Chapter Eighteen: A Blood Oath

  I drove the car around the streets, at that time cars were still rare, but people already knew it wasn't some kind of frightening monster. Ordinary people stood on the side of the road watching the commotion, while those shopping and hawking continued as usual, yet also extremely lively.

  Usually, the old man goes out on the street with a big fanfare, and he starts to quiet down from afar. He has never seen such a lively scene before, which makes the old man so happy that he can't help but dance with joy. He asks Li Lianying this and that, and then points to the vendors on the side of the road and asks: "What are they doing?"

  After turning for a short while, I said: "Let's go back, we can't finish touring the whole city of Beijing even if we turn till tomorrow! Let's come again another day when the empress dowager is in a good mood!"

  The old man was still enthusiastic, but he said: "Alright, Auntie is tired today too, let's talk another day!"

  The car drove back and forth, but I couldn't let Li Dazong, who was sitting in the carriage, get away cheaply. When we arrived at a small ditch for draining sewage at the foot of the imperial city, I looked around to make sure no one was there, so he wouldn't pretend to be a tiger and go find someone. I gave the wheel a hit and let one of the rear wheels fall into the ditch, then stopped the carriage right there.

  I hung my head and said: "What a broken road! How did this stinky ditch come out? No way, General Li, let's get off the car and take a look!"

  I opened the car door and jumped out, walked to Li Lianying's side, saw him busy and flustered, his face red with anxiety, unable to open the car door. I helped him open the car door and supported him as he got out of the car.

  The two of us walked around to the back of the car and took a look, I said easily: "It's okay, no big deal, General Manager Li can push it from here, and I'll add some gas and we'll get out!"

  Li Lianying didn't want to lend a hand, looked at the base of the city wall and said: "There's a corner gate not far ahead, I'll go call two people to push it!"

  I waved my hand and said, "Forget it, don't let the old lady catch a cold here. Just push it a bit, come on, push this way, use some strength!" I had him stand behind the water-filled car wheel, leaning forward, with both hands pushing against the back of the oil tank.

  I got on the car, stepped on the gas pedal with all my might, and the car suddenly accelerated forward, rushing out of the puddle. I jumped off the car and said: "Director Li is still powerful, pushing the car in one go - ah, why are you lying in the water?"

  Li Lianying is now on all fours in the black, green, and smelly mud water, struggling desperately!

  Damn it, I just want this effect, let you taste the smell of the sewer first!

  I pretended to be shocked and hastily pulled him out, pulling him halfway up his waist. I feigned losing my grip again and let him fall back into the foul water, then finally pulled him out. Looking at Li Lianying, who was covered in mud from head to toe, I said: "How can you be so clumsy? When I accelerated, a little push would have been enough, why did you keep pushing until we almost fell into the ditch? Alright, hurry up and change your clothes through the side door. In this state, how can you sit next to the Old Buddha? You'll suffocate her!"

  Li Lianying, who was crying, shivered all over as the cold wind blew, and looked at her two muddy paws, so she said: "That servant has gone back to change his clothes!" After finishing speaking, he ran towards the small side door in a head-forward manner.

  Watching him run far away, I said in my heart: "Little guy, wait for it, the fierce one is still behind! See if I don't play you to death!"

  I got on the car, just started the engine, and Empress Dowager Cixi said: "Wait a minute, Little Li hasn't gotten on yet!"

  Damn it, and you even managed to lick out emotions from me!

  I sighed and said, "This foolish person, let him push the cart again, and he ended up pushing himself into the stinky ditch, getting his whole body smelly! I told the child to have him go back to the palace to change clothes!"

  Cixi looked at me and after a long while said: "You didn't deliberately provoke him, did you?"

  "I hastily said: 'How could that be? Although the child may not like his ugly appearance, we must take care of him for the sake of his mother's face, how can we still discipline him?'"

  The car drove back to the palace, and Empress Dowager Cixi said with a lingering tone: "One day, you'll still ride in it out of the palace. This is much more enjoyable than riding in a sedan chair. You can see all around, left and right, front and back. Hurry up and teach Little Li to drive for me!"

  I readily assented: "I obey the imperial mother's command!"

  After sending off Empress Dowager Cixi, I hastily led the ten guards out of the Houzaimen Gate and rushed to the military academy.

  As it was already noon, everyone on the playground was having lunch. Yaner, Feier and Weng Tonghe, Zhang Zhidong were also squatting there to eat. Following them to have lunch together were five middle-aged men in their thirties whom I had never seen before.

  The dishes were still quite hard, rice, pork stewed with noodles, everyone ate very fragrantly. Seeing me arrive, Zhang Zhidong hurriedly brought those few unfamiliar faces over to introduce them to me, saying: "Wan Sui, these are my friends, they know I'm here and say they want to attend military school! Come, meet Wan Sui Ye, this is Zhi Lian General Left Treasure and Wei Rugui." I looked at these two people, both with strong builds, indeed like a tiger general. I knew that Left Treasure had died in battle on the Korean battlefield, since I came, I couldn't let him die there in vain.

  "This is Zuō Zhōng Yǔn Xī Jūn, Zuō Shù Zǐ Shèng Yù, this is Fúzhōu Zǒng Bīng ān Píng Jūn. All of them are martial artists since childhood and want to serve the country. They all want to follow the great emperor and asked me to introduce them, please forgive my impertinence for bringing them here!"

  I was delighted to meet with several people, and then said: "Zhang Ai is indeed a pillar of mine, truly understanding my heart! The revival of China is not something that can be achieved by just a few or hundreds of people's efforts. It requires the joint struggle of tens of thousands of brave warriors. I am overjoyed that you have all come, and I hope you will all stay to fight together for the rise of China!"

  All five of us were overjoyed, but I was worried that they couldn't leave their respective posts. Zhang Zhidong said: "Don't worry, these three generals are all on vacation, it's not a problem if there are more; this pair has nothing to do every day except for attending court, so they can come with me!"

  I happily said: "That's great, let's all stay and discuss the military strategy with me!"

  Swallow came over and served me a bowl of rice and a dish, Long'an hastily said: "Is it the emperor or not——"

  I waved my hand and said, "My teacher and General Zhang are all eating here, what's so special about me? An army unit, in peacetime, only when officers and soldiers live together, eat together, train together, can they share the same hardships and be willing to shed blood in battle! General Zhang, don't you agree?"

  Zhang Zhidong immediately said: "Wan Cai's words are absolutely right, whether officials or soldiers, they are all guardians of the country, and only when their hearts are united can they be invincible!"

  I nodded: "The general leads the soldiers, the most important thing is to know the soldiers and love the soldiers. Knowing the soldiers can mobilize the greatest combat effectiveness of the soldiers, loving the soldiers can make them fight to the death! This is crucial for a general!"

  Zhang Zhidong hastily said: "Your servant will remember it in his heart and definitely will not shame the imperial edict that has been entrusted to him!"

  I ate while walking, and saw the warriors eating and discussing the fighting skills taught by Fei Er. They excitedly said: "No wonder Teacher can beat us three hundred alone! It turns out that all of this is clever strength! This martial art is too powerful!"

  "How can there be Shaolin, Wudang and Huashan styles all mixed together? Which school of martial arts is this supposed to be? The more I learn, the more confused I get!"

  "You're stupid, this is our teacher's own creation, integrating the strengths of various schools and summarizing the essence of martial arts. If I had to say which school it belongs to, I'd say it's the Huang School! We are all successors of the Huang School of Martial Arts, the greatest martial art in the world!"

  Hearing this, I thought to myself: "Fei has already established her authority, now it's time for Yan to establish hers!"

  After dinner, I gave a lesson to everyone in the great hall: We are children of China.

  I drew a map on a large board and said: "Here, I and you are all children of China. Our great country has dozens of ethnic groups, including Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Tibetan, etc., who are all members of this big family without distinction or inequality. Therefore, our students cannot discriminate against anyone, nor can they have any inferior thoughts! We are all Chinese nation! Outside of our China, there are many countries like Japan, the United States, France, Germany, and England, which are all equal to us. In recent years, due to some corrupt officials, our country has not improved people's lives, developed production, or advanced science and technology, resulting in a weak military, making us fall behind England, America, France, Germany, and even little Japan. These countries have come up with all sorts of ways to attack us, occupy our land, plunder our wealth, and insult our women! If we fall behind, we will be beaten; if we fall behind, we will be bullied! Can we still tolerate the invasion of foreign enemies?"

  The crowd immediately thundered: "No way!"

  "I say: 'Yes, we cannot! What to do? We must strive for self-improvement and make our China strong! Let the country become powerful, let the people become rich, let our army be invincible in the world! Let those foreign devils who occupy our Chinese land get out! Let them spit out what they have swallowed, double it back to us. Whoever offends the heavenly authority of China will be punished, no matter how far away they are!'"

  Zhang Zhidong stood up, with tears in his eyes and raised his hand shouting: "Those who offend the heavenly authority of China will be punished no matter how far away they are!"

  All the soldiers stood up, raised their hands and shouted: "Those who offend the heavenly mandate of China will be punished no matter how far away they are!"

  "I continue to say: 'My Dongjiang Military Academy is not a place to cultivate ordinary soldiers, but a place to cultivate high-ranking officers of the Chinese army who can lead the vanguard on the battlefield tomorrow. I hope that each and every one of you will not disappoint my expectations! We want to make our country strong, make our military invincible in the world, but those corrupt officials, those powerful princes and ministers, they are embezzling national funds to enrich themselves, plundering the treasury to fill their own pockets. They do not allow us to implement a strategy of strengthening the nation, enriching the people, so we must confront them head-on, take power from their hands, and grasp it in our own hands. This requires a life-and-death struggle with them. I am prepared for this struggle, to take the country's great power, the military's great power into our own hands, to take the first step towards China's prosperity and greatness! Who is willing to follow me? Those who are not willing can leave now, I will not make it difficult for you; those who are willing, let us swear an oath in blood, here and now, to sacrifice ourselves for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation!"

  As soon as I finished speaking, Zhang Zhidong knelt down on the ground: "Your Majesty, I, Zhang Zhidong, am willing to follow you to revive China, even if it means sacrificing my life!"

  "I, Wen Tong, am willing!"

  "Your Majesty, Lin Yan is willing!"

  "I, Huang Fei, am willing!"

  "I, Zuo Baogui, am willing!"

  “———”

  More than three hundred people knelt on the ground, I waved my hand, and Long'an immediately ordered someone to bring a large wine jar and a small knife. I was the first to take the knife and cut my middle finger, dripping blood into the wine jar. Zhang Zhidong, Weng Tonghe - all 320 of us dripped our blood into the wine jar.

  "I say: From now on, I am not an emperor here, I am also a member of the school, I am your principal! In order to be like everyone else, I will give myself another name. In the military school, I will be called Long Xiangyu! You can call me Principal Long in the military school. The flag of our Dongdian Military School is a red flag with a golden star and a flying golden dragon embroidered on it! Alright, now let's take an oath together: We are the children of China, willing to sacrifice for the prosperity of China, the prosperity of the nation, advance bravely, drive out foreign invaders, sweep away traitors, not afraid of bleeding sacrifices, not sparing our lives, we will definitely make the Chinese dragon flag fly all over the world! The oath-taker is Long Xiangyu!"

  "Long live the unity of our great motherland!"

  "Proclamation of Zhang Zhidong!"

  Affiant:

  Then everyone raised their big bowls and drank down the blood wine in them.