Lugou Bridge Incident, Yingdi's comfort troops were blocked

  Not long after Ishii Shirō left the Zhao family, Zhao Zhibang's son Zhao Heping arrived in this world, but the world did not turn out as his mother had hoped.

  On July 7, 1937, the Japanese North China Garrison Army demanded to enter Wanping City, which was then guarded by the National Revolutionary Army's 29th Army, on the grounds that a soldier had gone missing. After being sternly rejected by the Chinese garrison, they launched an attack on the Chinese troops, and both sides engaged in a bloody battle at Lugou Bridge, marking the beginning of China's eight-year all-out war of resistance against Japan.

  Due to the difference in weaponry between the two sides, this war ended quickly, and the final result was also concluded with the withdrawal of the Chinese troops. Although China lost this battle, the heroic spirit of the 29th Army's resistance against the enemy inspired one after another passionate Chinese people.

  "Father, mother..." On the night of July 10th, 1937, Zhao Zhibang and Ishii Kyoko were frantically shouting outside the Zhao family's quadrangle courtyard.

  "Zhibang, Xingzi, why are you back so late?" Hearing the shout from outside, Zhao Chuanfu and Li Yuye hastily put on their clothes and rushed out. Immediately, all the other family members except for four-year-old He Ping responded, but in fact, they had not fallen asleep yet. The occasional explosions in the distance made people's minds uneasy.

  "Father, mother, Beijing is in chaos here, Tianjin is also in a mess, the traffic on the road has been cut off, we've been wandering around for a long time before coming back, how are you still at home?" Zhao Zhibang hastily walked in and grabbed Li Yu'e's hand to ask.

  "Oh dear, it's been chaotic outside these days, and you and Xingzi have been missing for a long time. Your father and I are worried about your safety, and now we don't know what to do!"

  "Dad, mom... I think it's better for you to take He Ping and Di Die with you to hide outside for a while. Nobody knows what will happen here," Zhao Zhibang said anxiously. Xingzi stood behind him silently with her head down, Li Yuyao wanted to ask for her opinion, but after Zhao Chuanfu nodded at her, she didn't ask. It was indeed awkward to ask Xingzi this question at the moment.

  "I think it won't be that easy for him to get in, I heard the Central Plains army has already gone north" Zhao Chuanfu, who rarely smoked, lit a cigarette and sat on the sofa, saying with a worried tone.

  "I think it's better to go out and hide for a while, if the Zhongyāng army has really marched north, that means there will be a big battle between China and Japan soon!"

  "Do you think Rì can definitely win?" As he said this, Zhao Chuanfu became visibly agitated. He stared wide-eyed, his right hand trembling as it held the cigarette.

  "You can leave if you want, but I'm not going. The 29th Army is currently in a fierce battle with the Japanese devils, how can we just leave like this? We classmates had already planned to go to the front line together tomorrow to comfort them!" Zhao Chuanfu and others were considering whether to leave or not, completely ignoring Zhao Yidian who was standing by the door without saying a word. At this moment, her words suddenly surprised everyone in the room, they only then realized that the current Zhao Yidian was no longer the little girl who only knew how to throw tantrums.

  "Yi Die, what are you doing?! Now it's so chaotic, as a young girl from a good family, why would you go to the battlefield? Do you think that's an amusing place?" After hearing his daughter's words, Zhao Chuanfu also looked shocked, with a mixture of excitement and worry in his low, scolding tone, but his eyes held a hint of approval.

  "Dad......" Zhao Yidian wanted to plead her case further, but was interrupted by her mother who walked up.

  "Alright, it's getting late today, let's rest first and see how things go later!" Li Yujiao said to Zhao Chuanfu, then snatched the half-smoked cigarette from his hand and extinguished it in the ashtray. Zhao Chuanfu opened his mouth as if to say something, but after glancing at his wife, he ultimately remained silent.

  "You can go if you want, but I'm not going!" Zhao Yidian pouted and looked at everyone with great reluctance before turning around and walking away.

  "This girl..." Zhao Zhibang said with a bitter smile as he watched his sister storm off. He then pulled along the silent and bowed head of Xingzi back to their own room.

  "Zhibang, why does this world have to have wars? Can't everyone just get along?" Anzi said with a tinge of sadness as she leaned against Zhibang.

  "Alas..."

  "Zhibang, if Japan really goes to war with China, we...". Hearing her husband sigh and fall silent, Xingzi sat up from his arms, looking at him anxiously.

  "Alright, don't think too much about it. Anyway, Ishii Kyoko is my wife Zhao Zhibang... As for this war, it's impossible to stop it with just one or two people. Go to sleep, let's see the situation tomorrow."

  That night, the Zhao family didn't sleep well. The housekeeper, driver and Xu Yunqiao had all been sent back to their hometowns by Zhao Chuanfu yesterday. The antique shop in Beijing had also closed down, and at this time, no one was in the mood to deal with these antiques anymore. Now, only the Zhao family members were left at home. Zhao Yidian didn't sleep all night, thinking about going to the front line to comfort the 29th Army with her classmates.

  "Dad, you're up so early!" Zhao Zhibang, who had just gotten out of bed, saw his father sitting silently at the door smoking a cigarette, while Li Yujiao and Xingzi were busy carrying the already prepared breakfast to the table.

  "En... " Zhao Chuanfu heard his son's voice, didn't raise his head, just hummed a response and continued to puff on his cigarette.

  "Yi Die, how are you dressed like this? What do you want to go out for?" Just as Zhao Zhi Bang was about to walk up and persuade his father to smoke less, Li Yu Jiao's voice came from inside the house. Along with the sound, Zhao Yi Die had already walked to the door, but at this time her outfit made Zhao Chuan Fu and his son take a breath, only to see her wearing a traditional Chinese short shirt, with bandages tied around her sleeves and legs. This was the same clothes that Zhao Chuan Fu used to wear when teaching Zhao Zhi Bang martial arts, although it was a bit big on Zhao Yi Die, but after she tightened her sleeves and pant legs, it looked very neat.

  "Yi Die, what are you doing dressing up like that?" Zhao Zhibang stood at the door and blocked his sister. In fact, he had already guessed the purpose of his sister's dress, if it were in the past, he would have teased her long ago, but today he didn't find it funny at all, instead, he felt a bit suffocated. Zhao Chuanfu still didn't speak, just staring straight at his daughter, the cigarette butt in his hand had burned to his fingers without him noticing. Yesterday, he thought his daughter was just speaking impulsively, didn't expect her to really take action.

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