In 1993, sketch actor Huang Hong was dispatched by the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television to Baodao to participate in a ten-day performance, accompanied by more than ten famous actors such as Jiang Kun, Feng Gong, and Ni Ping.
At that time, in addition to the performance, the group also did a special thing, that is, to visit General Zhang Xueliang.
Huang Hong later recalled:
"July 28, 1993 was a day he will never forget. ”
While everyone was talking, Huang Hong proposed to let the young marshal write an inscription for his hometown. After some consideration, Zhang Xueliang only wrote down three words.
When the actors saw these three words, they were full of emotion, and even couldn't help but burst into tears.
So what three words did Zhang Xueliang write? Today, let's find out.
Twists and turns, the first time to set foot on the island of Taiwan
In fact, before coming to Taiwan, Huang Hong and the others also experienced some twists and turns.
Because Huang Hong himself had already received a notice from the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television to send them to Taiwan to perform, but the day before everyone was ready to leave with great excitement, he temporarily received an urgent notice from the General Political Department:
"At present, it is better for military personnel not to go to Taiwan. ”
Since there was no precedent for mainland soldiers to perform in Taiwan, the chief's meaning was that he did not want them to go.
Huang Hong cherished this opportunity very much, so he found Wang Zhaoguo, who was then the head of the United Front Work Department, hoping to coordinate the matter.
Because of this performance, in addition to literary and artistic exchanges, it is also hoped to take this opportunity to build a bridge of friendship between the people on both sides of the strait.
After twists and turns, these more than ten actors were finally approved to perform in Taiwan. As a result, Huang Hong became the first mainland soldier to set foot on the treasure island after the founding of New China.
After arriving in Taipei, they were warmly received by the local people, and the performance went very smoothly.
But in contrast, the economic construction here is not as good as imagined, and the fantasy skyscrapers there are more wasteland to be developed and low-rise bungalows.
Huang Hong is a native of Heilongjiang, so when he went to Taiwan, he still had a reluctant invitation in his heart, that is, he hoped to visit his fellow countryman, the young marshal Zhang Xueliang.
After some inquiry, they got the news from Secretary Zhang Xueliang.
Zhang Xueliang usually lives in his new home in the countryside, but every Friday he goes into the city and borrows to stay at his fifth brother's house, which coincides with the approaching weekend, which is a good opportunity to visit.
It turned out that the young marshal loved to listen to opera, especially Peking Opera.
Therefore, every time he enters the city, he has to do two things, one is to eat Western food, and the other is to hang his throat, that is, to exercise his voice.
Hearing that a group of mainland actors wanted to visit him, Zhang Xueliang was excited, and repeatedly prepared tea to welcome the arrival of guests.
I had the opportunity to visit the young marshal and talk about it in a funny exhibition
Huang Hong and his entourage drove to a four-story apartment in downtown Taipei.
And when he rang the doorbell, what appeared in front of him was an old man in a gray jacket, a pair of brown glasses, sparse white hair, and a little age spots on his face, looking very ordinary.
It's not just Huang Hong, this is a little unexpected for everyone in his entourage, which doesn't seem to match the image of the young marshal galloping on the battlefield in their minds.
Huang Hong and his entourage first bowed to the old man, then clasped their hands and said excitedly:
"Hello, Uncle Zhang, we wish you a long life!"
Who knew that Zhang Xueliang laughed out loud after hearing this, and then said wittily in a northeast accent:
"You can't live longer, otherwise you will really become an old goblin!"
After hearing this, everyone was stunned for a moment, and then they realized that the old man was joking, and the sense of restraint was naturally much less.
After entering the door, Zhang Xueliang asked them to sit on the sofa to rest, and asked someone to serve the tea that had been prepared, but one of his actions made Huang Hong and others very puzzled:
Zhang Xueliang sat on a hard bench.
The actors got up one after another and wanted to let go, but he smiled and waved his hand, and at this moment, Zhang Xuesen beside him explained:
"He was born in the military, and he already had this habit when he was in the army, and now although he is old, he has always retained this habit. ”
Zhang Xueliang then added:
"You can exercise the waist board. ”
Everyone was once again amused by the humor of the old man in front of them, but it added a little more admiration for the young marshal.
During the conversation, the actors found that although Zhang Xueliang was old, his personality, aura, and conversation were not inferior to young people.
Taking advantage of the topic of theatrical performances, Huang Hong introduced that he is a sketch actor.
After Zhang Xueliang heard this, his expression revealed a trace of doubt, and he asked curiously:
"What is a sketch actor? I don't think I've ever heard of it. ”
It turned out that the performance form of "sketch" had not appeared before. It was not until the Spring Festival Gala in 1983 that the mainland used the term "sketch" for the first time.
In order to better explain "what is a sketch" to Zhang Xueliang, Huang Hong immediately proposed to perform a part for the young marshal:
"You're a veteran, let's give you a show of "Phone Leaks" and see if you can hear how we leaked secrets?"
Zhang Xueliang immediately agreed with great interest, and laughed from time to time during the viewing process.
After the performance, the young marshal applauded repeatedly, and Huang Hong said again:
"Uncle Zhang, you should know about the two-person turn in the Northeast. ”
Zhang Xueliang thought for a while and asked:
"Isn't it a two-person platform? I know. ”
Huang Hong immediately performed a two-person turn for Zhang Xueliang, Zhang Xueliang was silent for a moment after watching it, and then asked vigilantly:
"Where are you from?"
"I'm from Shenyang. ”
"What, you're from Mukden?"
"Yes, it's called Shenyang now. ”
When Zhang Xueliang learned that there were still his fellow countrymen here, he was inevitably a little excited, and kept muttering:
"I know there, I know ...... there"
Zhang Xueliang asked again:
"Which district of Shenyang are you from?"
"Peace Zone. ”
This obviously poked at the young marshal's "knowledge blind spot" again, he smiled and asked embarrassedly:
"What was the name of this district before?"
"I don't know the specifics, but we have an old train station in our area. ”
Zhang Xueliang reacted immediately, and then explained to everyone with a smile:
"Due to the peculiarities of the Tohoku region, this area was originally a land attached to the railway that had been forcibly leased by foreign powers, and there was also a part of the land for commercial use by foreign countries. ”
When the young marshal talks about his hometown, he seems to have endless words. Everyone listened attentively, as if they had followed him back to that thick and melodious era.
On the occasion of parting, Huang Hong plucked up the courage to say what he had always wanted to say to Zhang Xueliang:
"When do you have time to go back to your hometown to see? The Marshal's Mansion has been painted many times, and my father and fellow villagers miss you very much. ”
Zhang Xueliang suddenly wet his eyes, was silent for a long time, and said slowly:
"I also miss my parents and fellow villagers in the Northeast, but my wife is not in good health and is still undergoing surgery in the United States......"
Huang Hong knew very well that Zhang Xueliang didn't want to go back, although he didn't say it explicitly, he still heard a little helplessness from the young marshal's words.
All of this, in the final analysis, still has to go back to after Zhang Yang and the others launched the Xi'an Incident.
Knowing that there are tigers in the mountains, how can you go to the tiger mountains?
Looking back, if General Zhang Xueliang had not accompanied Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing after launching the Xi'an Incident, would he not have been placed under house arrest? In that case, why did Zhang Xueliang insist on escorting Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing?
All this has to start after the Xi'an incident.
After the outbreak of the Xi'an Incident, Zhou Enlai and others went to Xi'an to negotiate peace with Song Ziwen and Song Meiling, and Lao Jiang also promised at the negotiating table:
"No more civil war, united anti-Japanese. ”
For this result, everyone is still relatively satisfied, and then they are faced with the problem of Jiang's return.
In fact, on this issue, before that, many people advocated the execution of Chiang Kai-shek. As for the reasons, they vary, so I won't go into too much detail here.
Zhang Xueliang advocated the release of Chiang Kai-shek and the peaceful settlement of the Xi'an Incident.
But what everyone never expected was that he even offered to escort Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing, which is very incredible.
And just when Zhang Xueliang was about to leave the airport, Zhou Enlai actually wanted to chase him back, but in the end he didn't have time.
But in fact, Zhang Xueliang has long had his own considerations about this matter.
In 1983, the National Museum of China collected a photocopy of Zhang Xueliang's handwritten edict written by Jiang Xueliang before returning to Nanjing, which clearly reads:
"When my brother leaves Shaanxi, in case of an accident, please obey the command of Huchen and filial piety. I hereby send to the commanders of the armies of He, Wang, Miao, and Dong, Zhang Xueliang, on the twenty-fifth day, with Yang Huchen acting as the deputy of Yu." ”
From here, we can clearly know that Zhang Xueliang is not unaware that this trip is "sheep into the tiger's mouth", and it is precisely because of this that he made follow-up arrangements in advance.
And in 1937, when Chairman Mao met with American reporters, he told us one of the answers:
"During the Xi'an Incident, some people tried their best to provoke a civil war. If Mr. Zhang Hanqing had not personally sent Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing, the Xi'an Incident would not have been truly 'peaceful'. ”
First of all, since this military admonition was jointly initiated by him and General Yang Hucheng, as a soldier, he should bear the corresponding responsibility for the following crimes.
After all, at that time, all sectors of society had different understandings of the Xi'an incident.
There are even people with ill intentions who try to deliberately fabricate the facts, saying that Zhang Xueliang's move seems to be anti-Japanese, but in fact it is self-destructive.
And if the young marshal can personally escort Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing, he can use this to block the mouth of the people and stabilize the current situation.
Second, Chiang Kai-shek could be urged to implement the "united anti-Japanese resistance" in order to prevent Chiang from "failing to keep his word" again.
Second, Zhang Xueliang's move was to help Chiang Kai-shek regain his prestige.
You may say that Chiang Kai-shek was bent on civil war, so why should he help him regain his prestige? What if he starts a civil war again?
However, one point to consider is that at a time when the Chinese nation is in danger and Japanese aggression is rampant, we urgently need a united army to resist Japan.
At that time, the Red Army was relatively weak, but the Kuomintang had a large number of large-scale and systematic troops. It is necessary to mobilize the forces of all sectors of society, and this is the painstaking work of "uniting Chiang to resist Japan" at the beginning.
The Xi'an Incident was undoubtedly a huge blow to Lao Chiang, and it was certainly not conducive to his better leadership of the national anti-Japanese resistance in the later period.
What's more, at that time, Zhu He Yingqin and other senior generals were ready to act after the Xi'an Incident, advocating to launch a war to rescue Lao Jiang, but no one knew his ambition to replace him.
At that time, once He Yingqin turns his face and refuses to admit it, then all the efforts of the Xi'an Incident will be in vain.
Therefore, it was necessary for Zhang Xueliang to accompany Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing to stabilize his position in the Kuomintang.
But in other words, only by stabilizing Chiang Kai-shek's position at the moment can he prepare for his resistance against Japan in the later period.
Of course, it is undeniable that Zhang Xueliang attaches great importance to friendship, and Chiang Kai-shek, as his "big brother", escorted Chiang back to Nanjing, probably because of his "guilt".
In this way, Zhang Xueliang chose to embark on this road of no return, but after arriving in Nanjing, Chiang Kai-shek soon put him under house arrest.
After the defeat of the Liberation War, Chiang Kai-shek retreated to Taiwan. Before leaving, he did not forget to "take revenge", assassinated Yang Hucheng's family, and took Zhang Xueliang to Taiwan under house arrest.
This ban was 54 years before and after.
The name of the blank paper was not returned
So let's go back to when Huang Hong asked the young marshal if he wanted to return to the Northeast, the reason why Zhang Xueliang was difficult to open his mouth was actually something that was difficult to say.
Why didn't he want to go back to his hometown?
However, after regaining his freedom, Zhang Xueliang was often subject to pressure from the authorities.
He did not dare to directly put forward the idea of returning to the northeast with the top level of Taiwan, so he asked someone to send the news to the mainland.
After learning of the news, the mainland side immediately sent a letter back to the young marshal, expressing a warm welcome to the young marshal to return to the mainland.
But before the reply letter reached Zhang Xueliang's hands, it was cut off, and they accused Zhang Xueliang:
"Could it be that you still want to make a Xi'an incident or a Taipei incident?"
This sentence pierced the young marshal's heart like a knife.
Later, the young marshal also mentioned that it was difficult for him to behave on both sides, and he not only offended the Taiwan authorities, but also violated his promise to the mainland.
Subsequently, Zhang Xueliang went to the United States to visit relatives. After learning of this news, the mainland also sent Lu Zhengcao, the young marshal's old subordinate, to the United States to discuss the matter of returning to China.
However, the Taiwan side has been putting pressure on Zhang Xueliang to return to Taipei as soon as possible.
After that, Zhang Xueliang lived a reclusive life in Taiwan until he immigrated to the United States in 1995.
General Zhang Xueliang lived to be 101 years old, but until the end, he was not able to step on the train back to his homeland, which also became his eternal regret.
And in 1993, when Huang Hong visited Zhang Xueliang, he sent an invitation to the young marshal, hoping that Zhang Xueliang could go to watch their performance the next day.
Zhang Xueliang readily agreed.
After the performance, Huang Hong asked Zhang Xueliang to write a few words for the villagers in his hometown.
Zhang Xueliang stared at the blank paper for a long time, and finally slowly picked up the pen, neatly wrote the three words "Zhang Xueliang" on the corner of the paper, and then said:
"I'm not very good at eyesight, so I'll just write a name, and let you write the rest for me. ”
Huang Hong later guessed that the young marshal did not leave a word to his father and fellow villagers, probably because this piece of paper could not carry his lovesickness for his homeland.
And Zhang Xueliang left this paper with an empty name but no content, thinking that it would be for future generations to comment on his merits and demerits. Perhaps in the young marshal's heart, there has always been a knot that is difficult to untie.
epilogue
Later, General Zhang Xueliang wrote an inscription for the old military headquarters in Northeast China:
"The crane has a dream of returning home, and the cloud has no heart. ”
And Zhang Xueliang was unable to return to his hometown in the end, largely because he was blocked by the authorities of Baodao at that time.
The young marshal was indeed at fault, but his contribution to the War of Resistance against Japan was also enormous.
On October 14, 2001, Zhang Xueliang died in Honolulu at the age of 101. This old man of the century has gone through a hundred glorious years, focusing on the general interests of the nation and writing a legend.
is like that blank piece of paper with a name, the merits and demerits of the young marshal will be handed over to future generations to comment.
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[Text: Here]
[Editor|Chang Gung]