146 Blood Red, Snow White (7)

When Wang Yongjiang left Zhang Zuolin, it wasn't without any doubts. This wasn't because he still held any illusions about Zhang Zuolin. As a scholar, Wang Yongjiang himself hadn't noticed that scholarly nature of his: "A scholar dies for his intimate friend" was one thing, but more importantly, it was "Learn the literary and martial arts, and sell them to the imperial family."

Even now, Wang Yongjiang still believed Zhang Zuolin was a person who dared to promote others and entrust them with heavy responsibilities. The failure of the war could be attributed to the category of "victory and defeat are common things in military affairs" in China, but the strong "rat looking both ways" mentality Zhang Zuolin displayed after the failure could only make Wang Yongjiang feel extremely disappointed. That little bit of merit simply couldn't make Wang Yongjiang decide to stay in Changchun.

Marching in the snow was an extremely arduous thing. The group originally planned to avoid cities, but after walking nearly two hundred li for several days in a row, when they reached the vicinity of Siping, Wang Yongjiang and the two guards couldn't refuse the idea of resting in Siping. Continuing to walk in the snow like this, the three of them even had the heart to die.

However, just when they were more than twenty li away from Siping, the three stopped. They saw a long white wall appearing in the wild field. On this strange white wall, a red flag was inserted. Before they fully understood what was going on, they saw a small squad of people wearing strange clothes, carrying guns, and leading dogs rushing out from behind the wall.

Wang Yongjiang refused to run anymore. The three exhausted people couldn't run at all now. And those dogs looked quite fierce one by one; presumably, they couldn't outrun them either. Honestly waiting for these people to rush in front of them, Wang Yongjiang raised his hands according to the other party's request while uncontrollably asking: "Who are you?"

"We are the troops of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. Siping has already been liberated by us!" The soldier who rushed over shouted loudly. "What do you do?"

"I am... I am the former Director of the Fengtian Police Department and Chief of the Fengtian Police Agency, Wang Yongjiang." Wang Yongjiang had that arrogance of a scholar. Since it had reached this point, he didn't want to hide his identity anymore.

The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army soldiers who rushed out to arrest suspicious elements were not scared by Wang Yongjiang's title. When capturing Beijing, let alone a local police chief under the Beiyang banner, even the so-called Republic President Xu Shichang was tied up and taken away all the same. Those big shots of the old era no longer had any unattainable status in the eyes of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army soldiers. Those ministers, high officials, corps commanders, division commanders, brigade commanders, and regiment commanders—when facing bayonets and gun muzzles, which one didn't obediently raise their hands to surrender?

"How did you get here?" the squad leader asked.

"What do you mean?" Wang Yongjiang originally thought the other party would show surprise or fear because of his identity, but he didn't expect the other party to ask a baffling question.

"I asked how you got here. Riding horses? Walking?" The squad leader explained.

"We walked all the way from Changchun," Wang Yongjiang's follower said.

The squad leader looked at the attire of this group, the appearance of clothes that only existed after long-distance walking, especially the appearance of muddy water stained on the boots after long-distance walking. It seemed they didn't lie. "Quite capable!" the squad leader praised. Even the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army couldn't say they could easily cope with this two-hundred-li snow march.

Wang Yongjiang didn't expect the content the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army cared about to be so unique. That praise of "quite capable" made Wang Yongjiang inexplicably like it very much. The hardship on this journey was simply indescribable. If not for Wang Yongjiang's resolute nature, an ordinary person probably really couldn't finish such a journey. Regardless of what kind of tragic emotion he had when choosing to leave Zhang Zuolin, the hardship on these two hundred li of road was Wang Yongjiang's truly unforgettable feeling.

The squad leader didn't mean to say more either. He smiled and said: "Then gentlemen, please follow me."

The one that conquered Siping was the troops of the 1st Division of the 18th Corps. Saying conquered, it was actually more like a raid. Siping fell into Japanese hands at present. Because of looking down on the Fengtian Army, plus the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army being very "rampant" in activities south of Shenyang, the Japanese army only had a battalion of defenders in Siping. A division of troops attacked suddenly taking advantage of the snowy weather. Instead of calling it a battle, it was better to call it a one-sided massacre.

After seizing this important city, Japanese prisoners were accommodated according to POW standards. Mantetsu was as usual; if no one pleaded for them, the final outcome was public beheading. After being organized to witness the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army mercilessly chopping off hundreds of Japanese heads with their own eyes, the people of Siping immediately adopted an attitude of obedience to the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. Siping City was now orderly. Wang Yongjiang looked at Siping City, which was almost the same as in peacetime, and didn't know what to say. He originally thought the places the People's Party passed through would probably be similar to the Fengtian Army.

All institutions and industries of Mantetsu and the Northeast officials were taken over by the People's Party at present. Wang Yongjiang was taken into the Siping Police Station. This was truly an accidental mockery. Wang Yongjiang was the Director of the Fengtian Police Department and Chief of the Fengtian Provincial Police Agency not long ago, exactly the high official managing this police station.

Wang Yongjiang didn't have such emotions; all his attention was attracted by the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. Needless to say about the Fengtian Army; such a chaotic army was a group of bandits in Wang Yongjiang's eyes. Although the Japanese army had strict discipline, Wang Yongjiang felt the Japanese had too much hostility on them; encountering a tiny bit of stimulation, they would try hard to show a cruel appearance. Although the Fengtian Army was no match for the Japanese at all, Wang Yongjiang still looked down on the Japanese.

When Wang Yongjiang was the Director of the Fengtian Police Department, Shenyang's social order was a mess. Police were scolded as "patrol dogs." Soldiers from greenwoods backgrounds tyrannized, and beating and scolding police happened frequently. Wang Yongjiang, a frail scholar with no strength to tie a chicken, how could he change this status quo?

One day, a certain Song, subordinate of the 53rd Brigade Commander "Tang Dahu" (Tang Yulin), picked a quarrel and stirred up trouble in Pingkangli and was caught into the police station by the police who rushed over upon hearing the news. "Tang Dahu" thought he had saved Zhang Zuolin's life, so he was fearless. He led a large group of guards to barge into the Police Department, slammed his pistol on the table, and ordered Wang Yongjiang to release the man. Wang Yongjiang threw a scholar's tantrum and ignored him. "Tang Dahu" lost face, immediately went back to assemble troops, and surrounded the Police Department tightly. A battle was about to start. Wang Yongjiang also returned color, immediately ordering the police to wait in full battle array, and set up small steel cannons in the courtyard of the Police Department, ready to return fire at any time.

But the actions of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army really made Wang Yongjiang curious. This Chinese army, rumored to have defeated the Japanese army several times, didn't have the rigidity of the Japanese army in action, nor the bandit-like appearance of crowding round and shouting like the Fengtian Army. The team escorting Wang Yongjiang marched in a column, without pretentious shouting of majesty, nor the arrogance of swaggering through the streets. Although Wang Yongjiang could see that if he tried to escape, the soldiers with live ammunition behind would definitely kill him immediately, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army didn't have hostility on them. They were just completing their work. Surprisingly, there was still an army in the world that had no pretentious and intimidating style at all in the process of escorting people, but was simply completing its own work. Wang Yongjiang couldn't help but feel incredulous.

The inquiry process was also very simple. The personnel of the People's Internal Affairs Committee first seriously confirmed Wang Yongjiang's identity, and then asked Wang Yongjiang to explain the reason why he left Zhang Zuolin. During this period, there was also a link of finding Fengtian Army defectors to identify Wang Yongjiang. After completing the process, the People's Party Internal Affairs Committee member formally informed Wang Yongjiang that the timing was relatively special now, so Wang Yongjiang would be temporarily detained for a while. During the detention period, they hoped Wang Yongjiang could cooperate with the People's Party's work.

Wang Yongjiang was even more surprised. Such reasonable requests and a completely procedural attitude towards handling affairs made Wang Yongjiang doubt very much whether he was in China. Not that there was anything wrong with doing things this way, but doing things this way was too right, so right that people dared not believe such a handling process actually existed in China. Wang Yongjiang dreamed of establishing such a system. When facing various realities, Wang Yongjiang knew deeply that his idea was just a dream. When the dream became reality, Wang Yongjiang had to deeply doubt whether he had not woken up from a big dream at this moment.

The subsequent prisoner life wasn't too hard either. At least a stove was lit in the cell, and the bedding wasn't too outrageous. The food couldn't be called good, nor could it be called bad. Before Wang Yongjiang entered the cell, his personal belongings were also registered. When signing and fingerprinting, he was also informed that they would be returned to them when released. If not returned, Wang Yongjiang and others could complain to the People's Party judicial department. This was not just dreaming; it made Wang Yongjiang and others feel absurd and laughable.

Lying on the thick straw, Wang Yongjiang wanted to recall what happened, but unexpectedly, as soon as he lay down and wrapped his body in the cotton quilt, he immediately fell asleep.

In the following days, Wang Yongjiang was arraigned every day. What was asked was all kinds of Northeast issues. After each interrogation, the meeting records let Wang Yongjiang sign and fingerprint. Talk if willing to talk; no force or torture for those unwilling to talk. This again made Wang Yongjiang give birth to a feeling of being ignored. On the fourth day, Wang Yongjiang couldn't help but ask: "Sirs..."

"Just call us comrades," the staff of the People's Internal Affairs Committee corrected again.

"Comrades, I wonder how you will deal with me, Wang?" Wang Yongjiang asked after changing the address.

The answer was: "This depends on the investigation result. If you don't owe blood debts to the people, then you will be released after the war. Live normally in this country as an equal laborer."

Wang Yongjiang was furious. "Am I, Wang, a person who preys on the common people?!"

The staff of the People's Internal Affairs Committee remained very calm. Wang Yongjiang's level of excitement was nothing at all. The staff still replied calmly: "Mr. Wang, what you say or I say doesn't count. What you have done is the fact. Our People's Party talks about seeking truth from facts; only the investigation result can prove everything."

This unusual calmness caused a completely different understanding for Wang Yongjiang. He stared at the staff of the People's Internal Affairs Committee with sharp eyes for a while. "So you gentlemen are determined to find evidence of my corruption and perversion of the law?"

"Mr. Wang, I hope you don't fabricate anything by imagination. You haven't stayed in Siping. According to your own statement, your political career in the Northeast was basically in Shenyang. We haven't liberated Shenyang now, so we have no way to verify what you did in Shenyang now. Did you cause any loss of life or any blood cases when you were in politics in Shenyang? Such things must always seek truth from facts."

"Isn't that the same? You are determined to say I, Wang, have blood cases and lives on my hands." Wang Yongjiang felt he didn't misunderstand at all.

"We won't say you have blood cases and lives on your hands, but we won't believe everything you say either. All things must seek truth from facts." The People's Party comrade replied calmly.

These words were very reasonable. Wang Yongjiang was a famous scholar in the Northeast. When Yuan Jinkai recommended Wang Yongjiang to Zhang Zuolin, Zhang Zuolin resented Wang Yongjiang's arrogance and didn't want to employ him. Yuan Jinkai said: "Minyuan stood out when he was young, praised by the people of Jinzhou as one of the 'Two Lus and Two Dings.' Even Viceroy Xi Liang praised him as 'the number one man in Fengtian police administration.' This man can be entrusted with heavy responsibility!"

Wang Yongjiang could understand this attitude of the People's Internal Affairs Committee staff, but after all, he was the party being investigated now. Moreover, these conversations made Wang Yongjiang feel one thing: the People's Party's attitude towards the old upper class of the Northeast absolutely couldn't be called friendly. After pondering for a while, Wang Yongjiang then continued to ask: "May I ask, how does the People's Party view corruption and perversion of the law versus having blood cases and lives on one's hands?"

"In our view, every upper-class person in the old system is corrupt and perverts the law; this is caused by the system. So even if we can't say completely let bygones be bygones, we are unwilling to escalate those relatively institutionalized and personalized matters indefinitely. But! If someone owes blood debts to the common people, then we absolutely cannot let them off. No matter who it is, if they owe blood debts to the common people, they must pay blood for blood. Because this is the most basic justice!" The staff of the People's Internal Affairs Committee replied almost calmly.

Wang Yongjiang fell silent. Because various thoughts boiled in his heart, his face was uncertain. After a good while, Wang Yongjiang asked: "If I once used martial law to kill some police officers who violated laws and discipline, I wonder how your side views this matter."

"Someone mentioned that matter." After talking for so long, the staff member was also thirsty. He took a sip of hot water before continuing: "Some say you are cold and cruel by nature, some say you are domineering. But this is a matter of government affairs, and as far as we know, when you ordered the killing, there were laws cited in it. As long as there was no unjust killing based on personal reasons, in principle, we won't evaluate such things. Being in such an old system, you naturally act according to the old system. Our People's Party's system is completely different from the old system you were in, so we can't use our system to apply to things that happened under the old system you were in. If we did so, it would not be seeking truth from facts."

Wang Yongjiang looked up and down at the People's Internal Affairs Committee staff again. This was a young man who looked twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. Those people around him were basically of similar age. Wang Yongjiang was already forty-five this year. After a good while, Wang Yongjiang asked: "May I ask these comrades, what official positions do you hold in the People's Party exactly?"

The two comrades responsible for recording and assisting the inquiry were slightly stunned, but the comrade in charge of the inquiry said: "Mr. Wang, don't have the idea that we adopt separate treatment for you personally. Seeking truth from facts is the basic principle of our People's Party in doing things. No matter what work we do in the organization, all of us must use this basic principle as the criterion. We treat everyone like this as much as possible."

Wang Yongjiang nodded. He now suddenly felt he could understand why the People's Party achieved such achievements in just ten years. With such a group of members, if the People's Party were still unknown, that would be incomprehensible.

In the following days, Wang Yongjiang said almost everything he knew. He also once probed what exactly the People's Party wanted to do. And the staff of the People's Internal Affairs Committee also told him frankly, "We want to retake Korea!"

"You want to fight the Japanese to the end?!" Wang Yongjiang was no longer surprised by the People's Party's aspirations. Instead, he was extremely interested in such a future.

"We must drive the Japanese out of China, out of Korea." The staff of the People's Internal Affairs Committee made no secret of it.

Wang Yongjiang said in a tone full of self-mockery: "I am now a guilty person, oh, a suspect. But I want to contribute some strength in the matter of fighting the Japanese. I wonder if your side allows me to work like a dog or horse for you?"

"This is a matter for another department. We will have comrades from other departments contact you about this."

Not long after Wang Yongjiang expressed his attitude, he and the other two former Fengtian Army soldiers who escaped from Changchun together were taken out of the jail and settled in a residence of the Siping Garrison Commander. Wang Yongjiang wasn't affected either. He listed the Fengtian Army intelligence network he knew, as well as the list of relatively reliable personnel in the original Garrison Command and relevant intelligence.

When talking about Zhang Zuolin, Wang Yongjiang upheld the "scholar's strength of character." He said: "No matter what, Marshal Zhang treated me not thinly. I cannot do some things at this time. If I did, my conscience, Wang Yongjiang, would be uneasy. For some things, Marshal Zhang can only resign himself to fate. But I really can't do anything; I hope you gentlemen forgive me."

The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army didn't force Wang Yongjiang either. After a few more days, the troops sent people to escort Wang Yongjiang south. This time going south, Wang Yongjiang finally knew what the long white wall he saw north of Siping was. That was snow blocks made with a specialized tool. After pouring cold water on the outer part, it froze into a solid ice layer in a moment. In this world of ice and snow, the ground was frozen like iron blocks, and there was no way to dig fortifications at all. This kind of snow wall was a fortification very easy to manufacture.

The People's Party's ice and snow camp opened Wang Yongjiang's eyes even more. Setting up tents inside the round grave-like ice houses was even much warmer than many civilian houses. Moreover, from Panjin to Siping, the People's Party had already constructed an arc-shaped area against Fengtian. No one went out in the dead of winter, but on the Western Liaoning Plain, between the "linked camps" of the People's Party, there were dense marks left by various sleds walking. Even from Siping to the south, the People's Party used captured trains.

Everything proved one thing: the People's Party was already making war preparations in the harsh environment of winter. Even without waiting for spring, the People's Party could launch an attack on the Japanese army in Fengtian.

Wang Yongjiang never thought that in his lifetime he could actually see a large-scale war by the Chinese army against a foreign army. Although Wang Yongjiang himself didn't love war, in his heart he supported the war against Japan extremely.

On February 14, 1916, Wang Yongjiang finally arrived in Anshan. As soon as he entered Anshan, Wang Yongjiang saw a scene he would never forget in his life. Batches of Japanese were tied up and dragged to the open ground outside Anshan City. In front of countless onlookers of Chinese common people, as long as no Chinese common people came out to state reasons why the Japanese shouldn't die, they were dragged out and beheaded.

Despite being a scholar, and despite facing a bloody execution ground, Wang Yongjiang still couldn't help but laugh out loud happily.