Under One Person: One Person Goes

Chapter 412: Jinling

The city of Jinling has experienced the reigns of Eastern Wu, Eastern Jin, Southern Song, Southern Qi, Southern Liang, Southern Chen, and even the early Ming Dynasty was its capital.

An ancient capital of six dynasties with a thousand-year history.

As the National Government established its capital here, this ancient capital of the Six Dynasties once again consolidated its status as a historical city during the Republic of China period.

At this time, in Zhonghuamen in the south of Jinling City, near the Qinhuai River, there is an ancient inn with a quaint style.

Wang Yi, who rushed here after the fall of Songhu, looked down at the corner of Jinling in front of him.

The Zhonghua Gate where he was at the moment was a urn city with three urn cities and four archway gates. Its complex structure and tight defense made it easy to defend and difficult to attack. It was also a landmark building that retained the richest historical heritage of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

From the city wall, you can also see traces left by the previous Japanese air raids on Nanjing City.

If you stand on the city gate, you can see Yuhuatai in the distance. It is the commanding height in the south of Jinling City. You can overlook the whole city from the top.

At this time, the area around Zhonghua Gate was crowded with people. The peddlers and shop owners who had gotten up early to do business put down their work and gathered on both sides of the city gate, watching the vanguard of the defeated Kuomintang soldiers who were withdrawing from the Songhu battlefield enter the city.

They just wanted to see how the Battle of Songhu was fought and how an army of hundreds of thousands could lose like this.

However, as the vanguard of the defeated National Army soldiers entered the city one after another, the people of Jinling City who wanted to watch the excitement had no idea what to do after seeing these defeated soldiers.

Because when they first saw these defeated soldiers, they all thought they were seeing things. Those who knew could say that these were defeated Nationalist troops withdrawing from the Battle of Shanghai, while those who didn't know thought that they were refugees fleeing from the disaster area after a disaster.

Exhausted was the first impression these defeated Nationalist soldiers gave to everyone present. Ragged clothes and dusty faces were the second impression these defeated Nationalist soldiers gave to the people of Nanjing.

Everyone could understand that they had no morale after losing the battle, but they couldn't even maintain the most basic formation. They were loose, chaotic, and their faces were covered in blood. They walked in groups of three or five. Some were still looking around, trembling, as if they had not yet recovered from the Japanese attack and felt as if they were still on the battlefield.

Not only that, some even threw away their guns and ammunition, and carried only a simple bag. Some even had the courage to approach the vendors who were watching the fun, and taking advantage of the military uniforms they had not yet taken off, they directly took food from the breakfast vendors, stuffed it into their mouths, and walked away.

After all, it was the capital of the Republic of China, and when the defeated soldiers entered the city, there was no outrageous phenomenon of bandits passing through like combs and soldiers passing through like rakes.

The chaos would only last for a short while. These defeated soldiers did not dare to provoke public anger at this time. After all, they were at the foot of the imperial city. If something happened, it would be a great loss if they didn't lose their lives in the Songhu battlefield but lost them here.

The vendors whose stalls were robbed just cursed a few words and thought they were unlucky, but they didn't dare to cause trouble for themselves.

The vanguard troops of the defeated soldiers entered the city one after another. The people of Jinling gathered at the city gate had no idea what they were expecting, and they just watched wave after wave of defeated soldiers enter the city.

However, he found that none of the defeated troops were in good spirits. They were all in such a mess, dejected, with their guns and armors dropped. They were even worse than the common people like them.

Only then did everyone lose interest and disperse, each going about their own business.

Only the military dependents whose families participated in the Battle of Shanghai were still there, looking at the sparsely distributed defeated soldiers, trying to find the unit where their families were and their families.
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"I say, this army of hundreds of thousands fought for more than three months, and they lost just because they said they lost. Losing is fine, but why did they lose so miserably? It would take the Japanese a month to capture hundreds of thousands of pigs, right? Are the Japanese so good at fighting?"

"That's right. Outside the Great Wall, Marshal Zhang's Fengtian Army is large and powerful, isn't it? They fought and retreated, and were driven into the Great Wall after fighting for a year. Until now, they have not fought back to pay respect to their father. Who knows, his father's grave may have been crushed to ashes by the Japanese. What a useless thing."

"Then tell me why the young marshal didn't fight back! Our Northeast Army is fighting the Japanese outside the Great Wall, and you local troops inside the Great Wall, why don't you and the Central Army know how to send troops to support us? All you know is fighting among yourselves! After all, we have been wrestling with the Japanese in blood for a year.

Unlike you, the emperor's personal army, at the foot of the imperial city, so many central and local troops fought in Songhu for more than three months, but were beaten back by the Japanese like a dog. You are really great. "

"What did you say!"

"Did I say anything wrong?"

"Hey, hey, hey, guys. Our shop is small. Let's not talk about this. We are all Chinese. Let's not talk about our national affairs. Let's not hurt the harmony. Come on, let's drink. It's my treat. It's my treat."

Seeing that the two parties were about to escalate the quarrel into a sensitive topic, the store owner quickly came over to stop them, and only then did they give up in disappointment.

Just listening to the occasional crying sounds coming from below, the sounds of the study buildings on the Qinhuai River, the female teachers on the cruise ship, the eldest daughters and the literati who got up early to look for prostitutes, all mixed together, it was really upsetting and confusing, and I couldn't even drink.

The so-called "Shu Yu Lou" and "Chang San Nu" were the names given to brothels and the women who made a living in these places during the Republic of China period.

The Shuyu Building is the most upscale one among them. The women trained here are all very good-looking and have dabbled in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. They are the favorite type of those literati and modern people because they are the top beauties and the most beautiful girls.

Because of her excellent teaching skills, she was also given titles such as female teacher and female schoolmaster.

Just eating, drinking and chatting in the apartment building without doing anything else costs six dollars, and the price of overnight stay is extra.

The second and third wives of warlords, wealthy businessmen and officials basically all come from here.

The third daughter is of the second rank, a substitute in the abode building, good-looking and with certain special skills. They are called the third daughter because their price is half of those of their counterparts in the abode building.

The thirteen women in the movie "The Flowers of War" come from these two groups.

As for the lowest class, it is the previously mentioned bacon shop, where old and ugly women from poor families are basically all here. They have signed a contract to sell themselves, and every penny earned from the customers has nothing to do with them.

When the Soviet area, also known as the Gan area, was purged by Chiang Kai-shek, many people were sold here.

When Wang Yi left, he only saved a part of them. For the rest, he tried his best to inform Boss Du in Shanghai and save as many as possible.

And now, upstairs in the inn, the left channel heard the cries of the military dependents below who would never see their families again, while the right channel heard the lascivious sounds coming from the Qinhuai River, which doomed this morning to be restless.

"Humph! The merchant girl knows not the sorrow of losing her country, she still sings the song of Hou Ting Hua across the river!"

"Hey, brother, calm down. I was wrong just now. You don't have to be so hard on these women. I will drink three cups as punishment."

"I'm not angry with these prostitutes. If they hear any gossip, they will gossip with their partners. My life will be difficult. I'm just worried."

"worry about what?"

"Songhu has fallen. The Japanese have taken Songhu. Isn't it dangerous here? Look at these guys down there. If the Japanese really come, they won't even fire their guns and will have to run back. Can we still stay in Nanjing?"

"Not necessarily. After all, our city is the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, and it is also the capital of the country. If the capital is in trouble, shouldn't the local army come to the rescue as soon as possible?"

"Heh, when the people outside the Great Wall were in trouble, why didn't we see the local army going north to help?"

"Hey, why are you here again?"

"I'm not angry with you, brother. I'm just worried. If the Japanese really take Nanjing, they might do something inhumane. You can tell from my accent, brother. I'm from outside the Great Wall. I followed the Northeast Army to escape and fled to the interior of the Great Wall. We settled in Nanjing. There are about 20 people in my family, including my brother's parents. Only one son and one daughter are left. They have found a new wife to live with here.

You don’t know how miserable we were when we were escaping. We have finally managed to live a peaceful life. If the Japanese come again, where can we escape to with our families?”

The man's words also caused the diners in the restaurant to whisper, and even the Jinling local who had been arguing with the Northeastern brother became worried. "Brother, you are not saying that the Japanese will massacre the city after they take over Jinling? No way, what good will this do them? Aren't they a civilized country?"

"Will they attack you for no reason? As for that kind of thing, well, they've already won the war, so they have the final say on what to do. We are the meat on the chopping board, they hold the knife, they can cut us however they want."

"Hiss, brother, what you said is scary."

"Brother, I escaped all the way from outside the Great Wall. I know the Japanese better than you do. I don't have much hope in the government. I donated all the money, but I still lost the war. I have to think about my family."

"So what are your plans, brother?"

"What are you planning? Take your family out of town in the next two days to avoid the spotlight. I don't want to see my wife and daughter being raped by the Japanese. But if you ask me where to hide, I don't know. Just flee south. I can't let my family be wiped out. No more words, waiter, check out."

"Coming."

The man paid for the meal and left. The diners in the restaurant who had been whispering among themselves became noisy at this point, to the point where even the restaurant owner couldn't stop them.

"This is a rough but true statement. Hundreds of thousands of troops were defeated in Songhu. We can't expect the government to hold on to Nanjing, right? If disaster really happens to us, they have soldiers and guns, what can we do to deal with them?"

"We are separated by the Yangtze River!"

"The army in Jiangyin has been defeated, and what about the Yangtze River? Didn't Emperor Taizong of the Ming Dynasty invade during the Jingnan Rebellion?"

"But I've been fighting for four years!"

"What did they take back then? What do the Japanese take now? Planes and ships. They weren't bombed enough in the past few days, right?"

"That's true. When I went out this morning, I saw the wealthy family in our alley rummaging around in their belongings. There was even a carriage parked at the door. Could it be that they have sensed something was wrong and wanted to escape?"

"Oh, now that you mention it, I feel like my place isn't that lively these days either. Many people have locked their doors, like there's no one around."

As the topic of conversation turned to the possibility that Nanjing might be taken by the Japanese army, the diners chatting in the restaurant also noticed a phenomenon.

In the alley where they lived, many wealthy families with similar financial conditions to theirs either kept their doors shut and had not been seen for several days, or were preparing to move away from Jinling city with their families.

After some conversation, the diners in the restaurant lost interest.

This is what is meant by "three people make a tiger". When they found that so many people around them had left Jinling City in advance to avoid the limelight, even if they did not believe that Jinling City would be captured by the Japanese army and the city would be massacred, they would rather believe it than not.

"Oh, everyone, I have something to do at home, so I'll leave first."

"Hey, I also remembered that I have something to do. Let's go together."

When one person left, the second one followed, and the third one... Soon, the bustling restaurant became empty and deserted. Even the common people who had gathered on both sides of Zhonghua Gate to watch the excitement left with the diners in the restaurant. The news spread, and they also became panicked. Some of them closed their stalls early and rushed home.

Some shops are just sitting back and continuing to open their doors for business, even though there isn't much business for them.

Wang Yi walked to the balcony and looked at the area around Zhonghua Gate, which was still quite lively but less popular. He also asked, "How many people have left Jinling City so far?"

"Not many. The news was released only a few days ago, and only about 10,000 people have left. These people either have relatives living abroad or have family backgrounds, so it's easy for them to leave."

"It's just a drop in the bucket. You just told a good story."

"Thank you for the compliment, Boss Wang, but this is not a story. I am indeed from outside the Great Wall. It is precisely because I have seen what the Japanese did outside the Great Wall that I believe what Boss Wang and the young shopkeeper said."

"If the Japanese really attack, will you leave?"

"What I just said is from the bottom of my heart. I am the only one left in our family with descendants, and the line cannot be cut off."

"I understand. Thank you for these few days."

"It's just a matter of duty."

Wang Yi turned around and the person he was talking to was the man from outside the Great Wall who had just brought up this topic in the restaurant. He was also the owner of this restaurant, Jianghu Inn, in Jinling City, and his surname was Lin.

It was precisely because of his identity as a person from outside the Great Wall that after the official announcement of the fall of Songhu, when Liu Wei's father Liu Qi summoned a group of small inn branch owners to discuss, he was the first to stand up and support the spread of the rumor that the Japanese invaders would massacre the city.

In this Republic of China where the illiteracy rate is over 80%, the people are very ignorant. Even in the city of Nanjing, there are too many people who have no concrete understanding of the brutality of the Japanese invaders. Many of them have spent their entire lives in Nanjing and have no idea what is happening in the outside world. They can only listen to the nonsense spoken by the officials of the National Government in front of them.

Instead of explaining, it is better to use this kind of street rumor to slowly ferment, so that they would rather believe it than not, and encourage them to leave the city and hide for a while.

Especially when wealthy families leave with their families, they believe the truth of such rumors even more.

Under the arrangement of the shopkeeper Lin, rumors began to radiate to the surrounding areas with Zhonghuamen as the center. After a few days, it more or less had an effect, but for Wang Yi, it was not enough. He had to add fuel to the fire and make more people leave early.

Thinking of this, Wang Yi also went downstairs, taking advantage of the relatively peaceful time to take a good look at the thousand-year-old city of Jinling.

He walked aimlessly on the streets of Jinling and went to the Confucius Temple. He walked along the bluestone steps of the old streets and alleys around the Confucius Temple, looking at the brick and wood houses on both sides of the road and the people with lifeless eyes and ragged clothes.

I took the tram again and let it run along the track. I watched the rickshaw pullers passing by the tram, looked at the Western-style buildings in the city, and stopped at the gate of Central University.

We also listened to some soft music along the Qinhuai River, and finally stopped at the final stop, the National Government Office Building.

As he looked along the way, he could indeed see that the National Government had really put a lot of effort into this city after establishing its capital in Nanjing, even though it was shrouded in the shadow of the defeat in the Battle of Shanghai and had been attacked by Japanese planes before.

But it is extremely difficult to get so many people in the city to leave based on rumors alone, because for most people in the city, leaving the city means death.

Since both are death, there is no need to ask which ending is better, dying in the city or dying outside as a wandering ghost.

'Boom! '

The sound of a bell rang in Wang Yi's head like a wake-up call.

When Wang looked up, he realized that he had unknowingly walked from the government office building to the entrance of Jiming Temple.

When Wang Yi saw the three words "Jiming Temple", he suddenly thought of a person in the circle who was related to this ancient temple.

The previous leader of Quanxing was the black-robed prime minister Yao Guangxiao.

"Hey, now that I'm here, let me go in and take a look."

(End of this chapter)