In 2000, when Zhang Xueliang met relatives and friends in Chinese mainland, he repeatedly recited a few words. Sister-in-law: I feel miserable when I hear it.

The sun is like fire, the sun is like fire. The sea breeze that passed in a hurry in June brought a unique breath of summer. In such a beautiful season, everything is thriving, and a special old man has celebrated his centenary birthday.

He is the famous rumbled Zhang Xueliang.

I saw Zhang Xueliang wearing a suit and glasses, and his pace was slow and firm. Although he is old, he still keeps his back straight, and he can vaguely see the heroic spirit of the past. He greeted his relatives and friends from the mainland one by one. Among them, an old man named Xie caught the attention of others.

This Xie is the wife of Zhang Xueliang's fourth brother. This is the first time they have met.

However, after seeing this strange sister-in-law, Zhang Xueliang couldn't hide his inner excitement and chanted the same sentence over and over again. It is this sentence that made Xie feel deeply, and even lamented that Zhang Xueliang was miserable in his later years.

What did Zhang Xueliang say? Why does Xie feel this way? What are the chances between them?

It all started with that special birthday party.

For Xie, who is 80 years old this year, June 10, 2000 is a very special day.

The plane landed slowly on the land of Hawaii. The sea breeze is blowing gently and the heat wave is rolling. Although the old man has silver hair, his eyes are still bright and his steps are firm. She came here to celebrate the centenary birthday of the famous rumbled Zhang Xueliang.

The world may not know that her husband, Zhang Xuesi, who died for many years, was not only the founding general of the Republic of China, but also Zhang Xueliang's fourth brother.

However, Xie's heart was full of anxiety before meeting the eldest brother he had never met before.

What is Zhang Xueliang's physical condition? Do you welcome her? What will relatives say when they meet? With full of tension and expectation, Xie set off.

Unexpectedly, the trip didn't go so smoothly at first.

Zhang Xueliang's birthday is June 1 year. His son specially contacted Xie in advance, hoping that she could come to celebrate his birthday on his father's birthday.

Before leaving, Xie was told that she could not leave immediately and would have to wait for some time. Therefore, when Xie arrived in Hawaii, it was already June 10.

When I first met Zhang Xueliang, both of them were a little embarrassed.

When he was old, Zhang Xueliang's eyes were not very good, and he had never seen Xie before, so he could only stare hard. Under the introduction of others, he recognized the newcomer. Previously, Xie had only seen Zhang Xueliang in photos. This time, when she saw a real person, she was quite nervous.

Fortunately, in a short time, everyone got to know each other, because they talked about a person whom * * * loved deeply: Zhang Xuesi.

Xie's second daughter took out the photos of her father before his death and gave them to Zhang Xueliang. Zhang Xueliang stared at his younger brother in the photo, unable to speak for a long time, but with a thousand words in his heart. For a long time, he just looked at Xie He and told her that among so many younger brothers, he was his favorite.

Zhang Xueliang said that Zhang Xuesi is a man of backbone, and he admires his younger brother because Zhang Xuesi is braver than him.

Xie's eyes moistened at the mention of her husband.

Although Zhang Xuesi was born in Shuaifu, he was ambitious, joined the Producers' Party of China and became the founding general. He and his wife Xie met in Yan 'an, and since then they have become a pair of soul mates.

One is the son of a warlord, and the other is the daughter of a farm laborer, but they undoubtedly linked their lives together and went to the battlefield in North China to fight against Japan and save the country.

In the zhangs' so many brothers, Zhang Xuesi is also the person who knows the eldest brother best.

1936, Zhang Xueliang launched the Xi Incident, and Zhang Xuesi, who was studying in the Central Military Academy, was implicated and was detained by the military academy that night. But for his brother's behavior, Zhang Xuesi admired him from the bottom of his heart. A year later, Zhang Xueliang was imprisoned in Xikou, and Zhang Xuesi visited Xuedou Mountain after many twists and turns.

He stayed for four days. Besides chatting with Zhang Xueliang, they also secretly talked about the situation of the Anti-Japanese War with the help of a piece of paper. Big brother is like a father. Before he left, Zhang Xueliang told Zhang Xuesi to take care. He assured his younger brother that if the Northeast Army could unite and expand the scope of the war of resistance, he might regain his freedom.

That year, Zhang Xueliang was thirty-six years old and Zhang Xuesi was twenty-one. Neither of the brothers expected that this would be the last time they met in their lives.

When the news was reconnected, things had changed, and heaven and man were separated forever.

However, what Zhang Xueliang repeatedly said next has greatly hurt Xie's heart.

Xie recalled that Zhang Xueliang was actually a very humorous person. He loves telling stories, telling past stories to all relatives and friends who come to see him.

From how naughty he was when he was a child to what he saw when he grew up, he has a good memory and what he said is very interesting. He can always explain clearly and attract everyone's attention.

Xie said, "He tells you who he hates, loves, likes and thinks."

Zhang Xueliang, who is eloquent, also has a few pet words. He always repeats it every three or four sentences. He said that he missed his father, missed his father, and he wanted to go back, want to go home, and want to go back to the northeast.

Father, family and northeast, these three key words appear back and forth in Zhang Xueliang's mouth. There are only a few words, and the feelings of missing are beyond words. Whenever Zhang Xueliang talks about these words, the eyes of the people present are always wet, and a thousand words are condensed in my heart, and I don't know how to answer them.

Looking at the old star in front of me, Xie felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

In her own oral history, she mentioned a word "miserable" when she recalled all this.

Xie said with emotion: "When an old man says this at his age, alas, I feel very miserable when I listen to it. Sometimes I think, alas, I can't go home. The hero is like this in his later years. "

Such a sigh, you can't help reading it carefully.

Then why can't Zhang Xueliang go home? What kind of concern does he have for the mainland after many years?

The past is unbearable, and we have to start with 1946.

In fact, Zhang Xueliang was tricked into going to Taiwan Province Province.

After the Xi Incident, Chiang Kai-shek moved around and imprisoned Zhang Xueliang, who was in high spirits. After Zhang Xueliang was imprisoned, no matter his subordinates, relatives and friends, or enthusiasts in * * *, they tried to rescue him many times, but failed many times, so they could only try their best to help him secretly.

After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Chiang Kai-shek intended to launch a civil war, which was imminent. At this critical moment, how to arrange Zhang Xueliang has become one of Chiang Kai-shek's most concerned issues. Against this background, Chiang Kai-shek secretly kidnapped Zhang Xueliang to Chongqing in the autumn of 1946, and then transferred him to Taiwan Province Province.

In this way, Zhang Xueliang began his wandering life in Taiwan Province Province.

However, his contact with the mainland has never been interrupted. Zhang Xueliang has always been attached to the mainland and has been obsessed with his homeland.

1980, Zhang Xueliang visited Kinmen and stared at the mainland with a high-powered telescope. He has been reluctant to leave for a long time. He also quoted Yu Youren's poems to express his strong thoughts.

The so-called "bury me in the mountains and look at my mainland; There are few continents, but only pain. " Blood and tears tell Zhang Xueliang's desire to return to his hometown.

Deng sent a congratulatory message to Zhang Xueliang on the occasion of his 90th birthday. Zhang Xueliang was very happy after receiving it, and specially hung this message on the wall of the banquet hall where the birthday party was held.

It was not until 1988 that Jiang Jingguo died of a heart attack and vomited blood, and the influence of the Chiang dynasty in Taiwan Province gradually declined. Two years later, Zhang Xueliang regained his freedom, and his desire to return to the mainland also moved.

Also in that year, Zhang Xueliang was interviewed by Professor Tang Degang, a famous historian, and wrote an oral history. He made it clear to Tang Degang that he would return to his hometown in Northeast China at an appropriate time.

Faced with all kinds of questions from the outside world, Zhang Xueliang once said categorically that this matter has nothing to do with politics. He himself has long since retired from politics.

In this legendary old man's mind, going home means going home, just to meet relatives and friends who haven't seen you for a long time. He doesn't want people to associate their visits to relatives and graves with politics. His sincere words are enough to show Zhang Xueliang's true thoughts.

Knowing Zhang Xueliang's wish, his old friend Wang Ji worked for him at 199 1. Wang Ji actively contacted the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee and told them that Zhang Xueliang was 90 years old, and his greatest wish in this life was to go back to the northeast to visit his hometown. Not only that, he also hopes to move Zhang's cemetery from Jinzhou to his hometown Haicheng.

China was very supportive of Zhang Xueliang's return to his hometown and sent an invitation letter. Regrettably, Zhang Xueliang's trip to the mainland ended without results.

However, Zhang Xueliang never gave up.

Taiwan Province Province has his home, but a person always wants to go back to his hometown, always worrying about it, only looking forward to traveling one day.

At the end of that year, Zhang Xueliang also wrote the name of "Northeastern University" for Ning Encheng, the primary president of Northeastern University.

Although he is at the other end of the strait, the land where he was born and raised in Sri Lanka has always remained in his heart. Even when China Peking Opera Theatre visited Taiwan Province Province for the first time, Zhang Xueliang told these artists openly that he wanted to go back when he was in better health.

When Huang Hong, a famous comedian in his hometown, visited Taiwan Province, Zhang Xueliang also asked Huang Hong about the development and changes in Shenyang over the years.

He asked Huang Hong to convey his greetings to the people in Northeast China, and even shouted affectionately from a distance in his hometown dialect, asking Huang Hong to tell the people in Northeast China that he missed them very much.

Many things happen. Zhang Xueliang's trip to the mainland ushered in another turning point at 1993.

At that time, Ding Zhongjiang proposed in Beijing that Jiang Weiguo and Zhang Xueliang return to the mainland to visit relatives, passing through Xikou, Shenyang and Xi 'an, and finally held a history seminar in Xi 'an to arouse people's awareness of Xi 'an incident again.

This time, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait reached an agreement, but fate played a big joke with Zhang Xueliang at this time.

No one expected that shortly after this matter was finalized, Jiang Weiguo and Miss Zhao Si both fell down due to illness.

Jiang Weiguo had a heart attack and was admitted to the hospital. I don't know when he will recover. Miss Zhao Si has been admitted to the hospital because of senile osteoporosis, so she can't travel. Zhang Xueliang was the only one, so the trip could not be started. In desperation, the plan to return to the mainland was finally cancelled.

But until his death, Zhang Xueliang never gave up hope of returning to the mainland.

Two years later, Zhang Xueliang was in America. When the new president of Northeastern University asked him if he could find a chance to go back to his hometown. Zhang Xueliang repeatedly said: "I want to go back and see, I want to go back!"

A year later, the president flew to Hawaii again to meet Zhang Xueliang. Before he left, Zhang Xueliang was still uneasy and repeatedly told them that he must build Northeastern University well and train more talents for the motherland.

However, the world is changeable. With the growth of age, the trip to the mainland was wasted again and again, and Zhang Xueliang's body gradually could not bear such a high-intensity trip. Before his death, he failed to return to the mainland after all. No wonder Xie felt pain in his heart when he heard his voice whispering.

In fact, after 2000, Xie met Zhang Xueliang twice in America. However, between these two times is the distance between life and death.

After attending Zhang Xueliang's centenary birthday party, Xie said goodbye to Zhang Xueliang.

Before leaving, the two made an agreement. Xie promised Zhang Xueliang to visit him in the United States on his birthday the next year.

However, before Xie left, she had to postpone her trip and spend the most difficult days with Zhang Xueliang. It turned out that just a few days after Zhang Xueliang's centenary birthday, Miss Zhao Si passed away.

Xie and Zhang Xueliang gathered around the hospital bed together and watched the young lady leave. Everyone is busy with Miss Zhao Si's funeral. Only Xie pushed Zhang Xueliang and walked alone in the corridor of the hospital.

Seeing his wife die, Zhang Xueliang was in great pain.

In the eyes of the world, the young marshal at this time showed an extremely fragile side. Xie Xin has infinite feelings. She told Zhang Xueliang, "Big Brother, you are a man of indomitable spirit. You have to hold on. This is nothing, people are like this. "

Zhang Xueliang was silent after listening to Xie's encouragement.

He didn't cry or speak. He just looked at the distance quietly and didn't know what he was thinking. Xie was worried and constantly comforted Zhang Xueliang, hoping that he could hold on. Although Zhang Xueliang was silent, Xie knew that he must have missed it.

When Miss Zhao Si left, she took away most of Zhang Xueliang's distractions.

Later, Xie recalled that Zhang Xueliang had told himself that if he died, he would not live, and his mood was even worse.

The following year, Xie came to Hawaii again as agreed to celebrate Zhang Xueliang's birthday 10 1.

Zhang Xueliang is still very happy to see her. The meeting between the two old people was as pleasant as last time. Zhang Xueliang still has many stories to tell. Xie and his relatives and friends are still sitting silently, listening to Zhang Xueliang's uninterrupted memories.

This time Zhang Xueliang talked about the past when he was young.

The childhood memories that have disappeared for many years seem to have gradually returned to Zhang Xueliang's mind.

He told them the story of packing jiaozi in Shuaifu when he was a child. Zhang Xueliang told them that it is very cold in Shenyang during the Spring Festival every year, so their whole family always freezes jiaozi in their rooms, which are several big houses. When it was time to cook jiaozi, everyone joined in to help. Very lively.

Jiaozi is the best totem of China people's reunion, and it is also Zhang Xueliang's deepest yearning for his relatives in his hometown.

He will still talk about his father Zhang repeatedly.

He praised his father in front of everyone. He said that the elderly are the first, intelligent and strategic. Although Zhang Xueliang himself is a centenarian at this time, in his heart, his father will always be brilliant and great. He worshipped his father from beginning to end and never changed.

And Zhang Xueliang always remembers that when he left his hometown, Zhang's coffin was still in the home of the viceroy's office, and it was not buried, and even the grave was not covered. It was not until after the September 18th Incident that Zhang's coffin was moved to Yimafang.

From then on, Zhang Xueliang never had a chance to visit his father's grave and kowtow.

When they left this time, the two of them made an appointment again. Xie told Zhang Xueliang that she would come to see him again next October. Because Xie's granddaughter was studying abroad, she was free in 10, and wanted to bring another relative to visit Zhang Xueliang. Zhang Xueliang readily agreed, but she never made it.

Zhang Xueliang died before the arrival of late autumn the following year.

After receiving the news, Xie hurried to Hawaii. This is her third meeting with Zhang Xueliang, but this time, it is life and death. When she arrived, Zhang Xueliang had not been buried until Xie took his relatives to see Zhang Xueliang off for the last trip.

On April 8, 2022, Xie also closed his eyes and passed away.

The past is like smoke, and all kinds of events will eventually become a dust in the long river of history. But Zhang Xueliang's voice in his later years remained in everyone's heart like a brand. Whether it is a sigh or a thousand regrets, history will eventually give a fair answer, which is engraved in everyone's heart.

References:

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3. Xie and Zhu Honghai. Zhang Xuesi: The Founding Major General who stepped out of the Grand Commander's Mansion [J]. Jianghuai Literature and History, 20 16, (No.4).

4. Ren Min. Zhang Xueliang has never been back to the mainland [J]. Education for the aged (nursing home), 20 18, (5th issue).

5. Fu, Zhao Dong. Zhang Xueliang [J]. Lantai World, 2000, (No.1).

6. Shi Yan. Why didn't Zhang Xueliang realize the "mainland dream" [J]. Literature and History Monthly, No.2, 2004.