Before reading this article, I sincerely invite you to click the "Follow" button, so that you can continue to push such articles in the future, and it is also convenient for you to discuss and share, your support is the driving force for us to insist on creating~
Text | Edit: Shi Zai has no money
Preface
The life story of General Zhang Xueliang is like a mirror, reflecting the depth of history and the temperature of heroes. This is not only a legend, but also a touch of the soul. His eyes in the photo reveal not only the vicissitudes of time, but also the profound thinking about the future.
In 54 years of house arrest, he wrote an indomitable chapter with perseverance and patriotism. His life is not only a witness to history, but also an inspiration to us: in the face of difficulties, how can we stick to our beliefs and continue to write brilliant stories?
At the beginning of the 20th century, on June 3, 1901, a sudden attack put Zhang Zuolin's family on the run. Just as they hurriedly evacuated in the direction of Octagonal Terrace, Zhao Chungui, on the bumpy carriage, ushered in the first boy in the family - Zhang Xueliang, who was later known to the world.
At that time, Zhang Zuolin was still a regimental training leader with an inconspicuous status, but with his wit and strategy, he adhered to the survival rule of "taking profit as a link", and gradually expanded his territory of influence in the complex northeast.
In 1919, Changchun's defender Meng Enyuan lost ground and withdrew, and Zhang Zuolin immediately placed his trusted subordinates in the position of overseers of Heilongjiang and Jilin, and the position of the overlord of the Northeast was established. Zhang Xueliang, a young man who grew up in a magnificent historical background, was already the heir to the powerful in the Northeast at the age of 18. Born into a wealthy family, he seems to have been destined to enjoy the pinnacle of life.
This young marshal of the Northeast, known as the "pride of the sky", dedicated his life to correcting a past mistake in the years to come.
In 1916, Zhang Xueliang was only 15 years old, and he became attached to Yu Fengzhi under his father's arrangement, which was not only the consideration of marriage, but also Zhang Zuolin's hope that his son could mature and stabilize as soon as possible. Although Zhang Zuolin himself is also a veteran of the love field, as the core heir of the family, he is well aware of the risks that indulgence may bring to the future, so he expects Zhang Xueliang to avoid the same trajectory.
Zhang Xueliang, who graduated from the Army Lecture Hall of the Three Eastern Provinces in 1920, quickly rose to prominence in the military circles. Although he was very smart, the young Zhang Xueliang was also addicted to the life of drunken money, and often went to various prosperous places. Zhang Xueliang boasted: "Throughout China and abroad, I have had 11 female companions. This remark is enough to witness his romance and extraordinary charm at that time. As the son of a warlord in the Northeast, his emotional life is naturally colorful.
Especially his ex-wife Yu Fengzhi and Zhao Si Miss Zhao Yidi, both of whom occupy a special place in his life. Yu Fengzhi was born in a wealthy businessman's family, Zhang Xueliang is several years older, and his elegant temperament is extraordinary.
In the spring of 1920, Zhang Zuolin, a powerful tycoon in Northeast China, placed a large order in a county town in Heilongjiang and directly bought a piece of land of up to 400 hectares. Together with Japanese business leaders, he established the Sino-Japanese Xingfa Company, which specialized in grain and local specialties in the northeast region, and quickly became one of the lifelines of the Zhang family's economy.
In 1928, after Zhang Zuolin was assassinated by Japan, Zhang Xueliang felt deeply ashamed of the country and cut off all business contacts with the Japanese.
Zhang Xueliang, who inherited the family business, showed a very different character from his father. He is indifferent to the pursuit of wealth, and is more concerned about the financial health of the three northeastern provinces than the increase or decrease of personal wealth. His main source of income was the annual salary of the Commander-in-Chief of Security in the Three Eastern Provinces and the assets left by his father. During his control of the Northeast regime, Zhang Xueliang never used his personal power for the growth of family interests. The property left by Zhang Zuolin gradually let go of itself under his management and was no longer a burden on his heart.
In the spring of 1929, the Japanese Navy made an appearance at the Chinese port of Dalian in a massive fleet exercise aimed at demonstrating its maritime power. In this regard, Zhang Xueliang felt the demonstration intention behind the Japanese side's move, and chose not to deal with it in person, but sent his younger fourth brother Zhang Xuesi and his son Zhang Luhuan, who had just turned 12, as representatives.
In Dalian, Zhang Xuesi first witnessed the strength of the Japanese Navy, including the striking submarine carriers, which planted a deep impression on his young mind and inspired him to join the navy and command the fleet to fight back against the invaders. When he returned home, he decorated his room into a small command center, often immersing himself in a world of simulated naval battles.
In the early 1930s, although Zhang Xueliang held military power in Northeast China and North China, he was rarely involved in the accumulation of private property. In the late autumn of 1931, the September 18 Incident broke out, and the three northeastern provinces encountered unexpected changes. Zhang Xueliang, who was influenced by Chiang Kai-shek, the head of the Nationalist Government, made a decision that made people sigh and ordered the Northeast Army not to launch a resistance against the invading Japanese army. As the Japanese army pressed forward step by step, the Northeast Army quickly lost and the vast land quickly fell.
All this made Zhang Xueliang feel guilty, and he always had a strong desire to regain his homeland. However, Chiang Kai-shek had other plans, and he asked Zhang Xueliang to move to northern Shaanxi to encircle and suppress the Red Army there, an order that made Zhang Xueliang feel very painful. At this time, the Red Army had already held high the banner of "armistice and resistance against Japan" and called on all forces in the country to unite to jointly fight against foreign enemies.
However, Chiang Kai-shek was still stubborn, adhered to the strategy of "first securing the interior and then the outside", ignored the tragedy in the northeast, and continued to attack the Red Army. In this context, Yang Hucheng, the leader of the Northwest Army, who was also stationed in Shaanxi, found Zhang Xueliang, and the two were related. Yang Hucheng expressed dissatisfaction with Chiang Kai-shek's policies, and even hinted that the Nationalist government could be forced to change its strategy for the civil war by force and jointly face the Japanese threat.
Although Zhang Xueliang was initially hesitant, he finally strengthened his determination to join forces with Yang Hucheng after witnessing Chiang Kai-shek's ruthlessness against the Japanese and his gun-pointing approach to the students who peacefully petitioned. Taking advantage of Chiang Kai-shek's arrival in Xi'an, Yang Hucheng ordered his men to block the main road, while Zhang Xueliang sent elite troops straight to Huaqingchi and successfully detained Chiang Kai-shek. This shocking action quickly spread at home and abroad and became a great spectacle in history.
At the suggestion and assistance of the Communist Party, Zhang Xueliang proposed to Chiang Kai-shek the conditions for the establishment of an anti-Japanese national united front. In the face of Zhang Xueliang's insistence and domestic and foreign pressure, Chiang Kai-shek finally made a compromise, and the anti-Japanese united front was established, which won the broad support of the people of the whole country. Although the Xi'an Incident created the conditions for the full-scale outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng also paid a huge personal price for this and faced the challenge of unknown fate.
On a winter night in 1936, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng secretly summoned their elite officers for a historic closed-door meeting. They chose to act before Chiang Kai-shek was aware of it because they had decided to take extraordinary measures in response to the strong call for a nationwide united front against Japan.
On that tense night, the generals of the Northeast Army surrounded Zhang Xueliang and waited for his orders. The young marshal calmly revealed to them the core of the plan - to force Chiang Kai-shek to change his policy and resist Japan in an all-out way with the help of military advice.
After a short but intense discussion, everyone unanimously expressed their support for Zhang Xueliang's plan, and their determination and belief reached a climax at that moment. Also under the command of Yang Hucheng, the officers of the Seventeenth Route Army were also preparing for another storm to come. In the early morning of December 12, 1936, the Northeast Army and the 17th Route Army silently surrounded Huaqingchi, preparing to carry out their bold plan.
Chiang Kai-shek attempted to escape as the Northeast Army was about to arrive, but was unfortunately wounded when he jumped out of a window and was eventually arrested behind a rock. At this time, Yang Hucheng's troops were also in action, successfully controlling the key military and political leadership of the Kuomintang to avoid intelligence leakage.
Subsequently, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng sent a historic telegram to the whole country, calling for an end to the internal strife and a unified face to the foreign enemy. The Xi'an incident immediately became the focus of national and international attention. The pro-American Soong Meiling and Soong Ziwen began to run around, trying to resolve the crisis by peaceful means to ensure Chiang Kai-shek's safety. On the other hand, He Yingqin, who was pro-Japanese, advocated the use of force to settle Zhang and Yang, and his true intentions were questionable.
Although there are many voices opposing Zhang Xueliang in the Kuomintang, there are also people who support him, such as Liu Xiang. After a series of intense negotiations, Chiang Kai-shek finally signed an agreement to stop the civil war on December 24, 1936. Two days later, Zhang Xueliang accompanied Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing, an action that he did not expect to bring him a half-century of house arrest, from the mainland to Taiwan, and his fate was changed.
In Zhang Xueliang's memories of his later years, he once affectionately expressed his infinite admiration for Zhou Enlai: "In my heart, there are few people who admire, and Zhou Enlai is at the top of the list. "Whether in public or in private, Zhang Xueliang has always shown his high respect for Premier Zhou without hesitation.
Zhou Enlai, as an important representative of the Communist Party of China in the Xi'an Incident, was well aware of the tremendous pressure and inner pain that Zhang Xueliang faced at that time.
When the Northeast Army was facing difficulties, the Red Army spared no effort to help. I remember one time, when the 51st Army of the Northeast Army exchanged fire with the Japanese army in Shandong, General Peng Xuefeng of the Red Army led the troops to arrive in time to help them break through the encirclement.
In terms of material supply, the Communist Party also did not hesitate to lend a helping hand. When the 57th Army of the Northeast Army crossed the Grand Canal, it was the good relations between the Communists and the local people that helped them borrow boats, and provided medical treatment for many wounded to ensure their safe return.
The Communist Party also played an important role in intelligence support. When he learned that the Northeast Army was in need, Commander Zhang Jingwu of the Shandong Column of the Eighth Route Army went there in person and provided key intelligence information.
For those generals of the Northeast Army who wanted to join the Communist Party, Zhou Enlai's attitude was very clear, summed up in four words: actively absorb. Among them, generals such as Lu Zhengcao, Wan Yi, and Xie Fang were all Zhang Xueliang's subordinates. Their decision to switch to the Communist Party was largely oppressed and ostracized by the Kuomintang.
On an ordinary day in 2001, Zhang Xueliang, a veteran general with a history spanning a hundred years, suddenly became unwell and realized that the countdown to life had begun. On his deathbed, he made a major and controversial choice to donate all of his accumulated wealth to Columbia University, which was far away overseas, to support the university's sinology research.
This decision caused huge waves in the Chinese community. Many people questioned why he, as a son and daughter of China, had transferred his huge wealth to a foreign land, but General Zhang's decision was not made on the spur of the moment. He is well aware that his assets are not entirely personal, but are closely linked to the United States and its financial community.
The source of this wealth can be traced back to the complicated dealings with Wall Street in the United States and the deep relationship with the Song family. Weighing family and personal honor, Zhang Xueliang chose the path of not exposing future generations to potential risks. Faced with the voice of suggesting that the property be donated to the homeland, Zhang Xueliang responded with a wry smile. He was well aware that donating to either party could trigger unnecessary political disputes, especially in the context of tensions between the mainland and Taiwan at the time.
He does not want his decision to become the fuse for aggravating cross-strait contradictions. Therefore, he decided that handing over the property to a neutral third party might be the most appropriate option. In this turmoil of public opinion, people have mixed evaluations of Zhang Xueliang.
Some praised him as a national hero, while others criticized him for getting carried away and losing his loyalty to the motherland. However, in the last moments of his life, Zhang Xueliang kept a clear head and insisted on his decision. He believes that this is neither a blind choice nor a wrong move, but the result of careful consideration.