Zhang Xueliang refused the invitation of the prince of the Left Banner of Bahrain, and set up a garrison under a hill one mile away from the headquarters of the first division, where a regiment of the Northeast Army and Zhang Xueliang's guard battalion were stationed to escort supplies, and hundreds of tents were erected around the hill. Song Zhewu brought Li Wentian and Zhang Yafei here for the banquet.

Zhang Xueliang's tent is very large, and in Song Zhewu's opinion, this tent is very similar to the military tent of the commander in the ancient military camp. This tent is not only very large, but also very ornately decorated, the inner lining of the tent is very thick, the silk on the surface is hand-embroidered mountain and river patterns, there are a few bright gas lamps hanging on the top of the high tent, and the ground is covered with a thick carpet, which feels very soft when stepping on it, as if there is also a cold felt under the carpet.

The banquet was set up in the tent, a big round table, placed in the middle of the tent, as soon as Song Zhewu arrived, Zhang Xueliang ordered the banquet to be held, and the guests were accompanied by Zhang Xueliang, only Hu Yukun and Gao Zhihang.

As the exquisite dishes continued to be put on the table, Song Zhewu, Li Wentian, and Zhang Yafei smacked their tongues.

This table is composed of four cold dishes and eight hot dishes, the four cold dishes are Zhai zha hoof, vegetarian bamboo shoot tip, vegetarian noodle root, vegetarian white mushroom; The eight hot dishes are the golden leopard civet, the tiger buckle dragon hide, the crane stewed bear paw, the fried plum blossom northern deer silk, the steamed lamb, the boiled fresh mushrooms, the braised scarlet lips, and the braised hump.

What surprised Song Zhewu the most was the money leopard, tiger buckle dragon hide, crane stewed bear paws, fried plum blossom northern deer silk, braised scarlet lips These dishes, in later generations, these wild animals are protected by the law, not to mention eating, even selling them. He remembers that in later life, the villagers who killed a Siberian tiger in self-defense and privately ate the tiger's meat were sentenced.

As for the wine, it surprised Song Zhewu even more, it turned out to be a jar of imperial wine with a history of 100 years, and the room was full of wine fragrance when the seal was opened.

Zhang Xueliang smiled and said, "Wenge, how is it?" Can this wine and food still enter your eyes? ”

Song Zhewu smiled embarrassedly and said, "Han Qing, I just said casually, this wine and food are too rich, I am a little ashamed of it." ”

Zhang Xueliang said: "Wen Ge, this is your mistake, in order to solve the crisis in the Northeast, you personally led the army thousands of miles away, and I Zhang Xueliang invited you to have a meal, which is not what you should have." Come on, today I will wash the dust for Wenge, let's have a toast first, I wish Wenge a victory, and success immediately......"

Everyone talked while eating, but Zhang Xueliang never mentioned the current war, just chatted with Song Zhewu, Song Zhewu knew that Zhang Xueliang wanted to talk to him in private, so he followed Zhang Xueliang's topic and chatted. Everyone also understood that Zhang Xueliang had something on his mind, so the banquet did not last for a long time, and it ended after more than an hour.

Song Zhewu followed Zhang Xueliang to a small tent next to him, and the guards poured tea for the two and then retreated, Zhang Xueliang called his adjutant again, and ordered the guards to be far away and not allow others to disturb them.

Zhang Xueliang sat on the sofa, not polite, and said straight to the point: "Wen Ge, there are only you and me here, let's not go around in circles, do you think that this 'Middle East Road Incident' I did a bit of a slam collision?" ”

Song Zhewu didn't expect Zhang Xueliang to open in such a direct way, and after being slightly stunned, he asked Zhang Xueliang rhetorically: "Han Qing, can you tell me whether Chairman Jiang knew about the 'Middle East Road Incident' and whether he agreed." ”

Song Zhewu was eager to get a clear answer from Zhang Xueliang, so that he could make an accurate judgment of Chiang Kai-shek's true thoughts.

After Zhang Xueliang hesitated for a moment, he said calmly: "Everything about the 'Middle East Road Incident' is my own initiative, Zhang Xueliang, even if there is any responsibility, I will bear it alone." ”

After a pause, he said: "To be honest, I really want to do a few beautiful things in front of the Chinese people, so as to prove that I, Zhang Xueliang, did not only rely on my father's aftermath to ascend to the position of Northeast Frontier Commander." The 'Middle East Road' is the product of the unequal treaties that the Manchus were forced to sign during the Tsarist era, and now that we and the Soviets have overthrown the old regime and achieved the success of the revolution, such unequal treaties should naturally be abolished. It's just that I'm still a little too hasty, I didn't expect the Soviets to make a big deal about it, and the Western powers didn't intervene on our side, as others say. ”

Zhang Xueliang sighed and said: "Chairman Jiang is the leader of the country, as a subordinate, we should unconditionally maintain his authority, if something is wrong, the fault should also be borne by me, as a subordinate." Looking at it now, it is very likely that we will not be able to withstand the attack of the Russians on the border, and once the war is lost, we will inevitably sign an alliance with the Soviets, and I, the initiator of the 'Middle East Road Incident', will definitely be scolded by the Chinese people. ”

Although Zhang Xueliang did not answer Song Zhewu's words directly, the meaning was very clear, that is, Chiang Kai-shek knew about it and agreed to it, and it was even very likely that he instigated Zhang Xueliang to take back the "Middle East Road" by force. If the "Middle East Road" is successfully recovered, Zhang Xueliang will naturally push Chiang Kai-shek to the front to bear the glory, but at this moment Zhang Xueliang thinks that the defeat of the "Middle East Road" has appeared, and with Zhang Xueliang's surname, he naturally refuses to blame Chiang Kai-shek for all his faults.

Song Zhewu couldn't help but think of the later generations "Nine. 18 Incident", when the Chinese people scolded Zhang Xueliang for not resisting, Zhang Xueliang just endured it silently, took responsibility alone and went to the wild, and did not take out the telegram of non-resistance given to him by Chiang Kai-shek until his death. Song Zhewu believes that this is also an important reason why Chiang Kai-shek could kill Yang Hucheng's family, but did not kill Zhang Xueliang, the mastermind of the Xi'an Incident.

Song Zhewu nodded and said sincerely: "Han Qing is a real hero, a good man, Zhewu has been taught." However, my confirmation is that Han Qing is in a hurry for the 'Middle East Road Incident'. I think Han Qing has miscalculated the situation, and now the Western powers are indeed hostile to the Soviet Union, and all the countries around it are adopting a hostile policy towards it. The Soviet Union was naturally helpless against Germany and other old Western powers, and even if there was any dissatisfaction, it would have to be hidden for the time being. However, for a weak country like ours, it will never tolerate it, and if it retreats and tolerates it, it will be afraid that other neighboring countries will follow suit. Therefore, it must react strongly to the 'Middle East Road incident', and it will be very difficult to stop if it does not recapture the 'Middle East Road' this time. ”

"As for the other powers, they are now sitting on the sidelines, not even verbally supporting, which is not surprising at all, because they all have the same interests in China, such as the concession, which is the same problem as the 'Middle East Road', and if we successfully recapture the 'Middle East Road', then the public sentiment in China will inevitably be high, and the next step is probably to take back the concession." Therefore, on this issue, they do not want to see us retake the 'Middle East Road', and even wish that the Soviets would teach us a lesson. ”

"For example, I don't allow Hanqing to use the South Manchurian Railway they control to transport troops and military supplies, which is out of this mentality."

Song Zhewu's words made Zhang Xueliang's face even more ugly, and he asked worriedly: "Wenge, are you saying that the great powers will support the Soviets against us?" ”

Song Zhewu shook his head and said: "That's not true, after all, the Soviets believe in GCISM, and they will never openly support it, but we should be careful about myself, if we are defeated, it will make some small moves and take advantage of the opportunity." ”

Zhang Xueliang took out a cigarette, lit it for both of them, took a puff of the cigarette, Zhang Xueliang said gloomily: "Wenge, the Soviets have now concentrated about 40,000 people in Suifenhe, more than 20,000 people opposite Manchuria, and tens of thousands of people in Boli, and they are still increasing their troops. However, up to now, they have only crossed the border and provoked on the east and west lines of Suifenhe and Manchuria, and now the two sides have exchanged fire hundreds of times, most of which are not large-scale, and we have suffered some losses on the eastern front, mainly because we have no heavy artillery and no air superiority. In Manchuria on the Western Front, we won small victories in two major firefights, and even captured dozens of their prisoners. ”

However, the Soviets seemed to be really anxious this time, and now they not only formed a special army in the Far East, but also sent General Gallen, who served as the chief military adviser to the political axe in Guangzhou during the Northern Expedition and was known as the soul of the Far East Army. This gallon, which was very famous in the Soviet Union, was very successful during their civil war, and once used a division to defeat the main force of the Kolchak division of the White Army, which was supported by a large number of tanks and aircraft. The Soviets sent Gallen to the Far East this time to command this Far Eastern special group, no doubt because they wanted to fight hard. ”

"The reason why I dare to take back the 'Middle East Road' by force is that I think the Soviets will not fight with us for the 'Middle East Road', and if the Soviets come to the real thing, it is not something that our Northeast Army can deal with. I have written to Chairman Chiang in Nanjing several times, hoping that Nanjing would negotiate with the Soviets, but Chairman Chiang still thinks that the Soviets are bluffing and that they are not capable of opening up a battlefield in the Far East. ”

Song Zhewu knows what Zhang Xueliang said, but he doesn't think that Chiang Kai-shek still means this, he knows that Chiang Kai-shek is also difficult to ride a tiger now. It's just that he is still a little puzzled, doesn't Zhang Xueliang also have a lot of planes? Why not take it to the battlefield and let the Soviet planes go unchecked?

"Han Qing, don't you also have a lot of planes? I heard you bought some planes again? ”

Zhang Xueliang said with a wry smile: "Originally, there were more than 100 planes, but those were all old planes, and most of them were bombers and reconnaissance planes. You're right, I bought 100 Newburgh 27s from France before the war, but it's been a month since they arrived, and I don't see the technicians who came to install them from France. ”

Song Zhewu nodded, but he didn't continue the topic of the plane, he felt that Zhang Xueliang should give up the idea of negotiating now, and should seriously prepare for battle now.

(To be continued)