Chapter 17 2. Love Xi'an

The Xi'an Incident shocked China and foreign countries.The peaceful resolution of the Xi'an Incident was the beginning of the joint resistance between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. For the sake of resisting Japan and the nation, the two generals Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng resolutely launched a "military remonstrance" against Chiang Kai-shek, regardless of life or death. Generals Zhang and Yang made great contributions to the Chinese nation and the Chinese Communists.History records this brilliant stroke. However, at the time of the incident, the Kuomintang and Communists, including Generals Zhang and Yang, could hardly have foreseen the outcome of the incident.

Over Xi'an, thunder exploded. Soong Meiling's face was covered with clouds. After Chiang Kai-shek was detained, the Kuomintang was in chaos, and the pro-Japanese faction took the opportunity to fight for power and profit, intending to bomb Xi'an and put Chiang Kai-shek to death.The peace talks faction headed by Song Meiling did everything possible to rescue them. In the early morning of December 13, members of the Central Committee of the Kuomintang gathered in the auditorium of the Central Party Headquarters of Tingziqiao to hold an emergency meeting of the Central Committee.There was a lot of discussion at the meeting, some advocated the crusade, and some firmly opposed it, and gradually the crusade faction gained the upper hand.Sun Ke said: "Don't be nervous. With Vice Chairman Feng here, you should ask him to express his opinion."

He Yingqin didn't think so, glanced at Feng Yuxiang, shook his head and said, "In my opinion, we should immediately send planes to bomb Xi'an to punish the rebellion. This is the best policy!" Before finishing speaking, Song Meiling and others broke in. Song Meiling accused He Yingqin in public: "Commander He, I know everything! Now let me ask you, what is your intention in doing this? If a war is launched, can you deal with the consequences? Can you rescue the chairman? I Now, to tell you the truth, you did it with the intention of murdering him!" "Commander He, you are in command. If it is someone else, I will definitely treat him as a member of the alien party!" Soong Meiling said with a straight face, "But, again, once the If there is a problem, even you can’t escape!”

He Yingqin's complexion changed drastically, and he was also very conflicted. He wanted to attack but was afraid of taking responsibility, so he just kept rubbing his hands.Song Meiling was categorical: "Stop the crusade immediately!" "Ma'am," He Yingqin pretended to be embarrassed, intending to shirk his responsibility: "The crusade was approved by everyone at the meeting, not just one or two people. Today, 20 divisions have been notified to set off!" "The 20 divisions must be transferred back immediately!" Soong Meiling did not back down: "Commander He, can this kind of thing be played around? Do you think that the military crusade is really sure? You are too optimistic! Many foreign friends told me, Once a large-scale war is launched for this matter, the Northwest is not alone and helpless. The military and political leaders in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Hunan, Sichuan, Shandong, Hebei, Chahar, Shanxi, Suiyuan and Ningxia, etc. , they are all on the camera right now, who is willing to spend energy to help you start a war, when I see it, maybe they will all go to Zhang and Yang's side!"

Facing Soong Meiling's aggressiveness, He Yingqin had no choice but to make concessions, "Then according to Madam, what should we do first?" "I said that I want you to stop all war measures! I will send Duanna to Luoyang tomorrow and transfer to Xi'an. Ziwen will go too, and I will go there myself!" "Ma'am," He Yingqin said, "I don't think Ma'am needs to go. It's too dangerous. Vice Chairman Feng Huanzhang is willing to take the hostage of the Chairman, so let him go." "No! No one can replace me. I will go in person."

Soong Meiling said one thing and one thing. He Yingqin catered to Song Meiling on the surface, but secretly continued to send troops to Xi'an.After Soong Meiling heard the news, she found He Yingqin that night. "Commander He, why did you order the attack again! Not only did you not take me seriously, you also didn't take the chairman seriously. Didn't you intend to murder the chairman!" Faced with Soong Meiling's repeated accusations, He Yingqin finally couldn't hold back his inner anger.He said angrily at Soong Meiling: "What kind of state affairs do you know about the country?!"

Song Meiling never expected that He Yingqin, who was like a little sheep, would dare to be so rude at this time. She collected herself and sneered, "Okay! Okay! Okay! I want to see our Mr. He Jingzhi What kind of tricks can you play!" After speaking, he held up the telegram and changed the subject, "Let me tell you the truth, the chairman of the committee was not killed by the Communist Party! Zhang Xueliang just sent me a telegram, welcome to Xi'an How? He did not die, beyond your expectations! Is Mr. Ho disappointed? " After finishing speaking, Soong Meiling shook the telegram above her head, turned her head and left.

He Yingqin was stunned. In times of crisis, Soong Meiling showed unprecedented calmness and toughness.She resolutely opposed the opinions of the main combat faction headed by He Yingqin within the Kuomintang, and decided to go to Xi'an to negotiate in person. On the 21st, with the support of Kong Xiangxi and others, Soong Meiling and Soong Ziwen went to Xi'an together for face-to-face peace negotiations. The Soong brothers and sisters flew to Luoyang on the afternoon of the 22nd for a stopover. Soong Meiling saw bombers lined up at the airport ready to go, creating an atmosphere of war.She warned the generals: "Don't send planes to fly close to Xi'an without the order of the chairman."

When the plane was approaching the sky above Xi'an, Song Meiling took out a revolver from her bag, handed it to Duanna and said, "Mr. Duanna, if the rebels get out of control and detain us, you must use them without hesitation." It killed me." The plane landed at Xi'an Airport.To Song Meiling's surprise, when they got off the plane, they were warmly welcomed by Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng, as if nothing had happened. Song Meiling brought Chiang Kai-shek a lot of food and things this time, and also brought a pair of dentures for Chiang Kai-shek. After a short rest in the Zhang mansion, the Song brothers and sisters, accompanied by Zhang Xueliang, went to meet Chiang Kai-shek.

Because there was no notification in advance, Chiang Kai-shek, who was meditating on the front wall, suddenly saw Song Meiling appearing in front of him, "surprised at first sight, as if asleep in a dream." Chiang Kai-shek said in a trembling voice: "Is my wife really here? You have entered the tiger's den!" After speaking, he shook his head slowly, weeping. Soong Meiling suppressed the emotional storm, and said calmly: "I came to see you..." Before she could finish her sentence, she couldn't hold it back, and tears welled up in her eyes. Chiang Kai-shek once recorded this period of history: today, he hoped that the sound of planes and guns would reach his ears all day long. From the look of Zhang's panic when he came to see him last night, he knew that the rebel army would be defeated and the Central Army's progress would be extremely fast.Unexpectedly, until noon, nothing was heard of. My wife suddenly flew to Xi'an at 4:00 p.m.Yu Qianqian asked Ziwen to persuade his wife not to come to Xi'an, but unexpectedly, he risked all kinds of dangers to enter this tiger's den.Touched and sad, beyond words.Seeing Yu Qiang's wife smiling happily, Yu became even more worried.Since Gai Xunri, he has long disregarded his own life and death, but from now on he has to worry about the safety of his remaining wife.Yu's wife is wise, courageous and loving, and she has always believed that she will be able to serve the party and the country; and she and Yu work together to encourage each other and vow to fight to the end for the Prime Minister's doctrine.I happened to turn over the Old Testament early this morning, and found a chapter that said, "The Lord is going to do a new thing today, that is, to protect men with women."In the afternoon, my wife's fruit arrived, and it was a coincidence.However, it is impossible for the remaining wife to take risks and follow each other unless she has a deep religious literacy.

Before Song Meiling's arrival, Chiang Kai-shek ignored any request made by Zhang Xueliang, and put on a posture of life and death at will. But after Song Meiling arrived in Xi'an, she overcame rigidity with softness, and she was moved by emotion and reason to Chiang Kai-shek.After the flexible mediation of Communist Zhou Enlai, Chiang Kai-shek finally agreed to stop the civil war and fight against Japan together. The Xi'an Incident was successfully resolved.The Kuomintang and the Communist Party came together on the subsequent battlefield.Later generations use "power to turn the tide" It is no exaggeration to use four words to evaluate Soong Meiling's role in the incident. On the evening of the 24th, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng held a farewell banquet in Xincheng Building. After the banquet, Zhang Xueliang summoned Wang Yizhe, He Zhuguo, Dong Yingbin and other senior generals and announced that he would send Jiang back to Nanjing and plead guilty to the central government in order to restore Jiang's prestige.Everyone persuaded Zhang not to send it, but Zhang Xueliang insisted on sending it, and also told everyone: "About the Northeast Army, obey Xuezhong; regarding the Anti-Japanese Allied Army Headquarters, obey Yang Hucheng; if you have any questions, please discuss with Zhou Enlai." After hearing Zhang Xueliang's arrangement, Gao Chongmin wrote a long letter to Zhang Xueliang overnight, repeatedly explaining the necessity of releasing Chiang with conditions and the danger of releasing Chiang without guarantee. On the morning of the 25th, the senior generals and staff of the Northeast Army and the Seventeenth Route Army jointly wrote a strongly worded letter to Song Ziwen. We agreed, and we vowed to oppose it to the death.” Song Ziwen panicked. Chiang Kai-shek and Song Meiling were also very frightened. Song Meiling immediately sent someone to find Zhang Xueliang and asked them to return to Nanjing on the same day. "Hanqing, the chairman and I are both Christians. Today is Christmas. I hope you can let us go back today. It will be the best Christmas present for us." Soong Meiling eagerly asked Zhang Xueliang to send them go back. After pondering for a while, Zhang Xueliang said: "President Kong also sent a telegram from Nanjing on the 22nd, saying that he would send the chairman back to Nanjing around Christmas. That is really the greatest gift from Santa Claus. It's just..." Zhang Xueliang looked at Song Meiling, After hesitating for a while, he said, "Director Yang still has some disagreements. I'll go to Xincheng tomorrow to persuade him. I won't be able to handle it if Director Yang doesn't let go." Song Meiling asked anxiously: "Is there no other way?" Zhang Xueliang said: "As a last resort, we can use force, but that is too dangerous for you. I can take the chairman away secretly, and you and Duanna fly to Luoyang. I will make up the chairman, take him out of the city in a car, and take him out of the city. He took him to my army garrison, and from there he drove to Luoyang to meet you." Song Ziwen agreed.But Soong Meiling firmly opposed it.She said: "The chairman's body can't withstand the long-term bumping of the car. Besides, it's better to die here with dignity than to walk around in such a sneaky way." Zhang Xueliang had long wanted to release Chiang, but releasing Chiang was a major event. The three parties in Xi'an had different opinions, especially the generals in the army and people from all walks of life, who almost unanimously opposed it.He hesitated for a moment and said: "You can go, but you have to prepare. If you leave today, I'm afraid it will be too late." "It's in time, it's in time." Soong Meiling said hastily: "The plane I took when I came here was still in Xi'an, so it's very convenient to leave. What else are you going to prepare? As for some people worrying about the inconvenience of working together in the future, this is superfluous. You can tell them, The chairman said that he will never care about it, especially between you brothers, you will never complain." Zhang Xueliang agreed to let them leave today, and said: "As long as the chairman of the committee returns to Nanjing to fight against Japan, Xueliang is willing to take the blame." Zhang Xueliang said: "Now the Anti-Japanese War is the first, and the chairman must fight the war. In order to restore the chairman's reputation and prestige, and realize the long-cherished wish of regaining the Northeast, my personal gains and losses, life and death, are nothing!" On the morning of Dec 25th, Zhang Xueliang told Yang Hucheng that he would release Chiang Kai-shek and send them back to Nanjing himself. Yang Hucheng disagreed, and the two had a fierce quarrel, and they broke up unhappy. At around 3:30 p.m. on the 25th, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng accompanied Chiang Kai-shek, Song Ziwen and Duan Na in two cars, and drove secretly from Xuanfengqiao Gao Mansion to Xijiao Airport.He left in a hurry and secretly, without even Zhou Enlai notifying him. At 12:45 noon on December 26, 1936, the Boeing plane that Chiang Kai-shek and his wife took was escorted by four fighter jets from Luoyang to Nanjing University Airport. Song Meiling resisted all opinions and stopped the conspiracy of the "rebel faction" to bomb Xi'an and denounce all forces. Soong Meiling was willing to take risks and went to Xi'an in person to break the barriers and create important conditions for the peaceful settlement of the Xi'an Incident. The peaceful settlement of the Xi'an Incident defeated the plot of the pro-Japanese faction and finally formed the anti-Japanese national united front. The policy of the Chinese Communists to "force Chiang to resist Japan" was finally realized.Chiang Kai-shek finally did not dare to openly raise the butcher's knife against the Chinese Communists.The anti-Japanese national united front was finally formed. The Chinese Communists have won vitality for the Chinese nation.It has also won vitality for its own development and growth! History remembers everyone who has contributed to the Chinese nation. History remembers Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng. History also remembers Song Meiling! The Japanese invaders and China's "pro-Japanese faction" used this to attack Soong Meiling as an "Anglo-American faction", saying that the peaceful settlement of the Xi'an Incident was for the "interests of Britain and the United States."But no matter what, the peaceful resolution of the Xi'an Incident changed the direction of modern Chinese history.In the face of Japanese imperialist aggression, it was indeed in the interest of the Chinese nation to adopt the strategy of "alliance with Britain and the United States". The peaceful resolution of the Xi'an Incident was hailed by Chiang Kai-shek's cronies as a great victory. No matter how you look at it, at that time, Soong Meiling had a clear understanding of righteousness and was actively running, which objectively played a positive role in promoting the peaceful resolution of the Xi'an Incident.This is something that history cannot deny. The American "Time" magazine declared that Chiang Kai-shek and Song Meiling were outstanding figures in 1937, and printed their photos on the cover of the first issue of "Time" magazine in 1938, "as a news couple".Soong Meiling was then a striking international celebrity. American diplomat John Peyton Davis said that Soong Meiling in Xi'an showed "a temperament that would have pushed her to the throne in the previous era".