On June 4, 1928, the "Huanggutun Incident" occurred that shocked China and the rest of the world. Zhang Zuolin, then the commander of the Northeast Army, was killed by a bombing near Huanggutun Station in Shenyang on the way to Beiping by special train. This incident not only changed the direction of China's modern history, but also triggered the Sino-Japanese War that lasted for more than a decade.
For a long time, it was widely believed that the "Huanggutun Incident" was a conspiracy planned and carried out by Japanese imperialism. In order to prop up its puppet regime and control the Northeast region, the Japanese Kwantung Army plotted to blow up Zhang Zuolin in order to remove the obstacles to his rule over the Northeast.
However, in recent years, with the continuous excavation of historical materials, people have discovered that there is not only a conspiracy of the Japanese behind this, but also the shadow of the Soviet Union.
Zhang Zuolin's political career began in a reckless manner, but he was used by the Japanese by chance. In 1904, during the Russo-Japanese War, he was captured by Japanese soldiers and was scheduled to die. However, the ill-fated man was discovered and appreciated by Yoshiichi Tanaka, and since then Zhang Zuolin's fate has been closely linked to Japan. Tanaka saw him as a manufacturable material, and released and supported his activities in the northeast, so that Zhang Zuolin gradually had a place.
From 1904 to 1916, Zhang Zuolin's power expanded rapidly in the northeast, especially with the direct support of Japan, which not only strengthened his position, but also expanded his influence abroad.
And through him, Japan also strengthened its control over the Northeast. However, as Zhang Zuolin's ambitions swelled, he began to try to get rid of Japanese control, which undoubtedly touched a nerve in Japan.
From 1922 to 1927, Zhang Zuolin tried to expand his influence to North China and even all of China, an act that exacerbated his contradictions with Japan. His ambitions worried not only Japan, but also the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union had great economic and political interests in the Northeast, and the expansion of Zhang Zuolin's influence meant that the Soviet Union's interests in the Northeast might be damaged.
In 1928, Zhang Zuolin was trying to establish ties with the United States in order to gain greater support and autonomy. This action completely angered Japan, and at the same time made the Soviet Union see the crisis. Against this background, Japan and the Soviet Union began a secret cooperation with the aim of removing Zhang Zuolin as a destabilizing factor.
The Huanggutun incident was planned in a sophisticated and secretive manner, and there is evidence from many sources that it was not just a single country. Japan had a detailed knowledge of Zhang Zuolin's whereabouts beforehand, and the Soviet intelligence network also played a role in the incident. Soviet intelligence agencies had a strong intelligence capability, and they may have learned of Zhang's travel plans in advance and passed them on to Japan.
According to information, before and after the "Huanggutun incident," the Soviet Union and Japan had many secret contacts, and the two sides may have conspired on the situation in northeast China. On the day of the incident, informants sent by the Soviet Union closely monitored Zhang Zuolin's movements and ensured that the timing and location of the explosion were accurate.
After the explosion, Zhang Zuolin died on the spot, which marked a major shift in the power structure of the northeast. Both Japan and the Soviet Union seem to have achieved their goals, eliminating potential threats on the one hand and reconfiguring the balance of power in the northeast on the other.
Although Zhang Zuolin's death seems to be an independent act of Japan on the surface, an in-depth analysis will show that the role of the Soviet Union cannot be ignored either. This transnational conspiracy not only shows the cruelty and reality in international politics, but also reflects the sadness of a weak country without diplomacy.