The hall was filled with smoke and the atmosphere was warm. He Yingqin, Wu Zhihui, Chen Gongbo, Dai Chuanxian, Zhang Qun, He Zhonghan, Deng Wenyi, He Yingqin's niece-in-law Gui Yongqing, the captain of the Central Education Brigade, and more than a dozen Huangpu generals gathered together, one by one.
The general's crusade strategy was brought up for discussion.
Deputy Chief He Jiwu hurried in, walked quickly to He Yingqin's side, and bent down to report.
He Yingqin was deeply shocked, stood up quickly, and walked quickly to the door. Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived at the door, he bumped into the tall Feng Yuxiang. Everyone saw that Feng Yuxiang, who was wearing a long black cotton robe, refused to invite him.
Since then, everyone stood up in surprise and hurriedly came forward to greet them.
He Yingqin stretched out his hand and smiled awkwardly: "Vice Chairman, you... why are you here? This... haha, okay, we are discussing the suppression of the northwest rebels.
, now that you, the Vice Chairman of the Military Committee, are personally involved, the effect will be even better."
Feng Yuxiang frowned, waved his hand, pushed He Yingqin's hand away, and asked seriously: "Minister He, why didn't you notify me, the Vice Chairman who was appointed to temporarily take charge of the entire army, of such an important military meeting in advance? In your eyes
There is also a military committee, and I, Feng, am I here?"
He Yingqin was speechless for a moment, smiled awkwardly, and explained in a low voice:
"Actually... this is not actually a formal military meeting. It's just that we met by chance, got together to discuss the current situation, and exchanged our thoughts..."
Feng Yuxiang glared: "So, who ordered the Tongguan and Huayin divisions to attack Xi'an without authorization? Why didn't you inform me about such a big thing?"
He Yingqin was shocked. He knew that the order he had issued without authorization could no longer be kept secret. He was frightened by Feng Yuxiang's momentum and could only introduce it in a low voice:
"The incident happened suddenly, and we couldn't miss the opportunity! When I received the call from General Feng Qinzai, none of the members of the Standing Committee of the Military Commission were around. I had no choice but to issue an order to seize the opportunity first. I didn't have time to inform you. I asked Vice Chairman Feng
Thank you for your understanding!"
The generals in the hall were all silent in front of the majestic Feng Yuxiang. Chen Gongbo and Dai Chuanxian, two old officials, saw that He Yingqin was too embarrassed, so they hurriedly stepped forward to mediate and happily pulled Feng Yuxiang to sit on the sofa in the middle.
Seeing this, He Yingqin let out a long breath and loudly ordered the guards to offer Feng Yuxiang cigarettes and tea. He was worried that Feng Yuxiang would rely on his old man to ask questions loudly again, which would affect the entire army's plan to attack Xi'an, so he coughed and spoke first:
"Everyone, today is not a formal military and political meeting, it is just a meeting, haha! Let me first say that the two thieves Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng are so audacious and openly colluded with the communist bandits to kidnap the leader. They are undoubtedly declaring war on the central government. This kind of treason and parricide
Who can endure the sins of the Lord? We are all the pillars of the party and the country. How should we deal with it? Please work together and express your opinions... Mr. Gongbo, how about you give me some advice first?"
Everyone looked at Chen Gongbo. Zhang Qun saw that Chen Gongbo was still humble, so he also smiled and said: "Brother Gongbo is an outstanding theorist of the party and state, and he must have high opinions!"
Chen Gongbo thought for a while and coughed: "I think your biggest wish is to rescue Chairman Chiang as soon as possible, so I think that any method that is conducive to rescuing the Chairman is a good method, haha!"
Chen Gongbo looked at Feng Yuxiang who nodded slightly, then glanced at He Yingqin who had already discussed it beforehand, then turned to everyone and said haha:
"Haha...Zhang Xueliang, Yang Hucheng openly led his troops to mutiny and hijacked the commander-in-chief of the entire country. This is unbearable. Therefore, General Jingzhi's explicit order for a crusade is undoubtedly very correct, and I believe that it is indeed necessary to send a large army.
Surround Shaanxi to prevent Zhang Hanqing from threatening the Central Committee with the Chairman!"
He Yingqin was extremely annoyed with the first few words of Chen Gongbo, who had conspired to achieve consensus before the meeting. After listening to the rest of the words, he realized Chen Gongbo's brilliance and couldn't help but smile brightly at Chen Gongbo.
Who would have thought that Chen Gongbo would speak again: "I secretly believe that for the sake of Chairman Chiang's safety, the army can only attack the situation with heavy troops and form a deterrent in terms of momentum. It must not really open fire, otherwise it is very likely that both the stone and the stone will be destroyed.
Not only did it fail to save Chairman Chiang, it would actually harm him!"
There were many echoing voices in the crowd, and He Yingqin became angry again. He looked at Chen Gongbo with sideways eyes. He wondered why Wang Jingwei's number one cadre suddenly became concerned about the safety of his political enemy Chiang Kai-shek.
Chen Gongbo seemed unaware, picked up the teacup and tasted the tea slowly.
Wu Zhihui spoke: "I agree with Mr. Gongbo's opinion. Only when soldiers press down on the border to act as a deterrent can we negotiate terms with Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng. For the sake of Jie Gong's safety, I think an appropriate compromise can be made."
Feng Yuxiang stood up and objected loudly: "Forgive Feng for disagreeing with the two gentlemen's opinions! Of course your intentions are good, but as long as you mobilize the army, it is very likely to harm Jieshi. What is Zhang Xueliang's character?
As we all know, he has the character of a playboy, willful, impulsive, and reckless of the consequences! If we rashly send troops to attack the situation, it is most likely to be counterproductive and even trigger a large-scale civil war. In that case, the angry young Northeast Army faction will definitely take advantage of the situation.
When Shi Lai opened a knife to sacrifice the flag, even if Jieshi survived, he would probably die in the fire of our own people. I wonder if you have thought about this?"
Li Liejun's voice suddenly came from the door of the living room: "I support Brother Huanzhang's opinion. Under the current circumstances, the Xi'an Incident cannot be solved by force."
Everyone looked at the door and saw Li Liejun followed by Song Meiling, Song Ziwen and Kong Xiangxi. They all stood up and greeted politely.
Seeing that something was wrong, He Yingqin finally made up his mind and ordered his fourth brother He Jiwu to call all members of the Standing Committee of the Military Commission in Beijing and immediately convene a formal military meeting to discuss whether to send troops to suppress the rebellion in Xi'an.
Half an hour later, members of the Standing Committee of the Military Commission and other members arrived one after another. Civil officials such as Chen Lifu, Chen Guofu, Dai Jitao, Chen Gongbo, Ye Chuqian, Kong Xiangxi, and Song Ziwen also attended the meeting. They sat around He Yingqin's living room and began a serious discussion. Song Meiling
With no name or status, I could only sit on the outside and listen like everyone else.
The discussion quickly reached a deadlock, with huge differences of opinion. He Yingqin made an impassioned speech and advocated the use of force to attack Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng, but was strongly opposed by Li Liejun and Feng Yuxiang. Song Ziwen and Kong Xiangxi questioned whether they wanted to save the chairman or harm the committee members if they sent troops.
Chang Cheng Qian retorted, saying that Zhang Yang could not tie up the vote of the chairman of the committee. We, the National Government, must comply one by one. How would that cost the government's face?
Dai Jitao raised the question of who should be under the command if the army is dispatched. Some say it should be under the command of He Yingqin, some say it should be Chief of Staff Cheng Qian, and still others think it should be Feng Yuxiang, Vice Chairman of the Military Commission.
There was endless quarreling, and finally Chen Lifu solemnly proposed that for such a major matter, a formal meeting should be held at the Central Party Headquarters.
So, a group of people rushed to the Central Party Headquarters.
Since the incident, Song Meiling had been unable to sleep for several days and nights. She was already exhausted mentally and physically. She could not persist at this time and could only return home to rest with Gong Qian's company.
This emergency meeting lasted for several hours. There were many opinions and disagreements, and no one could come up with a method that could not only save Chiang Kai-shek from danger, but also reverse the current situation.
In the early hours of the morning, the energetic militant faction gradually gained the upper hand. Lixingshe representatives He Zhonghan and Deng Wenyi, Central Organization Minister Chen Lifu, and Jiangsu Province Governor Chen Guofu slowly turned to He Yingqin. As the positions of Lixingshe and the CC clique changed,
The meeting finally made a preliminary decision: to send troops to Xi'an, and the army would be under the command of He Yingqin.
As soon as the meeting ended, He Yingqin, who had ulterior motives, immediately sent a message to the whole country in the name of the National Government and immediately launched an attack on Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng.
When Soong Meiling woke up and learned about He Yingqin's power supply, she was furious and yelled, "He Jingzhi is nothing!" and immediately demanded the convening of the Kuomintang Central Standing Committee and the Central Political Conference.
As a result, many members of the Central Standing Committee gathered at the Dingjiaqiao Central Party Headquarters again and held a joint meeting to make a final decision on how to handle the Xi'an Incident.
At the meeting, those who supported He Yingqin clamored endlessly and advocated sending troops, while those who advocated negotiation, with the support of Soong Meiling, firmly opposed sending troops on the grounds of Chiang Kai-shek's safety.
The two factions have tit-for-tat opinions and refuse to give in to each other.
Song Meiling was very afraid that Chiang Kai-shek would lose her life because of He Yingqin's autocratic crusade, so she suddenly walked up to He Yingqin, put down her identity in front of everyone, and begged He Yingqin sadly:
"General Jingzhi, Zhang Hanqing and Yang Hucheng are only asking for resistance against Japan at present and have no other demands. We can temporarily agree to their request. Why do we have to go to war and force the Chairman to die? Even if we want to crusade, we must wait until we rescue the Chairman.
Take action, don't act rashly at this time."
He Yingqin suddenly stood up with a firm attitude: "Chairman Chiang is not only your husband, he is also the commander-in-chief of the country. In order to maintain the prestige of the government, we have no choice but to attack him!"
Seeing that He Yingqin was so unreasonable, Song Meiling was so angry that she asked loudly: "He Yingqin, you want to send troops to Xi'an. What is An's intention? Do you want to replace him with Jieshi?"
After He Yingqin heard this, he could not control himself and cursed loudly at Song Meiling:
"What do you, a woman, know? You only know how to save your husband, but I wonder if you have ever thought about it. If we do not use force to conquer, but start negotiations with Zhang Yang, then where is the national prestige? Where is the national law? Those who follow the law in the future,
What should we do? How can you, a woman, be allowed to interfere in national affairs? Don't worry about it!"
Song Meiling was so sad and angry that she burst into tears for a while:
"You...you have let Mr. Jiang down so much...just wait and see. I want you, He, to see, what does a woman know, or what does a stinky man like you know..."
There was silence in the venue. The Chen brothers, He Zhonghan, Deng Wenyi and others looked at the pitiful Soong Meiling and felt bad in their hearts. However, for their own benefit, they had already boarded He Yingqin's pirate ship. In the difficult situation of riding a tiger, they actually took
An attitude of indifference and indifference.
Song Ziwen was so angry that his whole body was shaking, and Kong Xiangxi stood up angrily and walked away with a puff of his sleeves.
Gong Qian in the back row hurriedly ran up, and together with Song Ziwen and others, helped Song Meiling, who was about to faint, turned her head and stared into He Yingqin's eyes, and said word by word:
"General He Yingqin, you will regret it if you do this!"
"Joke! Who are you to talk to me like this? Come on, this is the highest meeting of the party and the country. Send the irrelevant people out!" He Yingqin raised his head and issued an order to clear the place with contempt. Gong Qian
Instead of being angry, he smiled: "You don't need to send it away, we will leave on our own."
The meeting continued. With the departure of Song Ziwen, Kong Xiangxi and other Central Committee members who were firmly opposed to armed conquest, the war faction immediately gained the absolute upper hand. He Yingqin, who was determined, quickly made a decisive decision based on the approval of more than half of the Central Committee members. He relied on the Nanjing Central Government and the Kuomintang.
In the name of the central government, he announced a formal "Anti-rebellion Order" and appointed himself the commander-in-chief of the "Anti-rebellion Army".
After the meeting dispersed, He Yingqin ignored the solemn warnings of Feng Yuxiang and others who had been ignored. With an unshakable tough stance, he urgently ordered the Central Army to quickly encircle Xi'an and ordered the air force stationed in Luoyang to send aircraft to bomb Xi'an.