Chapter Thirty-Three: Beiping

  Looking at the ruined buildings of Baoding Military Academy, Fu Zuoyi sighed, "In my youth, I studied here to make our country strong, but the former glory has become a relic. Six thousand young men (Baoding Military Academy had six thousand graduates) were humiliated in the civil war for twenty years! When can this shame be washed away?"

  "Right on this year!"

  "Thanks for your wise words, younger brother!"

  "I would rather not guess correctly, after all, fighting again in three or five years will be beneficial for the country."

  "Unfortunately, time doesn't wait for me." Fu Zuoyi shook his head. "Further north is the territory of the 29th Army, I don't want to see Song Mingxuan and others, my deputy officer and guard squad will escort you to Beiping, take care!"

  "Brother Yisheng, take care! This is the method of constructing artillery fortifications for positional defense that I have conceived. Please pass it on to the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army's artillery troops." I added in a low voice, "Be careful not to become the second Shu Min (Li Shengda), waiting for the army to rise up in resistance."

  I bid farewell to Fu Zuoyi with a wave of my hand, and after some thought, I still didn't tell him about the incident in May this year. Hopefully everything will be alright, as for that substitute Yang Xieou, let him go! (In May 1937, Rong Honglian hosted a banquet at Jin Temple for his classmates from Baoding, and since Fu Zuoyi was the only one who came from Suiyuan, he was treated as the guest of honor. However, Fu repeatedly declined to take the seat of honor, citing the presence of seniors from Baoding. Later, Yang Xieou took the seat instead, and after the banquet, he returned home and died suddenly, with his face turning black, suspected of being poisoned. When Fu Zuoyi heard about it in Taiyuan, he escaped by taking a flight to Beiping under an assumed name, and never saw Yan Xishan again.)

  Nanyuan, Headquarters of the 29th Army

  "Ah, young master! Is this Mrs. Song? You two have come from afar, and Mingxuan has failed to welcome you properly!"

  At the first meeting, Song Zheyuan is quite familiar with himself! The transition period from a military man to a politician! Yunyan was soon surrounded by a group of official wives and chatted endlessly, while I had to greet the leaders of the 29th Army one by one. Except for Qin Dechun who had met in Nanjing before, they were all meeting for the first time. Fortunately, although I'm young, my seniority is high!

  "Jie San brother (Tong Lin Ge, alias Jie San, Deputy Commander of the 29th Army)... Shao Wen brother, it's been a long time no see (Qin De Chun, alias Shao Wen, Deputy Commander of the 29th Army and Mayor of Beiping)... Jie Ren brother (Zhang Wei Fan, alias Jie Ren, Chief of Staff of the 29th Army and General Advisor)... Ying Zhi brother (Feng Zhi An, alias Ying Zhi, Commander of the 37th Division of the 29th Army)... Shun Chen brother (Zhao Deng Yu, alias Shun Chen, Commander of the 132nd Division of the 29th Army)... Cai Ting brother (Zheng Da Zhang, alias Cai Ting, Commander of the 9th Cavalry Division of the 29th Army), haha!"

  Song Zheyuan saw me smile and couldn't help but ask: "Younger brother, why are you smiling?"

  "Little brother just wants to ask, Cai Ting brother back then in Guide... Mr. Geng Guang was indeed left with a lingering fear!" (During the Central Plains War in May 1930, Zheng Daqing led the Northwestern Army's cavalry to attack the rear of the Central Army, suddenly breaking into the airport in Guide and destroying 12 aircraft before retreating; however, it is unknown that at this time Chiang Kai-shek was commanding at the front line with his chief of staff Yang Jie, and their special train was stopped at Zhujiecun Station near Guide, with only a small number of guards; if Zheng had led an attack, Chiang and Yang would have definitely been captured or killed.)

  "Hahaha!"

  "May I ask where General Zhang Zizhong (style name Jun Tong) and General Liu Ruming (style name Zi Liang) are?"

  Song Zheyuan replied: "Huang Jigao is still in Tianjin, and Zi Liang is accompanying the German advisor on his way to Beiping. They will probably arrive in a few days. How about letting Zi An and his wife stay for a short while?"

  "All right, my younger brother and sister are also tired from the journey. Shao Wen, please help me ask your parents to find someone for me, also named Zheng Dazhang, haha, with the same name as Cai Ting, he is a scholar who returned to China after studying in France."

  Qin Dechun also smiled: "Hehe, it just so happens that we mentioned this person earlier! Because he has the same name as Cai Ting, I remembered him; he works under Yan Muguang (Yan Jici, courtesy name Muguang, director of the Physics Institute of National Beiping Research Academy), and a search would reveal his identity."

  Zhao Dengyu walked over and looked at me saying: "I heard that Mr. Song is also serving as the deputy director of the Arsenal?"

  Look around and calm down, are you here to make a scene? I calmed myself down and replied: "Yes."

  "Does Mr. Song not know that this is already a national defense frontline?"

  "I know."

  "Why did the Ordnance Bureau only give us, the 29th Army, a few hand grenades, just a bit more than ordinary hand bombs? Where are the trench defense guns they promised to give us last year?"

  "This is not decided by the Ordnance Department, the Ordnance Department is only responsible for the production of weapons and ammunition, the right to allocate is in the Military Affairs Department; I think General will also be clear about this."

  "Could it be that Mr. Song is still a senior advisor to the Military Commission? Was it you who suggested moving our artillery from the defense line to the Xicheng Line?"

  How did they find out so quickly? I was startled and then laughed, saying: "That's right, it was my proposal and the Chairman approved it."

  Tong Lin Ge interjected: "Please ask Mr. Song to explain!"

  "The Xuzhou-Huai line will be the absolute defense line, and there can be no loss; while in North China here we have room for step-by-step resistance, and its importance can only be placed after the Xuzhou-Huai line."

  "What are we supposed to use against the enemy tanks? Those hand grenades you gave us?"

  Looks like someone is sowing discord again? "The national power is declining, and the central government has no way to deal with it. Compared to a few years ago, having these hand grenades is already progress. At least they can destroy enemy tanks at close range. Moreover, the central government will provide you with an artillery battalion within three months, equipped with 120 heavy mortars produced by my own factory as compensation. Brand new light and fast-firing cannons, far superior to your old-fashioned mountain cannons." I also spoke bluntly, "If you only know the former but not the latter, then I can only say that your internal line has been bought off by other factions."

  "Really?"

  "I guarantee it! Even if someone else holds back, I can provide for you directly!"

  "Since you've said it's come to this point, we can't say anything more. Let's wait and see three months later!"

  Still not used to the winter in the north, I got up early. Since Falkenhausen and his party had not yet arrived, Yunyan and I took our entourage to the 'National North China Research Institute of Physics' and after greeting Yan Jici, we went to the 'Radium Institute'. Looking at Zheng Dazhang standing in front of a dilapidated three-room house, how like a later-day vagabond troupe?

  "Are you Mr. Zhang? My name is Song Zian, from Nanjing. I'm a fellow practitioner and pen pal of yours, and my good friend Ms. Lanhuajiang entrusted me with this letter for you." I took out the letter from Ms. Lanhuajiang.

  As Zheng Dazhang lowered his head to read the letter, I turned to a young man beside him and asked, "Is this gentleman Mr. Yang Chengzong?"

  "It was me." Looking at Yang Chengzong's unyielding expression, I couldn't help but think that this was the person who, in the early 1960s, had single-handedly purified uranium ore with only a few parts per million of uranium content to produce pure uranium with only a few parts per million impurities. He was an indispensable expert for the atomic bomb project! However, at that time, he was just a young student who had graduated from university not long ago; I turned to look at his true teacher, Zheng Dazhang, Curie's high disciple, and Ph.D. in physics from France (historical fact), who was excitedly trembling while reading Lan Hua's letter.

  "What's wrong with you, teacher?"

  "Is this true? Is it really true?"

  "How about it? Want to go take a look?" Why did I sound like a weird uncle? "Cough cough!"

  "Of course, of course we'll go!" Zheng Dazhang calmed down a bit, "May I ask who you are?"

  "Sung Tzu-an, Vice-Director of the Arsenal, High Adviser to the Military Council. This is my wife and also sister of Madame Lanhua."

  "Mr. Zheng, war is about to break out soon and Beiping will be on the front line. For the country and for the people, my sister hopes that you can go south to participate in their research work and create a 'myth'."

  "Xiao Yang, what do you think?"

  Yang Chengzong also hastily read the letter, "Miss Lan said a lot that I don't understand yet, but I saw hope! Teacher, it should be up to you to decide."

  "What's going on here?"

  "We'll help you move, we'll cover the cost, we'll go to Mr. Mu Guang's place to settle afterwards, this is for the transportation fee."

  "I agree! I'll go to Wanbin's place and bid farewell to Mugong, you guys hurry up and pack, those who are willing to follow us south can come together."

  As I watched them start to take action, Yuyan and I exchanged a smile. I turned to the few who had been following us from Nanjing and said: "I don't know if you are friends from the Imperial Guard or the Special Affairs Bureau, but in any case, Beijing is our final stop. After Mr. Gu arrives, we will return to Nanjing. Would you be willing to help them out and send them, along with their belongings, to my factory in Shangrao? This concerns national affairs, not personal matters."

  "No problem, madam wants them to listen to Mr. everything; besides, Chairman also took care of this Mr. Zheng (historical fact)."

  "That's good." Seeing them dispatched to follow Zheng Dazhang and the others, I smiled and said: "Dear Wild Goose, let's take a stroll around Beijing City!"

  Relying on the prestige of being a deputy officer of the 29th Army and an unknown department's 'escort', I swept through all the scenic spots in Beijing that I remembered from my past life, and also left behind a photo of me and Yan, only this time it was black and white.

  The Forbidden City. We were excited to visit the three main halls, but as soon as we stepped through the Gate of Supreme Harmony, we saw a large crowd hastily packing and moving away the treasures of the Chinese nation. Our mood suddenly turned gloomy. Thinking about these precious artifacts that represent the history of the Chinese nation, which had been displaced for over a decade, from Beijing to Nanjing, from Nanjing to Chongqing, and finally from Shanghai to Taipei... I let out a deep sigh.

  "Let's go, Zian!" The goose suddenly cried.

  "Alright, let's head back and prepare for battle!"

  The composition and deployment of the 29th Army before the Marco Polo Bridge Incident

  Feng Zhi'an's 37th Division stationed in Xiyuan, jurisdiction over the 109th, 110th, 111th and Independent 25th Brigade.

  Zhang Zizhong's 38th Division stationed in Tianjin, jurisdiction over the 112th, 113th, 114th and Independent 26th Brigade.

  Zhao Dengyu's 132nd Division stationed in Hejian, under its jurisdiction are the 1st, 2nd, Independent 27th and Independent 28th Brigades.

  Liu Ruming's 143rd Division stationed in Zhangjiakou, under its jurisdiction were the 1st and 2nd Brigade and two security brigades.

  Zheng Dazhang led the 9th Division stationed in Nanyuan, with jurisdiction over three regiments.

  The 29th Army directly under the Special Operations Brigade, the Instructional Corps is stationed in Nanyuan; the independent 29th Brigade is stationed in Beiyuan.

  Shi You San Ji Bei Bao An Dui (4 regiments) stationed in Huang Si.

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