1937, after the peaceful resolution of the Xi'an Incident, Chiang Kai-shek, although he was under the Zhang Xueliang, the two generals of Yang Hucheng, "Soldiers' Advice" , he agreed to "stop the civil war and unanimously to the outside world." In fact, he was still unstoppable and secretly planned to take the opportunity to "suppress the Communist Party" when the Japanese army launched a large-scale attack to reap the benefits of the fisherman.
He didn't know that his "Wishful Abacus" was too loud and it reached the ears of the leaders of the Party Central Committee early on.
Picture丨Zhang Xueliang, Yang Hucheng
Plus Anti-Japanese National United Front had just been established at that time, and there are still many problems that need to be solved urgently. Therefore, Premier Zhou Enlai decided to go to Nanjing in person to negotiate with Chiang Kai-shek and explore his falsehood and reality.
Who would have thought that the Prime Minister had been attacked in Laoshan before he entered the Kuomintang camp. The situation was extremely dangerous at that time. Almost all the 32 guards brought by the Prime Minister were killed in the past week, and only 4 survived.
Picture丨Young Zhou Enlai
Who dared to openly assassinate Premier Zhou in Yan'an, a revolutionary holy land? What does the mastermind behind this assassination mean?
The first negotiations showed signs
In fact, this was not the first negotiation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party after the Xi'an Incident. As early as April 1737, Premier Zhou Enlai had already rushed to Nanjing to discuss matters related to the second cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party with Chiang Kai-shek and others.
Since Premier Zhou adheres to the principle of: "Never give in to issues of principle, and be flexible and changeable for other issues" , the negotiations went smoothly, and the atmosphere of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party has gradually formed.
Photo丨The second joint photo of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party
Even a person as scheming as Chiang Kai-shek made concessions on some key issues and couldn't help but sigh: " If I hadn't been born in the war, I, Jiang, really wanted to make you, Zhou Enlai, a friend. Fortunately, we can discuss state affairs together now. This is God giving me another chance!"
After this negotiation, the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party has basically reached an agreement, but there were differences between the two sides on the issue of military restructuring and reduction.
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek believed that Nanjing National Government was the official government of China, so he called the Communist Army "Communist bandits" . He felt that the Kuomintang army should be the main force in the fight against the Japanese army, so he tried his best to reduce the Communist army. also proposed an excessive requirement to reduce the organization of the Red Army team in half.
Picture丨Cheng Kai-shek
Faced with such an unreasonable request, Premier Zhou of course expressed his refusal in righteous manner. It was so hard that Chiang Kai-shek was soft again and staged a "slow-down plan" . He arranged Zhou Enlai and his men in the guesthouse, took good food and drinks, and arranged for people to take them around Nanjing, but he never mentioned the negotiations.
finally got on the negotiating table, and Chiang Kai-shek also played a word game with Zhou Enlai. Just use some scraps to kill time. If Zhou Enlai asks about the reform of the two armies, Chiang Kai-shek will be: is enthusiastic and polite, but he doesn't know after asking questions, and the two sides have been stalemate.
Picture丨Zhou Enlai
This matter is of great importance. Premier Zhou decided to return to Yan'an first and ask the central leaders before making a decision.
The second time I went to Beijing and was attacked
On April 4, 1937, after listening to Zhou Enlai's report, the Party Central Committee felt that Chiang Kai-shek did not show sincerity to cooperate with our army, so he came up with a complete plan and sent Zhou Enlai to Nanjing again.
Premier Zhou’s second visit to Beijing was a secret of our party at that time. Only a few central leaders knew about this plan , in order to prevent people with incorrect minds from making trouble on this matter and avoiding trouble.
Before leaving, Chairman Mao specifically explained to Premier Zhou: "We must keep the bottom line when we go to Nanjing, fight quickly, and I wish you a smooth journey!" Then, Zhou Enlai and his group boarded the bus, and Mao Zedong stood under the tree in front of the slope of the cave, watching them go away.
Picture丨Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai
Cars pass through Yan'an and head west on Laoshan Avenue.The guard platoon leader sitting in the first row was very excited, his mouth was like a loaded machine gun . He talked from Tiannan to Haibei, and kept talking all the way.
He was from a poor family since childhood. He became a soldier at the age of 15. He followed the old squad leader to cross the river with the grass under the snow-capped mountains. But he walked over step by step. It was the first time he was sitting in the car like today and was pushed and ran away by "four wheels".
"Vice Chairman, I see a car running on the ground every day, and it is the first time I take a car. This is much faster than walking!" Chen Guoqiao said with a silly smile.
Zhou En couldn't help feeling sad when he looked at the tanned guard.
Picture丨Zhou Enlai
Also Chen Youcai, the young soldier sitting in the front row, was not as relaxed as Chen Guoqiao. He glanced around alertly and kept his vigilance at all times.
Zhou Enlai noticed him and asked, "Little comrade, why don't you chat with everyone?"
Chen Youcai replied solemnly: "Before leaving, the chairman told us that we must ensure your safety. Although the Xi'an Incident has been peacefully resolved, Chiang Kai-shek detained Zhang Xueliang and General Yang Hucheng. When you go to Nanjing, there is a surging undercurrent within the Kuomintang, and we cannot be careless."
Zhou Enlai was amused by this little soldier and couldn't help laughing, but what he said is true. Although the Kuomintang has reached an agreement with our party, he still doesn't know what to do behind his back.
Picture丨Chen Youcai
Just now, Zhou Enlai still felt that this little soldier looked familiar. Now he remembered that he had been to Xi'an with him. No wonder he was so clear about the situation. So, Zhou Enlai asked Chen Youcai to tell everyone about the situation in Xi'an, intending to remind everyone not to relax.
While talking and laughing, the car had already entered the northern foot of Laoshan Mountain. The terrain of this area is dangerous, with steep mountains and dense forests, rugged roads, and bandits often appear. The car kept shaking, and the soldiers became alert, fearing that something unexpected would happen.
Picture丨Laoshan Forest Park
At noon, the car Zhou Enlai was riding in just drove into the canyon, and only heard "Bang!" sound coming from a distance.
"What sound?!" Chen Guoqiao became alert in an instant.
"It seems like the sound of a whip. Is there a herder herder herding sheep?" said Liu Jiuzhou, a guard at .
"No, this wild mountain is in the wilderness, and even farmers can't see it within a radius of hundreds of miles. How could anyone shed sheep?"
was talking, and gunfire was loud, and bullets attacked the soldiers like rain. The soldiers hung up the lottery on the spot.
Zhang Yunyi immediately realized that the first gunshot just now was giving orders. According to the direction of the gunshot, he judged that the gunshot was not accidental.
Picture丨Zhang Yunyi
This is a dustpan-shaped valley. Below the valley is the intersection of several ravines, and there is a deep pool in the middle. It seems that the enemy has been waiting for us here for a long time.
Zhou Enlai concluded that he was ambushed. Now there are many enemies and we are few. Moreover, our car is too obvious and it is difficult to hide. The situation is very unfavorable to us.
In an instant, the enemy's bullets came from all directions again. Without too much thought, Zhou Enlai ordered the driver to increase the accelerator and rush over, hoping to block some firepower.
But the enemy seemed to have calculated that we would do this long ago, and dug the trench on the road in advance. During the process, bullets kept shooting towards the cab. As soon as the car walked out five or six meters, it fell into the trench and stopped moving. For a moment, all the firepower began to attack the car Zhou Enlai was riding in. The glass in the cab was blown up, and the driver was also hit by several bullets and unfortunately died.
Zhou Enlai nimblely flipped out of the cab and issued an order to the guards in the car: "Get out! Spread! Fight back!"
said it in a hurry, and then all the guards immediately jumped out of the car, hid under the leadership of Zhang Yunyi, and fought back against the enemy.
However, the enemy is condescending and can see all our actions. We only need short guns and grenades and . These weapons have too short range and can only attack cover, which will not cause any substantial threat to the enemy.
This battle was extremely hard. Guardian Liu Jiuzhou was hit by a bullet when he got off the car. Chen Youcai was also shot in the leg when he got off the car, but he endured the severe pain and waved his hand to signal Zhang Yiyun to cover Premier Zhou to evacuate quickly, while struggling to get up and fight back against the enemy.
Careful, he soon found that the enemy did not deploy firepower on the right, so he ordered the guard to cover Vice Chairman Zhou to retreat to the woods on the right.
The enemy saw Chen Youcai, who was wearing a suit and a top hat, waving his arms to direct everyone to counterattack and retreat, and mistakenly thought that he was the target of the mission. For a moment, all the firepower was concentrated on Chen Youcai.
Picture丨Chen Youcai
At this moment, Chen Youcai also realized that he had been mistaken for Vice Chairman Zhou, and only he could help Vice Chairman Zhou resist the firepower and cover him to retreat safely. So he used the car as a cover and started to deal with the enemy.
Seeing that Vice Chairman Zhou withdraws from the enemy's firepower range, Chen Youcai, who was hit by 6 bullets, finally couldn't hold on and fell into a pool of blood.
Picture丨Zhang Yunyi
Chen Youcai's resilience has brought precious retreat time for Premier Zhou. Under the leadership of Zhou Enlai, several guards climbed over several hills and came to the west side of Laoshan for a short rest.
"Vice Chairman, I think the attack on us today is not like the regular troops, but I think of a group of bandits, but they... are full of you. To ensure safety, I suggest you go back to Yan'an first. This matter needs to be known to the Chairman." Zhang Yunyi judged the situation and chose the most secure plan for the Prime Minister.
So a few people climbed over the cliff and finally came to a village, finally out of danger.
At the same time, the police officers on Laoshan continued to fight.
platoon leader Chen Guoqiao led the soldiers to use the earthen walls on the roadside as cover and fight back. The situation was urgent. When Chen Guoqiao called on the guard Wang Kaiming, although Wang Kaiming replied loudly, "Come on!", his legs were blown off and blood continued.
But he seemed to feel it, and eagerly pulled open the grenade cover with both hands and threw it out desperately. Then, he gasped loudly and said to Chen Guoqiao: "Let them just let the horse come over! I'm ready for them!" said, and he pulled open his coat, and there was a row of grenades tied inside.
Chen Guoqiao looked at Wang Kaiming's sincere eyes, and after a little thought, he determined the final combat plan. As a commander, he not only wants to buy time for Premier Zhou to cover their retreat, but also wants to minimize our casualties.
So he took advantage of the enemy's ceasefire and called the remaining guards to their side and asked them to retreat in a commanding tone. The guards all followed Chen Guoqiao through life and death, so how could they put him alone in danger?
"Platform leader! I won't leave, I'm going to go together!" guard Cao Hong was almost crying and begging Chen Guoqiao to retreat with them.
The situation is critical, and Chen Guoqiao didn't care much. He grabbed Xiao Cao's collar and pushed him under the mound.
"Go and protect Vice Chairman Zhou! This is the order!"
Military orders are like mountains, Cao Hongdu took a last look at Chen Guoqiao's back resolutely joining the battle, and set off immediately to meet with Premier Zhou.
At this time, the distance between the enemy and Chen Guoqiao was very close. He saw the opportunity and threw out the last grenade in his hand. Several strings of sinful bullets came and Wang Kaiming's grenade exploded instantly. The two soldiers died with the enemy in the fire.
This time, Laoshan was attacked, only Zhou Enlai, Zhang Yunyi, Kong Shiquan and Liu Jiuzhou survived, and all other casual people were killed.
Chairman was furious and thoroughly investigated the matter
Chairman Mao was very angry after learning that Zhou Enlai was attacked in Laoshan.Who dares to assassinate in broad daylight? Since this matter is confidential, why do the enemy know the whereabouts of Zhou Enlai and his group?
If the person planning this attack is a Kuomintang spy as Chairman Mao thought, the situation will be even more serious and may even cause turmoil to the situation in Yan'an. No matter what, this matter must be left unresolved, and the sacrificed soldiers must be given an explanation!
Picture丨Xie Ziqun
So, Chairman Mao ordered Xie Ziqun to thoroughly investigate the matter. Xie Ziqun knew that this matter was of great importance and was very cautious when making decisions. In order to find out the truth, Xie Ziqun went deep into the masses and ate and lived with the people near the crime scene.
Finally, with his unremitting efforts, Old Man Li from a nearby village told him that on the day of the incident, he saw several people digging ditches on the road, and he recognized one of them as the bandits on Mount Lao.
Following the clues given by Old Man Li, Xie Ziqun found the spy installed by the Kuomintang in Yan'an Feng Changdou . Feng Changdou is a cunning man with a strong anti-reconnaissance awareness, but the iron-killing person cannot withstand the water-filled torture instruments. In the end, Feng Changdou confessed that the attack was planned by bandit leader Li Qingwu .
In mid-April 1947, bandit leader Li Qingwu received a considerable amount of funds for activities from the Kuomintang's military headquarters, and then began to inquire about the news about the Communist Army in Yan'an for the Kuomintang. He pretended to be a business and sneaked into Yan'an and fought with Feng Chang.
During this process, Feng Changdou accidentally discovered that there were three trucks parked at the south gate, and he did not allow anyone to get close. He concluded that there must be a high-ranking official of the Communist Party to travel recently. Later, after many investigations, they confirmed the conjecture and learned that the high-ranking official to travel was Zhou Enlai.
This is great news for Li Qingwu. He is now conspiring with Chiang Kai-shek as a bandit. One day, he feels that he has no value in use, so he will kick himself out.
If you can take Zhou Enlai's life, you can not only suppress the Communist Party's arrogance, but also seek credit and reward in front of Chiang Kai-shek. At that time, seeing both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party fight and both lose money and enjoy the benefits of the fisherman, there is no better thing in the world than this.
So he planned the attack.
The truth was revealed, and Chairman Mao gave the order: "Clear down the bandits!" The vigorous anti-bandit work was soon launched across the country.
Conclusion
After all, Premier Zhou's attack on Laoshan has nothing to do with the Kuomintang, but the anti-Japanese national united front had just been established at that time. In order to take into account the overall situation, our party did not continue to pursue the matter. The work of suppressing bandits also made Chiang Kai-shek afraid and he did not dare to make any small moves for a long time.
Picture丨Zhou Enlai
In fact, this is not the first time Premier Zhou has taken risks with his own life. During the long revolutionary years, Premier Zhou has been in danger several times and has been in danger for a lifetime. But this did not affect his fighting spirit to save the country at all. He has always been leading the revolutionary cause of the motherland and moving forward.
