The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

There was sadness in Chen Ying's smile, and he asked: "Do you know that the Chinese labor camp outside the small town of Noyelle has any buildings besides work sheds, toilets, kitchens, hospitals and prisons?"

"What building?" Zhou Hexuan asked.

"The Quadrangle for the Madman." Chen Ying replied.

Zhou Hexuan was puzzled and asked, "The Quadrangle for the Madman?"

"It's a lunatic asylum, built in a square shape like a camp. It is a building specially built by the British for Chinese workers, and there are countless lunatics living in it, hahahahaha..." Chen Ying laughed, laughing so fast Weeping, "It's nothing to be discriminated against and beaten by British officers. German planes always come to bomb. One shell falls, and it kills a dozen or twenty Chinese laborers. We bombarded the railway and fortification projects with the shells , Digging trenches, and being forced by guns to use their bodies to go to mines. Working more than ten hours a day, if they are a little lazy, they will be beaten severely, and many brothers are driven crazy."

Zhou Hexuan recalled an article he had read before crossing, which recorded that one-third of the Chinese laborers on board a transport ship from France to Qingdao after the war suffered from mental illness.

"Why didn't you go back to China?" Zhou Hexuan asked.

Chen Ying shook her head and smiled wryly: "Why do you go back? My parents are dead. If there is no war in France, life is actually quite comfortable, not as chaotic as in China. Moreover, most French people are quite kind. Two years ago, I visited the small town of Noyelle and offered incense to the brothers who died there. The residents of the town knew that I was a Chinese laborer who aided France, and they all respected and sympathized with me. The locals even named the Chinese laborer , called 'Sons of Heaven' (French fils_du_Ciel, son of the sky), I like this name very much. But I don't like another title, some locals call us 'suffering war slaves' out of sympathy."

Zhou Hexuan said with a serious face: "You are not sons of heaven, nor are you slaves, you are heroes. With your sacrifices, China can justifiably become the victorious country in the European War." Zhou Hexuan suddenly stood up and raised his glass, "To all the dead, Living Chinese workers!"

Li Shizeng also stood up and said, "Respect the Chinese workers!"

The international students who listened to Chen Ying's story, either angry, sad, or sentimental, all stood up collectively at this time: "Respect the Chinese workers!"

Chen Ying's eyes turned red suddenly, and she wiped her tears and said, "Thank you, thank you."

Zhou Hexuan turned to Li Shizeng and said, "Mr. Shizeng, I want to build a cemetery and monument for the Chinese workers who aided France. Can you help me contact the embassy in France and the French government?"

"No problem, this bag is on me!" Li Shizeng patted his chest and said.

Chen Ying suddenly pushed the stool away, knelt down and said, "Mr. Zhou, on behalf of the brothers who died, I thank you for your great kindness! After they died, many of them were buried casually outside the town without even a tombstone." , don’t talk about returning to your homeland, you can only be a lonely ghost in France!”

"Get up." Zhou Hexuan quickly helped Chen Ying up.

That afternoon, Zhou Hexuan didn't go anywhere, but stayed in the restaurant, discussing with Li Shizeng and Chen Ying about building the Huagong Cemetery.

Since many years have passed and there are no tombstones left, it is difficult to find out everyone's situation.

What Zhou Hexuan can do is to build a cemetery at the former Chinese labor camp and bury the scattered bones. Then find the relevant institutions in France and the United Kingdom to inquire about the list of Chinese workers who died in battle, and erect monuments for those Chinese workers whose bodies were not transported back to China. Build another monument to engrave the deeds of the Chinese workers.

Perhaps in some people's eyes, Zhou Hexuan's move was purely redundant. If you have that little spare money, you might as well use it to help the people in the country. But Zhou Hexuan believes that certain people and certain things must be remembered by the world.

Zhou Hexuan asked: "Where can I find the most complete information about the Chinese laborers aiding France?"

Li Shi once thought for a while and said, "I'm afraid I have to ask Li Jun. He used to be the secretary of the legation in France appointed by the Beiyang government, and at the same time served as the supervisor of the Chinese workers stationed in France."

"Where is this person now?" Zhou Hexuan asked.

Li Shi once said: "He is now the vice-consul of the Chinese Consulate in Canada (he has just been promoted to consul-general, because the information is not clear, Li Shi once didn't know about it)."

Zhou Hexuan asked again: "Who is the current ambassador to France?"

Li Shizeng said with a smile: "Gao Lu, he is an old friend with me, and he is definitely willing to help me with this."

After Zhou Hexuan inquired carefully, he found out that Gao Lu, the current Minister to France, is a purely academic bureaucrat.

You would never have guessed that such an important diplomatic post as a minister in France should be performed by an astronomer.

Gao Lu is one of the founders of modern Chinese astronomy. He initiated the construction of the Purple Mountain Observatory and participated in the site selection. He also personally calculated the longitude and latitude of the Observatory. Unexpectedly, Gao Lu was sent to France as the minister in France just after the construction of the Purple Mountain Observatory started.

By the way, Gao Lu is also an inventor. Just half a year ago, he invented the "Tianxuan Chinese Typewriter", which improved the efficiency of Chinese typing a little.

the next morning.

Li Shi once took Zhou Hexuan to the French embassy to pay a formal visit to Gao Lu, the ambassador to France.

Gao Lu's appearance is very awkward. He has a pale face, wearing a pair of black round glasses, and a gray goatee that reaches his neckline. If he put on a long gown, he would look like a former Qing Confucian, but at this time he was wearing a suit, which seemed a bit nondescript.

Li Shizeng said with a smile: "Brother Shuqing, I'm here to trouble you again."

"Brother Shi Zeng!" Gao Lu shook hands with Li Shizeng, then looked at Zhou Hexuan, "This must be Mr. Zhou."

Zhou Hexuan greeted with a smile: "Hello, Mr. Shuqin."

Gao Lu nodded with a smile: "Sure enough, you are a talented person, young and promising, I often hear old friends mentioning you in China."

Gao Lu came to France as a diplomat last year. He is good friends with Cai Yuanpei, Li Shizeng and others. After the fall of the Qing government, Qin Tianjian was changed to the Central Meteorological Observatory, and Gao Lu served as the first director of the Central Meteorological Observatory under the recommendation of Cai Yuanpei.

Strictly speaking, Gao Lu belonged to the faction who stayed in Britain and the United States, and belonged to Cai Yuanpei's gang. However, factional struggles belonged to factional struggles, which did not affect the personal friendship between Gao Lu and Li Shizeng.

Li Shi once explained his purpose of coming: "Mingcheng wants to build a cemetery and monument for the Chinese workers who went to France, and I hope the embassy in France can help."

"It's a good thing, I will try my best." Gao Lu said seriously.

Zhou Hexuan said happily, "I'm sorry."

The matter was settled in this way, with the help of Gao Lu, the French government was quickly contacted.

But the French government doesn't seem to care about this. Although they are willing to help find information about Chinese workers, they have been dawdling and not taking it as a serious matter at all.

On December 15th, the Nobel Prize in Literature began to be awarded, which had nothing to do with Zhou Hexuan. He is related to the Goncourt Prize for Literature. After repeated discussions, the Frenchman finally decided to award the highest honor of French novels to Zhou Hexuan.

Zhou Hexuan specially ordered a set of clothes, canvas labor uniforms, cheap boots, and a labor cap, and went to receive the award with a shovel on his shoulder.