The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, when warlord warfare was at its peak, the number of bandits in China exceeded 20 million. If calculated based on the number of 40 million citizens, about one in 20 Chinese people is a bandit. Therefore, some foreign experts at that time called China the "bandit kingdom."

One of the greatest contributions of the Nationalist Government to China was probably the suppression of bandits.

Especially in the northwest and southwest regions during the Anti-Japanese War, the big bandits were basically wiped out - the main method was to recruit troops. Any bandit with more than 1,000 people will be targeted, and then a letter of appointment will be sent. The bandits will turn into regular troops, and many will be sent to the anti-Japanese battlefield.

When we say that the bandits in the northwest have disappeared at this time, we are referring to the big bandits. There are still countless small groups of bandits, and they work in small groups to cause trouble for one party. Those with a group of 100 people can already stand out from the rest.

Dashiwa in the northwest of Yongdeng County is located at the junction of Jinzui, Tongyuan and Zhongbao townships. The mountains are dangerous and easy to defend but difficult to attack. More than ten years ago, dozens of bandits led by Bao Haicheng and Zhang Heng were entrenched here, killing people and stealing goods, and committed all kinds of evil. They were not wiped out until the Central Plains War.

After the Baohai City and Zhang Heng bandit gangs were eliminated, Dashiwa was quickly occupied by a group of swordsmen. The bandit leader was named Ma Yongkui. In the Gansu region where ethnic conflicts are very fierce, Ma Yongkui, as a Hui, actually has Han, Hui, and Mongolian bandits coexisting harmoniously under his command. I have to say that he is a talent.

At the beginning, there were only six members in Ma Yongkui's gang, and it developed extremely slowly. And because he was determined not to eat grass from the side of his nest, the bandits were often hungry, and many of his subordinates could not bear the hardship and quit the group.

Until the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Soviet aid needed to be imported through the Northwest, and the government stepped up its crackdown on highway bandits along the way. The big bandits disappeared and the warlords' troops were transferred to the anti-Japanese front line, which actually made the Silk Road prosperous again.

Spring is here for Ma Yongkui, and he specializes in robbing merchants on the highway.

In order to prevent being targeted by the government, he never killed anyone, and would leave some food and water for the robbed merchants to return to the county seat. After the gang expanded to 150 people, Ma Yongkui stopped recruiting new members, fearing that too many people would lead to a government crackdown.

This guy used the money he robbed to go to Inner Mongolia to buy horses. He also got a lot of broken guns from the warlords, and even spent a lot of money to get a Maxim machine gun.

Not only that, Ma Yongkui also often distributed food to the three towns around the bandits' den, which made the local gentry and people very supportive of him. Even the officials in the county who came to collect taxes wanted to give him some face.

According to the local people, Ma Yongkui was "protecting the environment and the people." The gentry and common people spontaneously provided him with cover and spread the news, and everyone from the county magistrate to the town mayor quietly sold the stolen goods for him.

This kind of collusion between officials and bandits is very common in the Northwest because it is so chaotic here. A "benevolent" bandit like Ma Yongkui is definitely more popular than the government, which is more cruel and cruel to the people.

Ma Yongkui was playing chess with his master Pang You. Suddenly a bandit in charge of patrol came in and reported: "Master, there is good news. The commander has got a foreign car!"

"Oh, what kind of foreign car?" Ma Yongkui asked.

The patrol bandit said: "It's the kind of foreign truck that transports Soviet supplies and drags a large carriage behind it."

Master Pang You said with a smile: "That's called a truck."

"Yes, yes, it's a truck," said the patrolling bandit. "It has already driven down the mountain. The commander also caught a few meat tickets, among which there was a woman who was particularly pretty."

Ma Yongkui frowned and said: "People who can drive a truck are definitely extraordinary, shouldn't they be in any trouble?"

Most of the caravans in Gansu and Shaanxi use mule carts and donkey carts, and a few use camels for long distances. As for trucks, they are basically related to the government and warlords. They are often escorted by soldiers, and bandits dare not provoke them.

Pang You asked: "What are the origins of those meat tickets?"

The patrolling bandit shook his head and said, "I don't know."

Ma Yongkui turned around and said, "Master Pang, what do you think?"

Pang You stroked his beard and said: "Bring the people up the mountain, and then search their cars and what documents they have on their bodies. If they are really high-ranking officials of the government, then give them back as gifts. If they are big businessmen from the county or provincial government, then they will be returned with gifts." Just take the opportunity to get a vote!"

Ma Yongkui immediately decided: "Do as the master says!"

More than half an hour later, Zhou Hexuan and four others were brought in, tied up and stuffed into chairs to sit on.

The bandit leader who captured Zhou Hexuan on the mountain was named Zhang Debiao. He came in with a small blue book and said, "Brother, Master, this was found from that guy. I can't read. Can you guys tell me what it is?"

Ma Yongkui took it and scanned it, almost losing his grip. He saw seven big characters printed on the cover of the small book: Republic of China, General's Certificate.

Ma Yongkui forced himself to open it calmly. On the right was the official certificate of a general of the Republic of China, and on the left was Sun Yat-sen's portrait. The top of the avatar says "The world is for the common good", and the words on both sides are "The revolution has not yet succeeded, comrades still have to work hard."

Continuing to open it, there is Zhou Hexuan's serial number, name, place of origin, age, ethnicity, general type, position and other information.

General: Army Aviation.

Position: Vice Chairman.

Ma Yongkui swallowed and handed Pang You his general certificate: "Master Pang, what kind of official is the deputy chairman of the Army Aviation Corps?"

Pang You glanced at the certificate and thought he was dazzled. He rubbed it and looked at it again, and was immediately paralyzed with fear. He stood up holding the chair and said: "Quickly, untie Chairman Zhou! Quickly, what are you still doing?"

"Untie it quickly, untie it quickly!"

Ma Yongkui also knew that he had provoked a big shot, so he asked in a low voice: "Master Pang, what is the origin of this person?"

Pang You smiled bitterly and said: "The chairman of the Aviation Committee is Chang Kaishen, and the director is Song Meiling. What do you think the vice chairman's background is? This man is the deputy commander-in-chief of the Chinese Air Force!"

Ma Yongkui's legs became weak and he quickly ran to Zhou Hexuan, untied the rope himself and said, "Oh, General Zhou, I made a mistake, I made a mistake, why did I capture you? I thought you were a Japanese spy!"

Zhou Hexuan asked with a smile: "Do I look like a Japanese spy?"

"No, no," Ma Yongkui slapped himself and said with a smile, "Look at my mouth, I just can't speak. I should be beaten! Haha, I should be beaten!"

Zhang Debiao walked up to Pang You and whispered: "Master, such a big man cannot be put back. Let's just kill him and silence him."

"Kill... no, you can't kill. That's Zhou Hexuan, the Zhou Hexuan in the newspaper." Pang You suddenly remembered something.

"Why can't you kill them? You can't see the people alive, and you can't see the corpses of the dead. Who knew it was us who did it." Zhang Debiao sneered.

Pang You said angrily: "You know nothing! That's Zhou Hexuan."

Zhang Debiao asked: "Who is Zhou Hexuan?"

Pang You said: "The book "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" that I usually read was written by Zhou Hexuan. Didn't you also hear that Mr. Shu told the story of Guo Jing and Huang Rong?"

Zhang Debiao said: "It turns out he wrote a book, so it's nothing special."

"You don't understand things about scholars," Pang You said, shaking his head. "With Mr. Zhou's current status, he was the world's Wen Zong in the early Qing Dynasty, and he was very capable. At least half of the students who are engaged in historical research in China now belong to him. The disciples all followed his theories in their studies. Do you understand that Wenquxing descended to earth?"

Zhang Debiao said: "I only know that the number one scholar is Wenquxing."

Pang You said speechlessly: "Then you think he is the number one scholar."

While the two were whispering, Ma Yongkui had already personally untied Zhou Hexuan and the four others, and kept apologizing.

Zhou Hexuan originally carried his general's certificate with him for the convenience of traveling in the northwest. He didn't say anything at first because he didn't know the status of these bandits. Now that he saw that the bandit leader was a knowledgeable person, he immediately put on airs, and he knew the heat very accurately.