Chapter One

  1937. Peiping.

  "My home is on the Songhua River in Northeast China, where there are forests and coal mines, and vast fields of soybeans and sorghum. My home is on the Songhua River in Northeast China, where my compatriots live, and my aging parents. '9-18', '9-18', from that tragic time, '9-18', '9-18', from that tragic time. I was separated from my hometown, abandoned those endless treasures, wandering! Wandering! Drifting in the interior of the country! What year, what month, can I return to my beloved hometown? What year, what month, can I recover those endless treasures? Father and mother, father and mother, when can we reunite?! The song echoed faintly from the room of the Zhenwu Temple, with a strong sense of national concern and people's anxiety."

  Zhen Shen Wu Guan was the largest martial arts school in Beiping, and its master, Liang Liangfeng, was renowned for his extraordinary knife skills. He had over a hundred disciples, many of whom were skilled with knives, and together they made Zhen Shen Wu Guan's reputation resound. However, aside from Liang Liangfeng, the strongest knife wielder in the school was his own son, Liang Zhongguo, who was also the one humming this tune to himself in his room.

  The sound of footsteps echoed, and a man pushed open the door to Liang Zhongguo's house. At this moment, Liang Zhongguo was sitting in a chair seven steps away from the door, listening to the sound and turning his head to see a robust young man, who immediately stood up and said: "Teacher, you're back."

  The man in his thirties, wearing a long gown and a pair of black-framed glasses on the bridge of his nose, was Huang Kai, Liang Zhongguo's enlightenment teacher.

  Huang Kai stretched out his hands to signal Liang Zhongguo to sit down, and Liang Zhongguo did as he was told. Huang Kai walked forward and placed the book on the table, elegantly sitting in the chair. He said, "Zhongguo, my skill at relieving myself has moved you to sigh."

  Li said with a sigh, "Teacher, in two more days it will be the festival, and also the fifth anniversary of our Northeast China falling to Japan. However, in these five years, the National Government has not sent troops to retake the Northeast, and our compatriots in the Northeast have suffered greatly at the hands of the little devils. Can you say I'm not heartbroken?"

  On the night of September 18, 1931, the Japanese Kwantung Army blew up a section of the South Manchurian Railway near Liutiaohu, falsely accusing Chinese troops of sabotage. They then bombarded the Northeastern Army's garrison in Shenyang and occupied the city, marking the beginning of the "September 18 Incident". As Zhang Xueliang followed Chiang Kai-shek's order not to resist, they retreated without a fight. Less than half a year later, all three provinces in Northeast China fell into Japanese hands. The following year, Japan established the puppet state of Manchukuo with Puyi, the deposed Qing emperor, as its figurehead. The three northeastern provinces of China became colonies of Japanese imperialism.

  As for the term "ghost" being a derogatory term used by Chinese people to refer to Japanese people, there is another story behind it. Before the First Sino-Japanese War, a Qing dynasty minister was sent to Japan for negotiations. After the talks ended, both sides held a joint press conference. The Japanese not only wanted to show off their military power in front of the world but also wanted to humiliate China culturally. After the reporters gathered, the Japanese suddenly raised an unrelated question: "We Japanese have a couplet that we can't come up with a match for, so we had to ask someone from the birthplace of Chinese characters." The Japanese then showed off a white silk cloth with the top couplet written on it, which read: Riding a rare horse, drawing a long bow, playing the qin and se, eight great kings, standing shoulder to shoulder, fighting alone! The meaning behind the Japanese couplet was that they were saying: Our great Japan is strong and powerful, riding rare horses, drawing long bows, and not only are we good at martial arts, but we also have eight great kings with great talents. We will show off our cultural virtues and display our military prowess, and Japan can defeat China alone! Who knew that the Qing minister would not back down? He asked the Japanese to prepare an inkstone and grind the ink, then spread out a white silk cloth, and with one stroke of his brush, he wrote the bottom couplet: The couplet read: Dwarf people steal dragon robes, goblins and monsters, four small ghosts, kneeling beside, hands tied behind! Many reporters looked at it and cheered. The meaning behind the bottom couplet was that the Japanese are dwarves who steal the great Qing dynasty's dragon robes, the "eight great kings" became "four small ghosts", the "qin and se" became "goblins and monsters", "standing shoulder to shoulder" became "kneeling beside", and "fighting alone" became "hands tied behind". From then on, Chinese people called Japanese people "ghosts".

  "Huang Kai comforted: "China, you're too pessimistic, we must have confidence. Although the Japanese have occupied the three northeastern provinces, Zhengzhou has not yet sent troops, but the people of Northeast China who do not want to be slaves and the Northeastern Army that has not retreated are organizing anti-Japanese volunteer armies to attack the Japanese bandits. Moreover, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng launched the Xi'an Incident, and Chiang Kai-shek accepted the proposal for a united front against Japan. I think the KMT and CPC will soon join hands to retake our old home in Northeast China."

  The Xi'an Incident, also known as the Double Twelfth Incident, occurred in December 1936 when Chiang Kai-shek arrived in Xi'an and coerced Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng into executing a plan to "exterminate" the Communists. Zhang Xueliang repeatedly advised Chiang Kai-shek to stop the civil war and unite with the Communists to resist Japan, but was met with unreasonable scolding. On December 12th, they detained Chiang Kai-shek and implemented a "military warning", forcing him to resist Japan. Later, the Xi'an Incident was peacefully resolved, and Chiang Kai-shek returned safely to Nanjing, but from then on, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng were never able to enjoy good fortune again.

  Li said with a shake of his head, "Teacher, I don't think so. Those anti-Japanese guerrilla forces are weak and cannot deal a fatal blow to the enemy. Besides, Chiang Kai-shek has always been passive in resisting Japan, what he says is not credible. And as for the Communist Party and the Nationalist Party joining hands to take back the three northeastern provinces, that's just nonsense."

  "Why?" Huang Kai asked.

  Li Zhongren slowly said: "The two parties, the Nationalists and the Communists, have deep-seated hatred for each other. The civil war has been going on for ten years now. It's only because of the great national cause that we are temporarily cooperating. If we really join forces to fight Japan, it would be because the Nationalist Party is China's legitimate government and its military strength is also greater than ours. Do you think Chiang Kai-shek would agree to this?"

  Huang Kai smiled and said: "You say Chiang Kai-shek won't agree?"

  Li Dequan said: "Foreign enemies are easy to deal with, but internal traitors are hard to prevent. In the past, when I personally occupied the three eastern provinces, Chiang Kai-shek was busy encircling and annihilating the Red Army. After the three eastern provinces fell, Chiang Kai-shek still busied himself with encircling and annihilating the Red Army. It can be seen that in Chiang Kai-shek's heart, the Communist Party is more important than I am. Recapturing the three eastern provinces will definitely be a tough battle, requiring heavy casualties, but those soldiers are needed by Chiang Kai-shek to deal with the Communists, how could he fight me?"

  Huang Kai said: "According to your words, it can be said that the three northeastern provinces will never be recovered."

  Li Chongzheng said with a mysterious tone: "That's not necessarily true, Master. Please listen to me slowly."

  Huang Kai said with interest: "China, you say, I will listen carefully."

  Liáng Zhōngguó cares about national affairs and loves to talk about national affairs. Seeing his teacher's solemn expression, he spoke with great enthusiasm: "Chiang Kai-shek doesn't fight Japan because Japan hasn't completely threatened his rule yet. For Chiang Kai-shek to resist Japan, Japan must fully invade China, only then will Chiang Kai-shek be anxious and wholeheartedly resist Japan. At that time, it won't be about recovering the three northeastern provinces, but rather we Chinese people driving the Japanese out of our great land!" When he spoke his last sentence, Liáng Zhōngguó's voice suddenly rose, his energy soared to the heavens, and Huáng Kǎi was shocked.

  Li Chongyuan scratched his head and said, "Teacher, I'm too excited."

  Huang Kai said, "If every Chinese person were like China, then China would have hope. Alright, let's stop talking about national hatred and family feuds for now, and continue reading books." He pushed the Four Books and Five Classics on the table in front of Liang Zhongguo.

  Li Chongzhong sighed and said: "Uncle Huang, what's the point of reading 'The Great Learning' and 'Analects'? Can't we just not read them?"

  Huang Kaiyan said: "These are all Chinese Confucian classics, containing great philosophical truths. How can one not read them?"

  Li Guochang leaned on his hand and said: "Now China is in a situation where it has internal troubles and external threats, reading these books cannot protect the family or defend the country, what's the use of reading them?"

  "The ancients said: 'Cultivate oneself, put one's family in order, govern the state, and bring peace to the world.' If one does not cultivate oneself, everything else is futile."

  Li Guang opposed: "Liu Bang's moral character is poor, but he can still be a good emperor."

  "Huang Kai angrily said: 'Do you want to be a person like Liu Bang?'"

  Li Guang saw his teacher get angry, felt a little scared and said in a low voice: "What Liu Bang says is reasonable."

  Huang Kai Xiao knew he had a bad temper, so he lowered his voice and said softly: "I'm not denying Liu Bang, but Liu Bang is greedy for wealth and loves to show off. I don't want you to become that kind of person."

  Li Chongyu patted his chest and said: "Teacher, rest assured, I will never be that kind of person."

  Huang Kai nodded and said, "A young child can be taught."

  Li Chong said in a low voice: "Teacher, actually I want to read other books."

  Huang Kaidao said: "Do you want to read military books?"

  Li Chong said with a nod: "I think I should take advantage of the current free time to read more military books, so that when I go to the battlefield in the future, I can kill the enemy well."

  Huang Kaiwen said calmly, "This idea is good, but I don't understand military strategy. Even if you don't understand something, I won't be able to teach you. As your teacher, I only know the principles of sages and worthies, which I will naturally teach you since your father paid for it. You can look at the books on warfare later tonight."

  Li Chongguang agreed: "Okay."

  Huang Kai looked at Liang Zhongguo and said, "Zhongguo, you know I've always been grateful to your father. Your father entrusted you to me, so I must not disappoint his expectations."

  Li Chong asked curiously: "Do you owe a debt of gratitude to my father?"

  Huang Kai said: "Didn't your dad tell you?"

  Liáng Zhōngguó shook his head and said: "No."

  Huang Kai praised: "Your father is good at spreading kindness to others."

  Li said: "Teacher, no, Uncle Huang, let's chat."

  Huang Kai frowned and said: "It's class time now, chatting is not good."

  Liáng Zhōngguó picked up the pocket watch on the table and looked at the time, saying: "Uncle Huáng, it's already half past eleven, class is over, let's chat."

  "Alright, let's have a chat."

  Liáng Zhōngguó asked curiously: "Uncle Huáng, what's this about you owing a debt of gratitude to my father?"

  Huang Kai sighed, "Seven years ago, my daughter Xiangsu contracted a strange and incurable illness. I sought medical treatment everywhere, but at the time, I was just an ordinary private school teacher with little money. The medical expenses were exorbitant, and within three months, I had spent all my savings without being able to afford any more medicine. Xiangsu was still waiting for me to get her the medicine to save her life. I went to the pharmacy to beg the owner to lend me some medicine on credit, promising to pay him back when I had the money. But the pharmacy owner refused, saying, 'Small business, no credit.'"

  Li said angrily: "Doctors are supposed to save lives and heal wounds, how can they be so greedy for money?"

  Huang Kai said, "They are also doing it for a living, no wonder they are like that."

  "What's next?"

  Huang Kai smiled and said, "Just when the fire was burning my eyebrows, your father came to buy medicine because your mother had a fever. Seeing me entangled with the owner of the pharmacy, he inquired about the situation, and after learning everything, he didn't say another word and immediately paid for me. He even helped arrange for me to be your teacher, with a generous salary, so that Xiangsu's illness could be cured; otherwise, Xiangsu would have died long ago."

  Li Chongzhong suddenly realized: "So it was."

  Huang Kai stood up and said: "The class is over, Xiang Su has cooked a good meal waiting for me to go home and eat, I'm leaving."

  Li Chongzhao stood up and bowed: "Teacher, slow down."

  Huang Kai suddenly said: "China, you don't have to send it off, but I thought of something that can increase your interest in reading the Four Books and Five Classics."

  "What's going on?"

  Huang Kai leaned his head close to He Feihang's ear and said, "You're very handsome, and in the future, many girls will like you. If you read extensively, you'll be even more charming." Liang Zhongguo was still stunned and hadn't come back to himself, while Huang Kai laughed loudly and left Liang Zhongguo's room with big strides.