Chapter 27 Chapter Twenty Six

Gu Hongyuan finally returned to Chongqing after dealing with his wife's divorce.After a quick meeting with Robert, he asked Xia Xinli to meet at the press club.Of course he didn't know that after many efforts by the Southern Bureau, Xia Xinli had just been released from prison a few days ago.After meeting, Gu Hongyuan couldn't help but ask Xia Xinli how he was doing.Xia Xinli said a few words lightly, avoiding the fact that he was arrested and sent to prison.Then the two sat down at a table and ordered two cups of coffee. It's been a long time since we saw each other. Gu Hongyuan originally had a lot to say, but the first sentence after taking a sip of coffee turned into a complaint: I finally came back, but when I came back, all I heard was bad news.

Xia Xinli smiled: Well, how many happy things can there be now? As he spoke, he glanced at the newspaper brought by Gu Hongyuan. The eye-catching headline on it was "The Chinese Army's "Battle of Southern Shanxi" Suffered Defeat".He asked: Maybe the bad news you mentioned also includes this? Gu Hongyuan picked up the newspaper and waved it: the all-out war of resistance has entered its fourth year, but we still have been defeated repeatedly on the frontal battlefield. Xia Xinli said: That's not necessarily true.However, the defeat of the "Battle of Southern Shanxi" did disappoint the people of the country.I heard that Lao Jiang was also very angry, thinking that this was the greatest humiliation suffered by the Chinese army since the War of Resistance.In fact, if you think about it seriously, this is not surprising. The Sino-Japanese war was a war of aggression by a modern industrial country against a traditional agricultural country. In terms of overall strength, the Japanese certainly had the upper hand.

Gu Hongyuan: But why hasn't China won more aid from the United States so far?Is it too incompetent in diplomacy? Xia Xinli smiled: How much diplomatic space can a weak country that is neglected by others have?Lao Jiang once complained helplessly to foreign reporters that if the United States can provide half of the aid to China in aid to Britain, we can deal with Japan alone; if we can get American planes, we will soon be able to launch a strategic counterattack against Japan.But things are slowly changing now, for the better. Gu Hongyuan nodded: Actually, countries such as the United States and Britain should be clear about China's strategic position.

Xia Xinli: Well, we haven't seen each other for so long, so don't talk about it as soon as we meet.Let me tell you about your situation. Gu Hongyuan pretended to be puzzled: What do you mean? Xia Xinli smiled: Don't play tricks on me.How are your family affairs going?Even if my old classmate doesn't care, there are others here who care. Gu Hongyuan said helplessly: You guys are totally like a spy! Xia Xinli laughed triumphantly.Just as he was about to say something, he saw Zheng Juan and Jiang Qingdong coming in from the outside, and hurriedly whispered: What a coincidence, she is here.It's not your appointment, is it?

Gu Hongyuan looked back suspiciously, and before he could be surprised, he met Zheng Juan's eyes.Jiang Qingdong also saw them, and he walked over immediately.In fact, Zheng Juan originally wanted to avoid her, but at this time she had no choice but to follow her husband.Gu Hongyuan stood up, shook hands with Jiang Qingdong in a friendly manner, and then shook hands with Zheng Juan.Both are very calm. Jiang Qingdong was happy: I heard from Zheng Juan that you went back to Manila, but I didn't expect you to return to Chongqing so soon. Gu Hongyuan smiled: "Going back is just to deal with a little private matter, and it will be soon."

He never looked at Zheng Juan when he was talking, and then asked Jiang Qingdong: It seems that you are recovering well? Jiang Qingdong: Very good.I haven't thanked you in person yet, thanks to your help at that time! Gu Hongyuan quickly said: It's not worth mentioning. Xia Xinli said: How can it be said that it is not worth mentioning?This is a life-saving grace.Just like Jiang Qingdong saved my life at that time, I dare not forget it. The somewhat awkward atmosphere was finally relieved by Xia Xinli's laughter.Although Gu Hongyuan wanted to see Zheng Juan very much, such an unexpected encounter made him very uncomfortable, and he believed that Zheng Juan would feel the same way.So, after we chatted casually together, he left in advance: I'm sorry, I have to take a step first.I haven't had time to see my son since I got back here.

Gu Hongyuan was not just making excuses. After leaving the press club, he really found a car and went to the air force base in the suburbs.In Gu Guosong's dormitory, Gu Hongyuan told his son about going back to the Philippines for divorce as briefly as possible.Gu Guosong sat on his bed and listened dumbly. Gu Hongyuan said calmly: ...Actually, for me, it's just a matter of time.I know this in my heart.I didn't let you know about the things between me and your mother in the past, because you are still young, you can't understand, and you are afraid of any bad influence on you.

Gu Guosong asked: Are you saying that such things have happened in the past?Is it you or my mother? Gu Hongyuan evaded: This is not important. Gu Guosong said: Since you are divorced, I have the right to know. Gu Hongyuan said in a nonchalant tone: It's your mother.But that doesn't mean much.She has always been a very romantic, but also very afraid of loneliness.I mean, it's not her fault alone, it's not fair to her that I'm always out there doing my job.do you understand me? Gu Guosong actually just wanted to prove his own judgment, he said: I may know more about my mother than you.She's going to marry that American?

Gu Hongyuan: I think so.Well, tell me about you. Gu Guosong smiled: I have nothing to say.You must have seen it when you came in. There are only a few planes left on the airport.Since the withdrawal of the Soviet Air Force, we have been completely incapacitated.If you come back a few days later, we probably won't be able to see each other. Gu Hongyuan was surprised: why? Gu Guosong: This base will be abolished.We will all be transferred to a base in Yunnan for reorganization and training.It is said that there will be new types of aircraft. Gu Hongyuan asked: Is it an American plane?

Gu Guosong laughed: I don't know, I just know it won't be a Japanese plane. Gu Hongyuan also smiled.At this time, Du Lanxiang appeared at the door with two cans in his hand: Guosong, look what I found for you? Du Lanxiang's mood completely recovered, her youthful radiance reappeared on her face, and her eyes seemed to brighten up a lot.But when she saw Gu Hongyuan, she suddenly became a little cautious. Gu Guosong greeted her with a smile and introduced: This is my father.Gu Hongyuan looked at them with some doubts.Gu Guosong said to him: Her name is Du Lanxiang, and she is a service member of the base.

"The service personnel of the base", Du Lanxiang was a little surprised when he heard this introduction. Gu Hongyuan quickly smiled and said to Du Lanxiang: I said, why do you look familiar? We must have met each other in the club here, right? Du Lanxiang smiled politely at Gu Hongyuan, put the two cans on the table, turned and left without saying anything. After Gu Hongyuan left the air force base and returned to the city, Gu Guosong went to find Du Lanxiang in a club where business was sluggish, and asked her to go for a walk.Du Lanxiang was a little depressed and unwilling.Gu Guosong talked all kinds of things, and finally pulled her out. Night has fallen.Gu Guosong and Du Lanxiang walked slowly on the grass next to the tarmac.Du Lanxiang seemed to deliberately lag a few steps behind him, creating a little distance. Gu Guosong turned around and said: What's wrong with you?unhappy? Du Lanxiang asked bitterly: You don't want your father to know that you like me, do you?When your dad comes in the afternoon, you just tell him that I am a service worker here.Good thing you didn't say I was a barmaid. Gu Guosong pondered for a moment, stopped, looked at her and said: I like you, and people here have never looked down on you because of your work, whether it is me, An Fuyao, or Kirichenko. Hearing Kirichenko's name, Du Lanxiang couldn't help being startled: Why did you mention him again?Haven't you been trying to make me forget about him? Gu Guosong said seriously: I want you to forget him because I don't want to watch you live in the shadows.This is why I have always cared about you.But I recently discovered that I might be doing something wrong. Du Lanxiang looked at him puzzled: What do you want to say? Gu Guosong continued: Maybe I was wrong.While helping you get out of Kirichenko's shadow, it probably put you on the same dangerous road.I'm glad when I see you bright and lively again, because I finally got you back to your old self, and I'm glad you're not ruined by this damn war.But these days I seem to suddenly understand that your happiness is because you started to fall in love with me. Du Lanxiang felt very strange: haven't you always loved me?Am I getting it wrong? The meaning Gu Guosong needs to express is very complicated, and he feels that he can't express it clearly: no.For more than two years, I have always loved you, including when you were with Kirichenko, and now.That's why I don't want to see you in pain after Kilichenko's death.But that's just my own thing, my own emotions.But if you also fell in love with me... Du Lanxiang wondered: Don't you want this? Gu Guosong smiled wryly: Who doesn't want to be loved?But, I can't make you fall in love with me.Because that's what I'm afraid to see. Du Lanxiang was obviously confused, and couldn't help laughing: Oh my God!You have confused me. Gu Guosong didn't laugh: I hope you can live a happy life in the future, even if it's a simple and ordinary happiness.You can't be hurt like that again.You know, we're leaving here soon.And soon. Du Lanxiang: But the war will end one day.I will wait for your return. Gu Guosong shook his head: neither you nor I know whether I will come back alive.Remember what I said, if you want to live a peaceful life, you must never fall in love with soldiers who are fighting, especially the Air Force. Du Lanxiang was stunned for a moment, and tears suddenly appeared in his eyes.She rushed forward suddenly and hugged Gu Guosong tightly.Gu Guosong restrained himself, stood stiffly for a while, then slowly but decisively pushed Du Lanxiang away, turned and left. A few days later, the air force base suddenly became empty, as if overnight.When the morning came with light rain, there was not even a plane on the tarmac.All the buildings, dormitories, canteens, clubs, conning tower, etc., were empty.The base has finally been dismantled, and all the fierce fighting, the crying and the laughing, all the things that had been there, now give way to a strange desolation. A convoy of more than a dozen military trucks covered with tarpaulins, carrying soldiers evacuated from the base, bumped forward on the muddy road.Du Lanxiang was holding a calico bundle in her arms, and she was sitting on the last military vehicle. She would get off halfway and return to Heishizi's home.Sitting opposite her was Gu Guosong.It was the first time since that day that the two of them were so close together.Everyone in the car was in a low mood, and no one was talking or joking. The atmosphere was very dull. Du Lanxiang looked at Gu Guosong, but Gu Guosong avoided her gaze and looked out of the car.Outside, it was drizzling and misty.The truck kept bumping, and Du Lanxiang hesitated to speak several times, but finally he didn't say a word.The convoy continued on and passed a fork in the road.On both sides of the road, there are large golden rapeseed flowers.Roaring one after another, the trucks drove into the seemingly endless golden yellow ahead.Only the last car stopped at the fork in the road-it was time for Du Lanxiang to get off.She stood up, looked at all the soldiers in the car, smiled reluctantly, and said: Goodbye, take care of you. While the soldiers were saying goodbye to her, Gu Guosong kept looking outside, until finally he turned his head and smiled reluctantly at Du Lanxiang.Du Lanxiang took one last look at Gu Guosong, put the calico bag on her arm, jumped out of the car, and stood on the muddy road. The truck started immediately and continued to drive forward.Du Lanxiang never looked back, she stood in the rain with her back to the direction the truck was driving, and she didn't move. Gu Guosong on the truck finally relaxed and stared intently at Du Lanxiang's back.As the truck moves, the back becomes smaller and smaller.Only then did Du Lanxiang turn her head to take a look, and her gaze met Gu Guosong's from afar.Gu Guosong couldn't sit still anymore, he stood up abruptly, jumped out of the truck, and ran towards Du Lanxiang.Du Lanxiang didn't move, waiting for Gu Guosong to run in front of her, looking at him sadly. Neither of them spoke, they just hugged each other tightly.Tears mixed with rain, flowing on their young and sad faces.The boundless golden rape blossoms look so bright and vivid in the drizzle. The summer of 1941 finally arrived.Due to the withdrawal of the Air Force, only anti-aircraft artillery units remained in Chongqing's air defense system.For Japanese bombers, this is almost a city that has completely lost its air defense capabilities. On June 5, the weather was sunny and muggy. Since the morning, Chongqing has been enveloped by endless air defense sirens.Wave after wave of Japanese bombers dropped countless bombs from the sky, and the city was full of huge explosions and black smoke.The fall of Yichang provided more convenient conditions for the Japanese army to bomb Chongqing.After the relay airport was established in Yichang, the flight distance from Hankou to Chongqing was reduced by nearly half compared with the previous one. The Japanese army also adjusted its bombing strategy and began to implement so-called fatigue bombing. In the afternoon, the Japanese army's relay airport in Yichang was baked by the blazing sun, and the bombers that took off and landed frequently became very distorted in the curling heat wave.This is a cross-shaped airstrip, and there are almost no other facilities except barbed wire and a few temporary tents.On the overgrown tarmac, several Japanese oil tankers came and went to refuel the returning bombers, while ground crews hurriedly refilled the planes with bombs.There was a formation taking off just now, followed by a formation landing, and the entire airport was filled with the roar of huge planes. In a large tent, Tomoo Marukawa and dozens of exhausted Japanese crew members were resting staggeringly.The sunlight outside the tent was dazzling, and Tomoo Marukawa squinted his eyes, looking boredly at the landing bomber, with ringing in his ears.Since dawn in the morning, he and his crew have carried out two rounds of bombing voyages, and up to now, there seems to be no sign of stopping the bombing.Even Ji Gang, the bombardier who is usually always high-spirited, is now lying on his side and falling asleep. At this moment, an officer entered the tent and shouted, ordering them to take off again.The soldiers hurriedly grabbed their flying equipment and ran out in a hurry.Marukawa Tomoo drank a large glass of water, pushed Yoshioka awake, and dragged him lazily to his plane. A puff of dry dust rose from the hot runway, and another formation of bombers took off. The bombing continued all afternoon and still did not stop.Xiaohua and twenty other children of his age were led out by two teachers in the morning and hid in the air-raid shelter behind the kindergarten.At noon, the bombing finally stopped for a while.They were just about to go out when the air defense siren sounded suddenly and drove them back again.From then until dusk, they never left here again. In the dim air-raid shelter, adults and children were tightly packed together, and all of them were covered with sweat.No one spoke, only the sound of panting one after another could be heard.The kerosene lamp hanging on the roof of the cave was flickering and emitting a faint light due to the lack of oxygen. In the silence, Xiaohua suddenly screamed: Auntie!Aunt!Come on! The teacher looked back and saw a child next to Xiaohua curled up on the ground limply and unconscious.The teacher hurried over, picked up the child and shouted in horror: There is a lack of oxygen in here, and some children have already fainted! With this shout, people suddenly became restless.The bombing outside continued, but staying in the cave was also fraught with danger.The teacher was very anxious holding the unconscious child, but he was helpless.At this time, she heard the sound of the explosion outside seems to be going away, so she shouted loudly: "Everyone be quiet!"Now there is no bombing outside for the time being, we all go out to take a breath.When the plane arrives, we will go back to the air-raid shelter! This suggestion was unanimously approved by all.At the entrance of the air-raid shelter, someone opened the iron gate.So people huffed and ran out, hugging each other.The crowd squeezed the children to pieces, and the two teachers shouted desperately, but to no avail. By the time they ran out of the cave, there were not many children left, and no one knew where they had gone.Xiaohua was gone too.The two teachers shouted anxiously.However, the comatose child finally woke up after coming outside the cave, which finally made them feel a little relieved. The same situation also happened in the Shibati air-raid shelter in the city.Things are even worse here.All the people are tightly stuck together, except for the top of the head, there is no gap.Many people struggled to support themselves in the sweltering heat and lack of oxygen, groaning in pain. Li Sufen and her son are also in this air-raid shelter.After the bombing in the morning, Mrs. Zhang didn't want to stay here any more.She asked Li Sufen to stay with the child, and she wanted to go back to Yuchuan Silk Shop.Li Sufen wanted to leave with her mother-in-law, but she was scolded by Mrs. Zhang, saying that they could not go out no matter what. Zhang Xuming was only a son, and he couldn't be compared with the old woman who was half buried in the ground.After Mrs. Zhang left, the situation in the air-raid shelter got worse.The air became more and more stale, as if it had turned into a sticky paste.Li Sufen held her son in her arms, and was squeezed tightly against the wall, unable to move at all.Like most of the old people and women here, Li Sufen persisted with a face full of pain, and she had to take care to protect her son in her arms at all times. The son finally started to cry irritably, shouting: I want to get out!Mom I want to go out! Li Sufen wanted to squeeze towards the entrance of the cave, but couldn't move an inch.She felt her lungs were about to burst, and she yelled, "Let's live!"Please!The child is dying! Of course the people nearby heard Li Sufen's cries, but no one moved.In fact, no one can move.People just looked at Li Sufen and the child helplessly with eyes full of horror. Towards dusk, after a brief respite, Chongqing began to suffer a new round of bombing. The vast majority of Chongqing citizens are still in the air-raid shelters.Therefore, when countless bombs fell again, only Xiaohua and a few kindergarten children ran on the street in panic and aimlessly.Because they were already far away from the air-raid shelter where they had been hiding before, amidst the continuous explosions, they didn't know what to do except run around. A string of bombs exploded near them, and a child next to Hua was hit by shrapnel.Like an exhausted long-distance runner, the running child suddenly collapsed and could no longer stand up.Xiaohua turned her head and saw the fallen child, screamed in fright, and continued to run wildly with other children. In the sky, a Japanese military plane spotted them, and after flying over, they made a sharp turn, preparing to turn around and come back.The children were so frightened that they forgot to run except to scream.In fact, they were standing in front of a bomb shelter where they could hide.The enemy plane made a circle, flew back, and began to dive. The terrifying roar of the engine made the ground tremble slightly.Just as the plane started shooting, several soldiers and police rushed out of the air-raid shelter, ran to the children desperately, held them under their arms one by one, and quickly turned back and ran back to the entrance of the cave. When Xiaohua was put down by the military police, he just blinked his empty eyes and smirked at the shocked military police, speechless. The sky was fading rapidly.Japanese planes were still circling over Chongqing.People in Chongqing, who have become accustomed to the indiscriminate bombing, also felt it was unbearable at this time. In the Shibati air-raid shelter, everyone felt suffocated by lack of oxygen.The sound of continuous explosions from outside came in, sending out a low humming echo in the cave.People groan, complain, curse, and still don't get any space, don't get any fresh air.The person standing under the vent raised his face, trying to find even a trace of outside air from there.One man even climbed desperately onto the shoulders of others, sticking his head out and breathing through his mouth.Only then did he discover that the ventilation in the air-raid shelter wasn't working at all.So he shouted: there is no air!We're going to be suffocated! His shout immediately caused a great commotion, and people tried their best to squeeze towards the entrance of the air-raid shelter, but to no avail.The kerosene lamp in the cave began to dim and dim little by little.Many people looked at the weak flame with wide eyes helplessly, as if it had become a kind of life-saving signal. Li Sufen was still leaning against the wall, hugging her son tightly.The light of a kerosene lamp above her head was flickering, struggling to burn.When she looked down at the child in her arms again, she couldn't help but let out a cry.The son has passed out, his head drooping limply, his lips have turned purple due to lack of oxygen.At this time, she even began to regret that she should have insisted on leaving the air-raid shelter with Mrs. Zhang.If you are at home now, it is better to be killed than to suffocate in this air-raid shelter.Li Sufen cried, desperately trying to squeeze out, but of course it was futile.In this airtight place, it is impossible for even a mouse to get out of the hole.Her cries aroused even greater fear.At this moment, the oxygen in the cave was finally exhausted, and the kerosene lamps were all extinguished back and forth within a few seconds... In the darkness, everyone felt the approach of death, and everyone uttered their voices. The last cry of hysteria.The creepy sound overwhelmed the continuing explosion outside... In the hellish darkness, Li Sufen hugged her son and collapsed limply.Her eyes were still wide open, though she could neither see nor hear. It was already dark, and the bombing continued.Nearby and far away, buildings were constantly being wiped out in the sound of explosions.Some remaining houses in the city center, accompanied by dazzling explosion flashes, became ruins in an instant. An explosion near the Yuchuan silk shop made the place tremble violently, and the Gaiwan tea placed on the table was also shaken to the ground and smashed to pieces.Mrs. Zhang, who had been sitting on a recliner, stood up, squatted down, and slowly picked up the broken pieces of porcelain on the ground, piece by piece, as if the bombing had nothing to do with her, like the fire outside the window, the plane outside the window The roar and deafening explosion sound have become very distant.After picking up the broken porcelain pieces on the ground, she stood up slowly, and then heard a bomb whizzing down sharply.As soon as Mrs. Zhang looked up, the bomb went through the roof and exploded in the silk shop.The huge air waves and flames produced by the explosion swallowed everything in the blink of an eye. The whole silk shop instantly turned into a sea of ​​flames.The colorful silk in the store was blown into countless fragments, burning and flying all over the sky, like countless rising and struggling ghosts in the flames and smoke. The long-running bombing seemed to stop suddenly at such a moment. As the last Japanese planes evacuated from the sky above Chongqing, except for the roaring and burning houses, the night in Chongqing suddenly seemed extremely quiet. After a busy day, Jiang Qingdong returned home and was taking a shower.On the floor outside the tub lay the smoky and filthy military uniform he had taken off.Zheng Juan came in with a set of clean underwear, put it on a stool, picked up the dirty military uniform, and said, "Why are the clothes so dirty?" Jiang Qingdong turned off the water, wiped his body with a towel and said in a muffled voice, "Today's bombing was too severe. Several times I thought I was going to be blown away again." Zheng Juan said angrily: The devil is completely crazy!When the statistics come out tomorrow, the losses will be staggering. Jiang Qingdong said while putting on his clothes: The construction facilities must be more serious, and the casualties are even more difficult to say. Zheng Juan: I was in the air-raid shelter of the city government, and I felt hot and hypoxic all afternoon.The conditions of those public air-raid shelters are so poor that it is difficult for the elderly and children to survive. Jiang Qingdong, who had put on his clothes, was startled when he heard this, and suddenly had an ominous premonition in his heart.Without saying a word, he took his own gun and was about to go out.At this moment, the phone rang quickly.Zheng Juan was about to pick her up, but Jiang Qingdong got ahead of her: I'll pick her up. What Jiang Qingdong was most worried about finally happened.The call came from the Air Defense Command, and a staff officer informed him that the headquarters had received reports that people died of suffocation to varying degrees in several air-raid shelters in the urban area, especially the eighteenth ladder.Jiang Qingdong put down the phone and ran out, Zheng Juan quickly followed. Crazy Jiang Qingdong and Zheng Juan drove all the way to the Shibati air-raid shelter. The sky at night was just like daytime, clear and cloudless, with a waning moon hanging dismally in the sky, casting a ray of indifferent light on the devastated city.Jiang Qingdong and Zheng Juan, whose faces were full of fear, stood under the moonlight, unable to believe what they saw. The long stone steps leading to the entrance of the air-raid shelter were already filled with corpses.At the last moment of their lives, the dead posed in all kinds of painful and distorted horrific poses, with hell-like expressions frozen on their faces.There was already an unbearable smell in the stuffy air.Soldiers were still carrying corpses out of the cave and piled them on one side.Several officers were urging, and the soldiers were in a hurry, but there seemed to be endless corpses in the air-raid shelter with its big black mouth open. Jiang Qingdong watched in despair, and murmured in a low voice: It's over. Zheng Juan looked back at him worriedly, just about to say something, but suddenly squatted down uncontrollably and vomited.