In modern Chinese history, Zhang Zuolin and Zhang Xueliang were a famous father and son who both had a brief period of power, especially Zhang Zuolin. After the victory of the Second Zhifeng War in 1924, Zhang Zuolin took office in Beijing as the Grand Marshal of the Army and Navy, representing the Republic of China in exercising governance and becoming the highest ruler of the country.
However, with the Northern Expedition launched by the National Revolutionary Army, the old warlord forces of the Fengs were unable to resist. In 1928, Zhang Zuolin had no choice but to issue a special train to leave Beijing and return to Fengs. Unexpectedly, the Japanese planted a bomb early on their way home, and Zhang Zuolin was severely injured by the explosion in Huanggutun. Soon after, he passed away. His son Zhang Xueliang carried the banner of “Fengzhang” and continued to operate in Northeast China.
Objectively speaking, although Zhang Xueliang’s level was not as bad as his father’s, he was not too bad in his early years. At the end of 1928, under pressure from the Japanese, he announced the change of his position in Northeast China and officially unified with the Nationalist government. Moreover, Zhang Zuolin died suddenly and was not prepared for his successor, so some veteran figures of the Northeast Army did not pay much attention to Zhang Xueliang, such as Yang Yuting and Chang Yinhuai, who had deep conflicts with him.
Yang Yuting had already had an affair with Zhang Xueliang’s confidant Guo Songling due to his position, which led to Guo Songling’s defection and rebellion; When the Northeast changed its position, Yang Yuting also clearly stood on the opposite side, thus deepening the conflict with Zhang Xueliang. Many Fengjun elderly people are on Yang Yuting’s side, and the government basically does not report to Zhang Xueliang. Every time Zhang Xueliang asks about the situation, Yang Yuting scolds and says, “You don’t understand, don’t meddle in blindly, I will make a decision. This is more like his Laozi than Zhang Zuolin, so Zhang Xueliang chose to kill Li Wei in order to consolidate his position.
On January 10, 1929, Yang Yuting and Chang Yinhuai planned to establish the Northeast Railway Supervision Office, appointing Chang Yinhuai as the railway supervisor. Without consulting with Zhang Xueliang, they came directly to ask for his signature. Angered, Zhang Xueliang became furious and “the two of them bullied me too much”, and directly ordered the guards to shoot Yang and Chang.
Afterwards, Zhang Xueliang used a strategy of combining kindness and power to deter the influence of the elder faction of Yang Yuting, writing a couplet praising Yang Yuting and comforting his family, without causing any backlash, completely stabilizing the position of the Zhang family. Zhang Xueliang did a good job in the two things of “Yizhi” and “Liwei”. Later, the Central Plains War of 1930 brought Zhang Xueliang’s strength to its peak. At that time, Chiang Kai shek engaged in a melee with Feng Yuxiang, Li Zongren, Yan Xishan, and others. Zhang Xueliang held the elite Northeast Army and only issued the entry telegram at the moment of victory or defeat.
120000 Northeast Army assisted Chiang Kai shek in the battle and completely defeated the anti Chiang forces. (Coincidentally, the day he issued the telegram was September 18, 1930.) Afterwards, Chiang Kai shek, in order to express gratitude, appointed Zhang Xueliang as the Deputy Commander of the Land, Sea, and Air Force of the Republic of China, responsible for controlling North China, and became the second person in the Republic of China.
At this time, Zhang Xueliang had unlimited scenery and decided to stay in Beijing. His father left Beijing with regret, but today his son has returned, and his power is not much smaller than his original father. However, he led over 100000 Northeast Army troops into North China under his jurisdiction, which were the most elite troops. As soon as they left Northeast China, they would inevitably become empty, and this also made the Japanese who had been coveting Chinese territory move their minds.
Since 1931, the Japanese have been creating friction in Northeast China, using events such as “Mount Wanbao” and “Nakamura” to repeatedly slander and persecute “Japanese expatriates, in order to create public opinion and prepare for major actions. The highest leader of the Nationalist government, Chiang Kai shek, and the actual person in charge of Northeast China, Zhang Xueliang, were not unaware of the Japanese’s intentions, but they all knew that they were unable to compete with the Japanese, so they ordered restraint.
On August 16, 1931, Chiang Kai shek sent “Milling Electricity” to Zhang Xueliang, which contained a sentence: “My brother, do not show momentary anger and disregard the country and nation. After 20 days, Zhang Xueliang also called the Chief of Staff of the Northeast Army, Rong Zhen, and the Political Affairs Committees of the three provinces in Northeast China, saying, “The Japanese side is becoming more proactive in their diplomacy towards us. We should strive for stability and prudence in dealing with everything. We must tolerate the Japanese people no matter how they seek help, and not rebel against them, causing trouble. We hope to promptly send a confidential message to everyone and pay attention to it
With this intention in mind, the Northeast Army had no choice. On the evening of September 18, 1931, the Japanese Kwantung Army bombed a section of the South Manchurian Railway and placed three corpses dressed in Chinese soldier uniforms, accusing the Chinese army of damaging the railway. Immediately, the Japanese army launched an attack on the Northeast Chinese Army’s base in Beidaying.
Rong Zhen, the highest commander of Beidaying, ordered the Northeast Army to ‘cannot resist, put guns in the warehouse, and even if killed by the Japanese, it will sacrifice for the country’. So, Beidaying, which had 8000 people, was occupied by the second battalion of the Japanese Independent Defense Force, which had only about 300 people. The next day, in an interview with Ta Kung Pao, Zhang Xueliang stated: ‘I have ordered a provocation against the Japanese soldiers, and our soldiers will not be able to resist.’. Therefore, our army in Beidaying ordered the collection of weapons and storage in the warehouse. Afterwards, Chiang Kai shek also publicly stated that he hoped that our national army would avoid conflicts with the Japanese army.