The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

Zhou Hexuan went south on a passenger ship, originally planning to land in Shanghai, and then go overland to Nanjing to find Zhang Leyi. Among the friends he knew, only the Zhang family was doing business in the south, and they were the most ideal partners.

But after arriving in Shanghai, Zhou Hexuan found out tragically that he could not go to Nanjing for the time being.

Because both Shanghai and Nanjing are at war!

In mid-February, Sun Chuanfang and the Northern Expedition fought in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The Northern Expeditionary Army attacked in three ways, and defeated the main force of the defenders within a few days. Bai Chongxi and He Yingqin successfully joined forces in Hangzhou. Immediately, the two divided their forces again, attacking Shanghai on the one hand, and Anhui on the other.

Under the pressure of the army, the defenders of Anhui turned their backs and surrendered one after another. Even the governor of Anhui and the guardian of Wuhu announced their obedience, and each took their troops to join the Northern Expedition.

Zhang Zuolin quickly ordered Zhang Zongchang and Chu Yupu to move to Nanjing for support, and Zhang Xueliang's troops also went to Xuzhou to support (the main force of the Feng army was attacking Wu Peifu in Henan at this time).

But still can't stop it.

When Zhou Hexuan came to Shanghai by boat, Bai Chongxi had just captured Songjiang and Suzhou, and Chen Bing surrounded Shanghai. And He Yingqin marched forward triumphantly all the way, successfully occupied Zhenjiang, Cheng Qian killed Dangtu, and the two stormed Nanjing in a confrontational manner.

Sun Chuanfang, Zhang Zongchang and Chu Yupu saw that Nanjing was in danger, so they had to withdraw their main force to Jiangbei for defense, trying to stabilize the war by relying on the natural danger of the Yangtze River.

So far, in the entire Jiangnan region, only Shanghai and Nanjing are still in the hands of the warlords, and they are surrounded by the Northern Expedition Corps, and the city is only destroyed overnight.

The Concession Wharf was still bustling, but Zhou Hexuan could still sense something strange, he could even faintly hear the cannon fire from Songjiang.

"Rickshaw!" Zhou Hexuan waved.

The coachman rushed over and asked, "Where are you going, sir?"

"French Concession, Fuxi Road, Siming New Village." Zhou Hexuan said.

This is Xu Zhimo's address. He moved to Shanghai with Lu Xiaoman shortly after he got married last year.

"Sir, sit still." The coachman started to run hard.

"boom!"

There was another cannon shot, and the ground trembled slightly.

Zhou Hexuan asked: "There is a war in the suburbs, aren't you afraid?"

The coachman smiled and said, "What are you afraid of? It would be good if the Northern Expeditionary Army came in. I heard that it is the army of ordinary people."

Zhou Hexuan couldn't help smiling, the Northern Expeditionary Army is still helping our party to promote the propaganda, and this propaganda work is indeed very powerful.

Soon I came to Xu Zhimo's house in Siming New Village. It was a small three-story western-style building, which was rented by Xu Zhimo. There are even wheel marks at the gate. It seems that Xu Zhimo takes a car when he goes out, so he really enjoys it.

Zhou Hexuan rang the doorbell, and not long after, a servant came to open the door and asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Zhou Hexuan, and I'm a friend of Zhimo and Xiaoman." Zhou Hexuan said.

"Mr. Zhou wait a moment." The servant immediately went back to report.

Two or three minutes later, Lu Xiaoman went downstairs to greet him in person, and said with a warm smile, "Mingcheng, I didn't expect you to come, what a rare visitor."

"Hi Miss Lu," Zhou Hexuan followed her into the door and asked, "Where's Brother Zhimo?"

"He's at school, he won't come back until later." Lu Xiaoman said.

Xu Zhimo is now a professor at Guanghua University and Daxia University. He is usually invited to participate in various lectures and write poems and books. He definitely belongs to the high-income group. But even so, the life of the husband and wife is tight, because there are more than ten servants, drivers, and cooks in the house.

Zhou Hexuan came to the living room and sat down, Lu Xiaoman personally ground coffee for him, served it in exquisite western porcelain, even the coffee spoon was made of silver.

"You guys really know how to enjoy life." Zhou Hexuan said with a smile, somewhat teasing in his tone.

Lu Xiaoman didn't avoid being suspicious of men and women, sat down next to Zhou Hexuan and said, "Shanghai is indeed more suitable for living than Beiping, and there are many interesting places here. By the way, there is a dance party tonight, Mingcheng, you can go too."

"Yes." Zhou Hexuan replied casually.

It's a bit ridiculous that the city's dance party is still going on while the war is still going on in the suburbs.

Lu Xiaoman asked again: "Does Mingcheng have any new poems recently?"

"I'm mainly writing novels," Zhou Hexuan said.

Lu Xiaoman was leaning on the armrest of the sofa, with a lazy and casual look, half of her white and tender legs were exposed. She stared winkingly at Zhou Hexuan, and said with a slight smile, "That's a pity, I have always liked reading Mingcheng's poems, especially the poem "Seeing and Not Seeing."

Zhou Hexuan's brows twitched, thinking that this girl is not flirting with me, is she?

Zhou Hexuan carefully looked at Lu Xiaoman's expression and eyes, and found that he was purely paranoid.

A woman like Lu Xiaoman can flirt with the opposite sex with just a few gestures. This move was not deliberate, it was revealed naturally, and it had already been integrated into her blood and bone marrow.

When we met last year, Lu Xiaoman was much more serious, but now he is developing towards flirtatiousness.

how to say?

Since Xu Zhimo and Lu Xiaoman moved to Shanghai, Lu Xiaoman has activities almost every night, listening to operas, dancing parties, playing cards... Every night he goes to bed at midnight and wakes up at noon the next day.

When she was young, Lu Xiaoman was a talented woman. She could write and translate, and her painting skills were said to be good. But the corrupt and degenerate life in Shanghai has gradually made her lose her spirituality, until she became addicted to opium, and it was completely hopeless.

Zhou Hexuan was vigilant and deliberately kept a distance, so as not to cause trouble for nothing.

Friend's wife, don't be bullied.

Xu Zhimo didn’t come home until late in the evening, and as soon as he entered, he waved a newspaper and said, “Great news, Shanghai will soon be at peace!”

"Why did you come back? Mingcheng has been waiting for you for half an afternoon." Lu Xiaoman complained.

Zhou Hexuan stood up with a smile: "Zhimo, long time no see."

"Mingcheng, why are you here?" Xu Zhimo was overjoyed, he was a hospitable person.

Zhou Hexuan explained: "I wanted to go to Nanjing to do something, but I was stuck in Shanghai and couldn't leave."

Xu Zhimo handed the newspaper to Zhou Hexuan, and said with a smile, "You will be able to leave soon, the battle in Shanghai will not last for a few days."

Zhou Hexuan took the newspaper and looked at it, but it was the new issue of "Shenbao"——

Li Baozhang, commander of the Ninth Division of the Shanghai Defenders, and the Yangtze River Fleet of the Beiyang Navy surrendered to the Northern Expedition one after another. Now there are only a small number of Sun Chuanfang and Zhang Zongchang's troops in Shanghai still fighting.

At the same time, the Shanghai working class led by our party organization also set off a large-scale uprising and cooperated with the Northern Expedition outside the city.

Zhou Hexuan put down the newspaper and said with a smile: "It seems that the winner will be decided tomorrow at the latest."

"You men, you know how to fight all day long." Lu Xiaoman brought a suit, threw it to Xu Zhimo and said, "I asked the servant to iron it for you, and change it quickly. If you don't go out, you will be late for the dance." .”

"Mingcheng, I'll excuse you first." Xu Zhimo said with a smile, and ran upstairs to change.

Seeing Xu Zhimo's happy look, Zhou Hexuan really wanted to tell him: Watch your wife closely, and don't let her get in touch with a handsome guy named Weng Ruiwu.

Green, green, the spring breeze greens the south bank of the river.