In December 1949, amid the miserable wind and rain, Chiang Kai-shek took a flight from Chengdu to Taiwan via Guangzhou.
After more than twenty years of painstaking efforts, once it came to nothing, one can imagine the bitterness in Chiang Kai-shek's heart. Although there are still 600,000 Kuomintang troops who followed Chiang Kai-shek to Taiwan, at least half of them have never fought in a war. Most of them are people and local security groups who have been coerced, and all the arms combined are not enough to fight a battle. Two days of fighting.
Although Chiang Kai-shek brought a large amount of gold reserves, the number of people who poured into Taiwan at that time was at least equivalent to one-third of the original residents. The supplies in reserve were simply not enough to cover the expenses of such a large number of people. Under population pressure , prices on the island have skyrocketed, and people are miserable.
Chiang Kai-shek's mood can be said to be extremely depressed.
Picture | Chiang Kai-shek
On February 16, 1950, the Lunar New Year's Eve, Chiang Ching-kuo specially arranged for his family to go fishing in Sun Moon Lake to relieve their worries.
The momentary joy also made Chiang Kai-shek forget his sorrow, but the hatred deep in his heart has never been eliminated. Although he should bear considerable responsibility for the unfavorable war, he put all the faults on others.
On Chiang Kai-shek's blacklist, in addition to Li Zongren , Bai Chongxi , Wei Lihuang and other generals, a person's name should also be filled in.
Kong Lingkan
Kong Xiangxi's son——Kong Lingkan
"The Jiang family is under the Chen family party, and the Song sisters are Kong Jiacai"
As early as the early 1920s, Qu Qiubai listed the four families of Jiang, Song, Kong and Chen as the "four major families" in one of his articles. These four major families controlled the political and economic lifeline of modern China and plundered interests wantonly. .
However, the four major families of Jiang, Song, Kong and Chen seem to be monolithic, but in fact there are many internal conflicts.
For example: Chiang Kai-shek disliked Song Ziwen . Song Ziwen often opposed Chiang Kai-shek, and the two sides sometimes even fought without caring about maintaining dignity in front of the public.
"Time" magazine once recorded a story:
In October 1944, after returning to China, Song Ziwen had a head-on conflict with Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang Kai-shek felt that Song Ziwen had received too little aid, so he made some accusations. Song Ziwen had a strong self-esteem and couldn't help retorting. As a result, the two started to quarrel. In the end of the argument, Chiang Kai-shek got so angry that he smashed all the tea cups on the coffee table. .
Picture | Song Ziwen
Compared to Song Ziwen, Kong Xiangxi was much more obedient.
Kong Xiangxi was not as capable as Song Ziwen, and could even be said to be mediocre. Moreover, he was very greedy and greedy for almost everything. Chiang Kai-shek once scolded Kong Xiangxi in his diary, saying that he was too mediocre.
But what does this matter?
What Chiang Kai-shek needs is an obedient person, and Kong Xiangxi is undoubtedly such a person. Although Kong Xiangxi has a poor reputation both as an official and as a businessman, he has always been able to sit firmly on the Diaoyutai, which is not unrelated to Chiang Kai-shek's support.
Compared with Kong Xiangxi's cautiousness, his children were much more arrogant.
Kong Lingkan is the son of Kong Xiangxi, the second eldest child in his family. Since he was in school, he has enjoyed the privilege of being superior to others by virtue of his family's status and money.
When Kong Xiangxi and Song Ailing were with their parents when they were children, Kong Xiangxi and Song Ailing were relatively strict about the discipline of their children, and Kong Lingkan did not dare to mess around. However, after he came to the United States to study, Kong Lingkan was like a wild horse that ran loose and began to lose control.
At that time, American universities were very strict about the management of students on campus, but Kong Lingkan was not restricted, and even the principal was not willing to control it.
Picture | Kong Xiangxi
The school stipulates that the school closes at 11 o'clock in the evening, and students are not allowed to stay out overnight. But after Kong Lingkan learned how to dance ballroom dance at that time, he would drag his female classmates out to dance every night. Sometimes when he came back late, he would simply Jumping over the wall to go back, sometimes even staying outside for the night without even going back.
Not only in terms of rules and regulations, but also in life, Kong Lingkan also enjoyed special treatment.
At that time, the school stipulated that students could eat Dazao, and only school officials and professors could eat Xiaozao. However, as a student at that time, Kong Lingkan was specially approved by the school to enjoy the treatment of Xiaozao. However, after eating it for a few days, Kong Lingkan got tired of it. He felt Xiaozao didn't taste good, so he called his mother to cry and complained that the school food was not good.
Song Ailing was worried that her son would suffer outside, so she ordered meals from outside hotels to be delivered to school. Kong Lingkan was at school at that time, and with just a phone call, the hotel staff had to deliver meals to him regardless of rain or shine.
It’s true that “money can make all the difference”.
Also because of his pampering since childhood, Kong Lingkan developed a self-centered character.
After graduating from college, Kong Lingkan relied on his father's status to become a popular figure in the political and business circles. Although he is young and doesn't understand anything, he has to take care of everything and is domineering everywhere.
Picture | Kong Xiangxi and Song Ailing
Kong Xiangxi established the Central Trust Bureau in the name of Central Bank , intending to let his son fill this lucrative position. However, because Kong Lingkan was relatively junior, Kong Xiangxi also hired a puppet director to help him secure this position. . After gaining power, Kong Lingkan acted more unscrupulously. In addition to his father, Chiang Kai-shek, Song Ziwen and other close people, he had to be more restrained in dealing with other outsiders, even those who were nominally his He doesn't look down on the elders either.
Hu Bijiang, chairman of the Bank of Communications, once complained:
"This young Master Kong called me as if he was lecturing his grandson, without being polite at all. You know, Kong Xiangxi and I are of the same generation. ."
even though Most of the time, Kong Lingkan looks like a playboy, but in fact, as he grows older, he knows how to use his position of power to exchange for wealth for himself. As early as the Anti-Japanese War period, Kong Lingkan was working in major companies in the United States. Through active communication, they negotiated the rights to operate the goods of these American companies in China, laying the foundation for their subsequent wealth.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Kong Lingkan opened Yangzi Company in Shanghai. In just a few years, Yangzi Company became the leading enterprise in Shanghai. Speculating in gold and foreign exchange. These methods of making money in his father's hands were even more important in his hands. Being played with makes you happy.
But as he kept playing, Kong Lingkan became "popular" while playing.
Chiang Ching-kuo "fallen into the sand"
On August 19, 1948, Chiang Kai-shek announced the implementation of a currency reform plan in the name of the president.
As the War of Liberation reached the later stage, Chiang Kai-shek not only gradually suffered military and political defeats, but also had serious economic problems. The legal currency was greatly devalued, prices across the country soared, and the people were in dire straits.
Picture | Inflation in Shanghai in 1948
However, due to the corruption of the Kuomintang’s internal regime, the new currency reform plan only worked for a few months before gradually getting out of control. Gold yuan coupons depreciated faster than legal currency.
Once, when Chiang Kai-shek was anxious about the frontline war, he suddenly heard another bad news. Someone in Shanghai was using the currency system to reform the hoarding.
Chiang Kai-shek knew very well that the cause of hyperinflation was that the war consumed a large amount of supplies, and the supplies on the market gradually decreased, causing prices to skyrocket. Profit-seeking businessmen hoarded large quantities of supplies and were unwilling to sell them, waiting for prices to rise to make huge profits.
In anger, Chiang Kai-shek directly called Songhu Garrison Commander and Chief of the Shanghai Police Department Xuan Tiewu:
"Intervene immediately, mobilize all police forces to investigate speculators, and resolutely stabilize prices."
It didn't happen. Within a few days, Xuan Tiewu submitted his resignation to Chiang Kai-shek on the grounds of physical discomfort. Chiang Kai-shek is not stupid. He knows very well that Xuan Tiewu resigned from him to protect his own safety, because there are deep backgrounds behind this group of profit-seeking businessmen. Chiang Kai-shek thought about it and decided to send someone with more backing than this group of people.
Picture |
After some searching, Chiang Ching-kuo was the first to deal with Du Weiping .
Du Weiping and Kong Lingkan have always had a good relationship. Because of the strong backstage relationship, they have been committing crimes against each other. Even when Chiang Ching-kuo went to Shanghai in person later, Kong Lingkan felt that given his own situation, Chiang Ching-kuo did not dare to do anything to him.
Chiang Ching-kuo wanted to knock down the mountain at first and deliberately punished a few people. At that time, his subordinates reported three cases:
Tao Qiming, secretary of the Ministry of Finance, was accused of leaking economic information.
Zhang Yequ, the head of the Economic Section of the Shanghai Guard District, used his authority to extort money;
Executive Director Sun Ke's agent and wealthy businessman Wang Chunzhe hoarded money and knowingly committed the crime.
Towards these people, Jiang Jingguo was not polite and simply waved his pen:
"Kill"
But after the killing, Du Weiping did not make any move.
When Chiang Ching-kuo was furious, he sent people to arrest Du Weiping and sealed one of his warehouses. Afterwards, Du Weiping was charged with speculation and was sentenced to 6 months in prison.
Picture | In 1948, Shanghai, Du Yuesheng’s son Du Weiping (second from left) appeared in court for trial.
Even Kong Lingkan was confused now.
His son was arrested, Du Yuesheng naturally could not sit idly by, but he did not pull his son out of the fire pit, but posed a problem to Jiang Jingguo:
"I am not here to plead for my son. He has done something wrong and violated the country's laws." According to the regulations, it was my fault in disciplining him. I first asked him to collect illegal hoarding materials. The second is to hand him over to Mr. Jiang for justice. But I want to say that since Mr. Jiang attaches great importance to national law and enforces the law, he should be treated equally. As far as I know, my son’s family is not the only one who is hoarding in Shanghai. There are also many Yangzi companies, why didn't Mr. Jiang check with them..."
Chiang Ching-kuo was also unable to dismount, so he had to operate on Kong Lingkan.
Chiang Ching-kuo's actions were very smooth, because Kong Lingkan relied on his own backstage and basically did not cover many things. The economic supervision brigade led by Chiang Ching-kuo went straight to several large warehouses of the Yangzi Company and seized 20,000 tons of goods.
Kong Lingkan knew that he could no longer stay in Shanghai, so he ran to Nanjing overnight to find Song Meiling and cry. Song Meiling doted on her nephew very much, and personally told Chiang Kai-shek about it.
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek was still relying on Kong Xiangxi's family to help him take care of his property in the United States. With the war situation on the frontline so corrupted, there must be no fire in the backyard.
As a result, Chiang Ching-kuo’s vigorous “Tiger Hunting” campaign in Shanghai failed, and profit-seeking businessmen continued to speculate without any control.
The failure of the "Tiger Hunt" in Shanghai made Chiang Ching-kuo feel frustrated. On November 6, Chiang Ching-kuo resigned from his position as supervisor. In the first few days after returning home, he was drunk all day long, ignored world affairs, and burned documents while drinking. .
In short, Chiang Kai-shek knew very well that this "covering up" would have a very bad impact on his economic reforms. But when things got to this point, he had "nothing left to do".
Chiang Kai-shek's diary angrily scolds Kong Lingkan
Although Chiang Kai-shek chose to shield Kong Lingkan for family harmony, it did not mean that he did not hate him in his heart.
But Song Meiling was the only one who always trusted Kong Lingkan. Even when he lived in New York in his later years, he lived in Kong Lingkan's house.
There are also many opinions that Several brothers and sisters of the Song family married late and had few heirs. Only the Kong family had a prosperous family. Soong Meiling had never had children in her life. Considering the conflict between herself and Chiang Ching-kuo, she gave birth to her nephew. Kong Lingkan was specially selected by the Communist Party of China to compete for power with Chiang Ching-kuo and Chiang Wei-kuo.
After Chiang Kai-shek was defeated in Taiwan, Kong Lingkan also went to the United States and continued to engage in business. Soong Meiling later recommended Kong Lingkan to Chiang Kai-shek several times, but due to various considerations, Chiang Kai-shek did not approve it.
But Chiang Kai-shek considered that he wanted to win the support of the United States, and his wives Soong Meiling and Kong Lingkan were both unavoidable. In addition, it was true that he could not withstand Soong Meiling's several pleas. Chiang Kai-shek gave Kong Lingkan the title of "Counselor of the Embassy in the United States." In 1966, Chiang Kai-shek specially appointed Kong Lingkan as the "National Policy Advisor to the Presidential Palace."
Picture | Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Meiling
Time flies and comes to the second year.
In the spring of 1957, Nixon made a special trip to Taipei to visit Chiang Kai-shek.
The purpose of Nixon's trip was to ask Chiang Kai-shek to provide money and support for the upcoming US election.
Speaking of which, Nixon visited Taiwan more than once. During the 1950s, he visited Taiwan twice and had a close relationship with Chiang Kai-shek.
In the 1960 U.S. election, Nixon, as a Republican, competed with Kennedy, a Democrat, for the presidential throne. Kennedy criticized the former president, Republican Eisenhower, for supporting the Kuomintang's strategy of defending Kinmen and Matsu. This remark directly aroused Chiang Kai-shek's dissatisfaction. later made a public statement:
"Under any circumstances, we will not give up an inch of land to please others, including Senator Kennedy."
This time Chiang Kai-shek chose to bet on Nixon, and the result was a miscalculation.
In November 1960, the election results were announced, Nixon lost, and Kennedy was elected President of the United States.
Probably because of the lesson of his previous failed bet, Chiang Kai-shek also wanted to find someone to ask questions this time. Naturally, the people he chose could only be Song Meiling and Kong Lingkan.
The two told Chiang Kai-shek:
"Nixon cannot win the election."
Picture | Nixon's visit to China
When Chiang Kai-shek heard this, his attitude towards Nixon immediately cooled down. During the entire meeting, Nixon did not mention money, and Chiang Kai-shek did not deliberately respond. .
As a result, Chiang Kai-shek made the wrong bet again this time.
Nixon won the election the following year and ascended to the throne of President of the United States on January 20, 1969. More importantly, even before Nixon came to power, he actively sought to improve relations with China and visited China in February 1972, which contributed to the rapid development of relations between China and the United States.
Just before Nixon's visit to China, On October 25, 1971, the 26th United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly passed the restoration of China's role in the United Nations with 76 votes in favor, 35 votes against, and 17 abstentions. 2758 of the legal seats and expelled representatives of the Taiwan authorities.
Chiang Kai-shek's inner anger could not be increased. He believed that the reason why the United States changed its foreign policy was because he listened to Kong Lingkan's words and failed to send out "red envelopes" in time. Later, he wrote this in his diary. This is what he wrote:
"Before Nixon was elected, he came to Taipei for a visit. He was full of the capital of me to help him in the election. He didn't mention it first, and I didn't mention it either. This is what my wife said only after listening to the order. To. The crime of Ling Kan is not small."
Picture | Chiang Kai-shek
But Soong Meiling seemed unaware of all this, Between January and February 1972, Kong Lingkan returned to Taiwan from the United States. Soong Meiling suggested several times that Chiang Kai-shek appoint Kong Lingkan as the "Executive President".
Chiang Kai-shek was angry and even turned his anger on his wife, Soong Meiling. Later, he moved out of Taipei Shilin Official Residence and lived in Zhongxing Hotel.
On March 17, 1972, Chiang Kai-shek wrote this sentence in his diary:
"Women and women." Don't listen to the words of villains. "
On May 27, he wrote in his diary again:
" I went to Zhongxing Hotel alone to take care of things. I have been suffering from mental pain recently, and it is difficult for women and small people to support me, so I plan to live alone and study by myself. "
According to Mr. Yang Tianshi's later analysis, the "woman" in Chiang Kai-shek's diary refers to Song Meiling, and the "villain" he scolded was Kong Lingkan.
After that, Chiang Kai-shek's health deteriorated, but fortunately after After years of hard work, Chiang Ching-kuo has long been able to stand alone.
In 1972, Chiang Ching-kuo became the "Executive President", marking the end of the battle between him and Kong Lingkan.
The battle between Chiang Ching-kuo and Kong Lingkan. Needless to say, there was a deep conflict between the two, especially when it came to the "Tiger Hunt" in Shanghai. The relationship between the two was basically on the same page.
In his diary, Jiang Jingguo also expressed his disapproval of Kong Lingkan several times.
In the spring of 1975, Chiang Kai-shek Shi was seriously ill, and Kong Lingkan returned to Taiwan from the United States for a visit. During that time, Chiang Ching-kuo had to face him day and night, which was really unbearable.
html On March 9, Chiang Ching-kuo wrote in his diary:
"I am not only disgusted by it, but also hate it." , this person has done a lot of harm to both public and private persons. "
In March 1979, Soong Meiling's birthday, as a solemn sign, Chiang Ching-kuo specially sent his son Jiang Xiaoyong to the United States to celebrate his birthday. However, he did not expect that after being humiliated by Kong Lingkan, Jiang Xiaoyong would send this child to the United States after returning. He told his father about the incident.
Jiang Jingguo was so angry that he later cursed in his diary:
"You sincerely asked Yong'er to go to New York to pay his birthday, but he was insulted and returned. How could he not make me sad? ...If the Kong family is not wiped out, my Jiang family will have no peace for a day. "
Picture | Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo
So that a few days later, Chiang Ching-kuo, who was still angry, remembered Kong Lingkan's letter and became furious again. He also wrote in his diary:
"It is difficult to deal with villains. , it is even more difficult for the villain among the villains. "
This sentence of "gnashing teeth" undoubtedly shows Jiang Jingguo's attitude. For Kong Lingkan, he really has no good impression at all.
