Zhang Xueliang, as Zhang Zuolin's son, inherited his father's patriotic enthusiasm in his bones.
Therefore, we can decisively take action when the motherland is in danger and urge all forces to resist foreign enemies with all their might.
Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng jointly participated in the "Xi'an Incident", which contributed to the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to resist Japan.
After the "Xi'an Incident", although both of them were hated by Chiang Kai-shek, the final direction of life was diametrically opposite.
General Yang Hucheng was killed by Chiang Kai-shek, but Zhang Xueliang was ultimately punished by house arrest.
So what was the reason that Chiang Kai-shek, who had always had a vendetta, gave up the idea of killing Zhang Xueliang?
After the "Xi'an Incident," Chiang Kai-shek analyzed the pros and cons of it after many considerations, and finally took into account four factors, which forced him to let Zhang Xueliang go.
I. Bourgeois dictators
As a young man, Chiang Kai-shek had a high enthusiasm for the bourgeois revolution and joined the ranks of the bourgeois revolution led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen very early.
And through their own efforts they play an important role in the revolutionary ranks.
In his youth, Chiang Kai-shek was trusted and appreciated by Dr. Sun Yat-sen. In the end, Dr. Sun Yat-sen handed over the banner of bourgeois revolution to Chiang Kai-shek.
After Chiang Kai-shek gained power, he gradually deviated from the revolutionary purpose of Dr. Sun Yat-sen and began a power struggle with the Beiyang warlords.
Chiang Kai-shek can be described as an outstanding talent in the military field.
In the era of warlordism, he stood out and seized the supreme leadership of the state apparatus, thus becoming the representative of a true capitalist dictator.
The interest groups represented by Chiang Kai-shek are the big bourgeois capitalists and imperialism.
So when Chiang Kai-shek became the ruler of the supreme power of the state apparatus, he immediately began to suppress other organizations that threatened the development of capitalism.
Among them, the most obvious suppression is the proletarian revolutionary organization represented by the Communist Party.
In the early 1930s, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized military forces from all sides to carry out many "encirclement and suppression" of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in the growing stage.
Although, under the leadership of our party, these crises have been successfully resolved.
But Chiang Kai-shek has always regarded the organizations that threaten his rule as enemies and has never given up on the idea of attacking them.
Even when Japanese imperialism launched an all-out aggression against China, Chiang Kai-shek still adhered to the policy of "foreign countries must first be at home."
Still making the elimination of competitors its main political goal. It was not until the patriotic generals Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng launched the "Xi'an Incident" that Chiang Kai-shek was forced to participate in the anti-Japanese resistance.
2. The Just Xi'an Incident
In the winter of 1936, the Japanese invaders were waging a war in the northeast region. Chiang Kai-shek, on the other hand, was still running around for the sake of "suppressing the Communists."
At this time, Zhang Xueliang, a patriotic general in the northeast, saw the seriousness of the situation and believed that the anti-Japanese resistance should be regarded as the primary task today. He came to Chiang Kai-shek many times to give advice.
But Chiang Kai-shek, who had been blinded by his interests, not only did not listen to his opinion, but severely reprimanded him.
Unwilling to accept that the motherland had been invaded by foreign enemies in this way, Zhang Xueliang contacted several other patriotic generals and was determined to force Chiang Kai-shek to stop "suppressing the Communists" and unite to resist Japan through military advice.
In the end, with the joint efforts of Zhang Xueliang and General Yang Hucheng, Chiang Kai-shek agreed to join forces with the Chinese Communists to resist the invasion of foreign enemies.
Chiang Kai-shek also successfully escaped from the "Xi'an Incident" with the assistance of various forces.
The "Xi'an Incident" was very just from a historical point of view.
But from Chiang Kai-shek's point of view, this incident was a very humiliating existence throughout his political career. Chiang Kai-shek naturally hated his soldiers to the bone.
However, Chiang Kai-shek made it clear in the settlement agreement of the "Xi'an Incident" at that time that he would not punish those who consulted the soldiers.
Therefore, he could not clearly eliminate the jealous people, but as a person who had revenge, Chiang Kai-shek had long thought about how to deal with these "criminal subjects."
Three, different life endings
As the two important figures of the "Xi'an Incident", Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng had a completely different ending.
On the eve of liberation, General Yang Hucheng was brutally killed in prison by the Kuomintang reactionaries and his body was destroyed with chemicals. Although Zhang Xueliang was placed under house arrest for most of his life, he was finally released. Why do the two have very different endings?
The reason why Chiang Kai-shek secretly arranged for General Yang Hucheng to be killed by hand in the early stages of his final escape from the mainland.
There are the following reasons, first, Yang Hucheng was born mediocre and had no background, and he was only a fluke winner of the people's uprising at the bottom. Second, the northwest region under the command of Yang Hucheng was backward and did not have to worry about the troops revolting and rebelling.
Third, Yang Hucheng is not Chiang Kai-shek's concubine, but just a pawn that Chiang Kai-shek has favored in the power struggle, and now this chess piece has no effect and naturally has to be abandoned.
Fourth, Yang Hucheng was opposed to many of Chiang Kai-shek's policies, especially on the issue of "suppressing the Communists," so Chiang Kai-shek resolutely and resolutely eliminated him at the last moment.
Why, then, did Chiang Kai-shek adopt a more tolerant attitude toward Zhang Xueliang? In fact, in Chiang Kai-shek's heart, he also very much wanted to get rid of Zhang Xueliang, the leader of the "rebel army."
However, after weighing the pros and cons of many parties, there are four factors that prompt him not to get rid of Zhang Xueliang.
First, the Fengzhi warlord represented by Zhang Xueliang was very powerful. The Warlords of the Feng Clan have been occupying the northeast for many years, well-equipped and brave, and the soldiers are very loyal to the Zhang family.
If Chiang Kai-shek kills Zhang Xueliang, it will inevitably cause turmoil in the current situation and will inevitably cause serious obstruction to Chiang Kai-shek's rule.
Second, Zhang Xueliang once played a key role in helping Chiang Kai-shek stabilize his ruling position.
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek and the anti-Chiang Kai-shek alliance were playing in the Central Plains, and at the critical moment, Zhang Xueliang led the Fengzhi army into the battlefield, allowing the old Chiang Kai-shek to turn the tide and stabilize the regime.
Third, during the negotiation of the Xi'an Incident, Chiang Kai-shek's wife, Soong Mei-ling, and his brother-in-law had vigorously persuaded him to open up to Zhang Xueliang.
Chiang Kai-shek agreed in order to be able to get out of the predicament smoothly, and if he rebelled now, he would inevitably fall into the scolding of not talking about credit.
Fourth, compared with Yang Hucheng's sophistication, Zhang Xueliang was relatively immature, and Chiang Kai-shek believed that Zhang Xueliang was instigated by Yang Hucheng to dare to "advise him."
Therefore, Yang Hucheng is the biggest "sinner", and Zhang Xueliang is just an accessory who can be lenient.
IV. Summary
Chiang Kai-shek was the most authoritative presence in political circles during the Republic of China period. At that time, with the support of the big capitalists in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, coupled with the favor of imperialism, it can be said that at that time there were basically no forces that could compete with them.
It was just that his ambitions were too great, he misanalyzed the situation at that time, and eventually went down the road of failure.
Zhang Xueliang, as a second-generation military, did not covet pleasure. Instead, he shouldered the heavy responsibility of the rise and fall of the motherland on his shoulders and changed the course of history with wisdom and courage. He devoted his life to the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan.