Editing Zhang Xueliang (section)

==Leader of Manchuria==
[[File:Zhang Xueliang and Chiang Kai-shek.jpg|thumb|Zhang with [[Chiang Kai-shek]] in November 1930]]

The Japanese believed that Zhang Xueliang, who was known as a womanizer and an [[Opium|opium addict]], would be much more subject to Japanese influence than was his father. On this premise, an officer of the Japanese [[Kwantung Army]] therefore killed his father, [[Zhang Zuolin]], [[Huanggutun incident|by exploding a bomb above his train]] while it crossed under a railroad bridge. Surprisingly, the younger Zhang proved to be more independent and skilled than anyone had expected and declared his support for [[Chiang Kai-shek]], leading to the [[Chinese reunification (1928)|reunification of China in 1928]]. With the assistance of Australian journalist [[William Henry Donald]] and Dr. [[Harry Willis Miller]], he overcame his opium addiction in 1933 with the administering of [[Cantharidin]] auto-serum therapy.<ref name="nytobit" />

He was given the nickname "Hero of History" ({{Lang-zh|c=|s=千古功臣|labels=no}}) by [[Historiography of China|PRC historians]] because of his desire to reunite China and rid it of Japanese invaders; and was willing to pay the price and become "vice" leader of China (not because it was good that he was supporting the Kuomintang).{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} In order to rid his command of Japanese influence, he had two prominent pro-Tokyo officials executed in front of the assembled guests at a dinner party in January 1929. It was a hard decision for him to make. The two had powers over the heads of others. In May 1929, relations between the Kuomintang Nanjing and the excessively strengthened Feng Yuxiang worsened. In addition, the Japanese government, dissatisfied with the pro-Kuomintang policy of Zhang Zuolin, and now his son, threatened to "take the most decisive measures to ensure that the Kuomintang flag never flies over Manchuria". The "Young Marshal" supported Nanjing, and Feng's troops were pushed back to the outlying provinces of Chahar and Suiyuan, and in July 1929, Japan officially recognized Kuomintang China. At the same time, Zhang Xueliang and Chiang Kai-shek held a personal meeting in Beiping, at which a decision was made on the armed seizure of the Chinese Eastern Railway or CER. By pushing Zhang Xueliang to take this step, Chiang Kai-shek sought to make the Young Marshal completely dependent on Nanjing and at the same time raise his prestige and get most of the profits from the operation of the CER at the disposal of Nanjing. Zhang Xueliang, in turn, believed that the capture of the CER would strengthen his position in the Northeast, allow him to personally manage the profits of the CER, and ensure his independence from Nanjing. As a result, on July 10, 1929, the Conflict on the CER began. However, the Red Army showed a higher combat capability, and the conflict ended with the signing of the Khabarovsk Protocol of December 22, 1929.

[[File:Zhang Xueliang and Chiang Kai-shek4.jpg|thumb|Zhang and Chiang with their respective wives, Yu Fengzhi and [[Soong Mei-ling]]]]
[[File:Chang Hsüeh-liang.jpg|thumb|Autograph of Zhang Xueliang ({{circa |1930s}})]]

In 1930, when warlords [[Feng Yuxiang]] and [[Yan Xishan]] attempted to [[Central Plains War|overthrow]] Chiang Kai-shek's [[Nationalist government|Kuomintang government]], Zhang stepped in to support the [[Nanjing]]-based government against the Northern warlords in exchange for control of the key railroads in [[Hebei]] and the customs revenues from the port city of [[Tianjin]]. A year later, in the [[September 18 Incident|September 18 Mukden Incident]], Japanese troops attacked Zhang's forces in [[Shenyang]] in order to provoke a full-on war with China, which Chiang did not want to face until his forces were stronger.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chiang-Kai-shek|title=Chiang Kai-shek {{!}} Biography & Facts|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=December 5, 2018}}</ref>  In accordance with this strategy, Zhang's armies withdrew from the front lines without significant engagements, leading to the effective [[Japanese occupation of Manchuria|Japanese occupation]] of Zhang's former northeastern domain.{{sfn|Taylor|2009|p=93}} There has been speculation that Chiang Kai-Shek wrote a letter to Zhang asking him to pull his forces back, but Zhang later stated that he himself issued the orders. Apparently, Zhang was aware of how weak his forces were compared to the Japanese and wished to preserve his position by retaining a sizeable army. Nonetheless, this would still be in line with Chiang's overall strategic standings.