Chapter 2 May's Fresh Flowers Five Up

  In the 17th year of the Republic, the Northern Expeditionary Army attacked Shandong, and the people of Jinan welcomed King Wu with food and drink. However, as soon as the Japanese opened fire to intervene, the National Revolutionary Army immediately declared that it would not resist, allowing its more than 7,000 troops to be disarmed.

  Afterwards, the Japanese entered the city and killed indiscriminately, even dragging out Cai Gongshi, a negotiator for the National Government, and executing him in public. At the time, Chiang Kai-shek, who was the commander-in-chief of the National Revolutionary Army, yielded to pressure and not only refused to lead his troops to avenge Cai Gongshi but also strictly ordered the Northern Expeditionary Army not to fire back, so as not to escalate the situation.

  On May 17th, with the last two divisions of the Northern Expeditionary Army withdrawing from Jinan under orders, the Japanese army entered the city in a victorious posture and carried out a large-scale massacre of the unarmed residents of Jinan, killing more than 11,000 people that day. Another 6,000 residents suffered inhumane injuries such as having their noses cut off, fingers chopped off, breasts cut off, or feet amputated.

  After the incident, the central government continued to march north for the sake of "preserving the overall situation", thoroughly erasing the entire Shandong from memory. However, the people of Jinan will never forget who betrayed them in their most difficult moment! They will no longer believe that the central government can really bear the responsibility of revitalizing the country and washing away national humiliation.

  No matter how good Peng Xuewen's eloquence was, he couldn't make excuses for the central government in the face of bloody facts. He stared at Fang Guoqiang's eyes for a long time before muttering: "At that time, it was because the country had not yet been unified. The government did not have the power to resist, so it could only temporarily swallow its humiliation and bear the weight!"

  "What a country that has not yet unified?!" Fang Guoqiang shrugged his shoulders, sneering and curling his lips. "During the September 18th Incident, was the country unified? During the Long March's bloodshed, was the country unified? Even now, when the 29th Army is desperately waiting for support from the rear in Beiping, is the country unified? If the Japanese invaders take down Beiping and continue to march south, will the government still use 'the country has not yet unified' as an excuse to swallow its pride and bear the humiliation once again?! It's been so many years since the Xinhai Revolution, and the government can't even integrate the country, what can be expected of such a government?!"

  A barrage of questions left Peng Xuewen at a loss for words. He stared wide-eyed and backed away continuously, until he finally came to his senses on the ground, then suddenly shouted loudly: "That's still better than you going to Yan'an! If they hadn't been holding us back all along, the country would have been unified long ago!"

  "I'm just saying, that's an option!" Fang Guoqiang finally countered, standing on the stairs, looking down, "At least they're brand new, not like your central government, which is decrepit before its time."

  "One country, one government!" Peng Xuewen took a step forward, waving his arm and shouting slogans.

  "If this government cannot afford to take responsibility for protecting the people, then it should step down voluntarily!" Fang Guoqiang took a few steps forward, directly confronting him.

  The two men glared at each other, their chests heaving, panting like two mad bulls. At any moment they were ready to lower their heads and gore each other.

  Essentially, Fang Guoqiang and Peng Xuewen are the same kind of people. Both have strong emotions, worrying about the country and its people, while at the same time feeling deeply desperate about reality. The difference is that the object of the latter's despair is local warlords, whereas for the former, the object of his despair is the Nationalist Party Central Government!

  Like the majority of young people in this era, they were perplexed and indignant, doing their utmost to find a way to save the country and nation. Also like most other young people of this era, once they believed that the road they sought was correct, they would go all the way to the end, unyielding and unregretful.

  If someone blocks their way, they will unhesitatingly trample over the other's corpse. Regardless of whether the other is intentional or unintentional. So, if they don't meet, it's fine, but once they do, a fierce collision is inevitable. Just like today, with swords drawn and bows stretched.

  Fortunately, other students from Beiping and Shandong who had not gone far heard the unusual noise behind them, immediately turned around and ran back, hugging Peng Xuewen and Fang Guoqiang's waists. They pulled and dragged the two men back to their respective rooms.

  A sudden storm came, and in the face of friendship, it temporarily ceased. But the conversations between Peng Xuewen and Fang Guoqiang were heard clearly by all the students present. That night, many people tossed and turned on the comfortable Simmons beds at the Peace Hotel. Many people suddenly realized that their previous choices, which they thought were a matter of course, might not be entirely correct. At least, from another angle, there were many defects and problems.

  The next morning, including Zhang Songling, all the students got up with dark circles under their eyes. Everyone tried to avoid talking about last night's topic, but when their eyes met occasionally, they saw more confusion and perplexity in each other's eyes. After breakfast, a middle-aged man surnamed Zhu came upstairs, returned the hotel deposit and meal fees paid yesterday, and sincerely apologized on behalf of Qin Boss for not being able to hold his liquor last night, which is why he left early, promising to make up for it by treating them to two more tables in the future.

  "Brother Qin is too polite. We came uninvited this time and have already caused Brother Qin a lot of trouble. It's not good to let him spend more!" For this patriotic and sincere businessman, Zhou Ju was deeply impressed, smiling and waving his hand, indicating that he didn't dare accept such a generous gift.

  "It's only right, it's only right!" Zhu the shopkeeper and the little mustachioed man they met at the front desk yesterday were like heaven and earth in terms of their treatment of others. On one hand, he nodded and bowed, while on the other hand, he continued to add with a sincere and fearful tone: "Our boss said that you are all the future hopes of the country and should receive his support. From now on, consider He Ping Restaurant as your own home, come whenever you want, and we will line up to welcome you at any time. No matter how long you stay, we won't charge any fees!"

  "Qin big brother is really too polite!" Peng Xuewen also felt very embarrassed, smiling and bowing to Zhu the shopkeeper.

  "How dare I, how dare I!" Zhu the shopkeeper was so frightened that he jumped to one side and immediately returned a deep bow. "Aren't you making fun of me? I'm just a lowly errand boy, how could I possibly accept your bow! Our boss has already reserved the big theater in town, whenever the young masters and misses want to perform, they can go directly. The venue, equipment, all related expenses, everything is completely free!"

  "This Qin big brother..." Tian Qingyu, who claimed to have a wide range of social connections, shook his head slightly. His family had originally been in the business of running a pawnshop, but after the establishment of the Republic of China, they switched to transporting people and goods. In their daily lives, all sorts of people came and went, covering all walks of life. But any so-called heroic figure from the jianghu compared to Qin Laoban was like a firefly compared to the sun and moon - completely unable to shine!

  "This time, our charity performance will be held under Qin's name, and it'll be his exclusive sponsorship!" Fang Guoqiang's thinking was straightforward. Since he had received benefits from someone, he wanted to return the favor. Otherwise, afterwards, he would always feel uneasy in his heart.

  This suggestion received a unanimous response from the crowd. Even Peng Xuewen, who had never gotten along with Fang Guoqiang, smiled and nodded repeatedly, "Then let's go over there early, clean up the venue, familiarize ourselves with the surroundings. We can also distribute some flyers and put up a few banners, so others know what we're doing!"

  "Alright! Let's go!" Everyone nodded in agreement.

  It's the young people who get things done with such energy. By around 10 am, the entire stage had been cleaned up spotlessly. A few students with musical talents started playing the drums and erhu. The emcees, Han Qiu and Liu Jing, took to the stage together.

  All the programs have been performed countless times along the way, and it's natural to repeat them again. The travelers who stayed in Hulu Valley were mostly trying to escape the war. Hearing the sad and indignant melody, thinking of their current situation at home, it was easy to resonate with the stage.

  Now, Zhang Songling was in for a rough time. As soon as he appeared on stage as the Japanese devil, he received countless rotten tomatoes and smelly buns. This forced Han Qiu and Liu Jing to repeatedly interrupt the performance, come out to explain to the audience that this devil was just one of their own people playing the role, not the real deal from Japan, before the audience's anger subsided. However, when it came to the part where the little devil came knocking on the door again, picked up Tian Lao Cai's daughter and headed towards the back room, the audience once again forgot they were watching a performance, grabbed whatever was nearby, and started throwing things at the little devil.

  "Bang!" Master Tian Qingyu couldn't dodge in time, and with his eyes wide open, he watched as a green brick flew through the air and slapped Zhang Songling's waist. The force of the slap sent Zhang Songling stumbling backwards, taking several staggering steps before throwing Lu Ming, who was hiding in his arms disguised as a woman, to the ground.

  "Kill the devils!" "Kill the devils!" Zhou Ju, playing the role of the second young master of the landlord's family, seeing that things were not going well, took the initiative to rush out from behind the stage ahead of time. Tian Qingyu, who played the landlord, also reacted quickly and raised a wooden kitchen knife to slash at the "translator" who was pulling him. Amidst the thunderous roar of anger, Zhang Songling stumbled into the backstage. Immediately after, a song "On the Banks of the Songhua River", perfectly pushed the performance towards **.

  "How is it? Does it hurt, does it hurt?" Han Qiu carefully left Liu Jing alone at the front desk to collect donations and ran to check on Zhang Songling.

  "Ah yo! Ah yo!" Zhang Songling, who had never suffered much since childhood, was in so much pain that he was gritting his teeth. Lu Ming, who was playing the role of the second young lady of the landlord's family, didn't even bother to remove her makeup and quickly lifted up Zhang Songling's shirt to examine him carefully. A huge bruise could be seen from his shoulder blade all the way down to his waist, with faint blood seeping out around the edges.

  "These people, they've really got some skills..." Han Qiu was so angry that her eyes were welling up with tears, gritting her teeth in complaint.

  "It's nothing, it's nothing, really nothing!" Zhang Songling was so embarrassed that he wanted to find a hole in the ground to hide. "They hate me, which means Lu's play is well-written. Let's hurry up and take our final bow. Next, the performance by those people from Beiping will begin!"

  "Hmm!" Han Qiu nodded and walked with Lu Ming towards the front desk, supporting Zhang Songling's arm.

  "... what year, what month,"

  When can I return to my lovely hometown?

  What year, what month

  Only then can we retrieve those endless treasures?

  "Dad, mom... Dad, mom..."

  The front stage, the singing continued. The audience all stood up, tears streaming down their faces, applauding vigorously for the students. Further away, even more travelers were attracted by the singing and rushed to squeeze in front of the donation box.

  "Thank you, everyone, thank you!" Fang Guoqiang led the group in bowing to the enthusiastic audience. Nobody noticed that four shabbily dressed men squeezed out against the crowd and quickly disappeared into a nearby alley.

  Those four people were all agile, and after a few turns, they emerged from another alleyway like hidden snakes. Looking around, they quickened their pace, and soon arrived at the back of the Peace Hotel, beside a serene and secluded small lake.

  A small boat paddled through the layered lotus leaves, drifting over. It took in four shabbily dressed men and then silently sailed away, stopping a moment later in front of an unassuming fisherman's cottage on the other side of the lake.

  The four guys who had been taken aboard earlier were now wearing gray Zhongshan suits, nimbly jumping onto the dock and hastily entering a small fishing village. Passing through the front hall, around the vegetable garden, they came to a thatched hut near a well in the backyard.

  In front of the thatched cottage, two men in black clothes were standing guard. Seeing the four people in Zhongshan suits, they nodded and whispered: "After the captain lets you return, go see him immediately. Mr. Qin, Mr. Pan, and Mr. Mitsui are also there, be careful not to talk nonsense!"

  "Got it!" The Zhongshan-clad man walking in front replied impatiently, reaching out to lift the door curtain.

  As soon as I entered the house, I was dazzled by several pieces of antique furniture in bright yellow. Each piece exuded a unique charm reminiscent of the imperial court, and if taken to market, would be worth at least $100,000. In the center of the room stood a traditional Chinese eight-immortals table. Several men dressed in long gowns were smoking and laughing as they played mahjong.

  "Boss Yue, we're back!" Without looking at the leader in a Zhongshan suit who was making a ruckus outside, as soon as he entered the house, he immediately put on a respectful face. He tiptoed over to the mahjong player who had his back to the door and whispered into his ear.

  "Welcome back!" The mahjong player, nicknamed Yue Dui, nodded and slowly played a nine-stick tile, then smiled and asked: "How tired are you? How did those little brats get taught?"

  "Subordinate reporting, subordinate ashamed, failed to complete the task entrusted by you!" The leader in the Zhongshan suit took a half step back and reported with embarrassment.

  "What's going on?! Is someone covering for them?" Captain Yue picked up another card, pondering how to play it while patiently asking.

  Several other mahjong players slowed down, turning their heads to listen to how Zhongshan would explain his dereliction of duty. With three people staring at him, making him feel uneasy, Zhongshan wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead and reported in a low voice: "Those little guys are indeed very good at deceiving people's hearts. Before I even arrived on the scene, the theater was already packed like a fair. Everyone started scolding from the first song, scolding..." He lowered his head, using the corner of his eye to sneak a peek at the short-statured mahjong player sitting above Yue's team, then continued to add, "scolding the Allied Forces' army as beasts in human skin. And following those little guys shouting anti-Japanese slogans. I took advantage of the chaos and threw several large bricks onto the stage, one of which clearly hit the target but failed to knock it down. Later on, the atmosphere below became more and more intense, I was afraid of exposing my identity, so I quickly led the men to retreat!"

  "I told you, your old method won't work!" Qin Deguang, sitting below Captain Yue, played a card and smiled as he scolded. "These students are unusually clear-headed and determined, unlike what we usually see. Trying to intimidate them by hurting a few people will only backfire in the end!"

  "These ignorant little things!" Captain Yue frowned, revealing a hint of helplessness on his face. "National affairs, even Director Song and Mr. Yin dare not make rash decisions, what are they blindly meddling with?! Little Yuan, you did the right thing today. At present, the crowd in Hulu Village is agitated, we can't easily provoke their anger. Otherwise, once a riot breaks out, it will be a disaster! You go down first and have lunch with your brothers, then continue to keep an eye on that group of young rascals, wait for further instructions on how to deal with them!"

  "Yes!" The leading Zhongshan-clad Yuan nodded again and backed away, retreating outside. Captain Yue thought for a moment, then suddenly spoke up, "Wait, they hired three horse-drawn carriages, didn't they? Think of something to do with the coachmen, but be careful not to offend everyone, don't cause trouble for Mr. Qin!"

  "Subordinates know what to do!" The Zhongshan suit, also known as Little Yuan, bowed again and led his men out of the door in a file. As the footsteps outside faded away, Qin Deguang fiddled with the mahjong tiles in his hand and chuckled: "I bet you that even without a carriage, they would still carry their bedding rolls on their backs from here to Beiping!"

  "Impossible!" Captain Yue picked up another card, rubbing it repeatedly with his thumb. This time he grabbed Zhang Yitong, who was not needed but would be at risk if thrown out. "They're all bookworms who haven't experienced any storms, can they really be stronger than soldiers?!"

  "Mr. Yue probably doesn't know yet!" The short-statured mahjong player sitting across from him sat up straight and sneered, "They actually came all the way from Shandong singing songs! They were originally taking the train, but it stopped at Ping'an Village, so they hired a horse-drawn carriage instead. To make their companions feel like the fare wasn't too high, that Tian fellow actually pawned off a Swiss-made gold watch as 'dead capital'!"

  Swiss-made gold watches were rare even in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai. They were usually bought by wealthy families as a last resort for their children when traveling, or given to future daughters-in-law as a token of recognition. As for "dead pawn", it was a type of pawnshop transaction that meant the owner had completely given up on redeeming the item, or this time they would not come back again.

  When he heard the short-statured mahjong player's words, Captain Yue's eyebrows quickly furrowed into a knot, and his fingers rubbed against the surface of the cards again and again, unable to make any decision. Seeing that he was still hesitating, the young mahjong player opposite him smiled and said in a low voice: "This is not strange, at present, the students in Beiping are also making trouble. Originally, Mr. Song had been persuaded by my uncle, but after being stirred up by those little rascals from the student army, he began to hesitate again! These student kids, although they don't have the ability to accomplish anything, they can always drag you down, and each one of them has a trick or two up their sleeve! Mr. Matsui, do you think I'm right?"

  "Indeed! Mr. Pan is right!" The short mahjong player sneered in response, "My teacher Tōhara said long ago that the training camp was the Achilles' heel of the 29th Army! If you don't cut off the Achilles' heel, you'll never be able to tame this bull! Mr. Qin, Mr. Yue, from now on, don't give the training camp any more fresh blood!"

  "This... " Captain Yue gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, "They, they are all seeds of knowledge..."

  In a moment of distraction, the tube in his hand fell onto the table. The young mahjong player opposite him was quick to react and immediately snatched it up, spreading out the tiles at home, "Hu le, one dragon!"

  Note 1: The Student Army, also known as the Student Brigade or Student Troop, was a force recruited by Song Zheyuan from patriotic students in Beiping and other places. Originally intended as an officer reserve unit for the 29th Army, it was annihilated during the July 7 Incident due to the betrayal of Pan Yugui, a notorious Han traitor, who led the Japanese army in a surprise attack.

  ，-，！