Chapter 52 51

The Japanese thought: after robbing the land by force, and then using the traitors to implement civil rule, the land and the people can be firmly held.They think that the traitors are indeed the representatives of the Chinese people, so once the traitors take the stage, the people will be willing to obey, and the big thing will be settled.At the same time, they also thought that the many revolutions in China were tricks by a few ambitious politicians, and the people were not affected at all.Therefore, using the non-revolutionary and counter-revolutionary traitors, they have calculated that they will definitely win the support and love of the non-revolutionary and counter-revolutionary people, and they will become one with each other.The Chinese in their minds are still the Chinese fifty years ago.

As far as Peiping is concerned, they never expected that thousands of people they arrested, whether they belonged to the party or had nothing to do with the party, almost unanimously hated the Japanese and unanimously recognized Mr. Sun Yat-sen as the father of the nation.They can't understand what's going on, because they only speculate with their arrogance that the Chinese people must be exactly the same as they were fifty years ago, while ignoring the real history of the past fifty years.Pride makes them colorblind. When the two special envoys died in Beiping, the Japanese began to have a little "consciousness".They saw that the appeal of the traitors was not as great as they had imagined.They should change course and get rid of a few old traitors and bring in a few new traitors.It is best for the new traitors to belong to the party, so that the people who honor Mr. Sun Yat-sen as the father of the country will be calm and willing to cooperate with the Japanese.If they cannot find someone who is in the party, they will have to find one or two pro-Japanese scholars or professors to win the hearts of the people for them.At the same time, they also need to make the Xinminhui intensify its work, control its ideology, and replace the national revolution with the unity of China, Japan, and Manchuria and the common prosperity of Greater East Asia.At the same time, they must not give up what they do best - killing.They must use both kindness and power, and equip them with "kingdom" for killing.At the same time, the war has dragged on for more than a year, and there is no hope of a quick victory at all, so they must try their best to collect and take all the things in North China, so that they can support the war with war.This is fundamentally in conflict with the "kingly way", but the Japanese will only separate things in their hearts and divide them into A, B, C, D and hard-working projects. Each item must be planned and implemented with great effort, and they will not be far-sighted Do the math.They are the actors of a play, and each actor exerts himself in his performance, forgetting the theme and effect of the whole play.They have good little moves, but their plays fail.

It is deep winter.Old Man Qi and Mrs. Tianyou were punished again.This year's coal is even more scarce than last winter.Last year, coal plants still had some stocks.This year, the stocks have been sold out, and the new coal from various mines has been transported away by the Japanese, leaving only one or two-tenths of it in Peking.Old man Qi didn't sleep warm at night, and he didn't bother to get up in the morning.The Japanese spoiled his chicken crowing tradition.It's inconvenient for him to get up early, to make things difficult for Ruixuan and his wife.In previous years, whenever he coughed in the house, Yunmei would get up quickly to start the fire, and the first thing he did every day was to see a small white stove with a strong flame in front of the bed.The light of the fire brought comfort and joy to the heart of the old man.Now, knowing that he doesn't have much coal at home, he has to curl up on the kang to save a fire for the family.

Mrs. Tianyou has always been considerate of her daughter-in-law, so naturally she dared not call her cold.However, she couldn't help coughing, and she knew that her coughing would make her son and daughter-in-law feel sad.She had no choice but to cover her mouth with a quilt to reduce the sound of coughing. Ever since Ruixuan saw the meeting of the Association of Literary and Art Circles, he never had a moment of peace in his heart.He wanted to imitate Mr. Qian's firmness and happiness, but since he didn't do what Mr. Qian did, how could he be firm and happy.Actions are the body of faith.Without limbs, faith is just a wandering spirit!At the same time, he can't turn a blind eye, listen but don't hear, give up his actions, and still consider himself aloof.That's cynicism.

If he is willing to be a cynic, he can not only sneer at war and state affairs, but he can also pretend not to see whether there is fire in grandpa and mother's house.However, he can't help but care about state affairs, and he can't let the old people suffer from the cold without being tempted.He couldn't help being confused, depressed, and sometimes even wanted to commit suicide. The wind blew all night.It was hardly wind, but a disaster that would sweep away everything on the ground in one fell swoop.At sunset, the sky has become very thick, low and yellow, with bursts of deep yellow "sand clouds" flowing on it, emitting a shivering cold air.It was sunset, and the dim yellow sky turned black, very black, terribly black.The street lamps on the high place seem to be a little shorter, and the lights are trembling.The sand clouds above changed from flowing to galloping, and there was a sound in the sky, like a group of speeding ghosts whistling.The branches began to swing.The sound of cars and hawking in the distance suddenly came and then left suddenly.One or two stars appeared, and then they were suddenly hidden.All was silent.Suddenly, the doors, windows, and trees rang together, and the wind from above, from the side, and from below, with the screams of pigs about to be slaughtered, and the yellow sand, black soil, chicken feathers and paper, swept the air and the ground .The lights are out, the windows are open, the walls are trembling, everything is chaotic, shaken, the sky is about to fall, and the earth is about to overturn.People's hearts tightened, and a layer of ice immediately floated in the basin of water.Beiping seems to have lost its strong city walls, and has merged with the barren sand and desert.In the world, there is only flying sand and the wild dance of cold air. People lose the power to control nature, and even bulldogs dare not bark.

After a while, everything was quiet.The lights came on, and the frantic bowing of the branches changed to gentle swaying.A few bright white stars appeared in the sky.However, just as people were about to take a breath, the sky and the earth were connected by the wind again, like a sea of ​​wind without water or edge. The trams stopped early, the rickshaw pullers were hungry and empty-handed, the shopkeepers boarded the boards, and there were no pedestrians on the road.Beiping is like a dark and silent island in a sea of ​​wind. Old man Qi lay down early.He no longer seemed to be lying in the room, but seemed to be floating in the air.Every gust of wind made him feel dazed, he forgot his direction, he forgot where he was, and only felt that thousands of tiny needles were piercing his whole body.He couldn't tell if he was asleep or awake, dreaming or real.Just as he was about to think of something, a gust of wind blew his mind away; when the wind subsided, he found himself again, as if he had just fallen from the sky.The wind blows his body and mind far, far away, but he always lies on the cold kang, curled up in a ball.

It was so easy, the wind stopped the footsteps.The old man heard a cock crow.The sound of the rooster was like a signal falling from the sky. He knew that the wind had stopped and the sky would soon be bright.Stretching out his hand to touch his forehead, he seemed to have touched a piece of ice.He boldly stretched his sore old legs, and quickly curled up again; there was a small ice cellar under the quilt.The room became even colder and colder, he seemed to be sleeping in a thin tent by the river or in the desert, with only a layer of cloth between him and the frost.Slowly, the window paper turned blue.He took a nap.When I opened my eyes again, the window paper was already white; piles of fine yellow sand on the corners of the window edge made small black triangles appear on the white paper.He burst into tears and yawned a few sourly.He didn't want to bear it any longer, and sat up cruelly.After sitting for a while, his legs were still stiff and sad, so he started to put on his clothes, thinking about moving around in the courtyard to activate his blood vessels.In the past, he always put on a ragged leather robe according to the way of his old age, without buttons, but only loosely gathered with a bag; after sweeping the yard and washing his face, he fastened the buttons and waited. Drink tea and eat breakfast.Today, he put on all his clothes at once, and he didn't dare to loosen them any more.

As soon as the door was opened, the old man felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.A very sharp, small and strong wind cut his face like a knife blade, and clear water flowed from his nose.There was always some white gas in front of his mouth.Casting his eyes in the courtyard, he felt that the courtyard seemed a little wider.The ground is extremely clean, not even a single leaf.The ground is gray and white, with a few small cracks in some places.There is nothing in the air, just such a cool piece, like a large piece of transparent ice.The sky is very high, without a cloud, and the blue is very light, like the blue cloth that has been washed many times, and the white is already showing.The sky, the earth, and even the sky were all white, like the light of snow, but there was no snow anywhere.The snow light is powerfully connected to one place, emitting cold air, which makes people's whole body soaked in the cold, as if they are not wearing clothes.The house, the trees, and the courtyard wall all stood quietly, and they all shrank a little, forming a frozen world.The old man dared not cough; a little noise seemed to shake off some ice.

After staying for a while, there was a red light in the sky, the frozen sky.The old man wanted to find a broom, but he was too lazy to stretch out his hand from his cuff; he looked at the ground again, it had been swept very clean by the strong wind, and he didn't need to work hard, so he walked out with his hands in his hands.Open the street door, there is no one in the alley, and there is no movement.The old locust leaves many dead branches that can be used as firewood.Forget about the cold, the old man stretched out his hand to pick up those branches.Holding a pile of dry branches, he walked home.When he got up the steps, he was stunned. The two copper door knockers under the door god's face were gone. "Huh?" the old man said.

This is a house he bought himself, and he knows the changes and history of everything in the courtyard.At the beginning, he remembered, the door knockers were a pair of iron, bulging like a pair of small breasts, with rust on them.Later, to celebrate Ruixuan's marriage, it was replaced with a pair of brass—there was a pair of luminous knockers on the door, as if a woman had put on a new piece of jewelry.He loves the knockers and will never allow them to rust.Whenever he came back from the outside, he felt happy when he saw the yellow light on the door. Today, the shining things on the door seemed to be blown away by the strong wind, and suddenly disappeared, leaving only two round marks and nail holes.The knockers would not blow away, he knew; but he looked down the steps, hoping to find them.Not even a grain of sand on the steps.Putting the stick in the threshold, he went to look for it under the steps, but he couldn't find it.He ran to the door of Number Six, where the knocker was also missing.He forgot to be cold.Soon he took a turn in the alley, and all the door knockers were gone. "What the hell is going on here?" The old man touched his beard with his red hands, and found one or two small ice beads.He walked back quickly and called Ruixuan.It's Sunday, and Ruixuan hasn't gotten up yet because it's cold and he doesn't go to work.The old man didn't want to disturb his grandson, but he couldn't control himself.It is an unprecedented miracle that all the door knockers in the alley were thrown away overnight.

Ruixuan listened to his grandfather while getting dressed.He didn't seem to understand everything, he walked out with blank eyes, and followed the old man out of the courtyard with blank eyes.It was only when he saw the remains of the door knocker that he figured out what the old man was talking about.He smiled and looked up at the sky.The red light in the sky has dissipated, and the bright white sky is very high and cold. "What's the matter?" asked the old man. "It's windy at night, even if we move the street gate, we won't know! Come in, grandpa! It's cold here!" Ruixuan carried a pile of sticks inside the gate for his grandfather. "Who did it? How bold! How much is a pair of door knockers worth?" the old man chattered as he walked into the yard. "Copper and iron are very valuable, isn't it a war now?" Rui Xuan accosted and sent the firewood to the kitchen. The old man and Yunmei began to discuss this matter.Ruixuan hides in his room.The warm and unpleasant air in the room made him want to lie down and sleep for a while, but he could no longer sleep comfortably. The pair of missing door knockers made him feel cold, even colder than today's weather.It is inconvenient to tell my grandfather, but he has received reliable information from Mr. Fushan. The Japanese military department has appointed many Japanese economists to study the economy during the war-to be honest, it is to study how to rob North China's resources.Japan conquered many cities and places in North China, but did not make any money; in modern wars, whoever is willing to throw more money can win.Yes, the Japanese can sell more Japanese goods in the captured areas.However, the war affected domestic production, and the goods shipped to China happened to be exchanged for counterfeit banknotes issued by themselves, which were worthless for a copper plate.Moreover, the war has no hope of ending, and the more we fight, the more money we lose.So they have to rob right away.They had to grab grain, coal, copper and iron, and everything else they could get their hands on.Even so, they may not be able to achieve the goal of supporting war with war, because there is no large industry in North China, and there are not enough technicians and workers.They won the battle and lost money.Therefore, the soldiers think of economists and teach them how to turn ideas into gold. Taking advantage of the night's strong wind to steal the copper and iron door knockers, Ruixuan thought, this may be the first shot of the Japanese economist's robbery plan.If this idea is put on a daily basis, Ruixuan must think that he is superficial and boring.Today, he was thinking about it seriously, and he didn't think this conclusion was ridiculous at all.He knows that there are indeed many economists in Japan, but war destroys academics, and artillery fire is a stupid trick to throw money into the sea.No one can throw money overboard and still keep it.The Japanese keep saying that Japan is a country with "nothing", while China is a country with "something".This is the biggest mistake.Yes, China is indeed very big; but it also has a lot of people.It is based on agriculture, but there is not enough food.China "doesn't have it" and Japan "has it".However, Japan's "have" has been played with gunfire, and it has become "no".So, it had no choice but to rob "no" China.What are you grabbing?Knockers - Knockers are good too, at least they teach Japanese economists to do their jobs.Besides, since scholars are begging for food under the hands of warlords, they must also learn from those soldiers who exaggerate their feats outside of academics—soldiers, those soldiers who are originally small but want to pretend to be great, Every time you do something, no matter how small it is, you have to be a little dramatic, so that you can make something big.Scholars also learned this trick, so in a night of strong winds, the people in Peiping lost their door knockers, and old man Qi was amazed. This is not just a ridiculous thing, Ruixuan told himself.Since the Japanese changed themselves from "having" to "not having" by playing with artillery and war, they will definitely use extremely sophisticated plans and methods to rob in every possible way.Their hearts are cruel, they will scrape away a layer of land in North China, and starve thousands of people to death.Coupled with the willingness of the traitors to help the tiger, the Japanese want five million stones, and the traitors may have to collect 10 million stones to win the favor of the Japanese.In this way, more than half of the people in North China will die soon!And what would he do if this came true?He refused to leave home just to support his family.However, when the Japanese robbery plan is launched, how can he teach them not to starve to death? Yes, people will work hard when they are hungry.The Japanese going to grab grain may arouse resolute resistance from the people.In that way, the occupied places can be armed to save food.This is a good thing.However, Beiping does not produce food, and the people of Peiping would rather go hungry than work hard.Peiping will only die with others, and will never struggle.Ruixuan himself is such a person! At this time, the children woke up and loudly urged their mother to make porridge.Mrs. Tianyou chatted with Old Man Qi and the children.Ruixuan listened to the voices of young and old, as if some poisonous thorns pierced his heart.They are still living helplessly now, and soon they will all die helplessly—without struggling, fighting, or even cursing, just quietly starving to death!The sun's light is not strong, but after a night of strong wind, everyone seems to feel warm when looking at the sunshine.At eight or nine o'clock, the sky turned slightly yellow again, and the branches swayed intermittently. "The wind isn't over yet!" Old Man Qi sighed. Just as the old man finished speaking, two gunshots rang out outside, bang, bang.It was loud and close, and everyone was taken aback. "What's the matter?" The old man only asked lightly, almost without any expression. "Sweep the snow in front of each other, don't care about others' roofs" is his philosophy of life, as long as the gunshots are not in his courtyard, he will not be tempted. "Sounds like the back yard!" Yunmei's big eyes were wide open, and there was a little smile on the corner of her mouth—a little apologetic smile, she was always afraid that others would think she was talkative or said something wrong.Her "backyard" refers to the gourd belly in the alley. Ruixuan ran outside.On weekdays, he would be as calm as his grandfather, no matter what.Today, when he was worrying about everyone's death, he seemed to forget to be cautious and wanted to go out and have a look. "Dad! I'll go too!" Xiao Shun'er's feet were frozen, and he limped after his father. "Why are you going? Come back!" Yunmei grabbed Xiao Shun'er like an eagle catching a chick. Ruixuan ran outside the gate, there was no one at the gate of No. 3, and the old Japanese woman was standing at the gate of No. 1.She bowed to Ruixuan, Ruixuan had never greeted anyone in No. 1, but today in a hurry, he bowed back.Cheng Changshun was outside door No. 4, wanting to move but not daring to move, listening to his grandmother shouting: "Come back, you are so bold! Hold a gun, where are you going!" Seeing Ruixuan, Changshun asked eagerly, "Why?" La?" "I don't know!" Rui Xuan walked north. With his hands in his hands and half a cigarette dangling on his lips, Xiao Wen stood at the door of No. 6 as if nothing had happened. "It seems like two shots were fired? Or maybe it was firecrackers!" He said to Ruixuan, without taking down the cigarette. Ruixuan nodded, didn't say anything, and walked north.He was both envious and disgusted, Xiaowen remained calm. Many people stood outside Gate No. 7, some were talking, and some were looking north.Inspector Bai ran from the north with a pale face, "Go in quickly! Wait a while and check every house! Don't panic, and don't be careless! Go in quickly!" After finishing speaking, he turned around. "What's going on?" Everyone asked almost unanimously. Inspector Bai turned around and said, "I'm unlucky, something happened to Niu Zhai!" "What's the matter?" Everyone asked. Inspector Bai didn't answer any more, and ran away quickly. Ruixuan walked back slowly, chewing silently: "Niu Zhai! Niu Zhai!" He couldn't guess what happened to Niu Zhai, but he remembered Mr. Qian's words two days ago.Didn't Mr. Qian ask him if he knew Professor Niu?Why do you ask such a question?Ruixuan couldn't figure it out.Could it be that Professor Niu wants to be a traitor?cannot!cannot!Although Ruixuan has never been in touch with Professor Niu, he admires the professor's knowledge and personality.If Ruixuan is also a bit ambitious, it would be Professor Niu’s second—he has knowledge that is respected by scholars at home and abroad, has a house with a large yard and many flowers and plants, has a simple and comfortable life, and has many books.Such a scholar will not be a traitor. Back home, everyone was waiting for him to report the news, but he didn't say anything. Less than a quarter of an hour later, the little sheep pen was surrounded by military police.Under the two old locust trees, seven or eight gendarmes stood, and no one was allowed to enter or leave. Old Man Qi locked the children in his own room, not even allowing them to go to the courtyard.Bored, he whispered to the children: "At the beginning, I liked the location of our house. It was secluded. But, who knows, even this place has not changed much now. Take people today. , what's the matter with shooting tomorrow?" The little girl couldn't answer, she just poked her nostrils with her fat, red fingers.Xiao Shun'er, just like the children of this generation, blurted out the answer: "It's all caused by the little Japanese ghosts!" Old Man Qi knew that Xiao Shun'er's words were irrefutable, but it was inconvenient for him to encourage children to hate the Japanese like this: "Don't talk nonsense!" he said in a low voice.After finishing speaking, his small eyes that were hidden deeply were hidden a little deeper, as if he was a little sorry for his great-grandson. At this time of year, a group of people walked in, including patrol police, military police, plainclothes, and armed ones, whom Xiao Shun'er hated deeply, the Japanese.The ground was frozen hard, and their feet were stomping hard, so there was an extraordinarily loud rattling noise.Little people like their loudness to be big.Two stood in the courtyard watching the wind, while the rest dispersed to check in each house. They just came from the Guan family, and the Guan family gave them cigarettes, hot tea, snacks, and brandy, so they didn't search, and they were sent out by Guan Xiaohe with a bow.The Qi family didn't have anything to offer them, so they decided to check it carefully. Yunmei didn't move in the kitchen.Her hands trembled a little, but she was quite calm.She decided not to say a word, but just looked at them with her big eyes.She stood in front of the vegetable case, and if they dared to move her, she could grab the kitchen knife with her hand. As soon as Mrs. Tianyou could remember, the Eight-Power Allied Forces captured Beiping.On her mind, which was almost like a blank sheet of paper, aggression and violence left the deepest marks on her.She knows how to be calm.A hundred years of national humiliation taught her how to endure humiliation, and to endure humiliation would lead to revenge and revenge.Japan's invasion of China started a bit late.She sat on the edge of the kang blankly, looking at the people who came in.She didn't fight out their strength, but she didn't bother to greet them. When Xiao Niuzi saw someone coming in, she hid behind her grandfather.Xiao Shun'er looked at the person who came in, and slowly put a finger in his mouth.Old man Qi has been kind all his life, but today he cut off the polite words that were already on his lips, he couldn't be more polite.He stood there like an old, tall, tower; he could not stop the attackers, but he was not afraid of the attacking artillery. However, Ruixuan especially attracted their attention.His age, appearance, and demeanor, in the eyes of the Japanese, seemed inevitable as a suspect.They opened all the drawers, boxes, and boxes in his house, and examined the contents very carefully.They found nothing, so they rummaged through it a little more, and even turned the box upside down and poured out its contents.Rui Xuan stood in the corner, watching them quietly.Finally, the Japanese saw the map of the unification of the Qing Dynasty on the wall.He nodded to Ruixuan: "It's great from Qing Dynasty!" Ruixuan still stood there without any expression.The Japanese casually picked up a gold-plated, chiselled, short hairpin that Yunmei didn't quite remember, put it in her bag, then looked at the map of the Qing Dynasty, and reluctantly walked out. After they left, everyone was busy packing their things. Everyone was angry, but no one said anything.Even Xiao Shun'er knew that he was insulted, but no one could avenge his shame, so he could only keep his resentment in his stomach. It wasn't until four o'clock in the afternoon, when the yellow wind roared again, that the people in the small sheep pen were free to come and go, and the matter of the cow house began to be talked about among everyone. Except for the fact that Professor Niu was injured and taken to the hospital, no one was allowed to know what happened.Professor Niu has never had much contact with his neighbors, so on weekdays everyone's thoughts about his family's affairs are mostly based on speculation and imagination; today, speculation and imagination are more active.Because everyone didn't know what it was, they had to explain something more. According to Sun Qi: The Japanese wanted to pull Professor Niu as a traitor, but Professor Niu refused, so they shot him twice—one fell. He missed the shot and hit the professor in the left shoulder without threatening his life.Sun Qi respects Professor Niu very much, because he once shaved the professor's head.Professor Niu rarely goes out except to teach.He showers, shaves his head, all at home.One day, because of the rain, his servant was too lazy to go to the street to call the barber, so he went to find Sun Qi.Although Sun Qi's workmanship is not high, but Professor Niu only shaved his head, so Sun Qiman can handle errands.Professor Niu is a person who is unwilling to contact with the society, and does not pay attention to eating, drinking and other enjoyments.As long as he was sitting at home, there seemed to be nothing wrong with someone coming and pulling out his hair.From Sun Qi's point of view, a professor is probably equivalent to a high-ranking official, so Professor Niu refused to associate with his neighbors.However, he shaved his head for the professor himself, and even had a few words with the professor.It's an honor.When a respectable young man in the shop complained that his workmanship was not good, he would reply calmly: "I dare not say that my workmanship is good, but I will shave Professor Niu's head!" Therefore, he Respect Professor Niu. Cheng Changshun's view is quite different from Sun Qi's.He said: Professor Niu wanted to be a traitor, and was shot twice by "our" people.Although he was not killed, Professor Niu probably didn't dare to cause trouble anymore.Chang Shun'er didn't know the basis for what he said, but psychologically, he felt that his judgment was correct.He has been in all the yards in the Little Sheepfold, and everyone has heard his phonograph.Only Niu Zhai never took care of him.He thought that Professor Niu was not only not like a neighbor, but also not like a man.People, according to Changshun, must be kind, talking and laughing.Professor Niu doesn't socialize with everyone, it's like a clay bodhisattva in the temple, never coming out to play.He thought that such a person might be a traitor. These two different conjectures reached Ruixuan's ears.He couldn't judge which was closer to the truth.He just felt sad.If Sun Qi's guess is right, he will see his own danger.Really, his knowledge and reputation are far inferior to that of Professor Niu.However, the Japanese also captured him.Who can guarantee that the Japanese will not force him to go into the water?Yes, if they threatened him with pistols, he would puff out his chest and take a bullet for the sake of integrity.However, if he closed his eyes, what would the whole family do? On the other hand, if Cheng Changshun guessed right, it would be even more embarrassing.If Professor Niu's academic reputation is willing to submit to rebellion, this nation should really perish!The wind is still quite strong and very cold.Ruixuan couldn't sit still in the room.With his hands in his hands, his head lowered, and his brows furrowed, he walked back and forth in the courtyard.The fine yellow sand gradually accumulated on his hair and eyebrows, and he didn't bother to wipe it off.A drop of clear water hung from his reddened nose, and he let it fall by itself, not bothering to wipe it off.From the lost door knocker, he imagined the hardships of life tomorrow, and he saw a rope around his neck, and that of the family, old and young, getting tighter and tighter.From the assassination of Professor Niu, he thought that the Japanese would rape innocent people one by one; However, all this is just fantasy.Unless he escaped from Peiping immediately, he could not solve the problem.But how did he escape?With a gust of wind, he let out a roar.no way!