After Hu Ruoyu closed the door, Zhang Xueliang said with a face full of shame: "Brother Mingcheng, I regret not listening to your advice. I lost my teacher and humiliated the country. I am really a sinner of the nation!"
"Sixth Commander, don't blame yourself too much. Fortunately, we haven't made a big mistake yet." Zhou Hexuan could only persuade him, but he couldn't scold him head-on.
Apart from the fact that the war cost money and food and the troops suffered heavy casualties, the Middle East Road Incident really did not have too bad an impact.
The Soviet Union behaved very generously this time and did not make any unreasonable demands. It only hoped that everything would return to the situation before the incident. It did not even make any demands for compensation. The main reason was that the Soviet Union was in the critical period of the "First Five-Year Plan" and
We are also facing pressure from capitalist powers and do not want to completely break up with China.
As for the border islands such as Heixiazi Island, they were simply taken over during the withdrawal of troops. As long as the Nanjing National Government sends people to Moscow for negotiations and shows a sincere attitude to restore diplomatic relations, Stalin will probably follow suit.
Return the territory. After all, those broken islands are nothing compared to China’s diplomatic relations.
Unfortunately, in order to please Britain and the United States and to hold back Zhang Xueliang, the Nanjing National Government did not want to restore diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.
Zhang Xueliang asked Zhou Hexuan to sit down and asked, "What should I do in the current situation?"
"About the Soviet Union?" Zhou Hexuan asked.
"The Soviet Union has withdrawn its troops and there is no threat for the time being," Zhang Xueliang explained. "Wang Zhaoming and Yan Xishan invited me to Peking to plan a joint anti-Chiang affair. Should I go?"
Zhou Hexuan did not answer directly, but asked: "Sixth Commander, do you know what your biggest weakness is?"
Zhang Xueliang said awkwardly: "Please enlighten me."
Zhou Hexuan unabashedly commented: "Eight words, impulsive and indecisive. The whole Middle East Road incident can be vividly compared. You are holding a shotgun in your hand and trying to drive away a bear that is occupying your home.
. You thought the bear was hibernating, so you jumped on it without further testing. This is impulsive behavior. When the bear wakes up and wants to eat people, you don’t dare to shoot for fear of irritating it, and you don’t dare to use the terrain to entangle it.
Blindly retreating and escaping. And during the process of escaping, you also stop from time to time, wanting to wait for it to leave on its own. This is indecisiveness."
Zhang Xueliang's expression has changed from embarrassed to completely ashamed.
It is because of Zhang Xueliang's character that he does not hold grudges that Zhou Hexuan dared to say so much. If it had been anyone else, he would have been too lazy to waste his words. Without waiting for Zhang Xueliang's response, he continued: "Your Majesty acts with complete disregard for the justice of the country and never considers the people. I
I hate this kind of people very much. But I have to admire your father's way of doing things. Before he made a big decision, he had already thought out his retreat, took one step, looked at three steps, and was able to bend, stretch, and be soft.
Being able to be tough, pretending to be a grandson when it’s time to do so, and showing no mercy when it’s time to be ruthless. This is the person who does great things!”
Zhang Xueliang was silent. In this incident on the Middle Road, he indeed did not consider an escape route at all.
At that time, Zhang Zuoxiang strongly opposed provoking the Soviets, but Zhang Xueliang did not listen at all. He was very optimistic and said that the Soviet Union was not capable of fighting. Zhang Zuoxiang taught us that when we do things, we should not place our hopes on our opponents, but should rely on our own capabilities.
What if the Soviet Union really sends troops?
Zhang Xueliang did not give an answer, nor did he consider the worst outcome, but only thought about the good side of things.
Now that he was criticized and taught a lesson by Zhou Hexuan, Zhang Xueliang was not angry, but felt much better. He really deserved to be scolded, but no one in the Northeast dared to scold him, only Zhou Hexuan dared to say this.
After a moment of silence, Zhang Xueliang humbly asked: "Then how should I deal with it this time?"
Zhou Hexuan said: "Who do you want to help?"
Zhang Xueliang said: "From a personal standpoint, I hate Chang Kaishen very much. He actually didn't send people to Moscow for negotiations and didn't want to completely resolve the Middle East Road incident. He just wanted to use the Soviet Union to hold back the Northeast Army! But from the perspective of the country's
Considering this aspect, after all, Chang Kaishen represents the central government. Once a war against Chiang starts, I am afraid that the country will fall into a state of fragmented warlord rule."
Zhou Hexuan said bluntly: "I give you two choices: First, in order to bring peace to the country as soon as possible and avoid a great loss of national power, you can resolutely support Chang Kaishen and send troops to help as soon as possible, so as to minimize the country's losses.
However, you won't get much benefit from doing this, and you may even lose money, food and troops in vain. Second, for the sake of the Northeast and your personal interests, you can waver and act as a wall. First support Yan Xishan to fight against Chiang, and once Chang Kaishen
If the war is not going well, you will be promised a lot of benefits. At this time, if you turn around and support the central government, send troops at critical moments to determine the overall situation, you may even take North China into your pocket. But if you do this, China's national power will be greatly damaged.
, it may not be possible to restore the economy and people's livelihood for five or six years."
"This...how do I choose?" Zhang Xueliang was in a dilemma.
If it were Zhang Zuolin, he would definitely choose the second method without hesitation, but Zhang Xueliang is truly patriotic.
Being patriotic, Zhang Xueliang also has an identity as the leader of the three eastern provinces. He must consider his subordinates, and at the same time, he also has selfish motives for self-preservation and growth.
Zhang Xueliang thought about it and gradually leaned towards the latter. But he was too embarrassed to say it in person. How embarrassing was this? Should he just admit that he did not care about the country?
Zhou Hexuan added: "I would also like to remind you that if you choose the second method, then the Japanese Kwantung Army will 100% take advantage of it!"
Zhang Xueliang was suddenly startled, his eyes widened and he said, "Why did you say that?"
Zhou Hexuan said: "The central and local governments have suffered heavy losses in troops and have staggering deficits. They are simply unable to fight another major war in the short term. And the Northeastern Army has transferred troops to the customs, leaving the defense of the three northeastern provinces empty. Militarism has emerged in Japan, and they have
The leased land in the Northeast is about to expire again. How can we miss this golden opportunity? At that time, once the Kwantung Army invades, the central government will have no time to help, what should you do?"
"Yes, what should I do?" Zhang Xueliang looked at Zhou Hexuan with doubts.
Zhou Hexuan said: "I don't know what to do either."
Zhou Hexuan was telling the truth, he really didn't know what to do.
The Kwantung Army invaded Northeast China with force. Although the people below acted privately, it was definitely not an accident. If it fails this time, there will be another time. Even if Zhang Xueliang insists on resisting, the Japanese Army Ministry will do everything possible to increase troops, first of all to station in Korea.
Japanese troops came for reinforcements, and then they persuaded domestic troops to reinforce them, and they would not give up until the Northeast was captured.
The power of the three eastern provinces is absolutely irresistible. Even if the Nanjing government wanted to help, it would not be able to send troops.
Considering the poor situation of the Northeastern Army facing the Soviet Army, not to mention the increase of troops in Japan, it is estimated that the Northeastern Army can be penetrated within half a year if only the North Korean legions are transferred.
Moreover, there are too many Japanese spies and too many traitors in the Northeast.
Even if Zhang Xueliang wants to resist, his generals will rebel one after another. Especially those Manchu generals, who dream of establishing Manchukuo. The civil strife in the Northeast Army alone is enough for Zhang Xueliang to drink up, and even Zhang Zuolin's rebirth cannot suppress it.
In the face of absolute strength, any strategy is just talk on paper.
If Zhang Xueliang chooses the first method, he supports the central government to quell the civil war as quickly as possible. But no one can predict the follow-up situation. After Chang Kaishen takes care of Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan, if he still has the energy left, he will definitely continue to the northeast.
The army opened the knife.
As long as war breaks out again, warlords such as Yan Xishan will inevitably resurrect, and a great chaos is inevitable.
What to do then?
There are too many variables. Zhou Hexuan is not a god. How could he guess it?
Even if Chang Kaishen does not attack the Northeast Army, Japan may postpone its invasion of Northeast China for a year or two, or it may still invade Northeast China. Will the Nanjing government really come to the rescue?
By the way, the current financial situation in Northeast China is in terrible shape. If we do not take advantage of the war in the Central Plains, we will not be able to fight a big war. Even if the Japanese come, we will be unable to resist. This is a deadlock that cannot be solved.
After all, we are still too weak and must unite the strength of the whole country to withstand Japan's attack.
From a more cruel long-term perspective, Japan's armed invasion of China was not entirely a bad thing. The failure of the Sino-Japanese War shattered the dream of a heavenly country and awakened national consciousness; Japan's full-scale invasion of China shattered the Chinese people
The idea of a lucky break has brought the divided country together into a rope. This is the cohesion and sublimation of the spirit of the Chinese nation.
What's more, the Japanese's attempt to swallow the elephant is completely seeking their own death.
The only people who suffered were the common people. I don’t know how many innocent souls died under the iron hoofs of the Japanese invaders.
Perhaps, this is the price for a great nation to be reborn from the ashes.
Zhou Hexuan couldn't bear to think that he was just a commoner at heart. Apart from the bottom line of not being a traitor or traitor to the country, his first priority was to protect himself, and then to contribute to the country.
Do unto others, do not impose on others.
Zhou Hexuan did not force Zhang Xueliang to abandon his family and career to save China, because it was difficult for him to do it himself. It only depends on how Zhang Xueliang chooses.
Zhang Xueliang asked dryly: "Can't we mediate the conflicts between the central government and the local governments?"
Zhou Hexuan shook his head and said: "Absolutely impossible. When Yan Xishan put Feng Yuxiang under house arrest last year, it was the best time to calm down the conflict. But Chang Kaishen was greedy. After solving Feng Yuxiang, he also wanted to kill Yan Xishan. Both sides were torn apart.
.”
"Is it possible for Japan to be content with the status quo?" Zhang Xueliang asked again.
Zhou Hexuan said categorically: "It is impossible. Japan has been affected by the U.S. economic crisis and is now in a very bad situation. It must transfer domestic conflicts to foreign wars to survive. In the next ten years, Germany will inevitably invade France in an all-round way, and Japan will inevitably invade China in an all-round way. Although Northeast China
You can’t resist Japan head-on, but you can make arrangements in advance to make Japan’s invasion less smooth!”
Zhou Hexuan could only do this. He wanted to persuade Zhang Xueliang to transfer those planes, cannons, gold and silver in advance to prevent the Japanese Kwantung Army from growing rapidly. At the same time, he secretly supported the civilian armed forces in the Northeast and stumbled behind the Japanese.
Zhang Xueliang sat in silence for a long time, gritting his teeth and making a decision: "How to arrange it?"
Zhou Hexuan stood up and said: "There is not enough time today, let's talk in detail another day."