On April 25, 1975, Chiang Kai-shek died of a heart attack in Taipei. On the eve of his death, Chiang Kai-shek specially summoned his son Chiang Ching-kuo and explained to him the important matters he had not given up before his death, including the question of how to deal with Zhang Xueliang.
When she heard the reason why Zhang Xueliang was not released, the wife Song Meiling, who was beside her, could not help but shed two lines of tears: she still failed to change her husband's will and fulfill the promise she made to Han Qing (Zhang Xueliang's word).
So what exactly did Chiang Kai-shek say that made Soong Mei-ling burst into tears? What promise did Song Meiling make to Zhang Xueliang when he was imprisoned?
Figure 丨 Chiang Kai-shek
It is difficult to fully fraternity before the country is in danger
In 1928, Zhang Zuolin died, and Zhang Xueliang took over the position of commander-in-chief of his father and took charge of the northeast. The sudden death of his father left the situation in the northeast chaotic.
In the face of the future development of the northeast, there are only three roads in front of Zhang Xueliang: First, close yourself and continue to monopolize the northeast; 2. Accept the "peace talks" of the National Government in Nanjing to change the flag and change the banner; Third, turn to the Japanese.
As the saying goes, "The revenge of killing one's father is not to wear heaven together", and succumbing to the Japanese is sorry for his father, whose bones are not yet cold, and for the great national righteousness in his bones, Zhang Xueliang will never allow himself to seek perfection from the invaders.
However, Japan's desire to obtain the northeast is becoming increasingly strong, although it is currently forced by the situation to rush out of the army, but after all, it is a fledgling junior, in case there is any emergency in the future, it is really difficult to overwhelm.
Picture 丨 Zhang Zuolin
In the end, Zhang Xueliang decided to choose to defect to the National Government in Nanjing, and this decision was inseparable from Chiang Kai-shek's impetus.
As early as when Zhang Xueliang was a young marshal, some people said that he was far away from his father, and even mocked him as a "dog son" born of "tiger father". Therefore, when Zhang Zuolin died suddenly, although Zhang Xueliang was the nominal commander-in-chief, the people in the army did not obey him.
Zhang Xueliang's prestige in the military was even inferior to that of Yang Yuting, a subordinate who had followed his father for many years. When his regime was in jeopardy, Zhang Xueliang killed Yang Yuting, and the situation in the army became more turbulent.
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek's troops captured Jinan, and the anti-Chiang coalition showed a trend of decline.
Picture 丨 Zhang Xueliang
Chiang Kai-shek's confidence in unifying China has soared, but the "Jinan Massacre" that broke out earlier is well remembered, and considering that the continued use of force will cause Japanese interference in northeast China, Chiang Kai-shek is more inclined to solve it by political means.
So he found Zhang Xueliang, and the two of them finally reached an agreement after much thought and discussion.
On December 29, 1928, Zhang Xueliang, as the leader of the warlord forces in the northeast, sent a telegram to the whole country. The news that the northeast changed its flag and accepted the commander-in-chief of the National Government shocked the whole country.
On the one hand, Yizhi calmly attacked the intention of the Japanese to invade and occupy the northeast, and on the other hand, he also supported the National Government, which completed the formal unification of the whole country and enhanced its prestige throughout the country.
Pictured by Chiang Kai-shek and Zhang Xueliang
The northeast Yizhi was the first major event that Zhang and Jiang jointly promoted after they had intersected. Later, Chiang Kai-shek's power gradually became larger, and he stood out from the followers of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, causing others to be jealous and dissatisfied.
When the Great War of the Central Plains broke out in 1930, chiang kai-shek, Feng Yuxiang and Li Zongren's armies fought in a scuffle in the central plains, fighting each other inseparably. At this time, the position of Zhang Xueliang's army, which has always been in a "neutral" attitude, is very important.
Zhang Xueliang, who had a heavy army in his hands and commanded the northeast, became the target of the forces of all sides for a while. Zhang Xueliang was always unmoved by the temptations of high-ranking officials and riches and riches imposed by all sides, but in fact, he was partial to Chiang Kai-shek's faction in his heart.
Because as early as the first cooperation, Zhang Xueliang saw Chiang Kai-shek's talent, and he believed that only by relying on Chiang Kai-shek could he keep the northeast. In the end, Zhang Xueliang sent troops to aid Chiang Kai-shek and helped him win the Central Plains War smoothly.
Picture 丨 Central Plains War
The relationship between the two people who have worked together twice has gone further. Because of Zhang Xueliang's help, Chiang Kai-shek defeated Feng Yuxiang and Li Zongren and won the Central Plains. Feng and Li were seriously injured and completely lost the ability to continue to compete with Jiang.
The "appeal for peace" launched by Zhang Xueliang at that time effectively calmed the flames of war and accelerated the stability of the situation in the Central Plains. In fact, at that time, Feng Yuxiang and Li Zongren were strong, and even if Chiang Kai-shek was strong, it was a bit difficult to deal with the two at the same time.
Zhang Xueliang's timely dispatch of troops was tantamount to saving Chiang Kai-shek's life in time, and paved the way for Chiang Kai-shek's later political path.
Therefore, after the Battle of the Central Plains, Chiang Kai-shek was very kind to Zhang Xueliang, and Zhang Xueliang's position in the Nanjing military government could be called "one person under ten thousand people" . Zhang Xueliang also sincerely admired Chiang Kai-shek and was willing to follow Chiang Kai-shek.
Pictured zhang xueliang and Chiang Kai-shek
The two naturally became brothers, and even emulated the scene in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and carried out the "Taoyuan Jieyi".
"But true brotherhood is not limited to external relationships, but also to spiritual and ideological fit." The subsequent rupture of their relationship confirmed the accuracy of this sentence.
Zhang Xueliang's thinking has a strong idea of "loyalty to the army" and "serving the country", and he is well versed in the general righteousness of the country, which was reflected as early as when Zhang Xueliang chose to defect to the Nanjing government in order to take into account the overall situation. Chiang Kai-shek, on the other hand, was more eager for power, for victory, and even "unscrupulous means to achieve the goal."
After the 1931 "918" incident, patriots throughout the country expressed indignation at the actions of the Japanese army, including Zhang Xueliang.
Figure 丨 Taoyuan Knot
However, Chiang Kai-shek repeatedly issued instructions to Zhang Xueliang to "wait for disposal" and "avoid armed conflict with the Japanese army." Zhang Xueliang was told that "the outside must be safe inside" The top priority is to defeat the Communists in order to continue to resist the Japanese.
At that time, the relationship between Zhang Xueliang and Chiang Kai-shek was still very "iron", and Chiang Kai-shek was his "leader", driven by the idea of loyalty in his bones, Zhang Xueliang implemented Chiang Kai-shek's "non-resistance doctrine". So in less than three months, the Northeast Army fell into the hands of the Japanese army.
After the fall of the northeast, a wave of insults against Jiang and Zhang was set off throughout the country. This time, Chiang Kai-shek instructed Zhang Xueliang to go down and let him "sacrifice" as his own scapegoat.
Zhang Xueliang, who had already lost the northeast, was also discredited and ended up with the name of a "shrunken-headed turtle", which can be described as losing his wife and folding soldiers.
Picture 丨 Zhang Xueliang
However, Chiang Kai-shek looked at Zhang Xueliang's situation coldly and did not have the slightest intention of standing up and admitting his mistakes, which was enough to fully show that Chiang Kai-shek did not have the slightest idea to repay Zhang Xueliang's kindness to him with actions.
Perhaps in Chiang Kai-shek's heart, the so-called brothers are just a "paving stone" on his road to realizing reunification.
The domestic anti-Japanese call has become more and more intense, and the iron horse of the Japanese invasion has also set foot on more and more land with more arrogance. The Communists who dared to struggle did not sit still, they mobilized the masses to resist the Japanese army on the one hand, and on the other hand actively persuaded Chiang Kai-shek to unite against Japan.
However, Chiang Kai-shek always stubbornly regarded the Communist Party as the enemy as the number one target of confrontation and insisted on "civil war".
Figure 丨 Chiang Kai-shek
After much persuasion was fruitless, the Red Army set its sights on Zhang Xueliang, because Zhang Xueliang had also repeatedly put forward to Chiang Kai-shek a request for "joint communist resistance against Japan", but Chiang Kai-shek refused to refute it.
They knew that Zhang Xueliang was patriotic, and although he was a loyal supporter of Chiang Kai-shek, he did not lack patriotism.
In the face of the growing anti-Japanese sentiment in The country and the repeated calls of the Communists to resist Japan, Chiang Kai-shek instead intensified his military pressure on Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng, demanding that they "suppress the Communist Party."
Gradually, Zhang Xueliang understood that Chiang Kai-shek's desire for victory was so strong that he had lost the ability to make rational judgments about the war situation.
Figure丨 Anti-Japanese War
Zhang Xueliang had some discussions with Yang Hucheng, who also had heavy troops, and finally the two decided to launch a mutiny, and only by taking coercive action could Chiang Kai-shek "wake up".
After finalizing the specific plan, Zhang Xueliang was silent for a long time, as if he had made up some kind of determination.
He took a deep breath of the cigarette in his hand, sighed and said, "Brother Zhongzheng, I'm sorry." For the sake of the country's peril, I must be an evil man again. I don't ask you to understand me, I just hope you'll blame me a little less when the time comes. After saying that, he took another sip of his cigarette and casually snuffed it out in the ashtray.
In the confused smoke, Zhang Xueliang's face was blurred, and from a distance it seemed to be full of helplessness and sorrow. It's like saying goodbye to the old images of brotherly love.
Picture 丨 The old site of the Xi'an Incident
He had a premonition in his heart: after this action, his relationship with Chiang Kai-shek could no longer be as close as before. Later facts also showed that his hunch was correct.
On December 12, 1936, Zhang Xueliang decided to launch a "military advice". Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng, in accordance with the plan agreed earlier, mobilized troops to surround Huaqingchi, where Chiang Kai-shek lived, and forcibly detained Chiang Kai-shek.
Under duress, Chiang Kai-shek was forced to agree to stop the policy of "holding foreign countries and internal security" and stop the civil war. The Nationalist government was forced to start the Anti-Japanese War and began the second Kuomintang-Communist cooperation with the Communist Party, which led to the establishment of the anti-Japanese national united front.
The all-nation resistance to Japan, which worked together at home, was not easy to come by. Chiang Kai-shek's compromise can be said to have been bought by Zhang Xueliang with his freedom for the rest of his life.
Picture 丨 reported at the time
Years of captivity remain unforgivated
Later, under the mediation of many forces, the Xi'an Incident was resolved peacefully, and after achieving the goal, Zhang Xueliang personally escorted Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing with Song Meiling to maintain Chiang Kai-shek's authority.
As early as the moment he was detained, Chiang Kai-shek planted the seeds of resentment in his heart. In Nanjing, Chiang Kai-shek regained power, and this seed also took the opportunity to break through the soil and take root.
He immediately imprisoned Zhang Xueliang, and Chiang Kai-shek's actions, in Zhang Xueliang's expectations, had been a brother for so long, and he knew very well Chiang Kai-shek's character of "seeing the eyes and repaying the favor.".
What he didn't expect was that this captivity had been more than half a century, and even chiang kai-shek had not thought of letting him go until his death.
Figure 丨 Chiang Kai-shek
On December 31, 1936, Zhang Xueliang officially began his imprisonment. Perhaps Chiang Kai-shek still has a trace of his past affection for Zhang Xueliang, or perhaps someone is on the side to persuade him.
During his imprisonment, Chiang Kai-shek allowed Zhang Xueliang's wife to accompany him, and his standard of living was not bad. The national War of Resistance was constantly advancing, and the location of Zhang Xueliang's imprisonment was constantly changing.
From Nanjing to Hunan to Hebei, Guizhou, and Anhui, the places Zhang Xueliang has visited are inaccessible and secluded, in order to prevent Zhang Xueliang from getting in touch with the outside world and thus "making a comeback."
In 1946, Zhang Xueliang was sent to Taiwan, and when Zhang Xueliang arrived in Taiwan, his desire for freedom was unprecedentedly strong, and he felt that he had been imprisoned long enough, so he repeatedly hinted to Chiang Kai-shek: The time has come, I have no threat to you. But Chiang Kai-shek has been pretending to be confused and ignoring his requests.
Figure 丨 Chiang Kai-shek
Soon in 1975, Chiang Kai-shek's body reached its limit, and most of the time he was sick. Xu knew that he had reached the time when the oil ran out, and Chiang Kai-shek on the day of the Qingming Festival swept away the sick spirit of the past and was particularly spirited.
He summoned his eldest son, Chiang Ching-kuo, and the father and son began a long talk, and he instructed his son on many precautions in political affairs, and when Chiang Ching-kuo thought that his father had finished instructing him to turn around and leave, Chiang Kai-shek stopped him again.
Chiang Kai-shek said in a serious tone: "Don't release Zhang Xueliang, although he has been imprisoned by me for many years, his influence is always there, remember!" Remember! Don't 'let the tiger go back to the mountain'! Song Meiling, who was accompanied by the side, listened, and her eyes gradually changed, and her eyes gradually filled with tears.
At this moment, she realized that her years of persuasion had not played the slightest role, and her husband had never forgiven Zhang Xueliang from beginning to end, and she was always grumpy about the Xi'an incident of that year.
Picture 丨 Song Meiling
Unfulfilled promises
The occurrence of the "Xi'an Incident" once shocked the whole of China, and no one expected that Jiang and Zhang, who had always been brothers and sisters, would have such a situation.
When Song Meiling, who was Chiang Kai-shek's wife, learned of the news, she immediately flew from Shanghai to Xi'an with people to rescue Chiang Kai-shek. Under the efforts and consultation of Soong Ching Ling and others and the efforts of the Communists, the Xi'an Incident was finally resolved peacefully.
When Zhang Xueliang was imprisoned, Song Meiling once assured him: "Han Qing, you wait." I will advise Zhongzheng well, and I will definitely keep you safe and let you return to Xi'an again! ”
From these few short sentences, it can be seen that the relationship between the two is not ordinary.
Pictured by Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling
Song Meiling and Zhang Xueliang met in Shanghai in their twenties. The two were similar in age, both rich and learned, and soon had similar interests, often haunting the major social places in Shanghai together, when people once praised the two of them as "Lang Cai Female Appearance".
Later, Chiang Kai-shek and Zhang Xueliang became brothers, which added to the icing on the cake for this relationship.
Song Meiling even because of Zhang Xueliang's sake, specially understood zhang Xueliang's wife Yu Fengzhi's preferences, and became inseparable from her as a good sister.
According to Chiang Kai-shek's personality, after the Xi'an Incident and Zhang Xueliang was imprisoned, Chiang Kai-shek certainly would not just imprison him. Behind Zhang Xueliang's imprisonment for many years and still safe and sound, It is indispensable to Song Meiling's "escort".
Picture 丨 Song Meiling
Chiang Kai-shek once "killed Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng" when the Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan.
It was Song Meiling who tried to protect Zhang Xueliang and repeatedly assured her husband that Han Qing would never have the heart to rebel. Zhang Xueliang escaped the disaster and was able to live a "isolated" life in peace.
Over the years, Song Meiling has never given up on rescuing Zhang Xueliang. She repeatedly explained Zhang Xueliang's situation to Chiang Kai-shek, proved to him that Zhang Xueliang could not make a comeback, and even tried to play the "feeling card" in front of Chiang Kai-shek to mention how Zhang Xueliang had been kind to him in the past.
It is reasonable to say that under such a moving and reasonable persuasion, it is a stubborn stone, and it should also be moved. But Chiang Kai-shek did not, he always stubbornly held Zhang Xueliang.
Picture 丨 Song Meiling
On the other hand, Song Meiling is also in correspondence with Zhang Xueliang to comfort Zhang Xueliang's heart and ensure Zhang Xueliang's quality of life when he was imprisoned.
Song Meiling thought in her heart that with the passage of time, her husband would slowly let go of the resentment and suspicion in his heart and decide to release his former brother from the previous relationship, so she was also waiting. But he did not want to go until the last day of her husband's life, he did not let go of his resentment.
At the moment of hearing Chiang Kai-shek's last words, Soong Meiling was first shocked, then guilty. His efforts over the years have been cloudy in the eyes of her stubborn husband, but he has repeatedly promised Zhang Xueliang that he will return his freedom.
The two emotions intertwined and stirred in her heart, and Song Meiling couldn't help but burst into tears, and her heart could not be released for a long time.
Figure 丨 Chiang Kai-shek
End
After Chiang Kai-shek's death, with Chiang Ching-kuo's permission, Zhang Xueliang and his wife went to visit the body.
Looking at Chiang Kai-shek's quiet countenance after his death, Zhang Xueliang could not tell what he felt in his heart for a while, and the enmity between the two for many years was written off with Chiang Kai-shek's death and became a cloud of smoke in the past.
Finally, Zhang Xueliang wrote "The care of Yin, the same flesh and bones; The battle of political opinions is like a vendetta against the female. The union of the two ended the half-life feud between the two.
In 1990, Zhang Xueliang finally regained his freedom. At that time, he was nearly ninety years old, and he no longer wanted to participate in the disputes of the world, so he went to the United States with his wife the following year to spend the rest of his free life.
Picture 丨 Zhang Xueliang and Miss Zhao Er
From imprisonment to official release, Zhang Xueliang waited from Fenghua Zhengmao to white-haired Cangcang. Zhang Xueliang's life was full of criticism, and he was ridiculed as "the son is not as good as the father" at a young age, and later he was imprisoned and lost his prestige and freedom.
The Xi'an Incident was a turning point in the Chinese nation's anti-Japanese struggle and a turning point in Zhang Xueliang's life.
Zhang Xueliang always has the great righteousness of the nation in mind, and even does not hesitate to give up the second half of his life for this, and is a real national hero! Zhang Xueliang's spirit of dedication to the peril of the nation is always worth remembering and admiring!