Chapter 2 Chapter 1 The Burning Land (2)

So the "April 29 Wuhan Air Battle" became a nightmare for the Japanese invaders. On this day, tens of thousands of people in Wuhan were empty. People rushed out of their homes regardless of the danger. Millions of people cheered for the Sino-Soviet Air Force on the ground.Since the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War, vicious Japanese planes have done whatever they want in the sky of China, bombing Chinese cities and villages recklessly, and pouring tens of thousands of tons of bombs on the unarmed Chinese people.However, "If you do many unrighteous actions, you will kill yourself." On this day, the aggressors who did all kinds of evil were finally punished by justice.When the first Japanese heavy bomber crashed into the Yangtze River with billowing smoke and splashed a high column of water, the long-buried hatred in people's hearts immediately erupted like a volcano. The ocean of the dead.

But the crazy Japanese were not reconciled to failure, and their fighters desperately opened fire to resist, trying to cover the bombers to break through.Although the Chinese and Soviet Air Forces' intensive artillery fire continued to hit the enemy planes, causing them to catch fire and explode, a few enemy planes that slipped through the net jumped over Wuhan and dropped bombs, blowing up some houses and causing casualties to the people on the ground. The exciting air battle in Wuhan lasted about forty minutes. The Chinese and Soviet Air Forces shot down ten Japanese heavy bombers and eleven fighter jets. They also lost twelve aircraft and many excellent pilots.After being wounded, Chinese pilot Chen Huaimin crashed his plane into the enemy and became an anti-Japanese hero who spilled blood in the sky; Soviet pilot Shustel also heroically crashed into the enemy plane and died unfortunately, and was awarded the title of Merited Pilot of the Soviet Union.

On that day, Wuhan held a massive celebration rally and mass parade, known in history as the "April 29 Victory in the Air". 2 My father didn't rush home until it was dark, and the moment he stepped into the house, he was immediately petrified by the mess in front of him. Many people broke into the living room, some people they knew, like cousins ​​Xiao San and Xiao Er, and many strangers they didn't know.Some people came wearing dirty work clothes, some were bare-chested, some were standing, some were squatting; some had bandages on their arms, and the bandages were still oozing blood, and some still had bloody mud sticking to their faces. Make the living room that was very clean and tidy dirty.The air was filled with the pungent and unpleasant smell of sweat and blood.

My father’s home is a small three-story building located in Xian’anfang in the British Concession in Hankou. This small building still exists today, and the place name has not been changed, but the main property rights have been taken over by the local government. In 1995, when I was negotiating the issue of remaining property rights with relevant departments in Wuhan on behalf of my father, I saw that this small building that had gone through the vicissitudes of time was still solid on the outside, but the inside was completely changed.It needs to be explained that my father’s father, my grandfather’s name is Zhang Songqiao, also known as Deng Xuanzong. His identity is the owner of Wuhan Yuhua Spinning Mill, and he can be regarded as a well-known industrialist in Hubei Province.Zhang Songqiao doesn't stay at home most of the time, but lives in Wuchang on the other side of the river, because he loves the factory like his life, and he can't sleep if the machine doesn't run.He just returned to Hankou to rest that day, so many strangers rushed into the house rashly.These people were all factory workers, and it took my father a while to figure out that the Japanese had dropped bombs into the raw material yard, killing one porter and injuring a dozen others.

In my father's memory, this was the second time Japanese planes attacked Wuhan.The first time was around after the Spring Festival, because the scale was small; all the bombs fell in the river, and the city and factories were safe and sound.However, the air strike still caused many female workers to be injured in the factory. They were panic-stricken. Many of them squeezed down the stairs and fell down, and some of them became disabled as a result.But this time it was different. The Japanese bomb finally fell into the factory and killed people. The people who came were very irritable. They were all locals from Wuhan, and they were very hot-tempered. They talked with their throats open and spit on the ground. Some people smoked the spicy Henan dry tobacco, making the air in the room full of smoke. It was cloudy.But it was not long before the people suddenly fell silent, and they heard heavy footsteps like rolling thunder overhead.

People quickly stood up straight, respectful and silent. The elders say that my grandfather Zhang Songqiao is actually a small man, less than five feet long, which is about 1.60 meters in today's measurement standard, but this small man with a small appearance is a symbol of wealth and capital in people's minds. .According to the "Biography of Zhang Songqiao" written by the Wuhan Federation of Industry and Commerce, Zhang Songqiao "has a loud voice and is resolute in his work", "with fat earlobes and arms above his knees", and the folk saying is "he has a different appearance".In the few old photos that remain in our family, Zhang Songqiao’s old man’s bones stand out and his face is pale, with a narrow knife-like face with almost no flesh, similar to an osprey.He also has a huge aquiline nose like a Jew, which makes people feel a little surprised and unexpected. What I still don't understand is how my grandfather's genetic characteristics come from?And how did he disappear from his descendants so quickly?The old man on the wall did not answer.Zhang Songqiao's eyes are still as sharp as torches, revealing a kind of arrogance without anger, watching his descendants sternly across the long river of nearly a century.

One day when Zhang Songqiao came downstairs, my father saw a middle-aged man who was inseparable behind his father. This man's steps were very light and he followed every step, just like Zhang Songqiao's shadow.He is Boss Xiao, the factory supervisor (factory manager).Boss Xiao should be my father's eldest cousin according to his seniority, but he is more than 30 years older than him. He is not only Zhang Songqiao's nephew, but also his most trusted right-hand man and family successor.Originally, the casualties caused by the air raid did not necessarily have to be resolved by the boss. The Japanese dropped the bombs and it was not the responsibility of the Chinese factory.But during this time of war, Zhang Songqiao still decided to go downstairs to tide over the difficulties with his staff.Zhang Songqiao announced on the spot that he would give generous pensions to the family members of the deceased, recruit family members to work in the factory, treat the injured, and pay wages during the treatment.The visitor received a satisfactory answer and left the small building with gratitude. Boss Xiao immediately sent someone to write a notice of the boss's decision and posted it in the factory, so as to calm people's hearts and eliminate the chaos caused by the air raid.

In the official propaganda at the time, the Battle of Xuzhou was still going on vigorously, and news of the victory was published in the newspapers in the rear every day, giving people the impression that the situation was excellent and news of success was frequent.Zhang Songqiao felt uneasy about this.If the Chinese army was winning battles every day as the newspapers advertised, would the Japanese planes still dare to bomb so recklessly and deep into the rear of China?To be precise, my grandpa, who is the owner of a spinning mill, did not have military talent but out of a capitalist's instinct to smell the enemy's approaching danger, so when only the Xiao brothers were left in the living room, my primary school student father heard his father Worryingly said to the group of nephews: Tell me, can Wuhan be defended?