Among the founding generals of the People's Republic of China, some people have had the feat of capturing the enemy alive, such as Liu Haiqing captured Chen Changjie, Liu Changyi captured Huang Wei, captured Liao Yaoxiang, etc., they were all awarded the title of founding general and marshal after the founding of New China, these merits are undoubtedly very brilliant, but compared with another person, it seems a little overshadowed, that is, Zhang Xueliang, who once held Chiang Kai-shek hostage, if he can be released, what kind of status will he have in New China?
Zhang Xueliang was originally a loyal supporter of the National, he inherited the title of the Northeast King of his father Zhang Zuolin, controlled the military and political power of the three eastern provinces, and later declared his allegiance to Nanjing, becoming one of the most influential political figures in the National** period, until an event that shook China and the world, his life trajectory was completely changed.
On the night of December 10, 1936, night had fallen in Xi'an, and the bitter cold wind blew off the leaves on the trees, and the streets were silent.
Zhang Xueliang sat in his private car and drove to his residence, his face was pale and his heart was very uneasy, because he had just attended a farewell banquet and had a fierce dispute with Chiang Kai-shek, and he advocated uniting the Communist Party to resist Japan, but he was severely reprimanded by Chiang Kai-shek, and the two parted angrily.
Zhang Xueliang was deeply disappointed with Chiang Kai-shek's policy of "settling the interior before attacking the outside world," and he believed that Chiang Kai-shek disregarded the interests of the country and the nation, only cared about his own selfish interests, compromised and retreated externally, and killed his compatriots at home. He couldn't stand such a command, so he and Yang Hucheng secretly got in touch with the communists in the northwest and jointly planned a joint anti-Japanese plan. When Chiang Kai-shek learned about it, he was furious and scolded him for being poisoned by the Communist Party, not knowing the righteousness, and pointing a gun at his compatriots. Zhang Xueliang was indignant when he heard this, and at the same time felt powerless, he felt that Chiang Kai-shek was already incorrigible.
When he returned to his residence, it was already late at night, at this time, General Yang Hucheng, who was stationed in Xi'an, suddenly came to visit, and they could not help but talk about the current situation in their conversation, seeing that Chiang Kai-shek was still insisting on civil war, Yang Hucheng was emotional and put forward a bold idea, that is, to seize Chiang Kai-shek and force him to change his policy and unite against Japan.
Zhang Xueliang listened to this idea, was surprised for a while, and finally agreed to Yang Hucheng's suggestion, and the next day, he went to see Chiang Kai-shek again and earnestly persuaded him, so that he could see the situation clearly, conform to the wishes of the people of the whole country, and unite with the Communist Party to resist Japan, just as Mr. Sun Yat-sen did in those years. Zhang Xueliang became more and more excited, and finally cried.
Chiang Kai-shek saw that his henchmen were actually crying for the Communist Party, and his heart was even more angry, he pointed at Zhang Xueliang and said loudly: You have been poisoned by the Communist Party, shut up for me. The duty of a soldier is to obey orders, don't say that you are going to fight the Communist Party, even if you are asked to die, you have to be obedient.
Zhang Xueliang heard these words, his heart was desperate, he left in a huff, and in the middle of the night on December 11, he took his Northeast Army and Yang Hucheng's Northwest Army, taking advantage of the darkness, to start a short but fierce battle with Chiang Kai-shek's guards.
At about 5 o'clock in the morning, they finally broke into Chiang Kai-shek's bedroom, touched the quilt, and the temperature, they judged that Chiang Kai-shek did not run far, and immediately searched separately, and finally found Chiang Kai-shek, who was only wearing a white pajama and shivering from the cold, in a cave in the back mountain.
This is the famous Xi'an Incident, which changed Zhang Xueliang's fate and changed the history of China.