On the afternoon of July 23, 1937, Song Zheyuan Headquarters of the 29th Army. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

The North China Army couldn't make up its mind about how it would go now, especially Song Zheyuan.

The Japanese army and the Northwest Army have been intertwined in North China for many years, guarding against each other. Of course, there is also a lot of contact, and the contact is frequent.

As early as 1935, Japan planned the autonomy of the five provinces in North China to turn North China into a second Manchukuo. Through the "Qin-Tu Agreement" and the "He-Mei Agreement", Japan intensified its aggression against North China, colluded with traitors, falsified public opinion, and sent so-called representatives of public opinion to He Yingqin to demand autonomy in North China.

He Yingqin, acting chairman of the Beiping Branch of the Military Commission of the Nationalist Government, returned to Nanjing under the pretext of seeing that the situation in North China was getting more and more complicated, and Huang Ying, chairman of the Beiping Political Affairs Consolidation Committee of the Executive Yuan, also left Beiping; The chairman of Hebei Province and the mayors of Pingjin and Tianjin both resigned as a result of the He-Mei Agreement.

In other words, officials who do not have military power in their hands will either leave, go to work, or defect to Japan.

The rule of the Nationalist government in North China was almost anarchic, and the Japanese-instigated movement for autonomy in North China was increasingly rampant.

Under the pressure of Japan, the Nationalist Government abolished the Beiping Branch of the Military Commission and the Beiping Administrative Affairs Committee of the Executive Yuan on November 26, and established the Jicha Political Affairs Committee on December 18. Song Zheyuan, commander of the 29th Army, was appointed chairman of the committee. The Jicha Political Affairs Committee was nominally subordinate to Nanjing, and the right to employ and administer personnel was completely in the hands of Song Zheyuan and others, and it was a semi-independent political organization.

The most interesting thing is that there are a large number of pro-Japanese elements in the committee, such as Wang Yitang, Wang Kemin, Qi Xieyuan, Cheng Ke, Zhang Yunrong, Chen Juesheng, Zhou Zuoren, Men Zhizhong, Shi Jingting, and Leng Jiaji.

Another interesting fact is that the North China military defended the Nanjing government in the same way as the Japanese. In their eyes, Nanjing is even more terrible than Japan. Soon will eat themselves.

After the July 7 Incident, the whole country was indignant. The Japanese invasion of North China, which everyone had expected, finally arrived. Echoing the mood of the people, the government took a tough stance, and Nanjing ordered: "Stick to Wanping and resist on the spot." ”

At this time, Song Zheyuan, who was in his hometown, was shocked by the incident and was very angry, and asked the North China troops to resolutely resist the war.

Today's Song Zheyuan has been the king of North China for many years, although he has retreated step by step on the front line of the Great Wall, Beiping has been at the forefront of the Anti-Japanese War. From Zhangjiakou to Tianjin, there was only one army, the 29th Army of Song Zheyuan.

At that time, Japan's strength and his strength were intertwined, and Japan was preparing for the establishment of the Northern Hebei Autonomous Government, planning the autonomy of the five provinces in North China, and inviting Song Zheyuan to be the chairman.

The 29th Army had already been famous because of the Anti-Japanese War before, with strict military discipline and a stable position, which was not comparable to Yan Xishan.

There were two threats to his position, one was the Japanese and the other was the Central Army. At the beginning, the Northeast Army and the Central Army conspired to occupy the Central Plains, and he was the first to be destroyed.

He is now on guard against the central government, just as he is against Japan. Whether he resisted Japan or not, the factors considered were complex, and he was by no means a simple anti-Japanese general.

Therefore, Song Zheyuan quickly changed his mind and arrived in Tianjin on 11 July to negotiate peace with Japan. Arriving in Tianjin, Song Zheyuan made a statement, saying that the Lugou Bridge Incident was a local conflict and hoped to resolve it legally and reasonably.

It was Sari, and Chairman Chiang sent a telegram with a very clear understanding of the current situation: "The Lu case must not be resolved peacefully, no matter what conditions we allow it, and the Japanese side's goal is to regard Jicha as an area where troops will not be garrisoned, and the organization and employment of personnel in the area must be agreed by it, so as to create a second Jidong. The CCP has resolved to use all its strength to resist the war, and would rather be broken than destroyed, so as to maintain the personality of our country and individuals. The international relations between Pingjin and Tianjin are complicated, and if we can resist the war to the end, as long as we do not allow any conditions to be signed, the countries that have rights in North China will not be able to sit idly by; Moreover, the diplomacy of several important countries has been assured, and the central government has decided to declare war, and is willing to live and die with his brothers and other generals, without hesitation. In short, this victory or defeat is all in the same agreement between the brothers and the central government, regardless of peace and rescue, do not carry out alone, do not give the enemy a little to break through the gaps, then the final chance of victory will be our side. Please brother stick to the end, stick to it everywhere, always guard against it, and there is no room for concession. Today's affairs against the Japanese can only unite internally, inspire the morale of the army, and be absolutely consistent with the central authorities. ”

Song Zheyuan arrived in Tianjin, surrounded by pro-Japanese elements, and asked Song Jinyan to ask Song Liujin to negotiate with the Japanese.

Pan Yugui: "First of all, we will agree on a method with Major General Matsui, head of the Japanese secret service in Beijing, and then we will talk to Song and bitterly explain the benefits and disadvantages. ”

Kazuki Kiyoji arrived in Tianjin on 12 July and made the following seven demands to Song Zheyuan as the basis for negotiations:

1. The instigation to completely suppress the Communist Party;

2. Depose the dignitaries of the anti-Japanese regime;

3. The central organs with anti-Japanese colors should retreat from Jicha;

Fourth, anti-Japanese groups such as the Blue Coat Society, CC Regiment, etc., should be evacuated from Jicha;

5. Suppress anti-Japanese speech, propaganda organs, and student and mass movements;

6. Abolish anti-Japanese education in schools and the military;

7. The security guard of Beiping City was to be carried out by the security guards, and the Chinese troops withdrew from the city.

On the afternoon of the 18th, Song took the opportunity to participate in the funeral of Wanichiro Tashiro, who died on the 16th, to meet with Kiyoji Kazuki, and the Japanese interpreted it as a unilateral apology by Song to the Japanese army, while Song thought it was a mutual apology.

Song stayed in Tianjin for eight days and signed a detailed agreement:

1. Thoroughly suppress the activities of the Communist Party;

2. Dismissal of those who obstruct Sino-Japanese cooperative relations (the procuratorial authorities are willing to automatically dismiss them)

3. Removal and replacement of personnel belonging to the anti-Japanese organization in Jicha;

Fourth, the anti-Japanese organizations such as the Blue Coat Society and the CC Regiment should be withdrawn from Jicha;

5. Suppress anti-Japanese speech, propaganda organs, and student and mass movements.

6. To ban the anti-Japanese education and anti-Japanese movement in all units and schools under the supervision of Jicha.

The agreement adopted a six-point proposal from the Japanese.

On the morning of 19 July, Song Zheyuan left Tianjin for Ping on a special bus on Beining Road, and when he crossed the bridge on the west side of Yangcun, he found a bomb and exploded at the end of the day.

At 10 a.m. on the same day, Song An arrived in Beiping. The next day, he made a public statement:

"I am at peace with the Lord, and I presuppose the nation in all things. The occurrence of the Lugou Bridge incident was by no means the wish of the two major nations of China and Japan, Gai Ke asserted. It is hoped that the two great nations of China and Japan will make concessions to each other, trust each other, and promote sincerity to each other, so as to promote peace in East Asia and create the well-being of mankind. Zheyuan's handling of this matter, seeking a legal and reasonable solution, please do not believe rumors, do not be provoked, the major affairs of the country, only wait for the country to solve it. ”

On the 21st, the Japanese shelled Wanping again.

Song Zheyuan still retained the illusion of peace, and even demolished some fortifications on the 22nd, which was criticized by Chiang.

By the 23rd, the Japanese army at Lugou Bridge did not retreat, and the 29th Army returned to its original position. On the same day, when receiving Yang Kaijia and Sun Danlin, commissioners of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Song said: "There is hope for peace in the Lu case, and in the future, the center of negotiations will be between the Chinese and Japanese governments." ”

Obviously, Song Zheyuan thought that peace could be expected at this time. Two days later, the Japanese army entered and occupied the corridor again, and the battle was out of control. At this time, Song began to realize the inevitability of peace, and only then did he prepare to face the battle.