Literary Master 1983

Chapter 423 Joint Security Zone (Part Two, with modifications)
This politically peaceful show ended after Bui Hue's photographs were sent back to the country.

The Vietnamese military leadership was furious, even laughing in their rage: So this is how rotten the front lines are! They'd practically sell their backsides to the Chinese, what's the point of fighting?!
Signing a peace treaty was absolutely the right thing to do.

The photos of Bui Hue silenced even the most hawkish members of the Vietnamese army: expecting these men to take Laoshan was a pipe dream; if they fought for a few more years, the Chinese would hold a "complaint session" for them, and it wouldn't be impossible for them to pick up their guns and turn back to attack Hanoi.

There have always been two opposing opinions among the top levels of Vietnamese society.

One option was to cease hostilities and negotiate peace, in which they gradually gained the upper hand. The other option was to continue fighting; although these people could not make decisions, they frequently organized battles, disrupting the positive situation of the ceasefire.

In early 87, a battle broke out at Hill 167 in the Nala area of ​​the Laoshan war zone. After our side retaliated with double the force, they sent special agent teams to harass us... This caused the ceasefire between the two countries to be intermittent, with fighting always stopping and starting. Once there was a slight opportunity to stockpile some ammunition, the war would be launched again.

The current nominal leader of Vietnam is Truong Truong, whose name itself reveals his deep ties with the North. He is a pro-China figure, and a series of peace talks have been conducted under his leadership.

However, Chang Zheng was in poor health and did not seem to be able to sit for long periods of time, so his subordinates secretly obeyed him but secretly disobeyed him.

This ceasefire is still at risk of being reversed.

Chang Zheng called Pei Shunhua, the head of the propaganda department, to his side and inquired in detail about his experiences on the Laoshan front. He asked, "The domestic economy has collapsed. Although I facilitated the peace talks, I never expected... that the front line would really be in such a bad state?"

Bui Hue frankly said, "Many soldiers are already openly fraternizing with the Chinese. The soldiers on the front lines are quite dissatisfied with the government, believing that we are sending them to their deaths for nothing! Vietnam is getting weaker and weaker as the war goes on, while China is getting stronger and stronger."

Bui Hue also told this story: Many old bachelors on the front lines of the Vietnamese army were devastated when they saw how young the great writer Yu Qie was! Why was Yu Qie so talented in both literature and martial arts, and so handsome?

After leaving Laoshan, Yu Qie was able to become a professor and even compete for the Nobel Prize... The lives of Chinese people are so brilliant, but what about the lives of Vietnamese people?
"Yu Qie is a very cunning man. He can not only write novels, but he is also a psychological warfare expert. He goes around saying that Chinese soldiers stay on the front line for a few years at most, and then go to the countryside to enjoy life! Watching TV, eating meat buns, riding bicycles, and having a fat son! There are hundreds of millions of Yu Qies in China. Even if we kill all of our generation, we will never be able to cross Laoshan."

“He also said, he also said…” Pei Shunhua hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.

"What else? What else did he say?" Chang Zheng pressed.

"He also said that Comrade Ho Chi Minh was a pro-China figure and privately treated Chinese people like brothers. We even have a Chinese national mother! We have betrayed Ho Chi Minh and we have also betrayed the Chinese people."

"How dare he say such treasonous things? Why didn't you stop him?"

“He said that if I dared to interfere with him, he would write ‘Ho Chi Minh’s Love Story’ in the New York Times and the Times! I really couldn’t do anything about it!”

As expected, Chang Zheng was also shocked upon hearing this and broke out in a cold sweat.

"What do the soldiers at the front think of Yu Qie's nonsense?"

“At first the soldiers didn’t believe it, but after Yu Qie said with tears in his eyes that he was half Vietnamese, they began to have some doubts.”

"What about the discipline of these people? What about their beliefs?" Chang Zheng was at a loss for words for a moment, and could only sigh in the end. He then warned Pei Shunhua: You must pay attention to Yu Qie!
"We can't let him write any more jokes like 'Ho Chi Minh's Love Story'! Let him do whatever he wants! We've already signed a peace treaty!"
-
After that, Pei Shunhua unified his thinking and let Yu Qie do whatever he wanted.

The book "Ho Chi Minh's Love Story," which could appear at any moment, was like the Sword of Damocles hanging over the head of this propaganda chief. If he dared to say no, scandals about Comrade Ho Chi Minh would spread all over the world!
Moreover, Yu Qie might even embellish the story.

The "Father of the Nation" never married or had children... yet after his death, his reputation was ruined! How could Bui Hue face the spirit of Comrade Ho Chi Minh in heaven?
Ah! Comrades!!!
Thinking of this, Pei Shunhua felt tears welling up in his eyes.

Pei Shunhua swore he would do anything as long as Yu Qie didn't write these things!

In mid-June, after the final issue of "The Battle of Laoshan" was released, it quickly spread to the front lines in Vietnam.

The Vietnamese soldiers saw Shi Guangzhu, Zhang Xingwu, and others going to university, doing business, and having happy families... while they were still suffering here, and their morale plummeted to its lowest point.

As is widely known, "The Battle of Laoshan" is a non-fiction novel. Yu Qie would not write lies.

A rumor began circulating on the Vietnamese front lines that "the reason we can't write 'The Battle of Laoshan' is because we don't receive the same treatment as the Chinese."

As the head of propaganda for the Vietnamese side, Bui Hue Hoa hoped that Yu Chee could explain to the Vietnamese people that Zhang Xingwu and others were special cases, and that it was not easy for Chinese soldiers on the front lines to find women.

For example, there was a platoon leader on the Laoshan front who had eight letter-based romances in eight years, and they all ended in breakups.

Receiving a breakup letter during a war is not uncommon in any country, and this is not the fault of the Vietnamese government.

Yu Qie immediately refused: "At least we won't recruit a sixteen-year-old into the army, beat him until he's thirty, and then refuse to let him go—and even doubt his loyalty."

Pei Shunhua was speechless again and could only let the rumors fester.

There were many times when he felt ashamed, and as the investigation deepened, Pei Shunhua also saw many things on the Chinese side: he began to feel that the conflict itself was a mistake.

During their conversation, Pei Shunhua learned that Yu Qie had been invited by General Atit of the Thai royal family to visit Bangkok.

And this Ah Tie is the same general who, after learning from China, repeatedly thwarted Vietnam's probing attempts on the border. If Vietnam can't even defeat Thailand, which has learned a few tricks from China, why would it provoke China?
What was Secretary Li Jun thinking back then?
Why would he be in conflict with Cambodia, Thailand, and China simultaneously? Doesn't he know that if he hits someone, they will retaliate?
Pei Shunhua's thinking teetered on the brink of danger.

Yu Qie praised Colonel Pei's reflection: "From a strategic perspective, everything your former leader did after taking office was wrong! In terms of results, we say that the winner takes all, and he ruined an entire generation. He's a complete bastard!"

"I heard that he was also very stubborn and self-willed in his economic work, causing prices to rise tenfold in a few months, and the prices of necessities such as rice and salt to rise dozens of times! The last person who did this was Principal Chang, and unsurprisingly he collapsed."

Like the Vietnamese soldiers, Pei Hue initially thought that what Teacher Yu said made some sense. This kind of thinking is dangerous, but once it starts, there's no turning back.

June 20th is a special day.

Yu Qie's son was born, weighing eight pounds and four ounces. Yu Qie shared the news with Pei Shunhua. "His name is Yu Houqi."

"Teacher Yu, you must have high expectations for him! You gave him a wonderful name!"

“Quite the opposite,” Yu Qie said. “I have no expectations for my children. I don’t want to leave things to future generations. What I can solve in my generation, I will solve now.”

"How to deal with it?"

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. I will take my revenge now."

Yu Qie's words were loaded with meaning, and Pei Shunhua felt that he was not far from uncovering the truth. On the front lines, as a Vietnamese, Pei Shunhua vaguely sensed that he had encountered three mysteries, each more significant than the last.

What exactly does Yu Qie want?
To what extent did the Vietnamese people on the front lines have illicit relations with the Chinese?
Do tens of millions of Vietnamese people really have a Chinese "Mother of the Nation"?
Reflecting on these issues involves perspectives that Pei Shunhua had never considered. Yu Qie said, "This is humanitarianism, this is the truth of history."

Bui Hue wanted to know the truth, so while conducting research within the Vietnamese army, he also began reading Yu Che's novels.

Like the Vietnamese, he squatted in the weeds reading a novel, waving to his Chinese brothers...

"I am because I have been oppressed by Yu Qie! I am not a damn Yu-ism follower!"

"I'm doing this to uncover the truth!"

Pei Shunhua said this to himself, but he did find Yu Qie's novel well-written, with some of the ideas that were far beyond what people on the Laoshan front could think of.

That rich imagination was like a dream world, which was wonderful for those soldiers who had been on the brink of life and death for more than ten years!
In "Da Sa Ba," Gu Yan is abandoned by his ex-wife, yet he participates in negotiations for a joint venture between Volkswagen and the Chinese government in the United States! He sees his ex-wife working as a waitress in a restaurant, but leaves coldly without saying a word!
That's fucking amazing!

In the TV series "Lurking", Yu Zecheng sends a telegram from overseas: Yu Zecheng is still in hiding!
Pei Shunhua was moved to tears upon reading this!
What he found most unforgettable was Yu Qie's speech in the appendix of "College Entrance Examination 1977".

Yu Qie, who had just graduated from high school, was already eyeing the aurora borealis in the Arctic and the penguins in the Antarctic, even though he lived in a small county town... while the Vietnamese were still living like monkeys in the jungle and like rats in the cat-ear caves.

No wonder the comrades like Yu Qie so much!

Chinese writers certainly have things we can learn from.

Another morning dawned, the fog lifted, and Pei Shunhua raised his head from the weeds to bid farewell to his Chinese brothers. He suddenly felt extremely indignant and bewildered:

Why don't Vietnamese writers create these works?
What have we been doing all these years?
The event that completely changed Pei Shunhua's thinking happened not long afterward.

That day, Yu Qie brought several photocopies of letters between Zeng Xueming and Hu Zhiming.

"I got this from China. Do you want to know what kind of life your Vietnamese national mother is living now?"

Pei Shunhua looked down at the letter, which contained some sweet words between husband and wife, nothing revolutionary, and nothing of great courage.

Yu Qie's voice rang in his ears: "She worked as a nurse in Guangzhou for a long time. She is now unmarried and childless, and keeps her wedding ring and other belongings. She is just an ordinary elderly woman."

"In 1926, Li Rui and Zeng Xueming got married in Guangzhou. Ho Chi Minh was originally named Nguyen Sinh Cong, but he changed his name to Li Rui after coming to China. Li Rui was working as a translator for the Soviet advisor Borodin at the time. After meeting Li Rui by chance, he was captivated by her appearance and temperament, and they quickly fell in love."

The letter also included a photo of a young Ho Chi Minh, who looked like a frail scholar; and a photo of Zeng Xueming, a typical southern girl who looked very charming.

Pei Shunhua felt that these papers were incredibly heavy, a hot potato he couldn't bear to look at, while Yu Qie's voice was like a devil, enticing him to listen.

"That year, Ho Chi Minh wasn't yet Ho Chi Minh; he was a newlywed husband named Li Rui. Since you know so much about Ho Chi Minh, do you know why he ended up being called 'Ho Chi Minh'?"

“I…don’t know,” the director of the Propaganda Department of the General Political Department of Vietnam murmured.

“Maybe it’s because of Zeng Xueming?” Yu Qie said. “He can never forget his wife.”

“I didn’t use the term ‘Chinese wife’ to describe him. I mean, the saint you’re promoting is a very complex person. He didn’t think of himself as the great Ho Chi Minh at the time; he was just a small translator living in Guangzhou.”

Is what he said true?
Unbeknownst to Bui Hue, among these letters was Ho Chi Minh's own farewell letter to his wife.

"You are behind bars, and I am in front of bars."

They are so close yet so far, yet they seem worlds apart.

What cannot be spoken can only be conveyed through the eyes.

Before she could speak, her eyes were already brimming with tears; her scene was truly pitiful.

As a Vietnamese, seeing the Father of the Nation write these things firsthand must have had a much greater impact on Bui Hue!
Yu Qie further elaborated on his feelings, saying, "Although Ho Chi Minh wasn't particularly talented in literature, he loved to write. He wrote a lot throughout his life and was quite sentimental, which is why I was able to find evidence that left you Vietnamese speechless!"

"However, there was a year when Ho Chi Minh hardly wrote anything. Can you guess which year it was?"

Bui Hue thought it was when Ho Chi Minh was in prison or when he became a leader.

However, the situation was quite the opposite. Yu Qie said, "That year was 1926! Yes, the year your father got married. He was so happy that he didn't want to leave home and was busy enjoying time with his wife. That year, Ho Chi Minh was not yet Ho Chi Minh."

“You could even say he’s a Southern Chinese. He’s practically indistinguishable from any other Chinese person.”

Pei Shunhua gradually realized that the conflicts of the past ten years were nothing short of a shocking lie to him.

The "humanity" of the Vietnamese people has disappeared, and they have become tools for some people. But as Yu Qie said, even a saint like Ho Chi Minh had colluded with China. It is not surprising that the Vietnamese on the front line surrendered en masse after they realized what was happening.

Therefore, Bui Hue returned to Hanoi once again. He truthfully expressed his views and some of his minor doubts.

"Why are we fighting? What's the point of continuing like this?"

Pei Shunhua practically had "Am I culturally Chinese or not?" written all over his face.

This time, Comrade Chang Zheng had a complicated expression and told him not to have any more contact with Yu Qie.

“Yu Qie is a dangerous person; you’ve been influenced by him too much.”

Soon after, Vietnam issued an order to withdraw its elite troops from the front lines over the next four months, along with a series of specific measures: to cease artillery battles and to pragmatically resolve the issue of Cambodia's "occupation." China, in turn, adhered to the agreement, reducing its military presence in the border region and transferring defense responsibilities to local border troops.

The front lines at Laoshan were becoming increasingly calm, and as they parted ways, the soldiers on both sides expressed their feelings more and more openly. After receiving the order to withdraw from the front lines, our troops' positions were bustling with activity as they held a final get-together.

(End of this chapter)