Chapter 12

  In the spring of 1934, the Taklamakan Desert was broken by planes and tanks. It was also the last time Swedish explorer Sven Hedin made a trip to China. Mr. Hedin spent fifty years making five in-depth trips to Central Asia, searching for the exact location of Lop Nur. He became one with this land. When he realized that Britain and Russia were going to take over this land, he suggested to the National Government to quickly build a national defense highway from inland China to Xinjiang and reopen the ancient Silk Road. Mr. Hedin was commissioned by the National Government to conduct survey activities in Xinjiang for the last time at the age of seventy.

  Sven Hedin (1865-1952): Swedish explorer.

  In Hami and Turpan, He Ding's survey team was warmly received by Ma Zhongying.

  When the reconnaissance team arrived in Korla, there were defeated soldiers everywhere, and people were talking about Ma Zhongying's death. The flyers dropped by Soviet planes fluttered like snowflakes. Defeated soldiers ran from the mountains to Kuche. He Ding asked these soldiers: "You no longer have a commander, why don't you go back to your hometown in Gansu?"

  "Our commander is Ma Zhongying."

  "Ma Zhongying is dead."

  "Nonsense! The Soviets and Sheng Shicai are in cahoots, they're just farting in the same pants. They say General Zhang died, so he's dead? It's not that easy!"

  One batch of soldiers after another, they were firm in their words and did not believe that the commander would die. These robust and ruddy young men from Gansu had no despair or desperation after their defeat, and returned to the main road from the depths of the desert as if they were going to a temple fair.

  That ancient Silk Road along the southern foot of Tian Shan Mountain, which led to Kuche, was gathering more and more soldiers from the 36th Division. They called Mr. Hedin "General Commander" - a foreign friend. In the Gobi Desert outside Hami City, Hedin and his survey team unexpectedly found General Commander and his soldiers playing football together! Football in the remote Central Asian desert! The foreign friends were overjoyed, two Swedish young men were itching to join in, and they excitedly shouted like horses. What a vast football field! The goal was on the horizon, with the sun shining brightly. Aim at the sun - shoot! When General Commander heard that this seventy-year-old man had been longing for China since his youth, had entered the death sea several times, and crossed the Eurasian continent, he admired him deeply and personally poured tea for the old Swedish man. The old man treated them to Western pastries, and found out that this young commander was a strict Muslim who didn't drink or smoke, only ate a small amount of biscuits and beef, and was very frugal with his food. He was slender and tall, yet robust, a standard classical warrior in the style of Sparta.

  "What is Sparta?"

  The old man couldn't find the right words for a moment, so he simply used Ma Chao from "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" to explain, "You are like General Ma Chao, who rebelled against the Western Liang in his white robe."

  "Haha, Ma Chao, Ma Zhongying, good, good! It's really you. You're just like my father, if my father were to live to your age, I'd be at peace."

  "Has your father passed away?"

  "The National Army has been ruined."

  "I'm sorry for causing you sorrow."

  "I'm not sad, what's there to be sad about? A person's life and death are all predetermined."

  The general raised his head and shouted twice, "River State Flower": Drop the little sister and walk to the west mouth, leave River State and pass Lanzhou again; The blood debt was packed in my heart, and I want my son to avenge me.

  Singing red neck singing red face, the commander took off his military uniform, a white shirt tied in his belt, and brought a group of young men to charge up the Gobi Desert again. A shot, the football like a shell "Boom" hit the sun! The earth opened up a big pool of red blood. Brilliant desert sunset.

  "He's still just a kid, my little son is about his age."

  The old man's eyes sparkled with tears. It must have been God who stretched out his wonderful hand and drew a line between the fairy-tale forest kingdom of Northern Europe and the desolate land of Central Asia. The old man stopped another group of soldiers, "Your commander is dead, go find his body and hold a funeral for him."

  "General Gao can't die. If he could, he wouldn't be General Gao. You're a foreign friend of General Gao's, you shouldn't believe this rumor."

  "But you enter is sea of death."

  "We've gone in and out several times, the plane can't catch up. We go in from this side and come out from that side like drinking cold water." Mr. He Ding almost fainted, he has been in several times, each time experiencing the ordeal of death.

  Even he himself couldn't believe how they were still alive, these soldiers were playing hide and seek with the kids with great enthusiasm and without a hint of fear. He Dong asked them in a low voice, "What do you eat?"

  "Eat four-legged snakes, eat poplar trees."

  Four-legged snake: refers to lizard.

  "What do you drink in the desert where there is no water?"

  "Drink horse urine, drink human urine, and lick the sweat off people's bodies."

  Now the old man believed that General Garcia was still alive, and death, which could not be conquered, was simply a myth.

  The last one to walk out of the sea of death was Gao Commander. Heaven has eyes, a storm blew him out of the sand layer, and the sand in his ears and nose was also blown clean. "Washed with a sandy bath, like a whetstone, it grinds people to shine."

  On the way from Korla to Kuche, Ma Zhongying finally got on a car. "I've taken a car in Nanjing and ridden horses all the way to the northwest, but Taklamakan Desert needs cars, and planes are even better." He Ding was surprised at Ma Zhongying's optimism, "You're fleeing for your life, General." "I'm fleeing, but I'll rise again. It's not my first time rising from the ashes."

  Ma Zhongying told He Ding about his big battle with Feng Yuxiang crossing the eastern Gobi. "It's really unthinkable, just one water bottle and a bag of fried noodles." "If it weren't for Soviet help, Sheng Shicai would have absolutely won, I wouldn't be able to get up again." Ma Zhongying saw Tianshan, actually they were walking along the foot of the mountain all along, "We are just rushing towards Tianshan."

  Ma Zhongying told the old man about his plan, in which he would unite with Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler, and if necessary, also consider Britain and France. The old man understood that in this grand blueprint, Ma Zhongying was naturally the main character, and everything had to follow his command. The old man couldn't help but pat him on the shoulder, "Child, you're so lovely, youth is really good."

  In the Kucha, he met the remnants of Zhang Peiyuan's troops who had fled from Ili. These Ili soldiers, who had crossed the Tian Shan under the pressure of severe cold, storms and poverty, heard the inspiring speech of the commander: "Fellow countrymen, friends! Welcome you to my army! We will work together to defeat those enemies who still dare to stop us from advancing. Under the leadership of the Northern Army, you can get nothing but hunger, suffering and slavery.

  "You've heard of the Khan of Gansu, haven't you? I am the Khan! It was I who united all the tribes in this region into a great territory. With your support and assistance, I will work for the happiness of our entire people. I promise to give you freedom, prosperity, and make sure that everything is plentiful. We will organize this area together, making it a great, powerful, and renowned place."

  The Ili army regained its morale, was reorganized into an infantry division, the 36th Division doubled in size, and a large army emerged again on the Tarim land, Ma Zhongying rose again.

  The Soviet Consul walked into Sheng Shicai's office. There were several telegrams about Ma Zhongying's death, and the latest telegram in the consul's hand was the news of Ma Zhongying's resurrection. It was unknown how the military commander dictated these telegrams. Sheng Shicai also had a piece of intelligence that was more detailed and vivid than the consul's telegram. The intelligence officer mixed with the 36th Division troops and listened to Ma Zhongying's speech in its entirety, and the tone of the intelligence still retained some of Ma Zhongying's momentum when he spoke. The consul couldn't understand how Ma Zhongying's remnants could enter the Taklamakan Desert from south of Korla, with planes and armored vehicles chasing them for a day and night. The desert was tens of thousands of square kilometers larger than France, and even a large army would die of thirst there. How could they possibly emerge from Kucha? Sheng Shicai said: "He encountered Sven Hedin's reconnaissance team and hitched a ride on their car to Kucha." The consul loudly roared: "Hedin is a British spy, he supports Ma Zhongying, they are all imperialist elements, we must resolutely eliminate them!"

  "He was an expert hired by the National Government to survey and construct highways."

  "What's being built in Xinjiang?"

  "It is a national defense highway, Japan occupied our northeastern China, and the central government will make the northwest as strategic rear."

  "That should be eradicated even more, can't let their conspiracy succeed."

  "This is not a conspiracy, this is national defense construction. Let's study how to deal with Ma Zhongying, if Ma Zhongying is not eliminated, none of us can live in peace."

  The Soviet army and Xinjiang troops attacked Kucha in two routes.

  The 36th Division was quiet, and no one knew what their next target would be. Ma Zhongying sent a cavalry squad to escort He Ting. The old man was too interested in this legendary young man, he had to stay for another day to listen to the young man talk about the Huangpu River incident. General Ke delayed the battle plan for a day and had a long conversation with the old man. When he talked about fighting against Ji Hongchang, a famous general of the Northwestern Army, the old man exclaimed, "You fought against Ji Hongchang? The duel between two brave warriors is too interesting! Achilles and Agamemnon, a terrible anger! However, child, I want to tell you that according to our Nordic custom, the misfortune of a strong opponent is also your misfortune."

  "What does it mean?"

  "I believe you are a true warrior and you will be heartbroken. Your opponent, General Ji Hongchang, has become a wanted criminal by the government and may be killed at any time."

  "You're kidding, right?"

  No joke, kid, your motherland is in imminent danger. The Japanese have invaded Northeast China and crossed the Great Wall, advancing into North China. The government only knows how to retreat. General Feng Yuxiang organized an anti-Japanese alliance army in Chahar, and Ji Hongchang was one of the most capable generals who led a successful attack on Duolun, driving the Japanese out of the Mongolian grasslands, shocking the whole world.

  The Central Army unexpectedly joined forces with the Japanese army to attack the Anti-Japanese Alliance Army, and Feng Yuxiang went up Mount Tai. The Anti-Japanese Alliance Army was disbanded, leaving only Ji Hongchang and Fang Zhenjun's lone army fighting on. They fought all the way to the outskirts of Beiping City, entering the non-military zone designated by the Eight-Nation Alliance years ago, where they were subjected to fierce attacks from the Japanese air force and the elite Eighth Division. The Central Army and Northeastern Army attacked them from behind. General Ji surprisingly led a single division in a bloody battle against an army of 200,000 for two months. He personally led the Big Sword Team to annihilate a Japanese regiment. If the Japanese had not had the advantage of airpower and tanks, they might have been driven out of North China by General Ji.

  His remaining troops were blocked at the foot of the Great Wall, disarmed by the Central Army, and General Ji escaped alone to Tianjin, where Japanese agents and KMT agents are hunting him down. When my reconnaissance team passed through Beiping, I heard the old folks singing a sad song: The Anti-Japanese Alliance lasted one hundred days, ended in a blaze of smoke. In this ancient city of Beiping, the Wuxu Reform that took place decades ago also lasted only one hundred days, General Ji Hongchang may follow the path of Tan Sitong.

  "Who is Tan Sitong?"

  "You are the heroes of China, a scholar with a military temperament. After the failure of the Reform Movement, all his companions escaped, he gave up escaping and vowed to awaken the people with hot blood and revive your country."

  "Ji Hongchang, damn Ji Hongchang, he's surpassed me."

  "You're jealous of him."

  "It's not just a little bit, we Hui people have a saying, a man of blood and spirit must live out a brilliant life, look at him, so brilliant, from head to toe, full of brilliance! In the Mongolian grasslands, he yelled at the Japanese, under the Great Wall, he yelled at the Japanese, almost took Beijing City, it seemed like all Chinese people had died, only he, Ji Hongchang, could succeed, the whole world knew that only he was anti-Japanese."

  Northwestern dialect, eat and fight fiercely.

  "News of General Ji's resistance war was reported by major news agencies around the world. An ancient and great nation is unconquerable."

  "When the Battle of the Yellow River was about to end, I received a letter and photos from Ji Hongchang. As is customary for Chinese soldiers, the photo served as a name card, used for making friends. I wasn't convinced, he could beat me only because his weapon was better. I never conceded, so I didn't recognize him."

  understanding: means getting acquainted with, understanding and attention

  "Do you want to get to know him?"

  "Please do me a great favor and take a photo of me. When you return to the inland, find an opportunity to send my photo to him. With the photo of Commander Zhang, Ji Hongchang will no longer need to hide in the concession or flee to the mosque, or flee to Gansu and Ningxia. As long as he reaches Gansu and Ningxia, no one can harm him."

  The camera took two pictures, one of Ma Zhongying riding a big horse and the other standing confidently with his hands behind him in the wilderness of Kuche. He wanted to keep one for himself. In fact, both photos belonged to him. While inspecting the national defense highway, he made his last trip into the Death Sea and finally found Lop Nur - that ancient, moving swamp that had been pursued for half a century was finally found in his 70th year. When He Ding returned to the mainland, Ji Hongchang had just been executed by firing squad, secretly killed by General He Yingqin at Tianqiao Prison. China's newspapers did not dare to reveal the truth, and Ji's wife told foreign reporters the details, which were reported by The Times of London, telling the story of Ji's bloody battle against the Japanese invaders, as well as his capture, torture, and calm acceptance of death. Mr. He looked out at Xinjiang and muttered to himself: "Ji Hongchang is dead, child, I hope you can conquer death, you are so young, full of vitality, the god of death will not bother you."

  I live, I shall live forever! The old man was amazed. From the depths of the earth, from the top of the sky came rolling waves... When the ancient sea surged and splashed towards us, I plucked the dewdrop of love.