Chapter 3: An Unexpected Encounter

  The next morning, the old sky was beautiful, and the gray rain stopped before dawn, bringing a refreshing cool breeze to Guangzhou city under the autumn sun.

  The prosperity of Guangzhou city was beyond An Yi's expectation. He spent the whole morning wandering around, visiting places like Yide Road, Daxi Gate, Shuangyuan Alley and the Thirteen Hongs which had been rebuilt after a fire at the end of last century. Along the way, he saw many armed police officers and foreigners with blonde hair and blue eyes who looked very proud of themselves. What surprised An Yi most was that in a small shop at the intersection of Shisanhang and Gu Yi Street, he saw two foreigners speaking Cantonese fluently while haggling over the price of a Ming dynasty porcelain bowl with the boss. This incident had a great impact on An Yi. If foreigners could learn Cantonese, then he himself should also make an effort to learn it as soon as possible since he was struggling to survive in this place.

  At noon, the scorching sun evaporated the water that had fallen overnight, and Guangzhou was experiencing a period known as "the tail of the autumn tiger". An Yi left the noisy park, sweating profusely, with his clothes, which were clearly modified military uniforms, wrinkled and stuck to his skin, making him feel extremely uncomfortable in the humid and hot climate he was accustomed to. Sitting under the shade of a tree on Changdi Avenue, he looked up to see various opium dens, gambling houses, tea houses, and brothels lined up one after another, with the European-style buildings that were landmarks for Guangzhou people, such as Xinxin Department Store and New New Department Store, standing out in the distance. The bustling Changdi Wharf below was crowded with people coming and going, and the sound of steam whistles on the river and the chimes of the Sacred Heart Cathedral responded to each other, creating a unique atmosphere that made An Yi's eyes widen and his heart sink into it involuntarily.

  With a rumbling stomach, An Yi gathered his scattered thoughts and looked again at the row of long shops facing the Pearl River. He recalled the numerous recruitment advertisements in front of the new shops that had moved here after the Xiguan Great Fire and the defeat of the Merchant Corps, thinking about which one to ask first would be more suitable.

  Unconsciously, An Yi's gaze was drawn to a three-story foreign-style building with beautiful Roman columns across the street. The loud and mournful pleas of several young people in front of the gate, with their thick Hunan accents, piqued An Yi's interest. As he walked closer to see what was going on, a plain sign on the left side of the courtyard wall gave him a shock: Huangpu Military Academy Preparatory Office.

  An Yi thought that Huangpu was doing well, why was it still under preparation? After careful consideration, he understood the reason. Probably not long after setting up the preparatory office, this sign was still hanging here, which is not surprising. This place in the bustling area continued to serve as a liaison office for military schools, which had its advantages.

  Two staff members wearing gray uniforms were apparently annoyed by the noisy young people at the entrance, and after shouting a few words, they let the seven or eight young people with pleading faces return to their school immediately. However, the young people did not want to give up the opportunity and continued to explain and plead, but the two staff members had already slipped into the courtyard and closed the beautiful cast iron gate with flower patterns.

  An Yi's curiosity arose, and he walked closer to the wall to carefully examine the posted "Enrollment Brochure". After struggling to read a few lines of text, he was suddenly bumped heavily by someone. If it weren't for his agile reaction from years of playing basketball, An Yi's head would have been knocked against the wall. When An Yi steadied himself with the help of the wall, the young man who had bumped into him, with a handsome face and an air of elegance, was already standing in front of him, smiling apologetically: "Sorry about that, I was distracted by my conversation and didn't notice you there, are you hurt?"

  An Yi didn't know who these people were in front of him, but he was naturally kind and generous, so he listened to the other party's apology and hurriedly waved his hand, laughing in standard Mandarin: "It's okay, I'm not an old man who breaks apart with a single collision."

  Several people had already gathered around, and seeing An Yi being so friendly, they all smiled kindly. Among them was a short-haired young man who was not tall and about the same age as An Yi, extremely meticulous, listened to An Yi's words and immediately realized that he was not a local, then saw An Yi's stature was upright and his appearance elegant, thinking he was also an out-of-province student coming to take the entrance exam for Huangpu Military Academy, so he stepped forward half a step with interest and asked: "Brother, are you also here to take the military academy entrance exam? But the second term has already started classes, and the third term hasn't reached the examination date yet, brother, you've come at the wrong time!"

  "No, no, I'm not here to take the exam, I just happened to pass by and saw the recruitment notice on the wall, I was curious and stopped for a moment. At first, I even thought it was a job advertisement."

  A few people reacted differently upon hearing it, and they seemed to want to bid farewell and leave.

  It was the young man who collided with him, still apologetic, and said to An Yi: "We are students of the Lushun Lecture Hall of the Great Camp Army, but our lecture hall instructors are very few and there is no regular education. Everyone is unwilling to continue staying, and when we appealed to the Huangpu Military School, no one accepted us, so today we came again to react to the situation. After being rejected, I was a bit excited and didn't remember to watch the road, sorry!"

  "It's nothing."

  An Yi thought for a moment and felt that something was not right: "Since you are all military academy students, why aren't you wearing your uniforms? I saw several Huangpu students giving speeches at the First Park earlier, and they were all in uniform. What about you..."

  The young man with short hair saw his companion hesitate, and took over the topic in a loud voice: "To be honest with you, the Martial Arts Hall is no longer managed, eating has become a problem, we have no choice but to change into casual clothes and come here to appeal. We want to let the headquarters transfer us to the Whampoa Military Academy, otherwise it's just wasting time, isn't it? What's your surname, brother? You must have been in Guangzhou for quite some time, right? Where are you working now? With a physique like yours, it's a pity not to serve the country!"

  An Yi smiled awkwardly: "I'll be honest with you, my name is An Yi, 'safe and firm' An Yi, I'm from Sichuan, just arrived in Guangzhou a few days ago, almost got mistaken for a merchant and had my head chopped off, then fell ill for a while, haven't eaten properly for several days, came out to find something to do, otherwise I don't know how to survive."

  Everyone listened to An Yi's honest words, and they were all impressed by his tall and handsome appearance. Since they had also secretly left the Northern School Field Lecture Hall, and their pockets were almost empty after being rejected by the military school's preparation office staff, they didn't have anywhere else to go. They felt a bit of camaraderie, so they all walked under the wall of the courtyard and formed a circle around this kind young man who spoke beautiful Mandarin.

  The handsome young man who bumped into Anyi smiled and introduced himself: "My name is Chen Mingren, this youngest one is called Li Mowan, this is Liu Kan, this is Zuo Quan, this is Li Wen, Ding Delong, Chen Qili, we are all old friends from Hunan...Hey! What's wrong with you, brother?"

  An Yi stared blankly at Zuo Quan, who was standing to the side, and found it hard to believe that this person, who looked a bit like the Premier of the Republic, was actually Zuo Quan. An Yi's face was full of astonishment, and when he heard Chen Mingren's words, he came back to his senses, suddenly remembering that the handsome man in front of him was none other than the famous Chen Mingren, and he was stunned again. Due to his limited historical knowledge, An Yi didn't understand who the others were, but Zuo Quan and Chen Mingren's names left a deep impression on him.

  In the midst of everyone's puzzled gaze, An Yi quickly adjusted his mindset and scratched his head with a sheepish grin: "Heh heh! Nothing much, I just think you guys should be at Huangpu instead. Earlier when I passed by the First Park, I overheard two female students pointing at the high platform and discussing how the people on it were student leaders from Huangpu. They said that the one with great eloquence and demeanor on the left was named Jiang Xianyun, the little white face who was giving a speech was named Zeng something Qing, and another one was called He Zhonghan... I didn't pay much attention and left in a hurry. You guys are all talented generals, it would be a pity if you can't make it to Huangpu. Why don't you rush to the northern park and find that Jiang Xianyun and He Zhonghan? Ask them to put in a good word for you in front of Old Jiang. You're all young people, so you'll definitely get along well, and maybe things will be settled quickly."

  "What? You actually called respected Principal Jiang 'Old Jiang'?" Dīng Dé Lóng's expression turned serious, no longer smiling.

  "Right! He Zonghan is our fellow Hunanese from Yueyang, he definitely won't refuse to help." Liu Kan, a stout man with big ears, didn't care about An Yi's disrespect towards Principal Jiang at this moment, after all, his own future was at stake. Interestingly, as soon as Liu Kan shouted, everyone forgot about An Yi's disrespect.

  Zuo Quan, who had been silent all along, spoke up: "This is not a bad way to go about it. I've heard that Jiang Wushan (Jiang Xianyun's courtesy name) has earned the trust of Principal Jiang and serves as the secretary of the Russian advisor, with great influence among his fellow students at Huangpu and in the revolutionary army. If we can get him to help us, our chances will be much greater."

  "Really..."

  "I agree!"

  "Go right away."

  A group of passionate young people who were anxiously discussing their future forgot about An Yi's existence, and An Yi didn't mind either. Thinking that he needed to find a store to apply for a job, he hastily bid farewell and left. Chen Mingren and the others also politely said goodbye to An Yi, and as soon as An Yi left, several people quickly rushed northward.

  Fortunately for Chen Mingren and others, Jiang Xianyun and He Zhenhuan were very enthusiastic when they saw these unlucky old townspeople. After listening to their experiences, they immediately expressed their willingness to help. Sure enough, the matter was settled in less than half a month: Jiang Xianyun moved Bao Luotin of Ai Cai, Zeng Kuangqiu moved Principal Chiang Kai-shek, and Sun Yat-sen, who was shocked by two reports, brought up this matter at the meeting and immediately got the approval of most people.

  On November 19, after negotiations between the Military Government Department of the General Headquarters and the Army Lecture Hall, Chen Mingren, Zuo Quan and 146 others were transferred to the Whampoa Military Academy as they wished. On the same day at 11:30 in the morning, the special large electric boat "Nanyang No." carrying these 146 fully armed young people with hot blood arrived at the dock of the military academy. Chiang Kai-shek, Liao Zhongkai, Director Zhou and other school officials welcomed them at the dock, inspected this team of 146 people full of excitement and spirit, and immediately incorporated them into the regular student sequence of Whampoa.

  All this was unknown to An Yi, who didn't care either. After parting with Chen Mingren and others, he continued walking east along the South Embankment Road, striving to find a job that could make ends meet in as short a time as possible.

  He didn't apply to the military school not because he didn't know about the great opportunities it held, but because he simply wasn't capable. After reading the first few items in the "Enrollment Brochure", An Yi was very self-aware and thought: a person without identification, education, or a Nationalist Party member as a guarantor, who can't even read traditional characters fully and doesn't know how to write with a brush pen, would be humiliating himself by applying to military school.

  Again, the night he just arrived, the brutal massacre deeply shocked An Yi, so that until last night he was still waking up from nightmares. The unscrupulous harm of the gangsters on the Nine Eye Bridge in Chengdu and the bloody revenge killings at the Pearl River Wharf had cast a huge shadow deep within him. He, who had been reborn after the disaster, cherished his life more than anyone else, cherishing every day he was alive.

  At this time, he had already lost the spirit of commanding on the field, and no longer had the boldness to speak freely with his colleagues and friends, but instead became cautious and careful, thinking three times before acting.

  It's no wonder that an eighteen-year-old youth who has just entered the society and worked for less than a year would encounter such an unexpected series of changes, and at the critical moment when his mind is not yet mature and his thoughts are not yet settled, his character would not change at all, which is abnormal.