Chapter 11 Er Lao Cai

On the night of August 9th in the 23rd year of the Republic of China, at a banquet in Suiyuan, I heard the story of a strange woman.She is the only daughter of the Hetao national hero Wang Tongchun, "Mu Guiying of Houtao", her name is Erlaocai. No, she doesn't have a name, Erlaocai is her subordinate and the people behind her, and it was entrusted to her. That night, after listening to the story, it was too late to go back.With some wine, the high wind from the northwest on the road blows the hot cheeks, and I feel very excited but also very disappointed.In the darkness, the wind blew the leaves rustling, the cool stars twinkled in the blue sky, I didn’t sleep all night; after tossing and turning, there was always a woman in a blue coat and fur hat, with a spear and a leaping horse, looking forward like a god, commanding the wind. .

Because of my childhood environment, my nature is very "wild", and I always prefer the line of "clean and heroic" when it comes to people of the same sex.When I was young, I felt that all the characters bored me. Among them, the only one who was unsatisfactory was the third sister You.I also read unofficial history, and there is a saying that "Guo Fenyang loves her daughter's morning makeup, and she is full of barnyard tooth generals." It makes me think that with her family background and her era, reporters must be more than just "morning makeup".

It's a pity that after reading some history books, there is no evidence for Guo Gong's love for his daughter, so I can't help but feel at a loss! In the past twenty years, the wildness has been exhausted, and even the same-sex characters in the fantasy have changed. "Woman", this abstract noun, when it comes to my mind, is always surrounded by a clump of sparks. This star is: clothing, decoration, fat, pink, delicate, weak; at best: beautiful, smart, Talented and articulate; at best... No matter how far my fantasy leads, a personality like Erlaocai has never appeared in my imagination.

It is said that the "Hundreds of Harmful" Yellow River is rushing to the southeast with its rolling silt.In the middle, the muddy water swept across a piece of Mongolian pasture south of Wolf Mountain, forming ten thousand hectares of fertile land.In the early years of Tongzhi, Wang Tongchun, who was nine feet tall and ambitious, led thousands of compatriots from Shandong and Henan to open up reclamations in this river loop. Seventy cows, this fertile land with a radius of ten thousand hectares, has all fallen into the hands of blind money--Wang's nickname.In the Hetao area, the mention of making money blindly, which does not evoke a mixed emotion, shocking and admiring?

As the saying goes, "a tiger father has no dogs", but the four sons who made money blindly only inherited his father's straightforwardness and simplicity. His decisiveness in killing and fighting, his vigor and heroism, are all gathered in his daughter.So when she was a child, her brothers worked hard in the labor team to dig the canal, while the second elder Cai rode a horse and armed with a gun, patrolling and directing the canal. Wang Tongchun himself can't read very well, and his only daughter certainly never read.Because she never studied, and grew up in this place surrounded by rivers and mountains, isolated from the outside culture, she is naive, she confesses, she is willful, and she is not contaminated with any coyness.

She is like a "lily in the field",... No, she is not a flower, but the local scenery, she is like a wheat ear growing in the fertile fields of Hetao.A burst of river water flooded this piece of land, and the river gradually receded. In the fine sand and mud, under the cloudless and clear sky in the northwest, there was a natural seed, which was rejoicing in this virgin land without manpower. , the sprouts grow vigorously, and she bears abundant grains. In this way, she rode a bareback horse, shot a quick gun, followed her father, restrained the workers, and passed her childhood.In his twenties, Er Lao Cai got married.The husband died early, and his name is not passed on. Some people say that he is her cousin, but the details are not known.After the death of her husband, Er Laocai lived in her natal family again, and of course her father couldn't leave her.

In the 33rd year of Guangxu, due to the result of years of fighting with other people over the years, the Wuyuan County Yamen had accusations against Wang Tongchun piled up like a mountain, and Wang was finally sent to prison.At this time, everything in the Wang family: thugs, workers, fields, and livestock were allocated and managed by the second rich man.Around her, there are often thirty or forty servants with guns and knives, and those who refuse to be ordered will be executed immediately. Her orders are strict and her kindness is powerful, covering the Hetao area. The people treat her as much as her father, and they are both frightened and loved.

At this moment, Erlaocai got her honorary title: her father, Wang Tongchun, was a big rich man, a big rich man; she was a second rich man, a second rich man. In the sixth year of the Republic of China (?) Wang Tongchun died.His second son, Wang Ying, collected his father's subordinates and exiles from various places, gathered thousands of people, and was entrusted to form an army, stationed in Zhangbei area.In the 20th year of the Republic of China, he confronted the "National Army" again. The army was defeated and the soldiers mutinied. Wang Ying fled in a hurry and asked Erlaocai for advice.Er Laocai slapped Wang Ying, scolding him was useless, and immediately flew on his horse, and when he arrived in the army, he only spoke a few words of instruction, and everyone was silent. As a result, the whole army embraced Wang Ying, broke through and walked to Chahar. It was captured by General Liu Yifei.

Wang Ying's remnant party scattered and plundered and turned into bandits. The famous bandit leader Yang Houxiao was one of them.Last spring, a group of Yang Houxiao's subordinates stopped a mule cart and were rushing forward. When the curtain of the cart opened, Er Laocai slowly jumped out of the cart and said: " Don't be busy, let's find out who I am first!" The dozens of good men took a closer look, and immediately raised their guns to attention in fright, and let the mule cart pass by in silence. At this time, there were more robberies near Wuyuan, and some people said that Erlaocai's subordinates were responsible.

The county magistrate of Wuyuan arrested Erlaocai and wanted to shoot her to avoid future troubles.The second old man made a generous speech and said, "Wang Ying is my brother. He did evil and bad things. I didn't run away, which shows that I have no intention of him. As for saying that my family is harboring bad people, this is not true. My family originally Some of my father’s old people have always received alms from my father, and now I still give them some food and rice. This is to show respect for the old and the poor, not to commit adultery and break the law. I would like to ask if there is any robbery in my family? Am I the owner of the nest?" The county magistrate found it difficult to give up after hearing this righteous statement, and because she was the daughter of Wang Tongchun, a Hetao practitioner, she was well-received by everyone; and even under severe punishment, the gangsters could not confess the money they had hidden. When the facts came out, she was released, and only made a condition with her that she was not allowed to be recruited into exile again. ——One said that she was not released, and she is still under house arrest in Wuyuan City.

The above is what I heard in Suiyuan. Since then, on the journey to the Northwest, I have asked everyone I meet, hoping to know more about the deeds of Erlao Cai. Arrived in Baotou on August 17th, in the life improvement society and at the public banquet, Wang Tongchun was mentioned again. Listen to her business? This woman doesn’t have much talent, but this person is very powerful!” So ​​he went on and on, “Speaking of her, I met her once. That year, General Wu Ziyu Lanzhou is going to Beiping, passing by here, I also get in the car to pick it up. The car is full of men, but there is a woman, about 50 years old, wearing a big blue cloth jacket, wearing a fur hat, talking loudly with everyone, I am upset Now, I said, 'What kind of girl is this, and she is sitting here too!' Someone next to me pulled my clothes, and I was speechless. Going to the quiet place and asking, Ganqing is the Er Laocai who is well-known in Hetao, and she also brought General Wu here, asking General Wu to intercede for her brother Wang Ying.I also talked to her later, this person can really speak, and she is forthright and understanding.She invited me to her house again. In Wuyuan City, there are still many people in the ordinary earthen house.She is extremely hospitable, if you go, she will definitely welcome you, if you want to inquire about Wang Tongchun's affairs, it is best to ask her. " It has been raining heavily in Baotou, and the road to Wuyuan has been washed away.I won't see you this time!On the way home, I asked my friend in Suiyuan to inquire about Erlao Cai for me, write it down and send it to me.If you can find a photo of her, please reward me with one. The train was speeding towards Juyongguan, leaning on the window silently, I thought: In the Wuyuan City built with her father's donation, the old couple lived happily; the father died, the brothers fled, the Hetao was desolate, and the peasants scattered!During the Spring and Autumn Festival, when I lead the crowd to the temple of the river god Wang Tongchun in the city, when offering sacrifices and praying, what kind of tears should be shed!Wang Tongchun's prestige is concentrated on her alone. Wasn't she the bandit soldier who retreated alone in the siege of Wuyuan City by Zhao Erbai, the seventeenth member of the People's Republic of China?The crisis in the Northwest is still just beginning, Er Lao Cai, you are the daughter of a national hero.You are not old yet, where is your quick gun?Where is your dead man? The Great Wall flew across from afar, and it was about to fall on my head, so I entered the customs from then on.Looking back at the floating clouds in the northwest, oh, goodbye, heroine, the green hills are never old, the green waters last forever, I always want to see you if I get a chance,——Who knows if I can see you?In today's domain, it is so close!Postscript on the night of November 5, 1935. (This article was originally published in Volume 9, No. 1 of "Youth World" in January 1936.)