Mr. Zhu had just caught up to greet the hearse. The coffin was lifted from the car. On one side were soldiers wearing white flowers on their chests and black gauze on their arms. On the other side were young people from Bailu Village wearing white cloths and white coats. They worked together to carry the coffin from the car.
The village entrance enters the alley of Bailu Village. In front of the coffin is the low and sad music of the military band, and behind the coffin is the melodious and melancholy memorial song of a group of original musicians playing trumpets and suonas. The soft-hearted and soft-eyed women saw the paint after the car stopped.
The coffin turned black and began to wail at the top of its lungs, causing many men to cry too. The sound shook the village and alleys. When the coffin entered the coffin, three earth-shaking firecrackers exploded in succession, and two black and white pythons slowly wailed.
It was raised to a high pole and danced in the air in the wind. Representatives from the military and the county government hung up the wreaths and elegiac greetings that had been prepared. Nearby villages also sent pythons tied with paper or silk, and the soul of a hero was shocked.
Looking at the land and sky of Guyuan. Accompanied by Bai Jiaxuan, Mr. Zhu walked in the front row behind the coffin. He did not cry or speak. He entered the coffin silently, knelt down on the bags containing broken wheat straw on both sides of the coffin, and silently
Bai Jiaxuan advised him to just do his best and go to the ancestral hall or his own room to rest. Mr. Zhu knelt down and said nothing. Bai Xiaowu came in, bent down and whispered in his ear: "
Uncle, Commander Ma from the team is waiting for you at the ancestral hall, saying that Zhaohai asked him to bring you something..."
When Mr. Zhu entered the ancestral hall, Battalion Commander Ma handed him an iron can box and said, "Captain Lu asked me to give it to you before he died. I never dared to open it." Mr. Zhu turned the iron box in his hand.
After weighing it, he handed it to Camp Commander Ma and said, "Pry it open." Camp Commander Ma dug at the cover with his hands and couldn't get it open, so he tilted his neck and tried to bite it open with his teeth. Mr. Zhu quickly stopped him:
"Don't touch it with your mouth - it's too dirty." Camp Commander Ma was stunned for a moment. Mr. Zhu said: "There is a bunch of dead people's hair in there." Camp Commander Ma blinked and asked, "Sir, you tell fortunes." Mr. Zhu
Said: "Before he went to Zhongtiao Mountain, I asked him for a handful of Japanese pirate hair." Camp Commander Ma opened his eyes in surprise, and then retched. People in the ancestral hall gathered around him.
Looking at the iron box, the man with strong hands picked up the lid, and there was indeed a pile of hair inside. When it fell to the ground, he discovered that it was not just one bunch, but forty-three, each with a thin wire.
They stabbed him to death. Everyone stared. Mr. Zhu said: "Zhaohai, I understand, you killed forty-three Japanese pirates. You..." He grabbed Camp Commander Ma's arm and asked: "What are you doing?
Zhaohai has gone up to Zhongtiao Mountain, you can tell how many Central Plains compatriots these forty-three wild beasts have killed." Camp Commander Ma cried loudly: "Who can tell..."
An unarranged sacrifice was proposed by Mr. Zhu. Forty-three bunches of wild beast hair were burned in front of the coffin where the coffin had just been placed to pay homage to Zhaohai's soul. This shocking incident has already spread.
, people crowded into the ancestral hall, vying to see whether the hair was human hair, or the fur of wolves, insects, tigers and leopards. Many people became discouraged after seeing it, saying that the hair was exactly the same as the original master's hair, both black.
How could he come to China to do evil if he had straight hair? Those hairs were taken to the field in front of the funeral shed and burned. A smell of burning smell spread out, causing many people around to vomit...
Mr. Zhu was accompanied by Bai Jiaxuan to visit Lu Zilin. Lu Zilin cried when he saw Mr. Zhu, his voice was completely hoarse, and he fell softly from the chair to the ground and passed out without crying. Mr. Leng, his in-law, was always waiting by his side.
He administered cold needles to Lu Zilin and Lu He who were alternately unconscious. Mr. Zhu helped Lu Zilin wake up and said: "One of the best descendants in Bailuyuan died in battle... He was raised by you; don't just feel sad."
, you should be more heroic.”
Mr. Zhu suddenly changed his mind and stopped participating in the memorial activities. He had some food at Jiaxuan's house and then went down to the plain. He returned to Bailu Academy when it was dark. As soon as he came back, he began to sort out the books collected by the academy.
There was a layer of dust on his hair. Then he cleaned up the academy's property and food accounts, including the number of rents recovered from the land leased by the academy over the years, the expenses for renting food and the remaining figures, the funds allocated by previous county magistrates for compilation of county chronicles and
Expenditure situation. After being busy with these things for two days, he walked out of the academy in the evening when the sunset was shining, and walked alone to the original slope behind the academy. It was still the late autumn season when the autumn wind was bleak and the chrysanthemums were as yellow as gold. Three black planes rumbled.
Flying over from the top of the original roof, this is a Japanese pirate plane flying to Xi'an City to drop bombs. The Japanese pirate team has not yet entered Tongguan, and the Japanese pirate plane has already bombed Xi'an from the air. It is said that the 17th Division was bombing Zhongtiao Mountain.
The Japanese pirates were severely damaged. They were able to occupy Peiping but could not enter Xi'an, so they sent planes to retaliate. The initial bombing caused a mass exodus of Xi'an residents, and the ancient capital suddenly became a place of death. In the countryside, ancestral homes or relatives were preserved.
The city dwellers who brought their deceased children with their children fled to the countryside in a hurry. With an air of half fear and half showoff, they vividly described the horrific scene of the bomb explosion to the country people. Mr. Zhu's wife and sister smelled like skinned skin.
Fleeing to White Deer Academy, he only took his youngest son and a baggage with him. The cobbler was afraid of being bombed and couldn't bear to leave the leather goods workshop, so he agreed to escape together. Before leaving, he sat on the cowhide and couldn't free his feet. His wife
Just two days after my sister stayed in the academy, Mr. Zhu discovered all the shortcomings and annoying habits of this woman who looked exactly like his wife: she loved to talk, show off, and bluff. What Mr. Zhu couldn't tolerate in particular was her...
She had the sense of superiority of city people. From noon the next day, Mr. Zhu stopped looking at her and turned a blind eye to all her actions. After eating in a hurry, he put down his chopsticks and went to the study room in the front yard. He began to feel tortured in his heart.
If a woman stayed for the second half of the year and a few months, she would be bored to death. The wife's sister also noticed that her brother-in-law's facial features were not harmonious. Zhu Bai explained to her sister: "Don't worry about it. Your brother-in-law usually has the same facial features.
"She's used to being chained in a single trough." The wife and sister spent the month in Bailu Academy, and the cobbler husband took her back to the city. The city of Xi'an has calmed down from the panic and chaos after the initial bombing, and the bell tower
Alarms were installed on the upper floors of the city and the four city gates. The alarm sounded before the buzz of the plane could be heard. People got into the air-raid shelters under the city walls one after another. People with spacious houses also completed the project of digging tunnels.
The cobbler said tactfully: "Oh, I'm not afraid. People say that the birds in the Bell and Drum Towers are so frightening that I can't hear the planes for three days and I'm still panicking."
Mr. Zhu watched the three black planes disappearing in the western sky. He thought that the cobbler was probably dragging his wife and children into the hole under the city wall. He suddenly had a vicious idea. It would be better to leave the bomb in the hands of a Chinese like the cobbler.
head
It was already dark when Mr. Zhu returned to the academy from the original slope. The gentlemen who compiled the county chronicles had just returned from condolences to Lu Zhaohai and were talking impassionedly in the yard. Mr. Xu saw Mr. Zhu and said: "Tomorrow is the public memorial day. The 17th Division
The division commander and the county leaders are all going to come forward. The person in charge asked me to bring a message to you, asking you to speak at the public memorial ceremony tomorrow." Mr. Zhu said: "I won't go." Mr. Xu was surprised: "You won't
What should we do?" Mr. Zhu said: "I'm not going to the cemetery, I'm going to the battlefield." All the old gentlemen looked at each other in shock. Mr. Zhu said quietly: "Paying tribute to the dead will not scare away the Japanese pirates. Such young children can fight
After he died, why should I bother with this old bone? Mr. Xu, you will be in charge after I leave, and the county chronicles still need to be compiled. I have made a list of all the accounts of the academy, and there is nothing left to explain." Xu.
The old gentleman said: "Don't tell me these procedures. I will go to the battlefield with you." The old gentlemen all asked to go to the battlefield with Mr. Zhu. Each one was more impassioned and angry than the other, and they had no hesitation and regarded death as home. Mr. Zhu refused to persuade him despite repeated attempts.
It worked, and finally persuaded an old man with knee problems and the doorman Zhang Xiucai to stay. Mr. Zhu stood up from the stone bench and said, "It's good that we go to the plains together tomorrow to participate in the public memorial ceremony. I will represent our couple."
An old man issued a declaration to fight against Japanese pirates."
Mr. Zhu's speech became the highlight of the public memorial ceremony, and even completely dominated the situation. It was more influential than his previous smoking ban and relief work. The national righteousness of the eight old gentlemen shocked Bailuyuan. The "Sanqin Daily" published the next day was at the forefront.
The news titled "Declaration of Resistance by the Eight Gentlemen of Bailuyuan" was prominently displayed on the page, which shocked the city. Three days later, Shanghai's "Wenhui Po" reprinted the news in its entirety, with the title changed to "The Great Confucian from Guan Xue Casts His Pen and Joins the Army", and its influence expanded to
South. For a time, more than a thousand Neo-Confucian colleagues who responded to Mr. Zhu's writings were published in newspapers and magazines calling for justice to be righteous. Mr. Zhu said to the eight gentlemen: "The newspapers have blocked our way out, and it will be difficult for anyone to regret it."
Mr. Zhu gave the other seven gentlemen a six-day leave, allowing them to go back to reunite with their families, arrange household chores, and visit relatives. This trip was undoubtedly a farewell. They agreed to gather at the academy on the evening of the sixth day, but none of the eight people was there.
With the exception of Mr. Zhu, all of them were persuaded by their children, grandchildren, relatives, friends and township party members, and even cried loudly and pulled their arms and legs. However, they all broke through the encirclement and rushed to Bailu Academy carrying their baggage and papers.
Report to Mr. Zhu on time. Mr. Zhu greets every colleague who can come to the gathering as promised and values their character even more. Mr. Zhu specially asked Zhu Bai to prepare eight bowls of dishes for everyone.
Today I also quit drinking. I raised my glass and said: "This glass of wine is called 'No Turning Back'." The gentlemen were in a state of drunkenness and poetry. They rushed to recite poems to express their passion. Mr. Zhu left the table and entered the dormitory.
His wife, Zhu Bai, held her arm and helped her sit on the table, then filled a glass of wine and picked up the wine cup herself: "We haven't had a drink since we got married. You and I will spend our lives sewing together, burning pots and stoves. I
The thunder is loud and the rain is small, but nothing has happened yet, so I only accept your service. I have never kept secrets in my life, so today I will say my words of gratitude in front of my colleagues: If you don't dislike me, I will still look for you in my next life..." Zhu Bai
A trace of shyness appeared on Mr. Zhu's gentle cheeks, and tears welled up in his eyes: "I will give birth to a husband in my next life." Mr. Zhu said with a smile: "Then I will give birth to a woman to serve you." The gentlemen laughed.
, rushed to toast Mr. Zhu Bai first. Mr. Zhu Bai did not refuse or hesitate, drank eight cups of wine in a row, with a blush on his face, and poured the wine for all the gentlemen one by one, and raised it calmly
The wine cup said: "Eight of you can kill a Japanese pirate for a good deal."
Mr. Zhu returned to the dormitory and said with a sense of relief after drinking: "The congratulations you just said were so good." Before Zhu Bai could answer, the door curtain suddenly lifted, and Lu Zhaopeng stood at the door. Mr. Zhu and Zhu Bai
Everyone was shocked: "You... Zhaopeng" Lu Zhaopeng sat down and said bluntly: "Sir, let me tell you..." Mr. Zhu was very sensitive: "Don't say anything. I will leave in the middle of the night.
Now, I can't care about anything you say, and I can't help you." Lu Zhaopeng raised his face and said, "Give me two steamed buns, I'm hungry." Zhu Bai took the steamed buns and vegetables and carried them
A pot of wine: "You are lucky Zhaopeng, you are just in time to drink a cup." Lu Zhaopeng ate a soft bun in three or five mouthfuls and said to Mr. Zhu: "Sir, please don't go."
"Just eat the steamed buns," Mr. Zhu said.
"Sir, this is not my advice to you. It is our party that advises you. It is out of respect and love for you."
"I am still me. I only do what I want to do. I am not affiliated with this party or that party. You should not interfere with me."
Lu Zhaopeng heard that Mr. Zhu's tone was very harsh, so he continued to eat steamed buns, vegetables and drinks, and said in a slow tone: "Sir, your declaration is indeed earth-shaking. But it is also a sad thing. Chairman Chiang Kai-shek
Instead of fighting Japan to fight the civil war, there are millions of well-armed troops called eight old gentlemen..."
"The Japanese pirates have killed them at the entrance of the den, and they are still biting them in the den." Mr. Zhu said with a smile, "They are Chinese. They go outside the den to bite them. Whoever can kill the Japanese pirates will..."
"Sir, you have to figure out who bites whom," Lu Zhaopeng argued, "He bit us until we couldn't get out of the nest. He wanted to bite us all to death in the nest. That's basically..."
"Don't talk about Zhaopeng. I can see that no matter who bites the other, it doesn't matter." Mr. Zhu said, "Bite it. I'll hit the Japanese pirate's cannon barrel to death. Let the Japanese pirates see if there are any Chinese who want to bite them."
"
Lu Zhaopeng pursed his lips and stopped arguing. He raised his head and changed the subject: "Sir, wherever you go to fight Japan, you have to join the team."
Mr. Zhu said: "Go to Zhongtiao Mountain and join the Seventeenth Division."
"Sir -" Lu Zhaopeng stood up slowly and said, "The Seventeenth Division has already withdrawn from Zhongtiao Mountain and returned to Tongguan..."
"Who said that?" Mr. Zhu asked in surprise, "Why did we withdraw to Tongguan and where did we withdraw to?"
"Withdrawn to Weibei." Lu Zhaopeng also laughed and said, "According to what Mr. said, just biting us in the nest is called fighting a civil war. Jiang personally ordered the withdrawal of the 17th Division to attack the Red Army in northern Shaanxi..."
"You...are telling the truth," Mr. Zhu suspected, "Zhaohai's body has just been moved back from Zhongtiao Mountain..."
"Zhaohai... was not killed by the Japanese. He was killed by the Red Army when he invaded the border area." Lu Zhaopeng frowned in pain, "However, this news has not been confirmed..."
"Don't say anything without confirmation." Mr. Zhu was a little sullen, "Zhaohai is your biological brother. I don't like to hear what you say." Mr. Zhu stood up and walked to the door. He turned around and said, "I don't believe it.
I don’t believe what you said about Zhaohai. I haven’t heard of the news about the evacuation of the 17th Division.” After saying that, he left Zhaopeng and walked out of the house. Her husband’s abrupt behavior of walking away made Zhu Bai feel embarrassed.
However, Lu Zhaopeng did not look embarrassed. Instead, he comforted Zhu Bai and left without staying any longer.
Mr. Zhu and his party of eight walked out of the gate of Bailu Academy at the time when the rooster was crowing. They all turned around on the plain in front of the gate, faced the dark Bailu, bent down and bowed three times, and then walked down the slope in silence.
They waded through the water under the starlight and climbed up the North Ridge. When they reached the top of the North Ridge, they happened to catch a rare moment. A trembling lava-like fireball emerged from the distant earth, blazing red and orange.
The fierce flames melted the earth and the sky into one. Walking along the mountain road to the foot of the ridge, you will reach the magnificent Weihe Plain. A series of wide or narrow ridges are connected and spread out, and the endless wheat seedlings are shining in the gentle morning light.
The sky was shyly green. Eight old gentlemen, all wearing long robes and short coats, walked step by step through the fields and villages of the Guanzhong Plain, and finally arrived at the Weihe River ferry when it was dark.
The ferry has stopped ferrying. Mr. Zhu led seven old gentlemen and begged the boatman to untie the rope so that they could make another ferry trip when it got completely dark. The boatman kept his head down and didn't even look at them. He would feel cold after being entangled for a long time.
He uttered a sentence: "This is a military order. If you beg me, I won't help you. You can go and beg the boss." At this moment, three soldiers came over and started questioning him sternly. Mr. Zhu looked at them and said with a smile.
: "Everyone of the little brothers is very energetic. It's a pity that the old men are playing tricks on them. If you have this spirit, you can go to Tongguan to play tricks. You can be really energetic if you can do tricks there..." Three
A soldier pulled the bolt of his gun with a clang, confronted the eight old gentlemen, and then pushed and shoved them into a thatched hut. Mr. Zhu smiled at his colleagues and said, "Well, we haven't crossed the Wei River yet.
He became a prisoner in his own den." Then he turned to a soldier and asked: "Do you want us to raise our hands?"
A group of eight old gentlemen really raised their hands and were escorted by three soldiers to a thatched roof house. This may be the place where the ferryman boiled water, cooked food and slept. An officer stood up in the house, and he turned out to be
Mr. Zhu, the battalion commander who escorted Lu Zhaohai's coffin, teased him when he saw it: "Look at my posture of raising my hands in surrender, is it right?" Battalion Commander Ma glared at the three soldiers and scolded: "You're blind."
"Hurrying to help Mr. Zhu sit on a wooden bench in the room, he said brightly: "Our division commander saw the declaration of resistance made by Mr. Zhu and all gentlemen, and sent me here to wait for you. The division commander ordered: Never
Sir, let him cross the river. The truth is very clear..." Mr. Zhu and his colleagues started to make a noise. Battalion Commander Ma was not moved at all: "It's useless what you say to me, sir. I have to carry out the division commander's order. Everyone.
Let's go to Wuli Town to rest tonight, and I will ask the division commander for instructions tomorrow." The gentlemen were still shouting. Battalion Commander Ma said: "I still have military affairs, so I can't accompany you. I will send soldiers to take you to the town...
Mr. Zhu said nothing and walked out of the thatched hut first. The eight gentlemen also walked out angrily. Mr. Zhu said: "I will get up early tomorrow to cross the river. I don't care who orders it. You let your soldiers beat me to death in the Weihe River."
Here." He said and sat down on the beach: "Let's sit here and wait for dawn." The eight gentlemen threw down their backpacks on their shoulders and sat down as if in protest. Battalion Commander Ma said: "There can't be any idlers here. I
I am executing the order. Please go to the town." Mr. Zhu asked: "Didn't you say that you are waiting for me wholeheartedly? It seems that this is untrue." Battalion Commander Ma said: "Don't ask too much, you go to the town quickly."