After the meeting, the national government began to reorganize the army. The original army was changed into an integrated division, and the division was changed into an integrated brigade. The number of soldiers below the regimental level has been supplemented and equipped with new weapons. Officers are waiting to be made redundant. Apart from fighting, these redundant officers are hard to be good at. After leaving the army, their treatment was reduced, especially for disabled officers. At that time, a famous saying of Chairman Yan 'an was circulated among surplus officers: "This road won't work, go to Mao Zedong; No one here wants it. Yan' an will report it. "
Indeed, after returning to their hometowns, millions of surplus officers and men, forced by life, responded to the call of the Party and Chairman Mao in batches and turned to the Yan 'an army to make a living, thus greatly weakening the combat effectiveness of the national army and having great side effects on future civil wars. This is a great failure of Mr. Chiang Kai-shek. He should consider the suffering of laid-off soldiers while disarming. These soldiers have made contributions to the country on the battlefield and sacrificed their own interests for the peaceful development of the country in peacetime. The national government should give them what they deserve.
In view of the complicated situation at that time, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the redundant general-level personnel in various war zones to be mobilized to the Central Training Corps for training.
There are more than 400 generals in this regiment. After reporting for duty, they were appointed as Lieutenant General or Major General members of the China Training Mission by the Ministry of National Defense. Most of them are students of Whampoa Military Academy, who participated in the Northern Expedition and War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, and some of them fought alongside Sun Yat-sen and took part in the crusade against Huizhou. These people were originally from the military, with high ranks and no other expertise, and the resettlement work was particularly difficult. They have been training for more than half a year and have not been assigned.
One shocking and horrible thing after another greatly stimulated those redundant officers.
They are increasingly dissatisfied with the national government authorities. Someone indignantly suggested that we are all followers of Mr. Zhongshan. Instead of secretly crying behind your back, go to Mr. Zhongshan's spirit and have a good cry. A large number of senior generals wept bitterly at Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum.
Most of the redundant general officers were trained in the general officer class of the Central Training Corps, with more than 500 people. Most of these generals are from the old Huangpu, with old age, high level, old qualifications and little expertise. Some of them break down from constant overwork, others are injured and disabled, and it is particularly difficult to find jobs. So they have been training for more than half a year and have not been assigned. /kloc-in the spring of 0/947, Zhang Qing, a redundant employee, was forced to get married, which caused a lot of trouble. Then two tragedies happened in the ordinary class in succession.
First, there is a general named Xi Ze in the class. He is a returned overseas Chinese and his family is very rich. When he was young, he sympathized with Sun Yat-sen and joined the League. I once sold my property and converted it into 6.5438+0.9 million taels of silver, all of which were donated to Sun Yat-sen as activities funds. Sun Yat-sen spoke highly of this righteous act. 192 1 year, Dr. Sun Yat-sen took office as an extraordinary president in Guangzhou, and Xize returned to China to work in the Grand Marshal's Office. Later, he participated in the Northern Expedition, the Ten-year Civil War and War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, and became the chief of staff of an army. Because he supported Sun Yat-sen's three major policies, he was deeply dissatisfied with Chiang Kai-shek, which led to "redundancy". His family is in Nanjing, and his life is hard. His wife has the idea of suicide. One day in April, she left a suicide note at home, saying, "We can't meet again in this life." He committed suicide by throwing himself into the river in Yanziji. Caesar refused to talk about it in order to save face. However, this tragic news, after all, spread among the generals and the Central Police Academy, and aroused strong repercussions among the surplus officers.
Second, among the general officers, there is a major general named Chen, who used to be the deputy commander of 190 division. During his stay in War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, he made great achievements in Changsha. His family has a large population and five children. The oldest is only 10, and the youngest is less than one year old. He can't make ends meet. He lives on loans. He had his last meal, but he didn't. Chen himself suffers from terminal lung disease, lacks nutrition and has no money to treat diseases. He can't get over it for a while. On May 1947, he committed suicide by swallowing a large number of sleeping pills while his wife was not at home. After Chen's death, there was nothing to worry about at home, and the body was stored at home for 4 days. Later, the students in the official class and the police class each donated 3,000 yuan in gold coupons, which was pitiful in terms of the value of counterfeit money, so they bought a thin-skinned coffin and buried him in a hurry. The rabbit died in sorrow, and the students were greatly stimulated in their thoughts and feelings. Everyone is sad and angry, on the verge of collapse.
Due to the constant occurrence of tragedies, the dissatisfaction of surplus officers with Chiang Kai-shek is increasing. Some students often receive some "anonymous letters". The envelope clearly says that it was sent from an organization, but the letter is anonymous. I don't know who sent it, but the content is nothing more than encouraging anti-Chiang sentiment. In April, Liu Haiting received a letter signed by the Ministry of the Interior. At that time, after graduating from the police academy, redundant police officers were assigned to the Ministry of the Interior. When everyone saw the letter from the Ministry of the Interior to Liu Haiting, they all thought that he had a background in the Ministry of the Interior and must have arranged a job for him. Some students joked and hid the letter, asking Liu to treat him to candy, or not to give him a letter. Liu Haiting said: "I have no background in the Ministry of the Interior, so there will be no good news. If the students don't believe me, you can open it in public. " Speaking of which, I took the letter and really opened it. It turned out that it was neither a notice nor a letter, but a propaganda material with the title: Ghosts of Soldiers Killed in the Battlefield. I can't remember all the original text, but the text is smooth and beautiful, spicy and moving, and it really speaks the voice of demobilized officers, so I still remember the main words:
Athletes who died tragically on the battlefield, ghosts wandering in the wilderness! A loving mother cries for you, and a good wife ruins your youth. Your game-writing protocol earned you the title of General Caotou (referring to Chiang Kai-shek), and your bones became the wealth of the rich. ...
Look! When the sun goes down, my masters and gentlemen! They took their beautiful wives and concubines to the party, and everyone was very happy. ...
Look! Whenever the lights are on, those corrupt officials wear suits and ties and flow in the street. ...
Listen! Whenever the night is dead, the noise and laughter in the ballroom are endless …
But! Your white-haired and scrawny mother, your weeping wife and children, who will ask?
Now! Only let bitter wind and rain mourn your ghost!
Liu Haiting was very nervous when he saw the publicity materials. Afraid of another accident, he wanted to take the letter back with a straight face. I patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, we won't tell anyone." At this time, I volunteered to copy many promotional materials and forwarded them to the Central Training Corps.
These redundant generals were furious and talked about it in succession, some were dark and sad, and some were crying. At this time, Lieutenant General He Guangqian, a Huangpu graduate with a Hunan accent, said loudly: "We have struggled with Dr. Sun Yat-sen in the revolutionary struggle for half a lifetime, but unfortunately our long-cherished wish has failed, and now there is no way to make a living for our country." What's the use of crying behind your back today? If you want to cry, we'll go to Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and give him a good cry, and tell Prime Minister Ling Ying about our difficulties, so as to demonstrate publicly to the government! "At this time, everyone was angry and in favor. Someone suggested: "Please ask General Huang to be the commander-in-chief of the weeping mausoleum." Yellow crane understands that this commander-in-chief is not easy to take. If he wears the hat of "insurrection", he will go to prison and be beheaded. He thought about it nervously, but he was obliged to agree with it gladly. At about 9: 00 am on May 5, 1947, the students of the official class set out from home and gathered in the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in twos and threes. 10 or so, about 400 people. They are dressed in yellow uniforms, with general badges and medals on their chests. Everyone elected Huangpu Phase I student and Lieutenant General as the commander-in-chief. Yellow crane led the generals to Aibo Square and stood in a square. The students of Huangpu Phase I stand in the first row, and the rest are arranged in chronological order and age order. Everyone stood still, ready to hold a mourning ceremony.
At the beginning of the ceremony, Huang He excitedly said to everyone: "We redundant officers once fought with the Prime Minister in the East and North, risking our lives without any credit or hard work, but the government kicked us away and cut off our lives. We have no other extravagant hopes, just want to have a bowl of rice to eat when we are alive and a coffin to bury after we die. We are human beings, and we want to live. We are here today, not to pay homage to the grave, but to mourn the grave. For our classmates, for our nation, for our wife and children, we will cry, cry, cry and even cry. "
After the lecture, General Huang He led the generals to the Memorial Hall of Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum and presented flowers to the statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. The inside and outside of the altar were crowded with generals who came to cry for the tomb. Many tourists gathered around to watch and expressed deep sympathy for the experience of these redundant people.
Then, the Yellow Crane read the eulogy, and the officers listened to the eulogy with tears in their eyes, observed a three-minute silence, and filed into the mourning hall. Looking up at the marble statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, they felt as if their stepmother's children had met their mother-wronged, unfair and yearning for something. After coming out of the mourning hall, the generals stood in a row again. Father Huang He spoke and encouraged everyone to cheer up the revolutionary spirit, make a living for themselves, maintain the integrity of the soldiers, and never make a move and live up to the expectations of the former prime minister. Several generals could not help speaking and expressing their dissatisfaction with the status quo. ...
The next day, the National Salvation Daily reported the incident on the front page, and then the Central Daily also reported it, and tabloids also published articles in succession, which caused a storm in the city for a while and was well known to women and children.
When Chiang Kai-shek learned this, he flew into a rage, called these officers who fell into the tomb "lawless", loudly reprimanded General Chen Cheng, and instructed him to deal with it immediately to calm public opinion.
Chen Cheng hurriedly called * * * business countermeasures, and finally decided several ways:
(1) All the general officers who did not leave the army during the Anti-Japanese War were changed to civilian officers under the age of 50 and sent to local posts.
(2)40-45-year-old job-hopping to work in transportation, industry and commerce, police and other departments.
(3) Those under the age of 40 are admitted to the Army University for further study.
(4) Those who are old and infirm and unable to take up their posts will be given more severance pay, and the government will take care of them all the time. 1July 6, 947, around 9 am, Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum secretly gathered students from official classes. The guards of Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum did not receive a notice from a group to visit the grave in advance. Suddenly, they were surprised to see big officials in general uniforms in droves. They dare not question or stop them. They quickly called for instructions, and from one level to another, they got an urgent order from the top: "No tribute to the grave!" "
People are arriving one after another, about 600 people. The commander-in-chief of Yellow Crane led everyone to form a team in the "Aibo Square" of Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, and there was silence.
At the beginning of the mourning ceremony, the Yellow River delivered an impassioned short speech to the effect that: "Today, we came to Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, not to worship the Mausoleum, but to mourn the Mausoleum. For our country, for our nation and for our whole family, we will cry, cry again and cry three times. We supernumerary generals once followed the Prime Minister's crusade to the North, risking our lives, and working hard without credit. Now the government has kicked us out, and everyone has been abandoned, unemployed and cut off our way of life. We have no other extravagant hopes, just want to have a bowl of rice to eat when we are alive and a coffin to bury after we die. We are human beings, we want to live and live! " After that, I led everyone to Sun Yat-sen's mourning hall and presented flowers to Sun Yat-sen's statue. The mourning hall was small and full of weeping generals inside and outside. Many tourists also gathered around to watch the excitement, and the masses expressed deep sympathy when they saw this scene.
At this time, standing in the front row is Chen's wife who committed suicide, with five children. The youngest child on her back, less than one year old, stands in front of the statue of Sun Yat-sen, with two children on the left and right. Before they could bow to the statue of Sun Yat-sen, they cried and couldn't get up. Father Huang said, "This is Chen's wife. Chen was forced to commit suicide, and her family had no food. In the future, our family will fall on her head. " When everyone saw this tragic situation, they couldn't help feeling sad. Suddenly, they cried loudly, and the women among the tourists also shed tears.
Then, Yellow Crane read Elegy. Who wrote this "elegy" is unknown. On the second day of "Mourning the Mausoleum", although all the newspapers published the news, the "tribute" was not published. Probably, the wording of this article is too intense to be published! I remember that Gong's jiuwang daily was published in full, but I can't find this newspaper. At that time, this "elegy" was widely circulated among supernumerary officers, and its contents were as follows:
"We officers, who followed the Prime Minister in the Crusades and the Northern Expedition, finally won the victory of the national revolution. Now that the country has a constitution, the Kuomintang should return the government to the people, but we have not seen the people's democratic rights. What we see is that ordinary corrupt officials bully the weak and fear the hard and do evil. The blood of the martyrs has not yet dried, and the quality of the revolution has changed. " "Tribute" also said: Not only the survivors of revolutionary soldiers have no pension, but also we have been abandoned. It is precisely because "birds hide their bows" that both the dead and the successful are on the verge of death. When I read this, the Yellow Crane burst into tears, and the audience burst into tears. At this time, General Xize remembered his wife who was forced to jump into the river and fainted on the spot. Everyone was furious and shouted slogans: "Down with corrupt officials!" "Down with traitors!"
Just before the end of the meeting, everyone heard some noise outside. In an instant, a group of people poured in and reporters rushed to report. At the same time, the reactionary government also assigned spies to sneak around. A spy pretended to be a reporter and asked the general who attended the mourning: "Who is leading today?" No one answered. A general interrupted him and said, "We have come to pay homage to the mausoleum. When we saw a woman crying in pain in front of the mausoleum, everyone sympathized with her and cried sadly. " The spies couldn't ask why, so they had to leave angrily.
Liu Haiting and Ma Guangyun and I entered the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum with plainclothes tourists that morning and watched the whole process of the generals crying in front of the Mausoleum, so as to report to the underground organizations in China. For the sake of confidentiality, we have no contact with Yellow Crane.