Age of Conquest Reborn

Chapter 370 The Xi’an Incident comes to light

At the same time as the Huaqing Pool operation was taking place, the Xijing Guest House in Xi'an was one of the few high-end hotels in Xi'an. It had complete facilities and an elegant environment. It was specially used to entertain dignitaries, celebrities and wealthy businessmen who came to Xi'an.

The Nanjing military and political officials who arrived in Xi'an with Chairman Chiang were naturally not qualified to live in Huaqing Pool, so they had to settle for the next best thing and stay at the Xijing Guest House.

This also brought convenience to Yang Hucheng's 17th Route Army to arrest these military and political officials. In the early morning, the quiet Xijing Guesthouse was suddenly surrounded by a large number of armed soldiers. Those on duty here were originally Yang Hucheng's troops.

The Central Committee officials who were woken up from their sweet dreams opened their eyes in a daze. Their heads were already pressed against the muzzles of several black guns. There were soldiers with live ammunition in the room. They never expected that they would not wake up.

, life has undergone dramatic changes. Yesterday I was a guest, today I am a prisoner. Who knows, life is constantly changing.

These central officials, including Chen Cheng, Wei Lihuang, Yang Yongtai, etc., were gathered into a large room, surrounded by soldiers with live ammunition. Some people asked to see Zhang Xueliang or Yang Hucheng, but unfortunately, these soldiers ignored you at all.

set.

Some senior officials, considering their status and disdain to deal with these ordinary soldiers, rushed out of the room angrily and asked Zhang Yang to argue. As soon as they arrived at the door, they immediately stepped back. The muzzles of several black guns were pointing at him.

their chests.

These central officials were confused and frightened. No one knew what their fate would be. They only knew that they had become prisoners, and their lives were in the hands of Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng.

Yang Hucheng's 17th Route Army did not waste any effort when dealing with other Central Department armed forces. They were surrounded and disarmed in their sleep, and encountered almost no resistance. Only when they dealt with the Third Military Police Regiment, a fierce battle broke out.

gunfight.

Jiang Xiaoxian, the commander of the Third Gendarmerie Regiment, was an extremely hateful and arrogant person. He faithfully carried out all the instructions of Chairman Chiang Kai-shek and was regarded as Guigao. Because he was from a noble family in the system, he usually did not look down upon those who belonged to him.

The miscellaneous Northeastern Army and the 17th Route Army used the excuse of improving military discipline to catch officers and soldiers who violated discipline in these two armies and punish them to death.

The officers and soldiers of the Northeastern Army and the 17th Route Army all said that the Third Military Police Regiment was the palace of the King of Hell. If you go in standing and come out lying down, you can have half your life or even a breath. That is the grace of the Lord of Hell.

Therefore, the two sides formed an intractable grudge. When they met on a regular basis, their eyes would be on fire. When Jiang Xiaoxian heard the shouts of the 17th Route Army outside, the fire in Jiang Xiaoxian's heart came out and asked him to disarm. Bah! Hit me.

The military policemen of the Third Military Police Regiment picked up their weapons and opened fire first.

After a fierce battle, the Third Military Police Regiment could no longer withstand it and finally raised the white flag. The casualties among the military police were not great, but the commander of the military police, Jiang Xiaoxian, was shot at randomly. He was shot several times and died on the spot.

This was also the most intense of the few bloody conflicts in the Xi'an Incident. Jiang Xiaoxian also became the officer with the highest military rank and official position in the central system who was killed by Zhang Yang's troops during the incident.

At dawn, sporadic gunshots could no longer be heard in the city. All the central system's armed forces stationed in Xi'an had been eliminated, and the city of Xi'an was completely in the hands of Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng.

Xincheng Building, Xi'an Incident Provisional Headquarters, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng, who had not slept a wink all night, breathed a sigh of relief at the same time and fired their bows without turning back. What they were most worried about was that among the chaos, Chiang Kai-shek's life was in danger. If that soldier In order to vent his dissatisfaction, it was possible to beat Chiang Kai-shek to death on the spot.

If that were the case, it would go against the original intention of the two of them to launch a "military remonstrance", and would also make the situation dangerous and complicated. It is very possible that China would immediately fall into a large-scale civil war. They hope that there will be no bloodshed, or as little bloodshed as possible. , and achieve the goal.

Now, Chiang Kai-shek was detained in a room on the third floor of the Xincheng Building and was under strict protection. Neither Zhang Xueliang nor Yang Hucheng had any intention of meeting Chairman Chiang.

According to the prior plan, after arresting Chiang Kai-shek and taking control of Xi'an City, he immediately sent a public telegram to the whole country to clarify the purpose and requirements of launching this "military remonstrance".

The telegram listed a total of eight political propositions: first, reorganize the Nanjing National Government to accommodate all political parties and jointly take responsibility for saving the country; second, stop all civil wars and fight against the outside world with a unified gun; third, immediately release the arrested patriotic leader in Shanghai, namely Shen Jun. The "Seven Gentlemen" headed by Confucianism; fourth, release all political prisoners; fifth, open up the popular patriotic movement; sixth, guarantee the political freedom of people's assembly and association; seventh, earnestly comply with Premier Sun's medical advice; eight, immediately convene a national salvation meeting to discuss together A plan to resist foreign enemies.

Once the power was sent out, it was no less than a bombshell, causing an uproar and huge waves in the delicate, complex and intricate domestic situation.

Various political factions and local forces have their own hidden agendas. Some are indignant, some are dumbfounded, some are in disbelief, some are waiting to see, some are gloating about misfortunes, some are fishing in troubled waters, some are taking advantage of others, and so on. Posture, to name a few.

The Xi'an Incident spread quickly, both at home and abroad. Newspapers from all over the world reported the shocking news of the Xi'an Incident in detail with prominent headlines on their front pages. The "Yomiuri Shimbun" in Tokyo, Japan, was the most sensational.

The newspaper reported the Xi'an Incident with an eye-catching headline. According to the news returned by our reporter in China, the leader of the Republic of China and the Chairman of the Communist Party of China, Chiang Kai-shek, who was detained in Xi'an a few days ago, has been captured by the rebel army. Shot to death and body found in the suburbs of Xi'an.

The intentions of the Japanese authorities are obvious, and they want to add chaos to chaos, so that China will be divided into several countries. The local forces in the state of democracy or semi-government are the best, and they can calmly deal with them one by one.

Or a civil war breaks out, with various forces fighting to the death and severely weakening their vitality. It is best for China's army, which has been completely consumed in the civil war. They will save a lot of energy and hope to take the opportunity to expand the Chinese civil war in order to achieve their goals. The ambition to destroy all of China.

On December 15, Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka convened journalists stationed in Tokyo from various countries and held a press conference. At the press conference, Yosuke Matsuoka, on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor and the government of the Empire of Japan, responded to the military incident that occurred in Xi'an. Events indicate deep concern.

And on behalf of the Imperial Japanese Government, a solemn statement was issued, which stated: "His Majesty the Emperor and our government are extremely concerned about what happened in Xi'an. Throughout the history of the world, it is unheard of that the following crimes have been committed to such an extent."

"The eight political propositions put forward by Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng have repeatedly alluded to or even directly pointed at the Empire of Japan. They have tried their best to slander the Empire of Japan's contribution to China. The imperial government will not sit idly by and ignore it.

, will respond accordingly when necessary.”

"What Zhang and Yang said was aimed at deliberately sabotaging Sino-Japanese relations and for the sake of the overall situation of Sino-Japanese relations. The Nanjing government must not compromise with Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng. The Imperial Japanese government and the army in China are willing to fight against Zhang Yang

The army of the Government of the Republic of China will provide all weapons, equipment, supplies and ammunition, and when necessary, dispatch the army and air force to provide full assistance."

Not only that, in addition to publicly supporting China's civil war, Japanese Prime Minister Takeshi Inukai also sent a special envoy to Europe to urge the Japanese's old friend Wang Jingwei to return to the country. Once Chairman Chiang was killed, Wang Jingwei would officially take over the power of the National Government.

European and American countries, on the other hand, never wanted the Japanese to control the direction of Chinese politics alone and become a Japanese power in China. Based on their own interests in China, they advocated a peaceful solution to the Xi'an Incident and the rescue of Chairman Chiang Kai-shek.

In addition to foreign forces calling for fighting or peaceful resolution, various domestic political factions and local powerful factions also jumped to the forefront to express different reactions and attitudes towards the Xi'an Incident launched by Zhang Yang.

Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi of the New Guangxi clique had a long-standing feud with Chairman Chiang Kai-shek. Although the Guangxi and Guangxi Incident ended with the compromise of the New Guangxi clique, for Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi, who had great ambitions and wanted to dominate the Chinese political arena,

How can I swallow this breath?

Zhang and Yang did what they failed to do, and they felt a lot of anger in their hearts. After congratulating each other with their foreheads and hands, they felt that they should have some attitude. They thought for a long time and sent a telegram to Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng.

The telegram said: "The righteous deeds of Brother Hanqing and Brother Hucheng should inspire the hearts of the people of the country. The children should dissuade the father's injustice and find other ways to do it. Now Jiang Gong is deeply lost, and the actions of the two brothers

, I am really helpless, even if I save others from drowning, I will not hesitate." Expressing sympathy and support for the Xi'an Incident.

Far away in Shandong, Han Fuju, chairman of the Shandong Province of the National Government who calls himself Han Qingtian, somehow got the wrong nerve and actively participated in the Xi'an Incident. Judging from his character, this person has absolutely no need to participate in this matter.

He doesn't have the political acumen either.

Perhaps it was a clever plan devised by one of his senior advisers, who wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to gain some political capital. He publicly called and said: "Please Zhang and Yang, please ensure the personal safety of Chairman Chiang. Although he was not injured at all, we are all outraged by it."

."

On the other hand, he secretly sent his subordinate Gao Shen and Xu Weilie, secretary-general of the Shandong Provincial Government, to Xi'an secretly. He tried his best to persuade Zhang Yang to kill Chairman Chiang Kai-shek and ran between Zhang and Yang in order to sow discord between the two.

Not only that, Xu Weilie also showed Zhang Xueliang an autographed letter from Han Fuju. In the letter, Han Fuju listed several reasons for killing Chiang. One of them was to force Zhang Xueliang to abandon the Northeast and bear the infamy of "a general who did not resist".

Taking the blame for old Chiang Kai-shek and killing Chiang Kai-shek at this time is actually a golden opportunity.

One is to avenge his family, and the other is to comply with public opinion. Han Fuju also said that he is willing to support the second brother Zhang Yang and send troops from Lu Province to march westward to jointly resist the Central Army. Chairman Han cannot bear the loneliness. In the land of Shandong Province

, there is no room for him, Han Qingtian.

Shandong faces the sea to the east, the Japanese are in the north, and the rich land of Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the south, the fundamental place of the great powers in China, is not something he can control. Only going west is something he can be sure of.

At this time, Han Fuju was probably trying to take advantage of the chaos. The Northeastern Army and the 17th Route Army were defeated by the Central Army. His forces took advantage of the situation and invaded the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia from the west, occupying the north and south of the Taihang Mountains to unify the north.

Overlord’s dream, right?