On December 12, 1936, Zhang Xueliang, the leader of the Northeast Army, and Yang Hucheng, one of the leaders of the Nationalist Army, launched the Xi'an Incident to force Chiang Kai-shek to unite with the Communists to resist Japan, and put Chiang Kai-shek under house arrest. At that time, Yang Hucheng advocated the killing of Chiang Kai-shek, but Zhang Xueliang tried his best to prevent it for various reasons. At that time, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng had an extremely fierce quarrel, but their original intention was the same, that is, they hoped that the two parties could unite and jointly resist the Japanese army.
The Kuomintang side sent Song Meiling to negotiate, but Yang Hucheng insisted on refusing to agree to the Kuomintang's demands and released Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing. Yang Hucheng believes that his act of "kidnapping" Chiang Kai-shek with Zhang Xueliang has completely formed a vendetta against Chiang Kai-shek, and if he agrees to the Kuomintang's request at this time, I am afraid that there will be endless troubles in the future. As a brother of the opposite sex who was friends of Chiang Kai-shek's eight worships, Zhang Xueliang knew yang Hucheng's reasoning and affection, and finally persuaded Yang Hucheng to accept negotiations with the Kuomintang.
On December 25, 1936, when the Xi'an Incident was finally resolved peacefully, Zhang Xueliang himself asked to personally escort Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing. It wasn't that he didn't know how dangerous the trip was, it was just that he knew that he couldn't escape this fate no matter what. Sure enough, after getting off the plane, Zhang Xueliang was immediately put under house arrest and even sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Although Yang Hucheng temporarily escaped the clutches of the devil, he was eventually tricked into going to the Dai Gong Ancestral Hall and brutally killed with a dagger. Just by talking about shooting and a dagger, no one can determine whether Yang Hucheng died under the muzzle of the gun or under the dagger. This matter was ordered by Chiang Kai-shek, and after learning that Yang Hucheng was killed, Zhang Xueliang was also worried all day long, and he understood that he might not be able to escape this fate after all. It's just that he still has infinite guilt for Yang Hucheng, and his former allies have died, and of course his heart is not comfortable.
Chiang Kai-shek imprisoned Zhang Xueliang for 54 years, and when Chiang Kai-shek died, he specifically told his son Chiang Ching-kuo not to release Zhang Xueliang. Although Chiang Kai-shek left Zhang Xueliang's life, the brilliant career of the young marshal came to an abrupt end after he was placed under house arrest. When Zhang Xueliang regained his freedom, he was already a ninety-year-old man. He had hoped to return to the Northeast he knew best, but for various reasons he chose to travel to the United States. First travel around the world, feel the freedom that was once unexperienced, and the beautiful scenery of all parts of the world, and finally choose to retire with peace of mind.
The descendants of Yang Hucheng and the descendants of Zhang Xueliang have exchanges with each other. And Zhang Xueliang also wrote a letter to Yang Hucheng's grandson Yang Han, and the contacts between the two families were still relatively close. When Yang Han personally went to the United States to visit Zhang Xueliang, who was already 100 years old, Yang Han felt that the young marshal who had been born and died with his grandfather Yang Hucheng seemed to be very different from what he imagined.
Although Zhang Xueliang was 100 years old at that time and could only sit in a wheelchair, his mind and language were still very clear. Unlike the cordial exchange in the letter, after Yang Han said his grandfather's instructions to Zhang Xueliang, Zhang Xueliang looked at Yang Han and trembled slightly, and then sighed a long breath, which seemed to be very difficult to say."
Hello, hello.
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Zhang Xueliang had no way to mention Yang Hucheng in front of Yang Han, because his heart was full of guilt for Yang Hucheng and he also had infinite thoughts about his comrades-in-arms. Yang Hucheng at that time was Exactly what Yang Han is at today, he looked at Yang Han, but his heart was full of Yang Hucheng's shadow. He could no longer mention the blood of that year with great enthusiasm, nor could he return to the land he was most familiar with, and even when facing the relatives and grandchildren of his comrades-in-arms, he could only say "Hello". The first good is a greeting, and the second good is to ask Yang Han if the Yang family has had a good life over the years.