In fact, there is no need for Chan to persuade him. Chairman Chiang Kai-shek had already decided to come to Xi'an, although there were also different voices, saying that Xi'an was in a tense situation and could not be in danger, but the success of Chen Jitang in solving Chen Jitang without blood gave Chiang Kai-shek great self-confidence, and he still took the plane to fly to the ancient capital of Xi'an.

It was Chen Zikun who flew the plane, and he was not the only one who could fly an airplane among the important members of the state government, Zhang Xueliang also had his own private jet, but no one had the experience of flying around the world like Chen Zikun, and the chairman of the committee used him as the captain of a special plane, so rest assured.

The flight distance from Luoyang to Xi'an is very close, it is a piece of cake for Chen Zikun, who has flown over the Atlantic, and soon arrived at Xi'an Airport, Shao Lizi, chairman of the Shaanxi Provincial Government, Yang Hucheng, commander-in-chief of the 17th Route Army and director of the Xi'an Appeasement Office, has been waiting for a long time, the winter in the northwest, the cold wind is biting, the airport is extremely empty, there is a Boeing passenger plane parked alone, there are some obvious bullet holes on it, this is Zhang Xueliang's special plane, when flying over the Soviet area, it was subjected to machine gun fire by the Red Army, and it is still being repaired.

On the huge airport, the welcoming procession of dozens of people looked extremely thin, the military band wore bloated cotton military uniforms and played music, the tune was blown messily by the strong wind, a crumpled red felt was laid under the gangway, the attendant adjutant opened the cabin door, Chairman Chiang got off the plane wearing a black cloak, and there was a burst of applause below.

After Chiang Kai-shek got off the plane, the attachés got off the plane one after another, and there were not many people on this trip to Xi'an, Chen Chengwei, Lihuang, Jiang Dingwen, Chen Tiaoyuan, and a few other civil and military personnel, as well as a number of guards, everyone got into a black car and went to Xi'an under the protection of the Northwest Army.

Xi'an is the ancient capital of the Han and Tang Dynasties, you can see the gray and majestic city wall far away, it is winter, the fields outside the city are bleak, Shaanxi is a chaotic place, the jurisdiction of the provincial chairman Shao Lizi does not go out of the city wall, outside the city is the territory of the Northwest Army, the Northeast Army, the Red Army and bandits from all walks of life.

The welcoming meeting was held in the auditorium of the provincial government, and Chairman Chiang, despite the fatigue of the saddle horse, gave instructions to the generals of the suppression team, once again expounded his principle and policy that he must first secure the interior before the outside world, and urged everyone to persevere for the last five minutes, and after the extermination of the communists and bandits, they must integrate the forces of the whole country and unite with the outside world.

"Peace has not reached a time of despair, never give up peace, sacrifice has not reached the last moment, and do not say sacrifice lightly!" Chiang Kai-shek's Fenghua accent permeated the auditorium, and the audience was silent, and the generals of the Northwest Army and the Northeast Army were clearly distinguished in the hall, and the senior officers from the central government sat in the front row.

As soon as the speech ended, the senior officials took the lead in applauding, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng also stood up and applauded, and the generals behind them clapped their hands.

The dinner was sumptuous, the dishes were mainly northwest flavors, after three rounds of wine, Chairman Jiang retired and rested, as soon as he left, the atmosphere of the banquet came up, Zhang Xueliang came over with a wine glass and said: "Kun Wu fierce, I will introduce you to a brother, Yang Hucheng, the commander-in-chief of the Northwest Army, I rely on his care in the northwest." ”

Chen Zikun hurriedly said for a long time, Yang Hucheng is burly, wears a pair of round-framed glasses, and looks sven, but as soon as he shakes his hand, he knows that this person has practiced martial arts, his palms are rough and powerful, and his voice is like a loud bell: "General Chen, I have also heard of your name for a long time, I heard that you have drilled the old forest in the Kanto?" ”

This experience of being a bandit is a past that Chen Zikun doesn't like to mention, after all, his identity is different now, a senior official of the national government, an army general, but Yang Hucheng can't open the pot, this person is either honest or blind.

"Hehe, I don't mean anything else, my old Yang used to be a swordsman in the Northwest, we are all the way, and we are different from them" Yang Hucheng looked at the group of people in the Central Army, patted Chen Zikun's arm, and laughed heartily.

No wonder Yang Hucheng and Zhang Xueliang are friends of Mo Zhi, one is a swordsman in the northwest, and the other is the son of a beard in the Kanto region, they have a common language, Chen Zikun can't help but say: "I have heard Director Yang's prestige for a long time, and a long knife is proud of the northwest, and no one can match it." ”

Yang Hucheng said: "Old, it's not good, and the knife technique is not neat." ”

Chen Zikun said: "Where to say, Director Yang is in the prime of life, and he is in the prime of life, and he is not old. ”

Yang Hucheng said: "My knife is always used to cut off the brains of my own people, and my hands are shaking." ”

The topic was a little sensitive, Zhang Xueliang coughed dryly, and Yang Hucheng immediately turned to a smile: "General Chen, drink, drink." ”

……

Chiang Kai-shek's main purpose in coming to Xi'an was to appease the army, but Chen Zikun was unwilling to get involved, he knew Zhang Xueliang's temper very well, if he recognized the matter, the eight horses could not be pulled back, such as changing the flag and changing the banner to unify China, how great the resistance, how difficult the process, he still did it.

Since the fall of the Northeast, Zhang Xueliang has been blamed, the hatred of the country and the family, the pain in his heart can be imagined, the hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the Northeast under his command can not take revenge, but fight in the same room, and repeatedly suffered defeats, the officers and soldiers who died in the war do not get pensions, the northwest is barren and poor, the treatment of soldiers has declined, far lower than the Central Army, the Northeast Army is permeated with pessimism and discouragement, only a few words not only can not persuade him, but bad brotherly feelings.

Therefore, Chen Zikun pulled Chen Tiaoyuan under the pretext of inspecting the northwest, visiting the mountains and rivers, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the Little Wild Goose Pagoda, the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, Lintong Huaqing Pond, Xi'an is full of historic sites, which is worth visiting.

Chen Tiaoyuan is also a member of the Military Commission, president of the Military Senate, and like Chen Zikun's chairman of the Aviation Commission, he is a kind of idle post for the placement of people with meritorious service in Beiyang.

"Kunwu, how are you looking at the scenery of Chang'an, how is it compared to Nanjing?" Standing on the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Chen Tiaoyuan pointed to the ancient city in the snow at his feet, full of spirit.

Chen Zikun shook his head: "The glory is already a yellow flower of tomorrow, dilapidated, and the mountains and rivers are withering, just like today's China." ”

Chen Tiaoyuan said: "My brother's interest is not high, is it for the sake of Zhang Shaoshuai's matter, listen to my brother's advice, Shaanxi is not the Northeast, and Xiao Zhang can't make a big deal." ”

Chen Zikun smiled bitterly: "Brother, you don't know Han Qing, his eldest young master's temper has come up, and he can poke a hole in the sky, I'm worried......"

"Worried about what? Could it be that Zhang Hanqing can still be in cahoots with ***? Now that the southwest has been subordinated, Chairman Chiang's prestige is in full swing, Feng Yuxiang, Yan Xishan, Li Zongren, Sun Ke, Wang Zhaoming, Chen Jitang, these people have been against Chiang for more than ten years, what are the results? Don't worry, the sky won't fall, let's go, enjoy the snow. ”

Back below, the news came that Chairman Chiang proposed two plans for Zhang Yang to choose, one was to go to the front line to suppress the Communists, and the other was to transfer the defense of Fujian and Anhui to let the Central Army suppress the Communists, and only give three days to consider it.

At the same time, 30 divisions of the Central Army advanced westward along the Longhai Line, causing great military pressure on Zhang Yang.

"This is forcing Han Qing to a dead end." Chen Zikun was faintly uneasy.

On 9 December, early in the morning, Chen Zikun felt that something was going to happen, and sure enough, in the morning, there was a lot of noise outside, a large group of students from far and near, snowflakes like leaflets flying all over the sky, and the students waved various flags and banners, chanting slogans: "Stop the civil war, unite with the outside world!" The sound was deafening.

Chen Zikun suddenly remembered that today was the 129th anniversary, and the familiar scene reminded him of the eighth year of the Republic of China, and he was like them, walking on Chang'an Avenue in Beijing, chanting the slogan of returning Qingdao.

Chen Tiaoyuan, who lived next door, came over and said mockingly: "The students are really beyond their means, the more they make a scene, the more useless it is, but Chairman Jiang really dares to shoot." ”

The students shouted slogans, but before the officials came out to meet them, a young student raised his arms and shouted: "Let's go to Lintong to find Chiang Kai-shek!" The crowd responded, and the real ones went north.

Chen Zikun hurriedly hung up the phone to Zhang Xueliang: "Han Qing, the students are going to Lintong, you hurry up and find a way to stop them, otherwise something big will happen." ”

At the same time, Chen Tiaoyuan also went back to the house and hung up the phone in the chamber of Chairman Hua Qingchi: "Hey, I'm Chen Tiaoyuan, I'm talking to Qian Dajun, Director Qian, there are thousands of students running to the chairman, yes, yes, yes, no thanks, help me ask the chairman." ”

As soon as Zhang Xueliang finished answering Chen Zikun's call, the call from Huaqingchi in Lintong arrived, and it was Chiang Kai-shek himself: "Han Qing, I heard that some students are coming to me, you must stop their anarchic behavior, and you can shoot when necessary." ”

Zhang Xueliang kept his voice down, put down the phone and hurriedly asked the adjutant to prepare the car and go to Lintong.

The car was speeding on the dirt road, kicking up smoke and dust all the way, the trees on both sides had lost their leaves, and it was extremely bleak, and there was a government license plate car in front of it that was also driving eastward.

Zhang Xueliang lowered the window of the car and asked, "Brother Kunwu, are you also going to Lintong?" ”

Chan said: "I want to see how the chairman treats students. ”

Zhang Xueliang smiled bitterly, waved his hand and shook the window, asking the driver to drive faster and catch up with the student team.

Chiang Kai-shek's Huaqing Pond Xingyuan is still some distance away from the city of Xi'an, and the students are all advancing on foot, and they have not gone far for half a day, Zhang Xueliang quickly overtook the students' team, put the car in front of the team, got out of the car and shouted: "Students, please listen to me, don't go any further." ”

At the forefront were the leaders of the demonstrators, the backbone of Northeastern University, who knew Zhang Xueliang and made representations one after another, demanding to meet with the chairman of the committee and put forward the students' proposals.

"Deputy Commander, let's get over! You are also from the Northeast, it has been five years since the fall of the Northeast, and the central government is still in an endless civil war, when will we be able to go home! One student asked aloud.

Zhang Xueliang was speechless, suddenly climbed on the hood of the car, and shouted: "Students, please believe me Zhang Xueliang again, within a week, I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer, if you can't do it, any of you can put me to death!" ”

There was silence, and suddenly, someone in the group was singing, it was a deep baritone: "My home is on the Songhua River in the northeast, where there is a forest coal mine. And the soybean sorghum that is all over the mountains...... Ninety-one-eight, ninety-one-eight, in that miserable time, broke away from my hometown, abandoned that endless treasure, Liulang, Liulang! The price of the whole day is flowing in the Guannai Lang"

At first, it was a person's voice, but it gradually evolved into a chorus of tens of thousands of people, and the sad and indignant singing echoed in the desolate land of Guanzhong, Zhang Xueliang also sang along, and the officers and soldiers of the Northeast who were loaded with guns and ammunition behind him, on their expressionless faces, two lines of hot tears had already flowed down.

Chen Zikun, who was the leader of the singing in the crowd, had already choked up and quietly retreated, and the students did not know him, and thought that this thin and handsome middle-aged man was a professor at a certain university.