Zhang Xueliang is one of the few important historical figures in modern times who has lived past the age of 100. He was born in 1901 and did not die until 2001, witnessing the entire 20th century. In his later years, Zhang Xueliang occasionally gave interviews to the media or scholars, and once he said to the interviewees: "I did a big thing wrong, that is, I killed Yang Yuting by mistake." ”
Who is Yang Yuting? Why did Zhang Xueliang want to kill him?
Yang Yuting, a native of Liaoning, studied in Japan and graduated from the Infantry Department of the Japanese Army Non-Commissioned Officer School. Because Yang Yuting was good at strategizing, he was recruited by Zhang Zuolin very early on, and gradually became the core figure of fengjun, and was Zhang Zuolin's right and left arm.
After Zhang Zuolin's death, Zhang Xueliang took over the affairs of the Northeast Army. Yang Yuting, as a "relict elder of the former dynasty", was jealous of Zhang Xueliang. However, Zhang Xueliang's killing of Yang Yuting was far more than just suspicion.
After Zhang Zuolin's death, Zhang Xueliang succeeded his father and took charge of the Northeast Army. At this time, Zhang Xueliang was young and immature, so he especially relied on Yang Yuting. Yang Yuting was arrogant, he was a senior figure in the Northeast Army, with a high status and deep respect. Yang Yuting naturally did not put Zhang Xueliang, who was "smelly and undried", in his eyes. When Zhang Zuolin was killed, Yang Yuting inspected the troops in Luanzhou, and on June 6, Zhang Xueliang secretly went to Luanzhou to talk with Yang Yuting in secret. Zhang Xueliang told Yang Yuting that he was willing to hand over Fengtian to Yang Yuting, but Yang Yuting arrogantly said: "I can talk to your father, but I can't do things with you, and our views and practices are not the same." Zhang Xueliang was angry about this.
In addition, in handling the Zhang Zongchang incident, Yang Yuting went against Zhang Xueliang's will, causing Zhang Xueliang to kill. The thing is, after Zhang Zuolin's death, Zhang Zongchang felt that he had lost his dependence, and in Luanzhou, Zhang Zongchang's troops were defeated by the National Revolutionary Army, zhang Zongchang was in a dilemma, and he asked Zhang Xueliang to let him lead the remnants of the army to retreat to Guanwai. Although Zhang Xueliang and Zhang Zongchang were brothers, he did not have a good feeling for Zhang Zongchang, and Feng Jun was also very disgusted with Zhang Zongchang's capriciousness, so he refused to let him return to Guanwai and sent Yang Yuting to lead an army to meet Zhang Zongchang.
Yang Yuting is a person who understands, and hitting Zhang Zongchang is not a problem, the problem is how to deal with Zhang Zongchang if he is arrested. Was it killed on the spot? Or catch alive and come back? So he asked Zhang Xueliang, "What if you catch Zhang Zongchang?" ”
Zhang Xueliang groaned for a moment and then said, "Kill."
After Yang Yuting received a clear reply, he gladly led his troops out on the expedition. After the two sides fought, Zhang Zongchang's troops were indeed defeated, and Zhang Zongchang was also captured alive by Yang Yuting. However, Yang Yuting did not kill Zhang Zongchang, but instead said to Zhang Zongchang: "Han Qing told me to kill you, you should run away quickly, Guanwai is not your shelter." Zhang Zongchang heard the anger and fled overnight. When he arrived in Dalian safely, he was still angry and wrote a letter to Zhang Xueliang, who scolded him bitterly. Zhang Xueliang found out that Yang Yuting had sold him.
After Zhang Xueliang took power, Yang Yuting still went his own way and flew high. Since the time of Zhang Zuolin, Yang Yuting's position has changed a lot, but no matter how it changes, he has always served as the inspector of the Fengtian Arsenal and firmly controlled all the powers of the Fengtian Arsenal. Therefore, in the northeast, Yang Yuting was called Yang Zhifu. In the arsenal, he can spend money at will, ask for money at will, and others dare not interfere. After Zhang Xueliang took power, Yang Yuting still did not change his old attitude and went his own way. At that time, the director of the Fengtian Finance Department was Zhang Zhenhu, who was often scolded by Yang Yuting for not being able to pay the money. Over time, people believed that Zhang Shaoshuai was young and had no power, and that northeast affairs had to listen to Yang Yuting.
Zhang Xueliang advocated the change of banner in the northeast, and the emissaries sent by Guannei were all to see Yang Yuting first and see Zhang Xueliang again. Yang Yuting even said unashamedly, I can be the master of guanwai affairs, Han Qing is a child, do not have to pay attention to him.
Yang Yuting's practice made Zhang Xueliang very unhappy.
Yang Yuting had a close confidant, named Chang Yinhuai, who was an important think tank of Yang Yuting, and he advised Yang Yuting and cultivated private forces, while Yang Yuting guaranteed him as the chairman of the Northeast Transportation Commission.
Another time, Yang Yuting's mother celebrated her birthday, and prominent politicians in the northeast all came to the Yang family to celebrate. After the gift, everyone played cards and chatted at the Yang family, which was not lively. On this day, Zhang Xueliang also came to the Yang family to celebrate. When the entourage reported, Yang Yuting temporarily went out, and the officials of all sizes in the Yang family were not impressed by Zhang Xueliang's arrival, and continued to play cards and chat. Not long after, Yang Yuting returned. When the entourage reported, all the people in the room quieted down and stood up to greet Yang Yuting.
This scene deeply stung Zhang Xueliang. Therefore, Zhang Xueliang made up his mind to kill Yang Yuting.
On the afternoon of January 10, 1929, Yang Yuting and Chang Yinhuai came to the Tiger Hall of the Young Marshal's Mansion to discuss with Zhang Xueliang. They told Zhang Xueliang that the Middle East Railway was a Sino-Soviet joint railway, and had always refused to accept the command of the Northeast Transportation Commission, and asked Zhang Xueliang to order the establishment of the Northeast Railway Supervision Office, with Chang Yinhuai as the superintendent.
Zhang Xueliang was very angry about this, and he thought that the two were "forcing the palace". Therefore, Zhang Xueliang used the excuse that this matter had to wait for the approval of the Nanjing side. Yang Yuting, who was flying high, pressed forward step by step, saying: "We have already discussed this matter, so we will do it." You sign it and we'll make it public right away! ”
Zhang Xueliang was extremely angry, but he couldn't bear it. He said to Yang Yuting, now that it is time for dinner, I will first let people prepare meals, and after eating we will talk later.
Yang Yuting said: "This is also OK, the meal will not be eaten, we still have important things to go back to deal with." Besides, when we came, we had already told our families to prepare dinner, and we would come back after dinner to hear the results. After saying this, the two of them got up and resigned.
After Yang Yuting and Chang Yinhuai left, Zhang Xueliang hurriedly ordered the police commissioner Gao Jiyi to arrange for people to ambush them in the Tiger Hall, and when Yang and Chang returned, they would be put on the spot to face the law.
Not long after, the two did come to the Tiger Hall again. As soon as he entered the door, he did not see Zhang Xueliang, only to see Gao Jiyi leading 4 guards to surround them, and without saying a word, he shot on the spot. Yang Yuting and Chang Yinhuai were beaten into a sieve and killed on the spot. This incident is known as the "Yang Chang Incident".
After the news of the execution of Yang Yuting and Chang Yinhuai came out, the generals of the Northeast Army were horrified. Since then, no one has dared to despise Zhang Xueliang anymore.
In his later years, when Zhang Xueliang reflected on the Yang Chang incident, he regretted killing Yang Yuting. The main reason is that Yang Yuting is resourceful, very capable, rich in diplomatic experience, and is known as Zhuge Xiao. With him, the Northeast Army can play with the Three Forces of Japanese, Russians, and Nanjing. After his death, the Northeast Army could no longer find anyone with his ability. If he hadn't died, the September 18 Incident might not have been the result of the future, and the Japanese wouldn't have occupied all of Northeast China in just four months, and maybe the fate of Northeast China could have changed.
However, history cannot be assumed. The moment Zhang Xueliang chose to kill Yang Yuting, the fate of the northeast was already doomed.