A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

(This story takes place in a parallel universe, in another dimension. All the times, places, people, and events in the story, such as the stellar calendar, the Huaxia Kingdom, Xijing City, the Southwest Army, and the Southeast Army, are purely fictional. Please do not try to make connections to the real world on Earth.)

On December 11, 25th year of the Stellar Era, late at night, in Xijing, an ancient city in northwestern China.

The night was deep, and the hazy moonlight quietly enveloped the ancient capital. The surroundings were shrouded in the deep darkness and silence of the night, and a storm was brewing.

This night is destined to be recorded in the annals of Chinese history.

In a secluded spot within the city of Xijing.

Ma Zhichao, the head of the Shaanxi Provincial Station of the Lixingshe Special Service Department and the chief of the Xijing City Police Bureau, looked extremely anxious and reported a shocking piece of news to Chen Liren, the director of the First Division of the General Staff Office.

After Song Hongfei returned from the United States, Chen Liren, the special envoy dispatched by the Military Commission to supervise students studying in the United States, also returned and subsequently served as the deputy director of the First Division of the General Staff Office, which was responsible for military and intelligence operations. On December 4, Chen Liren came to Xi'an from Luoyang to "oversee the battle" and guide the work of the Northwest Special Service System.

Chen Liren was shocked: "What's going on? Tell me in detail!"

"This evening, after returning from the banquet, Mr. Zhang and Mr. Yang separately convened secret meetings with a group of high-ranking generals from the Southeast Army and the Southwest Army. They then gathered at Mr. Yang's residence, seemingly plotting something in secret." Ma Zhichao dropped a bombshell, reporting startling intelligence. "Our informant overheard them say, 'I'll turn off that light bulb for a moment and clean it. If this doesn't go well, we'll all be in trouble.'"

"At night, personnel at Xijing Station discovered unusual activity by the Southwest Army and Southeast Army inside and outside the city. Multiple units were already distributing supplies, weapons and ammunition, and secretly preparing for deployment and combat. The atmosphere was extremely unusual!"

Chen Liren was shocked and frowned, deep in thought. He said, "The Northwest Suppression Headquarters doesn't have any military operation plans right now. Why didn't they report such a large-scale operation to the adjutant's office first? Do they have any solid intelligence? What are they planning to do?!"

Ma Zhichao slowly shook his head. The head of the Xijing secret service looked terrified: "The inside man risked exposure to only get this one message. Considering all the previous signs, I'm afraid... I dare not think any further..."

Chen Liren felt the situation was extremely serious and said, "Leave all the materials here. There's no time to lose. Go back immediately and organize close surveillance! Report back at any time!"

"Yes!" Ma Zhichao hurriedly left.

After leaving the city, the head of the secret service immediately sensed the tense and unusual atmosphere in Xijing. Surprised and suspicious, the cunning old agent did not hesitate for a moment. Instead of returning to the Xijing station of the secret service, he immediately hid and fled, thus escaping a disaster.

In fact, several months earlier, Zeng Kuangqing, the political training director of the Northwest Suppression Headquarters, Jiang Xiongfeng, the actual person in charge of the Northwest Special Service Department and the intelligence director of the Suppression Headquarters and the inspector of the Xijing Military and Police, had already received various secret reports: "Mr. Zhang of the Southeast Army and Mr. Yang of the Southwest Army have made secret contact with some people in charge of the CP, the details of which are unknown."

Subsequently, the Shaanxi Provincial Station of the Special Service reported the various intelligence it had obtained: Zhang and Yang's Southeast Army and Southwest Army were frequently in close contact with the CCP and other warlord forces.

The head of the secret service, Mr. Dai, immediately ordered the Shaanxi Provincial Station to conduct a secret investigation, but the Shaanxi Provincial Station could not produce any concrete evidence.

Mr. Dai was immediately faced with an extremely difficult situation. This matter was far too big. Although he had noticed something unusual, he lacked solid evidence. He could neither speak carelessly about such a momentous matter nor remain silent about it. In the end, Mr. Dai had no choice but to report it to his superiors in a roundabout way.

—Chen Liren, the director of the First Division in charge of military and intelligence affairs in the General Staff Office, was naturally well aware of all the inside stories.

Chen Liren was uneasy. He squinted his eyes and pondered, seemingly muttering to himself, "Turning off the light bulb and wiping it clean, what does that mean? Who should be turned off? Him?!"

Chen Liren jumped to his feet in shock and lunged at the telephone: "This is Chen Liren from the First Division of the General Staff Office. Connect me to the Huaqing Pool General Staff Office! What? I can't get through?! What's going on?!"

The telephone lines to Huaqing Pool had, of course, been cut off long ago.

"No, I have to go there myself!" Chen Liren exclaimed in alarm, slamming down the phone and ordering, "You stay here and guard the phone! Driver, get the car ready!"

The driver immediately ran out to prepare the car, and just as he ran out the door, a screeching sound of car brakes suddenly rang out.

Immediately following was a cacophony of footsteps approaching, and a group of fully armed soldiers had already surrounded the driver, their dark gun barrels pressed against Chen Liren and the others inside the house.

"Who are you? What do you want?!" Chen Liren asked in a deep voice.

"Director Chen, we are here on orders to invite you for tea!"

A Southwest Army officer stepped forward expressionlessly, his face ashen and his gaze icy cold. He ordered the soldiers, "Disarm them and take them away!"

Around 5 a.m., Huaqing Pool.

Suddenly, gunfire erupted in the darkness. The 1st Battalion of Wang Yuzan and the 2nd Battalion of Sun Mingjiu of the Southeast Army Guard, led by Commander-in-Chief Liu Duoquan and Frontline Commander Bai Fengxiang, surrounded Huaqing Pool and the "Five Rooms" accommodation in the inner courtyard. The secretaries and guards of the Attendant's Office fought back fiercely. After a fierce gun battle, the Southeast Army dismantled the resistance of the Attendant's Office Guard and disarmed them.

Starting in the early hours of that night, the Xi'an city defense forces and the Southwest Military Police Brigade, under the guise of military exercises, deployed martial law, disarmed the central government's forces stationed in Xi'an, wiped out all party, government, police, gendarmerie, and secret service agencies and all radio stations, and took over key departments such as the railway station, post office, airport, and banks.

Ma Zhichao, who had previously taken over the Xijing Station in the Northwest Region from Jiang Xiongfeng, was only interested in seizing power and violated the working principle that secret intelligence units must be set up independently. He set up the main radio station in the police station where he publicly served as director, which was subsequently raided by the Southwest Route Army, and all communications of the Xijing Station were cut off. It wasn't until the next day, after Jiang Xiongfeng risked his life to escape from Xijing, that the secret radio station was able to send telegrams.

Ultimately, the first to report to the Nationalist government was not the Northwest Regional Intelligence System, but the 79th Division of the Central Army, located far away in Tongguan. On December 12, the division telegraphed: "A mutiny has occurred in Xi'an."

The Southeast Army and the Southwest Army staged a "military remonstrance" in Xi'an, detaining a large number of military and political officials and sending a telegram to the whole country demanding an end to the civil war and a united front against Japan.

The upheaval in Xijing shocked the world.

To Zhang Yang's shock and bewilderment, when he sought help from various parties, both domestic and international, as well as some prominent social figures and groups, issued statements condemning and denouncing him. Apart from the CCP expressing its firm support, almost all public opinion was overwhelmingly condemning him. Even the Soviet Union published an editorial in its official newspaper, Pravda, strongly criticizing him.

Needless to say, the media controlled by the Chinese government were operating at full capacity, with editorials, telegrams, and statements filling the pages of its mouthpiece, the Central Daily News, every day.

Some cunning and treacherous warlords were two-faced and opportunistic, at most issuing some perfunctory telegrams, without even offering verbal support.

The chaotic situation, beset by internal and external troubles and the fragmentation of the country by warlords, was so treacherous and full of deceit and treachery.

Mr. Zhang was so angry that he cursed, "When I didn't oppose him, everyone opposed him. Now that I have, everyone is silent, and some even say it's good that I'm against him!"

The reactions and public opinion from all sectors greatly exceeded Zhang Yang's expectations. Suddenly, a storm was brewing, and he was in a very passive position in terms of the situation. The enormous pressure made it hard for Zhang Yang to breathe.

The Nanjing government was plunged into chaos with no leader and internal disputes. The "peace faction" advocated for negotiation and a peaceful resolution, while the "war faction," led by Minister of Military Affairs He Jingzhi and Dai Chuanxian, strongly advocated for a military "punishment."

On the night of the 12th, the Nanjing National Government held an emergency meeting of its Central Standing Committee to make arrangements for important personnel after the incident. It also decided to directly confront Xijing with military force, exert pressure with strong military power, and not negotiate terms, in order to maintain discipline and the authority of the central government.

The "pro-war faction" quickly dispatched elite troops of the Central Army from Ningxia, Wuhan, Anhui, Shandong, Henan and other places to march and assemble at Tongguan, and pressed directly towards Xi'an, gaining a very proactive military position.

The Training Corps received an emergency order to incorporate its 1st and 2nd Regiments, as well as some battalions directly under the Corps, such as the Sergeant Battalion, Special Service Battalion, and Artillery Battalion, into the "Anti-Rebel Army" combat sequence.

At this time, the 1st Regiment of the Training Corps was conducting a field military exercise in Xuanzhou, Anhui Province. At noon on the 12th, Deputy Commander Zhou Zhenqiang came to the exercise field to announce the order to immediately stop the exercise and informed the officers and soldiers of the news of the Xijing Incident. Subsequently, the 1st Regiment, as the vanguard of the Training Corps, boarded vehicles and set off on the afternoon of December 12, traveling day and night to Tongguan.

To keep the operation secret, Commander Gui ordered that the unit numbers be concealed by code names. The headquarters was codenamed "Da", the 1st Regiment was codenamed "Dafeng", the 2nd Regiment was codenamed "Daqi", the sergeant battalion was codenamed "Dawei", and the supply battalion was codenamed "Dagu". These names were derived from Liu Bang's "Song of the Great Wind", which reads: "The great wind rises and the clouds fly, my might extends throughout the land and I return to my hometown".

After a thousand days of training, the first signs of their prowess are emerging. This will be the first combat operation since the reorganization of the Training Corps, which is known as "the elite of the elite, the ace of the ace."

Song Hongfei knew that the Xi'an Incident was a key turning point that facilitated cooperation between the two factions of China, promoted a united front of the whole nation, and united against the Japanese invaders. He deeply hoped that the united front would be united against the Japanese invaders as soon as possible.

But now, will the course of events be the same as in history?

He had no way of knowing.

Deep down, he opposed all civil wars. His ambition and aspiration was: "Give me three thousand brave warriors, and I will restore my vast and mighty China. Raise the Han flag atop Mount Fuji, and let the barbarian concubines be drunk under the cherry blossoms!"

But now that he has little influence, he can't change anything. He should just wait and see, let things take their course, and focus on doing his job well. Other things are not his concern.