Subtitle of this chapter: Masters make heroes

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"On the evening of May 5, 1923, as a reporter from Millard's Review (Translator's Note 1), I took a train from Nanjing to Beijing with several friends in the press, and planned to interview a newly completed pioneering project. The funding for this project was undertaken by the American Red Cross, and its purpose was to provide relief to the victims on both sides of the Yellow River. We took a blue painted steel train. The carriages were first, second and third. At that time, this was not only the most advanced equipment on China, but also the only all-steel train in the entire Far East.

Translator's 1: The Miller Review is a comprehensive weekly magazine founded in Shanghai on June 9, 1917. It was founded by T-F-Millard, a reporter from the Far East of the New York Herald Tribune. Edgar Snow, a famous American journalist and author of "China with Red Stars (The Journey to the West), interviewed the descendants of the Demon as a reporter from the newspaper in 1936.

The first-class carriages of this train are all soft sleepers. Passengers from different countries are traveling around the world and others are doing business in China.

These passengers who took the first class carriage came from about six or seven countries, including Americans, British, French, Italians, Mexicans and Romanians, as well as many Chinese. Many of them were women and children, including John Rockefeller's sister-in-law Lucy Aldridge (LUCY) Miss Aldrich. She was the daughter of the late Rhode Island Senator Nelson Aldridge. She accompanied her travels by Miss Cofurden and a French maid Miss Sinberg. In addition, there were two U.S. Army officers, Major Allen and Pingge, as well as their wives and children. Several French and American businessmen. Willia, a newlywed couple from Guadalagara, Mexico, who was a famous Mexican industrialist. Another traveler was G-D-Musso, a very wealthy Italian lawyer who had become a wealthy because of his work in the public concession, but no one knew how he made a fortune. He served as an attorney for many years as an opium guild, was one of Mussolini's earliest supporters, and was also a major shareholder of a very influential newspaper in Rome.

Later I heard that there were some Japanese people taking this train in Beijing, but for some reason, when the train arrived at Xuzhou East Station, they got off the train halfway and mysteriously disappeared into the vast night.

The one who lives in the same sleeper with me was the Frenchman Berube. He worked in the China Customs Service. This time he went to Beijing. He returned to China after participating in the European War in France. I had never known him before, but when he talked about the war in Europe and the complex political situation in the Far East, he had endless topics. In addition, he was surprised to find that I was a friend of Mr. Yuan Yanshu. Therefore, we talked until two o'clock in the morning.

It was early spring in the north, and a bright moon hangs high in the sky. Looking into the distance, you can clearly see the bare Taishan Mountains in the distance. Looking out the window, I told my newly met French friend that the train was marching at the junction of Jiangsu, Anhui and Shandong provinces, which is a famous bandit nest.

A long time ago, this place was the gathering of bandits who killed and robbed people. Most of them were Qiu Bas under the warlords, but later they became scattered soldiers and raiders. Because they had no choice but to make a living, they engaged in bandit activities such as robbery, kidnapping and murder. Of course, a very small number of bandit leaders may be Robin Hood-like characters.

The train entered Shandong and the speed gradually slowed down. Suddenly, the train braked urgently, and the train that was moving forward suddenly stopped. The passengers who were sitting were out of control and were thrown far away. Because the incident happened suddenly, before people could come back to their senses, they heard the sound of screams outside the train, mixed with harsh gunshots. I wanted to poke out the window to see what happened, and a bullet whistled past the head, almost killing my life. So I quickly shrank back, and just as I looked around, I saw a group of bandits shouting and shooting at the train..."

——Excerpt from John Benjamin Powell's "Twenty-Five Years in China - Adventures of the Bandit Nest"

Author's note: Mr. Powell acquired the magazine in 1922 and served as the editor-in-chief and publisher. In 1941, Powell was arrested and imprisoned by the Japanese and suffered severe torture, resulting in his two feet being disabled. In 1947, he died of illness in Washington. This newspaperman is a true "old friend of the Chinese people."

"Forget it!" The fifth brother of Hongqi slapped his thigh and said, "Mr. Yuan...that brother Hongjian, I believe you this time."

The fourth sister of Jinfeng couldn't help but say in surprise: "The head of the family..."

"Madam, stop talking." Li Jie waved his hand, "If anyone in New York and Chinese can believe it, can he still believe it? Is it not enough to believe it in Brother Hongjian? I don't even look at what he is now."

Now our Master Yuan is indeed a man with status. But he knows that the other party is using words to squeeze himself out.

Yuan Yan suddenly said with a smile: "Okay, okay, fifth brother and fourth sister, we are all brothers from the Hongmen. We should be with straw shops in times of hardship, and wealth should be with flowers under the begonia."

Together straw shop means to guard the cold kiln (prison), while to the flowering under the Tang Dynasty means that everyone should spend money together.

"So why did you harm me?

Master Yuan looked upright and said seriously: "Fifth Brother and Fourth Sister, I have arranged everything about Germany. Mr. Yulian Chandler is fully responsible for it, but you'd better go there and get familiar with the process."

"You don't have to worry about shipping on the sea, the goods will be shipped to Stegelmo for shipment. And this ship is mine."

"As for the ports in China... I'll give you some clues. Japanese friends will take care of you. There is no problem with the ports stationed by Japanese Marine Corps in Tianjin, Qingdao, Shanghai, Xiamen, and even Wuhan..."

"Brother Hongjian, do you want to cooperate with the Japanese?" Cao Linsheng couldn't help frowning when he heard this and asked dissatisfiedly.

"Brother Qingzhi, it's not the Japanese but the Japanese Navy!" Master Yuan said without any hesitation, "Besides, what's wrong with the Japanese..."

Major Cao said excitedly: "That's a Japanese! What's wrong? Brother Hongjian, if it weren't for the Japanese, our Qingdao..."

Yuan Yan suddenly waved his hand and said, "I know, Brother Qingzhi. I know, their incident in Qingdao is indeed a bit too much. But you have to know, are Japanese people not humans either."

"If you are a person, you will not really not be able to get into the oil and salt. If you are a person, you will not not love real money and silver. If you are a person, you will not have no emotions and six desires. They are not made of special materials."

Our Master Yuan said earnestly: "Brother Qingzhi, an elder once said that the army cannot do business because it will corrupt combat effectiveness. So you can think so, we are pulling the Japanese to smuggle arms together. Is this corrupting the Japanese army?"

"This is also a small contribution we have made to the country."

He could not defeat Cao Linsheng in war, but to be honest, there were really not many people in the world who could talk about him.

"This..." The poor West Point graduates didn't know how to refute it.

Yuan Yan suddenly pulled the topic back and said, "Anyway, now only domestic affairs are left."

"Of course, it depends on you, Brother and Fourth Sister, how to expand your sales channels."

"As for the matter of joining the team, I think there will be no one as long as you have money and guns? In fact, I think it's almost the same for a company..."

"Wait, Brother Hongjian." Li Jie raised his hand and said, "When it comes to this matter, I really lack people!"

He explained: "Brother, you know that you have a big plan, so you shouldn't want that kind of mob. But to build a refined master, even if there is only one company, you still need professionals."

"I only know how to build bridges, but I don't know how to fight."

"It doesn't matter!" Yuan Yan suddenly pointed at Cao Linsheng indifferently, "Is Brother Qingzhi going back to China soon? Just ask him for help."

When Major Cao heard this, he immediately exploded. He shook his head repeatedly and said, "I'm sorry, Brother Hongjian. I don't do this. And I can't do it either."

"Brother Qingzhi, why can't you do it? You graduated from West Point Military Academy." Master Yuan said angrily, "You just look down on me by saying that."

"No, no, no, I definitely don't look down on you." Cao Linsheng reacted very quickly and immediately found a speech, "I am learning regular military operations and not very familiar with the special combat form of fighting the family robbery."

Yuan Yan suddenly complained in his heart that you are not very good at learning regular military operations, otherwise Lao Zhang would not have returned to the outside world. It would be better to specialize in special operations and follow me to Nanyang in the future.

Maybe you will either become a guerrilla expert - Cao Wala or an anti-guerrilla expert - Caogang Village. Whether it is a guerrilla or a guerilla expert, you will definitely leave a brilliant mark in the world's military history.

Thinking of this, the little guilt that our Master Yuan smiled in his heart disappeared, but instead felt that he was pulling his brother.

"Brother Qingzhi, this is yours." He said in dissatisfaction, "Brother Ziyi started a group to defend his hometown and rob him of wealth and music... that good thing, don't think wrong."

"Brother Hongjian..."

Yuan Yan suddenly interrupted, "Okay, that's all I said!"

He thought to himself, OK, anyway, there will always be a way to make you submit when I return to China.

Our Master Yuan remembered something again, bowed to the fourth sister of Jinfeng and said, "Sister Four, I want to ask you for help."

Mrs. Li, who was very afraid, smiled dryly and said, "What's the matter? Second Master, please tell me."

"Oh, that's it..." He rubbed his hands and explained embarrassedly, "Isn't this my little girl... the female secretary is about to go around Germany. Every girl is alone, and I'm not relieved. I don't know if I can ask my fourth sister to be her bodyguard for a while."

"Geeh..." Jin Feng Fourth Sister covered her mouth and smiled, "Second Master is indeed a person who cherishes the beauty. I agree to this matter."

"In the early morning of May 6, as the train shook, I woke up from my dream. Through the curtains, I saw a group of people rushing onto the train. Soon, my box was filled with barbaric bandits, who slashed their swords and robbed them wildly while threatening us. A bandit took a pearl necklace from me. I was very angry and asked him to pick up the beads sprinkled all over the floor, but the bandit put the left pistol on my head.

After the bandits turned our things into the sky, they half-pushed us from the private room and drove us off the train. At that time, although the moon was hanging in the sky, the moonlight was dark and I couldn't see the things clearly. I only felt that my feet were covered with grass and realized that I was walking towards the fields. Only then did I realize that many passengers who were traveling with me also became prisoners of the bandits at this time.

This evening, I not only witnessed the atrocities of the bandits, but also saw some interesting things. The bandits sometimes stopped me and asked me about the purpose of the stolen goods. A bandit took out a can of moisturizer and wanted to know if it could be eaten. When I wiped my face with my hand and signaled that it was just a cosmetic, he immediately threw it away. The bandits were very interested in the stolen medicine. I had to gesture and advise them that if I took the whole bottle of medicine, it would be dangerous.

Soon our group came to a small village at the foot of the mountain. The village was very calm, but at this time the sun rose and it was so hot that it was extremely hot. I sat down against the mud wall under the shade of the tree in front of the house. Some women and children began to watch us foreigners.

I tried to chat with a girl, but the girl refused to come forward, but I made friends with her little brother. There was a man in the village who was very happy because the siblings were his children. I opened five fingers and told him that he had five nephews, but found that he mistakenly thought I had five sons!

I found that the villagers here were very kind. A boy about ten years old could even speak English, which became the translator for me during my stay in the mountain village. After a while, I was surrounded by the crowd of people who were "admiring". People looked at me like a curious child, and a woman with a small foot who could speak English also joined the crowd. I told her that I was very cold, so she took off her coat and surrounded me. Then she whispered in my ear, asking me to hide in the bushes by the road when the noise started.

The official army must have approached again because the bandits were in panic again. However, there seemed to be an accident in front of the team. I remembered the woman's words and hid in the grass as she said. When I began to remember that I did not tell my two companions about this news, I said that I was alone and the others had already rushed to the front.

Before I found out the truth, I escaped from the bandit brigade that I had actually left. Later I found out that the woman with little feet was Mrs. Li.”

——Excerpt from Lucy Aldridge's "A Miss America's Adventures in China"

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Chapter completed!