Chapter 2: Many Things Return to Their Origins

  On the westbound train, Director Chen explained the situation in detail to Meng Sheng:

  In 1925, the fourteenth year of the Republic of China, the country was plagued by warlords and constant warfare. Broadly speaking, there were two major factions: one was the National Protection Army led by Sun Yat-sen with Guangzhou as its capital, known as the "Southern Army". The other faction consisted mainly of former Beiyang army officers such as Duan Qirui and Wu Peifu, who controlled the Northern Government in Beijing, known as the "Northern Army". These two major factions had strong military presence in provinces across the country, with warlords controlling various regions and creating numerous small and large factions.

  These warlords sometimes called each other brothers and swore to help each other, but at other times they turned against each other without mercy, all for the sake of personal gain. Li Duxiang occupied a region on the border of Hubei and Shaanxi provinces, while Tang Huaiyu controlled an area on the border of Shaanxi and Henan provinces. These regions were only a few dozen counties in size, with a population of just a few million people. Because their territories were small, they did not attract the attention of the major warlords. On the contrary, these two minor warlords feared being swallowed up by the more powerful military leaders and sought to ally themselves with stronger forces. Li Duxiang aligned himself with Chen Jiongming, a powerful figure in the Guangdong provincial government at the time, while Tang Huaiyu curried favor with Duan Qirui in Beijing. With their backing, they began to harbor ambitions of mutual conquest. However, since their military strength was roughly equal, neither side could gain an advantage. As the Southern Army's internal divisions grew and its power waned, Tang Huaiyu took advantage of the Northern Government's military might to launch a war aimed at eliminating Li Duxiang and seizing his territory. Tang's army swept forward with ease, while Li Duxiang suffered defeat after defeat. At that time, the Southern Army was too busy dealing with its own internal strife to come to Li's aid. In the end, Li Duxiang was surrounded in Dahong County, fighting a desperate battle. As the situation grew more dire and he feared that Tang Huaiyu would pursue him all the way to Tianjin, he hastily dispatched his chief of staff, Chen, disguised as a civilian, to send a message to his only son, Mengsheng.

  Li Mengsheng lay down on the bed after listening to Chen's account, silently smoking, Wang Tong and Lian Zhu also hung their heads, with tears in their eyes.

  Chen Zongcai said with a sob: "The governor's intention is to let you not go back, but to go to Da Hong County to join his sworn brother Han Dashuai."

  Lian Zhu gritted his teeth and said, "Big brother! Commander Li has raised us for so many years, taught us to study literature and martial arts, all for this day! We must rescue the commander even if we die in battle!"

  Wang Tong wiped away a tear and said: "With just us few, we won't be of much use. Let's go find General Han to bring reinforcements."

  Lian Zhu angrily shouted at Wang Tong: "If you're afraid of death, then don't follow us to the Great Flood!"

  Wang Tong grabbed Lian Zhu's collar and scolded: "You're the one who's afraid of death! Even if we go to our deaths, we can't save Li Bo, you idiot!"

  Lianzhu wanted to say something, but Mengsheng waved his hand to stop the argument and said: "What are you arguing about? The old man has been through so much for so many years, and he hasn't even been hit by a bullet. This shows that he is very lucky and has a strong fate. He has risen and fallen in the officialdom several times, and each time he has come back to life again. I don't believe he can't get through this time! Besides, the old man's sworn brother, General Han, has more than 30,000 elite soldiers under his command. The old man risked his life to save him from the hail of bullets, so how could he just watch as his benefactor dies without lending a hand? His defense area is less than 300 miles away from Da Hong County, and it would only take two or three days to get there. Who knows, by the time we get back, the old man may have already taken over Lao Tuan's territory and be celebrating with wine! What are we worrying about here?

  Wang Tong, Lian Zhu and Chen Canmou felt that he had some reason, and the atmosphere was no longer so heavy.

  Wang Tuo said: "You little guy, what kind of situation can you think of, I thought you would just be busy with your lower body all day, but it turns out you can also think about problems?! It seems that your upper body is not only used for support, but also for thinking."

  Li Mengsheng said with a hint of pride: "I am doing great good and not bothered by small evils."

  Lianzhu interjected inappropriately: "Big brother, in the two years we've been in Tianjin, you've had at least 30 women, and that's not even counting the small evils?"

  Li Mengsheng pretended to scold Lian Zhu sternly, saying: "Shut up! Your long tongue is for stirring food, not for speaking!"

  Chen Zhenmou gazed at these three quarrelsome young men and sighed, shaking his head "What do these 16 or 17 year old masters understand?"

  He knew in his heart that Li Dudoctor was probably doomed this time, with Tang's 50,000 troops pouring out and the straight system warlord Jiang Commander leading 50,000 elite soldiers to cooperate. Li Dudoctor's more than 50,000 people had almost all been killed or wounded, leaving only over 3,000 people from the Imperial Guard fighting to the death in Dahong County. When the war first started, Li Dudoctor had already sent someone to ask for help from Han Dashuai, but five batches of people were sent out and none returned, nor was there a letter from Han Dashuai. Where would these selfish and cunning military politicians have true friends? Thinking of this, Chen Canmou decided not to go back anymore, going back would be sending himself to death, why bother.

  As they spoke, the train stopped at Zhengyangmen East Station on the Jingfeng Railway, now known as Beijing Station. The station was crowded with people, and vendors' calls filled the air. It was late summer, and the contrast between the working-class people wearing white cotton jackets with worried expressions and the middle-class citizens in gray robes with dull faces, and the fashionable gentlemen in suits, the ladies in bright cheongsam dresses with bare legs, and the wealthy women walking their Pekingese dogs with noses upturned, was dazzling. Amidst the crowd, one or two sly-looking detectives wearing duck-billed caps would occasionally appear, eyeing people suspiciously and circling around those who caught their attention like a dog. Li Mengsheng and his two companions sat in the train compartment, watching the lively scene outside the window as they waited for departure.

  Lian Zhu muttered: "Director Chen said he was going to buy food, why hasn't he come back for half a day? I'm starving!"

  Meng Sheng looked out of the car and said: "I think Director Chen won't be coming back."

  "Why?"

  "There are so many food stalls in the station, but he went straight out of the station. Is he going to buy us a Manchu Han Imperial Feast?"

  "He's so ungrateful! Commander Li treated him so well, even paid for his wedding, and he can just slip away at a time like this? It's too unconscionable!"

  "What's the point of marrying a wife? If it weren't for my own father being trapped in Da Hong County, I would have escaped too. Just because he married me to a wife, does that mean I should give up my life for him? How could I be so useless, sacrificing my life for a woman, not worth it! I'd rather be a bastard than pretend to be one."

  Wang Tong withdrew his gaze from outside the window and looked at Li Mengsheng with disdain, saying: "A rich family really has many unfilial sons!"

  At this time, Li Mengsheng suddenly pointed outside the window and shouted: "Look quickly, look quickly!"

  A small commotion broke out at the station, a young woman rushed towards the train in a hurry, bumping into others as she ran. Behind her, two duck-billed caps and two northern soldiers chased after her, shouting: "Catch her! Catch her!"

  The woman jumped onto the carriage, and Li Mengsheng and the others only heard a string of urgent footsteps outside the compartment. As the footsteps approached the door of the compartment, Wang Tong suddenly opened the door of the compartment and grabbed the woman's arm, pulling her into the compartment.

  The woman shouted loudly: "Let me go! Let me go!"

  Wang Tong said: "Don't be afraid, we want to save you!"

  The woman, having just regained her composure, sat weakly on the bed and panted: "Please, sir, help me escape."

  The three men began to examine the woman carefully: she was about 15 or 16 years old, with short hair that was popular among female students during the "May Fourth" movement, which fell black and straight down her neck, making her skin look even whiter; her new-style jacket was a bit too small, accentuating her slender yet curvaceous figure; she wore a long black skirt, white stockings, and black round-toed leather shoes, dressed as a student. Looking at her face again, although it wasn't breathtakingly beautiful, she had big eyes with long eyelashes, a straight nose bridge, and a mouth that curved like a new moon, hinting at a smile without being joyful. All they heard her say was: "I'm running away from marriage, the man's family is chasing me with government troops, please help me, three gentlemen."

  "Now is a democratic China, an equal society between men and women, with freedom of marriage. How can there still be forced marriages? Don't worry, we will definitely help you get out of this predicament."

  Lian Zhu said: "Yes, our young master is indeed chivalrous. Don't be afraid, with us around, you'll definitely be fine!"

  Meng Sheng, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up: "You quickly get on the bed!" He casually covered the quilt over the woman's head and said, "Just say she is my sick wife."

  Just as the three of them had covered her with a quilt, the door to the private room was flung open and an agent rushed in. Before he could even speak, Li Mengsheng stood up and slapped him: "What are you doing?! Are you tired of living?!" The agent and the soldiers were all stunned, and the agent who had been hit covered his face and mumbled: "We have orders to arrest a female rebel leader." As he spoke, his eyes fixed on the person under the quilt on the bed.

  Wang Tong stood up and said: "My family's young master is the son of General Li, sworn brother of President Xu Shichang. Two days ago, he went to pay his respects to President Xu on behalf of General Li, but today he returned home because his wife fell ill." After finishing speaking, he took out a special permit for entering Beijing issued by the Beiyang government to various large and small warlords.

  The private investigator took the pass and confirmed that everything was in order, bowing his waist and smiling: "Misunderstanding, misunderstanding, I wish the lady a speedy recovery." After finishing speaking, he exited the room to search other boxes.

  Lian Zhu covered his mouth and whispered: "Fortunately, the news of our defeat has not yet reached Beijing, or we would not have been able to escape."

  The woman heard that it was safe outside and stood up saying: "Thank you, gentlemen, for your assistance."

  They asked each other's names, and the woman's name was Li Hanqiu, a student at Peking University.

  Wang Tong said: "They are still searching everywhere, where do you plan to go?"

  "Shandong, where my brother will pick me up."

  "Miss Li isn't running away from her wedding, is she?"

  "I'm sorry, I deceived you all earlier. Because of an article I wrote in the school newspaper criticizing the government's mistakes, they accused me of being a rebel and wanted to arrest me, so I had to escape from school. If you're afraid that I'll implicate you all, you can hand me over to the secret police."

  Wang Tong said excitedly: "The rise and fall of the world is the responsibility of every individual. Now, the country is in turmoil, with internal strife and foreign powers eyeing us covetously. We should do our utmost to serve the country, even if it means sacrificing our lives for its sake. How can we men remain indifferent and self-serving when a woman like you is able to rush about and call out to awaken the citizens?!"

  Meng Shengdao said: "Stop being so pedantic, this world is not something we can change. Wolves eat meat, dogs eat shit, one should be clear about their own weight."

  Li Mengsheng had witnessed his father's rise to the position of military governor through conquest and bloodshed since he was a child. His mother, a descendant of a prominent family in Jiangnan, taught him about benevolence and kindness from an early age. However, she passed away when Li was ten years old, and his father, busy with war and conquest, sent him to study abroad, rarely returning home. Although Li learned how to indulge in food, drink, and women while studying abroad, his inherent nature followed his mother's kindness, always believing that killing and arson were not the foundation of humanity and should not be a lifelong profession. Therefore, he despised all military personnel. He disagreed with Wang Tong and Han Qiu's advocacy for violent revolution, thinking "Pitiful are those who have lost their lives by the riverbank, all were once people in the spring dream." Who is not born to parents?

  Wang Tong's father was a revolutionary party during the Xinhai Revolution, who instigated Li Du's uprising and independence, and served as Li Du's chief of staff. Wang Tong had been reading his father's collection of revolutionary books since he was young, and under the influence of his father's physical practice, he formed his own set of cognition about the world.

  He shared similar views with Han Qiu, so along the way Wang Tong had a very pleasant conversation with Li Hanqiu, and they severely criticized current events in China.

  They say "a word out of place can ruin everything", so Meng Sheng stopped interrupting their conversation and took the connecting corridor to stroll through each carriage looking for fun.

  Han Qiu got off the train in Shijiazhuang and transferred to Shandong. Before parting, he had a deep impression on Wang Tongda and said: "China must have a democratic and bright day, if we have fate, we will meet under the free and democratic sky!"