Where the beacon smoke disappears
Zhang Songling was very dissatisfied with this answer. He had always insisted that as the central government, defending every inch of land and every person on it was a responsibility that could not be shirked. It shouldn't be like an old lady buying vegetables, calculating every penny. Even more so, just because local warlords refused to listen to orders, they couldn't just let them be destroyed by Japan or push them into the hands of the Japanese. Otherwise, after Japan finished with Hebei, they would probably attack Shanxi next. After finishing with Shanxi, their next target would be Henan and Shandong. As long as the central government and local power holders continued to haggle over prices, how could they seize the opportunity to take control of half of China?
In that case, China would really be doomed. In the Three Kingdoms era, Wu and Shu worked closely together and barely managed to keep half of the country intact. Once Wu and Shu went their separate ways, they were eliminated one by one by the Sima family, without even having the strength to struggle.
"I'm just saying that the current situation is somewhat similar to the Three Kingdoms era, it's not like I'm saying Japanese people are Cao Wei! Seeing Zhang Songling's stiff face, the hunchbacked old military advisor Wei Ding thought he had misunderstood his meaning and quickly added, "Think back to those years, although Cao Wei was cruel and fond of killing, towards the people under his rule, he also had a few grains of sorrowful heart. But Japanese people have never treated the Chinese people under their rule as human beings. Cao Wei's destruction of Sun Liu was just a change of surname and title, it didn't concern us ordinary people. But when Japanese people gain power, they are like beasts devouring humans, China is going to perish again..."
His thinking jumped greatly, making Zhang Songling almost unable to keep up. Before Zhang Songling could make sense of what he had just heard, the hunchbacked old military advisor sighed again and continued, "A change in surname or title is called the downfall of a country; when benevolence and righteousness fill the land, but lead to beasts eating people and people eating each other, it's called the downfall of the world. In Chinese history, there have been two instances where China was conquered by foreign tribes. The first time was by the Mongols, who were driven out in less than a hundred years by Zhu Hongwu leading a group of beggars. The second time was by the Qing... (Note 1)
He shook his head, and to my surprise, a hint of shame appeared on his face: "If it weren't for the Kangxi Emperor's promise to never increase taxes, and using high-ranking officials and generous salaries to buy off scholars, the Qing dynasty might not have been able to hold out in the Central Plains for so long. As for the current situation, I'm not afraid of the Japanese being fierce or evil, but what I do fear is that Japan will also produce a wise emperor like Kangxi. If they were to propose something like 'same roots, same origin', reduce taxes and distribute land equally, using gentle rule instead of strong oppression, I'm afraid it wouldn't take fifty years for people to be clamoring to become officials in the Great Japanese Empire. Just like how I was back then, unable to find a way to become an official even if I wanted to!"
Zhang Songling felt increasingly suffocated upon hearing this. He really wished he could stand up and let out a few loud sighs. However, he saw the hunchbacked old military advisor Wei Ding sigh again, shaking his head as he said: "It is because one knows how to protect the world that they know how to protect their country; those who protect the country are its rulers and ministers, who scheme for it. Those who protect the world are the humble commoners, with responsibilities to bear. In my youth, I was a muddled fool, with a belly full of books that had been read to death. You are stronger than me, so young yet daring to learn from Ding Yuan's example of laying down his pen and taking up arms. Therefore, old man that I am, when I see you, I know that China will not perish this time around; it is absolutely impossible for China to perish!"
"Then you still dragged me here!" Zhang Songling pushed the abacus and account book in front of him with his hand, saying with a complaining tone.
After escaping the danger of being treated as a Japanese spy and executed, he tried to find opportunities to escape from Weizhuang. But every time he saw a glimmer of hope, it would be extinguished by Teacher Ye. This old man was cunning and much more difficult to deal with than Wei Zhan Kui. Wei Zhan Kui had detained Zhang Songling just to extort some money. As for why the old general Wei Ding left him behind, Zhang Songling still didn't understand until now.
"I'm doing this for your own good!" The old military advisor with a hunched back assumed an air of authority, speaking in a low tone, "If you go to Song Zheyuan's camp, at most, you'll just be a foot soldier. Who knows when a bullet will hit you and that'll be the end of it. But here with us, you're at least an officer, and even if someone has to lead the charge, it won't be you!"
"I really didn't expect that my life would be so valuable in your eyes?!" Zhang Songling couldn't help but sneer with a mix of anger and sarcasm.
"It's worth a lot of money! Think about it, from childhood to adulthood, not counting food and clothing, just the cost of providing you with an education, buying paper, pen and ink, is at least 60 or 70 taels of silver. And those who dig in the dirt for food, every year, aside from eating and wearing clothes, can save five taels of silver, they're overjoyed! The old military strategist counted on his fingers, calculating with Zhang Songling one by one. They've been defeated, just put up a notice anywhere, and whoever is willing to carry a gun and eat rations will be recruited in droves. Someone like you has been instructed, how easy is it to recruit again? There are only so many scholars in the world, and among them, how many can calculate as quickly as you?"
These words are almost the same as what Peng Xuewen said that day. Fighting is a matter for the soldiers, and scholars only need to hide in places where bullets can't reach and persuade others to charge forward. Zhang Songling couldn't say that these words were unreasonable, but deep down, he absolutely didn't agree with this kind of argument. It wasn't because his ideological realm was particularly high, but rather because he felt that if every official commanded soldiers with this mindset, the troops would inevitably collapse at the sight of a strong enemy.
"I know you have high aspirations and look down on our Iron Blood Society as a small, broken temple." Seeing Zhang Songling's discontented face, the old military advisor continued to persuade him, "But it's precisely in a small place like this that you'll have more opportunities to stand out. If you go to Song Zheyuan's side, everyone around him is a veteran who has been through thick and thin together - will you have a chance to stand out? No, he's cultivating the student soldiers as officer material! But there are only so many officer positions in the 29th Army. The original factions can't even be divided clearly, who would be willing to give up their place for you students without any background or foundation? You'd better just stay here and work hard, wait until we go into battle against the Japanese, and then we'll take our troops out and win a few victories. At that time, whether it's the Central Army or the 29th Army, they won't be eager to come and ask us to join them? We old folks may not be looked up to by others, but you're young, with a lot of knowledge, and you have your own group of brothers behind you - how could you not become a regiment commander or division commander? At that time, if you bring up the incident at Hulu Island to the higher-ups, even if Qin is covering things up, he won't be able to reach out to Chairman Chiang?"
Note 1: The distinction between "losing a country" and "losing the world" in this text comes from "A Record of Daily Knowledge", written by the great Confucian scholar Gu Yanwu at the time of the fall of the Ming dynasty.
Note 2: Ban Chao, a marquis of Dingyuan during the Han Dynasty, was unwilling to be a scholar when he was young. He threw away his writing brush and took up arms, achieving great merits.
