The Republic of China was an abnormal era, with countless scholars and celebrities emerging, including many masters. The foreign market was bustling with activity, the upper class was extravagant, and the younger generation was actively chasing international fashion. Correspondingly, the lower class of society was
The people's life was very difficult, and countless poor people died of illness and starvation.
Take the salary income as an example. The coachman Zhou Hexuan met that day had to work very hard all day long to barely support his family. If he contracted any disease, he basically had no money to get medical treatment. He had to rely on his body to endure it. If he couldn't survive it, he would just have to
Waiting to die.
However, Zhou Hexuan's fee for writing novels is one yuan per thousand words. He can write a few thousand words casually, enough to keep a rickshaw driver busy for half a month.
How much is 1 yuan worth?
Nowadays, the price of rice in Shanghai is only 6 cents per catty, and the price in Beijing and Tianjin is 20% lower. You can buy a catty of rice for 4-5 cents.
At this time, the monthly salary of university lecturers started at 100 yuan, and the monthly salary of professor level was several hundred yuan. Knowledge is wealth, this saying was vividly reflected in the Republic of China.
Of course, there are also many professors and lecturers who complain about poverty because the Beiyang government always delays salary payment. Sometimes it is delayed for months or even years, and sometimes they can only receive half salary. Later, many northern professors and lecturers moved south, in addition to political reasons.
In addition, there are also reasons for not getting a salary.
Take the great writer Lu Xun as an example. He was owed three months' wages in 1920, half a year's wages in 1921, and another three months in 1922. Lu Xun could only make extra money by writing articles and going out to give lectures, otherwise he would
I can’t even afford a house in Peiping.
Even big trolls like Lu Xun dared to default on their wages, and junior lecturers were even worse off. Some Peking University teachers even relied on borrowing money to survive.
Li Shoumin used to work as a small civil servant in Peking. He once complained to Zhou Hexuan during a casual conversation, saying that being a civil servant in the Beiyang government was not interesting and that he was lucky if he could get half a year's salary after working for one year.
Just based on the fact that wages cannot be paid, it can be concluded that the Beiyang government will collapse sooner or later. It is too unreliable!
Many people in later generations envy life in the Republic of China and worship and advocate the so-called style of the Republic of China. If these people were to go back to the Republic of China and stay for the first half of the year, they would probably have to roll up their sleeves and curse.
…
Zhou Hexuan received more than 70 yuan in royalties for his more than 70,000-word manuscript. This finally made his pocket bulging, and he no longer had to worry about next month's living expenses. He gave Mrs. Zhou 10 yuan, which was considered as this month's meal.
From now on, I will use my money to eat at Li Shoumin's house.
However, "Legend of the Condor Heroes" has not started serialization yet, and we have to wait for other people's works to be completed.
That night, Li Shoumin came home very late, sighing and looking extremely ugly.
Zhou Hexuan asked: "What happened?"
"There was a tragedy in Peiping. Feng Yuxiang's troops opened fire on petitioning students, killing 47 people on the spot and injuring more than 100 people." Li Shoumin slammed the table angrily and said, "It's really unreasonable, it's simply lawless! So there are so many people
If you are capable, why don’t you dare to shoot at the Japanese?”
Zhou Hexuan remained silent as the famous "March 18th Massacre" finally happened.
The cause of the incident was a melee between the Beiyang warlords. In order to defend Zhang Zuolin from attacking from the sea, Feng Yuxiang deployed mines at Dagukou. This move caused dissatisfaction from eight countries including Britain, the United States, France, Japan, and Italy, and jointly protested to the Beiyang government and issued a 44-hour ultimatum.
, demanding that the defenses of Dagukou be dismantled, otherwise they will be resolved by force.
These eight countries not only protested, but also sent warships to the entrance of Dagu.
The Eight-Power Ultimatum was not only about removing mines, but also required the Beiyang government to level all the forts from Dagukou to Peiping. This went far beyond the content of the Xinchou Treaty.
After the news came out, patriotic students and the masses were filled with indignation. The Kuomintang and the Communist Party jointly held a meeting and organized student and mass gatherings to petition, hoping that the Beiyang government would reject the shameless demands of the eight powers.
When the tragedy occurred, General Feng Yuxiang was not in Peiping. He had already switched on the power and left the field, preparing to go to the Soviet Union for inspection (to avoid the limelight). It was his generals who ordered the shooting without authorization, killing and wounding nearly 200 students.
…
The next morning, Zhou Hexuan went out and bought some newspapers. Sure enough, the headlines were all about the March 18th Massacre, and all major newspapers were criticizing the Beiyang government.
Public opinion across the country was in an uproar because the Beiyang government was too outrageous and went too far. The students held a patriotic petition and pointed the finger at the eight powers. Instead of fighting against the powers, the soldiers actually pointed their guns at their own people.
What the hell does this sound like?
Mr. Lu Xun's famous article "In Memory of Mr. Liu Hezhen" was also published soon, and was published in the weekly "Yusi": "A true warrior dares to face the bleak life, and dares to face the dripping blood..."
Zhou Hexuan has always looked at this era from an outsider's perspective. He had long known that a tragedy would happen on March 18. But when he saw the condemnation articles in the newspapers and Lu Xun's essay, he still felt extremely aggrieved.
.
This is a bastard society that confuses right and wrong!
Zhou Hexuan finally understood deeply why during the Republic of China there were so many people with lofty ideals who sacrificed their lives and blood one after another. They just wanted to create a brighter future.
Maybe you should do something yourself?
Zhou Hexuan couldn't help but think this way, but after all, he was small and powerful, and he didn't want to go south to apply for the Whampoa Military Academy. It wouldn't be worth it to be cannon fodder someday. Even if the Beiyang government was overthrown, it would just be a different medicine.
The more Zhou Hexuan thought about it, the more confused he became. He could not find the value of his existence in this era.
Today's passionate young people in China either enthusiastically join a patriotic group or join the army to serve the country with their ideals. But Zhou Hexuan can't do it because he knows the future historical direction and he doesn't want to get involved. No matter which side he joins, he will have his life.
Danger.
Alas, let’s take it one step at a time.
Zhou Hexuan has an ostrich mentality in his mind, and he does not dare to join the trend of the times for the time being. As a commoner living in Tianjin, his more intuitive feeling is that prices have risen!
Because Zhang Zuolin was attacking Tianjin, and the Japanese sided with him to help, Feng Yuxiang's National Army obviously couldn't hold on, and the city was only broken in a matter of seconds.
The military disaster is about to come, and the prices of everything in the city are rising. Many citizens have been stocking up on food and water at home early to prepare for various unexpected needs.
However, the irony is that the teahouse business in Tianjin City continues as usual, and there are no fewer people drinking tea and playing cards than before. The theater is still noisy and lively, with singing on the stage and thunderous cheers from the audience.
It seems that everyone has long been accustomed to war.
No matter how the king's flag changes on the city wall, ordinary people are most concerned about their own lives. They just want to have enough food and clothing, and if they have a few spare dollars, they can go drink tea and listen to the theater. No matter who the hell is the president.
.
It was under this situation that Zhou Hexuan's "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" began to be serialized.
