In December 1936, Zhang Xueliang was in order to peacefully resolve the Xi'an Incident in order to resolve the personal gains and losses, and resolutely decided to send Chiang Kai-shek to Nanjing in person, thus making the Xi'an affairs peacefully resolved.

In December 1936, Zhang Xueliang out of national justice. In order to peacefully resolve the Xi'an Incident, he did not care about personal gains and losses, and resolutely decided to personally send Jiang Kaishi to Nanjing, thus making the Xi'an affairs peacefully resolved. But after arriving in Nanjing, Chiang Kai-shek violated his promise and put Zhang Xueliang under house arrest, causing him to suffer unfair treatment for more than half a century.

On April 5, 1975, Chiang Kai-shek died of illness at the age of 87. When Chiang Kai-shek was dying, he told him that Chiang Ching-kuo and refused to release Zhang Xueliang. After hearing this, Soong Mei-ling burst into tears and felt very guilty.

So what's going on? How did Zhang Xueliang and Chiang Kai-shek get to this point? What is the reason why Chiang Kai-shek refused to release Zhang Xueliang? Why did Soong Mei-ling burst into tears?

Zhang Xueliang helped Chiang Kai-shek with his help

1927, when Zhang Xueliang led his army south, he tried to contact Chiang Kai-shek, hoping to stop the war and discuss the country's right, but unfortunately, he failed to get what he wanted. The Huanggutun incident in 1928 pushed Zhang Xueliang to the political stage in the Northeast. It was also because of this incident that he had the opportunity to have direct interactions and contacts with Chiang Kai-shek.

Zhang Xueliang

Zhang Xueliang took the lead in considering the survival issues of the Northeast after presiding over the major politics of Northeast China. At that time, he had three paths in front of him:

First, surrender to Japan;

Second, separatist Northeast China;

Third, accept "peace talks", change the flag and submit to Nanjing National Government .

Zhang Xueliang must not accept the first one. After all, his father died at the hands of the Japanese, not to mention that he was unwilling to be a Japanese puppet. This is also very difficult for Zhang Xueliang to make the second path. It is difficult for him to curb the Japanese ambitions when the Japanese are trying to win the Northeast.

Therefore, Zhang Xueliang could only choose the third path, that is, obey Chiang Kai-shek's National Government. But everyone knows that there was no unity within the Kuomintang at that time. The warlords such as Yan, Gui, and Feng each had their own troops and obeyed Chiang Kai-shek on the surface, but in fact they had other ideas. In order to strengthen their strength, these warlords wanted to bring Zhang Xueliang to their own side.

For these people who win over themselves, Zhang Xueliang is optimistic about Chiang Kai-shek because he believes that Chiang Kai-shek has the strength to unify China's . So why did he think so?

First, Zhang Xueliang mistakenly counted all the achievements of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party's cooperation with him The first Northern Expedition on Chiang Kai-shek, so he believed that Chiang Kai-shek had the ability to unify China;

Secondly, Zhang Xueliang was very yearning for the prosperity of the United States and Britain in his early years, and Chiang Kai-shek received support from these two countries, so he was very optimistic about Chiang Kai-shek.

On December 29, 1928, Zhang Xueliang, Zhang Zuoxiang and others sent a telegram across the country, expressing their return to the Nanjing National Government and Chiang Kai-shek.

Zhang Xueliang Northeast China's move to change flags not only temporarily thwarted Japan's ambition to annex the Northeast, but also consciously supported Chiang Kai-shek, allowing the Nanjing National Government to finally complete formal unity and end the melee of the Beiyang warlords.

Northeast flag change is also the first major historical event that was facilitated by the two people's participation after Zhang Xueliang and Chiang Kai-shek officially contacted and dated, marking the beginning of the grudge relationship between the two.

After the Northeast changed its flag, although the Nanjing National Government achieved formal unity, its internal division was still broken. In order to consolidate his regime, Chiang Kai-shek frequently attacked and weakened local power factions, which also caused dissatisfaction among various factions such as Yan Xishan , Feng Yuxiang , and thus led to the Central Plains War in May 1930.

Chiang Kai-shek and Yan Xishan, Feng Yuxiang, and Li Zongren 's coalition forces fought in the Central Plains for more than four months, and it was difficult for both sides to decide the outcome. During the stalemate, they all hope that Zhang Xueliang, who remained neutral, could come out. Under the situation at that time, Zhang Xueliang, who had hundreds of thousands of troops, played an important role in the war, so he became the target of Chiang Kai-shek and warlords of various factions.

Both sides frequently sent representatives to Zhang Xueliang to lobby for the salary of high officials just to get his help. Before the war began, Yan Xishan issued an anti-Cheng telegram to the whole country and invited Zhang Xueliang to sign, but he refused. Yan Xishan did not give up after being rejected by Zhang Xueliang. Instead, he appointed him as the deputy commander of the Army, Navy and Air Force of the Republic of China, but he was still rejected by Zhang Xueliang.

At the same time, Chiang Kai-shek also sent representatives to meet Zhang Xueliang, and used the title of Deputy Commander of the Army, Navy and Air Force and the huge sum of money from the land of Qingdao to seek troops to help him, but he was still rejected. Zhang Xueliang said: "No matter what, I always remain neutral."

Although Zhang Xueliang said that, he leaned towards the Nanjing government in his heart. He believed: "The Nanjing government is the unified government in the country. Only by supporting this government can we ensure domestic unity and protect the Northeast from invasion by foreign enemies."

When the scale of the war became larger and more cruel, Zhang Xueliang could no longer sit idly by. He decided to send troops to help Chiang Kai-shek . He did this to safeguard national interests and to safeguard the interests of the Northeast Group.

The Central Plains War was the second cooperation between Chiang Kai-shek and Zhang Xueliang, which also furthered the relationship between them. Zhang Xueliang led his troops into the pass, calmed the war in the Central Plains, reversed the situation, supported Chiang Kai-shek, and allowed him to defeat his opponent politically and military.

From then on, factions such as Feng Yuxiang, Li Zongren and Yan Xishan lost the strength to compete with Chiang Kai-shek and compete with Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang Kai-shek had significant advantages among various factions of warlords.

Zhang Xueliang sent troops to help Chiang Kai-shek with kindness, and also saved Chiang Kai-shek at a critical moment, paving the way for his future political career. Who would have thought that what happened next would happen, Chiang Kai-shek actually repays his kindness with grudges.

Chiang Kai-shek repays his kindness with grudges, and Zhang Xueliang was forced to step down

1930, at the Fourth Plenary Session of the Third Central Committee of the Kuomintang, Chiang Kai-shek specifically introduced Zhang Xueliang to join the Kuomintang. Not long after, Zhang Xueliang served as deputy commander of the Navy, Army and Air Force of the Republic of China, and formed an alliance with Chiang Kai-shek to participate in the civil war . This move just provided convenience for Japan to launch and expand the war of aggression against China, which Zhang Xueliang did not expect in advance.

July 1, 1931, Japan made the Wanbao incident; on July 11, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to Zhang Xueliang: "Japan is insidious and cunning, and now is not the best time to resist Japan." After receiving Chiang Kai-shek's telegram, Zhang Xueliang hurriedly sent a telegram to the Northeast Political Committee: "War on Japan cannot be started, we can only reason with them, and the people must be stopped from carrying out anti-Japanese movements."

July 12, Chiang Kai-shek called Zhang Xueliang again: "If a national suffrage movement occurs, it may be used by the Communist Party. In this way, the dispute over China and Japan will only be even more chaotic. We must endure for a while and wait for the best opportunity."

On July 23, Chiang Kai-shek issued a telegram, and the fallacy of "must settle the country first when fighting foreign countries" also came from here.

In late July, the situation in Northeast China became increasingly tense, and Zhang Xueliang hurriedly sent Wang Shuhan to Nanjing to ask Chiang Kai-shek for instructions. Chiang Kai-shek said: "Don't panic. There is -nine-country convention and the international alliance. Japan cannot forcibly occupy our country's territory. If they launch an attack, they cannot resist, so as not to get worse and difficult to deal with it."

August 16, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to Zhang Xueliang again: "No matter how the Japanese army provokes in the Northeast, you cannot resist. Remember, don't ignore the safety of the country and nation because of temporary anger."

September 18, the "918 Incident " that shocked China and the world broke out. At that time, Chiang Kai-shek was rushing from Nanjing to Jiujiang , preparing to carry out the third "encirclement and suppression" of our army, but when he learned that the "September 18th Incident" broke out, he quickly returned to Nanjing on the warship .

On September 22, Chiang Kai-shek delivered a speech at the Party Members' Meeting of the Nanjing Municipal Party Committee, and he insisted on non-resistance.From the above, it is enough to see that in the face of the provocation and invasion of the Japanese army, Chiang Kai-shek repeatedly humiliated and tolerated, and was the initiator of non-resistanceism, while Zhang Xueliang was an executor.

In early January 1932, Chiang Kai-shek ordered hundreds of thousands of troops to retreat into Shanhaiguan, which also led to the occupation of the great rivers and mountains of the three eastern provinces by the Japanese army. On March 9, 1933, Zhang Xueliang's subordinate Lu Zhengcao came to Pei . After learning about the situation ahead, Zhang Xueliang said: "Even if we fight all the Northeast Army , we will fight to the end!"

That afternoon, Chiang Kai-shek came to Baoding Station and invited Zhang Xueliang to get on the bus and get together. As soon as Chiang Kai-shek saw Zhang Xueliang, he said, "I knew your sincerity when I received the telegram of your resignation. Now the national public opinion is in full swing, and everyone is attacking us. You and I are people sitting on the same boat. If you don't go down, it will be difficult to calm the public anger. Maybe the ship will sink together. You think, who is better to go down first?"

Zhang Xueliang knew what Chiang Kai-shek meant, and he said, "Of course I will go down first." Chiang Kai-shek nodded and said, "I agree to you resign. When the opportunity is right, I will use you again. After the matter is over, you can do it according to your opinion..."

After Zhang Xueliang said goodbye, Chiang Kai-shek returned to Shijiazhuang. That night, Zhang Xueliang returned to Peiping by car, and he hugged his head and cried on the way. Then, in front of Wang Zhuoran and others who came to persuade him, he suddenly jumped up and laughed to the sky. Zhang Xueliang said, "I'm just making fun of it, scare you!"

When Wang Zhuoran accompanied Zhang Xueliang back to his residence, Wang Zhuoran asked him, "Chang Kai-shek asked you to go to Shanghai, what else can I help you?"

Zhang Xueliang pondered for a while and said,

"Old Wang, look at my abandonment of military power and territory, just like throwing away broken shoes. Can other soldiers do it? But on the Sino-Japanese issue, Mr. Jiang focuses on harmony and does not know how far it can evolve. Everyone scolds me for not resisting. I wouldn't defend myself by calling me 'non-resistance general'. But after stepping down, who knows when I will recite the charge of 'non-resistance'? I remember that there are a few words in Lincoln that are very similar to my current situation. You can look for it."

Wang Zhuoran hurriedly went in and searched the book. The translation was: "You can deceive all the people for a moment, or deceive some people for a permanent, but you can't deceive all the people for a permanent basis." From this, it is enough to see that Zhang Xueliang resigned and stepped down from a permanent basis, but was forced.

launched the "Xi'an Incident" and was later placed under house arrest by Chiang Kai-shek on December 12, 1936, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng accepted our party's proposal of " Anti-Japanese National United Front " and implemented a ceasefire with our army, so they asked Chiang Kai-shek to change the civil war policy and unite in anti-Japanese war. However, Chiang Kai-shek refused to cooperate with our party and asked Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng to attack our army, otherwise the Northeast Army and Northwest Army would be transferred out of the Northwest.

At the same time, Chiang Kai-shek also suppressed the student movement, arrested democratic figures in a crazily manner, and massacred patriotic youth, which also aroused strong dissatisfaction among the officers and soldiers of the Northeast Army and the Northwest Army. Not long after, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng launched the "Xi'an Incident".

Before the Xi'an Incident broke out, when Zhang Xueliang was deploying the detention of Chiang Kai-shek, he emphasized to the generals who participated in the detention of Chiang Kai-shek, "Be sure to capture Chiang Kai-shek alive!"

He also said to Sun Mingjiu: "Remember, don't beat the chairman to death. You cannot hurt him unless you have to. If it really doesn't work, hurt his leg and don't let him run away."

Zhang Xueliang also ordered the battalion commander of the first battalion of the guards Wang Yuzan : "Be careful, don't hurt the chairman." It is enough to see from this that Zhang Xueliang is preparing to release Chiang Kai-shek after the peaceful resolution of the "Xi'an Incident". This may be an important reason why Chiang Kai-shek killed Yang Hucheng's family but did not kill Zhang Xueliang.

After Chiang Kai-shek disappeared, Zhang Xueliang was extremely anxious and hurriedly ordered his subordinates: "If you can't find the chairman before nine o'clock, come and see me with your head!" He also said to Yang Hucheng: "Brother Hucheng, if the chairman comes to Xi'an and adopts the opinions we put forward, I will personally send him back to Nanjing."

On the morning of December 13, Zhang Xueliang met with the person who detained Chiang Kai-shek and said more clearly: "The chairman is still the leader of the Kuomintang today, and he also needs it in the future. He is our leader. But the leader needs to be humbly listening to opinions from all parties, which is different from the autocratic emperors in the past. As long as he can change his ideas and adopt our opinions, I will send him back to Nanjing. "

However, after seizing Chiang Kai-shek, the situation became a bit complicated. The pro-war faction within the Nanjing government provoked a civil war again, and there were also many officers and soldiers who advocated killing Chiang Kai-shek within the Northeast Army and the 17th Route Army. People from all walks of life in Xi'an were eager to try, proposing to publicly interrogate Chiang Kai-shek and handing them to the people for judgment.

Yang Hucheng

In order to avoid the recurrence of civil war, Zhang Xueliang disagreed with the public and took a series of measures to try to lead the Xi'an Incident to the direction of peaceful resolution:

First, Zhang Xueliang sent telegrams to the key points of the Nanjing government and local forces to clarify his purpose of launching the Xi'an Incident and his attitude to deal with Chiang Kai-shek;

Second, among the people from all walks of life in Xi'an and the officers and soldiers of the Northeast Army, repeatedly emphasized and publicized his proposal to peacefully resolve the Xi'an Incident;

Third, open the door of peace and welcome people from all walks of life to discuss the anti-Japanese plan;

Fourth, defend the peace with war, expose the conspiracy of the pro-war faction attempting to provoke civil war and sabotage the situation;

Fifth, argue with Chiang Kai-shek, repeatedly persuade him to accept eight political propositions;

Sixth, welcome Song Ziwen , Soong Mei-ling and his sister entered Shaanxi to preside over the peace negotiations with them;

Seventh, advocate the release of Chiang Kai-shek as soon as possible, and personally escort him back to Nanjing to consolidate the results of the Xi'an Incident.

Thanks to Zhang Xueliang's efforts, the Xi'an Incident was finally resolved peacefully, avoiding the outbreak of a new civil war again. In the end, Chiang Kai-shek was forced to accept the conditions of stopping the "suppression of the Communist Party", joining forces with the Red Army to fight against Japan, releasing all political prisoners, and ensuring the freedom and rights of the people.

On the afternoon of December 25, Zhang Xueliang, out of kindness, ignored the dissuasion of others, insisted on sending Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing. When Yang Hucheng learned about Zhang Xueliang's decision, he beat his chest and stamped his feet, knowing that Zhang Xueliang had made a wrong move, and also knowing what fate he was about to face.

However, Zhang Xueliang's sincerity did not touch Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang Kai-shek was resentful of Yang Hucheng and Zhang Xueliang's imprisonment and secretly planned to break out. Chiang Kai-shek first asked Zhu Shaozhou, the director of Luoyang Military Academy, to send a telegram to Dai Li, asking him to keep it confidential and make proper arrangements at this time, and then deliberately did not take the same plane as Zhang Xueliang, and arrived at Luoyang first.

As soon as he arrived in Luoyang, Chiang Kai-shek wrote a handwritten order to Zhang Xueliang, asking him to send a telegram to Yang Hucheng, and immediately release the seized Wei Lihuang , Chen Cheng and dozens of new aircraft. After receiving the telegram, Yang Hucheng released Wei Lihuang and others on the 26th.

On the afternoon of December 26, Chiang Kai-shek's plane arrived at the airport, and then returned home surrounded by He Yingqin and others. Dai Li and other spies and gendarmes stayed at the airport and surrounded the airport, waiting for Zhang Xueliang's arrival. Zhang Xueliang was taken to the Beiji Pavilion by Dai Li and Song Ziwen and was arrested on the ground, and he started his half-century life of house arrest.

Chiang Kai-shek told the reason why he refused to let Zhang Xueliang go when he was dying. Soong Mei-ling burst into tears after hearing this.

Zhang Xueliang was placed under house arrest by Chiang Kai-shek. The most painful thing was Zhang Xueliang himself. So why is this?

In fact, Zhang Xueliang and Soong Mei-ling have a good relationship. The two met in 1925. When Zhang Xueliang saw Soong Mei-ling's first appearance, he was fascinated by her outstanding temperament. He even said, "If I were not married, I would chase Soong Mei-ling."

After the end of the Central Plains War, Chiang Kai-shek specially invited Zhang Xueliang to Nanjing to attend the Kuomintang meeting, and also invited his wife Yu Fengzhi to Nanjing. At that time, Soong Mei-ling had already married Chiang Kai-shek, so she was responsible for the reception of female relatives.

Since Soong Mei-ling frequently met with Yu Fengzhi, Song's mother saw that the two had such a good relationship and Yu Fengzhi had a good character, she decided to recognize her as her goddaughter. In this way, Soong Mei-ling and Yu Fengzhi became sworn sisters, and Zhang Xueliang and Chiang Kai-shek also became brothers of the opposite sex.

In December 1936, when Zhang Xueliang escorted Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing, Soong Mei-ling said: "When you return to Nanjing, you must send Hanqing back to Xi'an. "

But it is a pity that Chiang Kai-shek, who has always cared for his wife and respected his wife, did not listen to his wife's opinion this time, but imprisoned Zhang Xueliang. Soong Mei-ling later said to Chiang Kai-shek many times: "We are sorry for Hanqing. "

Although Soong Mei-ling failed to send Zhang Xueliang back, she tried to save Zhang Xueliang's life and tried to care for Zhang Xueliang in life. In fact, in his later years, Zhang Xueliang also recalled: "After the Xi'an Incident, Chiang Kai-shek did not kill me because of Soong Mei-ling, the "protective god". "

On January 21, 1949, Chiang Kai-shek announced his resignation. "Acting President" Li Zongren immediately arranged for peace talks with the Communist Party of China and made eight proposals, one of which was to release political prisoners and propose to restore the freedom of Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng.

When the news reached Taiwan, Chiang Kai-shek quickly sent someone to send Zhang Xueliang to Kaohsiung , hiding in the military hall of Shoushan Fortress. Zhang Xueliang understood that it was a long time for his own freedom to recover. On August 23, an arms ship exploded in Kaohsiung Port , and Zhang Xueliang was sent back to Hsinchu Qingquan.

Soon after, since the two sides of the Taiwan Strait were in a confrontation stage, there was no more News about Zhang Xueliang...

It was not until 1959 that Chiang Kai-shek was under pressure from all sides that he verbally agreed to restore Zhang Xueliang's freedom. But in order to express his "responsibility" for Zhang Xueliang, Chiang Kai-shek also sent guards to protect him and specially set up a police station opposite his residence.

Anyone who wants to see Zhang Xueliang needs the approval of the police station staff. From this we can see that Zhang Xueliang still has not really gained freedom.

Zhang Xueliang was imprisoned on an isolated island, Soong Mei-ling said that she wanted to visit him in person, but was rejected by Zhang Xueliang. He wrote a letter saying:

"The wife wants to see Liang, which made Liang deeply frightened and allowed Liang to complain about the reasons. The bus from Hsinchu City to Inoue Hot Spring takes about five to six hours to get back and forth, and the road is not good, so the difficulty can be imagined. There is a section from Zhudong to Inoue. Because the stones are too exposed to the ground, the car is inconvenient to walk, and only jeeps or trucks can drive. There are many inconveniences..."

It is worth mentioning that Soong Mei-ling went from not liking to Zhao Yidi to respect her, and prompted Zhang Xueliang to marry her. On July 4, 1964, Zhang Xueliang and Miss Zhao Si . This lover who had been in love for more than 30 years finally became a couple. Soong Mei-ling attended this simple wedding.

On April 5, 1975, Chiang Kai-shek died of a heart attack at the age of 87. On the occasion of Chiang Kai-shek's death, he called his son Chiang Ching-kuo and instructed: "For Zhang Xueliang, you must never let the tiger go back to the mountain! " Jiang Jingguo nodded and said, "Dad, don't worry, I will not forget it." "

After Chiang Kai-shek's death, Chiang Ching-kuo inherited his father's business and also inherited the control of Zhang Xueliang, the "tiger". When Soong Mei-ling learned about Chiang Kai-shek's last words, she couldn't help but burst into tears. She thought that as time went by, Chiang Kai-shek's hatred for Zhang Xueliang would gradually disappear, but she didn't expect it to be as strong as before.

1990, Zhang Xueliang Finally gained freedom. From being secretly transferred to Taiwan in 1946 to settle in the United States in 1994, Zhang Xueliang spent 48 years in Taiwan. In addition, he was under house arrest by Chiang Kai-shek in mainland China, he had been unfree for more than half a century and had exhausted the best years of his life.

Zhang Xueliang, born in 1901, was only 36 years old when he was sentenced in 1937.Since then, Zhang Xueliang said many times: "My affairs are only 36 years old, and they have disappeared since then..."

In October 2001, Zhang Xueliang died of illness at the age of 101.

When this bad news came, Soong Mei-ling, who had known Zhang Xueliang for more than 70 years, was deeply saddened and silent for a long time, couldn't help but ponder the past. In order to express his grief, Soong Mei-ling specifically ordered the staff to represent her to attend Zhang Xueliang's memorial service and public memorial service, and to express his last thoughts to him.