Section 001 I am Zhang Xueliang (1)

  Foreword: Four years ago, when I first entered the Iron Blood Network and became a writer, the first book I wrote was a time-traveling military novel with Zhang Xueliang as the main character and the Northeast Army as the theme, titled "My Northeast Army". However, at that time, my writing skills and historical knowledge were not solid enough, and the writing conditions were limited. Moreover, I had no writing experience, so the book was written in a hurry, and many plots and strategic ideas were very immature and superficial, which greatly wasted a good topic.

  In fact, if one really wants to travel back to the warlord era of the Republic of China, Zhang Xueliang is indeed the number one choice, and the Northeast Army and Northeast are also the best foundation for development. Because Zhang Xueliang and the Northeast Army had unique conditions in the Republic of China era, and the richness and development of the Northeast region at that time were unmatched by the three provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning today.

  Therefore, I still remember this topic to this day. After repeated thinking and preparation, I decided to take up my pen again and write about the Northeast Army. The same theme, but a different story. Although it is a time-traveling novel, "realistic, objective, and reasonable" are still the principles of this book: taking materials from reality, plotting objectively, and developing reasonably.

  The main character Zhang Xueliang naturally has the "main character invincibility law", but his Northeast Army does not have the "main character halo law" to protect it. Therefore, in this book, the Northeast Army will often suffer defeats and cannot be "invincible". The development process of Zhang Xueliang and the Northeast is also a difficult journey.

  After all, victories are hard-won, and any path forward is thorny.

  Now that we've gotten back on track, let's begin our story.

  On December 25, 2013, Yangzi Evening News reported: Amidst the fluttering snowflakes and familiar music, Christmas arrived once again. Although this Western Christian holiday holds no religious significance for Chinese people, merely serving as an excuse for shopping sprees or travel, the streets of Yangzhou were still shrouded in a festive atmosphere. On that day, however, Mr. Meng and Ms. Chen from Yangzhou found themselves entangled in an unexpected incident. Their only son, Meng Mou, had gone out with friends for lunch and drinks that noon, but upon returning home and waking up from a nap, he became a completely different person, repeatedly claiming to be Zhang Xueliang. Despite the efforts of Mr. Meng, Ms. Chen, relatives, friends, and neighbors to persuade him otherwise, Meng Mou refused to acknowledge his true identity, insisting that he was indeed the famous "Young Marshal" Zhang Xueliang from the Republican era. Ms. Chen was devastated, unable to believe that her son had suddenly become "Young Marshal." In desperation, Mr. Meng called 110 and 120. The arriving medical personnel from 120 administered a sedative to the emotionally agitated Meng Mou before, with the assistance of police officers from 110, forcibly sending him to the psychiatric department of SuBei People's Hospital for observation and treatment. In the evening, upon learning of this news, our reporter rushed to the psychiatric department of Yangzhou SuBei People's Hospital to interview the man claiming to be "Young Marshal" Zhang Xueliang. Inside the monitored ward, the reporter met Meng Mou.

  Reporter: Mr. Meng, hello. I am a reporter from Yangzi Evening News.

  Mr. Meng (looking tired at the reporter and the cameraman beside him): What is that thing your companion is holding? (His speech indeed carries some Northeastern accent.)

  Reporter: It's the camera.

  Meng: You guys stopped using those cameras with magnesium flash a long time ago, right?

  Reporter: Yes, those old-fashioned cameras have been eliminated long ago.

  Mr. Meng: Is the hard card on your chest your ID? The text on it is also Simplified Chinese characters, right?

  Reporter: This is my press card. The characters on it are indeed Simplified Chinese characters, not Traditional Chinese characters from the Republic of China era.

  Meng Mou (sighed): It seems I've really arrived in the year 2013, which is also the Republic of China's 102nd year. (bitter smile)

  Reporter: Are you really Zhang Xueliang? But aren't you Meng Mou (Meng a certain person, real name omitted for privacy protection)?

  Mr. Meng (sighing again): Mr. Journalist, I know that in your eyes, I am now a mentally ill person. But I still want to make it clear that this body is indeed the one you call Mr. Meng, but I am actually Zhang Xueliang. I have been locked up for five hours, and during these five hours, I have roughly figured out what happened. My consciousness, or soul, has inexplicably traveled from Shenyang, Liaoning Province in 1928 to Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province in this year, attaching itself to the body of a young man named Mr. Meng. But my consciousness and thoughts are still those of Zhang Xueliang. I am indeed Zhang Xueliang.

  Reporter: Then should I address you as "General Zhang"?

  Mr. Meng: Alright. But I'm very clear that you're just humoring me, and in fact, you don't believe I'm Zhang Xueliang at all.

  Reporter (laughing): General Zhang, can you tell us about what happened?

  Here is the translation:

  "Of course," said Zhang Xueliang, nodding his head. "I only remember that it was the summer of 1928, and the Nationalist government in the south had launched a northern expedition. I was appointed by my father, Marshal Zhang Zuolin, as the commander of the Third Army Corps of the Anqing Army, and ordered to fight against the Northern Expeditionary Army in Henan Province. However, at that time, our situation was already very unfavorable. The Northwestern Army led by Feng Yuxiang and the Shanxi Army led by Yan Xishan, who had originally agreed to join forces with us, had betrayed us and joined the Nationalist government in the south. Our army and the Zhili-Ru Army were defeated on various battlefields, and my father ordered a retreat back to Northeast China, preparing to avoid the enemy's attack and accumulate strength for future counterattacks.

  He left Beijing on June 3rd at 2:00 am, taking the "Taishan" special train that had been waiting for him, and I was left in charge of the withdrawal of our troops. However, on June 4th at 5:30 am, my father's special train suddenly exploded at Huanggutun Station. When I received the news, I was extremely shocked and confused, not knowing whether my father was dead or alive.

  To avoid any unexpected events, I pretended to be calm and continued to command our troops to withdraw from Beijing. After the withdrawal was almost complete, I disguised myself and secretly returned to Shenyang on June 18th, accompanied by a few people including Cui Chengyi, Tan Hai, and Ma Yangwu. The next day, when we arrived at Shenyang West Station, we were greeted by Huang Xiansheng, the commander of the Shenyang Garrison.

  I was worried that the news would leak out, so I didn't notify anyone else. Then, accompanied by Cui Chengyi, Tan Hai, and Huang Xiansheng, I went to my father's mansion in Shenyang. At that time, I still had a glimmer of hope that my father might have only been injured, but when we entered the mansion, I realized that he had passed away on the day of the explosion at 9:30 am.

  The news was true, and I felt as if the sky was spinning and the earth was shaking. I fainted in front of my father's coffin. When I woke up later, I found myself in a strange place, surrounded by people dressed in strange clothes, and the season outside had suddenly changed from summer to winter. There was also an middle-aged couple who claimed to be my parents, and I discovered that my face and body were not mine, but someone else's. It was as if I had become a ghost possessing someone else's body.

  I thought I must have been hallucinating due to emotional excitement, and for a while, I didn't understand what was happening or how to react. Naturally, I felt anxious and confused. Later, I was forced into a car by seven or eight people wearing white coats and uniforms and sent here. I shouted that I was Zhang Xueliang, but no one believed me.

  Now I also know that this place is a mental hospital, and I am being treated as a mentally ill person." (He sighed, revealing a bitter expression.)

  Reporter: So, General Zhang, you're saying that on June 18th, 1928, due to excessive grief over the passing of your father, Marshal Zhang Zuolin, you... how can I put it? Your soul left your body and came to December 25th, 2013, and possessed this Mr. Meng's body?

  Meng (nodding): After being locked up, I've been thinking repeatedly, and it's probably just this. Although it sounds unbelievable, even I don't dare to believe it myself, but this is the only and most reasonable explanation. Otherwise, many things can't be explained, such as why I became another person, and why the season outside suddenly changed from summer to winter. At first, I thought it was an illusion or a dream, but now I've ruled out that possibility. Looking at your era again, the level of development is indeed far beyond what I was in before. What computers, mobile phones, TVs, and the camera that journalist next to you is carrying, as well as the high-rise buildings outside, are all unimaginable in my previous era. At first, I couldn't adapt to this era at all. Now I'm very sure, I really have come to the future, to your era 85 years later.

  Reporter: So, General Zhang, what are your plans next?

  Meng: I don't know either. My experience is like a fairy tale, no one would believe it. People in this era all think I'm mentally ill, and I'm speechless. I asked the doctor here for some history books earlier, although they were written in simplified Chinese characters that you use now, but I could still barely understand them. The historical records on those books left me speechless. My guess was correct, it was indeed the Japanese Kwantung Army that killed my father, and three years after I took over the military power of Northeast China, the Kwantung Army launched the "September 18 Incident", but I ordered not to resist, and abandoned the three provinces of Northeast China with tens of millions of soldiers without firing a shot. This is truly unbelievable. Later, I was sent by Chiang Kai-shek to Northwest China to suppress the Chinese Communist Party, but in December 12, 1936, I joined forces with Yang Hucheng, the leader of the Northwest Army, and launched the "Xi'an Incident", detaining Chiang Kai-shek and forcing him to unite with the Communist Party to resist Japan. Who would have thought that less than a year later, the Japanese would launch a full-scale invasion of China, and massacre over 300,000 of our compatriots in Nanjing? We fought for eight years, and it was truly a miserable fight. Later, major powers such as the United States, Germany, the Soviet Union, and Britain also joined the war, forming an unprecedented world war in human history. In the end, we China became one of the victorious countries, but the Nationalist Party and the Communist Party started fighting again. I couldn't believe it either, that the weak Communist Party could win the country in just three years after the war, while Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist Party were defeated and fled to Taiwan. Alas! These history books have left me truly speechless and unbelievable. Mr. Reporter, is China currently led by the Communist Party?

  Reporter: Yes, now China is called the People's Republic of China, a country led by the Communist Party of China.

  Meng sighed: The changes in history are indeed unpredictable! Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang, my father, Chiang Kai-shek, Feng Yuxiang, Yan Xishan, and Li Zongren fought each other for so many years, but in the end, this land fell into the hands of the Communist Party. As for me, how could I adopt a non-resistance policy during the "9/18" incident? It's unimaginable that I would simply hand over the Northeast to the Japanese. The fate of the Northeastern Army after retreating inland was truly tragic. Wang Jingwei, someone I respected, actually became the number one traitor of the Republic of China? And I lived to be 101 years old while being under house arrest by Chiang Kai-shek? (He shook his head, clearly confused)

  A nurse walked in from outside the door and prepared to administer medication for mental illness to Meng, asking the reporter to end the interview.

  Meng (bitterly smiling): It seems that in your era, I can only spend the rest of my life as a mentally ill person.

  Reporter: Then, General Zhang, thank you for accepting our interview, and wish you a speedy recovery.

  Meng (sighing again): See, you all think I'm mentally ill. Alas!

  Reporter's note: We later interviewed Professor Kong, the chief physician of the psychiatric department at Subei People's Hospital in Jiangsu Province, to consult with him about Meng's mental illness. Professor Kong explained that Meng's condition is a typical case of "delusional disorder," specifically "relationship delusional disorder." Delusional disorder, also known as delusional disorder disturbance, is a psychiatric diagnosis characterized by patients holding one or more non-bizarre delusions without any other symptoms of mental illness. Patients with delusional disorder do not have a history of schizophrenia and do not exhibit obvious hallucinations or hearing voices; they usually have normal physiological functions but develop severe hallucinations due to brain changes or external stimuli. Meng's symptoms are "acute relationship delusional disorder," where patients believe that events unrelated to them are actually related to themselves, and they firmly believe this and enter a state of self-hypnosis. Through fantasy, these patients fill the gap between their real-life relationships and those in their delusions, becoming trapped in a virtual world created by their delusions. This is similar to internet addiction, where people become obsessed with online virtual worlds. Additionally, some young people who are extremely fond of celebrities may also have this kind of fantasy. These young people may fantasize that they are the celebrity's lover or family member, or even imagine themselves as a character in a TV show starring the celebrity, using the plot of the show to create a fictional relationship with the celebrity. This kind of fantasy can be used to escape reality and fulfill their desire to be close to the celebrity. If this fantasy becomes too severe, it can also trigger delusional disorder. In this report, Meng is just an ordinary young man from Yangzhou in real life, but he suddenly became convinced that he was Zhang Xueliang from the Republic of China era. The main reason for this was long-term external stimulation and his own internal psychological suggestions. According to Meng's parents, he was a military history enthusiast who had many books on Republican history at home and loved to read about time-traveling military stories on websites like "Iron Blood Net." He spent thousands of yuan on these stories, which allowed modern people to travel back in time (mainly during the war) and change history using their prior knowledge. This kind of story can satisfy young people's desire for a "hot-blooded patriotic" fantasy. Meng was also obsessed with these stories and eventually developed the delusion that he had traveled back in time and become Zhang Xueliang. In his subconscious, he believed he was Zhang Xueliang and imitated him in terms of identity and tone.

  As the internet technology develops rapidly today, network culture is also becoming more and more prosperous, with various contents on the web that can be described as "abundant" and "vast". Among them, the theme of "crossing over" has become an important mainstream in the network, including some excellent works such as the earliest TV series "Love Across Time and Space", and "The Legend of Qin" which laid the foundation for the culture of crossing over. In recent years, TV series adapted from online novels about crossing over, such as "Step into the Past", "Palace Lock Heart Jade", and "Ultimate Three Kingdoms", have been extremely popular. However, these TV series about crossing over not only satisfy people's desire to "escape reality and imagine adventures" but also bring some negative influences that mislead the physical and mental health of young people. For example, in March 2012, two fifth-grade primary school students in Zhangpu County, Fujian Province jumped into a river together because they were obsessed with crossing over dramas and wanted to "cross over time and space", resulting in a tragic incident; In September 2011, a 15-year-old female student named Xiao Qiu (pseudonym) in Hongshan District, Wuhan City also tried to "cross over time and space" by drilling into a mountain cave, being hit by a car, and being struck by lightning because she was obsessed with crossing over dramas. Similar cases can be found all over the country. We hereby solemnly remind young people that so-called "crossing over" is just an illusion and impossible in reality. It's not wrong to like crossing over, but don't get too obsessed with it and neglect your real life and work or study. For example, Meng Mou, the person involved in this report, was originally a grassroots civil servant and a manager at a sewage treatment plant under the local government, but he became so obsessed with crossing over that he thought he was Zhang Xueliang and ended up being locked in a mental hospital for forced treatment. (Source: 2013-12-25)