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Preface:
When "Young Marshal" Zhang Xueliang was dying, he donated all his inheritance to the United States, which immediately caused great controversy, what is the reason for not donating to the mainland and Taiwan?
The most shocking thing is that he gave an inheritance worth as much as $600 million, and even his children did not leave a penny, which a woman had accumulated for him.
So, why did Zhang Xueliang do this, where was this money used in the United States, and who was the mysterious woman who accumulated huge wealth for him?
First, the childhood of the "little six"
Zhang Xueliang was born in 1901, his ancestral home is in Anshan City, Liaoning Province, China, is the "second generation of officials" born with a golden key, and his father is the famous "Northeast King" Zhang Zuolin.
At that time, Zhang Zuolin, as one of the three major warlords, had his own Fengjian army, was the fourteenth head of state of the Beiyang government, and held the domineering title of "Generalissimo of the Army and Navy".
Every man has the dream of galloping the world, and Zhang Zuolin exercised the ruling power on behalf of the Republic of China after possessing a certain amount of strength and became the supreme ruler of the country, but was forced to return to the northeast because of the unfavorable war on the front line.
Zhang Xueliang, as Zhang Zuolin's eldest son, shouldered the mission of heir as soon as he was born, and Zhang Zuolin also loved this son very much, and began to pave the way for Zhang Xueliang at a very early age.
In 1917, under the arrangement of his father Zhang Zuolin, Zhang Xueliang, who was only 16 years old, came to serve and study in the Northeast Army Lecture Hall, where he met the tactical instructor Guo Songling, and the two became friends in the future.
After two years of experience, Zhang Xueliang deeply experienced the hardship of military life, tempered his strong will, and also learned the ability to plan the battlefield.
At the service graduation assessment ceremony, Zhang Xueliang won the first place in the artillery section and was promoted to the commander of the second regiment of the 3rd Mixed Brigade of the Northeast Army, responsible for protecting Zhang Zuolin's personal safety.
During the First Zhifeng War, the Eastern Route Army commanded by Zhang Xueliang and Guo Songling fought a very famous blockade battle at Shanhaiguan, becoming the only Fengjian unit to win in this war, and was promoted to brigade commander.
By the time of the Second Zhifeng War, the Fengjun led by Zhang Xueliang was the main force of the Northeast Army entering the pass, and he passed all the way to Beiping, and Wu Peifu's direct army was defeated.
Feng's warlords became famous in World War I and seized the supreme ruling power of the central government, Zhang Zuolin became the leader of the Beiyang warlords, and Zhang Xueliang also became the commander-in-chief of the garrison in the Jingyu region.
However, "there are unforeseen storms in the sky", and after the Japanese saw that Zhang Zuolin could not be used by themselves, they planned the "Huanggu Incident" that shocked China and abroad, Zhang Zuolin was killed by explosives by the Kwantung military, and Zhang Xueliang officially succeeded as the leader of the Fengji warlords.
The sudden death of his father gave him a great blow, Zhang Xueliang and Japan forged a blood feud, according to common sense, the enemy was very red when they met, but what happened next became Zhang Xueliang's regret in his life.
Second, the most wrong decision in life
In March 1930, in order to compete for the central rule, Wang Jingwei began to unite with Yan Xishan, the "King of Shanxi" and others, to challenge Chiang Kai-shek's regime, and the "Central Plains War" began.
In this war for rights, the situation of warlords fighting separately was broken, and Zhang Xueliang, who had heavy troops in the northeast, naturally became the object of struggle between the warring parties.
As the ancient saying goes, "If you can't bear a child, you can't set a wolf", Chiang Kai-shek, in order to gain Zhang Xueliang's support, directly appointed him as the deputy commander of the army, navy and air force of the Republic of China, and promised that half of the key positions in the government would be held by Fengjian personnel.
In addition to giving reports on his post, Chiang Kai-shek also promised Zhang Xueliang many regions, and finally the warlord chose to join Chiang Kai-shek's camp, and Chiang Kai-shek also used Zhang Xueliang very much.
The reason why Zhang Xueliang helped Chiang Kai-shek was because he thought that Chiang Kai-shek had the courage and resourcefulness to help him drive the Japanese enemies out of China, but what he never expected was that this was the most wrong choice he made in his life.
After the outbreak of the "918 Incident", the Japanese army began to implement its long-planned plan to completely conquer China by force, and the Chinese War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression began.
Watching the Japanese army doing evil on the mainland territory, Zhang Xueliang's inner hatred was ignited, and just when he was about to lead the troops to fight the Japanese army, he received Chiang Kai-shek's policy of "no resistance".
At first, Zhang Xueliang thought that Chiang Kai-shek was following the situation, after all, the rise and fall of the nation was responsible, but in the following period, Chiang Kai-shek sent many telegrams, strictly forbidding Zhang Xueliang to fire at the Japanese.
Because in Chiang Kai-shek's concept, Zhang Xueliang did not have the strength to compete with the Japanese army, and if Zhang Xueliang lost the battle in the end, he would be responsible for wiping his ass.
At this time, Zhang Xueliang was in a dilemma, on the one hand, the Japanese who had a hatred of the family and the country, and on the other hand, Chiang Kai-shek, who had the grace of appreciating himself, so he was always in a state of uncertainty.
However, the ambitious Japanese army would not give Zhang Xueliang a chance to consider, and the Japanese army successively occupied many strategic points such as the three northeastern provinces, established a puppet regime of Manchukuo in the northeast, and began a 14-year-long colonial rule over the people of the northeast.
Zhang Xueliang never came out of the shadow in his heart, and it was precisely because of his ideological indecision that the Japanese army slaughtered the people of northeast China and encroached on mainland land.
This incident gave him a lot of psychological trauma, he felt sorry for the motherland and the people, until the moment he died, this guilt in his heart was not resolved.
What Zhang Xueliang could not accept the most was that at this time, Chiang Kai-shek actually shouted the slogan: "Outsiders must first settle inside", which made Zhang Xueliang unbearable, so he gave birth to the next incident, so Zhang Xueliang won the honor of "patriotic famous general".
Third, the unbearable "Xi'an incident"
In 1936, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng asked to meet with Chiang Kai-shek to discuss the issue of a united front against Japan, but Chiang Kai-shek obstructed them in every way.
In the following days, Chiang Kai-shek and Zhang Xueliang quarreled many times because of the problem of joint resistance against Japan, and Zhang Xueliang even gambled with his own troops, but Chiang Kai-shek was always soft and hard.
What was most unacceptable to Zhang Xueliang was that Chiang Kai-shek even wanted him to take action to suppress the students and people who marched and turn their guns on his compatriots.
When Chiang Kai-shek made a plane to Xi'an, Zhang Xueliang took Bai Fengxiang to meet Chiang Kai-shek, just when Chiang Kai-shek was holding the sixth "encirclement and suppression" plan, Zhang Xueliang finally woke up at this time.
Therefore, Zhang Xueliang, together with General Yang Hucheng, launched the "Xi'an Soldiers" that shocked China and abroad, forcing Chiang Kai-shek to stop all encirclement and suppression operations and let the Kuomintang join the ranks of the War of Resistance Against Japan.
On December 24, 1936, Chiang Kai-shek signed six agreements, forced to accept the idea of stopping the civil war and uniting against Japan, and finally Chiang Kai-shek was released, and the Xi'an incident became a peaceful settlement.
In Zhang Xueliang's heart, he knew that when the Japanese army invaded the northeast, he had already made irreparable mistakes, so he did not want to make mistakes again and again.
Chiang Kai-shek expressed his consent to resist the Japanese, but in fact imprisoned Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng behind his back, and General Yang Hucheng was even assassinated, and Zhang Xueliang was finally escaped and was put under house arrest by Chiang Kai-shek because of his special status.
In the next ten years as a prisoner, Zhang Xueliang witnessed the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, and also witnessed the whole process of the Kuomintang losing popular support and finally fleeing Taiwan.
When Chiang Kai-shek defeated Taiwan, he transferred Zhang Xueliang as well, and it was not until the death of Chiang Kai-shek's son Chiang Ching-kuo that Zhang Xueliang was released from Chiang Kai-shek's house arrest.
Fourth, the mysterious "female treasurer"
Fast forward to 1990, after 54 years of ups and downs, Zhang Xueliang finally gained the freedom of life, at this time the outside has undergone earth-shaking changes.
Because of his original political position, even if Zhang Xueliang missed his hometown very much, the general environment did not allow him to return to the arms of his mainland mother, and after careful consideration, Zhang Xueliang chose to immigrate to the United States to live.
Seeing this, many people will ask, since Zhang Xueliang has been under house arrest for most of his life, where does the hundreds of millions of assets in his hands come from, which has to start with his ex-wife Yu Fengzhi.
In which era of strong feudal thinking, marriages of "parents' orders and matchmakers" abound, and Yu Fengzhi and Zhang Xueliang were arranged marriages.
Yu Fengzhi's father was Yu Wendou, a wealthy businessman in Northeast China, and Yu Wendou was kind to Zhang Zuolin in his early years, so the two set up a doll for their children, but Zhang Xueliang was not satisfied with this fiancée.
Zhang Xueliang has been wandering in the barracks since he was a child, and he is very assertive in many things, and there is another unimportant reason, Yu Fengzhi is three years older than Zhang Xueliang.
It is said that "the female junior holds the golden bricks", Yu Fengzhi is kind and gentle, no matter how Zhang Xueliang does not treat herself, she always takes care of each other in life.
After marriage, no matter how affectionate Zhang Xueliang was, Yu Fengzhi always took care of the family in an orderly manner, and after Zhang Xueliang was placed under house arrest, all the assets of the Zhang family were controlled by Fengzhi.
You must know that when Zhang Zuolin was alive, with his "banditry" character, he got a lot of benefits from the Japanese, except for a part of it for military expenses, the rest fell into the hands of the Zhang family.
During the time when Zhang Xueliang lost his freedom, Yu Fengzhi never gave up and took care of him wholeheartedly, but not long after the accident happened, Yu Fengzhi unfortunately suffered from breast cancer.
At that time, the domestic medical level was limited, Zhang Xueliang let Yu Fengzhi go to the United States for treatment, so that he could also avoid Chiang Kai-shek's pursuit, at first Yu Fengzhi was very reluctant, she said that she would spend her life with Zhang Xueliang.
Under the persuasion of Zhang Xueliang's bitter mouth, Yu Fengzhi took his children on a ship to the United States, along with the countless family properties of the Zhang family.
After Yu Fengzhi survived the road to fighting cancer, she wanted to take her daughter back to China to find Zhang Xueliang, but the situation at that time was too chaotic, so she chose to live in the United States temporarily.
In order not to end up "sitting on the mountain", Yu Fengzhi began his own entrepreneurial road in the United States, relying on his family's understanding of business, Yu Fengzhi locked his eyes on the real estate industry.
5. The truth behind the donation
After more than ten years of hard work, Yu Fengzhi's investment has paid off, and the stocks and real estate she bought have continued to increase in value, becoming a well-known rich man in the Chinese circle of Los Angeles.
No matter how successful Yu Fengzhi was in her career, she always thought about Zhang Xueliang in her heart, but "people have sorrow and joy", and on January 30, 1990, Yu Fengzhi passed away peacefully in her sleep.
The name left on her tombstone is: Zhang Fengzhi, indicating that she will always be the woman of the Zhang family, and in Fengzhi's will, she asked her children to leave a place next to her tomb to bury Zhang Xueliang.
Although the Taiwan authorities no longer restrict Zhang Xueliang, after all, he was a popular figure in those years, and when Zhang Xueliang went to the United States, he still aroused great public opinion in society.
After arriving in the United States, Zhang Xueliang refused all interviews from the outside world, just spent a happy life with his family, and then used the legacy left by Yu Fengzhi to buy a pension sea-view villa in Hawaii.
In 2001, Zhang Xueliang was sent to the hospital for sudden pneumonia, but his physical condition never improved, because he was 101 years old at this time.
When he was about to die, Zhang Xueliang donated all the 600 million US dollars in assets in his hands to Columbia University in the United States, which immediately caused discussion from the outside world.
Because in the eyes of many people, Zhang Xueliang, as an authentic Chinese, even if he does not donate money to the mainland and Taiwan, he will consider leaving it to his family, but he did not expect that he would donate it all.
Zhang Xueliang did this because, after he moved to the United States, he became closer to Chinese historians at Columbia University under the help of his daughter.
The university has an archive that preserves many of Zhang's oral historical materials, which he hopes Columbia University will preserve well.
It is impossible to donate to Taiwan, after all, where did he spend 54 years of sadness, he did not choose to donate money to the motherland, because he always considered ashamed of the motherland and did not want to cause unnecessary political overtones.
Epilogue:
As the old saying goes, "No one can do anything without a saint", time will make us slowly forget some things, but Zhang Xueliang's contribution to fighting Japan is indelible.
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