"Commander, there is an urgent call from Shenyang. The Kwantung Army has made some changes!" Adjutant Hu Ruoyu came in with a telegram newspaper.
Zhang Xueliang was stunned for a moment, then said: "Read it!"
Hu Ruoyu said: "A unit of the Kwantung Army left its station and headed south along the South Manchuria Railway. The specific intention and goal are unknown."
Zhang Xueliang ordered: "The Beida Camp and local garrison troops are ordered not to respond to the Kwantung Army's provocation and not to give the Japanese army an excuse to send out large-scale troops."
"Yes!" Hu Ruoyu took the order and left.
Since the beginning of this year, the Kwantung Army has been provoking troubles in the Northeast, and Zhang Xueliang has almost become numb to it.
In the spring, a Chinese named He Yongde defrauded 12 farmers near Wanbaoshan of their land and illegally subleased it to 188 North Koreans to grow rice. The North Koreans dug canals, blocked water and built dams, seriously harming the interests of local farmers. More than 200 farmers petitioned the government, and the Jilin Provincial Government ordered Korean expatriates to appear on camera. The Japanese sent police to stop it. By July, local farmers could not bear it anymore and united to demolish the Korean dams.
Subsequently, North Korean reporters distorted the facts and said that North Koreans were killed in Wanbaoshan, setting off a large-scale anti-Chinese campaign on the Korean peninsula. Hundreds of local overseas Chinese were killed and injured, but the Japanese government falsely accused the Chinese of harming North Koreans.
This was the "Wanbaoshan Incident". It was accidental at first, but the subsequent development was planned and arranged by the Kwantung Army in order to create public opinion for sending troops to the Northeast.
Then came the "Nakamura Incident". Kwantung Army Captain Nakamura Sentaro was conducting a secret military investigation in the Xing'an Mountains. He was captured and detained by the deputy commander of the local reclamation army, and ordered Nakamura Sentaro to be secretly executed. Japan took the opportunity to claim that the Northeast Army was seeking wealth. He killed Kwantung Army soldiers, forced China to hand over deputy commander Guan Yuheng, and wantonly created public opinion among the Japanese people and fanned the flames.
Not only Zhang Xueliang was very vigilant about these incidents, but even Chang Kaishen did not dare to relax, and specially transferred Jiang Zuobin back to Japan as the minister in order to resolve the Northeast crisis through diplomatic means.
Jiang Zuobin was still very capable. He quickly reached a consensus with the Japanese foreign affairs department and put pressure on the War Department through the Japanese cabinet. All conflicts seemed to disappear. Because of this, Zhang Xueliang and Chang Kaishen agreed that: the situation in Northeast China Although it is getting worse, as long as the Japanese cabinet helps, a major incident will definitely not break out.
Not long ago, the Kwantung Army even conducted military exercises near Shenyang, with a barrage of artillery fire, but no excessive behavior occurred.
At night, around 10:30.
Zhang Xueliang was getting ready to sleep when adjutant Hu Ruoyu came in again and reported: "Commander, the Kwantung Army blew up the Liutiao Lake section of the railway! The Peking Camp is requesting instructions."
The Liutiaohu section of the South-Manchuria Railway was very close to Fengjun's Beida Camp, and the Kwantung Army was basically messing around under Fengjun's nose.
Zhang Xueliang was shocked, and Zhou Hexuan's warnings for the past few days rang out. He took a deep breath and said: "Order the officers and soldiers of the Peking University Battalion to strictly guard the barracks and ignore the provocation of the Kwantung Army."
Hu Ruoyu quickly returned to the telegraph room, and he didn't even have time for the telegraph operator to send the order. The telegraph operator was suddenly stunned and said in surprise: "Adjutant Hu, there is an urgent call from Beida Camp. The Kwantung Army is attacking Beida Camp. The 7th Brigade has no trace. Be on guard, be caught off guard. Request instructions from the commander!"
Hu Ruoyu didn't even bother to get the telegram and newspaper. He rushed back frantically and said, "Commander, Beida Camp is under attack!"
Zhang Xueliang felt as if he heard a bolt from the blue. Things turned out just as Zhou Hexuan expected. The Kwantung Army actually launched an invasion plan in advance after the conspiracy was exposed. His expression changed, and after thinking for a few seconds, he said: "I order all the troops in the Beida Camp not to resist. Retreat and move!”
The elite of the 8,000 Fengjun elites, the Beida Camp responsible for guarding, was captured by 500 Kwantung Army soldiers.
Zhang Xueliang could no longer sit still and ran to the telegraph room in person and ordered: "Send a message to the Nanjing government, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the embassy in Japan to inform them that the Kwantung Army has caused trouble and invaded Shenyang Beidaying without any reason!"
Chang Kaishen was woken up from the bed. He had the same idea as Zhang Xueliang. He quickly sent a message to Zhang Xueliang not to resist and try to avoid the situation from getting worse. At the same time, he ordered the Minister to Japan Jiang Zuobin to immediately question the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and contact the Japanese cabinet for a proper solution. this matter.
The Japanese cabinet reacted very quickly, rebuking the Ministry of War angrily and ordering the Kwantung Army to withdraw immediately. Japanese politicians and soldiers quarreled.
At the time of the domestic quarrel in Japan, in the early morning of September 19, the Kwantung Army launched attacks in Shenyang, Yingkou, Phoenix City, Andong, Changchun, Erdaogou, Nanling and other places. By ten o'clock in the morning, the Japanese army successively Captured 18 towns including Shenyang.
The speed was so fast that Zhang Xueliang and Chang Kaishen couldn't react at all. They wanted to use non-resistance in exchange for support from the Japanese cabinet and Britain, France, the United States and other countries. But in just half a day, Fengjun's hometown of Shenyang was lost. , while Japanese politicians and soldiers continue to quarrel.
The defenders on the Changchun side launched a spontaneous counterattack, but the combat effectiveness of the garrison was low. After a hard battle day and night, Changchun City was still captured by the Kwantung Army. The deputy commander of the Jilin Border Defense Force, Xiqia, whose real name was Aisin Gioro, surrendered directly to the enemy. Having become a traitor, the Kwantung Army easily took over the entire province of Jilin.
When Zhang Xueliang heard the news that Xiqia had surrendered to the enemy, he was completely stunned. Not only was Jilin Province lost, but Jilin's tens of thousands of garrison troops and the Kwantung Army's reclamation army expanded several times in strength.
In just two or three days, the Kwantung Army was overwhelmingly in power in the three eastern provinces, aggressively attacking cities and territories. In addition to Zhang Xueliang's non-resistance policy, the elite Feng army troops were all in North China, and the local garrison troops simply could not hold on. In addition, there were traitors who surrendered to the enemy. Lead the way, the situation in Northeast China is eroding at an unimaginable speed.
Seeing this situation, Chang Kaishen realized that the Japanese cabinet was unreliable at all, and quickly sent a secret message to Zhang Xueliang to send troops to counterattack. Zhou Hexuan also chased Zhang Xueliang to Jinzhou, admonishing Zhang Xueliang every day to hold on to the city and not allow the Kwantung Army to continue to expand.
However, the situation has completely gotten out of control. Countless traitors have emerged among the Fengjun generals to lead the party, and the elite Northeastern Army transferred from North China are temporarily unable to support Heilongjiang and Jilin.
This is equivalent to saying that Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces are basically no longer under Zhang Xueliang's control, and only some patriotic soldiers are still fighting on their own initiative.
In early October, Japan's young military officers launched a coup. Although the coup failed, it marked the Japanese cabinet's complete loss of control over the military. The Japanese Prime Minister, who has always opposed the armed invasion of China, began to make decisions to the military in order to extend the life of the current cabinet. Compromise.
Zhang Xueliang, who had been waiting for the Japanese cabinet to solve the problem, finally got a result that he regretted. The Japanese cabinet turned a blind eye and acquiesced to the Kwantung Army's actions.
By mid-October, the Kwantung Army basically occupied the two provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin, and began to concentrate its forces on a large-scale attack on western Liaoning. Not only that, Japan also sent local troops and Korean divisions for reinforcements, and Jinzhou, which Zhang Xueliang personally guarded, was surrounded.
Zhang Xueliang wanted to resist at this time, but he was no longer able to resist. He thought that even if the strategy of compromise and tolerance failed, he could organize an attack with force. However, he never expected that in just half a month, the situation in Northeast China would change.
It's not something he can control.
20 days, only 20 days! Heilongjiang (Harbin has not been lost), Jilin have all fallen, and Liaoning has also been swallowed up by the Kwantung Army nearly half of its territory.
If Zhang Xueliang could transfer elite Fengjun troops to garrison various places as soon as possible, the Kwantung Army's offensive would not be so smooth. More than 100,000 local garrison troops and more than 100,000 reclamation troops may seem to be a large number, but they are divided among the four northeastern provinces (
Including Jehol Province) are like a sieve full of holes, and the Kwantung Army can easily break through them one by one.
If there were not so many traitors in the Fengjun Army, the Kwantung Army's offensive would not go very smoothly. These traitors often led the troops to surrender to the Japanese army, allowing the Kwantung Army, which itself had a meager strength, to grow like a snowball.
However, reality does not have so many ifs!
It is nonsense to say that Zhang Xueliang gave up the Northeast as soon as he could not seize the opportunity. Zhang Xueliang is still holding on to Jinzhou. He gave up his unrealistic ideas from the day when the Japanese cabinet betrayed his promise. He still wanted to bring back the Northeast, but he has already returned
There is no way.
Historically, Zhang Xueliang stayed in Jinzhou for nearly three months. However, faced with the fierce day and night attacks by the Japanese army, faced with Chang Kaishen's order to hold on, faced with the dissuasion of many old friends such as Gu Weijun, and faced with the petitions of countless subordinates, Zhang Xueliang finally
After giving up Jinzhou, he felt deeply that the situation was over and he could not win any more wars, so he had to give up Northeast China.
In general, Zhang Xueliang and Chang Kaishen initially had similar views on the "September 18th Incident" and both hoped to use diplomatic means to solve the problem. After the situation rapidly deteriorated, they both wanted to resist and persevere. Unfortunately, it was too late.
late.
The difference is that Chang Kaishen hopes that Zhang Xueliang can hold on to Jinzhou, which is the last barrier in the Northeast. As long as it holds here, the Japanese army will not be able to completely occupy the Northeast.
As for Zhang Xueliang, he wanted to hold on at first, but gradually lost confidence in victory. Because the Kwantung Army fought more and more, even Japan sent troops to reinforce. When there was no way to win, Zhang Xueliang turned to want to save
Strength, simply lost all of Northeast China to the Japanese. At this time, most of Northeast China has essentially fallen.
When the Kwantung Army attacked Jinzhou, Zhou Hexuan stopped admonishing him. Because persuasion was useless, the situation was over, and Japan's occupation of Northeast China was a foregone conclusion.
Even if Zhang Xueliang served the country passionately and recruited all the elites of the Fengjun Army, it would only delay for a few months at most and increase the casualties of the Kwantung Army. Japan could increase its troops without limit, because one month after the Kwantung Army besieged Jinzhou, the Japanese cabinet
They were all forced to resign, and the Japanese military could do whatever they wanted.
Japan, the militaristic machine, has started violently.
Not to mention the Northeast, those crazy Japanese soldiers were still making trouble in Tianjin and wanted to occupy Tianjin, and even sent troops to attack Shanghai in the "December 28th Incident".
