Reporters personally experienced the liberation of Peiping: The small Jiulong Wall of the Forbidden City was almost destroyed

Editor's note:

We have heard too many stories about the liberation of Peiping. As we all know, Peiping was liberated peacefully, but the process of liberation was not as calm as imagined. What is little-known is that on the eve of the People's Liberation Army entering the city, at the end of 1948, Beiping City had electricity and water for 11 days. A long darkness shrouded the ancient city before dawn. At this time, it was precisely the Communist army outside the city that delivered much-needed electricity to the people in the city. Xu Ying, then director of the Tianjin Ta Kung Pao Office in Peking, recorded in her diary the 11 days from darkness to light. During this period of light and darkness, the people's hearts gradually became clear...

On December 13, the army arrived at the foot of the city

The "rumbling" sound of the plane kept ringing over Peiping, but the plane just kept circling and could not find a place to land. The people waiting for the plane all thought they were here to pick them up. Xu Ying heard everyone saying that Hu Shi, the president of Peking University, was sent by Hoffman, Director of the U.S. Administration for Economic Cooperation, to form a cabinet in Nanjing.

Since the rumbling sound of guns sounded in the western suburbs on December 13, 1948, Peiping has been put on arms. Fu Zuoyi announced the start of the war around the city. A spokesman for the "Suppression General" said: "Since we are defending the city, the compatriots in the city will inevitably feel some pain in life and spirit. This is a suffering from China's suffering and destiny. We are willing to try our best to assist them in life." They also predicted: "In the future, there will be troops in the streets of the city, and there will be contact in the suburbs outside the city. It will be commonplace to hear a few cannons accidentally. It is no longer a rare thing. At present, ordinary people's doubts are naturally due to unaccustomed to it."

From the front door to the back door, from the east to the west, there were retreating teams everywhere. Chaoyangmen and Xizhimen were the first to pile up sandbags, and engineers began to build fortifications. Beihai, Taimiao and Jingshan were all stationed, and the "bandit suppression headquarters" moved into Zhongnanhai. This day was the opening day of the skating rink, so it had to be temporarily closed. The military paid ten thousand yuan in gold coupons to compensate for the winter's losses.

On December 14, the "rumble" of planes was heard over Peiping, but the planes just kept circling and could not find a place to land. The people waiting for the plane all thought they were coming to pick them up. Xu Ying, director of the Tianjin Ta Kung Pao office in Peiping, heard everyone saying that Hu Shi, president of Peking University, had been taken to Nanjing by Hoffman, director of the US Economic Cooperation Administration.

Xu Ying spent a 75 gold dollar voucher and made an urgent three-minute phone call to Tianjin Ta Kung Pao to inquire if there were any such rumors. The answer was: "Rumors!" But as a reporter, Xu Ying still wants to see is believe.

This day's "psychological warfare" spread like wildfire in the whole society. Late into the night, three telephones in the Ta Kung Pao office kept ringing. Many people called to ask some unanswerable questions: Why did the Air Force withdraw all positions? Whose are those five planes in the sky and who are they picking up?... Xu Ying guessed that other newspapers have larger social circles than Ta Kung Pao, and they must socialize with more people.

However, the cannons outside the city were still ringing intermittently into the night. Xu Ying thought: Everyone must have trouble and dreams this night.

There was a power outage and water supply on December 15

The series of impacts caused by the siege and power outages and water cuts are huge: tap water has no electricity and cannot be supplied. Tap water users, who account for nearly 1/3 of the total households in the Urban area, have to find wells everywhere to queue up to collect water, which has increased the number of battles over water, and the price of water is as high as 2 yuan per pick. At that time, there was a jingle in Peiping that "Tangshan died happily, Tianjin starved to death, and Peiping died of thirst."

On December 15, a rare sun shone in Peiping, which was particularly warm. Many people stood on the Jinao Yudong Bridge to watch the wonderful scene of the melting of the three seas and ice. It is approaching the winter solstice, but the frozen ice is melting again. This is a strange thing not seen in many years in Peiping.

However, Beiping Station, which has been bustling for decades, has not run a passenger train since a notice issued yesterday to disperse more than 10,000 passengers who were preparing to take the bus. Xu Ying saw that Dongdan had begun to build a temporary airport. In addition to all street sweepers being ordered to participate, migrant workers from all districts were also mobilized to work voluntarily, and the project was limited to three days. Houses near Dongdan were demolished, and a cloud of dust flew inside Chongwen Gate. Due to the ban on traffic in this area, large shops were temporarily closed, and the two major cinemas "Ping An" and "Meiqi" also changed to enter and exit through the back door.

Traffic inside and outside the city was completely cut off. At dusk in Peiping, chaos and congestion began to appear in the dim setting sun. Cars crowded into one another, the tram stopped halfway, and there was not a single light in the city.

There is a power outage in Peiping!

Power outages are a huge challenge for Peiping, a city that has begun to have modern functions. They could still barely make a living during the day, but at night, the city began to curfew after 8 o'clock, and the citizens of Peiping had to resume their primitive life of getting up late and going to bed early. For the sake of public security, the city government requires every household to hang a red light at the door after night. However, with the arrival of the northwest wind, few lights in the city could remain extinguished, and Peiping was dark.

The night was still deeper and deeper, so silent that even the sound of a leaf falling was particularly clear. The tram stopped halfway due to the power outage crowded together, as if expressing a silent protest to the city.

The series of impacts caused by the siege of the city, power outages and water cuts were huge: starting from 10 a.m. on the 15th, electricity was cut off in Peiping and trams could not run, resulting in the unemployment of more than 2000 people. Shijingshan Steel Plant, North China's largest steel company, had to seal its furnace on the morning of the 15th. Tap water has no electricity or water supply. Tap water users, who account for nearly 1/3 of the total households in the Urban area, have to find wells everywhere to queue up to collect water, adding to many battles for water. Water carriers also became active, but the price of water was as high as 2 yuan per pick. Since drinking water became a problem, there was a jingle in Peiping at that time that "Tangshan died happily, Tianjin starved to death, and Peiping died of thirst." The price of kerosene has risen crazily from 6 yuan per catty to 36 yuan per catty, causing hardship to the poor. Cabbage has increased from 1 yuan per catty to 3 and a half yuan, and spinach has increased to 8 yuan per catty; salted fish and dry goods are particularly expensive. One silver dollar can already be exchanged for 70 gold yuan coupons, and flour has even increased to 650 yuan per bag!

The famous restaurant can only serve three to five guests a day, but it has to be prepared. A Chinese meal at Yuhuatai in Huaiyang Restaurant costs 1000 yuan, and Chiang Kai-shek's favorite Cuihua Tower cannot open for several days. As everyone knows, Donglaishun has dropped from 500 kilograms of mutton per day to 50 kilograms per day, and every four liang of meat sells for 16 yuan and loses money. There were usually more than 150 staff members in Donglaishun Restaurant, but now there are less than 100 people. All major restaurants evacuate their workers and ask them to go home early as long as there is a home outside the city, just to save a portion of food rations. However, these big shops are like pegged insects that die without becoming stiff. They only suffer from the small traders. The stalls, snack makers, and Beiping specialties are unable to maintain their lives, because if they sell old ones, they cannot replace them with new ones.

Faced with this situation, Xu Ying couldn't help but sigh: This is really a war without a rear.

Fire burned ice cores on December 23

However, it is still unknown when the electricity will come. The wired telephone between Pingjin and Tianjin has also been interrupted. Military communications can only be contacted by wireless phones, and Pingjin and Tangtang have been completely isolated.

After more than ten days of siege, Xu Ying was very busy every day. As a reporter, he collected different news and information every day.

City government employees glued notes to the windows in a short period of time to avoid being shattered by artillery; provincial government employees concentrated on burning files removed from various places. The streets were occupied by vehicles: military trucks loaded with troops and boxes of ammunition left the city; tanks wore colorless coats in and out of the city; camels and mules crowded on the sidewalk to carry food and fodder for the army, scattered as they went, leaving the city covered with grass debris.

Electricity still hasn't come.

On the 19th, Xu Ying learned a piece of news: the tram company received a phone call from Tongzhou Power Plant that day: "Do you want to connect the electricity? As long as you bring bituminous coal, we can supply electricity to Beiping tram cars." It is said that the tram company accepted it after considering it, and the power company was unwilling to carry the accusation of the "Lord of Darkness". However, it is still unknown when the electricity will come. The wired telephone between Pingjin and Tianjin has also been interrupted. Military communications can only be contacted by wireless phones, and Pingjin and Tangtang have been completely isolated.

On the 23rd, Xu Ying read a newspaper saying: Peiping is like a fire burning an ice core, hot outside and cold inside.

The sky is always blue and lovely for days, just like in crisp autumn. When the white dove flies, the sky is filled with light tunes. The sound of cannons was sometimes far and near all day long, but people's hearts were so quiet that they were terrifyingly quiet. On the surface, people are used to this kind of life.

The turbulent period in Peking is over, and so is the rush to buy newspapers. During this period, soldiers paid more attention to the development of the war than citizens. The number of people getting married began to increase. In the streets, only the wedding team was relaxed with the army, but no chatter was allowed. Only one of the 12 temporary hospitals under preparation has been established, and it has not yet begun to accommodate wounded soldiers. Although there are hundreds of thousands of troops, the fighting around the four cities has not begun, so there are no casualties.

On December 25, a snowy day fell on Christmas night, embellishing Peiping with makeup and bringing a ray of hope to Peiping, which was in a dark state without water, electricity. Xu Ying, like all the people in the city, was full of anxiety and expectation.

On December 26, Peiping became lively

In early January, Peng Zhen and Ye Jianying decided to change the power transmission method, that is, power transmission for 2 hours in the morning and afternoon, so that citizens can use tap water, and stop power transmission at night to attack the enemy; on the 14th, considering the severe cold weather, if there is a power outage, the tap water pipes There is a danger of freezing and cracking, so it was decided to send electricity in the original amount.

The call on the 26th made everyone's eyes shine, and the supply of tap water has also expanded, making Peiping lively.

Everyone is guessing where the power comes from. The official statement comes from Tongzhou, Pingdong. On the 28th, Xu Ying heard another statement: this time the power came from the west. Why is there electricity in fighting? Many people, including Xu Ying, are thinking: This may mean that the war is likely to end!

When Peiping was in distress, there was no peace outside the city. At the beginning of December, the Kuomintang army built many fortifications on the top of Heitou Mountain, Moshikou and Shijingshan Mountain, hoping to preserve the Shijingshan Power Plant, the last lifeline of Peiping City.

Shijingshan Power Plant was built in 1919 and has long been responsible for supplying electricity to Beiping City. Shijingshan Power Plant is under the jurisdiction of Beiping Branch of Hebei Electric Power Company. In the second half of 1948, it had more than 1000 employees. It was equipped with No. 3, No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 generators, with an installed power generation capacity of 55,000 kilowatts. It is the largest power plant in North China. At the end of 1948, under the division and siege of the People's Liberation Army of China, the transmission lines of Tianjin and Tangshan were inaccessible and electricity could not be received. Shijingshan Power Plant became the only power source in Peiping City.

On December 15, eight soldiers from the 42nd Army of the People's Liberation Army took advantage of the replacement of the Kuomintang garrison at the power plant to rush into the Shijingshan Power Plant, seize the commanding heights of the five-story pulverized coal furnace building, and engage in fierce combat with the Kuomintang troops besieging the power plant. The Power Plant Protection Committee, which was just established on December 14, ordered the suspension of the operation of No. 3, No. 4 and No. 6 generators in order to protect the safety of machines and workers.

The Kuomintang army was never able to capture the building where the People's Liberation Army soldiers were holding. They called and threatened, claiming to fire artillery on the hillside opposite the factory building and bomb the power plant.

The factory protection committee scolded: If the factory building is bombarded and the machines are damaged, Peiping will fall into permanent darkness, and the military will be responsible for the consequences!

The Kuomintang army did not dare to take responsibility for destroying the power supply and gave up the idea of shelling. At 5 p.m., due to the fierce fighting, the factory protection committee was forced to stop the last running generator, Unit 5.

This was the reason for the blackout in Peiping.

On the evening of December 15, the 48th Army of the People's Liberation Army (formerly the 11th Column of the Northeast Field Army) launched an attack on Shijingshan. The 48th Army strictly abided by its superiors 'instructions on protecting industrial and mining enterprises and did not use artillery when fighting near the Shijingshan Power Plant and the Shijingshan Steel Plant. On December 16, the 48th Army captured Heipou Mountain. Seeing the situation, the Kuomintang troops at the power plant fled one after another. At 2 p.m., the People's Liberation Army soldiers who were the first to enter the power plant joined with the 48th Army, and the Shijingshan Power Plant was liberated. With the close cooperation of front-line troops and the Power Plant Protection Committee, the largest power plant in North China was completely handed over to the Communist Party of China.

Bao Guobao, then general manager of the Shijingshan Plant of Hebei Electric Power Company, recalled: The power plant had been liberated, and there were still two things on the table in his office. One was a telegram sent to him by Song Ziwen, which said that he would be invited to go to Guangzhou to serve as the director of the Guangdong Province Construction Department. The other is a "condolence letter" sent by the underground party group of Beiping Electric Power Branch. In fact, it is an advice letter. The envelope is written in the left hand. The content of the letter is to publicize the revolutionary situation and the Communist Party's principles and policies, comfort, retain and advise him to stick to his job, protect equipment and property, and not destroy it, ensure Beiping's power supply, and welcome the liberation of Peiping! The same letter was also sent to the manager, deputy manager, engineer and technician of the branch company.

Where to go? This is a question facing the engineering, technical and main administrative personnel of the Peiping branch and even the entire North China Electric Power Company. Everyone looked at Bao Guobao's actions, and Bao Guobao also understood that his decision to stay would affect hundreds of people.

During the few days when the power was cut off, Xu Ying saw Bao Guobao often skating in the Beihai Sea. Perhaps he wanted to hide, but if he could hide for a while, how could he hide for the rest of his life? After some thoughts, Bao Guobao refused Song Ziwen's invitation to go south and decided to stay in Peiping. This decision also stabilized the company's engineering technicians and staff.

The power cuts and water supply made the people in the city feel the approaching war. Many people believe that this was deliberately done by the CCP and one of the CCP's tactics to encircle the city.

However, the lighting and drinking water of citizens in Peiping are the most concerned issues for the Communist Party of China outside the city. Mao Zedong issued special instructions: "We must ensure the supply of water and electricity in the city and cannot be interrupted. There are so many people in the city, we must ensure the supply. We must encircle and not fight, and strive for the peaceful liberation of Peiping."

On December 19, Xu Chi, Director of the Enterprise Division of the Finance and Economics Department of the Materials Takeover Committee of the Beiping Military Control Committee, went to Shijingshan Steel Plant to preside over the work; on the 21st, Ren Yu, a military representative of the Enterprise Division, took over the power plant. Peng Zhen, then secretary of the Beiping Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, instructed Xu Chi to resume power transmission to liberated towns outside Beiping as soon as possible. Under the leadership of the Military Control Committee, Shijingshan Power Plant first resumed power generation in accordance with instructions from superiors, and immediately resumed power supply to the liberated suburbs of Peiping. During the process of restoring power to the Jiefang District in the southwestern suburbs of Peiping, Peng Zhen, in accordance with Mao Zedong's instructions, ordered Xu Chi to send power to the unliberated city of Peiping.

Xu Chi was very embarrassed about this task. He had to ask Peng Zhen:

"The city is Fu Zuoyi's territory in the Kuomintang ruled area. How can I send electricity to them? Even if I send the power, will they accept it?"

Peng Zhen asked: "Do you know which department in the city is in charge of this matter? Who is the person in charge?"

Xu Chi said: "It is the Kuomintang's Hebei Electric Power Company, and the person in charge is Bao Guobao.”

Peng Zhen said: "Isn't that enough? You contact him directly on the phone and tell him that you are the plenipotentiary of the People's Liberation Army of China in charge of enterprise takeovers, explaining that we are going to send electricity to the people in Peiping and bring light to them, and asking them to prepare facilities to accept power transmission."

Peng Zhen's resolute words dispelled Xu Chi's concerns.

At this time, Bao Guobao and the engineering technicians and managers of Hebei Electric Power Company had decided to stick to their posts and wait for liberation after ideological work by the Plant Protection Committee. After getting in touch, the power plant raised the issue of sending electricity to the city. Military representative Yi Yu told Hebei Electric Power Company: "The prerequisite is that we will not provide electricity to the reactionaries, but only provide electricity to 1.2 million Beiping citizens!"

Bao Guobao replied to Shijingshan Power Plant: "Follow the instructions."

Xu Ying heard that Fu Zuoyi was very embarrassed by the Communist Party's proposal to send electricity to the city. On the one hand, there is a power outage and water supply in Peiping, and citizens are eager to call; on the other hand, accepting power supply means a political compromise. Fu Zuoyi thought about it repeatedly and could not make a decision. Coincidentally, the father of Mao Jinsheng, secretary of the Beiping Branch of Hebei Electric Power Company, was the chief education of the Baoding Army Officer School. He was Fu Zuoyi's teacher and saved Fu's life; and Liang Shuzai, deputy chief of staff of the North China "Suppression General", was not only Mao's father's student, but also Mao's adopted son. Through this special relationship, Fu Zuoyi's work was completed, and the Shijingshan Power Plant's power supply to the city was acquiesced.

The Beiping branch obtained a "pass" for going out of the city to organize personnel to go out of the city to repair transmission lines. At the same time, the staff of Shijingshan Power Plant also seized the time to repair the lines. It took only two or three days for the maintenance task to be completed. On the 26th, Shijingshan Power Plant sent electricity to Peiping City for the first time after the founding of New China. The tram parked in the middle of the road suddenly turned and the street lamp in the center of the road turned on. People also have more expectations for the end of the war.

After the restoration of power supply, the "suppression of the General Assembly" in North China changed again. Starting from the 28th, they used the electricity sent by the Shijingshan Power Plant only for the Kuomintang's military, agencies, radio, radio and street lights to maintain "public order" because they were afraid that citizens would listen to Xinhua Radio and would not provide electricity to citizens. In order to eliminate the influence of the Communist Party, Kuomintang military and police agents in the city also spread rumors that the electricity was sent from Tianjin.

In early January 1949, Peng Zhen and Ye Jianying decided to change the power transmission method in response to the practice of "suppressing the general government" in North China, that is, power transmission for 2 hours in the morning and afternoon so that citizens can use tap water, and stop power transmission at night to attack the enemy. On the 14th, Peng Zhen and Ye Jianying considered that the weather was severe and the water pipes were in danger of freezing and cracking if there was a power outage, so they decided to send electricity in the original amount. In the war situation when the People's Liberation Army besieged the city, the power plant taken over by the Communist Party of China sent electricity to the cities occupied by the Kuomintang army. It cannot be said that it is a miracle in the history of world war!

Kuomintang military and police agents who did not have electricity in Peiping put various pressures on the power supply workers of the Peiping branch to demand electricity. The engineering and technical personnel of the Peiping branch withstood threats and intimidation and resolutely implemented the instructions of Yi Yu, a military representative of Shijingshan Power Plant, on "providing electricity only to the people and not to the reactionaries." They cleverly used Fu Zuoyi as a shield and said: "Commander Fu agreed to this. Because there is little electricity, we can only supply tap water and street lights!"

January 22: Choice between Light and Shadow

Xu Ying was invited by President Ma Heng of the Palace Museum to visit the bullet marks around the small nine dragon wall in the palace. She picked up a handful of shrapnel and lamented that if there was a slight deviation, the Qianlong building would be destroyed.

During the siege, the city of Peiping, where the Kuomintang troops were trapped, used electricity from the Jiefang District, giving the citizens of Peiping the hope of peace. Beiping citizens had heard of the peace negotiations between the Communist Party and Fu Zuoyi, and the power transmission had increased the credibility of this rumor.

However, although there was electricity and water in Peiping City, looking around, the city was still full of fear of war. This worry and fear continued until 10 a.m. on January 22-Fu Zuoyi signed an agreement with the Communist Party of China to declare an armistice.

On January 22, there was heavy fog in the morning and the city was blurred. As usual, the running sound of Fu Zuoyi's team could be heard on the street, shouting "Work hard" while running. Xu Ying was invited by President Ma Heng of the Palace Museum to visit the bullet marks around the small nine dragon wall in the palace. She picked up a handful of shrapnel and lamented that if there was a slight deviation, the Qianlong building would be destroyed.

"People in the city want to rush out, and people outside the city want to rush in. Whether it is marriage or love, most of the wishes of life are like this." This is a famous saying written by Mr. Qian Zhongshu in "Besieged City" in 1947. He would never have imagined that this would become a reflection of the feelings of people in and outside Peiping in the winter of 1948.

Xu Ying wrote in her diary on the day she called from Peking: On a cloudy afternoon, a miracle suddenly occurred!

In his diary on the day of the liberation of Peiping, he calmly wrote that Peiping was peacefully liberated after nearly six weeks of siege.