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Foreword
On May 29, 1991, a historic meeting spanning half a century was taking place at Mrs. Bei's house in New York, USA:
The famous patriotic general Zhang Xueliang and his former subordinate Lu Zhengcao finally reunited in a foreign country.
I was still in high spirits when we parted, but when we met again, we were already gray-haired. The two of them had countless things to say, but due to the large number of people talking, they only exchanged a few greetings in the end.
The next day, when the guests dispersed, Zhang Xueliang and Lu Zhengcao made an appointment at the office of a bank. Lu Zhengcao then took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Zhang Xueliang.
"When will you go back to the mainland? Everyone is thinking about you!"
Zhang Xueliang's face lit up when he heard the invitation from his old friend, but he said that it was okay to go back by himself, but he had to agree to his three requirements.
What happened to this patriotic general over the years? What are the three conditions that will allow him to return to China?
Xi'an Incident Turning point, patriotic generals were placed under house arrest
In 1936, Zhang Xueliang and General Yang Hucheng launched the "Xi'an Incident". This incident also became an important turning point in the history of the Anti-Japanese War.
However, the final outcome of the two initiators who made great achievements was disappointing.
After the " September 18th Incident " broke out, Japan's ambition to invade China has become known to everyone. But Chiang Kai-shek was always thinking about the battle with the Communist Party at this critical moment of national life and death.
Therefore, he has always had a fluke mentality regarding Japan's invasion, believing that Japan will only be active in the Northeast region and will not invade the interior of China.
Therefore, he proposed a "non-resistance" policy towards the National Revolutionary Army stationed in the Northeast.
But with the fall of Jehol and the Great Wall in 1933, and seeing that the Japanese army was about to attack Pingjin, Chiang Kai-shek began to feel uneasy.
After many rounds of discussions, Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Jingwei decided to negotiate peace with Japan in exchange for temporary peace. They appointed General Counsel Xiong Bin, who was in Beijing, to sign the "Tanggu Armistice Agreement" with Japan on behalf of the Nationalist Government. After the signing of the agreement, the army completely withdrew from Northeast China, handing over the three northeastern provinces.
At that time, the person responsible for leading the Northeast Army was Zhang Xueliang. The implementation of Chiang Kai-shek's "non-resistance" policy and the withdrawal from the three northeastern provinces became the most guilty thing for Zhang Xueliang in the rest of his life.
It can be seen from the lessons learned from the Qing Dynasty the land cessation and indemnity that the peace gained through a humiliating treaty will only be an illusion.
This will only encourage the other party's arrogance, and in the end there will be no way to escape the fate of continued occupation. This was true in the Qing Dynasty, and it is true this time as well.
After signing the armistice agreement, the Kuomintang has always maintained a "peace-seeking" attitude toward Japan, suppressed domestic anti-Japanese forces, and did not allow the word "anti-Japanese" to be used in the news media, focusing all its energy on fighting with the Communist Party. is in civil war with .
While Japan was recuperating in the Northeast, it did not forget to continue to engage in some "small actions". First, it launched the " North China Incident " and controlled most of the North China region. Then it announced to the outside world that it called for the implementation of autonomous for the five provinces in North China.
is gradually encroaching on China's territory in this way of " boiling frogs in warm water ".
The Communist Party was well aware of the inconvenience and actively called for unity to resist Japan and stop the civil war. The voice of the people across the country to resist Japan is getting louder and louder, and it is urgent to establish an anti-Japanese united front.
Zhang Xueliang also saw Japan's ambitions. As a patriotic general, all his actions put the country first.
In the battle with the Communist Party, he gradually understood the good intentions of the Communist Party and really wanted to join the anti-Japanese camp.
Premier Zhou once secretly met with Zhang Xueliang in person, hoping that he could advise Chiang Kai-shek to jointly resist Japan. However, Zhang Xueliang wrote and met many times, but was rejected by Chiang Kai-shek.
In December 1936, Chiang Kai-shek came to Xi'an, where Zhang Xueliang was located, and held a meeting with many senior Kuomintang generals to discuss again how to launch the next encirclement and suppression campaign against the Communist Party.
Seeing that Chiang Kai-shek was still so stubborn, in the early morning of December 12, Zhang Xueliang and another patriotic general Yang Hucheng launched the Xi'an Incident and broke into Chiang Kai-shek's residence.
Although Chiang Kai-shek immediately escaped through the window, he was injured during the escape and was eventually captured alive. After taking control of Chiang Kai-shek, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng asked him to stop the civil war and join the anti-Japanese united front.
As soon as this incident came out, the whole country was in an uproar, and all forces took urgent action.
At that time, Zhang Yanger's military remonstrance against Chiang Kai-shek was tantamount to "walking a tightrope at high altitude". If it was not handled well, it would have a great impact on the domestic and international situation .
But Zhang Xueliang’s move really played a decisive role in the history of the Anti-Japanese War.
Song Meiling, Song Ziwen and Premier Zhou also rushed to Xi'an for negotiations as soon as possible.
Fortunately, these people all tended to solve the problem in a peaceful way, so Chiang Kai-shek, with the knife on his neck, had to agree to stop the civil war, jointly resist Japan, and signed an agreement. After
successfully achieved his goal, Zhang Xueliang returned to Nanjing with Chiang Kai-shek.
Before leaving, Zhang Xueliang handed over the leadership of the Northeast Army to Yang Hucheng. It seemed that he knew in advance what would happen to him next.
The two sides of the Taiwan Strait are separated by a long love, and the motherland is more concerned about it.
Chiang Kai-shek has always been very small-minded. Naturally, he cannot swallow this sigh of relief after being so humiliated by the Xi'an Incident.
Therefore, Zhang Xueliang, one of the founders, was imprisoned by Chiang Kai-shek after he returned to Nanjing. In order to prevent being found, Zhang Xueliang would be taken to another place every once in a while to continue being imprisoned.
Chiang Kai-shek once wanted to kill Zhang Xueliang. His wife Song Meiling also saw what he was thinking, pretended to be angry, and warned Chiang Kai-shek not to harm Zhang Xueliang.
"If you are unfavorable to Zhang Xueliang, then I will leave immediately and tell all sectors of society what you have done."
This is what Song Meiling said to "threaten" Chiang Kai-shek.
Soong Meiling and Zhang Xueliang have been friends for many years. They had known each other before Soong Meiling married Chiang Kai-shek, and the two frequently met to dance and play ball.
Faced with Soong Meiling's "threat", Chiang Kai-shek finally compromised and did not kill Zhang Xueliang, but just imprisoned him.
Under the care of Song Meiling, Zhang Xueliang and his wife Zhao Yidi lived a pretty good life, and there was no shortage of food and clothing.
In 1946, Zhang Xueliang was transferred to Taiwan and lived in Inoue Hot Spring. Because of the remote location, he had to provide food, clothing, housing and transportation by himself. At that time, Chiang Kai-shek did not allow them to go out or see their friends.
Zhang Xueliang's life was very boring and monotonous, without any entertainment at all. Fortunately, Zhao Yidi was by his side to relieve his boredom, otherwise I really don’t know how I would have spent my time.
lived like this for more than ten years. It was not until 1965 that the two of them became somewhat free.
They had moved to Taipei at that time, and their niece Zhang Luheng was also in Taiwan. Zhang Xueliang and Zhao Yidi always visited Zhang Luheng's home when they had nothing to do.
Although every time I visit, there are a lot of Kuomintang people following me, always on the lookout for strangers. But for Zhang Xueliang at that time, it was already a great happiness.
has lived in Taiwan for a long time and is lonely. He has not seen his relatives for a long time.
Every time he came to Zhang Luheng’s home, he would often talk about his heroic deeds in fighting with his comrades from the Northeast Army.
What soldiers care about most is their comradeship. There is a name that is often mentioned in Zhang Xueliang's mouth, and that is Lu Zhengcao.
The two are fellow villagers in Liaoning. When he was 17 years old, Lu Zhengcao went to work under Zhang Xueliang.
The two of them were both teachers and friends. Zhang Xueliang took great care of Lu Zhengcao, and would send him out to study when he had the opportunity, and promoted Lu Zhengcao to be his adjutant.
They have experienced life and death on the battlefield, and their relationship is extraordinary.
Lu Zhengcao also witnessed the whole process of the Xi'an Incident. After the incident was over, he wanted to dissuade Zhang Xueliang from returning to Nanjing with Chiang Kai-shek, but Zhang Xueliang believed that with Song Meiling and others mediating, nothing would happen.
Unexpectedly, they just left and never came back. This became the last time the two of them met.
"If you have the opportunity to return to the mainland, help me go and see him."
Although the Kuomintang restricted Zhang Xueliang's movements, it did not implicate his family.
After cross-strait relations eased, Zhang Luheng returned to the mainland several times and relayed what he saw and heard to Zhang Xueliang to ease his longing.
The motherland is a beautiful country and the people's lives are prosperous, which also comforts Zhang Xue's conscience.
In 1984, when Zhang Luheng returned to the mainland, he finally met Lu Zhengcao, whom his uncle had mentioned countless times.
After learning that the other party was Zhang Xueliang’s niece, Lu Zhengcao warmly entertained Zhang Luheng at his residence. The most frequently asked question during the dinner was about Zhang Xueliang’s living situation in Taiwan.
After learning that he had not been abused by the Kuomintang and that his current life was pretty good, Lu Zhengcao felt relieved.
It turns out that when Zhang Xueliang was missing the mainland, many people in the mainland were also worried about Zhang Xueliang's safety, including Premier Zhou.
For Premier Zhou who participated in the peaceful settlement of the Xi'an Incident, Zhang Xueliang was an anti-Japanese hero and the victory of the Anti-Japanese War had an indelible impact.
After learning that Zhang Xueliang was imprisoned by Chiang Kai-shek, Premier Zhou was very concerned and sent people many times to contact Zhang Xueliang, but they all ended in failure.
Until Premier Zhou passed away, he had been telling others about Zhang Xueliang.
Finally free to visit relatives, the other side of the sea finally becomes a dream
At that time, the biggest reason why Premier Zhou could not contact Zhang Xueliang was that the Kuomintang kept very tight control.
Chiang Kai-shek has always been afraid of the 300,000 Northeastern Army under Zhang Xueliang. If he lets Zhang Xueliang go back, he will be letting the tiger return to the mountain. Before he died, Chiang Kai-shek also told his son Chiang Ching-kuo .
So it was not until the death of Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo that Zhang Xueliang was considered free.
As soon as he regained his freedom, Zhang Xueliang wanted to return to the mainland to visit relatives, but this request was not accepted by the Taiwan authorities. Zhang Xueliang could only settle for the next best thing and choose to visit relatives in the United States.
As for why he chose to go to the United States, the main reason is that their son Zhang Lulin, and Zhang Xueliang and his ex-wife's daughter Zhang Luying are both in the United States.
In March 1991, Zhang Xueliang and his wife Zhao Yidi boarded a flight to the United States.
After arriving in San Francisco , the two of them, accompanied by Zhang Lulin and her husband, visited some famous scenic spots such as the Golden Gate Bridge and tasted authentic American food. After a few days of shopping, both of them were in good spirits. After
reunited with his daughter, Zhang Xueliang and Zhao Yidi parted ways. One went to California to see his son, while the other went to New York to see Jiang Shiyun.
When Zhang Xueliang was visiting the United States, the mainland was not idle either.
When he learned that Zhang Xueliang had told reporters that he wanted to return to the mainland after regaining his freedom, Comrade Deng Xiaoping immediately convened a meeting with Yang Shangkun and other comrades to discuss what preparations should be made for Zhang Xueliang's return to China.
There are two things that are most touching.
One is to prepare for Zhang Xueliang’s 91st birthday. Zhang Xueliang’s birthday is in June. If he can come to the mainland after returning from the United States, he can just catch up.
Another thing is about the placement of the remains of Zhang Xueliang’s father Zhang Zuolin .
Comrade Deng Xiaoping had the Marshal's Mansion be repaired, and the Marshal's Mausoleum was also renovated, so that Zhang Xueliang could return to Liaoning in person to bury his father.
However, although everything has been arranged, I don’t know what Zhang Xueliang’s current situation is, whether he can return to the mainland and when.
In order to understand the situation clearly, the central government decided to send a cadre at the deputy ministerial level or above to the United States to contact Zhang Xueliang, and Lu Zhengcao became the most suitable candidate.
After learning that he had the opportunity to meet Zhang Xueliang in the United States, Lu Zhengcao was so excited that words could not express it.
He immediately contacted his daughter Lu Tongyan in the United States and asked her to visit Zhang Xueliang first and tell him the good news to see his attitude.
On April 26, 1991, Lu Tongyan visited Zhang Xueliang who was visiting the United States. From Lu Tongyan’s mouth, Zhang Xueliang learned that the central government intended to arrange for Lu Zhengcao to come to the United States to meet with him.
However, Lu Zhengcao knew that Zhang Xueliang had always been unwilling to return directly from the United States to the mainland because of his sensitive identity, so he asked Lu Tongyan to come over and ask Zhang Xueliang what he thought of this meeting.
"If you are serious, of course you must meet!"
Zhang Xueliang made no secret of his longing for his former comrades. Although his identity is sensitive, it is not a big deal to meet his old friends in the United States.
On the same day, Lu Tongyan conveyed Zhang Xueliang’s intention to Lu Zhengcao. Lu Zhengcao couldn't help being happy and immediately began to prepare for going to the United States.
At this time, a man came to Lu Zhengcao and asked him to bring something with him.
This person is Premier Zhou's wife Deng Yingchao. Like Premier Zhou, she is thinking of Zhang Xueliang. After Premier Zhou's death, she has been thinking about realizing Premier Zhou's unfinished wish.
Last year, she wrote a letter to Zhang Xueliang to congratulate him on his 90th birthday. At this time, she asked Lu Zhengcao to bring the second letter to Zhang Xueliang. No matter what the result was, she had no regrets.
Lu Zhengcao took the letter from Deng Yingchao and said that he would definitely hand it to him personally.
Lu Zhengcao expected that the day he went to the United States would happen to be Zhang Xueliang's birthday, so he prepared tea, portraits drawn by Yuan Xikun, Peking Opera audio tapes and other gifts as birthday gifts.
On May 23, 1991, Lu Zhengcao officially set off for San Francisco, the United States.
Friends reunited for many years and never returned to their hometown again in this life
Lu Zhengcao was originally very interested and planned to visit Zhang Xueliang as soon as he got off the plane, but he failed.
At this time, Zhang Xueliang had already gone to New York and was staying at the house of his friend Mrs. Bei. Lu Zhengcao had to take a bus to New York again.
The group spent a few days recuperating in New York after a long journey.
It wasn’t until May 29 that Lu Zhengcao packed up, took his birthday gifts, and headed to Mrs. Bei’s house. After receiving the news, Zhang Xueliang got up early in the morning and dressed up, waiting for Lu Zhengcao's arrival.
When two old people separated by 54 years met again, the scene was touching.
The two of them did not exchange any unnecessary greetings. They just held hands and looked into each other's tearful eyes. After a while, they helped each other and sat down on the sofa.
Lu Zhengcao presented his birthday gift. After Zhang Xueliang took it, he caressed it fondly. When he was in Taiwan, he had no access to these. It had been a long time since he drank tea from his hometown and listened to Peking Opera.
When they met this time, the two of them had a tacit understanding that they would only talk about the past and nothing else. Lu Zhengcao said that since Zhang Xueliang was imprisoned by Chiang Kai-shek, he had lost trust in the Kuomintang.
When the Kuomintang and the Communist Party cooperated, he had many contacts with the Communist Party and recognized the Communist Party's ideology and theory. In addition, Chiang Kai-shek had a grudge against the Northeastern Army because of Zhang Xueliang, but the Communist Party took more care of him.
So, he resolutely joined the Communist Party.
Zhang Xueliang felt a little disappointed after hearing this. If he had resisted Chiang Kai-shek earlier, the three eastern provinces would not have fallen, and he would not even have had the chance to participate in the anti-Japanese war.
Seeing Zhang Xueliang looking lonely, Lu Zhengcao hurriedly comforted him:
"The Xi'an Incident you initiated has had a huge impact on the War of Resistance Against Japan, and you are a great contributor!"
The next day, Zhang Xueliang met with Lu Zhengcao alone in the office of a bank. . This time, no one else was present, so Lu Zhengcao took out the letter entrusted by Deng Yingchao.
The few words in the letter express concern for Zhang Xueliang and the wish for him to return to China. Zhang Xueliang also remembered Premier Zhou and knew that both of them were very good people.
Having said that, Lu Zhengcao and Yan Mingguang on the side both saw that Zhang Xueliang had many concerns.
Lu Zhengcao expressed his willingness to prepare various convenient conditions for Zhang Xueliang's return and wanted to dispel Zhang Xueliang's concerns. However, Zhang Xueliang was unhappy after hearing this.
"I can go back, but I have to agree to three requirements. The first is not to hold a welcome ceremony, the second is that I don't want to see reporters, and the third is that we can just communicate normally when we meet, without compliments."
As long as Zhang Xueliang is willing to go back, Then Lu Zhengcao's trip was worthwhile, so how could he not agree to these conditions?
On June 4, the two met for the last time at the Chinese Embassy and talked about cross-strait issues. After that, Lu Zhengcao embarked on a journey back to China.
This trip to the United States is of great significance to Zhang Xueliang and Lu Zhengcao.
Everyone thought that Zhang Xueliang would be able to return to China soon. But things are unpredictable, and this wish was not realized until Zhang Xueliang's death.
Taiwan has always been worried about allowing Zhang Xueliang to return to the country, and has been blocking it. Moreover, Zhang Xueliang is getting older, his health is not as good as before, and he still suffers from many diseases.
In his later years, he immigrated to Hawaii. The beautiful scenery there was perfect for him to recuperate. His younger brother was also there.
In addition, Zhang Xueliang’s guilt for the people of Northeast China still lingers in his heart.
Various complicated reasons prevented this centenarian from returning to his homeland. In 2001, at the age of 101, he died of illness in Hawaii.
Zhang Xueliang was prosperous in the first half of his life, but he was lonely and lonely in the following decades.
We need to look at his evaluation separately. Although he has made mistakes, his achievements cannot be erased. He is still a patriotic general worthy of respect.
Although Zhang Xueliang failed to return to China in the end, before his death, he had his family by his side, met his old comrades, and learned about the situation in his motherland. There are no regrets in this life.
