He Yingqin, the commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang army and a general of the first rank, was a figure who was red and purple in front of Chiang Kai-shek. In his decades of political career on the mainland, two things are particularly worth mentioning. One of them was that before the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng launched the Xi'an Incident to force Jiang to resist Japan, and He Li took the initiative to send troops to beg Zhang, and he had an inseparable fight with Song Meiling.
In the early morning of December 12, 1936, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng arrested Chiang Kai-shek, who was supervising in Xi'an, and launched the "Xi'an Incident" that shocked the world.
Early this morning, He Yingqin in the city of Nanjing had just gotten out of bed when he received urgent information from his subordinates: Zhang Xueliang had mutinied in Xi'an, and Chairman Jiang's whereabouts were unknown.
He Yingqin, then minister of military affairs and commander-in-chief of the army, was the first among the kuomintang officials to learn of this news.
He Yingqin's first reaction after seeing the intelligence was stunned and incoherent, and he asked vigorously: "Is the information reliable?" It's impossible! ”
After all, He was a man who had gone through the wind and rain, and he quickly calmed down.
After simply freshening up, He Yingqin invited Dai Jitao, president of the examination institute, Wu Zhihui, member of the Kuomintang Political Conference, and Xiong Bin, vice minister of the Military and Political Department. At He Yingqin's house, the three analyzed the national situation that might occur after Chiang Kai-shek was detained and the countermeasures that should be taken.
As a result of the discussion, the news was temporarily blocked from the outside world, and then, on the grounds of military needs, strict press inspections were carried out, and all communications and transportation links between Nanjing and Xi'an were cut off, so that Xi'an's newspapers could not reach Nanjing and the truth of the Xi'an incident was obscured.
That evening, He Yingqin held a meeting at home again to further verify the news and discuss whether to send troops to Xi'an and cut down Zhang Qinjiang. Present at the meeting were Dai Jitao, Zhu Peide, Chen Gongbo, Li Liejun, Ye Chuling, and others. He Yingqin made a generous statement at the meeting, vigorously advocating a crusade against Zhang and Yang.
He Yingqin's proposal was opposed by Li Liejun and others, who believed that the most urgent task was to ensure the safety of Chairman Chiang Kai-shek, not to send troops to Xi'an. Later, it was also proposed that if troops were sent, who would command the army? Therefore, some people said that it should be under the command of He Yingqin, some people said that it should be Cheng Qian, and some people thought that it should be Feng Yuxiang. After nearly two hours of arguing, some people suggested that this was just a meeting, that no resolution could be formed, and that an emergency meeting should be held at the Central Party Department.
Therefore, He Yingqin quickly issued a notice and convened an emergency meeting.
At a meeting of the Central Party Department, He Yingqincai had people circulate the full text of Zhang and Yang's telegram to the whole country. Zhang and Yang put forward eight major propositions in the telegram, and these eight propositions were very clear: The purpose of detaining Chiang Kai-shek is to resist Japan and to ensure Chiang Kai-shek's safety. In this way, the attitude of those who advocate a peaceful settlement has become firmer, and they believe that Zhang Xueliang did not mean to harm the chairman of the COMMITTEE, and that the National Government should quickly reply to the eight major propositions of Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng.
He Yingqin, on the other hand, took a tough attitude and resolutely advocated sending troops: "Zhang and Yang abducted the supreme commander and did not see party discipline and state law, which is already an act of rebellion, and it is not enough to uphold law and discipline without crusade." ”
At the meeting, everyone expressed their own views, and there were many opinions, and there was no consensus that no one could come up with a set of methods that could not only save Jiang from danger, but also reverse the situation. The meeting was held from the late night of the 12th to 3 a.m. the next day, and finally the opinions of the main war faction prevailed, and a preliminary decision was made to dismiss Zhang Xueliang from his post and investigate, send troops to Xi'an, and put the army under the command of He Yingqin.
As soon as the meeting was dispersed, He Yingqin, in the name of the National Government, sent a telegram to the whole country and dismissed Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng from all posts. Immediately, the army was arranged and prepared to conquer Zhang and Yang.
The next morning, just after dawn, Song Meiling flew from Shanghai to Nanjing. When she learned that He Yingqin had dispatched troops and prepared to attack Xi'an, she scolded: "He Jingzhi is not a thing!" ”
In the afternoon, the Standing Committee of the Kuomintang Central Committee and the Political Conference of the Central Committee held a joint meeting at the Party Department of the Central Committee to make a final decision on how to deal with the Xi'an Incident. Song Meiling attended the meeting. At the meeting, the people who supported He Yingqin shouted endlessly and urged the dispatch of troops. Those who advocated negotiations, with the support of Soong Mei-ling, resolutely opposed the dispatch of troops on the grounds of Chiang Kai-shek's security.
The two factions have tit-for-tat views and do not give in to each other.
Fearing that Chiang Kai-shek would lose his life, Song Meiling repeatedly begged He Yingqin: "At present, Zhang and Yang are only asking for resistance against Japan, and have nothing else to ask for, we can temporarily agree to their demands, so why do we have to make a big fuss and force the chairman of the committee to the road of death." Even if you want to fight, you must wait until you have rescued the chairman of the committee before you act, and you must not act rashly at this time. ”
However, He Yingqin's attitude was resolute: "In order to maintain the prestige of the government, there is only crusade, there is no choice." ”
When Song Meiling saw that He Yingqin was so unreasonable, she asked loudly, "What is An's heart when you want to send troops to Xi'an?" ”
When He Yingqin heard this, he was furious and scolded, "You are a woman and a Taoist family who knows something, only knows how to save your husband!" You don't care about the affairs of the country! Song Meiling had never seen anyone speak to her like this, and immediately cried: "You are doing this, you have failed Mr. Jiang too much!" While crying, he whispered, "In the future, I want you to see what the woman's family understands, or what you stinky man understands!" ”
On December 14, Duanna flew to Xi'an with The Secret Mission of Soong Mei-ling and Kong Xiangxi, met with Chiang Kai-shek, and presented Chiang with a handwritten letter from Soong Mei-ling. In her letter, Song Meiling wrote meaningfully that "there is a drama in the drama in the city of Nanjing" and suggested that Jiang order He Yingqin to cease war.
On the third day of Duanna's arrival in Xi'an, He Yingqin, in the name of the Nanjing government, announced the "Rebellion Order" and explicitly ordered a crusade against Zhang and Yang. He himself, as commander-in-chief of the "rebel army," instructed the Central Army to march into Tongguan, march towards Huayin, and approach Xi'an, and send aircraft to bomb Weinan and Chishui stations.
On the morning of the 18th, Jiang Dingwen flew from Xi'an to Nanjing and showed He Yingqin Chiang Kai-shek's armistice instructions. He Yingqin gave up on this.
Through the efforts of the Communist Party of China to mediate, the clouds over Xi'an opened and the fog dissipated, and the Xi'an Incident, which shocked the world, was finally resolved peacefully.
Many people believe that during the Xi'an Incident, He Yingqin vigorously advocated sending troops to attack Zhang and Yang in order to force Jiang to die and then replace him. Careful analysis, in fact, this is not the case. With He Yingqin's seniority and the position he was in at that time, no matter what Happened to Chiang Kai-shek's life or death, he could not replace Chiang Kai-shek. He Yingqin should be very clear about this. He Li's main purpose of sending troops is probably to form military pressure on Xi'an and force Zhang to release Jiang.
At noon on the 26th, Chiang Kai-shek flew back to Nanjing, and He Yingqin led his personnel to the airport to welcome him, and Chiang Kai-shek expressed special cordiality to him. The next day, Nanjing held a "meeting to celebrate Chairman Chiang Kai-shek's return to Beijing" attended by 200,000 people, and Chiang Kai-shek asked He Yingqin to deliver a thank-you speech on behalf of himself. Afterwards, Chiang Kai-shek said on various occasions that the reason why the Xi'an Incident could be resolved peacefully and why Zhang Xueliang sent him back to Nanjing was because of He Yingqin's crusade and military pressure. That is to say, He Yingqin's crusade gave Chiang Kai-shek face and a good step down.
As for some unpleasantness that occurred between He Yingqin and Song Meiling, with the settlement of the Xi'an Incident, the times have changed, and both have also shown their generosity and tolerance.