The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

In Fengtian City, the funeral procession lined up hundreds of meters away.

Feng Delin's funeral was a combination of Chinese and Western styles, including cars clearing the way, military escorts, traditional flower flags, umbrellas, and money hangings. There were thirty or forty people who were responsible for carrying paper men, horses and sedan chairs, crying loudly along the way, and paper money was scattered everywhere.

The coffin went straight to the south gate along the main road in the city.

Fengtian South Gate is a triumphal arch, and it can only be left after winning a battle or holding a celebration. Feng Delin was the first to be buried at the south gate in hundreds of years since Li Chengliang, a general in the late Ming Dynasty.

In fact, Feng Delin died in the old house in Beizhen, and his body was transported to Fengtian City for the grand burial.

Zhang Zuolin presided over the funeral in person, did a water and land dojo for a few days, and held a grand memorial service before sending the remains outside the city for burial.

After Feng Delin built the coffin and buried it in the ground, Zhang Zuolin and his son returned to Tianjin overnight, but the funeral was not over yet.

Zhang Zuolin said he wanted a grand funeral. According to him, the funeral must be held for seven to forty-nine days. Therefore, at the old house in Beizhen, there will be running water seats for the next few tens of days, and there will be funeral meetings, and the theater troupe will be invited to sing big plays.

The stage was babbling and singing, and the guests in the audience yelled and drank and ate and drank. This scene is not like a funeral, but a wedding.

Zhou Hexuan sat silently at the dinner table, watching the lively hall, suddenly felt absurd and weird.

The funeral was extravagant, estimated to cost more than 100,000 oceans. But outside Feng's Manor, the farmers are struggling to survive, and there will be a spring shortage soon-the autumn grain is almost exhausted, and the summer grain has not been harvested.

The attitude of the farmers is also worth pondering. Many of them have borrowed money from the Feng family, occupied land by the Feng family, and been urged to pay rent by the Feng family. It stands to reason that they should resent the Feng family.

But the running water banquet at the funeral dilutes the hatred, because no money is required, everyone can come and eat with their stomachs open, and they can eat for forty-nine days. The nearby farmers and households all ate happily, and they were saying good things about Mr. Feng, as if Feng Delin was a kind person before his death.

"Hexuan, don't mind if you don't take good care of her." Feng Yong, dressed in sackcloth and mourning, walked over and said.

Zhou Hexuan said: "You value filial piety, so leave me alone. What are your plans for the future?"

Feng Yong said: "I have resigned from the military, and I will stay in the Northeast to run schools. Not only will I run free primary schools, but I will also run free universities."

Sure enough, history has returned to the original track. Feng Yong's university will allow him to dissipate his wealth in a few years, but it has also cultivated a group of science and engineering talents and anti-Japanese volunteers for China.

On the third day of the Liushui funeral banquet, just as Zhou Hexuan was about to return to Tianjin, Feng Yong suddenly summoned the peasants from eight villages in a radius of ten miles.

Feng Yong was standing on the stage where the big show would be sung, with several big boxes at his feet. He opened the box and said: "Here are all your loan notes and uncollected rent certificates. In the past, my old Feng's family did something wrong. Please don't worry about it. From now on, our two Owe. Come, bring the brazier!"

Under Zhou Hexuan's astonished eyes, Feng Yong lit all those IOUs and rents, threw them into an iron basin and burned them on fire.

"I'm stupid, awesome!" Zhou Hexuan couldn't help whispering to himself.

The farmers and tenant farmers were also stunned, followed by ecstasy. Suddenly a farmer knelt down and kowtowed, shouting: "Master Feng is benevolent and righteous, and Master Feng will live a long life!"

Hulala knelt down and kowtowed to Feng Yong sincerely. Many people were crying and laughing at the same time. This fire is insignificant to Feng Yong, but to them, it is related to their wealth and life, and some people may not have to sell their sons and daughters because of this.

Zhou Hexuan shook his head amusedly, he wondered if he would be as bold as Feng Yong if it were him.

All that was burned was money, how many boxes!

The peasants couldn't afford to kneel for a long time, and Feng Yong left after burning the debts. He didn't want to accept this kind of worship.

Zhou Hexuan chased after him, gave a thumbs up and said, "Fifth Lord, this is you."

"Don't call me fifth master, I won't be an official anymore, call me fifth elder brother from now on," Feng Yong said with a nonchalant smile, "don't think of me as noble. Farmers are so poor, what's the point of earning money haha What do you mean? I want to save the country by industry in the future, and if I make money, I will earn the money to run industry!"

Well, Zhou Hexuan just remembered that the Feng family still runs a mining factory by itself. That is a big business that makes money every day, and you can completely ignore the few rents from farmers.

Zhou Hexuan said: "Then I wish Wu Ge great success in running schools and factories!"

"Auspicious words from my virtuous brother!" Feng Yong took out his gun, slapped it on Zhou Hexuan's hand and said, "I don't think I will leave Northeast China in two or three years, so keep this for self-defense."

"Thank you Fifth Brother." Zhou Hexuan clasped his fists and said.

Feng Yong patted Zhou Hexuan on the shoulder: "Take care all the way!"

Zhou Hexuan returned to Fengtian in the car sent by Feng Yong, and then went to Tianjin by train.

In the car, the Sun brothers were still discussing Feng Yong's righteous deeds. They all said that Feng Wuye was a benevolent hero, hundreds of times stronger than the landlords in their hometown.

Zhou Hexuan played with the gun Feng Yong gave him, which is a Browning M1900, commonly known as "Gun Brand Luzi", which is the favorite pistol among Chinese nowadays.

The sound of clicking and clicking quickly attracted Sun Yonghao. The kid's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but say, "Sir, let's have fun."

Zhou Hexuan threw the gun over: "I'll get you two another day, so you can fight back if you encounter an accident."

"That's great." Sun Yonghao said happily. His kung fu is not as good as that of his elder brother Sun Yongzhen, but his marksmanship is even better. When practicing spears at the Tianjin shooting range, he often achieves good results.

Sun Yonghao continued to play with the gun, Zhou Hexuan didn't bother to care about him, and fell asleep on the bed. This trip was a long distance, so Zhou Hexuan chose to take the first-class car, where there were beds, tables, and a special restaurant for eating, so he didn't have to sit and suffer.

The next morning, the train pulled into Tianjin Terminus.

Zhou Hexuan noticed that there were some more soldiers in the station, and all of them stood with guns in their arms. Passengers with bulky luggage have to undergo strict inspections, and bribery is useless, and those who are soldiers don't take money at all.

Why is this happening?

Because Zhang Zuolin was going to worship the sky in Tianjin Caiyuan, he officially took office as the commander-in-chief of the Anguo Army. In addition, Sun Chuanfang and Zhang Zongchang served as deputy commanders, and Yang Yuting served as the general counselor.

A dog-meat general like Zhang Zongchang can be a deputy commander, so one can imagine what the Anguo Army looks like!

After getting off the train and walking out of the platform, Zhou Hexuan suddenly heard a cry of a child.

Lu Yin comforted his weeping daughter, looking angrily at the search soldiers. Her two carry-on boxes were opened, her clothes and books were turned into a mess, and even a woman's underwear was thrown on the ground.

"Okay, you can go. Next!" said the soldier impatiently.

Zhou Hexuan was passing by here, and caught a few copies of "Novel Monthly" in the box, as well as a membership card of the Literature Research Association. He stopped hesitantly, took out candies (the leftovers from the train's first-class carriages) and handed them to the little girl, saying, "Hey, don't cry, uncle will give you candies."

The little girl was afraid of strangers, so she turned her head in fright and lay in her mother's arms.

Lu Yin forced a smile and said, "Thank you sir, it's not good for children to eat too much sugar."

"Are you a writer?" Zhou Hexuan asked, "It just so happens that I am also contributing to the "Novel Monthly."

Lu Yin was a little surprised, she didn't expect to meet a colleague, she introduced herself, "My name is Huang Shuyi, and my pen name is Lu Yin."

"My name is Zhou Hexuan." Zhou Hexuan said.

"You are Mr. Zhou!" Lu Yin exclaimed loudly.