Chairman Mao once said that the Communist Party relied on three magic weapons to conquer the world. One of them is the united front, and the highest form of the united front is the Political Consultative Conference.
In 1949, on the eve of the founding of New China, the Communist Party of China successfully invited members of the democratic parties headed by Soong Ching Ling and Li Jishen, as well as sages from all walks of life, religious groups and representatives of overseas Chinese to hold the first national meeting in Beijing, the future capital of New China. Political Consultative Conference within the scope.
Soong Ching Ling
This Political Consultative Conference is of great significance. It proves that all parties participating in the meeting have begun to recognize the legitimacy of the Communist Party's rule over China. This meeting also tells the world that the Communist Party is not a dictatorial government like the Kuomintang. We are willing to work with people from all walks of life to build a new China, and we are also willing to listen to their opinions on social governance.
Based on this background, all parties participating in the meeting were enthusiastic and full of longing for the future of the nation and country.
But in this meeting, only one person appeared uneasy and worried about gains and losses. He was General Fu Zuoyi who had just surrendered to the Communist Party and made great contributions to the peaceful liberation of Peking.
At this time, not long after the peaceful liberation of Peiping, Fu Zuoyi still had a very profound influence on the hundreds of thousands of troops that had just been taken over by the Communist Party.
Fu Zuoyi
According to the experience of past dynasties, the best result for a general who has just surrendered and has profound influence is to give a bunch of high-ranking false titles and then hide them. If he meets a ruthless master, say He might be violently killed one day.
Fu Zuoyi also knew that during the three years of the Liberation War, he had fought many times with the Communist Party, resulting in casualties on both sides. Even once, taking advantage of the lack of troops on our side, we sent a large army to raid Xibaipo and almost captured Chairman Mao and others alive.
But when the conference passed the proposal to appoint Fu Zuoyi as Minister of Water Resources, it was unanimously agreed. The uneasy Fu Zuoyi suddenly trembled with excitement, burst into tears, held Premier Zhou's hand, and shouted "Long live Chairman Mao, long live the Communist Party", causing the meeting to be temporarily suspended.
You must know that at the beginning, Fu Zuoyi was the king of North China of the Kuomintang, with hundreds of thousands of troops, and the princes who ruled one side. Why was he so excited to get the position of Minister of Water Resources?
Famous generals of the Republic of China
Fu Zuoyi was born in Ronghe area of today's Shanxi Province in 1895. When he was young, he was admitted to Shanxi Taiyuan Military Academy with excellent results. Here, he received the influence of advanced ideas.
In 1911, the Revolution of 1911 led by Sun Yat-sen broke out. After that, the south changed overnight, but the north was quite hesitant. Shanxi is the only northern province where you can find that Shanxi is the only northern province anyway when you open the map.
At that time, officials of all sizes in Shanxi Province were faced with the choice of whether to continue to be loyal to the Qing government or to follow the trend of the times and raise a flag to rebel.
At this time, Fu Zuoyi, who was only 16 years old, decisively stood on the side of the weak revolutionary party. He also organized a student army in his school, served as the student platoon leader, and personally led the students to Niangziguan to resist the Qing army's counterattack. Because of his outstanding performance in this revolution, he was later recommended by Shanxi Province to the then Beiyang Government Officer's Cradle Baoding Military Academy for further study.
Yan Xishan
In 1918, after graduating from Fu Zuoyi, he returned to Shanxi and served as a second lieutenant trainee officer under Yan Xishan. But it is a pity that his old leader Yan Xishan is too stubborn to stick to one side and not enough to be pioneering. Beiyang Warlords melee back and forth, you sing and I will appear.
During this period, countless famous generals stood out, but due to the inaction of Shanxi warlord Yan Xishan, Fu Zuoyi never had the opportunity to display his ambitions.
As the old saying goes, "gold will shine wherever it is." After the death of Yuan Shikai , the Beiyang government deteriorated day by day. By 1927, the rule of the Beiyang government was already in danger, and the land of North China faced the situation of no one in the world.
Zhang Zuolin , who had grown up outside the customs for more than ten years, once again entered the customs, trying to occupy this sacred land in North China. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Yan Xishan, who has been cautious all his life, will inevitably be tempted. You, Zhang Zuolin, can hold the position of head of the Beiyang government, but I, Yan Xishan, can't?
Zhang Zuolin
As a result, the Shanxi army, which had been dormant for 16 years, crossed the Taihang Mountains and entered the North China Plain, participating in the warlord melee for the first time.
But Yan Xishan really thinks highly of himself this time. Since the Revolution of 1911, the Shanxi army has been enjoying peace and has basically not fought any wars. Instead, he was born as a bandit in Zhang Zuolin's army in the Northeast and has been fighting with various factions in the Northeast. The mountain eagles fought against the Beiyang Zhili warlords, and they were all elite divisions that had experienced many battles.
In addition, the Northeast is rich in resources and has a developed military industry. The two sides were not on the same level at all. As soon as they fought, Yan Xishan's army was defeated and ran back to the Taihang Mountains.
In this great retreating torrent, there is an army that stands out like a rock after the ebb tide. He is Fu Zuoyi, the general under Yan Xishan.
At this time, he was responsible for guarding Zhuozhou City. He had no idea that the large army on his side had collapsed and he was still performing his duties. At first, Zhang Zuolin didn't care about you, a guy who doesn't know how to praise you. Since you don't want to leave, then I will help you. So he randomly sent a few Fengjun troops to capture Zhuozhou City.
But he never expected that the invincible and sharp-edged Northeastern Army would hit the iron plate this time. They besieged Zhuozhou City with an army several times larger than Fu Zuoyi's, but they could not pull out even a brick. Instead, they suffered heavy casualties on their own side.
Zhang Zuolin had to pay attention to this situation when he saw it, and sent his son Zhang Xueliang to greet Fu Zuoyi personally. After Zhang Xueliang led the army to the city of Zhuozhou, he used all kinds of tricks, such as tunnels, poison gas, airplanes, cannons, and bounties on heads, everything that could be used.
But this Zhuozhou City is still impregnable and solid as a rock. Zhang Xueliang led an army of 50,000 people and besieged it for more than three months, but still found nothing.
Zhang Xueliang
Zhang Zuolin saw that Fu Zuoyi had two brushes, good boy, come on, can't you do it if I don't fight? I'm stuck with you. Not to mention, this trick really works. After all, Fu Zuoyi's army was alone and had no logistical supplies. After running out of ammunition and food, he had to surrender to the Northeast Army.
Although this war ended with Fu Zuoyi's surrender, anyone with a discerning eye knows that he was able to hold on to the end with a weak force that was several times his superior force. The enemy was also supported by aircraft, tanks, , and artillery. They had to surrender at the last moment because they ran out of ammunition and food. This was not a crime of war.
Therefore, this battle to defend Zhuozhou made him famous in one battle, and he gained a reputation as a good defender of the city.
Full of suspicion
Zhang Xueliang was very interested in Fu Zuoyi, who had caused him great losses, and personally came forward to recruit him, hoping that he could serve in the small court Anguo Military Government that his father had just established.
But at this time, Fu Zuoyi's whole family was still with Yan Xishan, and he himself was not optimistic about Zhang Zuolin's grassroots team. Although the Northeast Army was invincible at that time, its front was too long and its flanks were too wide. It would be easy to be cut in half by the Northwest Army led by Feng Yuxiang, and it might not be able to gain a foothold in the pass.
In the end, he declined Zhang Xueliang's kindness, saying that he was loyal to Yan Xishan and hoped to let him return to the embrace of his old leader. After Zhang Zuolin heard Fu Zuoyi's rejection, he was furious and had murderous intentions. In the end, Zhang Xueliang persuaded him hard before letting Fu Zuoyi go.
Fu Zuoyi was grateful for Zhang Xueliang's life-saving grace, so the two sides entered into a gentleman's agreement. Fu Zuoyi would not participate in any future wars between Zhang Zuolin and Yan Xishan. Although the recruitment failed, Zhang Xueliang and Fu Zuoyi formed a deep friendship.
However, when Fu Zuoyi returned to Shanxi, what awaited him was not flowers and applause, but Yan Xishan's eyes full of suspicion. Because the agreement he made with Zhang Xueliang and that gentleman was made without Yan Xishan's approval, which is a taboo in the workplace.
Let’s talk again, Zhang Xueliang lets you come back, do you have any other unknown transactions in private?
Yan Xishan
From then on, Yan Xishan treated Fu Zuoyi as if he were on guard against thieves, and kept adding sand to his subordinates. Fu Zuoyi, who was speechless, turned a blind eye and remained loyal to him. But soon, something happened that broke the fragile relationship between the two parties.
In 1930, Chiang Kai-shek competed with Zhang Xueliang, Feng Yuxiang, Yan Xishan, Li Zongren and others in the Central Plains, starting a vigorous Central Plains War .
In this war, Chiang Kai-shek successfully won over Zhang Xueliang of the Northeast Army through Song Meiling 's relationship. The two sides formed an alliance to jointly fight against the anti-Chiang alliance of Li Zongren, Yan Xishan, and Feng Yuxiang.
During the Central Plains War, Yan Xishan ignored the gentlemanly agreement between Fu Zuoyi and Zhang Xueliang and insisted on asking him to participate in the war.
The final war ended with the defeat of the anti-Chiang alliance. Fu Zuoyi led the remaining troops back to Shanxi. This time he was greeted by Yan Xishan's suspicious eyes. Aren't you, Fu Zuoyi, very capable? Why did you lose? Did you deliberately betray your benefactor Zhang Xueliang when you met him?
This subtle relationship between them was quickly noticed by those who were interested. Chiang Kai-shek felt that the estrangement between Fu Zuoyi and Yan Xishan was a good breakthrough. So, he secretly sent someone with a large amount of money to bribe Fu Zuoyi, and made him a high-ranking official and made a wish. As long as he could rectify the situation in time, he would be richly rewarded by high-ranking officials.
Fu Zuoyi said nothing, and immediately took the money and the letter written by Chiang Kai-shek and handed it over to Yan Xishan intact. On the surface, Yan Xishan praised him as a contemporary Guan Gong, but in fact, his suspicion of him became even deeper, and he increased his efforts to add sand to his army.
Yan Xishan's logic is also very simple, flies will not bite seamless eggs. Why are so many people looking for you instead of looking for Chiang Kai-shek? That proves that your egg is cracked.
Leave Yan to work alone
Fu Zuoyi saw that he was loyal, but in exchange for such a result, he was extremely disappointed with Yan Xishan.
In 1936, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng launched the Xi'an Incident. After Chiang Kai-shek was arrested, he was forced to sign an agreement with the Communist Party, announcing that he would no longer fight a civil war and that the whole country would unite to resist Japan. At that time, many people in the country were very dissatisfied with Zhang Xueliang's criminal behavior. They were worried that it was Chiang Kai-shek's delaying strategy and did not dare to express their stance easily.
But after this statement came out, Fu Zuoyi immediately contacted more than 50 generals in North China, including Song Zheyuan , to give his benefactor Zhang Xueliang a platform to express his support for the agreement.
But his self-assertive behavior made Yan Xishan even more unhappy with him. Fu Zuoyi himself was already thinking of going it alone at this time and was too lazy to care about his attitude.
At this time, Chiang Kai-shek stepped forward again and added fuel to the tense relationship between the two. He directly appointed Fu Zuoyi as the commander-in-chief of the North China Suppression, and his position was still above that of Shanxi Provincial Chairman Yan Xishan. This move made Yan Xishan more certain that Fu Zuoyi had defected to Chiang Kai-shek and completely rebelled.
In the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, the Japanese troops were overwhelmingly in power. Yan Xishan's troops were defeated by the Japanese army during the battle, which put Taiyuan City, the capital of Shanxi Province, in danger. At that time, everyone with a discerning eye knew that Taiyuan could not be defended.
At this time, Yan Xishan jumped out and said strangely: Isn't General Fu good at defending the city? Haven't you always advocated resistance to Japan? Then the important task of holding on to Taiyuan City will be left to you. Don't let down the expectations of the people across the country!
This is obviously putting him on the fire. At that time, the meeting place was full of people from Yan Xishan, and no one dared to speak for Fu Zuoyi. Fu Zuoyi had no choice but to grit his teeth and say that he would live or die with Taiyuan City.
In the end, Zhou Enlai, the representative of the Communist Party, stood up and gave Fu Zuoyi a step down, telling him to keep his body useful and not to defend Taiyuan City.
After the fall of Taiyuan, Fu Zuoyi led his troops back to the Datong Basin in northern Shanxi and the Suiyuan area in central Inner Mongolia to fight against Japanese penetration in the grasslands.
Fu Zuoyi relied on the mobility advantage of the cavalry on the grassland to repeatedly thwart the Japanese plots. It was also at this time that he completely broke away from the shackles of Yan Xishan and stood on his own.
Gong in Qianqiu
After the civil war started, Fu Zuoyi took advantage of the battle between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to lead his cavalry and unexpectedly occupied Zhangjiakou , and then occupied the entire North China region, causing Chiang Kai-shek and the Communist Party to suffer a big loss. .
From then on, he separatized the North China Plain and became a veritable king of North China. Therefore, Fu Zuoyi can be called the last separatist warlord to rise in modern Chinese history.
After the three major battles of ended successfully in 1949, Fu Zuoyi also knew that the situation on the Kuomintang's side was over. Although he occupied North China, he had more than enough in defense but not enough in attack. If the Kuomintang side is defeated, he won't be able to stay here for long. Therefore, he slowly began to show his sincerity in peace talks.
The Communist Party also has this demand. At that time, the Party Central Committee had already internally decided to make Peking the capital of China in the future. It was best that this ancient city should not be baptized by the flames of war.
Fu Zuoyi himself has always been known for his good defense of the city. If he resolutely resists, even if he succeeds in taking Peiping, it will be a disaster for the city.
As a result, the two sides held discussions for more than half a year. In the end, Lin Biao cut off Fu Zuoyi's two retreats from Zhangjiakou and Tianjin, forcing him to peacefully liberate NATO .
Fu Zuoyi agreed to peacefully liberate Peiping, perhaps because the situation was stronger than the people, but in any case, his move did reduce a lot of unnecessary sacrifices, and completely handed over the ancient city of Peiping into the hands of the people, which was a great contribution.
After the peaceful liberation of Peking, Chairman Mao personally met with Fu Zuoyi in Xibaipo. During the chat between the two parties, Chairman Mao asked Fu Zuoyi what his future plans were.
Fu Zuoyi said that he was interested in water conservancy. At that time, he just said it casually and did not expect Chairman Mao to agree to him. Instead, he was worried about his future.
Because according to past experience, people like him are usually exonerated and then placed under house arrest and surveillance. If they encounter a ruthless person like Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi, it may be even worse.
Zhao Guangyi (stills)
So, if Fu Zuoyi had been directly given the title of vice president of the country at the CPPCC meeting, instead of being happy, he would have been scared when he heard that he had been unanimously appointed as the Minister of Water Resources.
Only then did he realize that he was judging a gentleman with a villain's heart, and the Communist Party had no idea about him. Because this position is not a high-power position, but it is a real job.
Chairman Mao kept his casual words firmly in mind, which shows that he attaches great importance to him. Let him have the opportunity to participate in the future construction of the country instead of being hidden as a useless person. Of course he was moved!
