Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 528 Resignation (Part 1)

As early as mid-December, although the fighting was not yet over, it was clear to everyone that the three major battles personally commanded by Chang Ruiyuan were about to fail.

However, the happiest people about the results of these three major battles were not the Kuomintang army, but the Guangxi clique generals within the Kuomintang party.

Although the Guangxi clique had been around the core power of the Kuomintang since the Northern Expedition, it was only around the periphery.

They tried many times, but never managed to sit on that throne of power.

Bai Jiansheng was particularly unhappy about this.

When Li Delin was elected vice president in a way that surprised Chang Ruiyuan, in order to limit the power of the Guangxi clique, Chang Ruiyuan casually found an excuse to transfer the Ministry of National Defense, which he had originally promised to Bai Jiansheng, to He Jingzhi.

Bai Jiansheng was almost furious.

"This time, Chang has caused such great losses to the Party and the country. I want to see how he will explain himself!"

In order to get rid of Chang Ruiyuan and promote Li Delin to power, Bai Jiansheng did not send out a single soldier when the Central Plains war was at its most dangerous, and watched the Central Plains war situation rapidly decline.

"How's the thing I asked you to do going?" Bai Jiansheng asked the adjutant beside him.

"Don't worry, Chief of Staff. I've found a lot of people to spread rumors and also put blame on President Chang for the defeats in the three major battles in the newspapers."

"There is a lot of discussion about this now, both among the general public and within the Party."

Although the pot originally belonged to Chang Ruiyuan, no one had dared to bring it up before.

Bai Jiansheng was the first to launch a large-scale publicity campaign.

“Great! This time, we can take advantage of the G Party’s influence to force Chang to step down!” Bai Jiansheng affirmed.

Chang Ruiyuan's elite troops have been wiped out, but the strength of the Guangxi clique remains completely unaffected.

If the Guangxi clique can eliminate Chang Ruiyuan while simultaneously negotiating and preserving half of its territory, it will reach the pinnacle of power.

In order to achieve their goal, Bai Jiansheng and Li Delin specially invited the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom to mediate together.

The three kingdoms were very happy with the idea of ​​dividing China along the Yangtze River.

To this end, U.S. Ambassador to China John Stuart specifically sought out Chang Ruiyuan to try and gauge his opinion.

"Mr. President, it is rumored that General Bai Jiansheng sent a telegram to you advocating the resumption of peace talks with the Chinese Communist Party. Is this true?"

"Heh." Chang Ruiyuan chuckled coldly upon hearing Situ Lei's words.

Rumors? It's more likely that Bai Jiansheng contacted you directly with a telegram.

"This is nothing more than a tactic employed by Li Delin, Bai Jiansheng, and others. To negotiate with the G Party, we must first remove the obstacles, which means that I, Chang, must step down!"

Situ Lei seemed not to hear Chang Ruiyuan's sneer.

“Mr. President, I have heard many Chinese friends discussing this matter. Why doesn’t President Chang go with the flow and retire voluntarily, letting Li Delin deal with the G Party?”

Situ Lei had a look on his face that said, "I'm doing this for your own good."

Chang Ruiyuan looked at Situ Lei, feeling extremely angry.

"Mr. Ambassador, if there is nothing else, I must take my leave. I have important business to attend to."

After saying that, Chang Ruiyuan left without looking back.

Although Chang Ruiyuan appeared very tough, he was also well aware of the current situation. Although he was extremely unwilling, he had no choice but to accept it.

However, Chang Ruiyuan had no way to solve the problem, but he did have a way to deal with the people who raised the problem.

Chang Ruiyuan instructed the head of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics to send people to monitor Li Delin's residence and made preparations for assassination.

Outside Li Delin’s residence, Mao Shanyu met Shen Shuyi, the station chief of Yunnan Station.

"Chief, we've figured out all his patterns of activity and routes of action. As long as the president gives the order, we can take his life."

“Good, excellent.” Mao Shanyu nodded.

Just as Mao Shanyu was looking at Li Delin's official residence with a fierce glint in his eyes, Chang Ruiyuan was also looking at the statue at Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, but his eyes were somewhat vacant, as if he was thinking about something.

“President.” Zhang Wenbai walked over.

"The three northeastern provinces, North China, and the Central Plains have all fallen. Bai Jiansheng in Wuhan has repeatedly sent telegrams calling for peace."

"Whether to fight or make peace, please make a decisive decision, President."

Chang Ruiyuan said softly, expressionless, "Let's negotiate."

"Peace talks are beneficial to the country and its people, and we can also retain half of the land south of the Yangtze River."

"However, this would force the president to retire."

In a previous G Party newspaper, a list of 43 KMT war criminals was published, with Chang Ruiyuan at the top of the list.

In any case, the G Party would never negotiate with a war criminal.

Chang Ruiyuan did not answer; he wanted to probe the situation within the party.

At this time, the G army was already sweeping across the country, the Guangxi clique was pressuring him to step down, and some within the party were also demanding peace talks, making Chang Ruiyuan's life very difficult.

A few days later, Chang Jui-yuan held a party at the presidential residence in preparation for his response.

At the entrance, Wu Gang joked, "General Wenbai is a proponent of peace, please go first."

Zhang Wenbai immediately retorted sarcastically, "Hey, Mr. Wu and Mr. Rongqing are the pro-war faction, so they should be at the forefront."

These words made Wu Gang and Chen Rongqing feel somewhat embarrassed.

Yu Liangzhen, who was in charge of greeting them at the door, saw that the group was frozen in place and quickly came over.

"The pro-war faction and the pro-peace faction are actually the same faction. One side is the president's right hand, and the other side is the president's left hand. They are all in cahoots."

The group knew it wasn't the right time to turn against each other, so they went inside.

As soon as the group entered the house, Prosecutor General Yu Boxun, unaware of the situation at the door, stirred up trouble again with a single sentence.

"Three years ago, when the civil war had just begun, the civil officials advocated peace and the military generals advocated war. Now? It's reversed; the military generals advocate peace and the civil officials advocate war."

Yu Boxun thought he had told a joke and was trying to lighten the mood, but little did he know he had hit a hornet's nest.

Zhang Wenbai immediately said, "That's easy. Let the civilian officials who advocate war go to the front line and have a showdown with the G army."

"What does Mr. Rongqing think?"

Chen Rongqing didn't say a word, and turned away from Zhang Wenbai.

You're kidding me. He and his older brother are having a blast making money; only a fool would go to the front lines. These civilian officials advocate war so that soldiers can die on the front lines while they rake in the cash.

Sending civil servants to the front lines is against the law, reason, and money.
Seeing Chen Rongqing leave, Zhang Wenbai pursed his lips and said nothing more.

Yu Boxun, who was standing to the side, realized that he had said something wrong and fell silent.

A few minutes later, Chang Ruiyuan walked in.

"Sit down, everyone, sit down."

"The situation is serious now, and some people within the party are advocating for peace talks. I cannot remain silent on this important issue."

After glancing at everyone, Chang Ruiyuan continued, "I have drafted a peace proclamation and would like to solicit everyone's opinions."

Then, Chang Ruiyuan gestured to the attendant beside him to read aloud the document he had written.

"As long as the peace agreement does not cause harm."

After listening to the read-out peace proclamation, Zhang Wenbai remarked with some emotion, "A single falling leaf heralds the coming of autumn."

However, for every person who agrees, there is someone who disagrees, especially Chang Ruiyuan's staunch supporters.

"This statement must not be published, otherwise the consequences will be unpredictable. We must never negotiate with the G Party."

Zhang Wenbai advised, "To preserve half of the country, we must never fight again."

Tang Keqin immediately stood up and said, "As the commander, I only know that with a formidable enemy at hand, the morale of the army must not be shaken."

“We should continue to uphold our original intention and quell the rebellion to the end!” Chen Rongqing echoed.

Zhang Wenbai said, "Gentlemen, now that we've come to this point, shouldn't we calm down? Only by facing reality can we have any hope of revival."

Chen Rongqing immediately retorted: "If we negotiate peace now, the morale of the army and the people will be low, and the party and the country will inevitably perish; if we fight, we might be able to win by chance."

"Now we cannot fight for popular support, morale, or political and economic stability, otherwise we will..."

Before Zhang Wenbai could finish speaking, Chen Rongqing interrupted, "Although we have suffered setbacks militarily, we have not failed. We still have two million troops, most of China, and especially the natural barrier of the Yangtze River!"

For Chen Rongqing, even one more day of fighting would be beneficial to the Chen family.

Zhang Wenbai looked at Chen Rongqing with gritted teeth in anger. "To defend the Yangtze River, one must defend the Huai River. Now that the Huai River has been handed over to others, there is no way we can defend the Yangtze River."

Before Zhang Wenbai could speak, Tang Keqin stood up again: "I am a soldier. Soldiers only know how to obey. Whether it's fighting or making peace, we should follow the president's instructions. As long as we obey the leader's will, we will definitely defeat the G Party!"

Seeing the argument escalating, Chang Ruiyuan slammed his hand on the table and then looked at Li Delin beside him: "Delin, what's your opinion on this statement?"

"I have no different views from the president."

Chang Ruiyuan was feigning a test, and Li Delin was simply going along with it.

This infuriated those who supported Chang Ruiyuan.

"The statement said that the president's personal decision to retire or step down is irrelevant, and that the will of the people must be followed. This clause implies that the president is retiring and must be deleted!"

"Hiding in peace and seeking a compromise will have a significant impact on morale and the hearts of the people!"

"I oppose the publication of this statement. The president cannot retire!"

"Once the president leaves, the party and the state will perish!"

Chang Ruiyuan is very gratified by the support of his many loyal fans.

After taking a sip of red wine, Chang Ruiyuan smiled and looked at Li Delin beside him: "Brother Delin? What advice do you have for me?"

Li Delin, however, smiled and answered as before: "I take the president's opinion as my opinion."

Li Delin's refusal to cooperate infuriated Chang Ruiyuan, so he made a veiled attack:
"Now, some senior generals within the Party are singing the CCP's peace rhetoric."

"For the sake of the Party and the country, I voluntarily stepped down, but not because of the G Party, but because of a certain faction within the Party!"

"The announcement will be published tomorrow!" Chang Ruiyuan stood up and prepared to leave.

But Li Delin wouldn't let him off the hook: "I don't know if the G Party can accept these five peace conditions."

Chang Ruiyuan was even angrier after hearing this, and stormed off.

However, as Li Delin said, these five conditions are basically about maintaining the status quo.

Chang Ruiyuan's intention to recover from his injuries and make a comeback under the guise of peace talks was clearly seen through.

Xinhua News Agency immediately used the story of the farmer and the snake to explain in simple terms the principle of eradicating evil completely.

A few days later, Xinhua News Agency published eight conditions for peace negotiations.

Upon hearing the eight conditions broadcast on the radio, Chang Ruiyuan stated that he could not accept even one of them.

After all, the first rule here is to punish war criminals, which means the first thing to do is to deal with them.

After sighing and lamenting for a long time, Chang Ruiyuan sent someone to persuade Li Delin to come forward for negotiations and expressed his willingness to retire.

But Li Delin had known Chang Ruiyuan for a long time and knew that he was a man of his word, so he was not fooled at all.

"Hmph! Li Delin has failed the Party and the country! He has failed the late Premier!"

I didn't really want to back out, but you can't just not say anything polite, can you?
Undeterred, Chang Ruiyuan called Merlin in Washington again: "Madam, what is the US's attitude now?"

When Chang Ruiyuan asked, Merlin was somewhat frustrated: "In the past, every time I came to the United States, they treated me as a state guest and gave me a grand welcome."

"But this time, I can only stay at General Marshall's house as a personal friend."

"Washington has consistently avoided discussing the two billion dollars in military aid I proposed."

"I have never experienced such humiliation in my life. I think it would be best for me to return to my country as soon as possible."

After suppressing his anger and offering a few words of reassurance, Chang Ruiyuan hung up the phone and began to curse loudly: "Damn it! This is betrayal!"

They clearly said they would support the Kuomintang, but now they're avoiding us.

Yu Liangzhen, standing nearby, whispered, "President, as the ancients said: 'What is crooked will become straight, what is bent will become upright, and what is straight will return to its rightful place.'"

"Damn it! Let Li Delin be smug this time."

"Prepare the carriage; we're going to Li Delin's residence."

Chang Ruiyuan knew that Li Delin was the type to not act until he saw a clear benefit, so he had no choice but to go to him in person.

(End of this chapter)