On April 5, 1975, Chiang Kai-shek passed away, leaving this world forever with a lifetime of success and failure, glory and humiliation, merit and fault. At his funeral, Soong Mei-ling personally took an old man to Chiang Kai-shek's body to make a final farewell.
Only to see that the old man bowed deeply, gently touching the crystal coffin, his fingers trembling slightly, with a trace of grief in his eyes, and a dignified look. That old man was Zhang Xueliang, who launched the "Xi'an Incident." Zhang Xueliang came to the scene and caused a lot of sensations, everyone's eyes were focused on Zhang Xueliang's body, he sent a 16-character elegy, Jiang Jingguo looked pale after reading it, and bowed his head.
In China's modern history, whether it is Zhang Xueliang or Chiang Kai-shek, they are big figures that cannot be ignored. They have supreme power and status, turning their hands into clouds and overturning their hands into rain, and they have experienced the most turbulent moments in China.
Chiang Kai-shek's enmity with Zhang Xueliang lasted for half a century. From December 1928, when Zhang Xueliang announced the change of northeast China, ending the chaotic situation of beiyang warlords since the Republic of China and accepting the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek, their fates had been linked.
In the 1930 Central Plains War, Zhang Xueliang issued a "peaceful telegram", and after leading the army into the customs, the Yan and Feng cliques instantly collapsed, helping Chiang Kai-shek to win a great victory. Chiang Kai-shek said to Zhang Xueliang: Friends are like chests, and there is no regret in death! Chiang Kai-shek later appointed Zhang Xueliang as deputy commander of the navy, army and air force, second only to Chiang Kai-shek, and his power and prestige rose sharply, becoming a new star on the international stage.
At this time, Zhang Xueliang reached the peak of his life. But things are bound to be reversed, no one is smooth sailing, and no one is always unlucky. In 1936, also in the cold winter, Zhang Xueliang launched the Xi'an Incident to advise Chiang Kai-shek to resist the War.
From then on, their relationship is no longer what it used to be, and this incident is crucial, both for their own destiny and for the fate of the entire Chinese nation. In order to take care of Chiang Kai-shek's face, Zhang Xueliang personally sent Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing, but this time, he lost his freedom again.
Zhang Xueliang was put under house arrest by Chiang Kai-shek, and if it were not for the protection of Soong Mei-ling, Soong Zi-wen and others, the final outcome might have been far more cruel than this. Zhang Xueliang's life stopped in December 1936, and Zhang Xueliang was eventually placed under house arrest for half a century. In 1954, Zhang Xueliang had great respect for Chiang Kai-shek and hoped to be able to release his former suspicions with Chiang Kai-shek.
However, before chiang kai-shek died, he said to his son Chiang Ching-kuo: You must not let the tiger go, and you must not let the Northeast tiger return to the mountain. When Zhang Xueliang learned of Chiang Kai-shek's last words, his heart was very angry and cold. After Chiang Kai-shek's death, Zhang Xueliang sent a pair of banglian, which wrote: "The care of Yin. The struggle between political opinions is like a vendetta."
When Chiang Ching-kuo saw it, his face turned pale and he bowed his head and did not speak; these sixteen words represented the relationship between Chiang Kai-shek and Zhang Xueliang, and these 16 words represented the grace and resentment of the two of them throughout their lives.