Age of Rebirth

Chapter 310: Fengling Ancient Ferry

Now that the situation in North China is stabilizing, the Japanese are still able to abide by the "Tanggu Agreement", so they have time to go to northern Shaanxi to investigate the situation of suppressing the Communists in northern Shaanxi, to know themselves and the enemy, and to make preliminary preparations for the independent division to go to the front line of suppressing the Communists in northern Shaanxi. .

This is a report to the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs, and the reason is high-sounding, and it is also a long-standing plan of the Nanjing government, with good reasons.

Behind the scenes, Tang Qiuli sent another confidential telegram to the chairman. In addition to the reasons mentioned above, he specifically told the chairman that Zhang Yang's Northeast Army and Northwest Army with tens of thousands of people could not quickly wipe out the army with only tens of thousands of soldiers. Red Army.

These phenomena are really puzzling. After tens of thousands of miles of pursuit and suppression by the national army, the Red Army is already at the end of its strength. The exhausted army and the remnant soldiers are defeated, while Zhang Yang cannot win. The reason for this is intriguing and many. [

The staff department is willing to go there to personally visit Zhang Yang's reality, understand the details of the Communist bandits, and make preliminary preparations for the independent division to go to northern Shaanxi to complete the chairman's great cause of suppressing the Communists.

The telegram was sent out. In addition to the express reply from the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs, the chairman sent a secret telegram, praising Tang Qiuli's actions, praising him as a party-state cadre and a model for sharing the worries of the leaders. The old man Long Xin was greatly comforted.

Tang Qiuli is specially granted the right to be arbitrary, and if he finds that Zhang Yang has misbehavior, he can deal with it immediately without consulting the central government.

Tang Qiuli looked at the chairman's secret telegram and could only smile wryly. Why is the old man in a daze?He brought thousands of people and went deep into the hinterland of Zhang Yang's 10 people, and he had to deal with it immediately. It was lucky not to be beaten into a hornet's nest. The old man went to the doctor in a hurry and regarded himself as a panacea.

Chairman Long Xin was very happy, and the Military and Political Department had no reason to refute. Tang Qiuli's trip to Shaanxi and Gansu was able to take place, and it had a special mission. As for the real purpose, only he knew it well.

The troops left Beiping, passed through Handan, crossed the Qingzhang River, entered the boundary of Shanxi, and arrived at the Changzhi area from Licheng. Because it was too far away from Chief Yan in Taiyuan, Shanxi, Tang Qiuli sent a telegram to Chief Yan, in addition to explaining the purpose of this crossing. In addition, he casually greeted the shrewd local emperor of Shanxi with a courteous and affectionate attitude, which gave Chief Yan enough face.

That's right, when passing by a boss, he doesn't even say hello, he's rude first, this Chief Yan is not very generous, he loves to hold grudges.

In addition to warmly welcoming the telegram, Chief Yan also sent his General Councilor, representing himself, to rush to Changzhi overnight with a large number of gifts to comfort Commander Tang. Gan's team.

Tang Qiuli was quite surprised that Chief Yan made such a generous move. This does not fit Chief Yan's character. It is probably because of the good relationship formed in Xiaowutai Mountain. There are many friends and many paths. The old ancestor is really wise.

In those days, when one powerful faction in one place entered the territory of another powerful faction in another place, it would often cause tension. If there was a disagreement, it was very possible to draw guns and fight each other.

On the road from Changzhi to Jincheng and Yuncheng, they were all accompanied by the Chief Counselor of Chief Yan. The high standard and the courtesy of the reception made Professor Ouyang and other scholars feel deeply that it is good to be an official, and there are people close to them there. Welcome, the courteous treatment is added, unlike the scholars like them, the local officials will burn incense if they don't get stuck.

Marching for days, staying overnight at Fenglingdu, crossing the Yellow River is the ground of Shaanxi, and shaking hands with the General Councilor to say goodbye. Since ancient times, the Yellow River has a rule of not sailing at night, and the troops can only stay here and wait for the dawn.

In the middle of the night, Tang Qiuli was awakened by the sound of the waves of the Yellow River, fell asleep again, put on his clothes and got up, a crescent moon hung high in the sky, full of stars, the night sky was deep and far away, and the water of the Yellow River lapped on the shore. It is ancient and desolate.

Fenglingdu has been the largest ferry on the Yellow River since ancient times. It is located at the southwest end of Ruicheng County, Shanxi Province, [-] kilometers away. It is adjacent to Henan and Shaanxi Provinces. It is at the corner of the Yellow River eastward. The traffic fortress spans the borders of North China, Northwest China and Central China.

For thousands of years, Fenglingdu has been an important port of the Yellow River. I don’t know how many people passed through here and entered the Qin and Jin Dynasties. There is a sentence in the title Fenglingdu written by Jin Zhao Zizhen: "One water flows north and south, and the central plains are self-sufficient. The mountains connect to the land of Jin, and the smoke trees flow into Qinchuan. This ferry crossing "hears the three provinces with a cockcrow" has a unique geographical location and convenient transportation, where the three rivers meet and the three provinces meet.

Staying overnight at the ancient ferry, listening to the sound of the yellow water, Tang Qiuli's thoughts drifted to the distant night sky, lost on the bank of the Yellow River, his soul seemed to have left his body, and became the moonlight in the night sky. He didn't know, a few guards, loyal Stand by his side.

On his shoulders, a long dress was quietly put on, and when he turned his head suddenly, under the night sky, Mei Ting's eyes were shining brightly, and her face had a gentleness that she had never seen before. Say thank you to Mei Ting, but Mei Ting stops her with a smile.

Mei Ting stood side by side with him. The sound of the Yellow River lapping on the shore seemed to be far away. The atmosphere was warm and ambiguous. Tang Qiuli was not used to it. He always thought that only when he was with Xiaoling could he have this mood. Tonight Mei Ting unexpectedly gave him such a feeling.

Mei Ting was awakened by her own strange, dream-like feeling, the exhaustion of the day really made her still weak body a little overwhelmed, so she went to bed early. [

Her residence was some distance away from Tang Qiuli's residence, and the sound of the Yellow River's waves also accompanied her to sleep. In her sleep, amidst the sound of the waves, there were clear footsteps, entering her dream without hindrance.

Mei Ting woke up suddenly, the footsteps were so familiar, she walked out of the house like sleepwalking, and saw Tang Qiuli's lonely and desolate figure under the starry sky, solidified into a sculpture in the night.

The instant feeling stung Mei Ting's heart. He must have had an unusual experience, and that experience has caused him pain to this day. Besides, Huafa, who is not commensurate with his age, this enigmatic boy, Deep in his heart, how many secrets are there that he does not know?

Mei Ting quietly entered the room and took out a long coat. At this moment, she had an indescribable love in her heart, and all she could do was put on the clothes for him. Any kind of questioning would be stupid and unwise. Mei Ting would not make such a low-level mistake.

Tang Qiuli wrapped the long clothes around his body tightly, and let out a long breath, as if all the blockages in his heart dissipated. He didn't know why, but on some special occasions, or in a casual atmosphere, his mood would become dazed. As for Xiao Suo, he had the thought of crying bitterly or quietly shedding tears.

"Go back, it's late at night, and we have to hurry tomorrow," Tang Qiuli said in a low voice, and Mei Ting nodded silently. Although she didn't hear Tang Qiuli's words of thanks, from the boy's eyes, Mei Ting He clearly felt the fluctuations in his heart.

There is also the momentary closeness of the soul, although it leaves suddenly, these subtle feelings are enough for Mei Ting, she cleverly feels that the distance with Tang Qiuli has inadvertently narrowed a lot tonight.

At dawn, the ferry boat set off. In order to cross the Yellow River with thousands of people and a large number of war horses, the local officials in Fenglingdu Town, Shanxi Province worked hard and finally collected enough ferry boats. Even so, they still divided into two batches to cross the river.

The scene of hundreds of boats racing and thousands of troops crossing the river is spectacular. Standing on the bow of the boat, Tang Qiuli saw a field of yellow like wheat awns that made him feel dizzy and palpitating. The rolling waves looked like wild beasts running together .

Roaring, it came from the distant canyon, and rushed to his chest. The rocks on both sides were cut like knives, and they were black and green like iron. Behind the iron-like river bank, there was another loess mountain on the edge.

The rising sun is red and bright, painting the Huangtu Mountain and the Yellow River water in orange, and the rolling yellow waves in the distance seem to be a dancing and burning flame, burning all over the western half of the sky.

The ferry boat jumped up and down on the waves, the boatmen shouted desperately, and the boatmen responded nervously and breathlessly. The water of the Yellow River has been flowing into Tang Qiuli's heart.

He firmly grasped the railing of the ship with his right hand, and his fingers seemed to be pinched into the wooden pillars. His chest was on fire, and his mouth was a little thirsty. An uncontrollable passion surged in his heart, as if the endlessly surging Yellow River had flowed into it. His blood vessels were soaked, and his whole body was infiltrated.

A tense atmosphere rose in the hearts of these northern men who had never seen this kind of momentum before, and it seemed that they might be buried in the torrential yellow water at any time. Even the sturdy war horses were trembling at this time, and they dared not show it at all.

Amidst the tumbling waves in the distance, a jumping black spot suddenly appeared and disappeared, and a heart-piercing shout was heard indistinctly, and the black spot arrived in front of the ferry team in the blink of an eye.

It was a coal-loading ship with a deep draft, and it was lowered from the mid-water line like a flying arrow, as if it would fall into the boiling yellow soup at any moment. shouted.

Tang Qiuli looked nervously at the ship full of coal, which was about to hit the ferry. The boatman at the helm exerted all his strength, deftly turned the rudder, and the ship flew past, disappearing downstream in a blink of an eye.

Tang Qiuli wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his heart was still beating non-stop, the hull of the boat suddenly became stable, it turned out that he had passed the torrent, and the shore ahead was in sight.

Then came the restrained singing of the boatman——

you know,

How many bends of the Yellow River in the world?

Dozens of boats in dozens of bends? [

Dozens of poles on dozens of boats?

Dozens of boatmen come to pull the boat?

The chorus of the boatmen was like a muffled thunder——

I know,

The 99 bends of the Yellow River in the world,

99 boats in 99 bends,

99 rods in 99 boats,

99 boatmen came to pull the boat!

The singing is melodious and desolate, piercing Tang Qiuli's chest. The faces of the boatmen on the Yellow River ferry, with wrinkles like knives, are full of the suffering and toughness of the men in the Northwest, just like this mother who has flowed through the ages He has witnessed how many historical changes, and there is a kind of power injected into his heart.

The hull of the boat gave a slight heave, and it was already docked. Tang Qiuli walked down the gangplank in a few steps. There was already a long loess at the foot, and in front of him was the ancient Tongguan Pass.

Tang Qiuli asked Zhou Yushan to give each boatman 30 yuan in addition to the ferry fee, not because of their poverty, but because in this short period of time, he felt a passion that he had never felt before.