At 5:30 a.m. on June 4, 1928, when Zhang Zuolin, grand marshal of the Republic of China Army and Navy and the leader of the Fengzhi warlords, was riding a special train passing through the Sandong Bridge at the intersection of the Beijing-Fengfeng and South Manchuria railways, the train was blown up by the Japanese Kwantung Army's buried explosives, and Zhang Zuolin was seriously injured and sent back to Shenyang, where he died on the same day. At this time, the situation in the northeast was coveted by the Eastern Army at the inside, and there was a tiger vision of the Northern Expeditionary Army outside, and if it was not careful, it would fall into chaos and ruin Zhang Zuolin's half-life effort. At this time, Zhang Xueliang, who had been pinned on Zhang Zuolin to succeed to the throne, was still in Beijing, and the top level of the Feng clan who remained in Shenyang decided not to mourn in view of the complicated situation and wait for Zhang Xueliang's return.
In the face of sudden changes, Zhang Xueliang did not panic, and after careful and calm thinking, he did not immediately return to Shenyang, but continued to arrange the retreat of the Feng army in Beijing with Yang Yuting. It wasn't until June 11, a week later, that Zhang Xueliang shaved his hair, put on the gray uniforms of soldiers, and secretly left the customs by train.
On June 19, as soon as Zhang Xueliang returned to the Shuai Mansion in Shenyang, he imitated Zhang Zuolin's handwriting to sign a will on his behalf: "Yu unfortunately returned to danger on the way back, and now he is sick and dead... Now with Fengtian heavy responsibility to pay Xueliang, Wang Rushan as the cooking..." With this will, Zhang Xueliang swore an oath to be the military governor of Fengtian Province, and took the power of one of the most important provinces in the three eastern provinces.
At that time, the forces in the northeast were divided into three forces, zhang Xueliang's "tu faction" with lu da and tangwutang graduates as his concubines controlled the most elite third and fourth fronts in the Feng army; Zhang Zuolin's "old faction" headed by his brother Zhang Zuoxiang held the military power of the Fifth Front; and the "foreign faction" with chief of staff Yang Yuting as the core. Among them, Zhang Xueliang's strength is the strongest, and Yang Yuting's military power is limited and his strength is the weakest. Who would inherit the seat left by Zhang Zuolin was a difficult problem facing the Feng family.
After weighing up and consulting with his staff, Zhang Xueliang decided to nominate Zhang Zuoxiang. Who knew that he had even resigned to the position of "King of the Northeast" and demanded that Zhang Xueliang be re-elected. It turned out that Zhang Zuoxiang was a generous man, senior and meritorious, and although he was deeply respected among the warlords of the Feng clan, he was quite self-aware. He knew that his talent was limited and insufficient to cope with the dangerous situation in the northeast, and he was afraid that after coming to power, he would be overwhelmed and be bowed down, which would be self-defeating; on the other hand, he also knew that Zhang Xueliang's own strength was strong and he might not be willing to submit to him.
Zhang Xueliang supported Zhang Zuoxiang in large part because the situation forced him, not completely sincerely, and when he saw that Zhang Zuoxiang was not willing to resign, he pushed the boat along the water and sat on the throne of the commander-in-chief. Yang Yuting was arranging for the Feng army to retreat in Guannei, and when he saw Zhang Xueliang and Zhang Zuoxiang uniting, he had no choice but to issue a telegram announcing his support for Zhang Xueliang. But in fact, Yang Yuting was not reconciled, and twice secretly met Bai Chongxi in Luanzhou, hoping that the latter would help him replace Zhang Xueliang.
After Zhang Xueliang took over as the commander-in-chief of security in the three eastern provinces, he immediately faced a headache. Outside guanwai, the Japanese army wanted to fill the gap and coveted the entire territory of the northeast for a long time; inside Guannei, the Northern Expeditionary Army advanced step by step, aiming to unify the whole country and oppress the northeast to obey the orders of the National Government. Neither Japan nor the national government will let the Bong clan be on its own; how to choose is related to the future and destiny of the Bong clan.
The Japanese and Zhang Xueliang have a vendetta against their father, and Japan's desire to be in the northeast is becoming more and more difficult to satisfy, even if he wants to maintain the current relationship, the Japanese will not agree, and if they turn to Japan, they will also bear the name of traitor. After thinking about it, Zhang Xueliang decided to attach himself to Nanjing, using the state government as a "shield" to handle negotiations with Japan instead of himself.
The Northeast Yizhi is bound to infringe on Japan's interests, and the Japanese side vigorously opposes and constantly exerts pressure, but due to the resolute stand of the Nationalist Government and the Fengzhi, and the pressure exerted by Britain, the United States, and other countries, Japan was forced to make concessions on the Northeast issue, change its original position of not hesitating to intervene by force, and also want to prevent China's reunification, calling the Northeast Yizhi "China's internal affairs issue." In addition to Japan, Yang Yuting, Yuan Jinjiao, and others within the Feng clan also opposed Yi Zhi, but as things developed, the opposition of Yang Yuting and others could not find sufficient reasons, and finally had to put an end to the banner.
On December 29, 1928, the five-color flag was lowered throughout the northeast and the red flag was hung in the blue sky and white sun, which meant that the Beiyang government was completely overthrown and the National Government achieved national unification.
External pressure has temporarily eased, but internal contradictions have become more acute, and Zhang Xueliang needs to cross the hurdle of Becoming the True King of Northeast China and Yang Yuting. When the northeast changed its name, Yang Yuting initially strongly opposed it, and had a disagreement with Zhang Xue's conscience. Yang Yuting is an orthodox soldier who does not smoke and drink, has no hobbies, and has been conceited and competitive all his life, and he seems to be a protector of Zhang Xueliang, pointing fingers in front of Zhang Xueliang. In addition, he also colluded with Chang Yinhuai, the governor of Heilongjiang Province, to try to influence the political situation as a senator on major issues in the northeast, and to run counter to Zhang Xueliang.
Unable to bear this, Zhang Xueliang decided to take action against Yang Yuting. On the evening of January 10, 1929, Yang and Chang forced Zhang Xueliang to set up the Northeast Railway Supervision Office and asked him to sign a note appointing Chang Yinhuai as the inspector. This move prompted Zhang Xueliang to make up his mind and execute Yang and Chang in the "Tiger Hall". However, Yang Yuting had always been a heavy minister in the northeast during his father's reign, and it is said that Zhang Xueliang had been hesitant before giving the order, and only after throwing silver dollars three times to ask for advice did he make up his mind to kill Yang.
Yang Yuting and Chang Yinhuai were killed, and Zhang Xueliang truly became a new generation of "Northeast Kings". In May 1930, when the Central Plains War broke out, taking advantage of the exhaustion of the fight between the two sides, Zhang Xueliang telegraphed that "all parties should strike on the same day to relieve the people's difficulties" and "wait for the central government (Nanjing) to take measures", and the Feng army took the opportunity to re-enter the customs. On October 9, Zhang Xueliang was inaugurated as the deputy commander of the national army, navy and air force in Shenyang, and became the number two person in the country who held the territory of northeast and north China.