The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

The north wind blows and the white grass breaks on the ground, and the sky is full of snow in August.

When Zhou Hexuan left Dunhuang with his reluctant Wanrong, the first light snowfall of the year had already occurred here. Xia Nai, Lin Guoda, Wu Zuoren and Lin Fengmian all stayed in Mogao Grottoes. Only Wanrong, Sun Yongzhen and Zhu Guozhen were left with Zhou Hexuan.

It's already very cold during the day, and the temperature is even horribly low at night. The broken truck often broke down, and Zhou Hexuan and the two bodyguards had to repair the truck themselves. It was really annoying on the way back.

After walking and stopping, everyone finally crossed the border of Wuwei, and a few days later entered the jurisdiction of Yongdeng County.

"Is your throat feeling better?" Zhou Hexuan asked while driving. Since they were traveling for days, the three men were all switching drivers.

"I'm feeling better, I just want to drink water all the time." Wanrong replied in a low voice.

The autumn and winter climate in the northwest is dry and cold. Wanrong probably suffered from pharyngitis two days ago and her throat was very uncomfortable. Fortunately, I had medicines with me, otherwise I would have to carry them with me. It was not easy to find medicines in Gansu at this time.

Zhu Guozhen, who was sitting in the car, suddenly said: "Sir, let me drive instead. You can take a rest first."

Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "We are almost at the county seat, there is no need to change drivers!"

"Da da da da..."

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves suddenly sounded on both sides of the road, which shocked Sun Yongzhen and Zhu Guozhen to get up and look around.

"It's a bandit!" Sun Yongzhen shouted.

Zhu Guozhen turned over and climbed to the top of the cab, holding a Thompson submachine gun in his hand and shouting: "Sir, speed up and rush over!"

Sun Yongzhen also held a submachine gun and said: "Lao Zhu, you shoot the left side, and the bandits on the right belong to me."

In order to prevent bandits from harassing him, Zhou Hexuan specifically asked for two submachine guns and several rounds of ammunition from Hu Zongnan when he left Xi'an.

"Holy shit!"

Zhou Hexuan was shifting gears and accelerating when he suddenly saw the situation in the middle of the road ahead and said quickly: "Don't even shoot. The bandits have machine guns blocking the road. We can't rush through."

Sun Yongzhen shouted: "Reverse, reverse, back up!"

Dozens and hundreds of bandits swarmed in, all on horseback, and soon surrounded Zhou Hexuan and his truck from a distance.

"boom!"

A bandit leader fired his gun into the air and shouted: "Stop the car quickly, we only steal property and don't kill people. If you mess around again, you won't be polite!"

Zhu Guozhen asked: "Sir, what should I do?"

Zhou Hexuan assessed the situation, stopped the car and said, "It's important to save your life. I have plenty of money."

During the Republic of China, bandits in the northwest had generally accepted rules and regulations. For example, after joining the band, they had to remain anonymous, were not allowed to live on the sidelines, except for the boss, were not allowed to investigate the history of their associates, were not allowed to kill at will, were not allowed to insult women at will, were not allowed to act privately, etc. .

Of course, there are also those who blatantly violate the rules, such as the big bandit Ma Zhongying.

This guy committed all kinds of crimes, including burning, killing, looting, and turning everything he passed into white ground, which angered both humans and gods. At that time, not only the Han people in Gansu, Qinghai and Ningxia provinces rose up to resist, but also the Hui people, Tibetan people and Mongolian people joined forces to attack Ma Zhongying. Everyone abandoned their ethnic barriers and joined hands to attack Ma Zhongying.

In fact, Ma Zhongying was not a bandit. He went to a military academy and his father was an officer. After he started the army, he essentially became a warlord. But all the provinces in the northwest regard him as a bandit, because his behavior is so bad that he can be called the living king of hell and a troublemaker in the northwest.

He first caused trouble in Gansu and was beaten by Feng Yuxiang so that he fled to Ningxia. Then he was beaten by Feng Yuxiang's subordinates and forced to flee to Inner Mongolia. Then he was forcibly recruited into the army by Ma Hongkui. After a year of silence, Ma Zhongying rebelled again and was beaten by Ma Bufang and driven to Xinzhiang. As a result, he fought with Sheng Shicai for several years in Xinzhiang. Finally, he fled to the Soviet Union to study in despair and was never heard from again.

This guy was Lu Bu in the northwest of the Republic of China. Whoever surrendered would be judged. He was regarded as a serious problem by local warlords wherever he went. In the past ten years, he had fought with almost all the major warlords in the northwest. Of course, he only has Lu Bu's character, but does not have Lu Bu's strong fighting power. He deserves to be chased as a rabbit and flee across several provinces.

Only a guy like Ma Zhongying, who was half warlord and half bandit, could burn, kill, and loot in the Northwest for ten years and then escape. If other bandits make too much noise, they will inevitably be surrounded and suppressed by all parties. For the sake of sustainable development, most bandits will not kill easily.

Especially after 1935, the Red Army moved to northern Shaanxi to vigorously suppress bandits, and the Nationalist Government also strengthened its control over the northwest. The two parties, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, plus the several horse warlords in the northwest, all forces unanimously attacked the bandits. Nowadays, the northwest bandits with more than 1,000 people basically no longer exist, and the remaining small groups of bandits act more cautiously.

Zhou Hexuan had learned about it in detail before setting off, so if he dared to give up resistance now, he would not be afraid of losing his life at all, and at most he would only be robbed of some property.

The bandit leader led the crowd and laughed happily: "This trip was so rich that we actually robbed a foreign car and drove it back to make a sedan for the head of the village (the leader of the village)!"

The bandit next to him said: "But none of us know how to drive a foreign car."

The bandit leader was stunned, scratched his head and said, "This is a big problem."

"Commander, the wild ghost has a gun in his hand!" a bandit shouted.

"Wild ghost" is the name used by bandits in Shaanxi-Gansu and Suiyuan areas for those who are robbed. Robbery is called "scraping wild ghost". "Scraping" means searching. Aren't the people who were robbed just ghosts?

The bandit leader also saw the situation clearly and shouted quickly: "Put down the gun!"

Sun Yongzhen asked in a low voice: "Lao Zhu, are you sure you can kill the bandit leader?"

Zhu Guozhen shook his head and said: "You can give me time to aim with the rifle, but the submachine gun is too floating."

"Throw the gun away." Zhou Hexuan was afraid of an accident.

The two bodyguards could only put down their guns. They did not dare to gamble with Zhou Hexuan's life.

The bandit leader then rode up to the side of the truck and asked with a smile: "You have a foreign car and a foreign gun. Are you a member of the government?"

Zhou Hexuan said calmly: "Escort me to Lanzhou, and I will ensure that you become a high official."

The bandit leader laughed loudly: "What's the good thing about being an official? They are all corrupt officials, and they are worse bastards than us bandits."

Zhou Hexuan said: "There are also good officials."

"This is strange. I have lived for more than thirty years and I have never seen a good official." The bandit leader sneered, "Hand over all your belongings. This place is not far from the county seat. It only takes a day's walk along the road. , I won’t starve you to death.”

Zhou Hexuan doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. It's so cold today that he has to walk to the county seat. When I get back, I will immediately lead my troops to suppress you!

The bandit leader's follower reminded: "Commander, we don't know how to drive a foreign car."

"Yes, yes," the bandit leader slapped his forehead and pointed at Zhou Hexuan. "You stay and drive, and the rest will go to the county seat by yourself."

"I stayed!"

"I can drive!"

Sun Yongzhen and Zhu Guozhen shouted in unison.

"Oh, you are still loyal to protect your master, you are a man!" The bandit leader gave a thumbs up.

The follower reminded: "Commander, it seems that we have arrested a high-ranking official this time. Why don't we kidnap him back to the village and use him as a meat ticket? This man can drive a foreign car, and his subordinates can also use tricks (he got Thomson wrong). It must be worth it." A lot of money.”

"It makes sense," the bandit leader waved. "Take them all back and let Lao Bai press the water to see how much they are worth."

"Pressing water" is also a slang term for bandits. To put it bluntly, it is a business evaluation, which estimates the value of meat tickets based on different situations.

The structure of bandits in the northwest of the Republic of China is generally like this. The highest level is the leader (village leader), the second level is the door god (general commander), Shi Ye (chief of staff), Bai Fan (secretary), and the accountant (accountant), and the third level is The levels are Kanshou (bandits), patrol (guards), line treading (target investigation), lottery (intelligence investigation), and pressure (evaluation and negotiation).

The bandit leader who led the crowd to intercept Zhou Hexuan was the door god (commander-in-chief) of the bandit den, who was responsible for robbery operations. They have conducted investigations in advance, and will definitely succeed once they take action. If they are not sure, they will choose to let it go directly.

"You, come down!" the bandit leader pointed at Wanrong and said.

After Wanrong got out of the car, all the bandits' eyes shone brightly, and the follower said: "Commander, this woman can be taken back to be the leader's wife."

The bandit leader immediately cursed: "We only want property, and we don't steal women or kill people! Have you even forgotten the rules?"

"Haha, I'm just talking." The follower said awkwardly.

In the past few years, the big bandits in the northwest provinces have basically disappeared. They have been either wiped out or recruited. The remaining young bandits have also learned how to save their lives and do not dare to be too reckless. The older the bandits are, the more cautious they are.

Especially when it comes to "wild ghosts" like Zhou Hexuan who drive foreign cars and use foreign guns, those who are timid don't dare to touch him, while those who are brave only want to steal money and kidnap money. Falling out is not good for anyone, and may even lead to a crackdown by the government.

Of course, this is in ordinary years, and in times of famine, you don’t have to worry about so much.

In 1943, when there was a major disaster in the northwest provinces, the bandits had nothing to plunder, so they simply attacked the county towns in groups, burning, killing, and looting. There are even many bandits who are good citizens themselves. They are so hungry that they join the bandit den one after another. These new bandits kill people more ruthlessly than the old bandits because they don't think about tomorrow at all.

On the way back to the bandits' den, the bandit leader himself sat in the passenger seat and was responsible for escorting Zhou Hexuan at gunpoint.

As for Wanrong, she was driven into a carriage by the bandits.

Zhou Hexuan was driving leisurely while chatting: "Your equipment is pretty good. Everyone is riding a horse and holding a gun."

The bandit leader was a little surprised and asked, "Aren't you afraid?"

"Is fear useful?" Zhou Hexuan asked.

"It's interesting," the bandit leader said with a smile, "You must be a high official, most people would be scared to death."

Zhou Hexuan shook his head and said: "I am just a small official, coming to the northwest to deliver orders from the government."

The bandit leader laughed loudly: "The more you say this, the less I believe it. You must be a high official, and you are afraid that if you tell us, we will kill people and silence you."

Zhou Hexuan said: "Then will you kill people and silence them?"

"That's not certain." The bandit leader smiled.

Zhou Hexuan said: "I hope we can resolve it peacefully."

The bandit leader said: "Tell me, who are you? I always feel that you are special."

Zhou Hexuan said: "We have to discuss this with your boss. But having said that, you are quite disciplined, and your robbery style is a bit like the heroes of Liangshan."

The bandit leader boasted: "Of course, before joining the band, the leader and I were both swordsmen. Do you know what a swordsman is? General Yang Hucheng, you know, he used to be a swordsman. We swordsmen specialize in robbing the rich and giving to the poor. He eliminates harm for the people and is not an ordinary bandit."

Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "Swordsmen also rob?"

"What we are robbing are profiteers who are ruthless for getting rich, and corrupt officials who are corrupt and pervert the law!" The bandit leader forcibly tried to clear his name.

Swordsmen were originally the general term for chivalrous knights in the Shaanxi-Gansu area. Their usual identities were private salt dealers, vagrants and bodyguards, and they gradually formed gang organizations. To put it bluntly, it is actually no different from Qing Gang and Pao Ge, but there are indeed many knights.

Swordsmen who engage in banditry are called "false knights", commonly known as "thief fools" - traditional swordsmen are called "swordsman fools", and the bandits who robbed Zhou Hexuan and others are "thief fools".

Compared with other bandits, "The Thief" claims to believe in chivalry. Although it is just a disguise, it becomes real after a long time. At least it has to look like it is robbing the rich and giving to the poor, unlike the evil gangsters who kill good people at will.

The really scary bandits in the northwest are: Ji bandits, soldier bandits, Hui bandits, smoke bandits and kidnapping bandits.

As the name suggests, Ji bandits are bandits who have been bandits for several generations. Bing bandits are formed from broken soldiers. Hui bandits are formed from the transformation of gangs. Cigarette bandits' main business is opium trading, and kidnapping bandits specialize in human trafficking.

These five types of bandits are not easily offended and are the targets of severe crackdowns by the government and warlords. Nowadays, except for the smoke bandits, the other categories have basically become extinct. The rest are not large-scale, and two Thompson submachine guns can teach them how to behave.