<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="1" > preface</h1>
In 1972, the doctor conducted a comprehensive physical examination of Zhou Enlai, found that there were hidden cancer cells in his body, due to the complex domestic political environment, Zhou Enlai proceeded from the overall situation and insisted on working with the disease, resulting in the condition not being treated in time.
Old photo of Zhou Enlai
In 1974, Zhou Enlai's condition became more serious. This year, some friends in Hong Kong learned that Chiang Kai-shek was seriously ill, and they prepared to launch a public opinion offensive to restore Zhang Xueliang's freedom.
They told Zhou Enlai about this idea, and Zhou Enlai immediately dissuaded him:
"Chiang Kai-shek has not yet died, but his jealousy of Zhang Xueliang has been diluted, and you may force Chiang Kai-shek to poison Zhang Xueliang by doing so, and the result will be very unfavorable to Zhang Xueliang."
At the last moment of his life, Zhou Enlai was still thinking about Zhang Xueliang, and when he talked about Zhang Xueliang, he cried many times.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="110" > see each other as they are, and hate each other late</h1>
In China's modern history, the Xi'an Incident was an extremely important turning point, he promoted the formation of China's anti-Japanese national united front, and all this is inseparable from the two great men Zhou Enlai and Zhang Xueliang, who have forged a deep friendship with each other, and this love affair has accompanied them through a bumpy life.
The Japanese slaughtered Chinese people
The 1930s were a time of many calamities for China, and Japanese imperialism stepped up its aggression against China. At a time of national peril, Chiang Kai-shek pursued a policy of "non-resistance," which led to a long drive of Japanese aggression and the fall of large areas of territory.
When the Japanese army invaded the northeast, General Zhang Xueliang suffered on behalf of Chiang Kai-shek and was criticized by everyone. He secretly made up his mind that he must fight back to the northeast and recover the lost land.
As the commander of the Northeast Army, Zhang Xueliang was repeatedly pulled down by Chiang Kai-shek to fight against the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army on the battlefield, but Zhang Xueliang and his generals of the Northeast Army were unwilling to fight a civil war, resulting in the morale of the generals being very low, and they were repeatedly defeated in battles with the Red Army.
At this time, the northeast had fallen, and Rehe was also invaded by the Japanese army, but Chiang Kai-shek ignored it and constantly urged Zhang Xueliang to encircle and suppress the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and his heart was very resistant.
The Japanese army invaded and occupied northeast China
Zhang Xueliang began to contact underground CCP members, and in the process of contact, he gradually developed the idea of uniting with the Communist Party to resist Japan. The CPC Central Committee attached great importance to Zhang Xueliang's patriotic tendencies, and successively sent Li Kenong to Luochuan to conduct secret negotiations with Zhang Xueliang and signed an agreement on mutual non-aggression.
In order to further discuss in detail the great plan of resisting Japan and saving the country, Zhang Xueliang hoped that Chairman Mao or Zhou Enlai would conduct formal negotiations as plenipotentiaries, and the Party Central Committee, after careful consideration, decided that Zhou Enlai would lead a delegation to Yan'an for talks.
On April 9, 1936, the two great men had their first historic meeting. As soon as the two met, they held hands tightly like close friends they had not seen for many years. Zhou En: "I grew up in the northeast (I studied in Shenyang from 1910 to the fall of 1913). ”
Zhang Xueliang replied, "My teacher Zhang Boling and I mentioned this matter. ”
Zhou Enlai was very confused in his heart, and Zhang Xueliang began to explain: "In the past, I used to smoke a lot, and I only quit after listening to Zhang Boling's advice, so I worshipEd Zhang Boling as a teacher, I am still the same teacher as you." ”
Zhou Enlai during the Yan'an period
The whole talk lasted for nine days, but they were deeply impressed with each other, and the CPC Central Committee studied zhang Xueliang's proposal in detail and decided to change "anti-Chiang Kai-shek and resist Japan" to "force Chiang Kai-shek to resist Japan."
The two men made outstanding contributions to the establishment and development of the anti-Japanese national united front, and they also formed a deep friendship with each other, and later someone asked Zhang Xueliang about his impression of Zhou Enlai, and Zhang Xueliang replied: "At first sight, he hated each other late, and he was one of the people I most admired." ”
Under the persuasion of Zhou Enlai, Zhang Xueliang made up his mind to unite the forces of the Communist Party to resist Japan. He repeatedly appealed to Chiang Kai-shek in the hope of uniting against the Japanese aggressors, but Chiang Kai-shek not only did not listen to it, but instead came to Xi'an to urge Zhang Xueliang to intensify his efforts to suppress the Communists.
In desperation, zhang xueliang and Yang Hucheng, two generals, launched a military advisory and detained Chiang Kai-shek. At the same time, Zhang Xueliang called the CPC Central Committee, hoping that the CPC could send representatives to Xi'an to discuss the plan to save the country.
Zhang Xueliang's military uniform photo
The party Central Committee made a decision and sent a delegation of Zhou Enlai, Bogu, Ye Jianying, and others to Xi'an to discuss with Zhang Xueliang, Yang Hucheng, and other patriotic generals the grand plan of saving the country. On December 16, Zhou Enlai and others came to Xi'an, and Zhang Xueliang personally went to greet them, and the two talked for a long time.
Zhou Enlai agreed with Zhang Xueliang's approach and expressed his views on the nature of the incident and the method of handling it, believing that although Chiang Kai-shek was detained, his strength had not been lost, so how to deal with Chiang Kai-shek was particularly important, and the two quickly reached a consensus on this issue.
But Chiang Kai-shek, as the leader of the Kuomintang, felt that this matter was detrimental to his dignity, so he put on a hunger strike to confront Zhang Xueliang and others. Under the persuasion of Song Ziwen and Song Meiling, Zhou Enlai met Chiang Kai-shek as a subordinate of the Whampoa Military Academy, and the two had in-depth exchanges.
Under the persuasion of Zhou Enlai, Chiang Kai-shek's attitude began to change, and Zhou Enlai, Zhang Xueliang, Soong Ziwen, Soong Mei-ling, and others reached an armistice agreement, and Chiang Kai-shek guaranteed acceptance of this armistice agreement with the personality of a leader.
A scene from the Xi'an Incident
On December 25, Zhang Xueliang, in order to maintain the dignity of Chiang Kai-shek's leader, decided to personally escort Chiang Kai-shek to Nanjing, but he did not inform Zhou Enlai during his emergency. Just when Zhou Enlai rushed to the airport, the plane had already taken off, and Zhou Enlai lamented: "Zhang Hanqing just watched too many old plays in "Serial Set", and he not only had to 'queue up to send Tianba', but also 'bear the guilt of Jingjing'. ”
Just after Chiang Kai-shek arrived in Nanjing, he immediately turned his face and did not recognize anyone, directly arrested Zhang Xueliang, and locked him up for nearly half a century. Since Zhang Xueliang was detained, Zhou Enlai hung in his heart and has been trying to find ways to rescue Zhang Xueliang.
In early 1937, Gu Zhutong's army approached Xi'an, and civil unrest broke out in the Northeast Army, and in order to achieve the great goal of unanimous resistance to Japan throughout the country, Zhang Xueliang did not care about his personal safety and the interests of the Northeast Army's group, and repeatedly wrote to the senior generals of the Northeast Army, asking them to withdraw their troops and move to the defense. Zhou Enlai approved of Zhang Xueliang's approach, advocating first withdrawing troops and moving defenses, and then rescuing Zhang Xueliang.
Zhang Xueliang and Chiang Kai-shek
Some young officers within the Northeast Army demanded that war be waged against the Central Army to rescue Zhang Xueliang. Zhou Enlai persuaded many times, but these people never listened, and they took the risk and shot wang Yizhe, the main general of the Northeast Army, and some of them were communists.
Some of the officers rushed into Zhou Enlai's residence, and they aimed their guns at Zhou Enlai. Zhou Enlai was not afraid, and loudly reprimanded: "You can save Deputy Commander Zhang in this way, you are doing this because your relatives are hurting the enemies quickly."
Zhou Enlai's remarks calmed this gang of main war factions, and Zhou Enlai came to Wang Yizhe's house to deal with the aftermath and comfort the living. Then he risked his life to welcome the Central Army into the city, not giving Chiang Kai-shek and other Kuomintang reactionaries any opportunity to create any friction, leading to a peaceful settlement of the matter.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="111" > are closely connected to each other</h1>
In August 1945, after eight years of arduous resistance, the Chinese military and civilians finally defeated the Japanese invaders. As a representative of the Ccp, Zhou Enlai repeatedly held peace negotiations with the Kuomintang. During the Chongqing talks, the Kuomintang and the Communists formulated a series of specific measures for cooperation.
Zhou Enlai in the Chongqing negotiations (first from right)
On January 10, 1946, the Political Consultative Conference, which attracted the attention of the people of the whole country, was held in the Auditorium of the National Government in Chongqing. Chiang Kai-shek attended the opening ceremony, in which he once again emphasized the legitimacy of political parties and the release of political prisoners.
On the afternoon of the meeting, there was a burst of military trumpets outside, and the deputies stood up solemnly until the horns stopped, and then everyone sat down again.
At this time, Zhou Enlai began to speak: "Hearing the sound of the horn just now, I remembered a person, without whom there would be no unity and resistance of the whole nation. This person is Mr. Zhang Hanqing, but this hero to the Chinese nation has always been imprisoned without personal freedom, and I hereby call on Chairman Jiang to release Mr. Zhang Hanqing as soon as possible. ”
As soon as the words fell silent, the whole venue fell silent. Shao Lizi, a representative of the Kuomintang, responded: "Chairman Jiang and Zhang Hanqing are definitely not just the relationship between the commander-in-chief and the generals, but the relationship between father and son. ”
Chiang Kai-shek was speaking
Shao Lizi did not say bluntly whether to restore Zhang Xueliang's freedom, but constantly mentioned Chiang Kai-shek's close relationship with Zhang Xueliang, thus indicating that this was a domestic affair within the Kuomintang and that others were not suitable for questioning.
When Zhang Xueliang learned that Zhou Enlai was fighting for his personal freedom, tears of emotion flowed from his eyes. In his letter to Zhou Enlai, he wrote that he hoped that Zhou Enlai would have everything well in the negotiations and thus put the country on the road to democracy.
On April 8, 1946, Ye Ting, Wang Ruofei, Bogu and others were killed in a plane crash, and Zhang Xueliang's heart was very sad. At the same time, the United States is helping Chiang Kai-shek to actively transport troops, and Zhang Xueliang feels that China is about to lose the situation of peaceful reunification, which shows that Zhou Enlai and Zhang Xueliang are closely related in their hearts in terms of concern for the fate of the country.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="112" > sixteen-character mestique</h1>
In 1949, after the end of the three major battles, the two parties resumed negotiations, Zhou Enlai proposed to release Zhang Xueliang, Yang Hucheng and other two patriotic generals, the Kuomintang ostensibly agreed, but behind the scenes, it killed Yang Hucheng's family, and then kidnapped Zhang Xueliang to Taiwan.
The People's Liberation Army is on the march
In November 1956, the CPPCC Auditorium held a celebration meeting for the twentieth anniversary of the Xi'an Incident, at which Zhou Enlai delivered a speech as a delegate. In his speech, he constantly praised Zhang Xueliang, saying that he was a hero of the Chinese nation.
On December 12, 1961, Zhou Enlai hosted a banquet at the Great Hall of the People for the relatives of Zhang Xueliang, Yang Hucheng and others, as well as the old ministry, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Xi'an Incident. At the banquet, Zhou Enlai talked about his interaction with Zhang Xueliang in Xi'an, and the participants were all in tears after hearing it.
When Zhou Enlai toasted Zhang Xueliang's younger brother Zhang Xuesi, he said bitterly: "My tears represent the Communist Party of China, and for twenty-five years, Yang Hucheng's family has been killed by reactionaries, but Zhang Xueliang is still imprisoned in Taiwan and has no personal freedom. ”
General Zhang Xuesi
After the banquet, Zhou Enlai thought of the last letter that Zhang Xueliang had sent him in 1946, in which he expressed his longing for Zhou Enlai.
Zhou Enlai's psychology hated himself very much, the Xi'an Incident had passed 25 spring and autumn, and although he had made many efforts, Zhang Xueliang was still under house arrest by the Kuomintang in Taiwan and had no personal freedom. He decided to personally write a letter to Zhang Xueliang to express his concern and thoughts.
Although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are not far away, it is very difficult to send a letter to Zhang Xueliang, and the Kuomintang has imposed an all-round blockade of the Taiwan Strait, and how to bypass the surveillance of secret agents and send it to Zhang Xueliang's hands has become a difficult problem in front of him. After many considerations, Zhou Enlai finally selected Ms. Zhu Meijun as the messenger.
Zhu Meijun is the fifth daughter of Mr. Zhu Qizhao, and she is the wife of Zhu Guangmu, Zhang Xueliang's personal secretary, and it is most appropriate for her to deliver letters.
Zhou Enlai and Zhang Xueliang
After Zhu Meijun learned of Zhou Enlai's willingness to contact Zhang Xueliang, he expressed his willingness to go to Taiwan to personally hand over the secret letter, and Zhou Enlai thought deeply about it, so he began to write a thoughtful letter:
Cherish for the country, be good at self-nourishment; the future is promising, and there will be a period later.
The 16 words written by Zhou Enlai on the snow-white raft are full of deep meaning, and he records the feelings of missing each other, which is also an expectation for the future.
The letter had neither the name nor the address of the recipient, and given the special circumstances of the time, Zhou Enlai did not sign his name on the envelope.
Zhou Enlai considered Zhang Xueliang's relatives, so he asked Zhang Xuesi and Zhang Xueming to write a letter each, and the three letters were forwarded to Zhang Xueliang together.
Zhu Meijun made a detailed plan, he put the letter at the bottom of the candy box, and then issued an application to the Taiwan side to visit relatives, which at that time strictly censored hong Kong residents to visit their relatives in Taiwan, and they were worried that Communist Party "spies" would enter Taiwan. In the end, Zhu Meijun, with the help of relatives and friends in Taiwan, arrived in Taiwan smoothly in April 1962.
Zhou Enlai was speaking
After Zhu Meijun came to Taiwan, she found that Zhang Xueliang's side had a company of plainclothes secretly "protecting" him, and if he wanted to see Zhang Xueliang, he had to go through the permission of the Taiwan authorities. In desperation, Zhu Meijun had no choice but to stay in Taiwan and quietly wait for the opportunity.
In October of the same year, Zhu Meijun met Zhang Xueliang's close friend Huang Renlin at a public event, and after many trips, Dong Xianguang (Zhang Xueliang's Christian teacher) transferred it to Zhang Xueliang and his wife. Regarding this sixteen-character secret letter, neither Zhou Enlai nor Zhang Xueliang revealed it to outsiders.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="115" > Zhou Enlai: Don't forget your old friends in Taiwan</h1>
In 1972, Zhou Enlai due to overwork, there were some conditions in his body, the doctor conducted a comprehensive examination of him, found that his body contained hidden cancer cells, but due to the complex domestic political environment, Zhou Enlai proceeded from the overall situation and still insisted on working with illness.
In 1974, Zhou Enlai's illness gradually worsened, and in the same year, some news came from Hong Kong that Chiang Kai-shek was seriously ill and was about to die soon, and some people wanted to take this opportunity to launch a public opinion offensive against the Taiwan authorities and restore Zhang Xueliang's personal freedom.
Chiang Kai-shek in his later years
They told Zhou Enlai about this idea, and Zhou Enlai praised their spirit of justice, but hoped that they would abandon this practice, and he discouraged:
"Chiang Kai-shek is still there, and his hatred for Zhang Xueliang has slowly faded with the passage of time. If it is not handled well, it may irritate Chiang Kai-shek, just like the way Empress Dowager Cixi dealt with the Guangxu Emperor in the past, endangering Zhang Xueliang's life and safety. ”
In September 1975, Zhou Enlai learned the news that Zhang Xueliang was suffering from an eye disease and might be in danger of blindness, and Zhou Enlai on the hospital bed was very worried, so he immediately made instructions to ask the relevant departments to conduct a timely investigation, and wrote the words "trust, trust, trust" in the instructions.
Zhou Enlai in his later years
On December 20, 1975, Zhou Enlai, who was in a critical state of illness, summoned Luo Qingchang, head of the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Group, and he talked about the policy of taiwan work. ”
Until the last moment of his life, Zhou Enlai was still thinking of Zhang Xueliang. Every time others talked about Zhang Xueliang, his heart was very excited, and his tears couldn't stop flowing. He sincerely hoped that there would be a third opportunity for cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, not only for the peaceful reunification of the motherland, but also for reuniting with Zhang Xueliang.
In 1991, Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo died one after another, and Zhang Xueliang truly gained freedom. After Deng Yingchao learned about it, he remembered Zhou Enlai's instructions, and he wrote a letter to Zhang Xueliang, hoping that he would cooperate with Miss Zhao Si to return to the mainland to visit his relatives.
Zhang Xueliang was excited after receiving the letter, but his body was already old and could not adapt to the long journey. The following year, Zhang Xueliang's son, Zhang Lulin, returned to China on behalf of his own father and participated in the martyrs' activities held in Shenyang.
Zhang Xueliang in his later years
Today, the two great men have passed away one after another, but the life-and-death friendship between them has been passed down as a good story forever. At the same time, it shows us that both sides of the taiwan strait are sons and daughters of china, and no matter what they experience, they all have a constant love affair, and we should reunify at an early date so as to realize the unfinished business of the two great men.