Chapter 384 Stilwell's Visit
In this evacuation plan, the British were actually only second in priority, and the top priority was still the progressive people stranded in Hong Kong.
In the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, many parts of China became battlefields with smoke of gunpowder everywhere. However, because the Japanese army had not yet declared war on Britain, Hong Kong was temporarily spared from the war and remained peaceful.
Therefore, a large number of refugees from the mainland poured into Hong Kong. At the same time, many patriotic and progressive cultural figures also moved here with their families from Chongqing, Shanghai, Guilin and other places.
Among them are the Guo Party veterans He Xiangning and Liu Yazi, anti-Japanese cultural celebrities Mao Dun and Zou Taofen, Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang, great scholar Liang Shuming, and Mr. Song who presided over the Chinese Red Cross for many years.
They adopted various methods in Hong Kong to support the domestic war of resistance, such as raising funds internationally, using the funds for medical assistance, child care and anti-Japanese propaganda activities, establishing anti-Japanese groups and cultural organizations, and publishing progressive newspapers and periodicals.
If these people fell into the hands of the Japanese, it would be a huge loss to the Chinese nation, so Zhang Xingjiu repeatedly instructed Zhang Guowei to ensure the safety of these people and bring them back to China safely.
Zhang Guowei had already grasped the whereabouts of these people in advance. When the Japanese just launched the attack, he gathered these people together from various places. These people were a little uneasy at first, worried that they would fall into the hands of people with ulterior motives.
So Zhang Guowei revealed his identity as soon as he appeared in front of them, "I am Zhang Guowei, the son of Mr. Zhang Xingjiu. Mr. Song, we met several times when we were in Shanghai. Do you remember?"
"I remember, I remember. How could I not remember? When I went to your house, I said I wanted to introduce you to someone, but you made an excuse to avoid me as soon as I heard that." Mr. Song finally felt relieved.
The others also breathed a sigh of relief. The name Zhang Xingjiu seemed to have a kind of magic that made them instantly trust Zhang Guowei. Mr. Zhou Ping's son was absolutely reliable.
"Now is not the time to gossip. Come with me. The boat is ready. Let's go to Vietnam first, and then take the train from Vietnam to Kunming."
Everyone followed Zhang Guowei and walked quickly to the shore of Causeway Bay, where a small boat had been waiting. The boat owner looked around vigilantly. When he saw people coming, someone pulled out a pistol in the darkness. Now everyone in Hong Kong was looking for a boat to try to escape, and they might be robbed of their boat by force at any time.
"Do you have any yellow croaker for sale?" Zhang Guowei asked while making some gestures.
"Yes," replied the ship owner.
Zhang Guowei continued to ask, "Is it calculated by kilogram or by piece?"
At this time, the ship owner had already seen through the other party's identity. He gave a signal to the people in the cabin to put away their weapons and extended his hand to invite them in, "Please go to the bottom of the cabin to find out what's going on."
After the code was confirmed to be correct, Zhang Guowei led us onto the small boat and moved to the large fishing boat to rest. After the British got on board, we immediately sailed towards Vietnam under the cover of night.
When they arrived at Haiphong Port, Zhang Guowei sent them to the train and said goodbye in a cool manner, "I have to go back to Hong Kong to continue saving people, so I won't see you off. I will apologize to you when we arrive in Kunming in a few days."
"Guowei, thank you so much this time. If it weren't for you, we would have to pay a greater price to send Mr. Song and others out of Hong Kong. However, some people are still stranded in Hong Kong. It is too dangerous for you to go alone. I'd better go with you!" Mr. Liao entrusted his mother He Xiangning to other people to take care of her, and turned around and followed Zhang Guowei.
"Okay, you have your channels and I have mine. If we work together, it will be easier to save people." Zhang Guowei agreed readily. He was very clear about Mr. Liao's identity. He was the person in charge of the Hong Kong office in northern Shaanxi.
But he didn't know that Mr. Liao was also a comrade of his brother Zhang Guoqiang. Mr. Liao had also met Zhang Guoqiang, who used the alias Ma Xinhua, many times, and always felt that the two men looked quite similar. However, for safety reasons, he did not have the audacity to ask Zhang Guowei.
The two returned to Hong Kong together and planned several operations together, saving several groups of patriots and more important British people. Until Hong Kong fell completely, the two of them remained hiding in Hong Kong and continued to rescue people.
However, the Japanese blockade of Hong Kong became increasingly tight, and it was no longer as easy to escape as before. Fortunately, on New Year's Day, they finally received good news. In order to alleviate the food crisis, the Japanese would evacuate a large number of refugees back to the mainland.
At the same time, the office had successfully established contact with the Dongjiang guerrillas. The two immediately gathered the remaining people, disguised as refugees, successfully crossed the Kowloon checkpoint, and arrived in Shaoguan, Guangdong under the escort of the guerrillas, successfully opening up a secret transportation route.
Subsequently, batches of important figures escaped from the Japanese-controlled areas by disguising themselves as refugees and transiting through Macau, and arrived safely in the mainland.
After arriving in Kunming, Mr. Song and his team immediately went to Southwest United University to express their gratitude to Zhang Xingjiu. “If it weren’t for Guowei’s great help, we don’t know when we can return to the mainland.”
"This kid has always been naughty, but now he finally does something good." Zhang Xingjiu said politely.
Mr. Song said seriously, "Guowei is not a naughty boy. He has supported the domestic war of resistance in Hong Kong over the years, and his business is well run. Mr. Zhouping has raised a good son."
After a few polite words, Zhang Xingjiu asked, "What are your plans? If you plan to stay in Kunming to rest for a while, there is a place at the United Nations University, and you can take this opportunity to teach the students; if you want to go somewhere else, I will try my best to arrange it."
"Xiang Ning and I are going to Chongqing. He has ignored the late Prime Minister's instructions and acted dictatorially. Now he is undermining unity in the war of resistance. I cannot sit idly by. I hope we can have some impact in Chongqing," Mr. Song said firmly.
"It just so happens that I am also planning to go to Chongqing. I will first help several universities in Chongqing solve some problems, and then go to Xi'an to see if they need any help. Let's go together!"
The next day, Zhang Xingjiu flew with them to Chongqing. During his absence, Mei Yiqi was responsible for the daily management of Southwest Associated University.
When the plane arrived in Chongqing, Zheng Sanfazi and his wife came to the airport to greet them in person. When shaking hands with Zhang Xingjiu, they praised him repeatedly and thanked his son for saving so many important people.
Zhang Xingjiu declined all kinds of social engagements and concentrated on going to various universities to help them solve various urgent problems.
He returned home after finishing his work that day. Not long after he sat down, his secretary came over to report, "Sir, Mr. Stilwell wants to see you. He said there is something very important."
(End of this chapter)
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