Chapter Twenty-Two: Searching for Heroes

  In the hospital ward of Huangpu Military Academy, Song Xilian, with a white bandage wrapped around his head, struggled to get up from bed, amidst the groans and moans of the wounded soldiers, took the wooden crutch by the bedside, slowly got down from the bed, supporting himself on the crutch, and slowly moved towards the door.

  On that day, he was thrown out of the carriage by a huge impact and thought he would die, but fortunately, he was cushioned by a tree branch and escaped. However, the huge force and severe fall caused him to bleed profusely from his head, and he fainted for two days and three nights. His right ankle was severely sprained. When the rescue team arrived, he was in a deep coma, but still tightly grasping the new shotgun, which no one could pry loose from his fingers, as if it had grown onto his hand. It wasn't until he was sent to the dock and given an emergency injection by the doctor that his hands finally relaxed.

  The first sentence he uttered after waking up was to ask where Xiao Yi was. The doctors and nurses didn't know who Xiao Yi was, and seeing Song Xiluan's eyes were red with fear, they quickly called for He Zonghan, who was supervising the training of new recruits. He Zonghan had no idea that An Yi was the driver from that day, and after listening to Song Xiluan's account, he was shocked. He immediately comforted Song Xiluan, saying that maybe at the time it was too busy and chaotic, and maybe Xiao Yi had already returned to work. After calming Song Xiluan down, He Zonghan told him that Huang Jie and Chen Gong were leading troops on a mission in the suburbs of Guangzhou, and he would notify them to search for Xiao Yi right away. As soon as they went out, they would report to the Political Department.

  Song Xiwen grasped He Zhenhan's sleeve and said with difficulty: Xiao Yi drove into the enemy array for our decisive battle, not even caring about his own life. We still don't know whether he is dead or alive, can we be at peace with our conscience? If you don't bring Xiao Yi back to me, then don't speak to me again in the future.

  He Zhenhan ran to the political department to report, and the people who stayed in the military school, including Director Shao Lizi of the Political Department, Education Commissioner Fang Dingying, and Propaganda Section Chief Lu Chunren, were all shocked after listening. They said that this was not exactly the person that the principal and General Galen had ordered them to find twice? However, at that time, the war situation was urgent, and the personnel of the political department could not find the person, so they had to follow the main force and continue to advance. After entering Guangzhou, they wanted to find him again but did not know the name of the heroic driver, nor did they know where he came from. As a result, it was delayed until now, and they regretted not thinking of finding that car in what place at that time.

  Fang Dingying immediately ordered, He Zhenhan led two clerks to cross the river and enter the city to find An Yi. After finding him, he was sent to the Central Party Department in the city, where Principal Chiang, Director Zhou, and the head of the advisory group, Galen, Borodin, and Chief Instructor He Yingqin were holding a meeting. Afterwards, they called the school to arrange for this outstanding revolutionary youth An Yi to meet with teachers and students, and to participate in the commendation conference three days later.

  He Yunhan took people to sit on the special motorboat dispatched by the school headquarters, and rushed straight to the Tianzi Wharf. After landing, they ran through the celebrating procession team to the divination stall next to the silk merchant's house, but Lao Dao didn't even have a shadow, and the Eight Immortals' table for divination and the yellow flag were nowhere to be found.

  He Zhenhan thought for a moment, then immediately led his men to the "Tai Chang" business firm. In front of the tightly closed gate, he stood in a daze for a moment before knocking on the door. A man in his thirties opened the door a crack and saw three sweaty soldiers looking for An Yi. He apologized and explained: "Sorry, An Yi was fired by the boss three days ago. I don't know where he lives now. I heard it's at the Qiujia compound on Renji Road, Chaoxing Street."

  Xie Zonghan, who had been thinking carefully, saw the staff wanting to close the door and quickly stretched out one foot to step on the door frame. With a smile, he asked: "Can you tell me the reason for firing An Yi?"

  The middle-aged man hesitated and didn't want to answer, but seeing He Zhonghan's repeated inquiries without malice and quite kind, he told him the reason:

  "Xiao Yi is a kind and righteous person! Let's not mention his skills, but just talk about what happened when the Yunnan army requisitioned our trucks and wanted to burn down the business. Most people would have avoided it at all costs, but he didn't. As soon as he got the news, he rushed over from home and managed to persuade them with kind words, avoiding a disaster for the business. He even drove alone with the fierce Yunnan army for over a month, enduring endless hardships. We colleagues occasionally saw him being escorted by soldiers on the street, looking gaunt and worried. But who dared to provoke those warlords? Just three days ago, after the revolutionary army entered Guangzhou, Xiao Yi returned safely. However, Master Chen scolded him for not protecting the business's trucks well, saying that several thousand dollars' worth of valuable goods were damaged by bullets, with hundreds of holes and severe deformation, rendering them useless. He even had someone use a nine-headed cow to pull back the broken truck, losing face for the business. Such a huge mistake cannot be forgiven, and he was fired on the spot! It's as if they forgot that Xiao Yi went there in the first place to protect the business's assets and everyone's lives. Alas... we're all upset and feel it's unfair, but what can you do when you're under someone else's roof?"

  He Zhanchan thanked and immediately rushed to the Chaoxing Street Qianjia compound, asking everyone that An Yi had moved away for a long time. Even Lao Dao, Dongzi, and the mother and son who did laundry had also moved away one after another. As for where they moved to, no one asked, and they didn't say either.

  He Zonghan led his men to search the streets for three consecutive days, but they couldn't find An Yi anywhere. With no other choice, he had to tell Song Xiuwen, who was bedridden with illness.

  Song Xi thought for a moment, and sighed in pain: "It must be that Xiao Yi saw that we didn't care about him, so he was heartbroken and hid away, not wanting to see us again. We wronged him! If it weren't for Xiao Yi, how could we have taken Dragon Eye Cave and swept through Skinny Dog Ridge so smoothly? His merit is greater than anyone of ours!"

  A few days later, Chiang returned to the Whampoa Military Academy, where he had been tormented by the infighting among the party's top leaders and various factional commanders. He immediately convened a meeting of the heads of the political department, training department, student corps, and other officers, conveying the latest spirit from the Party Department. Then, he ordered the person in charge of the Military Union and six outstanding representatives from the first period to attend the meeting. The first item on the agenda was to listen to He Yingqin's report on searching for An Yi.

  In a sigh of regret, Principal Chiang turned to Chen Gong and He Zhenhan with some displeasure: "You two and Huang Jie, Song Xilian are the most clear about An Yi's contribution. Why haven't you found him in five days after receiving the task from the school headquarters? Don't you know how important this model is for inspiring morale and boosting civilian spirits?"

  "Huang Jie stood up and replied loudly: 'Report to the principal, we all know that An Yi made outstanding contributions in this rebellion war. He was a ordinary young man with revolutionary awareness who drove into the enemy's position without regard for his own life, disrupting the enemy's formation and creating a valuable opportunity for our army's attack. It was he who used his excellent drawing skills and extraordinary memory to mark out the positions of the Yunnan-Guizhou rebels...'"

  "Wait! Huang Jie, I need to clarify something here."

  "Commander Wang Bai-ling of the Second Battalion of the Military Academy interrupted Huang Jie's words: "The hand-drawn map you brought back before the battle at Longyan Cave is indeed valuable for reference, but it can only serve as a confirmation and reference. We have already obtained more detailed and comprehensive information about the troop deployments of the Yunnan and Guangxi armies than what An Yi's so-called distribution map provided. Therefore, we cannot attribute this achievement to An Yi. From now on, let us not mention this matter again, lest it damage the image of our revolutionary army. People who do not understand the inside story may think that our military does not even have the most basic capabilities, and the impact could be very bad. Of course, everyone has witnessed An Yi's meritorious deeds and heroic actions, and we must give them great praise and publicity, setting him up as a model for revolutionary youth. If he is willing to join our revolutionary army, that would be even better. Do you understand?"

  "Yes!"

  Huang Jie answered loudly and then slowly sat down.

  Wang Boling nodded in satisfaction, while He Yingqin beside him let out a slight sigh, picked up his teacup and drank silently, thinking to himself that he couldn't bring himself to do something like this - using clever words to distort the facts and deny the achievements of a progressive young man, even if it was done with the intention of maintaining the image of the army and the reputation of the revolutionary forces.

  Chiang Kai-shek's expression turned slightly awkward, and his tone became much more gentle: "Jiang Xianyun, I've noticed you haven't spoken up until now, but the look in your eyes suggests that you're deep in thought. You must have your own opinions about An Yi, don't you?"

  "Reporting to the principal, An Yi is someone that almost half of our classmates know. The two hundred beef pies we brought back to school last time were gifted by An Yi. Moreover, all of you present here get along well with An Yi, including myself. We all think he's kind-hearted, intelligent and hardworking, especially with his exceptional mechanical repair skills, able to drive and repair cars skillfully. He's physically strong and a man of integrity, a rare talent indeed."

  Jiang Xianyun took the opportunity to lavish praise on An Yi, apparently with his own plans in mind. However, apart from He Zonghan and Zeng Kuangying, who understood what he was thinking, everyone else thought that what he said was very correct without reading too much into it.

  Director Zhou smiled and said: "Please sit down, listening to you say this, it has stirred up the love of talent in the principal and all the officials present, haha! I think your top priority now is to find a way to find An Yi as soon as possible. Even I want to meet him now, let alone so many officials who value talent like their lives and take cultivating revolutionary successors as their duty? You must continue to work hard!"

  "Yes! We must try every means to find An Yi as soon as possible." Jiang Xianyun replied loudly.

  At the same time, in the Liu Garden at No. 2 Puzi Street, An Yi was frowning and looking gloomy as he held a thick thread-bound book, reading aloud: "...In spring, Song Gong and Wei Hou met at Chui, on the third month, Zheng Bo Shi Yan came back... Jin. Gengyin, I entered..."

  "Halt! You've read the character 'yǎn' so many times and still can't remember it? Where have you been putting your mind?"

  The old man coughed a few times and slowly sat up in his rocking chair, taking the tea from Er Mao and drinking a small mouthful.

  "Old man, you're not sick yet, but once you are, you force me to read this 'Spring and Autumn' without punctuation every day. It's fine that you make me practice writing in small characters during the day, and I even agree that making me recite 'The Art of War' is useful for doing business. But aren't you being too extreme? Forcing me to read 'Spring and Autumn'? Is this something a human can do? You say you're coughing like this but won't go to bed and rest properly, instead doing things that harm others without benefiting yourself. What's the point of all this?"

  The old man didn't get angry at all, but instead smiled slightly: "The last two sentences are well said and the words are accurate, which fully shows that after this period of hard reading, you have made progress! Let's stop here for today, tomorrow morning after breakfast, you recite the 'Marching' chapter of 'Sun Tzu's Art of War' to me, remember, if you make a mistake in one word, old rules, copy it ten times... Er Mao, help me take the tea cup into the room and sleep with me tonight, I'll continue telling you yesterday's story."

  "Alright!"

  Er Mao excitedly held the old Dao's teacup and ran into the west-facing room, where An Yi, who had been tormented by the old Dao until his eyes were full of stars, directly threw his head onto the Eight Immortals table, making a loud "thud" sound.

  Winter stood at the door of the east-facing room in the front hall, covering her mouth with her hand, gently closing the door, and jumping onto the bed to cover her head with a quilt, bursting into loud laughter...