Chapter 102: Middle East Road Incident (Conclusion)

As winter arrived, the Northeast Army's situation grew more dire. Soldiers lacking winter gear shivered in the –30 °C cold, and their firearms froze solid, unable to fire.

In November, the Soviet Army seized Mishan, breaching the Northeast Army's last line of defense. Zhang Xueliang, in Shenyang's Grand Marshal's Mansion, trembled as he read the battle report.

"Young Marshal, we can't fight any longer," the Chief of Staff said painfully. "Our casualties and prisoners exceed ten thousand, morale is low, and equipment losses are severe."

At the same time, while the flames of the Middle East Road Incident burned on the Northeast Border, a completely different voice was quietly rising on the other side of Huaxia. In a secretly issued issue of Red Flag Magazine, an editorial titled "Middle East Road Incident and the Future of the Huaxia Revolution" explicitly stated: "The Soviet Union's armed interference is an infringement on Huaxia's sovereignty; we resolutely oppose any form of imperialist aggression. At the same time, we must soberly recognize that the Jinling Government's so‑called reclamation of the road rights is essentially a political trick by the ruling class to shift domestic contradictions."

The article spread widely among scholars and workers, prompting deep reflection. In a secret room at Modu University, Professor Li Dazheng discussed the matter with progressive students.

"Professor, how should we view this conflict?" a bespectacled student asked.

Li Dazheng adjusted his glasses and said gravely, "We must examine it through a class‑analysis lens. The Jinling Government represents the interests of large landlords and the big bourgeoisie; their so‑called revolutionary diplomacy is merely a means to consolidate their own rule."

On the battlefield at Manzhouli, Liang Zhongjia led his remnants in a final patrol of the positions. The cold wind swept over the crater‑scarred steppe, stirring fine snow as if summoning the spirits of the dead.

"Brigade Commander, are we to admit defeat like this?" a young officer asked hoarsely.

Liang Zhongjia stared at the distant Soviet camp, silent for a long moment. Finally, he removed his cap, bowed deeply toward the fallen comrades, and was thereafter captured after the defeat.

Winter descended, yet the surge of popular awakening burned fiercely. On Jinling Road, demonstrators clashed with patrol police, and several students were arrested. After the news spread, universities across Modu promptly formed rescue committees, and the Lawyers Association dispatched volunteer lawyers to defend the detained students.

In prison, a student leader told the visiting comrade, "Don't worry about me. What matters is that more fellow countrymen see the truth and understand who truly stands on the people's side."

In December of the same year, the Jinling Government was forced to agree to negotiations. Under Soviet pressure, Huaxia's representative Cai Yunsheng traveled to Beili.

At the negotiating table, Soviet representative Ximanovoski adopted a hard line: "The Middle East Road must be restored to its original state, Soviet losses compensated, and the perpetrators severely punished."

Cai Yunsheng argued forcefully: "The Middle East Road rightfully belongs to Huaxia; we are merely reclaiming our own rights, what's wrong with that?"

But the disparity in strength rendered diplomatic rhetoric feeble. On December 22, the Beili Agreement was signed, and Huaxia was compelled to accept all Soviet terms.

In Shenyang, Zhang Xueliang locked himself in his study for three full days. When he emerged again, a few strands of white hair had appeared at his temples.

"Young Marshal…" the Detachment Leader said anxiously, looking at him.

Zhang Xueliang waved his hand, walked to the window. Outside, snowflakes swirled, covering the northeastern metropolis.

"Today's shame will never be forgotten," he whispered, each word weighing a thousand pounds.

When news of the Beili Agreement's signing arrived, it further confirmed the progressive forces' assessment. In a workers' night school, veteran worker Zhao Shifu remarked,

"Sure enough, it's exactly as predicted! The Kuomintang government cowers before the strong and fears the weak; originally there was Officer Li, yet the damned National Government actually dismissed Officer Li. Now they bow before the Soviet Union and can't even breathe in front of Japan."

Young worker Xiao Li clenched his fist: "So we cannot rely on this government to save the nation. We must depend on ourselves, on the unity of our workers and peasants!"

Outside, snowflakes swirled, yet the classroom brimmed with fiery revolutionary zeal.

On the front of public opinion, various progressive periodicals published articles delving into the nature of the Middle East Road Incident. Bolshevik Magazine ran a pivotal piece stating: "Given the current historical conditions, we must uphold an armed defense of the Soviet Union, for it is the world proletariat's revolutionary bastion. At the same time, we must also safeguard Huaxia's territorial sovereignty and national interests. The two are not contradictory but a dialectical unity."

The article sparked heated debate within the Party. At a secret meeting, a delegate from Hunan spoke:

"We aim to build the broadest anti‑imperialist, anti‑Chiang unified front. Within this front, we must unite all forces that can be united while preserving the proletariat's political independence."

The meeting ultimately adopted the Resolution on the Middle East Road Incident and the Party's Tasks, explicitly stating: "The current central task is to mobilize the masses, expose the Kuomintang Government's reactionary nature, and promote the formation of a people‑united anti‑imperialist, anti‑Chiang unified front."

At the same time, in the dusk of Jinling, the Chairman's office was dimly lit. The Chairman hurled the battle report onto the desk, the scattered pages revealing the Northeast Army's catastrophic casualties. He turned toward Li Yuxuan standing by the window, his voice tinged with suppressed fury:

"Jingxing, you see, without strength everything is empty talk. That young Zhang Xueliang knows no limits, and now he brings disgrace upon himself!"

Li Yuxuan's gaze swept over Zijin Mountain's summit, as if seeing the frozen battlefield a thousand miles away. He recalled the smoke over Jinling City during the Jinan Tragedy a year earlier, the soldiers fallen under Japanese artillery, the streets soaked with blood. Clenching his fingernails into his palm, he said gravely, "Young Master, our Arms Factory must accelerate production. We must not only forge guns and cannons but also produce tanks and aircraft. Today's Middle East Road, tomorrow's East Three Provinces, must no longer be carved up by others."

The Chairman paced to the military map, his finger tracing the Northeast Territory heavily: "Go, do what you must. Funds and machinery, I will have Ziwen allocate them promptly."

As night fell, the whistle at Harbin Train Station tore through the biting cold. A train bearing the Soviet flag hissed white steam as it left the platform; in the cab, a Soviet driver puffed on a pipe, eyeing the bowed Huaxia railway workers on the platform. The red signal light reflected on the rails like fresh blood.