolution is always about revolutionizing others, how can one revolutionize one's own life?

Do you believe that if Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek dares to launch land reform today, the whole of Zhejiang will revolt tomorrow?

As for the idea that "Chairman Chiang can take the lead in donating his family's funds to the country to enrich the treasury and provide relief to the army, and his subordinates should immediately follow suit by selling their property", it was simply treated as bullshit.

(Historically, Chen proposed this, asking the four major families to contribute $5 million to save the country. As a result, he was severely criticized by Chairman Chiang Kai-shek without naming any names.)

("What money does T.V. Soong have? H.I. Kong? H.I. Kong? As for his wife, she has even less! Spreading this rumor, no matter what, will only harm the Party and the country and benefit the Communist Party!")

(Hey, I just like to expose the chairman's dirty laundry to make those guys who keep reporting my book anxious.)

So, after all, none of Chen Bulei's ideas were more feasible than Yang Yongtai's. In the end, Chairman Chiang Kai-shek felt that only three of them were feasible:

1. Send people to Britain to contact British Prime Minister MacDonald and try to gain support to have British warships patrol near Nanchang to suppress the Communist Party and then turn around and attack the Communist Party;

2. Send people to the United States to contact the incoming President Field and find a way to obtain American aid so that they can turn around and fight the Communists;

3. Send people to the Soviet Union to communicate with Stalin and see if they can get some Soviet aid under the name of "the Kuomintang and the Communist Party cooperate again to fight against Japan" and then turn around and fight the Communist Party.

Well, “turning over and fighting the Communists” was added by Chiang Kai-shek himself.

Anyway, capitalist Britain and the United States certainly hate the Communist Party and will certainly not refuse to aid the Kuomintang;

And out of consideration for national interests, the Soviets will most likely continue to support him as before.

Alas, compared with Yang Yongtai, Chen Burei is still too bookish, otherwise, I would have considered whether to let him go to the United States to make contact.

Just as Chiang Kai-shek was pondering whether to send Soong Mei-ling or someone else to the United States, a huge noise suddenly came from outside the cabin, and he frowned:

"what happened?"

"I will go out and take a look."

Although Chen Burei was bookish, he was not a fool. He had long seen that Chiang Kai-shek was not interested in his suggestions, and he did not want to continue the conversation. He took the opportunity to end the topic and left.

Then, just as the door opened, an attendant rushed in shouting, and the two almost bumped into each other:

"Committee Chairman! Communist troops! Communist planes are attacking!" "Huh???"

Chen Bulei went out and looked up, and sure enough, he saw two biplane fighter planes with big red five-pointed stars rushing towards the front of the cruise ship.

Although he didn't understand military affairs and didn't know whether this was a "dive bombing" or a "ground strafing" gesture, he could sense that the other party was not friendly and subconsciously shouted:

"Fire! Fire! Anti-aircraft defense! Anti-aircraft defense!"

“No fire!!”

At this time, Chiang Kai-shek also stood up with the help of his aide, observed the situation clearly, and saw Chen Bulei actually shouting such words, and quickly shouted back with a louder voice:

"No firing! Pass my order! Everyone, no firing! Put away your weapons! Speed ​​up the entire ship and return to Nanjing! Ahh ...

what!

My anus hurts!

Did the wound open again?! "Huh?"

Chen Bulei didn't understand military affairs, but Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek was at least a battalion commander, and having been attacked by Communist planes several times in Wuhan, he immediately realized that the Communists had no intention of attacking at all!

Otherwise, whether it was bombing or strafing, they would have opened fire long ago. How could they be so close?

What's more, there are obviously four planes circling in the sky. If they want to attack, why not attack them all at once?

So, it's definitely not about sinking the ship!

Since there was no intention to attack them, why did they do this? Chairman Chiang immediately judged the situation by his own example:

The Communists learned of his whereabouts and are deliberately stirring up trouble!

My plane was flying well in the sky and suddenly you guys shot it down. So it's only right that I fight back and kill you, you son of a bitch.jpg.

So, absolutely no firing!

At least we can't open fire while Generalissimo Chiang is still on the boat! Run!

The more foreign influence there is, the better!

I just don't believe that the Communist bandits will continue to be entangled! How dare they do anything to him under the noses of foreigners!

Fortunately for Chairman Chiang, the armed men on board the ship had some military experience and made the same judgment as he did, so no one opened fire.

Then, everyone watched or listened with gritted teeth as the two planes flew over the cruise ship at top speed at an extremely low altitude, making the flag flutter.

However, not everyone has military or air defense experience, and not everyone knows that these two planes are just for fun and have no intention of attacking.

Faced with fighter jets brushing over their heads with their propellers and machine guns clearly visible, many crew members and waiters were terrified and began to leave their posts and run around frantically. Some even wanted to jump into the water to escape.

Their frantic running wasn't a big deal, but it caused chaos on the ship. One waiter, panicking, bumped into Chen Bulei, who was heading back to the cabin, and knocked him overboard.

Since this ship was brought by Chen Bulei, many people knew him, and someone immediately shouted:

"Oh no! Mr. Chen has fallen into the water! Stop the boat! Stop the boat! Stop the boat!!"

But Chiang Kai-shek's aide rebuked:

"Why stop the ship?! Can't you hear the Chairman's order? All ships speed up! Get rid of the Communist planes!"

"But, that's Chen..."

"What's the point! Speed ​​up! Or I'll kill you!" "Uh..."

So the cruise ship sped away without looking back, leaving poor Chen Burei struggling in the water.

Fortunately, a crew member dropped a lifebuoy before leaving, which allowed the Zhejiang Provincial Education Department Director, the new chief of staff that Chiang Kai-shek planned to appoint, to hold on until a nearby fishing boat arrived to rescue him.