We meet again.
Ji Yuxing and the main force from Shandong arrived in Hengshui, Hebei the next day as planned. After being stationed in Hengshui for a week, they moved to Handan.
Upon arriving in Handan, he was to first meet with Zhong Shuhuai, the current head of the Hebei region, as arranged by Tan Yuanbo.
But what he didn't expect was that he would meet someone completely unexpected.
Upon receiving news that Zhong Shuhuai had invited him in, Ji Yuxing walked in without hesitation, but the first person he saw upon opening the door was not Zhong Shuhuai.
Instead, it was Zhang Chenglin, dressed in military uniform, standing next to Zhong Shuhuai.
Ji Yuxing's brow twitched, and his voice was filled with excitement as he spoke: "Old Zhang!"
Zhang Chenglin turned to look at him, smiled and nodded: "We meet again."
"You know each other?" Zhong Shuhuai put down the manuscript in his hand and looked up at Ji Yuxing and Zhang Chenglin.
“I know him,” Zhang Chenglin nodded first, “Last year I was with Mr. Tan in Shandong.”
“I heard that there were only two people following Tan Yuanbo last year, so it’s just the two of you?” Zhong Shuhuai said, obviously not intending to wait for Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing to speak, and continued, “To send the two of you to support Hebei at the same time, it seems that Dongsheng has also suffered a great loss this time.”
"An army is raised for a thousand days to be used for one day," Ji Yuxing composed himself, his face, which had become tanned from the sun in Northeast China, rarely showed a smile. He said, "Mr. Sheng has led us for so long, isn't this the day we've been waiting for? When the country is in danger, someone always has to stand at the forefront."
"Well done." Zhong Shuhuai stood up, patted Ji Yuxing on the shoulder, and then reached out his hand again: "Hello, Zhong Shuhuai."
"Ji Yuxing," Ji Yuxing was flattered. He suddenly remembered that he hadn't introduced himself when he entered, so he quickly extended his hand and said, "Hello."
"Please sit down," Zhong Shuhuai said to Ji Yuxing and Zhang Chenglin, placing the manuscript he had been reading in the middle of the table. "Let me give you a brief overview of the current situation in the Northeast and Hebei. As things stand, Handan is still safe. I will arrange for some of the people you two brought to go north to support Tangshan and other places. You two will stay with me in Handan for the time being..."
Zhong Shuhuai talked with Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing about the current situation in Hebei for three hours. By the time they came out of the room, it was already dark.
Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing went to dinner, and Ji Yuxing took the opportunity to ask him, "When did you come to Hebei? Didn't the intelligence say you were going to Shandong?"
“You arrived at the same spot earlier than me,” Zhang Chenglin turned to look at him, his expression unreadable: “Your intelligence is problematic.”
Ji Yuxing seemed to be deep in thought, but Zhou Zhu, who was following behind him, looked up at Zhang Chenglin upon hearing this.
Ji Yuxing could only sigh in the end: "I guess it's too chaotic outside, and the intelligence probably got messed up on the way."
Zhang Chenglin turned his head away without saying a word.
"By the way," Ji Yuxing suddenly spoke up again when they were almost at the restaurant, "My parents and Feixue are also in Shandong. Before I left, she said she was going to see Fengyue, and she should have gone there in the last couple of days."
After listening to his words, Zhang Chenglin remained silent for a few seconds before suddenly asking, "Any news about romance?"
"Yes, she's staying at your place." Ji Yuxing frowned slightly. "You haven't been in contact with her at all?"
“In these chaotic times,” Zhang Chenglin lowered his eyes, his tone becoming somewhat indifferent, “I don’t want to cause any more trouble.”
"When I left, Feixue told me about you two," Ji Yuxing's eyes lit up with a smile again, "After the war is over, will you marry her?"
"meeting."
Zhang Chenglin answered without hesitation, as if it were an answer he had rehearsed a million times in his mind.
“You two have wasted so many years,” Ji Yuxing said with a smile, but there was a hint of melancholy in his eyes. “I hope the country will be at peace soon, and I hope that lovers can be together soon.”
“We’re both in Hebei, and I reckon they’ll arrange for us to do everything together again.” Ji Yu walked along, kicking away a small pebble by the roadside, her tone somewhat light: “Mr. Sheng always wants to lock us together, so we’ll never be apart.”
“Be normal,” Zhang Chenglin turned to look at him, his eyes clearly mocking, “I don’t have a penchant for getting entangled with married men.”
Without a moment's hesitation, he turned and walked away.
Ji Yuxing stood there stunned for two seconds before realizing what he had said, then turned around and chased after him: "Zhang Chenglin! You bastard!"
Ji Yuxing's voice was quite loud, attracting several onlookers. "You've gotten quite bold, Ah Xing, daring to call Mr. Zhang by his full name now."
"Shut up!" Ji Yuxing was still angry, but he really didn't dare to do anything to Zhang Chenglin.
I feel incredibly frustrated from the bottom of my heart.
That evening, the wind in Handan was gentle, making it easy for anyone standing in it to feel the tranquility of life.
For some, the world is not peaceful, and life is terrible.
For some, a spring breeze is all the tenderness they have in their lives.
Many years later, Ji Yuxing and He Zhonghua took their two children to Handan for a trip. On the same dark evening, a gentle spring breeze suddenly rose, yet it made people feel a chill in their hearts.
So Ji Yuxing thought countless times throughout his life whether this wind would blow for many, many years to come.
*
A few days later, on a quiet night in Handan, a sudden gunshot shattered the peace and tranquility of the small city.
That night, it happened to be Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing's turn to be on duty. The gunshot came from the northeast of Handan, not far away, followed by countless screams and cries.
Fortunately, they were stationed there and were prepared. They reacted immediately and led the first and second teams to the northeast of Handan.
Zhong Shuhuai and others made urgent rear deployments and arranged for the third and fourth teams to go to support them as soon as possible.
At this time, the main battlefield between China and Japan was still in Liaoning. Zhang Chenglin thought that even if they attacked, it would only be a few people throwing smoke bombs to pretend to scare them.
But to their surprise, when they arrived at the location where they heard the gunshots, the Japanese army had already silently occupied several small towns, leaving behind a scene of utter devastation.
The number of Japanese troops stationed in the area has far exceeded their expectations.
"Xin Jie!"
Zhang Chenglin made contingency plans and immediately sent Xin Jie back to Zhong Shuhuai to tell him, "Go and tell Zhong Shuhuai about the situation here and ask him to send people to support us immediately!"
"We have to be quick!"
"yes!"
If Zhong Shuhuai's men had arrived a moment later, this group of Japanese troops would very likely have captured Handan entirely. The disparity in strength and numbers between the two sides was so great that Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing had no time to react.
If Tangshan is Hebei's first line of defense, then Handan must be Hebei's last line of defense. Once Handan falls, not to mention what will happen to Hebei, Shandong will be the next to suffer.
This is a scene that no one wants to see.
Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing led their men to the front line, watching as the Japanese army gradually pushed back. Despite their desperate resistance, they suffered heavy casualties.
Ji Yuxing had two bullet graze marks on his legs. He and Zhang Chenglin were hiding in two corners of a main road, with a few other people with them.
"Why haven't Zhong Shuhuai's men arrived yet?!" Ji Yuxing looked at the empty street ahead and saw two squads of Japanese soldiers searching for them. His voice was not panicked but anxious.
Have all the residents of the city been evacuated?
"The evacuation is complete," the person following behind him answered first.
"Withdraw." Zhang Chenglin gave the order and led Ji Yuxing and the remaining few people back to Zhong Shuhuai's base camp.
Upon entering the tent, Zhang Chenglin immediately searched for Xin Jie. After looking around without finding him, he grabbed one of Zhong Shuhuai's men and gritted his teeth as he spoke: "He took the men arranged by Mr. Zhong to meet you. Didn't you see them...?"
Before Zhong Shuhuai could finish speaking, Zhang Chenglin suddenly loosened his collar and ran out.
"Zhang Chenglin!" Ji Yuxing knew something was wrong the moment he saw Zhang Chenglin's expression, so he quickly caught up with him and grabbed his arm: "Calm down!"
“Xin Jie has led some men to support us.” Zhang Chenglin turned to look at him, but his tone was unusually calm. Ji Yuxing’s heart skipped a beat. Just as he was about to say something, he heard a series of noisy footsteps outside.
Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing turned around together and saw that Xin Jie had returned with his men.
“Sir.” Xin Jie was the first to approach Zhang Chenglin. “I knew you were back.”
Zhang Chenglin looked at him, his eyes calm, and said nothing.
“I led my men to the spot where you were at the beginning. There were several groups of Japanese soldiers sweeping the streets outside, but there was no noise or crying. I knew then that the people in the city had already evacuated.”
“You led a small group of people, and it’s already quite an achievement that you’ve managed to hold out for so long. So I knew that if you weren’t there, we would have had to come back.”
After hearing Xin Jie's words, Ji Yuxing was deeply shocked—no wonder he had been by Zhang Chenglin's side for so many years, he even understood Zhang Chenglin's thoughts so clearly.
Ji Yuxing stood half a step to the left and behind Zhang Chenglin, looking at Xin Jie's simple and honest smile. An idea inappropriately surfaced in his mind—if he were to betray him, Zhang Chenglin would definitely die.
As Ji Yuxing thought this, a chill ran down his spine.
But how could that be?
Having followed Zhang Chenglin for so many years, if Xinjie were to harbor any rebellious intentions, Zhang Chenglin would undoubtedly be the first to notice.
Moreover, Zhang Chenglin is a meticulous person, so he may not necessarily lose to Xinjie.
Seeing that Xin Jie was alright, Zhang Chenglin turned around and went into the house to find Zhong Shuhuai.
"What's going on?" Zhang Chenglin asked, his face filled with anger and his tone undisguised in his questioning.
Xin Jie and Ji Yuxing stood on either side of him, their expressions almost identical to Zhang Chenglin's, as if they would tear down the entire camp if Zhong Shuhuai didn't provide a reasonable explanation.
When a general is in the field, he may disobey some of the military orders.
If it was truly because of Zhong Shuhuai's indecisiveness that the best time to provide support was missed, resulting in the deaths of so many brothers and the loss of Handan, the most important city, Zhang Chenglin would have pulled out his gun on the spot and made Zhong Shuhuai pay with his life.
"The personnel were dispatched immediately."
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