In March 1959, Chiang Kai-shek ordered zhang Xueliang to be lifted from discipline, and the northeast young marshal who had been imprisoned as a "tiger" for nearly 23 years was finally free.
Young Zhang Xueliang
On the day that the "discipline" was lifted, when Zhang Xueliang's friend Zhang Qun told him, "Han Qing, you are free", Zhang Xueliang was stunned and did not react for half a day. He murmured and repeated, "Free? ”
Zhang Qun continued with a smile on his face: "Yes, you are free, the Central Standing Committee has just passed the 'president's' proposal to lift the 'control' of the Central Military Commission on you. ”
Zhang Qun's voice lagged behind, and the room was silent, for a long time, Miss Zhao Si's low sob broke the silence. Zhang Xueliang seemed to have finally returned to God, he slowly stood up from his chair, grabbed the placket on his chest with one hand, and supported the table with the other. Zhang Qun looked up, only to see that the "young marshal" was in tears...
That night, Zhang Xueliang and Zhao Si were in their residence in Yangmingshan, and they did not see the lights out all night: the two of them sat silently until dawn.
A few days after the news of Zhang Xueliang's release from discipline was spread, his residence in Yangmingshan instantly became lively.
One day, Zhang Qun came to visit him with countless old friends, and Zhang Xueliang saw that so many friends had come, and he was very happy in his heart, and he did not shout that he personally cooked for them to make food. Over the years, Zhang Xueliang has painstakingly studied cooking, and his level of fish making is particularly high.
It was only at this time that his former friends knew that the young marshal had been "closed" to a gourmet. When friends happily ridiculed him as a "gourmet", Zhao Si laughed and said:
"It's not easy for Han Qing to cook a first-hand dish. At that time in Hunan, he took the recipe in one hand, the spatula in the other, and recited the words in his mouth, so that I ate an unknown number of dishes that were either light and dead or salty! ”
The crowd laughed.
On that day, the old friends naturally had to ask "Zhang Xueliang's future plans" at the dinner table. Zhang Xueliang had just been freed, and naturally he had not had time to think about this question, and he could not answer it for a while.
When the old friends saw that Zhang Xueliang had no plans, they followed up with ideas, some advised him to "write a memoir first", some advised him to "continue to study the history of Ming", and for a time, the room was more lively.
On that day, Zhang Xueliang listened to the various suggestions they made, and while laughing, he responded to the peace, completely with a posture of "wanting to show his ambition and do a lot of work".
Zhang Xueliang has not really chosen any big project, he has been tied up for too long, he does not want to be bound by anything specific now, he prefers to "enjoy" freedom.
Although Zhang Xueliang was "restrained", his "freedom" was not "complete", and although he could freely enter and exit, all his whereabouts were still under surveillance. But "free access" has made Zhang Xueliang very happy, which he "didn't dare to think about" before.
Chang
After Zhang Xueliang was free, his favorite thing to do was to visit the market and go to the restaurant.
Zhang Xueliang most often visits the flower market, and every time he visits the flower market, he must buy orchids. Zhang Xueliang is famous for his love of orchids, and he has a deep study of orchids. He has done research on how orchids are watered, fertilized, and placed in what positions. He even subscribed to a professional magazine in order to raise orchids.
At the end of each year and the beginning of the year, it is the time when orchids are in full bloom, and Zhang Xueliang at this time must also appear on major orchid exchanges. After all, Zhang Xueliang is a popular figure, so he naturally does not dare to call himself "Mr. Zhang", and he calls himself "Mr. Zhao" to Lan You.
The "Mr. Zhao" in Lan You's eyes was rosy, mentally strong, and his voice was like a hong bell, and every time he appeared, he was in a white car, and there was a lady and three entourage around him.
After a long time, some people guessed that "Mr. Zhao" was Zhang Xueliang, and after all, the Friends of Kelan were all humble gentlemen, and they naturally did not brush the wishes of the young marshal, and still called "Mr. Zhao".
In addition to liking to visit the orchid market and watch the orchid exhibition, Zhang Xueliang's favorite thing to do after he was free was to go down to the restaurant.
Since the spring of 1959, Zhang Xueliang and Zhao Si have often appeared in major hotels, restaurants and restaurants in Taipei. The most "betrayal" of people in this life is their "stomach", and Zhang Xueliang's favorite thing to eat is the northeast cuisine of his hometown. Therefore, the most frequented place he goes to is a big hotel called "North Country House".
The Northern House knows it as soon as you hear it, and the specialty is to make northern cuisine. Here, Zhang Xueliang and Zhao Si can eat the pot roast pork belly, chestnut roast chicken and so on, which are common in the north.
Zhang Xueliang loves this shop very much, because not only the taste in the store is a northern specialty, the waiters and chefs are mostly northerners, and even the wine is also the taste of the north.
After his freedom, Zhang Xueliang's reading habits also changed, and he put more energy and time into studying the Bible. In the past, this was a way for him to get rid of his suffering, but now the Bible is more about comforting him.
He found that the Biblical "tribulations of life", "the tragedy of Cain's killing of his brother", "the misery of Alabham's sacrifice of the burnt sacrifice", "the joy of Jesus' birth", and so on, were leading him to another spiritual path.
After his freedom, Zhang Xueliang had the idea of converting to Christianity, and he was even allowed to enter the famous Shilin Church. This church is the place where Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling go every week and belong to a private church.
After breaking the rules and allowing them to enter and leave the Shilin Church, Zhang Xueliang and Zhao Si did not meet Chiang Kai-shek and his wife here. It turned out that the time of their prayer was "cleverly" staggered.
So, although they were facing the same altar, the same priest, they did not meet in the church.
Soon after, Zhang Xueliang and Miss Zhao Si made a request to the priest to be baptized, and they wanted to officially become Christians. Song Meiling took the initiative to call after knowing. She told Zhang Xueliang: "You are not yet eligible for baptism, according to the doctrine, you can only have one wife, but now you have two wives." ”
Zhang Xueliang was choked when he heard this, and he remembered that although he had been with Zhao Si for decades, his legal wife was always Yu Fengzhi on the other side of the ocean. And Zhao Si has always existed in the name of "secretary" over the years.
After thinking about it for countless days, Zhang Xueliang made a difficult choice: divorce Yu Fengzhi and marry Zhao Si.
The first on the left is Zhang Xueliang, and the fourth from the left is Yu Fengzhi
Zhang Xueliang's divorce procedures went smoothly, and Yu Fengzhi signed it without much hesitation after receiving his letter. She was preoccupied with the idea that "it would be better for Han Qing to do so," and later, she even said to her daughter Zhang Luying: "He has his grievances, which is political, and they are trying to cut off his way back to the United States." ”
On July 4, 1964, shortly after the divorce procedures were completed, Zhang Xueliang and Zhao Si held a wedding. This year, Zhang Xueliangnian was 63 years old, and Zhao Si was also 51 years old.
Their wedding took place in an apartment on Hangzhou South Road in Taipei, attended by Zhang Xueliang's former friends. The wedding ceremony was carried out completely according to the Western wedding ceremony, Zhang Xueliang wore a suit, and Zhao Si put on a lake blue cheongsam.
At that time, when the pastor asked Zhang Xueliang, "Would you like this woman to be your wife?", Zhang Xueliang replied happily, "I do." The pastor then asked Xiang ZhaoSi, "Do you want this man to be your husband?" After Zhao Si heard this, her eyes were tearful and her lips trembled, and she used almost all her strength to spit out the three words "I do."
This scene made everyone present extremely moved.
After exchanging wedding gifts, the couple accepted congratulations from friends.
Zhang Xueliang and Zhao Si
After the wedding, Zhao Si proposed to "go back". After hearing this, Zhang Xueliang was first stunned, and then immediately understood: in the past, she had been walking with him as a secretary, and now, she was an upright "Lady Zhang", and she wanted to hold him in a dignified manner, face the heavens and the earth, and face the world.
On April 5, 1975, 11 years after their marriage, Chiang Kai-shek suffered a heart attack and died at the Shilin Residence in Taipei at the age of 89. At this time, Zhang Xueliang was also 74 years old.
Zhang Xueliang and Miss Zhao Si attended Chiang Kai-shek's funeral, and on that day, he stood by the crystal coffin and stared at Chiang Kai-shek with his eyes closed for a long time, his feelings were too complicated. The man who had dominated his personal destiny, his political career, and even his life and death finally stopped breathing. But at this moment, he couldn't say whether it was sadness or joy in his heart.
Zhang Xueliang's handiwork that day wrote:
"Caring is like flesh and blood; the struggle between political opinions is like a vendetta."
These sixteen words perfectly interpret his complex feelings for Chiang Kai-shek.
Zhang Xueliang did not know that Chiang Kai-shek's last words left to his son Chiang Ching-kuo before his death were: "Don't let go of the tiger." And this "tiger" is no one else, it is Zhang Xueliang, who has been ended in control.
No one knows what exactly is the worry behind Chiang Kai-shek's "don't let go of the tiger", is he afraid that he will go to the United States? Or are you afraid that he will return to China? The answer to this question may only be known to him.
In order, Yan Xisan, Chiang Kai-shek, and Zhang Xueliang
In 1978, Chiang Ching-kuo, who had been chairman of the Kuomintang for two years, was elected "president" of the Taiwan authorities, and finally "inherited his father's business." After Zhang Xueliang learned the news, he called at the first time to congratulate him. Zhang Xueliang's "zealous" for him is also related to his desire for complete freedom.
After Chiang Kai-shek's death, Zhang Xueliang had the idea of going to the United States. The biggest reason he wanted to go to the United States was that his sons, daughters-in-law, daughters and sons-in-law were all in the United States, and many of his close friends were also settled in the United States.
But Zhang Xueliang also knows that he has only lifted the "discipline" now, and he has not yet fully gained freedom. Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for him to want to go to the United States.
Soon after Zhang Xueliang was released from discipline, he met his beloved daughter Zhang Luying and son-in-law Tao Pengfei. He had always known the situation of his daughter and son-in-law, but because of the discipline, they had never been able to see each other.
That meeting ignited Zhang Xueliang's longing for his loved ones. With the frequent visits of his sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren, he was even more eager to be reunited with them on the other side of the ocean.
Zhang Lulin is the only son of Zhang Xueliang and Zhao Si, who has been fostered in a friend's house in the United States since Zhang Xueliang was imprisoned. While studying at the University of California, he became acquainted with Chen Shuzhen, the niece of the Cantonese warlord Chen Jitang. Soon after falling in love, the two officially married and gave birth to two lovely sons.
Zhang Lulin was a filial child, and after his father was released from discipline, he and his wife would bring their sons to accompany their father every year. Zhang Xueliang liked his two grandsons very much, and he often lay on the ground to ride a big horse for his grandson.
In early 1981, Zhang Xueliang came to see chiang Ching-kuo and proposed: "I want to build a house near the outskirts of the city at my own expense." ”
The reason given by Zhang Xueliang is that he is old and has been living in Yangming Mountain, which is inconvenient to go up and down the mountain.
Chiang Ching-kuo immediately agreed, and he volunteered to say that he would personally choose the base and "definitely satisfy Lao Bo Zhang."
A month later, Chiang Ching-kuo chose a piece of land for Zhang Xueliang at Fuxinggang in Beitou, on the western outskirts of Taipei. After Zhang Xueliang saw this piece of land, he was very satisfied. Soon, Zhang Xueliang and Zhao Si moved into the mansion in Beitou.
It was a small gray building with a large courtyard in front of it, and the yard was lined with flowers and plants. On the other side of the road across the road from the courtyard, a security station surrounded by gray walls was built, which was the "security station" responsible for Zhang Xueliang's safety.
Zhang Xueliang receives guests at home
After moving into the new home, Zhang Xueliang and Zhao Si were extremely happy. On the same day, Zhang Xueliang excitedly said to his wife: "Finally have their own home, their own small home." It is hard to imagine that this is the words of Zhang Xueliang, who once lived in the "Grand Marshal's Mansion".
On the afternoon of January 13, 1988, Chiang Ching-kuo died of a heart attack. The next day, Zhang Xueliang was allowed to go to HuaiyuanTang to pay homage to the "president" who had been associated with him for nearly 46 years.
At this time, Zhang Xueliang was 87 years old, and he was already an elderly man in the true sense. When Zhang Xueliang, who had a slightly hunched back, thinning hair, and difficult steps, slowly walked into the spiritual hall, the journalist who had always been keen did not even notice that this old man was the famous General Zhang Xueliang.
After coming out of the spirit hall, Zhao Si wanted to take Zhang Xueliang back to the car, but Zhang Xueliang gently brushed away his wife's hand. He stared for a long time in front of the car at the mournful and low-back spiritual hall, and that gaze was clearly saying goodbye to an era and making a final farewell to a heavy history that could not be looked back.
With Chiang Ching-kuo's death, a wind of "rehabilitating Zhang Xueliang" blew up, and this wind was directly blown overseas. Soon, someone proposed to "immediately restore all freedom of Zhang Xueliang."
Since 1990, Zhang Xueliang has fully restored his personal freedom. Shortly before and after this, the news of Yu Fengzhi's death reached his ears. Those days, Zhang Xueliang kept crying and muttering, "How could she go before me?"
Yu Fengzhi's death gave Zhang Xueliang a great touch, and he realized that many things should be done early. Soon after, he resolutely went to the United States to visit despite his advanced age.
On March 10, 1991, Zhang Xueliang, who had been granted permission to go abroad, embarked on his way to the United States. On this day, when he walked out of the house, his and his wife's footsteps were extremely brisk. This kind of briskness, they had never had in decades before.
After visiting relatives in the United States and returning to Taipei, Zhang Xueliang, who felt truly free, finally made up his mind to settle in the United States.
In 1994, Zhang Xueliang auctioned all the literary plays, calligraphy and paintings in his collection, totaling more than 700 pieces, and the proceeds of this auction were more than NT$130 million.
Later, Zhang Xueliang's mansion in Taipei was sold, and the tables, chairs, and beds in the room were distributed to relatives and friends, which was the last step before he prepared to settle in the United States.
In 1995, Zhang Xueliang and his wife left Taiwan and lived in Hawaii, where they lived for a long time.
In his later years, Zhang Xueliang, who was in a foreign country, missed his hometown very much, and he often hung up "I want to go home", "I want to go back to the northeast", and "I want my father". He was not unmoved by his desire to return, at first he was hindered by political choices to postpone his return, and later, when everything was ripe, his age did not allow him to return.
He finally survived to the day of complete freedom, but his body trapped his freedom...
At 14:50 on October 14, 2001, Zhang Xueliang died of illness in Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii, at the age of 101. It was only on this day that Zhang Xueliang completely and completely "restored his freedom." Come to think of it, after freedom, "he" must "return" to his beloved homeland...