This set of photos is Zhang Xueliang's real life when he was under house arrest, and it is extremely luxurious, not at all like the life of a prisoner!

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Editor: LSK

"Lao Jiang didn't dare to kill me, he relied on me for today."

After Zhang Xueliang launched the "Xi'an Incident", Lao Chiang was forced to form a national anti-Japanese united front.

However, after the Xi'an Incident was resolved peacefully, Zhang Xueliang was immediately imprisoned by Chiang Kai-shek.

From 1936 to 1990, for 54 years, Zhang Xueliang was like a "caged bird".

However, a closer look at Zhang Xueliang's life photos found that "luxury cars, villas, big fish and big meat" are complete.

There are even a dozen servants, and it doesn't look like a "prisoner" at all.

So why didn't Chiang Kai-shek kill Zhang Xueliang? Still want to eat and drink well?

Zhang Xueliang's later life

Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhang Xueliang had been imprisoned and had traveled to many places.

Each place was carefully selected by Chiang Kai-shek, and it was basically a place of reputation for being extremely remote.

After 1949, Chiang Kai-shek, who fled to Taiwan in a hurry, did not forget to take Zhang Xueliang with him.

So how has Zhang Xueliang's life in captivity been in the past 50 years?

Let's start with food and clothing, in short, the food is very rich.

In the words of Lao Jiang: I can raise an infantry regiment!

Chiang Kai-shek has to allocate 50,000 yuan every month to the special service team responsible for guarding Zhang Xueliang!

That's 600,000 a year! Whenever Lao Jiang mentioned this, he was distressed.

The special service team goes out every day to buy fresh vegetables and fruits.

Fresh live chicken, freshly slaughtered pork, seafood, lobster, and more are all available.

In order to preserve the ingredients, at that time, he was even equipped with an expensive gas refrigerator.

Fruits are not ordinary fruits, they are all selected fruits from all over the world.

Zhang Xueliang also loves to drink Coke, which is specially distributed by the Coca-Cola Company.

Each of his meals has eight dishes, including meat, seafood, vegetables, etc.

From pairing to cooking, it is carried out by a dedicated nutritionist and chef.

When he was in Taiwan, Zhang Xueliang also formed a "transfer club" with Zhang Daqian, Zhang Qun, and Wang Xinheng.

The four families take turns to entertain guests, specializing in a variety of delicious delicacies from the mountains and seas from all over the world.

If there is any novel food that cannot be bought, Zhang Xueliang will write to Song Ziwen and ask him to find a way.

In addition, his confidante Miss Zhao Si has always accompanied him.

In a life of house arrest, as long as it is not particularly excessive.

Chiang Kai-shek and later Chiang Ching-kuo would basically satisfy Zhang Xueliang.

Zhang Xueliang wanted to play volleyball, so he built a volleyball court for him directly in the backyard.

Zhang Xueliang wanted to swim, and Chiang Kai-shek immediately ordered a swimming pool to be built for him.

Zhang Xueliang wants to go out to party and play, and after approval, he can also drive.

Until Chiang Kai-shek's death in 1975, Zhang Xueliang thought he could finally regain his freedom.

But who would have thought that Chiang Ching-kuo, who took over the military and political power, also strictly guarded him.

It was not until 1988, when Chiang Ching-kuo also died, that he ushered in a brief time of freedom.

So why did Chiang Kai-shek's father and son not want to let him go until he died?

And why didn't you kill him, but instead satisfy him with all kinds of demands?

Maybe all this starts from the day Zhang Xueliang became a young marshal.

Young Marshal Zhang Xueliang

In 1901, Zhang Xueliang was born in a warlord family in the northeast.

His father, Zhang Zuolin, was the leader of the Feng warlords and was also known as the "King of the Northeast" at the time.

As Zhang Zuolin's eldest son, Zhang Xueliang has lived in a prominent family environment since he was a child.

During the period when Zhang Zuolin was in charge of the Northeast, his financial resources were rivaled by the country.

This allowed Zhang Xueliang to live an extremely luxurious life.

His clothes are all top-of-the-line suits from Western customization, and his car is also a luxury sedan.

Zhang Xueliang also often drove a car and threw coins on the street.

Watching the children chasing behind him scramble to pick it up, his spirit was greatly satisfied.

Zhang Xueliang is also interested in luxury cars, and his home has a special garage for parking.

There are a number of top sedans including Rolls-Royce and Lincoln.

Every time Zhang Xueliang travels, there will be a special fleet of luxury cars.

Driving on the street, everyone knew at a glance that "the young marshal is out of the house again".

Zhang Xueliang also likes to raise dogs, and it is said that his kennel has raised hundreds.

These dogs are cared for by specialized breeders and eat no worse food than ordinary people.

While ordinary people were still worried about the next meal, the young marshal's dog had already eaten high-quality beef.

His father, Zhang Zuolin, saw that it was not possible for him to go on like this, so he sent him to the Japanese Army Military Academy.

After militarized management, Zhang Xueliang gradually possessed a certain political talent.

Until 1928, with the sudden death of Zhang Zuolin, Zhang Xueliang officially began to take over the power.

Although after grasping real power, Zhang Xueliang did restrain his habit of profligacy.

But this deep-rooted nature has not disappeared because of this.

On the contrary, with the blessing of rights, it is presented in another way.

In 1931, after the September 18 Incident, the entire three eastern provinces fell.

Although the land of Longxing is gone, it has not affected his quality of life.

It wasn't until after the Xi'an Incident that the trajectory of his life took a complete turn.

At that time, Japan's intention to swallow China was undoubtedly revealed.

However, Chiang Kai-shek still adhered to the policy of "reassuring the outside world before securing the interior."

Although Zhang Xueliang advised the old Chiang Kuomintang to cooperate with the Communist Party to resist Japan several times, he was rejected.

So in December 1936, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng put Chiang Kai-shek under house arrest together.

Chiang Kai-shek was forced to accept the policy of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and finally the Xi'an Incident was resolved peacefully under the coordination of all parties.

But Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng were also detained by Lao Jiang later.

Subsequently, for nearly 54 years, he was escorted around the country.

But what few people know is that in fact, as early as 1937, Zhang Xueliang received a nominal "amnesty".

"Zhang Xueliang was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and he was specially pardoned, and he was still handed over to the Military Commission for strict control."

It's just that this is just Chiang Kai-shek's "word game".

Since then, Zhang Xueliang has been strictly managed by Lao Jiang and completely lost his freedom.

Soon after, the Anti-Japanese War broke out, and Zhang Xueliang applied to Lao Jiang several times to lead the army to fight against the Japanese army.

Every time Lao Jiang saw his application, he would reply to him: study hard!

In 1949, after his former comrade-in-arms Yang Hucheng was killed, Zhang Xueliang also almost suffered for a time.

Fortunately, under the obstruction of Song Meiling, Chiang Kai-shek did not kill Zhang Xueliang.

Life in Taiwan

After coming to Taiwan, Zhang Xueliang was arranged in a villa with a beautiful environment.

Not to mention the Christmas tree planted in front of the house, you can see the lake when you go out.

On weekdays, the young marshal drinks tea with friends, reads books, writes, and lives a good life!

Where's jail? It's clearly a vacation!

Zhang Xueliang came here and quickly adapted to the rhythm of local life.

He frequents the nearby Takeya Hot Springs and likes to wander around.

When he is bored, Zhang Xueliang will also go fishing, raising chickens, and growing vegetables.

Later, many people said that Zhang Xueliang was able to live so long later.

The main reason is his unusually healthy and regular pastoral life.

Every month, the Kuomintang would send a considerable amount of money for living expenses.

It is said that this cost was enough to feed even an infantry regiment.

In addition, Zhang Xueliang is also equipped with a large number of guards and domestic servants, with a total of more than 200 people.

However, the superficial affluence of life cannot hide the inner torment.

The pain of losing freedom cannot be compensated for by material conditions.

Zhang Xueliang often sighed: "This seems to be a glorious life, but it is actually a cage."

In 2001, Zhang Xueliang died in Hawaii, USA, at the age of 100.

However, with his death, a new mystery emerges.

That is, Zhang Xueliang has a deposit of up to $600 million in his bank account.

So people have asked, where does a person who has been imprisoned for half his life get the money?

In fact, Zhang Xueliang was once the largest warlord in Northeast China.

The huge wealth left by Zhang Zuolin cannot be ignored.

Even though much of this wealth was later lost to the war, a considerable part of it was still preserved.

Secondly, as early as the beginning of Zhang Xueliang's house arrest, his wife Yu Fengzhi went to the United States with the family wealth.

This money is also under her operation, more and more.

Perhaps the high monthly living expenses given by Chiang Kai-shek later came from Fengzhi.

Therefore, although Zhang Xueliang has lived in a cage for the rest of his life, he has lived a fairy-like life.

And his optimistic attitude may be the reason for his longevity, right?

epilogue

Looking back on Zhang Xueliang's life, the merits are mixed, and the fall of the Northeast is inseparable from him.

But then he forced Chiang Kai-shek to cooperate with the Communists, ending the civil war.

Every choice he makes is related to the fate of the country.

As Zhang Xueliang said in his later years: I never care about fame, and I still leave it to future generations to comment!

So what do you think of Zhang Xueliang, welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss.

Resources:

People's Daily - July 2, 2009 - Famous patriotic generals who launched the Xi'an Incident - Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng

Qilu One Point - September 18, 2019 - What was Chiang Kai-shek doing when the "918 Incident" broke out? What was Zhang Xueliang thinking?