Chapter Twenty-Five: Inquiry

  In the simple principal's reception room, Chiang Kai-shek, who had already received the news, was extremely happy. He instructed his secretary to call in the heads of various departments to meet with him and receive the excellent young man they had been searching for for a long time. Except for Liao Zhongkai, the party representative of the military academy who had been busy outside for a long time, and Zhou, the deputy director of the political department who had external liaison tasks, nine people including Vice Principal Li Jishen, Education Director Fang Dingying, former Education Director Wang Boling, Chief Instructor He Yingqin, Political Department Director Shao Lizi, Professor Department Director Li Dang, Training Department Director Yan Chong, Advisor Chang Bailianov, and Engineer Advisor Mutelin came with great pleasure to take a look. Everyone was full of curiosity about An Yi, who had not appeared for a long time.

  After a brief report, An Yi was led into the reception hall by Zhang Dingli, the director of the principal's office. Hu Zongnan and seven others were also called in at the same time. An Yi, who was hastily adjusting his mood, had a slightly red face. Two months of recuperation had made his skin much whiter, so the flush on his face was quite noticeable. Seeing Hu Zongnan and others standing upright with neat salutes, An Yi could only bow deeply to show his respect and greetings.

  Everyone stared at An Yi, who was tall and handsome, and carefully sized him up. They thought that the elegant and refined young man in front of them, except for his slightly longer hair, had a satisfactory figure and appearance. His humble and slightly shy expression showed his sincerity, which did not match the image of a fierce driver who crashed through two barriers and trampled a fortress that everyone had imagined.

  Chiang Kai-shek, sitting in the center, exchanged a glance with his colleagues and chuckled for a moment. The living room immediately echoed with pleasant laughter. Old Chiang waved his hand to signal Hu Zongnan and others to take a break, and smiled warmly in his characteristic official tone: "You young people are amazing! The Battle of Longyandong left us with a very deep impression. Your sudden appearance broke the stalemate on the entire battlefield, giving our army a precious opportunity to attack. Your contribution is truly remarkable! I heard that He Lunhuan and Chen Gong have been looking for you all this time, but twice when they saw you, you avoided them and slipped away quietly. Why is that?"

  An Yi's heart became even more tense, he didn't think Old Jiang would know so clearly, and as soon as he came, he asked about this embarrassing matter. He couldn't say that the cigarette lighter hadn't sold well and had no time to bother with these old men, but now that he was asked, he couldn't not answer!

  His mouth twitched twice: "This is my fault, I've been thinking that after the battle that day, there was no one in sight. Did everyone forget about me? Later, I found out that I had driven my car into a small river and was caught by the engineering troops of the guidance team, who took advantage of the opportunity to rush up and use wooden boards to build a bridge on my head. The people left behind to clean up the battlefield didn't notice that under the dark bridge surface there was still a badly damaged car, let alone me inside it. As a result, when I woke up, it was already the next afternoon. If it weren't for Sanbo, the leader of the local farmers' self-defense team, who led over 100 people to help, carrying the car ashore and sending me back to town with oxen, I probably wouldn't have been able to get out myself."

  Everyone listened to An Yi's words and burst into laughter, even Li Jishen, who rarely smiled, couldn't help but smile, thinking that the young man in front of them was so honest and lovable.

  Li Jishen suddenly patted his forehead and said to Old Chiang beside him, "I understand now. Some time ago, the regimental commanders under me asked if the spectacle of nine water buffaloes pulling a broken cart in a grand parade was organized by our military school? Their several patrol teams saw the large procession and were deeply infected, so they also joined in. After the parade, they thought about it and didn't know why they had paraded or which department had organized it. I was puzzled at that time. During that period, there were parades and celebrations every day with tens of thousands of people, one bigger than the other. With my busy schedule, I didn't continue to pay attention. I didn't expect it was our little hero's experience. What a coincidence!"

  "So you're saying that the grand parade celebrating our entry into Guangzhou City was initiated by this young man?" Shao Lizi asked in surprise, and everyone immediately looked at An Yi.

  "No, no! It was a misunderstanding, not intentional, nobody knew it would turn out like that! At first, just a dozen or so enthusiastic militiamen drove me and the car back to town with a few cows, but as we walked, more and more people joined in, passing on the militia's words until it became a huge commotion. By the time we entered the city, there were countless people in front of and behind us. I was so scared that I couldn't even hold onto the steering wheel. When we reached the alley entrance to our 'Tai Chang' store's backyard, I begged Third Uncle to hurry up and drive the cows to pull the car in. At the time, I was terrified, and to this day, I still regret it. If only I had known, I wouldn't have kept that broken-down car."

  The crowd was shocked and burst into laughter, Hu Zongnan and several others laughed so hard that they almost fell over, it took them a good few minutes to calm down. Everyone had a great impression of An Yi after this.

  Old Chiang patted his bald head and smiled at Shao Lizi, who nodded knowingly and turned to An Yi:

  "Xiao An, your Mandarin is excellent! I've also heard that you're very eloquent and have a great personality, always making friends laugh. Your words just now really resonated with us all, haha!"

  Sha Li Tzu couldn't help but laugh again, and the several old men beside him were infected by his laughter. The gentle Sha Li Tzu put away his smile and asked kindly: "The boss of the commercial firm where you work, Mr. Ou Yaoting, is a well-known enlightened rich man in both provinces and Hong Kong, and also our good friend. He has always supported our revolutionary cause with extraordinary knowledge and rare political awareness. I heard that Mr. Ou Yaoting attaches great importance to you, so I suppose Little An must have some understanding of the revolution and Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People?"

  An Yi knew that his worst fears had come true and no matter how hard he thought, he didn't know how to answer properly. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

  Old Chiang smiled slightly: "Xiao An, don't be nervous, just say what you think, no one will laugh at you if you're wrong. Go ahead, be bold!"

  An Yi nodded involuntarily: "I... I didn't study Mr. Sun's Three Principles of the People seriously, and what I came into contact with was only from newspapers, so I don't know how to say it... I remember that when I first wandered to Guangzhou, I almost got beheaded by the Merchant Corps, which had a great impact on me, and I fell ill for several days. Later, I gradually learned about the Merchant Corps, Chen Jiongming who opposed the revolution, warlords Yang Ximin and Liu Zhenhuan, etc. That day, I unexpectedly appeared on the battlefield of Longyandong because I was forced by Yang Ximin's Yunnan army to drive a car to transport military supplies for battle. The reason why I drove the car for 44 days is that if I didn't go, those Yunnan soldiers would have burned down our boss Mr. Ou's business, and they took over the cars on that night, with over 100 people holding torches surrounding the business, beating up Chen Zhujiu, even my uncle who was over 60 years old was beaten, so I had to follow them, or else the car wouldn't be safe, the business wouldn't be safe, and I'm afraid Chen Zhujiu and his colleagues' lives wouldn't be safe either."

  An Wei said, his mouth dry and tongue parched. He swallowed hard, wiping the sweat from his forehead: "I went like this every day, under the supervision of Yunnan military officers, hauling goods to various positions - bullets, sacks, rice, and opium. The night before the battle at Longyan Cave, I was ordered to haul a cart of sacks to Shou Gou Ridge, where I saw over 1,000 civilians who had been forcibly conscripted and were being tortured to death. This kind of civilian laborer was everywhere on the Yunnan military's positions, but nowhere else was as miserable as Shou Gou Ridge. After unloading the sacks, dozens of these laborers, unable to bear it any longer, suddenly dropped their loads and ran away. The Yunnan military immediately opened fire, and in an instant, dozens of people were killed. A child under 15 years old frantically ran towards me, and I shouted 'Don't shoot! I'll stop him!' But the soldiers chasing him didn't shoot; instead, the company commander who had been supervising me for several dozen days shot his new German rifle, blowing the child's head apart with one shot. I had already stretched out my hands to hug the child, thinking that if I could just block the bullet, I could still help him beg for mercy. But he died right in front of me, and I hugged him as his brain matter spilled all over my chest... I woke up, questioning the company commander, who gave me two kicks..."

  An Yi's eyes were moist and she couldn't continue speaking. The living room fell into a silence so deep that one could hear a pin drop, while Fang Dingying and others also took off their glasses to wipe away tears.

  An Yi sniffled, then continued: "That night, I returned to the Western Camp and loaded a cart with opium ash. I rushed to the Longyan Cave where Hu Si-sheng's Yunnan army was stationed. Before dawn the next day, I met Huang Jie and Song Xi-luan who were hiding in a ditch at the sawmill. After they left, I returned to the parking place to think of ways to escape. Not long after noon, an explosion occurred when a company of Yunnan soldiers were transporting ammunition, and Hu Si-sheng's vanguard killed all the remaining soldiers. I took advantage of the chaos to kill the guard who was watching me, twisting his neck until it broke. This was my first time killing someone, and I wasn't afraid at all - on the contrary, I felt very excited. Old Song saw this secretly when he returned, and later as the battle became more intense, he asked me to help drive a car into the enemy's position to cause chaos, or else the Huangpu army would suffer heavy casualties. I thought about how many of my brothers were being killed by bullets on the other side, so I agreed."

  Everyone nodded frequently, and Hu Zongnan, Jiang Xianyun and others were deeply moved. Everyone looked at An Yi's eyes differently, and no one blamed him for not answering the question.

  But who would have thought that An Yi had already let go, and before Shao Lizi and Fang Dingying could ask again, he blurted out a string of shocking words:

  "Gentlemen, generals, I suddenly recalled these vivid events because I now understand what warlords are, especially after seeing the British kill our people and sail their warships into White Goose Pond with impunity. I finally grasped Mr. Sun's concepts of nationalism, democracy, and people's livelihood.

  Recently, some newspapers have divided nationalism into two types: broad and narrow. The former advocates for self-reflection rather than revenge, strongly criticizing so-called narrow nationalism. Honestly, I'm very opposed to this. If forced to choose, I'd rather be a narrow nationalist who stands up to guns and cannons with my head held high than a broad-minded one who hides in shame.

  A nation without dignity, always yielding to others, has no hope. As for democracy and people's livelihood, I think it's easy to understand: overthrowing warlords and unifying China is the best way to achieve this. Otherwise, regional warlords will continue to divide and conquer, occasionally fighting each other to death for their own interests, ultimately harming the people.

  Only by eliminating warlords and achieving national unity can we sit down to discuss human rights, labor rights, development rights, and other rights. Only then can we unite as one to build our nation and resist foreign humiliation. This is my understanding of Mr. Sun's Three Principles of the People."

  The crowd stared at the young man in front of them, who was quite agitated, and were deeply shocked by his understanding of the Three Principles of the People in his heart. It was hard to imagine that such a unique view, such a firm belief, would come from the mouth of a young man who had not even grown a beard. He could say profound words like narrow nationalism, right to survival, right to labor, and right to development, and his sentences were smooth and realistic. Moreover, he had such a deep-seated hatred for warlords and such a stubborn and direct understanding of the road to realizing the Three Principles of the People, which made everyone feel unbelievable.

  "Good! We haven't misjudged you, you're an outstanding young man, a progressive youth with ideas and vision! Comrade Xiao An, I'm going to ask you one question now: are you willing to come study at our Huangpu Academy, to cultivate solid knowledge and unshakeable convictions, in order to realize your ideal of the Three Principles of the People?"

  Chiang Kai-shek stood up, his eyes shining brightly as he stared at An Yi.