The correspondents of "Li Pao" and "Ta Kung Pao" were sitting in the living room at this moment, waiting for Zhou Hexuan to express his views on the "Xi'an Incident".
The head of state was detained by soldiers. The matter was so big that newspapers everywhere couldn't help but pay attention to it.
"Take it and publish it as this." Zhou Hexuan wrote a temporary commentary and handed it to the correspondents sent by the two newspapers.
When the correspondent of "Li Pao" got the article and read it, he saw that the title was "Possibility, criticality and rationality of peaceful settlement of the incident". After reading the article, the correspondent was surprised and said: "Mr. Zhou, don't you condemn it in the article?"
"Things have happened, is it useful to condemn? What matters is how to solve it." Zhou Hexuan said with a smile.
Decades later, people naturally believed that launching the "Xi'an Incident" was correct and beneficial to the country and the nation. But at this moment, the direction of public opinion was leaning towards the central government and Chiang Kai-shek, and all walks of life were openly criticizing Zhang Xue
Liang and Yang Hucheng.
Even patriotic democrats such as Zhu Ziqing and Wen Yiduo jointly drafted a declaration accusing Zhang Xueliang. Presidents and professors of many universities in Nanjing, Peking, and Shanghai, as well as academic institutions such as Academia Sinica and Academia Sinica Beijing, have called the country or called
Zhang Xueliang severely condemned.
More than 100 newspapers and news agencies, including Shenbao, Ta Kung Pao and Yi Shi Bao, jointly issued a joint declaration of the press on the current situation. Another 217 newspapers jointly sent a telegram to attack Zhang Xueliang. In addition, more than 100 social groups have launched a joint campaign against Zhang Xueliang.
Expressing concern about the current situation, more than half of the groups condemned Zhang Xueliang's military remonstrance.
Anyone with a little vision and thinking ability was frightened by the "Xi'an Incident". Even if Chang Kaishen is no longer popular among the people, he is still the head of state. If it is not handled properly, China will usher in a new round of large-scale civil war.
.
Internationally, all countries are unanimously on the side of Chiang Kai-shek, including Germany, the Soviet Union and Italy. The only one who feels excited and happy is probably Japan, which is eager to see another civil war in China.
Judging from the current public opinion at home and abroad, it is undoubtedly beneficial to Chang Kaishen. The "Xi'an Incident" must be resolved peacefully.
The key to a peaceful solution lies with Zhang Xueliang. He is at the center of the storm and the link between all parties. Therefore, he chose to sacrifice himself and use himself as a weight to maintain the outcome of the negotiations. He personally escorted Chang Kaishen out of Xi'an and was under house arrest for life.
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In fact, the negotiations did not end normally, because Chiang Kai-shek refused to sign and only agreed to a gentleman's agreement. Under this situation, all participants were unwilling to let the tiger go back to the mountains, but Zhang Xueliang secretly let Chiang go without telling his allies.
This is probably the best solution. If we continue to force Chang Kaishen to sign, it is likely to trigger a war and may also cause the Nanjing central government to split.
After regaining his freedom, Chiang Kai-shek was indeed treacherous. He not only placed Zhang Xueliang under house arrest, but also dispatched the Central Army to attack the northwest, but the real war did not start.
The reason why we couldn't fight was very simple. During the negotiations on the Xi'an Incident, Chiang Kai-shek had the upper hand in public opinion at home and abroad. However, he went back on his words afterwards and failed to abide by his promise to resist Japan. He was immediately scolded by all walks of life, even in Europe and the United States.
Accusing him of acting recklessly, there was a strong voice of opposition within the Kuomintang Party, and Wang Zhaoming even took the opportunity to return to politics.
Under this situation, Chiang Kai-shek did not dare to realize that his true purpose of marching to the northwest was not to destroy the Red Army, but to annex the Northeast Army and the Northwest Army. He even ordered the opening of trade to the Red Army base areas and the restoration of
Some postal and telecommunications services have been lifted to a certain extent from the military blockade of Yan'an.
A gentleman's agreement is also an agreement, and sometimes it is even more effective than a formally signed agreement.
Zhang Xueliang is very smart. He saw this, maybe he has experienced too much and has become mature.
The generals of the Northeastern Army and the Northwest Army were very dissatisfied with Chiang Kai-shek's refusal to sign. They came to Zhang Xueliang and responded: "We did it for you with our heads high. How come you didn't even sign in the end?" Zhang Xueliang replied: "You have political consciousness.
He is not as high as me. Although Chang Kaishen was arrested, his political strength is still there. Since we want to let him go and praise him as a leader, then forcing him to sign will make him regret it. It is also good to have a gentleman's agreement.
.”
You must know that the background of the Xi'an Incident was that Chiang Kai-shek gathered 30 divisions of his direct troops, plus the Northeast Army and the Northwest Army to jointly encircle and suppress the Red Army. If Chiang had not been detained and then released, I don't know how much money would have been wasted on food, how much materials would have been consumed, and how many casualties would have been
Military and civilian.
This incident successfully avoided a civil war with hundreds of thousands of troops. Only the Northeast Army and the Northwest Army fell victim, and were gradually divided and disintegrated by Chiang Kai-shek afterwards. The Red Army won a breathing space, and also provided a platform for the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to fight against Japan.
Retained vitality.
Zhou Hexuan sent the two correspondents away, and the servant immediately came to report that a fellow prisoner was visiting outside the door.
Seeing Wang Er again, Zhou Hexuan felt a little surprised. He had long forgotten about the thief he met in the Nanjing Detention Center, and asked curiously: "What's the important matter of the visit of the three of you?"
"Mr. Zhou, we are here to seek refuge with you." Wang Er was not polite, holding a kettle and pouring tea. "I heard that you were providing disaster relief in Sichuan, and we also transported 1,000 loads of relief grain. Those grains will be handed over to the relief organization during the Fengjie Festival.
Someone who knows how to do it.”
Zhou Hexuan clasped his fists and said: "On behalf of the victims of the Sichuan disaster, I would like to thank the three martyrs. However, I do not claim to be a king or hegemon, nor do I intend to establish a gang organization. I am afraid I have nothing to rely on."
Yuan Wujiu said: "Mr. Zhou's words are wrong. Corrupt officials are rampant in Sichuan. You can't do it alone. We can help eliminate corrupt officials and punish bullies!"
"I admire Mr. Wang Yaqiao very much," Zhou Hexuan changed his tone and said bluntly, "However, I don't believe in his tactics. Whether it is assassination or anarchy, they are of no help to the salvation of the nation.
It can even disrupt normal social order."
Zheng Rentong smiled and asked: "Does Mr. Zhou think that the current social order is normal? If God's way is unfair, then one should act for it; if the society is unfair, then someone should stand up for it!"
"Then what?" Zhou Hexuan asked.
"What then?" Zheng Rentong didn't understand.
Zhou Hexuan said: "If you kill a corrupt official, another corrupt official will appear. If you kill a traitor, another traitor will appear. When will we finish killing them?"
Yuan Wujiu slapped the table and said: "Killing a corrupt official will scare many people away from becoming corrupt officials. Killing a traitor will scare many people away from becoming traitors!"
Zhou Hexuan smiled and said to Zheng Rentong: "This Mr. Zheng must also be a scholar. He must have heard how Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, punished corrupt officials. Anyone who embezzled more than 60 taels of silver would be tortured like peeling off the skin and making grass. What happened?
, but the corrupt officials killed more and more. So much so that Zhu Yuanzhang did not dare to kill anymore because there were not enough officials, so he could only let the corrupt officials continue to work. Sometimes when the government solved the case, the prisoner kneeling in the hall was shackled, and the person in the hall was in charge.
The officials who were investigating the case were also shackled. Which method was more powerful for killing corrupt officials, or was Zhu Yuanzhang’s method for killing corrupt officials more powerful?"
"This..." Zheng Rentong's tone stopped and he said helplessly, "We are naturally not as good as Ming Taizu."
Wang Er asked curiously: "Why did Zhu Yuanzhang kill more and more corrupt officials?"
"There are problems with the system and culture," Zhou Hexuan explained. "In terms of the system, Zhu Yuanzhang came from a poor background, and the salary he set for officials was too low. The normal salary for an official could only barely support his wife and children, and could not support his servants.
There is no way to maintain social expenses, so officials can only make money through corruption. In terms of culture, there are many problems left over from the Yuan Dynasty. Corruption is generally regarded as a normal thing. You are greedy, I am greedy, everyone is greedy, and if you are not greedy, you are a fool.
"
Yuan Wujiu asked: "What does Mr. Zhou think is the current problem of corrupt officials in China? I read your "Dog Official" and was so angry that I couldn't sleep for several days. Your officialdom is so dark!"
Zhou Hexuan said: "There are system, culture and financial problems. The power of officials cannot be restricted, and the central and local governments cannot pay out money. Whether officials are corrupt or not, and how much they are corrupt, all depends on their own conscience. And conscience is the most unreliable.
Yes, corrupt officials will naturally become rampant."
"If we don't rely on killing, how can we solve it?" Yuan Wujiu asked.
Zhou Hexuan said: "Establish a clean and efficient government and solve it thoroughly from both the institutional and financial aspects."
Zheng Rentong sneered: "As for the current Nanjing government, I'm afraid they won't be able to do it even if they are given 100 years."
"You used to work for Guangdong Chen Jitang, right? Can his local government do it?" Zhou Hexuan asked.
Zheng Rentong said: "Our Ax Gang did not take refuge with Chen Jitang, but only cooperated with him to fight against Chiang Kai-shek. Besides, Chen Jitang governed Guangdong pretty well. At least the people were not exploited too much."
Zhou Hexuan waved his hand and said: "Chen Jitang did not exploit the people desperately because he has stable financial resources. Tungsten ore is the most important military resource in the world today, not much worse than oil. China is the largest producer of tungsten ore in the world, and China's No. 1
The big tungsten mine is in Jiangxi, so Chiang Kai-shek tried his best to encircle and suppress the Red Army. In addition to political factors, he only focused on the tungsten mine in Jiangxi. The second largest tungsten mine in China is in Guangdong. The money Chen Jitang earns from selling tungsten mine every year can
Feeding several Sichuan provinces, so he didn't have to exploit the people, and even established an air force capable of fighting against the central government."
"That's it." Zheng Rentong finally learned a lot.
Yuan Wujiu asked: "If the Nanjing government is not good enough, and neither is Chen Jitang, which government does Mr. Zhou think can solve the problem of corrupt officials?"
Zhou Hexuan pointed to the north and smiled: "You three can go to Yan'an to see it."
"I won't go," Yuan Wujiu waved his hands repeatedly, "I have a few brothers who went to Yan'an, and they wanted to persuade me to go together. But there are too many rules there, and I can't stand it. No one will bother me when I go there."
comfortable."
Zheng Rentong smiled and said: "I won't go either, there is no place for me to use myself there."
Wang Er laughed and said: "Yan'an will definitely not let me do my old job. Even if I steal, I won't get anything."
"Then there's nothing I can do," Zhou Hexuan shrugged, "If you three want to stay as guests, I welcome you with both hands. You can stay as long as you want. But don't talk about defecting. My people are not allowed to steal or kill.
, unless there is an emergency. By the way, Liu Xiang is establishing a spy organization to fight against the spies sent by Chiang Kai-shek to Sichuan. You may have a chance to display your ambitions by joining him."
Yuan Wujiu said disdainfully: "Liu Xiang is nothing. Sichuan has been governed like this by him. At first glance, he is an incompetent bastard."
Zheng Rentong smiled and said: "Then let's stay at Mr. Zhou's house as a guest and just give us food to eat."
