Chapter 3 Interrogation

  Look at the "bus"???? According to Zhou's deputy chief of staff, Li Zhi Gao and his party returned to the military department after dark. After Ye Xu and others were removed from their "anti-enemy" armbands, they were locked in separate cells in the military law office, guarded by soldiers from the guard company, and strictly forbidden anyone unrelated, including personnel from the special operations camp, from approaching.

  The room had no windows, and after a long period of disuse, the musty smell hit his nose as soon as he entered. Inside, there was only one wooden board bed, a thin military blanket, and a chamber pot in the corner. Ye Shouzheng simply swept the floor and sat silently on the bed.

  Dinner was brought by the guards, a full bowl of coarse grain rice, covered with a layer of boiled vegetables, without any greasy flavor. Ye Shouzhong was extremely hungry, and he ate up the whole bowl in three or two mouthfuls, then came to rinse his mouth with clear water, put down the bowl and chopsticks at the door, turned around and lay down on the bed, soon fell asleep soundly. At midnight, there were people talking outside the door, Ye Shouzhong knew it was the patrol, didn't pay attention, turned over and continued to sleep soundly.

  Early in the morning, Ye Shouzhong felt refreshed and invigorated. Following his years of military habit, after a simple wash, he squatted down into a horse stance, stretched out his limbs, and began to practice a routine of fist techniques by himself in the confinement room. He was seen with steady footsteps, advancing and retreating, his fists and palms dancing, pounding, crashing, and chopping with powerful force, making whooshing sounds.

  This fist is called "Kao Shan Fist", which has a lot of history. It is said to have been created by Li Guo, a general under the command of Li Zicheng, the king of Shun. Li Guo was Li Zicheng's nephew and was known for his integrity and bravery in battle, especially in the later period when he opposed the high-ranking officials of the rebel army and resisted the Qing army's entry into the pass. After Li Guo's defeat, he lived in seclusion on Mount Huanglong at the border of Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi provinces as a Taoist priest, traveling around to teach and spread his knowledge, including his fist techniques. Because Li Guo had great prestige among the people, they regarded him as their "reliable mountain", hence the name "Kao Shan Fist". Ten years ago, Ye Shouzhi joined the army and served as a communication officer under General Xu Jishen for several years. General Xu saw that Ye was brave and clever, so in his spare time, he taught him to read and write, and seeing that Ye was too weak, he also taught him this set of fist techniques to defend himself and improve his health. General Xu was very busy with military affairs and had little free time, so Ye Shouzhi could only roughly understand the key points and learned a superficial version of the technique.

  From then on, Ye Shouzhong practiced diligently and carefully, gradually finding the way. At the same time, he also taught Xu Changsheng, and their friendship deepened. In subsequent battles where they led troops alone, the two were invincible, earning the reputation of "Huang An's Twin Tigers". Last time, when Ye Shouzhong easily disarmed Li Zhihao, he used the "close-range entwining arm" technique from his fist method. Li Zhihao was caught off guard and naturally fell for it. After a series of punches, Ye Shouzhong stopped to catch his breath. At this time, breakfast arrived - coarse rice with salted vegetables.

  Just after eating, a shout came from outside the door: "Xu Changsheng, come out and follow us." Ye Shouzhi stepped back to the door and looked through the peephole, seeing Xu Changsheng being led away by guards. He knew that the military department was going to interrogate them. An hour later, Xu Changsheng was brought back, his face filled with indignation. As he passed by Ye Shouzhi's cell, he shouted loudly: "They say we are traitors who have surrendered to the enemy, what nonsense! They are slandering us!"

  Ye Shouzh's eyes widened in shock: What are these people from the Military Law Department trying to do? Can't they just fabricate charges randomly? Before he could react, the guards arrived at the door, opened it, and escorted Ye Shouzh into a courtyard. After turning two corners, they entered a room that looked like a conference room. Inside, a long table was placed facing the door, with three people sitting behind it. About three or four steps away from the table, a solitary tree stump was placed, and Ye Shouzh was pressed down onto it as soon as he approached. One guard stood at the door, while another stood behind Ye Shouzh, holding a gun and keeping watch. As the commander of the Special Forces Battalion of the Military Department, Ye Shouzh was very familiar with not only the department's leaders but also its regiment- and brigade-level cadres; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to hold his position as battalion commander.

  Ye Shouzh lifted his eyes to look at the long table, among the three people, one was a recorder, unfamiliar. The other two were from the Military Law Department, one was Yang Kezhang from the Trial Division, and the other was Gao Kezhang from the Military Discipline Division, both acquaintances. Ye Shouzh couldn't help but smile bitterly. In the room next to the interrogation room, there were also two people sitting silently, listening to the interrogation situation on this side.

  Yang Kechang asked with a stern face: We are ordered to interrogate you, and you must answer truthfully without hiding anything. What is your name and position? Ye Shouzhi replied calmly: My name is Ye Shouzhi, and I am the commander of the 4th Army's Special Task Force of the New Land Army. Do you know what crime you have committed? I only made mistakes, not crimes. Someone accused you of betraying the revolution and surrendering to Zhang Guotao. This is a slander! Who said that? Let him come out and say it in person. You organized a small clique, colluded with others, and escaped with guns; isn't this betrayal?

  Ye Shouzhong's face turned red with anger, and he said loudly: Alright, you want to hear the truth? I, Xu Changsheng, Chen Wu, and Yuan Xian were all originally from the Fourth Front Army. We joined the Red Army when we were young and have never been disloyal to the Party. This time, coming from Yan'an to here, our one and only thought was to resist Japan, save the country, and fight against the devils. But the New Fourth Army looks down on us, doesn't trust us, and suppresses us with low positions, so we have nothing to do all day. We are resentful in our hearts and want to return to work in the Eighth Route Army. The 129th Division is our old unit, and they have already engaged with the devils.

  You said you were going to find the Eighth Route Army, why didn't you head north but instead headed south? If you went directly to find the Eighth Route Army, they might not believe you. We wanted to go to Jiujiang first, take a boat to Wuhan to find the Eighth Route Army's office, and get an introduction letter before returning to our old unit. This is just your excuse. Why didn't you say you were going to find the Nationalist Party, going to find Zhang Guotao?

  Shut up! I joined the Red Army at 18, and the Kuomintang county magistrate led people to kill my parents and burn down our house. The hatred for killing one's father and mother cannot be shared under the same sky. As for Zhang Guotao's affairs, I didn't know about them before, but after arriving in Wuhan, I learned through transmission that he had surrendered to the enemy and betrayed the party. He was also the mastermind behind framing and killing General Xu Jishen and many other Red Army cadres. General Xu was my mentor, how can I forget the hatred for killing one's teacher? Why don't you use your brains to think about why I would go to surrender to the enemy who killed my father and teacher?!

  No matter how you put it, the fact is that you ran away with a gun, and if you don't confess honestly, you can't escape military punishment. You people don't talk about facts, arbitrarily fabricating charges, it's pointless to reason with you. I want to find the army commander, we are... Deputy Army Commander, Zhou Deputy Chief of Staff brought us from Yan'an, they know me.

  At this point, the two people in the next room couldn't listen anymore, looked at each other, shook their heads, stood up and walked out together. If Ye Shouzhong saw them now, he would definitely be shocked, because these two were exactly the military leaders Ye Shouzhong had mentioned earlier when he was shouting for justice: Yuan Guoping and Zhou Zikun.