On October 14, 2001, the young marshal Zhang Xueliang died of illness, and his descendants held a small memorial service for him in a small restaurant in Hawaii, USA.
Yan Mingfu, president of the China Charity Federation, delivered a eulogy on it, and an old man also came out of the corner and gave a speech of less than 10 minutes on the stage.
And when the old man said "more than 100 people" and "4 tables", everyone in the audience had tears in their eyes and covered their mouths in anger.
What's going on? Who is this old man, and what is the deep meaning of these two sets of data he said?
Half a lifetime
Young Marshal Zhang Xueliang once said before his death, my life has been half a lifetime.
In 1928, Zhang Zuolin, the king of the northeast, was killed, and Zhang Xueliang took up the post of commander-in-chief of the security of the three eastern provinces, and he did so after just one week of ruling the northeast
"Northeast Yizhi"
The decision brought an end to the era of warlord scuffles.
Zhang Xueliang had the heart to serve the country, but Chiang Kai-shek wanted to exclude dissidents, which led to the Xi'an Incident in 1936.
On December 12, 1936, in order to promote Chiang Kai-shek to actively resist Japan, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng launched a "military advice" to imprison Chiang Kai-shek and force him to join the united front of the anti-Japanese alliance.
Since then, the second cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party has begun, but Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng have been hated by Chiang Kai-shek.
In order to avoid the change of power within the Kuomintang, Zhang Xueliang personally sent Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing, and before he set out, he guessed the twists and turns of the road ahead, and told Yang Hucheng that
"If I can't come back, the Northeast Army will hand it over to you."
No one ever thought that Zhang Xueliang's words became a slur, and Chiang Kai-shek not only detained Zhang Xueliang, but also wanted to kill him at one point.
If it were not for the fact that the Zhang family and the Song family were family friends, and Zhang Xueliang had a close relationship with Song Meiling, Zhang Xueliang would never have survived, but even if it hindered Song Meiling's affection, Chiang Kai-shek still implied that the Nanjing Military Court sentenced Zhang Xueliang to 10 years in prison.
Before the verdict was officially pronounced, the judge asked Zhang Xueliang whether he was in denial, and Zhang Xueliang nodded, shook his head again, and said,
"This is something that Xueliang did wrong, but if he starts over, Xueliang will have to do it."
Zhang Xueliang has since been imprisoned and began to wait for the end of the 10-year period, but he could not have imagined that just when he was about to be released from prison, Chiang Kai-shek actually ordered that his detention be extended indefinitely, until the death of the two fathers and sons of the Chiang family, he was able to restore his freedom.
But at that time, he was nearly 90 years old.
Heart to the mainland, unforgettable hometown
However, although Zhang Xueliang was imprisoned by Chiang Kai-shek for 53 years, and later directly brought to Taiwan by him, Zhang Xueliang never forgot his thoughts about his homeland.
When Chiang Kai-shek died in 1975, Zhang Xueliang thought he could be released and return to his hometown after having mixed feelings.
Unexpectedly, Chiang Kai-shek gave Chiang Ching-kuo an order to "continue to detain Zhang Xueliang" before his death, so that Zhang Xueliang still could not escape the life of imprisonment.
Fortunately, Chiang Ching-kuo's imprisonment of him was more lenient, allowing his relatives to visit, so when his niece Zhang Lusu came, he hurriedly handed her a note.
"Go back to your hometown in the northeast for your uncle."
Zhang Luyu felt the great uncle's longing for his hometown, and in order to comfort him, after all kinds of twists and turns, he finally returned to the northeast.
The first time after returning to the northeast, she came to the grave of her grandfather Zhang Zuolin, and to her surprise, the tomb of Zhang Zuolin, who had not been worshipped by Zhang Zuolin's descendants for many years, was actually filled with various sacrifices.
Just when she thought she was looking for the wrong place, Lu Zhengcao, who accompanied her, told her that everyone remembered Zhang Zuolin's contribution in that year, so many people came to worship every year.
After Zhang Lu returned to Taiwan, he told Zhang Xueliang the news at the first time, and Zhang Xueliang could not cry after knowing it, but just looked in the direction of the mainland and was speechless for a long time.
In 1988, Chiang Ching-kuo died, two years later Zhang Xueliang was released, due to the complicated situation, he was not able to return to the mainland immediately, and on his 91st birthday, Premier Zhou's wife Deng Yingchao specially sent him a congratulatory telegram on behalf of the country, and Zhang Xueliang immediately replied after receiving the approval.
"Although my people are in Taiwan, I always miss my homeland, and as soon as I have a chance, I will go home immediately..."
In fact, in the last 10 years of his life, Zhang Xueliang repeatedly expressed his longing for his hometown and his desire to return to the mainland, but unfortunately his physical condition and the situation in Taiwan did not allow it, so that he could only go abroad in the end.
Although Zhang Xueliang did not return, everyone did not forget Zhang Xueliang's contribution, specially selected 10 hectares of land in Xiping Forest Park, built a crown tomb for him, and named it "Shao Shuai Mausoleum".
This is also with his father Zhang Zuolin
"Marshal's Mausoleum"
In response, Yang Hucheng's grandson even more openly sighed,
"That era in China is over, and it's over completely."
Two sets of data from an old man
And just as Mr. Yan Mingfu finished reading the eulogy, another faltering old man came over.
After Zhang Xueliang's descendants saw him, they all rushed up to help him, and many people's faces showed a look of respect.
What's going on? What is the relationship between this old man and Zhang Xueliang?
The old man's name was Lin Yuanquan, and he was the "prisoner" of Zhang Xueliang's 53-year prison career.
After Zhang Xueliang was imprisoned, Chiang Kai-shek was still unable to rest assured, so he sent the Kuomintang to install Lin Yuanquan at his side.
Lin Yuanquan is not only an elite agent in the Kuomintang, but also has all kinds of life and mundane worlds, and his ability to disguise is extremely strong, which is difficult for ordinary people to see through.
Of course, Zhang Xueliang knew Lin Yuanquan's true identity early on, but it was not that he was keenly observant, but that Lin Yuanquan had heard his story, admired him in particular, and took the initiative to give him a thorough understanding.
Because of this, the two got along very harmoniously, Zhang Xueliang usually took Lin Yuanquan as a friend, and Lin Yuanquan never took the initiative to disclose Zhang Xueliang's news to the Kuomintang, and even those descendants of the Zhang family regarded Lin Yuanquan as the elder in the family.
It's just that time is ruthless after all, taking away Zhang Xueliang's life at the same time, but also taking away Lin Yuanquan's youthful vitality.
When Lin Yuanquan opened his mouth at Zhang Xueliang's funeral, everyone else looked solemn and listened carefully, in the eyes of most people, although Zhang Xueliang had no freedom, the Kuomintang treated him more politely, until they listened to Lin Yuanquan's words, they subverted their past understanding.
Lin Yuanquan said that at that time, there were more than 100 people responsible for monitoring Zhang Xueliang alone, and Zhang Xueliang could not even get out of the door when he watched closely.
Those people did not leave, so they blocked Zhang Xueliang inside, and even when they were eating, they were blocked outside, adding up to 4 tables.
Hearing this, everyone finally understood how sad Zhang Xueliang had been over the years, and the choking voice of many people was even more moving.
At a time when people are debating whether Zhang Xueliang is a "general who does not resist" and discussing his personal style, it seems that people have forgotten that he suffered 53 years of imprisonment for the revolution and that he spent half his life fighting against Japan.
As Chairman Mao put it, Zhang Xueliang was "a national hero who regretted the CCP."
Premier Zhou also said, "Regardless of whether General Zhang Xueliang is alive or dead, we in the Communist Party of China evaluate General Zhang Xueliang as a "national hero and a hero throughout the ages."
The heroes' exploits will never be buried, and history and the people will be the best journalists, and I would like to express my deep respect to the young marshal.