Speaking of Zhang Zuolin, the "King of the Northeast", the first thing that comes to mind is his eldest son, the young marshal Zhang Xueliang. After his father was killed, he changed the flag and changed the banner, forced Jiang to resist Japan, and created the Xi'an Incident. The young marshal, who once had unlimited scenery, was imprisoned for half his life.
However, the Zhang family is not only a patriotic general Zhang Xueliang, Zhang Xueliang's fourth brother Zhang Xuesi is also a patriotic general, after the founding of New China, he also became the founding major general of the mainland.
Although Zhang Xuesi came from a family of warlords, he was very disgusted by the warlord's style. Zhang Xuesi joined the Chinese Communist Party at an early age and became a general. In 1940, Zhang Xuesi and his wife Xie Xueping met in Yan'an and married each other.
On June 10, 2000, Xie Xueping came to the United States with her children. The purpose of their trip was to pay homage to their eldest brother Zhang Xueliang, who is now 100 years old. When they came to the United States, in fact, Zhang Xueliang's birthday had passed several days ago, because some things did not attend the birthday party on time.
Although the sister-in-law missed her birthday banquet, this did not affect Zhang Xueliang's eagerness to see her relatives. As I grew older, my relatives and old friends around me left one by one. Thinking of having relatives from the motherland come to visit him, Zhang Xueliang's heart was excited.
On that day, Zhang Xueliang was dressed in a suit and glasses, although the pace was a little slow,
I can vaguely glimpse the heroic posture of the storm clouds and the battlefield.
This meeting was the first time the two had met. This year, Xie Xueping is already eighty years old, and for the first time to visit this big brother who has never met, Xie Xueping's heart is full of anxiety and uneasiness.
After the two met, the elderly Zhang Xueliang did not have very good eyesight. When he saw this sister-in-law who had never met, he always stared at it, and his eyes never left. The two people who met for the first time seemed a little cramped, and they seemed to have a lot to say in their hearts, but they didn't know where to start.
The emotional bond between the two is only Zhang Xuesi, who will naturally talk about some things before Zhang Xuesi, Zhang Xueliang said, "The fourth brother is a person with backbone, and he admires this younger brother the most." When Zhang Xueliang mentioned the death of his brother, a trace of sadness could not help but arise in his heart. Regarding his brother's death, Zhang Xueliang seemed to want to say something, but he wanted to say something again and again, and finally did not say anything.
Xie Xueping's daughter saw that the atmosphere was a little low. So she took out the photo album prepared in advance, which contained photos of her father, and she gently handed it to Zhang Xueliang. He took the photo album, saw his brother's picture, and was silent for a long time.
Zhang Xueliang was very humorous when talking to the crowd, talking about the funny things about his youth and the stories between the brothers in the Marshal's Mansion. Politics and the important events he experienced were always avoided. If someone mentions it, Zhang Xueliang always says, "I don't even remember." Xie Xueping also saw that the eldest brother was reluctant to talk about politics-related topics.
In fact, Xie Xueping has always wanted to ask the eldest brother in her heart, was the "Confession of the Xi'an Incident" written by you?
Every time the words came to the lips, they did not say the mouth. Now it seems that even if she asked the eldest brother, she would not get an answer.
Although Zhang Xueliang, who is already a hundred years old, is talkative and sometimes has a sense of humor. But the words he always hangs on his lips make everyone feel sad. Every time Zhang Xueliang talks about a conversation, he will bring a sentence :I think of my father, I think of my father, I want to go back, I want to go home, I want to go back to the northeast..." And always repeat!
Zhang Xueliang, who was in his twilight years, thoughts about home and his father were deeply rooted in his mind.
In fact, Zhang Xueliang had several opportunities to return to the mainland, but in the end they did not materialize for various reasons. In 1991, Zhang Xueliang called Zhang Ji, an old subordinate in the northeast, and expressed that he wanted to return to his homeland to have a look in his lifetime.
Wang Ji conveyed Zhang Xueliang's ideas to the central authorities, and our party very much supported Zhang Xueliang's return to his hometown. To this end, Deng Xiaoping also specially issued an invitation letter to Zhang Xueliang. But in the end, because of the obstruction of the "old Li" in the Taiwan region, it did not materialize.
Although this trip back to his hometown did not come true, Zhang Xueliang did not give up at this time, and expressed his desire to return to his hometown to see it several times in public.
Zhang Xueliang, who was waiting to return to his hometown, had another excellent opportunity two years later. At that time, Ding Zhongjiang proposed in Beijing that Jiang Weiguo and Zhang Xueliang return to the mainland together to visit the provinces of Xi'an, passing through Xikou, Shenyang and Xi'an, and finally holding a historical seminar in Xi'an, once again arousing the people's understanding of the Xi'an Incident.
This time, the two sides of the strait finally reached an agreement and agreed to each other's journey. I don't know if it was created to make man, or if it was Providence. Shortly after this matter was finalized, Jiang Weiguo and Miss Zhao Si both fell ill.
Jiang Weiguo was admitted to the hospital due to a heart attack, and he did not know when he would recover. Miss Zhao Si, who was by Zhang Xueliang's side, was also hospitalized due to illness. This trip was only left by Zhang Xueliang, and naturally could not be completed. In the endless helplessness, Zhang Xueliang's plan to return to his hometown was once again frustrated.
After Miss Zhao Si recovered, Zhang Xueliang and she sold all their belongings, left Taiwan, and officially immigrated to Hawaii, the United States.
Although Zhang Xueliang moved to the United States, his longing for his hometown has not changed at all, and whenever he thinks of his hometown, Zhang Xueliang's conscience is full of helplessness. He also often put "I think of my father, I think of my father, I want to go back, I want to go home, I want to go back to the northeast..."
Xie Xueping looked at the big brother who was lost, and it was clear that he had taken "I think of my father, I want to go home" as a mantra, and his few mantras made Xie Xueping listen to extreme heartache.
In order to change the subject, Xie Xueping took out the gifts that had been prepared from home before
Distribute it to everyone. Looking at the gifts from his hometown, Zhang Xueliang showed a smile. However, the next thing made Zhang Xueliang fall into sadness.
When Xie Xueping took out a silk scarf scarf for miss Zhao Si, the eldest sister-in-law, she said with some excitement: "This is for the eldest sister-in-law." After Zhang Xueliang heard this, his face changed again, and he took the silk scarf and murmured, "I can't live if she (Zhao Si) dies." ”
The reason why Zhang Xueliang said this sentence is because Miss Zhao Si was admitted to the hospital after attending the birthday banquet, and this time Miss Zhao Si was probably more fierce.
The next day, Xie Xueping took the child to the hospital to visit her sister-in-law, at this time Miss Zhao Si was already very weak and could not speak. Xie Xueping called out to her sister-in-law several times in a row, and Miss Zhao Si opened her eyes slightly, and then fell into a coma. The doctor said she didn't have much time anymore!
So Xie Xueping changed her original itinerary plan and accompanied Zhang Xueliang through the most difficult days. It turned out that just a few days after Zhang Xueliang's hundredth birthday, Miss Zhao Si died. A few days later, Miss Zhao Si passed away. The woman who had accompanied Zhang Xueliang for more than seventy years left.
Seeing his wife die, Zhang Xueliang was in great pain, and Xie Xueping could only keep comforting Zhang Xueliang: "Big brother, you are a man who stands tall in the sky, you have to stand up." It's okay, people are like this. ”
At this time, Zhang Xueliang was silent, did not say a word, just silently looked at the distance. The death of Miss Zhao Si hit Zhang Xueliang hard, as if his heart had also left.
When Xie Xueping left, she made an agreement with her eldest brother that she would visit him again next year. In 2001, Xie Xueping came to Hawaii again to visit Zhang Xueliang according to the agreement. This time, the two of them lost the vitality of the first meeting.
This time the two talked very happily, Zhang Xueliang still told the story of his youth endlessly, and his spirit was much better. Xie Xueping once thought that the eldest brother had come out of the pain of losing his wife. At this meeting, Zhang Xueliang still kept repeating the sentence "I think of my father, I think of my father, I want to go back, I want to go home, I want to go back to the northeast..."
And when they left, the two agreed again to see you next year. Zhang Xueliang also happily agreed. However, no one expected that Zhang Xueliang, who seemed healthy, died a few months after his 101st birthday.
Upon receiving the news, Xie Xueping immediately rushed to Hawaii to attend the funeral of her eldest brother. On April 8, 2022, Xie Xueping also closed her eyes and passed away.
Zhang Xueliang read the words for a long time, and thought about "going home" for a long time, but in the end it was not realized.