On June 4, 1928, a major event occurred at Huanggutun Station in Shenyang City, and the car of Zhang Zuolin, the "King of the Northeast", slowly drove by. The train stops at Huanggutun Station for 20 minutes before slowly leaving the platform.
However, shortly after the train went out, a loud "boom" shocked all the surrounding troops, Zhang Zuolin's train had already been blown up and deformed, and then the news of the death of the king of the Northeast spread.
We all know that Zhang Zuolin is the leader of the warlords and the de facto ruler of the Northeast, and if this matter is not handled well, the entire Northeast will fall into a crisis. But you may not know that this crisis was resolved by a woman, she is Zhang Zuolin's fifth aunt Tai Shouyi.
After Zhang Zuolin's death, Shou Yi postponed the fall of Northeast China for three years with a heavy makeup image, so what kind of woman is Shou Yi? How did she resolve this crisis? Today, let's talk about the story.
What kind of person is the fifth aunt Tai Shouyi
Shou Yi, formerly known as Wang Yajun, was born in Heilongjiang in 1898, and his father was the Qing Dynasty general Shoushan, who is said to be a descendant of the famous Ming Dynasty general Yuan Chonghuan. 's mother is Wang Songyan, who used to be a Dan in a troupe. Because Shoushan liked her beauty and singing skills, he accepted her as a concubine.
However, the background of the courtesan is not good after all, coupled with the boycott of the original partner, so Wang Songyan did not enter Shoushan's house, but was raised outside, and Shouyi was their daughter.
Although he was born in an aristocratic family, Shouyi's childhood was not happy, and his father committed suicide in the Eight-Nation Alliance's war of aggression against China when he was three years old.
Her mother could only take her back to Fengtian, re-devote herself to the theater and make a living by singing, and named her daughter Wang Yajun (following her surname).
Shouyi's mother came from a humble background, but she had great ambitions, hoping that her daughter could change her fate through studying, so she saved money and sent Shouyi to school.
The daughter did not live up to her mother's expectations, she was smart, studious, diligent and hardworking, and was admitted to the Fengtian Provincial Women's Normal College with excellent results, not only familiar with traditional classics such as "Four Books" and "Five Classics", but also Xi learned English, French and other foreign languages to get in touch with Western thought and culture.
Overall, she grew up to be a Kochi woman who was admired by her teachers and classmates. It stands to reason that such a girl and the king of the Northeast will not have any cause and effect, but fate is sometimes so strange.
In 1907, as an outstanding graduate, Shou Yi delivered a speech at the graduation ceremony, and the content of the speech was very wonderful, which attracted the attention of a distinguished guest present, who was Zhang Zuolin, the leader of the warlords in Northeast China.
Zhang Zuolin was attracted by Shouyi's talent, and as soon as the graduation ceremony was over, he found her home and offered to marry her. At that time, Shouyi was only 15 years old, and Zhang Zuolin was already a 40-year-old man, and there were already four wives in the family.
As a woman in the new era, Shou Yi was reluctant to marry Zhang Zuolin, but her mother thought that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them to get rid of economic poverty and achieve a class leap.
So, she persuaded her daughter to agree to Zhang Zuolin's marriage proposal, and there will be more room for development in the future, and finally Shouyi married into the Zhang family and became Zhang Zuolin's fifth aunt.
An extraordinary woman
After Shouyi married into Zhang's mansion, she was not excluded and bullied by other wives, but was respected and friendly by them.
Shou Yi is young but very sensible, he will not criticize and accuse others at will, nor will he hold grudges and compete for favor, and he will always treat people with courtesy and tolerance. I often help other ladies with some housework and trivial matters, and get along very easily and happily.
Which man doesn't like women with high emotional intelligence, so Zhang Zuolin is also very fond of Shouyi, not only building her a luxurious villa, but also often taking her on trips and participating in various activities.
In those days, Zhang Zuolin regarded Shouyi as a virtuous helper, and the latter was indeed worthy of this name, not only able to take care of the family, but also to assist her husband's career, and even Zhang Zuolin even allowed her to participate in some military and political affairs and listen to relevant opinions and suggestions.
During the Republic of China, the degree of ideological emancipation was very high, but the status of women was still not as good as now, and Shou Yi was able to participate in Zhang Zuolin's military and political affairs, and it had to be said that he was very capable.
In those years, Shou Yi recommended some talented talents for Zhang Zuolin many times, and also resolved crises and difficulties for the Northeast many times.
However, if you want to say that Shouyi's greatest achievement has to be to stabilize the situation in the Northeast after Zhang Zuolin's death, let's take a look at what's going on.
As mentioned in the opening chapter, Zhang Zuolin was killed by the Japanese on his way back to Mukden in 1928, which is the famous "Huanggutun Incident".
After Zhang Zuolin's death, the Northeast fell into an unprecedented crisis, because the Japanese had been eyeing the Northeast and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to occupy the Northeast. Zhang Zuolin's successor, Zhang Xueliang, was not in the Northeast at that time, so it can be said that the Northeast Army was leaderless and chaotic, and the slightest carelessness could be exploited by the Japanese army.
At this critical moment, Shou Yi stepped forward to take on the important task of stabilizing the Northeast, and the first thing she did was to keep it secret and not immediately announce Zhang Zuolin's death, so that the wives and children in the family swaggered through the market and put on a business as usual.
The Japanese did not know whether Zhang Zuolin was dead or not, so they naturally did not dare to act rashly, so they could delay time and wait for Zhang Xueliang's return. At the same time, she also sent someone to secretly inform Zhang Xueliang and asked him to return to the northeast as soon as possible to take over military power.
During this period, in order to find out the truth, the Japanese also sent some high-level wives to visit Zhang's mansion, and Shou Yi greeted the arrival of the Japanese with heavy makeup as before, and talked and laughed with them in fluent Japanese, as if her husband was not dead, without revealing any flaws.
When the Japanese asked Zhang Zuolin about his injuries, she also lied that she had only suffered some minor injuries and was recuperating and it was inconvenient to meet guests, and even led the Japanese to deliberately pass by Zhang Zuolin's room, where there were many laughter of aunts and wives playing mahjong.
Shou Yi's various performances confused the Japanese, who did not dare to act rashly, successfully delayed the Japanese attack, and bought time for Zhang Xueliang's return.
The crisis was eventually resolved
Zhang Xueliang rushed back to the Northeast immediately after learning of his father's death, and then took over the command of the Northeast Army, and quickly reorganized the army with the assistance of Shouyi, and restored order in the Northeast before the Japanese army could react.
At this time, Zhang Xueliang was also faced with a difficult choice, whether to continue to cooperate with Japan, or to join forces with the Nationalist Government to resist Japanese aggression? Fifth Aunt Tai Shouyi gave him a clear suggestion to reconcile with the Nationalist Government, abandon the ambitions of warlords, and strive for the reunification and independence of the Chinese nation.
Shou Yi believed that Japan was China's mortal enemy and could no longer collude with it, and that the Nationalist Government was China's righteous force and should be united with it. She also said that Zhang Zuolin's last words before his death were to let Zhang Xueliang take the troops to prepare to fight the Japanese, which was his father's last wish and his own responsibility.
In the end, Zhang Xueliang was moved by Shou Yi's words and decided to give up the interests of the warlords to change his style and reunify peacefully with the Nationalist Government.
He first announced the abolition of the "Japan-Zhang Secret Treaty" and rejected Japanese interference, and then announced that he would accept the orders of the Nationalist Government and reorganize the Northeast Army into the First Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army, with himself as commander-in-chief.
At the same time, it also sent representatives to negotiate with the Nationalist Government and reached the "Agreement on the Change of Banners in Northeast China," which recognized the legitimacy of the Nationalist Government, accepted the military and financial supervision of the Nationalist Government, and ensured peace and order in the Northeast.
Zhang Xueliang's series of actions shocked both China and Japan, and the Japanese were outraged by Zhang Xueliang's betrayal, believing that he was an unreliable person who threatened the interests and security of the Japanese army in Northeast China.
After that, the Japanese army began to step up its invasion plan against the Northeast, preparing to launch a full-scale war under the pretext, and Zhang Xueliang began to strengthen the support and protection of the Northeast and prepare to meet the challenge of Japan, which led to the later September 18 Incident.
Judging from the results, although the Japanese army won the 918 Incident, the three years between 1928 and 1931 were fought for by the fifth aunt Tai Shouyi, and I have to say that this woman is not simple.
What do you think differently about this?