At 5:30 pm on August 23, 1958, nearly 30,000 artillery shells blasted the Kuomintang army positions in Kinmen from the Fujian front line, and the entire Kinmen island was suddenly submerged in thick smoke and flames.

At 5:30 pm on August 23, 1958, nearly 30,000 artillery shells blasted Kinmen the Kuomintang army positions from the Fujian front line, and the entire Kinmen island was suddenly submerged in thick smoke and flames. The fierce artillery fire shook Kinmen and the whole world. Could it be that the People's Liberation Army fired the first shot to liberate Taiwan? Chiang Kai-shek was on pins and needles, and the Americans were also panicked. The focus of the world's attention is on the small Taiwan Strait .

The bombardment of Kinmen was a major decision made by Mao Zedong in handling foreign relations around the Taiwan issue. In fact, as early as June 1949, the central government proposed the task of liberating Taiwan to the Third Field Army. With the gradual liberation of the mainland, the liberation of Taiwan has also become one of the operational priorities of the People's Liberation Army. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China envisaged launching a campaign to attack Taiwan from 1950 to 1951, completing the campaign in one battle and completing the reunification of the country.

However, with the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, the US Seventh Fleet sailed to the Taiwan Strait. The changes in the situation have caused the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to postpone the original combat plan, because to solve the Taiwan issue, confrontation with the United States may not be the best way. After the Korean War, the Chinese government even took the initiative to extend an olive branch to the United States. Unfortunately, Americans who were frightened by the volunteer troops on the Korean battlefield had already regarded Communist China as a scourge.

During the period of Resisting U.S. Aggression and Aiding Korea , the scale of the People's Liberation Army's military operations on the southeastern coast was not very large. It mainly focused on destroying sea bandits, seizing some coastal islands, and breaking through the Kuomintang's maritime blockade. After the armistice in Korea, the People's Liberation Army shifted its strategic focus to the southeast, strengthened its military deployment along the southeast coast, and competed with the Kuomintang for coastal air supremacy.

The Taiwan issue is entirely China's internal affair. The United States only took advantage of the outbreak of the Korean War to invade and occupy Taiwan by force, which seriously complicated the Taiwan issue. After the Geneva Conference in 1954, Mao Zedong raised the Taiwan issue to the people of the world and demanded that the United States withdraw its troops from Taiwan. But the United States insists on going its own way and is ready to continue to create tension and threaten China's peace. Therefore, Mao Zedong has been looking for opportunities to draw the world's attention to the Taiwan issue and force the United States back to the negotiating table.

In 1958, while the United States invaded Lebanon , it also actively supported the Kuomintang in harassing the coastal areas of the mainland, causing tension in the Taiwan Strait area. Mao Zedong was determined to "use this opportunity to do something at home and abroad." The main reason why he raised the Taiwan issue at this time was that he could closely combine the Taiwan issue with the international strategic intention of supporting the people of the Middle East people in their anti-American struggle, so as to make the two sides The struggles in each region support each other, cooperate with each other, and provide each other with backing. This is the genius of Mao Zedong as a strategist.

Under the circumstances at the time, the United States was far stronger than China in terms of economy and military. The most critical thing is that the Soviet Union at that time did not support China's tough policy against the United States. The Soviets told Mao Zedong that "it is not suitable to fight at this time." The Soviet Union did not need and would not support China in fighting the United States because China at that time did not have the ability to land operations.

In the mid-1950s, the United States and the Kuomintang signed the so-called "mutual defense treaty", which regarded Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu and other islands as an important link in the US strategic chain in the Western Pacific.

At this time, the whole world is concerned: Will there be a fight between China and the United States? Mao Zedong believed that there would be no fight. Because China does not want to go to war, and the United States is also afraid of war. Unless there is a big mess in the socialist camp, it will not dare to go to war. If there is a war, it is not terrible: "If you want to fight, fight, and after fighting, build."

Mao Zedong believed that the United States also faced many problems. First, their military academies were spread all over the world, and their power was dispersed. The capitalist world did not support the United States. Start another big war. Even within the United States, anti-war forces are strong, so the United States is a "paper tiger" and can strategically defy it.

Although Mao Zedong was not afraid of the United States, he was not willing to see the Taiwan issue resolved by delimitation like the North Korea issue and the Vietnam issue.After the war, both Korea and Vietnam were split into two, and Mao Zedong would never allow Taiwan to follow in his footsteps. Therefore, actions need to be taken to break the illusions of Western countries and declare that the Taiwan issue is China's internal affairs, not the second North Korea or Vietnam.

It was against this background that the People's Daily strongly declared in an editorial on July 23, 1954: "The Chinese people must liberate Taiwan and will never stop until the goal is achieved." Mao Zedong also said: Other leaders within the party said: "If we do not put forward this task now and do not carry out the work, then we will make a serious political mistake."

Mao Zedong was strongly aware that when dealing with the United States, he must be strong, otherwise You can only be at the mercy of it forever. In previous Sino-U.S. talks, U.S. representatives had a very arrogant attitude and insisted that China must first declare to renounce the use of force against Taiwan, otherwise it would refuse to discuss the Taiwan issue with China. Mao Zedong was extremely angry about this. During talks with visiting Indonesian President Sukarno, Sukarno proposed that China should join the United Nations as soon as possible. Mao Zedong said: "As long as there is a small Taiwan in the United Nations, we will not enter, and we will not enter in ten thousand years. . People look down on us. We would rather not join the United Nations than have diplomatic recognition from these countries. "

Mao Zedong's brilliance lies in his ability to clearly see that China is facing a powerful enemy, and the struggle must be strategic. , talk about the way. Bombarding Kinmen instead of Taiwan was Mao Zedong’s great strategic decision of “directly confronting Chiang and indirectly confronting the United States.” It was also his masterstroke in handling the triangular relationship between China, the United States, and Chiang Kai-shek.

At that time, Taiwan was protected by the " Mutual Defense Treaty with Chiang Kai-shek". The United States also had troops stationed on Taiwan's main island. If it attacked Taiwan, it would provide an excuse for the United States to intervene and also cause misunderstandings in other countries in the world. Kinmen and other islands are not within the scope of the "U.S.-Chiang Kai-shek Mutual Defense Treaty" and there are no U.S. troops stationed on them. An attack on Kinmen will not cause a direct conflict with the United States. If the United States sends troops to intervene because we are attacking Kinmen, it will expose its face in front of the whole world and make the United States passive. Therefore, attacking Kinmen can make us more proactive in the fight against the United States.

Another source of Mao Zedong’s confidence came from the prosperity of national construction at that time. In 1956, we completed the transformation of socialist ownership of the means of production. Mao Zedong told the delegates at the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China: "You have so many people, such a big place, and such rich resources, and you have implemented socialism. As a result, you After fifty or sixty years, it still cannot surpass the United States. What do you think? "

With the rapid development of New China's economic construction, Mao Zedong also gained greater confidence. The plan to bombard Kinmen was decided by him during the Beidaihe Conference in 1958. Mao Zedong chose this time to bombard Kinmen, firstly to warn Chiang Kai-shek, and secondly to compete with US imperialism and draw the attention of the United States to the Far East to support the struggles of the people in the Middle East. And the focus of international attention turns to Taiwan, which will also be more conducive to the struggle of the Chinese people.

After deciding to bombard Kinmen, Mao Zedong was also very cautious and asked our army's bombardment not to hurt American advisers in the Kuomintang army. When discussing the artillery plan, Mao Zedong specifically asked General Ye Fei: "With so many artillery attacks, will the Americans be killed?" Ye Fei replied that it might be possible. Mao asked again: "Is it possible to avoid hitting the Americans?" Ye Fei replied: "It is inevitable." Mao Zedong then fell into deep thought.

If the bomb kills Americans, it may give the United States an excuse. Will the United States intervene? This was what Mao Zedong was most worried about. So after careful consideration, he made a genius and great decision: not to attack suddenly, but to hit him with a few hundred rounds first, and then fire a salvo of ten thousand guns, or not to hit ground targets first, but only to hit surface ships, and then From small to large, try not to hurt more people, and don't hit American warships .

html At 5:30 pm on August 23, the People's Liberation Army began shelling Kinmen. In just one and a half hours, nearly 20,000 artillery shells were fired.The next day, the People's Liberation Army continued its concentrated fire attacks on the Nationalist Army's beachhead in Kinmen, Liaoluo Bay dock, Kinmen Shangyi Army Airport and artillery positions.

The continuous bombardment has indeed aroused high tension in the United States. The United States decided to escort the warships of the Kuomintang army providing supplies to Kinmen, and was responsible for defending the skies over Taiwan and Penghu . It also considered attacking the Chinese Communist artillery positions.

Mao Zedong had already determined the attitude of the United States. He immediately adjusted his policy and ordered the frontline troops to stop shelling for three days starting from September 4, allowing the Kuomintang to transport injured soldiers out of Kinmen and transport various living supplies to Kinmen . The reason why Mao Zedong did this was to let the United States know that we did not want to seize Kinmen and Matsu by force this time.

After the bombardment of Kinmen, as Mao Zedong had predicted, the United States was very panicked and quickly mobilized fleets and aircraft to rush to the Taiwan Strait. President Eisenhower made a speech and reiterated that the United States would use force to prevent the Chinese Communist Party from liberating Taiwan. However, most countries in the world believe that islands such as Kinmen are China's internal affairs and it is best for the United States not to interfere. Even hardcore Americans Japan and the United Kingdom opposed U.S. intervention. The Soviet Union, after receiving China's assurance that it would not drag the Soviet Union into trouble, also stood up and said: If the United States uses force against the CCP, the Soviet Union will not stand idly by.

Under such circumstances, the US government has to carefully consider its policy towards China. On September 4, US Secretary of State Dulles issued a statement saying: The United States will not give up hope for peace negotiations.

The shelling of Kinmen not only warned the Kuomintang Chiang Kai-shek clique, but also tested the United States' attitude towards Taiwan. As Mao Zedong said: "Hitting guns is to test him. This time the test came out, and the Dulles card came out."

After finding out the situation of the United States, Mao Zedong decided that he could negotiate with the United States, but he had to negotiate while fighting. , to promote conversation by hitting. On the one hand, it continues to bombard Kinmen and declares that all foreign aircraft and warships are not allowed to enter China's territorial waters without permission from the Chinese government; on the other hand, it publicly advocates "sit down and negotiate with the U.S. government to seek to ease and eliminate tensions in the Taiwan region."

Why didn't Mao Zedong win the gold and horse in one go? Because this is a waste of money. Mao Zedong said: "Let the gold and horses remain in Chiang's hands. We can fight if we want to fight, stop if we want to stop, and the initiative lies with me. We remain 'neutral' in Chiang Kai-shek's struggle with the Americans. Let Chiang Kai-shek fight with the Americans. We support Chiang Kai-shek in his fight with the Americans. We are helping Chiang Kai-shek to keep Taiwan. The United States wants to occupy Taiwan, but Chiang Kai-shek does not agree with this. We have something in common with Chiang Kai-shek, and we can join forces to fight against the United States to a certain extent and within a certain scope. Do not allow the United States to completely occupy Taiwan."

After China revealed its willingness to negotiate with the United States, the United States responded immediately and was ready to meet with Chinese representatives immediately. Mao Zedong well considered that if we continue to bombard Jin and Ma and force the Kuomintang troops to withdraw, we will lose our relative initiative and may be exploited by the United States, resulting in the permanent isolation of Taiwan and Penghu from the mainland.

In order to unify the understanding, Mao Zedong pointed out at a symposium of leaders of various political parties: "It is better for Jin and Ma to stay in the hands of Chiang Kai-shek. To solve the problem, Taiwan, Penghu, Jin and Ma should be solved together. China is so big, why rush to engage in Jin and Ma?" Ma?" This opinion was unanimously endorsed by the entire party and the people of the country. Zhou Enlai gave a good explanation for this: We would rather give domestic slaves to outsiders."

Keeping gold and horses in Chiang Kai-shek's hands, thereby holding back the United States, is Mao Zedong's famous "noose policy." . If Chiang Kai-shek is forced to withdraw from Jin and Ma, we will formally win, but the United States will isolate Taiwan and turn Taiwan into a permanent colony of the United States, creating a situation of "two Chinas". In addition, we will also be in trouble internationally. Falling into passivity. Jin and Ma remained in Chiang Kai-shek's hands, preserving the channel for cross-strait dialogue and facilitating their recovery together in the future.

There is another little-known reason for the bombardment of Kinmen, that is, Mao Zedong wanted to use this action to express his rejection of the "Three Harmonies Line" proposed by Khrushchev. At the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in February 1956, Khrushchev said in his report: "Due to the development of the situation, the proletariat can gain power without resorting to the path of violent revolution." This statement aroused strong opposition from Mao Zedong because it denied the discussion of revolution in Mao Zedong Thought. Mao Zedong also expressed his dissatisfaction with Khrushchev's "Three Harmonies Line" on many occasions on different occasions.

In fact, Khrushchev was very angry after learning that China was shelling Kinmen. He did not want to get involved in a war involving the United States, so he always blamed Mao Zedong for not consulting him beforehand. A year after the bombardment of Kinmen, when Khrushchev met with Mao Zedong, he reminded Mao Zedong to be cautious in dealing with the Taiwan issue, but Mao Zedong unceremoniously pushed back.

After that, the Fujian front line bombarded Kinmen according to Mao Zedong's order, forming an interesting pattern of "attack on one day, no attack on two days". This was Mao Zedong giving Chiang Kai-shek a reason to refuse the United States' request for him to evacuate Kinmen and Ma. The day-to-day pause was to allow the Kuomintang to safely deliver supplies to Kinmen Island. Sometimes the shelling would stop for a week or two so that the troops and civilians in Kinmen could be fully supplied.

The target of the shelling at this time was not the Chiang Kai-shek army and fortifications on the island, but the deserted beach. It was more of a form and gesture. It is the "tacit cooperation" between the mainland and Taiwan that jointly maintains the "one China" situation. This is the greatest reason why Mao Zedong made the decision to bombard Kinmen, and it is also the most important thing this decision has brought to the entire Chinese people. harvest.

Chiang Kai-shek also understood the CCP’s intentions. Under our army's rule of "fighting on one day, not fighting on two days", Chiang Kai-shek instead asked to no longer use terms such as "Red China" to refer to the mainland, but changed the name to the more moderate "Chinese Communist regime". They also changed their name from "Free China" to "Republic of China". It must be said that this was a tacit understanding between Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek, lifelong rivals, and a wise choice made by the two in order to protect the Chinese nation from being divided.

Unfortunately, due to various reasons, Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek did not see the reunification of the motherland during their lifetimes. However, the concept of " one country, two systems" later proposed by Deng Xiaoping was also based on Mao Zedong's thoughts at that time and the new situation on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. It was the inheritance and development of Mao Zedong Thought. In a sense, the concept of "one country, two systems" originated from the shelling that year.