Le Jing's trip to Shanghai was originally scheduled for two weeks, but because he had to write an article to respond to Li Jingliang's sudden attack, the two-week trip was delayed to more than three weeks.
As a result, The Rise of Dynasties was suspended for three weeks. Finally, the Peking Fiction News sent a telegram almost every day, urging Le Jing to go back and write more.
When they returned to Beijing from Shanghai, it was just the day before New Year's Eve. The reporters surrounding their house had long since dispersed, and the streets were filled with the strong flavor of the New Year.
Le Jing did not return to the Li family's ancestral home in Fengtian, but instead spent a New Year's Day alone with Li Shuran in a small courtyard in Peking.
Winter is the best time to eat hotpot, so hotpot was placed in front of the brother and sister who were staying up on New Year's Eve.
They sat around the table, watching the milky white bottom of the pot bubbling, and the emerald green vegetables and bright red beef and mutton floating up and down, which was a very beautiful sight.
Outside the house came the sounds of Xiaoni and Zhou's eldest son playing and laughing. Ever since Le Jing sent her to school, Wang Xiaoni has become more and more lively, and her eyes, which sometimes seemed dull, have become much more lively.
Li Shuran lowered her eyes, raised her chopsticks and looked at the fragrant hot pot expectantly. When Le Jing said "ready", she happily picked up a big piece of beef, blew on it a few times, put it in her mouth and chewed it with relish, her cheeks bulging like a greedy squirrel.
Le Jing smiled as he watched her greedily eat. If there was anyone who had changed the most in the past year, it would have to be Li Shuran.
This shy little girl grew up rapidly in her studies and became the brave, passionate, intelligent, decisive, and bold person she is today.
"Shu Ran, what is your New Year's resolution?"
Li Shuran swallowed the food in her mouth, thought for a few seconds, and then smiled and said, "I hope my brother and I can be healthy and free from disasters, and live like today year after year."
Le Jing smiled, but said, "My New Year's wish is different from yours." He looked at the white snow outside the house, and heard the lively sound of firecrackers and children's laughter. His eyes were slightly closed, hiding the complexity in them, "My wish... is freedom."
Li Shuran stared at the boy in a red Tang suit opposite her: "Freedom?"
"Yes, freedom." The boy's face was blurred in the mist. His voice seemed to come from far away. His voice contained deep loneliness and unyielding determination: "I have traveled through the long river of time, and all I seek is freedom."
“Freedom is detachment, freedom, wandering, walking alone, going up to the west tower alone and looking at the loneliness of the endless road to the horizon. It is also what my heart desires, and I will not regret moving forward even if I die nine times.”
Li Shuran's heart suddenly started beating wildly, and she was speechless as she looked at her brother whose face was blurred in the mist.
Although she didn't quite understand what her brother said, it didn't prevent her from feeling a nearly eternal loneliness.
Just like the delicious food in front of her, the laughter outside, and the festive Spring Festival, she and everything in this world have nothing to do with the boy in front of her.
The young man has his mountains and seas, his numerous mountain shadows, and his vast waves.
If possible, the wind will give him, the desert will give him, and the sky will give him too.
It is the unrestrained wind, the desert with heavy rain, and the sky full of stars.
Give him everything and let him be free.
Li Shuran was silent for a long time. So long that the hot pot had lost its temperature and the sound of firecrackers at midnight rang out outside the house. She finally looked up at Le Jing, her eyes were crying, but the corners of her mouth were smiling: "Brother, I wish you freedom."
Outside, firecrackers blasted loudly, and thousands of fireworks rose into the sky, leaving mottled shadows on the boy's face. The boy's face was as white as jade, his clear eyes were bright and dark, his smile matched the fireworks outside, his lips opened and closed, and his voice was crushed in the wind by the sound of firecrackers.
Li Shuran read out the silent words.
He was saying, "Shu Ran, you have to live well."
One year passes with the sound of firecrackers, and the spring breeze brings warmth to the wine.
Amid the crackling sound of firecrackers, the 14th year of the Republic of China officially came to an end.
In the 15th year of the Republic of China, it came.
Li Shuran is 14 years old, and Le Jing is 17. In the year since he came to this era, he has experienced countless ups and downs, but this year has been more exciting and fulfilling than his previous 16 years of life.
It turns out that the most important thing in life is width, not length.
The Spring Festival of the 15th year of the Republic of China was the first Spring Festival that Le Jing had celebrated since he came to this era. Compared with later generations, the Spring Festival of this era had a stronger flavor of the New Year. Red lanterns were hung on the streets and alleys, dragon and lion dance teams roared through the streets, and the air was filled with a faint smell of gunpowder. Children walked through the streets in new clothes, and pedestrians returning home with New Year's goods had happy expectations on their faces.
As Le Jing walked among them, he felt a slight sense of absurdity and incongruity, as if he had accidentally walked into an old photo.
Until now, he still hasn't adapted to this era. When he wakes up in the middle of the night, he often feels like he is dreaming and it's not real.
In this way, the days passed slowly and orderly.
After a hiatus of nearly a month, "Rise of Dynasties" has finally resumed serialization. The plot has progressed to the point where Xu Wangmu rises up and calls on the righteous armies across the country to fight against foreign invaders.
Some smart readers have already guessed something. In recent days, Le Jing has received many letters from readers asking whether Xu Wangmu will become emperor.
Book reviews with related ideas also appeared in newspapers.
Chiyan then published an article in the newspaper saying: "The Records of Xiang Yu says: When the First Emperor of Qin visited Kuaiji and crossed the Zhejiang River, Liang and Ji watched together. Ji said: "He can be replaced." The current Emperor Dahua is confused and incompetent, and has not even a fraction of the talent and strategy of the First Emperor. Why doesn't Xu Wangmu follow Xiang Yu's example and replace him?"
This article caused a huge uproar.
For a time, the three factions of "emperor faction", "loyal minister faction" and "hero faction" were arguing fiercely in the newspapers.
Le Jing didn't care about the ups and downs in the newspapers, he just wrote the article according to the outline.
Although his new pen name of Maitian was exposed,
But the authorities strangely kept silent about this and did not mention any ban. Perhaps because "Wandering Adventures" did not touch on any sensitive issues, "Literature Newspaper" pretended to know nothing and continued to publish the series of "Wandering Adventures".
The work "Vagabond Adventures", which he defined as children's literature, eventually became a fairy tale for adults. Fu Kemao later wrote a letter to Lin Zhongqi, asking why Lin Zhongqi mentioned him in the preface of "The Rise of Dynasties". Le Jing thought for a few seconds and replied to him with a malicious tone: "I am watching you."
This stalkerish remark was interpreted by Fu Kemao as Lin Zhongqi's deep expectations and encouragement for him. He was so excited that he became more convinced that he was a young hero and would shine in the future, thus leading the young man to embark on a lifelong charity journey. Of course, this is all a story for later.
The debate on filial piety sparked by his article "The Way of Animals" published under the pen name "Night Watchman" is still raging in newspapers.
When Zhou Dezhang and Zheng Yiliang came to visit him, they laughed and said that Le Jing had poked a hole in the sky.
Even when Zhang Xiguan came over to collect the manuscript, the look he gave him was quite complicated. Le Jing could see from his eyes that he disapproved of "The Animal Way", but he didn't say anything in the end. He just silently took away the manuscript of "The Rise of Dynasties".
Le Jing went to school as usual, but this time he became a celebrity in the school.
Many classmates in the class had witnessed the argument between Le Jing and Li Jingliang. Later, Li Jingliang exposed Le Jing’s current school and class in the newspaper. Anyone with a brain would know what was going on.
So as soon as Le Jing entered the school, he was surrounded by his classmates.
"Le Jing, no, I should call you Li Jingran now. I didn't expect you to be the Night Watchman!"
"I really admire you! You are the same age as us, but you can write such an outstanding article. You can only be described as a genius!"
"I have also read your book The Animal Realm. After reading it, I got goose bumps all over my body. It was a sunny day but it felt as cold as if I was in a world of ice and snow."
Someone else asked Le Jing: "Will you continue to use the pen name Night Watchman to post articles in the future?"
Le Jing answered these chattering questions with a good-natured smile, until Mr. Bai walked into the classroom and the students surrounding him dispersed. Only then did Le Jing finally have a moment of peace.
The enthusiastic welcome for Le Jing lasted for more than a week. After his classmates' curiosity was initially satisfied, Le Jing's surroundings gradually quieted down.
Then, one day after school, Cao Wanying came over to Le Jing shyly and said, "I have a friend who is also a fan of your book, so I want to meet you."
Cao Wanying's previous words, "You, the informer, are dead, dead, do you understand?" stirred up Le Jing's long-forgotten memories. This sentence appears too frequently in later anti-Japanese war dramas.
Of course, Le Jing also understood that this sentence was most likely just a common mixed language circulated in this era. Mixed language refers to the mixed language introduced into Chinese by Japanese vocabulary and Japanese grammar during the Japanese colonial period in Northeast China in the early 20th century.
But a little girl from Peking suddenly said this, Le Jing couldn't help but feel a little bit of expectation, so he went to test it. The result also proved that Cao Wanying was just an ordinary native of the Republic of China, not the time traveler that Le Jing expected.
But it was also because of that experience that Le Jing and Cao Wanying's relationship became inexplicably closer, to the point where they could walk out of the school gate together after school without attracting strange looks.
So Le Jing readily agreed to Cao Wanying's request.
On the way, Cao Wanying briefly introduced her friend's background, "He is from Japan, but he admires Chinese culture, so he came all the way here to study, and he can speak fluent Chinese."
Le Jing raised his eyebrows and said nothing.
He naturally did not have any narrow democratic tendencies. Although Japan committed numerous crimes in China during the war, which were too numerous to list, there were still some righteous people among the Japanese who still had a conscience.
Japan and China are two countries separated by a narrow strip of water, and their historical processes have always influenced each other.
For example, the Tongmenghui founded in Tokyo, Japan sounded the death knell of the Qing Dynasty. There were also many Japanese Eighth Route Army and People's Liberation Army in our party's army. In the years when Red China was founded, young Japanese shouted "Revolution is not a crime, rebellion is justified", and the Red Army swept across the island country in a mighty manner.
Cao Wanying laughed again and said, "My friend is the strangest Japanese person I have ever met. I don't know why he always hates his Japanese identity and always dreams of joining the Chinese nationality and becoming a Chinese. Unfortunately, his parents don't agree, so he gave up."
Le Jing sighed in his heart, in modern terms, could this person be an elite?
The two walked forward while talking and laughing, and soon arrived at the school gate. A short-haired boy wearing a gray Zhongshan suit was guarding the school gate.
He looked to be about the same age as Le Jing, also in his teens, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He looked quite handsome, but there was always a hint of melancholy between his brows.
His eyes lit up when he saw Cao Wanying, and his gaze involuntarily drifted towards Le Jing. He asked with some stammering, "This, this person?"
Cao Wanying smiled and said, "You want to meet someone, right? I brought him here. How are you going to thank me?"
This man was so excited that his face turned red. He walked forward with his hands and feet together and stretched out his sweaty hand to Le Jing, looking dazed as if he was drunk: "Hello, Mr. Linlin Zhongqi, I am your crazy fan..."
Le Jing:……? ? ? !
The author has something to say:
【Note ①】“A young man has his own mountains and seas,
There are his shadows of mountains and his vast waves.
If possible, the wind will give him, the desert will give him, and the sky will give him too.
It is the unrestrained wind, the desert with heavy rain, and the sky full of stars.
Give him everything, and let him be free." - Excerpted from NetEase Cloud's hot review
As for the Japanese Red Army in this chapter, I can't say anything. Please use Baidu and search for "浅间山庄" if you are interested. My TG is not a vegetarian. Back then, Southeast Asia exported revolution. Well, I can't say anything.
I have been writing this chapter from 6 o'clock to now, and I am stuck, very stuck, because the Republic of China chapter is about to enter the last plot point, which is also the climax of this article. I want to shake off the foreshadowing buried in the previous chapters and then detonate it! I am about to write the brilliant chapter that I have thought about countless times before!!!
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