Chiang Kai-shek's last words imprisoned Zhang Xueliang, and Song Meiling was in tears
After the Xi'an Incident, Yang Hucheng and Zhang Xueliang were imprisoned by Chiang Kai-shek. Yang Hucheng was killed on the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China, while Zhang Xueliang was transferred to Taiwan and placed under house arrest.
In 1975, Zhang Xueliang presented a couplet at Chiang Kai-shek's funeral, which was their last intersection. Although there is a lot of speculation about the reason why Zhang Xueliang was imprisoned, in fact, Chiang Kai-shek left his last words on his deathbed, pointing out the reason for imprisoning Zhang Xueliang.
Chiang Ching-kuo, in accordance with his father's instructions, kept Zhang Xueliang under house arrest until Chiang Ching-kuo's death before releasing him. Zhang Xueliang moved to Hawaii in 1995, where he died in 2001 and never returned to Taipei or the mainland.
Why did Chiang Kai-shek imprison Zhang Xueliang all his life but not kill him? What were his last words?
Xi'an Incident": Zhang Xueliang's heroic decision changed the direction of history and became a watershed in his life. As allies of Chiang Kai-shek, they had a close relationship, but when it came to foreign invasions, the two men had very different views and became irresolvable political rivals. "
Xi'an Incident"Later, Zhang Xueliang escorted Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing, but was liquidated with the grievances between Zhang and Yang. Although Zhang Xueliang remained loyal to Chiang Kai-shek, and even insisted on escorting him back to Nanjing after Chiang Kai-shek's resolute refusal, he was still sentenced to 10 years in prison, and Yang Hucheng was also imprisoned and denied freedom for the rest of his life.
Although Zhang Xue's conscience still had morality towards Chiang Kai-shek, his fate had been changed by this heroic decision.
Zhang Xueliang and Zhao Yidi lived an isolated life in the captive mountains of Hsinchu. They are far away from the hustle and bustle, and although they live in a harsh environment, they face it positively and learn new skills such as farming and sewing.
Although they are accompanied by history books, they are tormented by their inner loneliness and longing for freedom.
During the days of captivity, Zhang Xueliang waited day after day, and never saw the hope of Chiang Kai-shek's release. The only person who had the deepest relationship with him was the servant Wu Ma, and he didn't even bother to take care of the other guards.
Because there is no electric light in the mountains, Zhang Xueliang's eyesight has deteriorated, and his hair has fallen out due to long-term depression. Radio became his only way of reaching the outside world, and his only psychological comfort, but it was also often warned by guards.
Their range of activities is limited to a small courtyard, and they need to ask the guards for instructions when they go out, and they have to accompany the team to take pictures, as if Zhang Xueliang is a cash cow that may escape at any time.
In the past few years in Hsinchu Mountain, Zhang Xueliang has deeply realized what it means to be lonely and helpless.
On January 21, 1949, Zhang Xueliang saw hope in the news from the outside world. Chiang Kai-shek announced his resignation, and Li Zongren took over as deputy of the Kuomintang. With his keen intuition, Zhang Xueliang realized that behind this news must be stormy and full of crises.
He realized that this might be the best time for him to get out of his predicament. Sure enough, not long after, Li Zongren announced a news that made Chiang Kai-shek heartbroken, and he wanted to release Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng.
This news made Zhang Xueliang ecstatic. However, although Li Zongren was nominally the deputy **, the real controller behind the Kuomintang was still Chiang Kai-shek. Although he was in his hometown of Xikou, he controlled all the actions of the Kuomintang through his cronies.
Chiang Kai-shek resolutely opposed the release of Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng. In order to prevent Li Zongren from freeing them, Chiang Kai-shek decided to adopt a preemptive strategy.
In 1925, Zhang Xueliang and Song Meiling met in the flower world in Shanghai, when they were both children of a family in their twenties, and they were in their prime. This year, Zhang Xueliang led the Northeast Army to defeat Sun Chuanfang and stepped into Shanghai for the first time.
However, these good times did not last long. In 1930, Zhang Xueliang was secretly transferred to Kaohsiung and hidden in the military residence of Shoushan Fortress. He knew that it was impossible to get Chiang Kai-shek to let him go.
So, he was once again forced to live the life of idle clouds and wild cranes. General Yang Hucheng was not so lucky, after he was imprisoned in a cave for many years, on the eve of the founding of New China, Chiang Kai-shek ordered him and his two young children to be brutally killed, disfigured, and buried under the Dai Gong Ancestral Hall.
Although Yang Hucheng can be killed, why did Chiang Kai-shek leave Zhang Xueliang? This is all because there is an extraordinary relationship between Zhang Xueliang and Song Meiling.
At a banquet, Zhang Xueliang was deeply attracted by her temperament and knowledge when he first met Song Meiling. Song Meiling was born in a famous family, and she is the *** of Mr. Sun Yat-sen, so she has attracted much attention in social occasions.
The two quickly got to know each other, and they often danced and played together. Zhang Xueliang's appreciation for Song Meiling is beyond words, and he once said to his friend Wang Shujun: "If I don't have a wife, I will chase Song Meiling." ”
However, Chiang Kai-shek was also pursuing Soong Meiling, and although Soong Meiling did not have much affection for Chiang Kai-shek, she eventually married Chiang Kai-shek and became Zhang Xueliang's boss and husband with the help of her sister Soong Ailing.
Song Meiling showed superb emotional intelligence in handling this relationship.
The Central Plains War was full of gunsmoke, and the young Zhang Xueliang was ordered to enter the customs with a decisive wave. In order to welcome this future politician and military strategist, Song Meiling hosted a banquet at home to entertain Zhang Xueliang's wife Yu Fengzhi.
This family banquet did not involve politics, because Song Meiling knew that Yu Fengzhi was an introverted woman and was not good at dealing with political occasions, so this arrangement made Yu Fengzhi full of good feelings for Song Meiling.
Under the arrangement of Song Meiling's mother, Yu Fengzhi and Song Meiling became sisters of the opposite sex. Soon after, Zhang Xueliang and Chiang Kai-shek exchanged orchids and became opposite-sex brothers, and the kinship between the two families became even deeper.
The names of Zhang Xueliang, Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Meiling have been closely linked ever since.
After the Xi'an Incident, Chiang Kai-shek tried to deal with Zhang Xueliang, but Soong Meiling stepped forward and protected him. After the incident, Zhang Xueliang insisted on personally sending Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing, and although Chiang Kai-shek warned him that the safety of Nanjing could not be guaranteed, Zhang Xueliang still insisted.
Soong Meiling promised Zhang Xueliang to send him back to Xi'an after returning to Nanjing, but this was not fulfilled, resulting in Zhang Xueliang being imprisoned by Chiang Kai-shek. Song Meiling felt guilty because of this, she was unwilling to give up her friendship with Zhang Xueliang, and began to look for ways to protect him.
She even threatened Chiang Kai-shek that if it was not good for Zhang Xueliang, she would leave Taiwan immediately and do what she said.
Perhaps because of Song Meiling's protection, Chiang Kai-shek did not kill Zhang Xueliang. And Zhang Xueliang firmly believed until he was old that he did not suffer misfortune like the Yang Hucheng brothers, all because of Song Meiling's protection.
As long as Song Meiling is here, he can live with peace of mind. Zhang Xueliang was deeply grateful for this. After the Xi'an Incident, although Zhang Xueliang and Song Meiling could not see each other often, their correspondence was never interrupted.
Among the more than 500 letters left by Zhang Xueliang, there were hundreds of correspondences with Song Meiling, most of which were written after the Xi'an Incident, which is enough to prove that Song Meiling helped Zhang Xueliang and gave spiritual comfort to Zhang Xueliang after the Xi'an Incident.
After Chiang Kai-shek died, he left his last words: "Don't let go of the tiger". In 1957, Zhang Xueliang was sent to Kaohsiung again, and after living here for three years, he moved to Beitou, a suburb of Taipei.
Here, Zhang Xueliang finally has his own small courtyard, and he no longer needs to look at the eyes of the guards to live.
Zhao Yidi is trapped in a life of solitary confinement, although he is close to 60 years old, from a young marshal galloping on the field to an old man who has been imprisoned for half his life, Zhang Xueliang always feels that this life has passed too quickly.
He longs for the day when he can get out of this square world. However, in 1975, Chiang Kai-shek died of illness at the Shilin Mansion in Taipei, Zhang Xueliang still did not give up his desire for freedom, looking forward to Soong Meiling or the next ** person to release him.
However, on his deathbed, Chiang Kai-shek left his last words to his son, who was about to take his place: "Don't let go of the tiger." Jiang Jingguo knew the grievances between his father and Zhang Xueliang, so he could only agree to his father's request.
Now it seems that it may be because Chiang Kai-shek and Zhang Xueliang have had a long-standing grudge, and he doesn't want to leave a disaster for future generations, so he insists on not wanting to let Zhang Xueliang go. Or, he still has some hatred for Zhang Xueliang in his heart.
Hearing the news, Song Meiling cried bitterly, originally thinking that Chiang Kai-shek's death would relieve her friends, but she didn't expect that Chiang Kai-shek was unwilling to leave her even this affection.
Although Soong Meiling could protect Zhang Xueliang, she could no longer rescue Chiang Kai-shek after his death. Surprisingly, Zhang Xueliang personally attended Chiang Kai-shek's funeral and personally sent the couplet, but the words on the couplet were full of deep meaning. "
Caring is like flesh and bones; The dispute over political views is like enmity", these sixteen words summarize the entanglement of the two people's lives. Zhang Xueliang continues to live in isolation, perhaps because no amount of intervention can change the situation, which only adds to sentimentality.
It wasn't until 1991 that Zhang Xueliang finally regained his freedom, at the age of 90, and three years later he moved to the United States, where he met his children.
The most important 48 years of Zhang Xueliang's legendary life were spent in Taipei. The historical figure deeply regretted this time, and once sighed: "My life is only 36 years old, and the rest of my life will be nowhere to be found." ”
In 2001, Zhang Xueliang passed away in Hawaii, USA, and Song Meiling entrusted Kong Lingyi to convey her condolences with great sadness. Chiang Kai-shek's daughter, Gu Zhenfu, attended Zhang Xueliang's funeral on behalf of her father and placed a bouquet of crosses with the words "Chiang Soong Meiling" written on it in front of his spiritual seat.
At this point, the complicated grievances and entanglements between Zhang Xueliang and Chiang Kai-shek finally came to an end.