Chapter 43 Lintong "remonstrance"

After the Long March of the Central Red Army arrived in the Soviet area in northern Shaanxi, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China publicly put forward the idea of ​​uniting and resisting Japan based on the severe situation of the Japanese army’s continued aggression. After carrying out the united front work against Zhang Xueliang, a secret united front was established.In the past, Yang Hucheng had secret contacts with the Communist Party, established a friendly relationship, supported the Anti-Japanese War, and did not want to fight a civil war.As a result, it successively reached agreements with the Northeast Army and the Seventeenth Route Army on mutual non-aggression, cancellation of hostilities in the defense zone, cancellation of economic blockade, establishment of military liaison, and joint resistance against Japan, forming a "Trinity" alliance.Zhang and Yang repeatedly advised Chiang Kai-shek to stop the civil war and unite with the Communist Party to fight against Japan, but both were reprimanded and rejected by Chiang Kai-shek.

After Chiang Kai-shek issued an order to encircle and suppress the Red Army, Hu Zongnan obeyed, but was severely injured in Shancheng Castle.For this reason, Chiang Kai-shek was very angry. He had heard that the Northeast Army and the Seventeenth Route Army had frequent contacts with the Communist Party, so he believed that Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng could not continue to trust him. First to settle inside" strategy.After Chiang Kai-shek stayed in Huaqing Pool in Lintong, he summoned officers above the division level for several days, and solemnly held the sixth military deployment meeting to encircle and suppress the Red Army, requiring the Northeast Army and Northwest Army to take the lead and fight on the Shaanxi-Gansu front line.Stern and clear order: If you do not obey, the two armies will be transferred to other places, and the Central Army will directly "suppress the Communist Party."In the face of national crisis, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng could not obey orders. They repeatedly advised Chiang Kai-shek to put national interests first, stop the civil war, unite and resist Japan, and stated the truth of "resisting the outside world will ensure internal security", all of which were rejected by Chiang Kai-shek. Repeatedly scolded.Obviously, Chiang Kai-shek's attitude of "suppressing the Communist Party" was very firm, and he could hardly turn back.

On the afternoon of December 7th, holding his last hope, Zhang Xueliang once again persuaded Chiang Kai-shek to stop the civil war and unitedly resist the Japanese with tears in his eyes. Chiang Kai-shek remained unmoved after three hours of crying and admonishing.That night, Yang Hucheng initially mentioned the idea of ​​remonstrance to Zhang Xueliang. On the 9th, more than 10,000 students from various schools in Xi'an took to the streets to commemorate the first anniversary of the 129 Patriotic Movement, demanding an end to the civil war and a united resistance against Japan.Unable to get a satisfactory answer from the government, the mighty parade left Xi'an and headed for Huaqing Pool, where Chiang Kai-shek lived.Upon hearing the news, Chiang Kai-shek immediately ordered to shoot to suppress and strictly stop it.In this regard, apart from disappointment, Zhang Xueliang felt even heavier. He learned that Chiang Kai-shek had deployed a battalion of troops in Baqiao and set up machine guns to shoot students.So Zhang Xueliang desperately chased him to Shilipu and blocked the students.Northeast students in the parade surrounded Zhang Xueliang, crying and begging the Northeast Army to fight back to their hometown, demanding to stop the civil war, resist Japan and save the country.Seeing the students crying, Zhang Xueliang also shed tears, and said that he would give everyone an answer with facts within a week.That's why he made the decision to "remonstrate with soldiers".

On the morning of the 11th, Zhang Xueliang went to Huaqing Pool to meet Chiang Kai-shek as usual, and deliberately brought two entourages to investigate the roads and terrain of Huaqing Pool.In the afternoon, Chiang Kai-shek angrily abandoned Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng, held a military meeting again, redeployed the "suppression of the communists", and announced that Jiang Dingwen was the commander-in-chief of the former enemy of the "suppression of the communists" in the northwest, and Wei Lihuang was the commander-in-chief of the border regions of the four provinces of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Suining, Chen Cheng commanded the Suidong Central Army in the name of the Deputy Minister of Military and Political Affairs.

At the same time, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng convened a meeting of key officials of the Northeast Army and the Northwest Army in the building of the Appeasement Office, announcing the "military admonition" against Chiang Kai-shek, and arranged the tasks of various ministries in detail.Zhang Xueliang's Northeast Army was in charge of going to Lintong Huaqing Pool to detain Chiang, and Yang Hucheng's Northwest Army was in charge of detaining the Kuomintang military and political officials who came with Chiang Kai-shek and lived in Xi'an.Zhang Xueliang appointed Liu Duoquan, commander of the 10th and 5th Division of the Northeast Army, as the commander-in-chief, and determined two operational parts: the inner line and the outer line. The outer line was guarded around Huaqing Pool to prevent Chiang Kai-shek's guards from breaking out; Enter Huaqing Pool and perform the task of detaining Jiang.

Chiang Kai-shek wrote in his memories on December 11: In the evening, Zhang, Yang, Yu and the generals were called to Xingyuan to have a dinner and discuss the plan of attack and suppression.Neither Yang nor Yu arrived.When I inquired about Zhang Hanqing, I knew that he had come to Shaanxi tonight to have a banquet with the military and political officials of the Central Committee of Shaanxi. Yang and Yu first entertained them in Xi'an, and after the meal here, they will invite everyone to go with them.Hanqing is in a hurry today, and his mind is in a trance, which makes me feel strange.Maybe he was reprimanded by Yu when he came to see him yesterday, so he was unhappy?Or has he heard that Yu Xun blamed Li Tiancai for being unhappy?I don't know the reason for the end of thinking about going to sleep.When it was too late, I put it away.

On the night of the 11th, Zhang Xueliang summoned Sun Mingjiu, his battalion commander, and told him: "Go and invite Chairman Jiang into the city, and you must not beat him to death. At this time tomorrow, we may not be able to meet each other. If you die, I will die. Maybe." In the middle of the night, Sun Mingjiu and others led the soldiers of the Northeast Army to Lintong. The soldiers did not know the truth of the operation, and they only lied to the soldiers: Commander Zhang Xueliang was detained in Huaqing Pool by Chiang Kai-shek, hurry to rescue!Commander Zhang can only be saved if Chiang Kai-shek is captured alive!

Chiang Kai-shek's residence in Huaqing Pool has more than 30 guards in the courtyard; there are about 70 military police stationed in Yuwang Temple outside the courtyard.In the dark night, when more than 100 people under Sun Mingjiu arrived in front of the gate of Huaqing Pool in two large trucks in the early hours of the morning and forced their way in, the guards were forced to shoot. The gunfire broke the silence, and a fierce gun battle ensued . After some melee, Sun Mingjiu and his subordinates bypassed the fiercely fired second door, crawled into the five halls, and rushed into Chiang Kai-shek's bedroom. When they saw that there was no one in the room, there were leather bags and dentures on the table, and the bed was still warm. Yes, one window was open, no doubt Chiang Kai-shek escaped.Everyone was taken aback!If Chiang Kai-shek escaped, the consequences would be disastrous.

At this time, the Northwest Army, which was in charge of detaining Nanjing's military and political officials, surrounded the Xijing Guest House. More than a dozen military and political officials, their family members, and followers who were sleeping saw soldiers with guns and unkind faces break into the room and treated them He even yelled at him sharply, knowing that there was a change, so he had to obey the order and gather in the hall. At this time, Zhidan County was still dreaming at dawn, when the sound of a ticking telegram suddenly sounded, and Ye Zilong, the chief of the confidential section, was awakened by the radio operator on duty.Liu Ding, the liaison representative of the CCP's Northeast Army, sent an urgent telegram from Xi'an, saying that Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng had launched a "military remonstrance" in Xi'an.Ye Zilong saw that the telegram was in half-white and half-literal language, including the word "military remonstrance", and he didn't quite understand it, so he immediately sent it to Mao Zedong's cave next door, "We are desperate for the interests of the Chinese nation and the future of the Anti-Japanese War. Detain Jiang and others and force them to release the patriots and reorganize the coalition government. Brothers, what advice do you have? Resume quickly." ①Mao Zedong was still awake, and was very excited after reading the telegram. He slapped his thigh and stood up, waving his hands and saying, "Go to sleep , good news tomorrow."

The news of "capturing Chiang Kai-shek" spread quickly, and the mountain city of Zhidan boiled.The government staff and Red University students put on clothes one after another, lit torches, rushed to tell each other, and flocked to Shiyaoyuan, the residence of the leaders of the Party Central Committee.Everyone cheered, and the crowd was passionate, demanding that Chiang Kai-shek be tried publicly and then shot to avenge the people! Suddenly, the leaders of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China gathered in Zhang Wentian's cave and began urgent discussions on the Xi'an Incident.

At this time, the soldiers of the Northeast Army in Huaqing Pool were very anxious, worried that if Chiang Kai-shek escaped, the consequences would be disastrous.After repeated judgments, it was believed that Chiang Kai-shek might have escaped to Lishan Mountain behind his residence, and immediately organized soldiers to start a search with a net.And issued an order: Chairman Jiang is absolutely not allowed to be hurt, and whoever captures Chairman Jiang alive will be rewarded with 10,000 yuan. At dawn, one of Sun Mingjiu's squad leaders named Chen Sixiao captured Chiang Kai-shek's bodyguard and nephew Jiang Xiaozhen on the mountain.Then found Chiang Kai-shek in a cave in the middle of the mountain.Chiang Kai-shek came out with bald head, bare feet, and wearing pajamas, and asked: "Where are you from?" Sun Mingjiu who rushed over said: "We are the Northeast Army, and Deputy Commander Zhang asked us to protect the Chairman." , ask the chairman to go to the city, lead us to resist the Japanese, and fight back to our hometown!" Chiang Kai-shek was "invited down the mountain" and went straight to Xi'an in a car. Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai replied to Zhang Xueliang: In order to defend against the military attack of the Nanjing government, they suggested that the two sides deploy military defenses, and said that "Enlai intends to go to my brother's place to discuss major plans"①. The Xi'an Incident shocked the world.In "Remonstrance", Shao Yuanchong, a member of the Standing Committee of the Kuomintang, was killed by a stray bullet; Jiang Xiaoxian, Chiang Kai-shek's deputy bodyguard, was beaten to death.Among the key members who died were shorthand secretary Xiao Naihua, head of the Second Central Gendarmerie Regiment Yang Zhenye, and Lieutenant General Yang Guozhen of the Third Central Gendarmerie Regiment. Overnight, Chiang Kai-shek changed from a leader position to a "prisoner" of his subordinates. He thought that he would be harmed, and became angry from embarrassment. Zhang and Yang were not allowed to have any explanation. I will never change my point of view." When he realized that Zhang and Yang were only fighting against Japan and had no intention of harming the Japanese, Chiang Kai-shek's mood eased. After Chiang Kai-shek was detained, 18 senior generals including Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng announced in Xi'an the establishment of the Provisional Northwest Military Committee of the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces, and signed and published "Telegram on the Current Situation" to the whole country, putting forward eight political propositions: 1. Reorganize the Nanjing government, accommodate all parties and factions, and jointly be responsible for saving the country. 2. Stop all civil wars. 3. Immediately release the patriotic leaders arrested in Shanghai. 4. Release all political prisoners across the country. 5. Open up the popular patriotic movement. 6. Guarantee all political freedoms of people's assembly and association. 7. To truly abide by Premier Sun's will. 8. Immediately convene a national salvation conference. Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng also called Feng Yuxiang, Li Liejun and other local powerful factions, as well as Kong Xiangxi, the vice president of the Executive Yuan of the Nanjing Government, and Song Meiling, Chiang Kai-shek's wife, to clarify that the purpose of the "military remonstrance" was to make Chiang Kai-shek reflect on himself, stop the "communist suppression" and unite in the resistance against Japan.This convinced Song Meiling and others of the Peacemaker to believe that Zhang and Yang had no intention of harming Chiang Kai-shek, and strengthened their confidence in resolving the Xi'an Incident peacefully. At the same time, in order to guard against the attack of the central army, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng actively carried out military defense deployment, which made the Kuomintang crusaders have to be cautious about the actions and created favorable conditions for the peaceful resolution of the Xi'an Incident.