Scenes 21 to 40

Zhang Xueliang and his wife are on the train. While the landscape is passing by outside, Zhang sees pictures of the loss of his old home, Manchuria, before his inner eye.

His wife is worried because Zhang plans to meet the liberal intellectual Du Zhongyuan (杜重远) in Shanghai who had been imprisoned by Jiang before [because of a critical article] and now is recovering in a sanatorium. Zhang orders his adjutant Zhao to arrange the meeting as soon as they reach Shanghai, but to be very careful in case Du should be shadowed by Jiang’s men.

Zhang Xueliang visits Du Zhongyuan, chief editor of the weekly “Xin Sheng” (新生) [and a fellow Manchurian]. Zhang wonders why Du had run into trouble, given the fact that his critical article had already passed the censure bureau before publication. Du, though, thinks it was probably due to pressure by the Japanese who were enraged by his article. Then they talk about the current situation in the fight against the Communists. Zhang is enraged because Jiang does not want to give him reinforcements after his defeat. But Du says it is no wonder since Zhang lost his battles. Zhang remarks that others as well have lost in battle but were given new troops. Du, though, reminds him that these others had a more intimate relation with Jiang. Zhang does not accept this, saying that he has helped Jiang many times and even retreated with his army from Manchuria on Jiang’s order without offering any resistance to the Japanese to save Jiang’s face through absolute loyalty. Agitated, Zhang shows Du the telegram proving that it was Jiang who gave him the order not to fight back the Japanese troops after the September 18th incident in 1931. Du, though, insists Zhang’s obedience had been a big mistake, given also the fact that the Japanese had killed Zhang’s own father. Thus, Zhang Xueliang would have had a double duty to resist. Zhang knows everybody blames him ever since as the “general who did not fight”.

Adjutant Zhao is keeping guard outside the room; an employee brings him a basket of fruits.

Du Zhongyuan criticizes Jiang for his policy of trying to eliminate the Communists before fighting the Japanese. As the Japanese are insatiable in gaining influence in China and are advancing further and further, he fears that soon the Chinese nation will have fallen into their hands. He advises Zhang to take up contact with Yang Hucheng and the Communist Party who issued a manifesto calling for resistance against Japan. Upon hearing this daring proposal, Zhang gets up from his chair and wanders through the room, struggling with himself. (The music turns into major).

Adjutant Zhao comes in to bring the fruits and reminds Zhang that it is time to go. After he has left the room again, Du hands Zhang two (Marxist) books: a basic course in dialectics, and an outline of political economics.

The leaders of the Communist Party are discussing their military strategy. When Li Kenong comes in, Zhou Enlai asks him about the situation in Nanjing. Li reports that after Zhang Xueliang’s troops suffered three major attacks, Zhang went to Shanghai immediately after the Fifth National Congress and now wishes to take up contacts with the CCP through Du Zhongyuan and Li Du (李杜). Furthermore, Yang Hucheng has received their manifesto and agrees on the CCP’s position. All are pleased to hear this, and Mao Zedong tells Zhou Enlai to send someone to get in touch with Yang and Zhang.

A car leaves an official building and drives through the streets of Xi’an until if stops in front of a one-story building in a side street. Zheng Guangqing (郑广清), head of the military intelligence agency in the Northwest (军统西北站站长), gets off and enters the building.

Director Li (李主任) of the information bureau of the “pacification headquarters in the Northwest” is playing Majiang with three women. Zheng comes in to tell him that there is something he has to report to him from the central government. They go to the next room where Zheng shows him a small “inflammatory” booklet entitled “Huo Lu” (活路) (the way out) that was printed by some of Yang Hucheng’s men. Then Zheng tells Li that a suspicious person visited Zhang Xueliang today; he asks Li to find out who that was. He also says that Zhang’s adjutant Zhao has frequent contact with some “dangerous elements” (i.e. leftists).

Adjutant Zhao climbs the stairs quickly and knocks on Zhang Xueliang’s door to inform him that Director Li wants to see him. Zhang tells Zhao to take care of his guest Mr. Ding [Li] (丁力), an old friend of his from Manchuria, while he goes over to meet Li. When adjutant Zhao enters the room and sees Ding, both greet each other very kindly: they are both members of the CCP and are happy to see each other again after a long time. They both could not contact the central committee for some time, and Ding hopes that he can get in touch with the central committee again to which the party members in Shanghai lost contact during the Long March. He has been introduced by Du Zhongyuan this time to come here.

Zhang orders Director Li to find out who has written that inflammatory booklet [“Huo Lu”] immediately. Li says it is very likely it were members of Yang Hucheng’s Northwestern Army.

Yang Hucheng sits on the sofa and seems to be sleeping while his secretary reports some figures to him, but when he comes to the balance of bank accounts in Shaanxi at Yang’s disposition, Yang immediately corrects him and tells him to look the matter up again in the notes from talks between himself and Song Ziwen (宋子文) [=T. V. Song, at the time head of the Bank of China] because the figures are too low. The secretary leaves the office to check things and another employee enters. He says that “everything is arranged” and gives Yang a key. The secretary comes back to tell Yang that he was right and the balance is 7.2, not 4.2 million. Yang wonders what tricks Song Ziwen might be playing in Nanjing. He then has the car prepared to go to his residence “Zhi Yuan” (止园) immediately.

Yang Hucheng gets on a car and the driver drives away quickly.

The car stops in front of the building; Yang Hucheng gets off and goes in. He tells the driver he will have a rest and anyone who wants to see him should come back on the next day. After taking off his coat and hat, Yang goes upstairs with fast steps where there is a man (Mr. Huang) waiting for him already. The man gives him a personal letter from Mao Zedong. After reading it carefully, Yang says that as for the situation in the Northwest much still depends on Zhang Xueliang.

Zhou Enlai, Li Kenong and Zhang Xueliang’s Regiment Commander Gao, taken captive by the Red Army, are having a discussion. The commander [who obviously has come to change his mind during his stay with the Communists] insists on going back to persuade Zhang Xueliang to cooperate with the CCP, but Zhou still has doubts whether it is safe enough for him to go back and whether he will be able to persuade Zhang. He suggests he should stay some days longer in order to study and learn more reasons for the resistance against Japan before going back, so that he will be able to convince Zhang by not only appealing to emotions only but also to reason.

The soldiers of the Red Army and the soldiers of the Northeastern Army who have been taken prisoners, are watching an entertaining performance together. First a group of girls are dancing to cheerful music, and then young female soldiers sing a moving song about the Northeastern Army’s home in Manchuria. Many of the POWs in the audience cannot hold back their tears and we see pictures of the Japanese invasion in Manchuria similar to those Zhang thought of on the train to Shanghai. The POWs dream about returning to their lost home.

Six soldiers of the Northeastern Army taken prisoner by the Red Army are sitting at a small table, discussing. They are disappointed by Jiang Jieshi and do not believe he will ever win back their home country because he is not as devoted to fight the Japanese as the Red Army is.

Zhang Xueliang enters the room hurriedly and asks Yang Hucheng if he has already heard about the advance of the Red Army. Yang gives him the CCP’s proclamation to march on the Japanese-held part of China, whereupon Zhang shows Yang a telegram he received from Nanjing ordering him to advance to the North in order to take the Red Army in the rear. Yang thinks this is not realistic, and Zhang adds that the GMD troops taken captive by the Communists return as propagandists for the CCP. Thus, they tell each other they know that every one of them has already had contacts with the CCP. They are thus in one boat and decide to reach an agreement with the Communists.

Wang Yizhe, a general of Zhang Xueliang’s Northeastern Army, is surprised when Regiment Commander Gao walks into his office to tell him that he has returned.

Zhang Xueliang is playing tennis with his wife. Adjutant Zhao comes to inform him that general Wang Yizhe wants to talk to him. At first Zhang does not want to go before he has finished the match, but when he hears that Regiment Commander Gao has been sent back by the Communists, he rushes to the phone immediately.

Zhang Xueliang answers the phone. Then he turns around and leaves the building.

Zhang Xueliang hurries to Ding Li’s room. He tells Ding that Regiment Commander Gao has come back to arrange a meeting between him and Communist Li Kenong in Northern Shaanxi. They decide to go there together.

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