Chapter 29: Hard to Express the Knot in My Heart

  Chen Lifu and his entourage stayed in Ganzhou for three days before leaving Ganzhou and returning to Nanjing.

  Before leaving, considering the establishment of a Zhongtong Heshi Xing Sheng branch and the need for reliable people to strengthen ties with Li Ruofeng, Chen Lifu left Ye Bei in charge, who volunteered to take on the task, to preside over Zhongtong's affairs in the northwest.

  Chen Lifu and others had just left Ganzhou when Li Ruofeng immediately invited Ma Zhongying to the headquarters.

  Li Ruofeng understood that for now in the Northwest, they still needed Ma Zhongying as a banner, and besides, he didn't want to be known for burning his bridges.

  Ma Zhongying gazed out at the dense dark clouds in the sky outside the window, his mood seeming to be even more overcast than this gloomy day that was on the verge of rain.

  Lead-gray thick clouds pressed down on the distant mountain tops, as if relying solely on the support of the peaks to prevent them from collapsing.

  Looking at Ma Zhongying standing in front of the window with a lost expression, Li Ruofeng walked over slowly and gazed at the distant sky where the dense clouds were constantly changing. He smiled calmly and said: "Brother Zhongying, I still say what I used to say, the Hexi Corridor was yours before, it is still yours now, and it will be yours in the future."

  Ma Zhongying's eyes were dull as he turned his head to look at Li Ruofeng, shook his head and smiled miserably: "Are you pitying me?"

  "Pitiful? Brother Zhongying, how could you say such a thing?" Li Ruofeng said calmly: "If you really think so, then I'm truly disappointed."

  "With the military and political power of Hexi Province entirely in your hands, what's the point of me, Ma Zhongying, staying here?" Ma Zhongying's expression returned to calmness, he picked up the teacup in front of him, rotating it gently, "Brother Feng, to be honest, I was defeated by you, and I admit it with a humble heart."

  Li Ruofeng smiled slightly and said, "It doesn't matter whether you win or lose, Brother Zhongying. Military affairs serve politics, and it's normal for one side to yield and the other to take over. The arrangement in Nanjing this time is that your biggest mistake is the Zhang Shaoxia by your side. In today's China, anyone can be offended, but don't dare to confront Chairman Chiang head-on. Your foundation is not stable, yet you let Zhang Shaoxia and others go around lecturing and inciting the Soviet Union's ideology, which is a great taboo!"

  Seeing Ma Zhongying wanting to speak but hesitating, Li Ruofeng didn't wait for him to continue and said: "You want to get in touch with the Soviet Union and gain their support and assistance, am I right?"

  Ma Zhongying nodded silently.

  Li Ruofeng smiled coldly and said, "When we fight among ourselves behind closed doors, that's a struggle between brothers, it's a family matter. But if outsiders get involved, it can't be called an internal contradiction of the people. There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world, and there's no eternal friendship between countries, only eternal interests. If you gain the support of the Soviet Union, it means that the Soviet Union is secretly helping you to carve up the Hexi Corridor, which is splitting China! This is essentially the same as when Japan supported the Fengtian clique and Britain supported the Zhili clique and other warlords. Our country has finally achieved national unity under the leadership of Chairman Chiang after countless wars, hundreds of millions of deaths, and exhausting our national strength. The great powers do not want to see a unified China, so they will go all out to support their proxies, with the goal of making China forever unable to unify, forever plagued by war, and forever unable to develop its economy. This way, China can become a dumping ground for their goods, allowing them to engage in frenzied economic plunder, sucking dry every last drop of blood and flesh from every Chinese person!"

  Ma Zhongying stared blankly at Li Ruofeng, for a moment he didn't know how to retort.

  Li Ruofeng didn't think he would answer either, and continued: "Do you know why I want to take over Xinjiang?"

  Ma Zhongying shook his head blankly.

  "Because I don't want Xinjiang to become China's second Outer Mongolia!" Li Ruofeng said resolutely: "As long as I, Li Ruofeng, am in China for one day, I will never let the old Maoists' conspiracy succeed! They are just like the Japanese, all of them are sworn enemies of our Chinese nation!"

  The two words "Outer Mongolia" entered his ears, and Ma Zhongying's words of rebuttal reached the tip of his tongue but were swallowed back.

  Li Ruofeng gently patted Ma Zhongying's arm and said, "Brother Zhongying, we men can do anything, but we absolutely cannot betray the interests of our country and nation. If we did, even after death, future generations would dig up our graves. In our own country, no matter how much land we conquer, it is still just infighting among our own people. You and I are both proud sons of heaven, if we want to do something, we should go out and make some earth-shaking achievements! Come with me to Xinjiang, after we take down Xinjiang, we will work together to advance westward, there lies Central Asia, the Middle East, and Xinjiang, that is the common stage for you and I brothers!"

  "Central Asia? That's Soviet territory!" Ma Zhongying asked with a puzzled expression: "Are you going to war with the Soviets?"

  "Opportunities are always reserved for those who are well-prepared." Li Ruofeng smiled mysteriously and said, "As long as Brother Zhongying believes in me, I guarantee that you will become the most brilliant hero in the history of the Ma family!"

  Ma Zhongying's right hand involuntarily clenched into a fist, and he nodded fiercely, his eyes shining brightly as he stared at Li Ruofeng: "Alright! I believe you. From now on, Ma Zhongying will obey your every command!"

  Li Ruofeng pulled out the newly approved reorganization plan from Chiang Kai-shek from his pocket and handed it to Ma Zhongying, laughing: "Take a look, this time I got something good from our Chairman Chiang."

  Ma Zhongying's eyes grew wider as he stared at the two tiger-like men, "Alas, is this what they call a 'master'? Give me such a master and I can sweep across the entire Northwest!"

  "Brother, I'll give you a trip. Do you have the confidence to wade through the muddy waters of Xinjiang?" Li Ruofeng's eyes were full of devilish temptation.

  "Give me a trip, and I guarantee that Xinjiang will change its sky within three months!" Ma Zhongying said firmly.

  Li Ruofeng pulled Ma Zhongying to a nearby sofa and sat down, picking up a map of Xinjiang from the office desk and spreading it out on the tea table. He pointed at Hami, the eastern gate of Xinjiang, and said: "According to my intelligence, since Yang Zengxin was assassinated and Jin Shuren took power, the whole of Xinjiang has fallen into chaos. Jin Shuren's foundation in Xinjiang is still shallow, and his land policy is not popular with the people. Hami is currently experiencing a peasant uprising, and the de facto ruler of Hami, Yao Lebos, wants to take advantage of this opportunity to attack Jin Shuren. On the surface, it seems that he is standing on the same line as Jin Shuren, but in reality, he is secretly communicating with the peasant army, not only providing them with intelligence but also secretly providing them with military supplies and ammunition. I have already sent someone to contact them in your name, expressing the willingness of the Hexi Provincial Government to represent the Nanjing Central Government in supporting Yao Lebos. Yao Lebos has repeatedly asked us to send troops into Xinjiang through intermediaries. Brother Zhongying, I think you should understand the subtlety of this situation without me having to explain it."

  "With Ma Zhongying's cleverness, how could he not understand? Although his mind was turning a hundred times, his face was very calm, and he nodded slightly: "The purpose of aiding Yao Lebos is to prevent the peasant uprising army from being quickly suppressed by Jin Shuren, and to prolong and expand the war, until the entire Xinjiang situation becomes chaotic, and all parties have consumed their strength. When the time is almost up, you will lead the newly formed 38th Division into Xinjiang to quell the rebellion, and then force Jin Shuren to step down..."

  Li Ruofeng put his left hand on his waist and waved his right hand, interrupting Ma Zhongying's analysis. "That's right! At that time, I was in charge of Dihua, you were in charge of Gan state, connecting Xinjiang and the Hexi Corridor into one piece, building it into a strategic base for future resistance against Japan!"

  "Alright! When shall I enter Xinjiang?" Ma Zhongying also stopped pretending and stood up.

  "After dealing with some discordant factors in Hexi Province, you can enter the border at any time." Li Ruofeng said calmly.

  Ma Zhongying's eyes narrowed, and he quickly understood what Li Ruofeng was getting at. "What do you mean?" he asked, his right hand making a downward chopping motion.

  "No need." Li Ruofeng shook his head and said, "After all, we've interacted with each other for a while, there's no need to be so absolute. Brother Zhongying, you're more familiar with them, this matter can only trouble you to show your face, send them off politely, as long as they don't go to the He Xi province, wherever they want to go is none of our business."

  Ma Zhongying nodded and said, "No problem, I'll go take care of it right away. Chairman Li, I'll thank you on their behalf for your mercy."

  "They are just like us, with passion in their hearts, wanting to do good for this country and nation, but they haven't combined the Soviet Union's approach with China's actual situation." Li Ruofeng sighed and said: "Actually, I'm not inferior to them in understanding Marxist theory and communism. Brother Zhongying, please ask them a few questions on my behalf, if they can answer these questions of mine, I'll welcome them back whether it's Hexi Province or Xinjiang."

  Ma Zhongying's eyes were slightly confused, "What question?"

  "Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. How can we understand it? How can we represent the fundamental interests of the broad masses of the Chinese people? How can we represent the direction of progress of China's advanced culture? How can we represent the development needs of China's most advanced productive forces? What classes are there in China, and what is their understanding of revolution? What influence would they have if they lost their understanding of revolution? Why does Soviet Russia support Outer Mongolia's independence, and what is their purpose? What differences are there between Soviet Russia and China's national conditions, and what impact will these differences have on the revolution? Since Soviet Russia claims to have eliminated oppression and exploitation, why do they still need legal, military and police organs of state power?"

  Li Ruofeng finished speaking and didn't care about Ma Zhongying's expression. He left him standing there in a daze, turned around and pushed the door to leave.