Chapter 3 South of the Mountain and North of the Mountain (Part 4)

  Zhang Songling thought his classical Chinese foundation was still good, but showing off his ancient writing skills in front of the old military advisor, a former Qing dynasty scholar, seemed a bit too much. After Zhang finished writing the letter, the old military advisor only made a few casual changes, and suddenly the whole article seemed majestic and powerful. However, the hunchbacked old military advisor did not want to take credit for others' work, so he had Zhang Songling rewrite the revised letter three times. He wrote the names of the recipients on each copy: Song Zheyuan, Guan Linzheng, and Sun Lianzhong, then dried the letters in the sunlight before putting them into three exquisite leather envelopes.

  "First, let Xiao Maotao take someone to Baoding Prefecture to explore the situation. If you can get in touch with them, you'll make your move. If they don't care about us at all, we can't just go and try to curry favor!" The old military advisor was worried that Zhang Songling would take advantage of delivering the message to leave and not come back, so he preemptively blocked this possibility.

  Baoding Prefecture is the third largest city in Hebei Province, excluding Beiping and Tianjin. It borders the Taihang Mountains to the west and overlooks the vast plains of eastern Shanxi to the east. A railway also runs north-south through it, making its geographical location quite important. Whether it was the 29th Army retreating south or the Central Army advancing north, this place is a must-pass route. Therefore, in the past month or so, various warlords from both the central government and local areas have sent people and troops to Baoding to establish their own strongholds and liaison offices. Second Master Xiao Guotao is now rushing over with letters and gifts, just in time to compare the heights of each family's temple gates before deciding who to prioritize in offering incense.

  Zhang Songling has been restricted to the Wei family compound for over a month, neither reading newspapers nor listening to radio broadcasts. He is completely unaware of the outside situation. Therefore, no matter what Old Military Advisor Wei Ding says, he can't intervene and can only respond with nods.

  Since he couldn't come up with any opinions or suggestions, Old General Wei Ding began to deploy troops. First, they organized a group of people to carry 4,000 catties of wheat from the warehouse, then they tied up more than 20 heads of live sheep that had been entrusted to tenant farmers and caught five live pigs. They loaded all these onto five horse-drawn carts, which were led by Xiao Er's family with over a dozen farmhands holding guns to escort them, and set off towards Baoding in a grand procession.

  This time, it was more than ten days. During this period, Zhang Songling was anxious like an ant on a hot pot, and every day he asked the old military advisor Wei Ding to send someone to collect newspapers outside the mountain and inquire about the situation in North China. The old military advisor Wei Ding did not deliberately tease him this time, but instead sent four strong young men who could recognize a few characters to ride horses to the nearest Hulu Island from Weizhuang, and use cash to purchase old newspapers after July 8th from the refugees fleeing from the war. As long as there was new content on the newspaper, they would immediately ride back at night.

  Thus, the outside world was able to get some news, but the situation became increasingly confusing. On July 8th, high-ranking officials from the central and local governments angrily shouted in the newspapers, and the next day, on July 9th, 1937, several senior members of the 29th Army reached a mutual understanding agreement with the Japanese in a friendly atmosphere. The Japanese army stopped its attack immediately, and the 29th Army publicly apologized to the Japanese garrison in North China and severely punished the members of the Blue Shirt Society who had "instigated" and "incited" the conflict between the two sides, as well as the ** members hiding among the students. The troops of Guan Linzheng and Sun Lianzhong, who had already sworn to march north, also stopped at Baoding and Cangzhou at the request of Song Zheyuan, in order to avoid over-stimulating the Japanese army.

  The ink on the agreement had not yet dried, when Japanese troops approached Wanping Fortress again. Immediately afterwards, Qin Dechun, Pan Yuanguang and Zhang Zizhong, representing the 29th Army, made concessions to the Japanese army once more, based on the demands put forward by the Japanese, and reached a seven-point "peace agreement". This included suppressing the Blue Shirts Society and withdrawing the 37th Division which had taken the most resolute anti-Japanese stance.

  "What does this have to do with the Blue Shirts Society?" Zhang Songling's eyes blazed with anger as he slapped the newspaper on the table and shouted. Even if he didn't understand current events, he knew that the former had been a key target of crackdowns by governments at all levels before last December. Once caught, it was basically a death sentence, and very few people could walk out of prison alive. The latter, on the other hand, was a youth organization that the central government had always supported, and its relationship with the former was like fire and water, making it impossible for them to collude with each other.

  "He's afraid that Chiang Kai-shek will take advantage of the situation and seize Jingzhou!" Wei Ding, a hunchbacked old military advisor, also expressed disdain for the current decision-making of the 29th Army. "But even Liu Bei in his heyday wouldn't have dismissed Zhang Fei and Guan Yu from their posts. And this Song Da'er, before even fighting the Japanese to a conclusion, has already agreed to remove Feng Zhi'an as commander of the 37th Division. Ha! You just wait, once the 37th Division, which is defending Lugou Bridge, is dealt with, the entire 29th Army will be completely disheartened. By the time Song Da'er comes to his senses, it's likely that no one will be willing to believe him even if he wants to fight the Japanese to the death!"

  "Can't you speak without that tone!" Zhang Songling couldn't stand the old military advisor's manner of carrying a bench and putting on a big show, turned his head around and protested with great indignation.

  "What else can we do, write in blood? But someone has to accept it!" The old military advisor with a hunched back slapped his own waist and continued to mock. "I was right not to let you go to Beiping, wasn't I?! With your impulsive temper, even if you joined the 29th Army, you'd be eliminated as a ** or a Blue Shirt Society member!"

  On this topic, Zhang Songling had no strength to refute. From the newspapers and documents he has collected so far, more than a month ago, Peking University student Peng Xuewen's accusations against the upper echelons of the 29th Army were not entirely unfounded. However, the bloodstains on the Great Wall reminded him that what he had seen and heard so far might not be the whole truth. The 29th Army would not disappoint the expectations of the entire nation, nor would it disappoint the heroic spirits who died at the Great Wall!

  "Don't be impatient, the 29th Army and 37th Division haven't even withdrawn from Beiping yet. General Feng Zhi'an hasn't announced his retirement either! Seeing that Zhang Songling had been thoroughly scolded, the old military advisor decided to stop while ahead, 'Besides, many things are just rumors and speculations by reporters, they may not be clear about it. We only need to be more careful on our side. Let's not rush forward hastily, lest we get sold out and still have to count the money for others!'"

  "Hmm!" Zhang Songling responded with a murmur, neither affirming nor denying. The hunchbacked old military strategist Wei Ding had always given him conflicting feelings. On the one hand, this old man was constantly saying "the rise and fall of the world, every individual has a responsibility", his patriotic passion was even more intense than Zhang Songling's own youthful fervor. On the other hand, however, this old man was always thinking about how to seize every opportunity to gain benefits, expand his power, and leave a name on the Lingyan Pavilion. It seemed that these were his original goals for establishing the Iron Blood Society.

  "Don't throw away these newspapers, we'll keep them all! Keep them!" After comforting Zhang Songling, the old military advisor Wei Ding began to enthusiastically discuss his other life ambition. "These are all first-hand records, regardless of whether what's written is right or wrong, they're physical evidence. Let's store them away, and when the world is at peace, we two can compile a historical book. Let future generations know what we people did back then. Regardless of right or wrong, don't cover it up. When people open the first page of the first volume of history books in the future, the first names they'll see will be ours - my disciple and I! Heh heh, not inferior to Sima Qian and Sima Guang..."

  This ideal is even more magnificent than forming a team to participate in the struggle for hegemony. It not only requires a giant pen, but also iron shoulders. Zhang Songling asked himself if he could bear it, and didn't have the courage to put it on his own shoulders. The old military strategist with a hunched back was immersed in his grand design, beating his waist and humming an opera verse: "I once saw the golden halls of Jinling, where the orioles sang at dawn, and the flower-filled corridors of Qinhuai, who knew that ice would melt easily!"

  He raised his eyes to the crimson halls, he raised his eyes to entertain guests, and then the halls collapsed!

  This green moss and blue tile heap, I once slept a romantic dream, having experienced fifty years of rise and fall.

  That Na Uy clothing alley does not have the surname Wang, Mo Chou Lake ghost cries at night, Feng Huang Tai inhabits a bird of ill omen.

  The most real dream of the remaining mountain, the old boundary is hard to get rid of, don't believe this map has changed!

  Sing one set, sing sad voice until old."

  "Lend me your old rifle!" Zhang Songling, whose heart was in a mess due to the singing, stretched out his hand and asked Old Military Advisor for his "rifle".

  "This is...". The hoarse singing stopped abruptly, and the old military advisor, as if someone had peeked at his treasure, inserted his hand into the front of his large lapel and covered it up.

  "Don't worry, I won't run away with your gun!" Zhang Songling stepped forward a few steps and took action himself. "The 29th Army is in such a state now, what's the use of me going? Lend me the box cannon to fire a few shots, so that when the Japanese come knocking on the door, I'll at least know how to shoot!"

  "I'm not worried about you!" The old military advisor's face turned a bit red, "I really am not worried about you. This gun is genuine German goods, much better than those fake ones made by our Shanghai munitions factory. Lending it to you for use is no big deal, but if Wei Zhan-kui and the others find out that this one of mine is actually different from the ones they have...it's just another heap of trouble!"

  "Can't I even find a place to set up without you bothering me? Or are you going to stand next to me?" Zhang Songling grasped the wooden box containing the guns, pulling and tugging. "You old man, how can I put it, your mind is completely focused on this! Even buying a few guns, you have to skimp and cheat!"

  "Isn't this also to save some money?" The old military advisor chuckled a few times, helplessly letting go, "It's twice as expensive as the ones made in Shanghai! Moreover, Wei Zhan-kui and those few others don't even know the difference! There are only ten rounds of ammunition loaded here, you mustn't use them all up at once! Each round costs five cents!"

  "Got it, got it!" Zhang Songling replied impatiently, carrying his shotgun and running towards the back mountain. At this moment, he was filled with indignation, really wishing that the Japanese would come knocking on the door immediately, so he could charge into the enemy group with his shotgun. Even if he died in battle, at least he wouldn't have to deal with all these human troubles.

  "Slow down, slow down a bit. Have you learned how to shoot? Wait for me, I'll teach you hand in hand!" The old military advisor with a hump on his back was still worried about him going out alone, so he found an excuse and followed him with the box-shaped gun used to boost morale from the meeting hall. "You use this one first, and return mine to me. This gun also has ten rounds of ammunition. You practice shooting one round at a time, don't rush, learn to aim first, then pull the trigger!"

  Note: During the July 7th Incident, Japanese troops attacked Lugou Bridge. The 219th Regiment of the 37th Division of the 29th Army persisted in resisting and defended their position to the death. Afterwards, the Japanese invaders demanded severe punishment for the commander of the 37th Division, Feng Zhi'an, and the transfer of the 37th Division away from Beiping. The 29th Army agreed but kept delaying and did not carry out the order.

  Note 2: This song is a program in Taohua Shan. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, it was sung by Liu Jingting and others.