Chapter 12: Selecting Troops 4

  For this massacre, there were many comments later on. Some said: "Wang Changhu was young and wanted to establish his authority, so he raised his butcher knife and killed more than a hundred people."

  Some say: "He was brought by Officer Liu's troops and killed people to vent his anger."

  There are many theories, and the most widely accepted one is a hypothesis proposed by Japanese scholars: Wang Changtiger hated it when others interfered with his troops; Liu Jiaoguan was his relative, but the soldiers he brought to Wang Changtiger were mostly from the martial arts world and had a close relationship with Liu Jiaoguan. This relationship must have been a concern for Wang Changtiger, who needed to eliminate it in order to lead the army. Therefore, this massacre occurred.

  Dividing line

  Wang Changhu stood on the reviewing stand, looking at the soldiers below who were all silent. He turned around and walked to General Wang Yizhe's side and saluted: "Reporting to the general, our preliminary selection has ended, please give us a speech."

  Wang Yizhe stood up and patted Wang Changhu's shoulder: "Hurry up, brother, take care of yourself. I won't say anything else, if you need me, just give a shout, I won't shirk. We'll leave now, you can deal with it yourself."

  Wang Changhu shook hands with several generals, saluted and bid farewell. He then returned to the reviewing stand. He beckoned to a deputy commander who walked over, they shook hands, and Wang Changhu said: "Hard work, brother! What's your surname?"

  "My surname is Li, courtesy name Tuibai, and my full name is Li Yuxi. I am the deputy commander of the 619th Regiment of the Seventh Independent Army. Please take care of me from now on, brothers Wang."

  Wang Changhu smiled and said, "Today, let the brothers of the 619th Regiment work hard. Tonight, I'll set up a few tables and invite the regiment's battalion-level brothers to have a drink, no one leaves until they're drunk."

  Li Yuxi waved his hand repeatedly: "No, no way, Brother Wang has come from afar as a guest, how can we let you spend money? Today it's just the two of us, stir-fry some dishes, have a drink, and get to know each other better, okay?"

  "Alright then, I'll leave you two alone." Wang Changhu said.

  "But I still need Brother Li's help here. Sorry to trouble you, Brother Li." Wang Changhu said again.

  "Our team leader said that during this period, we must help Wang Lao Di complete the task of selecting soldiers. After half a month, those 2,000 soldiers will arrive and we will be relieved. At that time, the 620th regiment will come up to take over, so it will be easier then. In addition, all the equipment, personnel, and technical personnel you need will be provided by our department first."

  Wang Changhu smiled and said: "Then I won't be polite, I want to call my people to cut their hair first, and then...

  Here is the translation:

  Below is an interview with Xu Yingfa, a guard of Wang Changtai, by American journalist Eva Kennedy in 1945:

  "Hello Mr. Xu Yingfa, I'm a reporter from Time Magazine in the US; can you talk about your impression of General Wang Changtian?" Eva asked.

  "Hello, Miss Aiwa, our General Wang is wise, powerful and humorous..." Xu Yingfa replied.

  "Sorry, what does your current behavior look like? Oh, right, you Chinese call this 'boot-licking'. Have you always had this impression of him?" Eva asked.

  "How could that be, at the beginning we always called him Wang Ba Dan." Xu Yingfa said casually, and then immediately realized it was wrong, hurriedly covering his mouth and vigilantly looking around.

  "What a turtle egg?" Eva muttered.

  Xu Yingfa quickly made a "shh" gesture, then said: "Aiwa, let's change the subject, okay? If I reveal too many secrets that shouldn't be leaked, I'll be punished with the most cruel punishment."

  "No, General Wang has already promised me. Let you cooperate with me as much as possible and tell me everything you know and understand about his past and present, whether it's positive or negative. I will sort it out and publish it in Time Magazine. If anything unexpected happens, I will plead with General Wang to exempt your punishment."

  Xu Ying muttered to herself: "Why is it always me, stupid bird. This is the general wanting to seduce you, hoping that when you get into his bed, you'll remember these words."

  Aiya then asked: "Why did you call him turtle egg?"

  Xu Yingfa adjusted his emotions and said: "That was in the spring of 1919, when I was still in prison. As a disciple of the Godly Thief School, I had gone to steal from a wealthy family but got caught. One day, several military vehicles took us skilled convicts to a military camp, where I saw many legendary figures from the Northeast Green Forest. Those people, if they were to unite, could have turned all of China upside down. What a pity."

  Later, an old predecessor from the green forest came and gave us an opportunity. As long as we listened to him, listened to a person named Wang Changhu's arrangement, formed a team, and said that our past would not be held accountable for our past mistakes. Whoever didn't want to start anew was excited at the time, everyone jumped and sang, and was so happy that they didn't sleep all night.

  The next day, we were taken to Beidaiying. As soon as we arrived at Beidaiying, many people felt that the atmosphere was not right. There were fortifications built around us, surrounded by barbed wire and machine guns; this was different from what we had imagined when we came, but we were still obedient and did not make any rash moves.

  Ava interrupted Xu Ying's words: "What kind of idea do you have?"

  Xu Yingfa replied, "At that time, there were many bandits in the Northeast, and many of them had been pacified. When they were pacified, it wasn't like being treated to a red carpet, but they would be taken care of like a superior, promoted to official positions, given new equipment, and allowed to recruit soldiers. We also had high morale at that time, not saying we were the number one or two in the world, but it was almost like that. If our group wanted to join a big gang (bandit den), many of us would be the top leaders. So think about it, with over 700 people at that time, how powerful we were!"

  Aiwa thought to herself: I've gone off topic.

  Xu Yingfa continued: "Actually, we didn't have many requirements, just hoping that Wang Changhu would be like Liu Bei, humble at the door, polite to us, and then say a sentence: 'The tiger wants to contend for the world, I hope you all will help me with your strength.' Then it's a big feast, during which we'll toast and whatnot. That's how it was when there were masters joining in. Now thinking back, at that time, I was really a bit brain-dead."

  Xu Yingfa continued: "As we entered the central area of the venue, everyone saw that old predecessor and felt a bit more at ease. Later, when Wang Changtiger appeared, everyone was even less convinced, especially after he said those few words..."

  "What did you say?" Eva asked.

  Xu Yingfa thought for a moment: "Saying we are rubbish, what is the dragon coiling around, what is the tiger lying down? The people in the martial arts world can't stand that kind of tone. So when he gave that order to kneel down, those green forest big shots didn't take him seriously at all. If it wasn't for the old senior shouting out ahead of time: "I also can't talk to you here..."

  "What happened after that?" Eva asked.

  Xu Yingfa's eyes were slightly red: "Later, more than a hundred people were shot on the spot, some of whom didn't die immediately, but bled to death. This son of a bitch is so cruel! At that time, we were all cursing in low voices, and I remember I cursed him over 800 times."

  Ava paused for a moment: "Didn't you think of resisting?"

  Xu Yingfa rubbed his eyes: "How could I not think of that! But the more we resisted this bastard, the more excited he became, and the more varied ways he found to torture us. At that time, he called us up and said he was going to shave our heads, who knew it would be a complete bald head, and even the women were no exception. At that time, there was a female thief named Li Xiao who didn't like it, picked up two stones and flew over, the bastard was very surprised, stretched out his hand and caught the stones, with one flick of his wrist he hit Li Xiao's ring jump hole and shoulder; Li Xiao sat down on the ground in an instant. It wasn't until then that everyone realized that the bastard had some kind of special skill, and everyone became more cautious.

  Aiwa suddenly asked: "What about Li Xiao?"

  "What else can we do? Return to the arms of the turtle egg (a Chinese insult)?"

  He immediately said: "I'm not very clear about this, I'll continue to tell you."

  At that time, everyone didn't understand why they had to shave their heads. Later, Wang Zhong said something about emphasizing hygiene, and after the hair grew out, it wasn't shaved again. However, they had to wash frequently and clean up diligently; some people didn't think so, as a result, those who didn't take a bath for a week were locked in a cage and directly sprayed with high-pressure water guns. When taking a bath, soap was also required, and there were many strict rules.

  Aiwa asked: "Isn't this normal? Don't you know the benefits of being hygienic?"

  Xu Yingfa replied: "How would we know? But that half-month training session was so exhausting every day, who still had the energy to wash?"

  This son of a gun was afraid we'd run away, so during dinner he gave us knockout drops. We all fell down; the next day when we got up, everyone looked and our clothes were all gone. One by one, we had to come out naked to get our clothes back before eating. This is still considered good treatment. If you happened to be caught in a nighttime emergency assembly, if you didn't come out, he'd order soldiers with machine guns to start firing. If you still didn't come out, they'd throw hand grenades inside because of this, dozens of people died. This guy was ruthless. You say you want an emergency assembly, what kind of medicine are you going to give us? To survive, we generally ate very little every day; it wasn't possible not to eat at all. At that time, there was a popular saying: "If you want to make it through the night safely, you must eat less for dinner today; if you want to get up early in the deep of night, the amount of medicine in your food must be small." Back then, we couldn't even skip dinner.

  When eating, there are soldiers making records. If you don't eat alone, the whole squad will have to pass through the ghost gate.

  "What is Guimen Pass?" Aiwa asked curiously.

  Xu Yingfa said: "It's just a single soldier training project, in front of it are marshes, sandy land, deep trenches, fire pits, high walls, and single-plank bridges."

  Marshes, sandy areas, and fire pits all have barbed wire on top. About 40-50 cm above the ground. To get through these places, you need to crawl or climb over, and you must keep your head down, otherwise you will be shot dead by real bullets. When crossing high walls, machine guns will pause for a few seconds, and you must seize this opportunity. Otherwise, you are sure to die.

  "Eva shouted: "My god! Can't you guys just get along?"

  Xu Yingfa curled his lips: "That bastard would have killed you on the spot. Because of this, several people went crazy and we never saw them again after they left the military camp. One of us, a girl named Long Mei'er, couldn't take it anymore and used her illusion technique to escape, but was caught by Wang Zhongxiao at the gate. Later, when the whole team gathered, Wang Zhongxiao had Long Mei'er hung up and whipped her more than thirty times in front of everyone; she didn't make a sound. To warn others, he left her hanging for a day and a night. It wasn't until Li Xiaoxian intervened that Long Mei'er was finally taken down. That son of a bitch is just a thug."

  Ava asked again: "Is this all you have for a two-week training session?"

  Xu Yingfa replied, "Of course not. Every day at 5 o'clock in the morning, I tidy up my internal affairs, fold my quilt into tofu blocks; then go out for exercise, usually running ten miles, and then have breakfast, before which I still need to sing songs."

  Aiwa asked: "What songs do you all sing? Can you come up with one on the spot?"

  Xu Ying blushed and smiled: "We usually sing a few songs, such as 'Three Main Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention', 'I am a Soldier' and 'Guerrilla Team Song'."

  Then I'll sing for everyone "I'm a Soldier".

  I am a soldier from among the common people

  Defeated the bandits and dog thieves

  Annihilated the Japanese army

  I am a soldier who loves his country and people.

  The national revolution tested me

  More resolute stance

  Hehehe gun barrel held tightly

  Eyes see clearly

  Who dares to launch war

  Determined to beat him mercilessly

  I am a soldier from among the common people

  ………

  As Xu Yingfa's hoarse voice slowly recalled, Aiwa Kennedy fell into deep thought about the content of the interview.

  The interview continued, with Eva asking: "After half a month, how many people are left?"

  Xu Yingfa recalled: "There were about 580 people left."

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