Although it was not dawn outside, the two of them were sleepless for a while, and they saw panic in each other's eyes.

In the end, Wen Jianning settled down and explained: "It should be a drill outside the city, and the movement is a little bigger." ”

She wasn't exactly comforting Zhong Hui when she said this.

More than a year ago, under pressure from the Japanese side, the Nanjing Nationalist Government was forced to recognize the specialization of Manchukuo in Northeast China and North China. Since then, the Japanese troops stationed near Beiping have become more and more rampant. In the past six months, I have been wandering around Beiping all day long, and fighter planes have hovered over the city of Beiping, coming and going, and no bombs have fallen.

As for Japan's next move, the people also have different opinions. The rhetoric of one side is similar to what Wen Baiqing reminded her at the beginning: the Sino-Japanese war is approaching day by day, and the situation in North China is tense like a powder keg, which is about to erupt, but some Chinese people feel that Japan and herself will not dare to attack on a large scale for a while and a half, and they are just bluffing.

It can be said that in the days when Wen Jianning came to Beiping, she had heard sporadic gunshots from outside the city a few times, but there had never been a time when she was so frightened, and she always felt that something big would happen.

She asked Zhong Hui to lie down in peace first, and then go out to inquire about the situation when it was dawn.

Coming out of Zhong Hui's room, she pushed open the courtyard door.

There are no stars or moons in the sky, and there is no light in sight. The other two families in the courtyard were still asleep, and there was no light in the house, and it was only dark as far as the eye could see. I don't know when it started to drizzle, the air was gloomy and sullen with a damp musty smell, and there were three or two restless cat meows from the distant rooftop, all of which made people panic for no reason.

Wen Jianning stood at the gate of the courtyard and listened carefully for a while, but did not hear any gunshots again, so he turned around and went back to lie down.

She was not sure, she tossed and turned all night and did not sleep well, and closed her eyes when it was close to dawn. When she opened her eyes again, she saw through the window that it was already slightly light outside, and she quickly got up and dressed, ready to go to the street to inquire about the news.

The east wing of the courtyard house houses a family of five surnamed Qi, and the west wing houses a young couple.

In the northern summer, it dawns early, and when she came to the courtyard, the prayer family in the east wing had already risen. The family relies on the men to go out to earn money, while the women take care of the housework at home, taking care of the mother-in-law and the two children.

The sister-in-law of the Qi family is a young woman in her thirties, combing her bun and wearing a half-new blue cloth shirt, squatting on the ground to choose vegetables, and the two little ones next to her are helping to work. The eldest was eleven or twelve years old, and the youngest was only six or seven years old.

After Wen Jianning greeted them, he hurriedly asked, "Did you hear gunshots outside the city last night?"

The sister-in-law of the Qi family smiled when she heard this: "In the past six months, I have to come here every three or five days, and I haven't seen them dare to enter the city." Miss Wen, you are still not used to it, and when you live in Beiping for half a year, you and your Miss Zhong will get used to it. ”

She is a smart person, especially when she saw Wang Li and Wang Yong's two bodyguards a few days ago, she knew that the two female students who lived in Zhengsan's room had an unusual family background, so she was always very polite to them.

Wen Jianning saw that her expression was relaxed, and her heart relaxed slightly, and she thanked her and walked out of the door.

There was a drizzle last night, and the ground was still damp. The dark clouds in the sky had not yet dispersed, and it was gloomy as if a shower was coming. The old man walked back and forth in the alley with a birdcage, the coachmen leaned against the wall to wait for business, the people in the roadside teahouse gathered around the table to chat about the secrets of the former Qing royal family, and the city of Beiping in July was still as calm and leisurely as ever, the sound of cicadas wafting in the shade of the trees, and there was any sign of war.

Wen Jianning breathed a sigh of relief, fortunately, it was really them who were worried.

She went back to tell Zhong Hui the news, and Zhong Hui also breathed a sigh of relief: "As long as there is no fight, it really scares me to death." ”

With that, she felt an itchy throat and immediately coughed violently.

Wen Jianning hurriedly went to pour water for her, and when she came back, she patted her back again, and finally waited for Zhong Hui to calm down, looked at her flushed face, and said with some worry: "You have a bad cold this time, we might as well go to the hospital and take a good look." ”

Zhong Hui took a sip of hot water, and then slowly eased up, and when he heard Wen Jianning say that he was going to take her to the hospital, he quickly shook his head and said: "It's just a common cold, it will get better soon, where is the need to go to the hospital, where is the place where people stay." ”

She didn't want to go, and Wen Jianning couldn't persuade her anymore, so she could only say: "Since this is the case, then don't get out of bed and go out these days, and recuperate at home with peace of mind." When you're well, we'll go out together. ”

For the next whole day, the two did not go out again, hiding in the room to read and rest.

In the evening, Wen Jianning had just watched Zhong Hui drink a bowl of bitter Chinese medicine, when someone outside suddenly banged on the door.

As soon as she opened it, the sister-in-law of the Qi family ran in in a panic and told them: "Miss Wen, Miss Zhong, something is wrong, there is really a fight outside the city and outside the city!"

The sister-in-law of the Qi family breathlessly told the news she heard from the street, and Wen Jianning knew that her premonition had come true.

It turned out that just last night, the Japanese side wanted to forcibly search Wanping City under the pretext that a soldier was missing, but was rejected by the defending army. The Japanese attacked on this ground, and the defenders resisted.

Not long after the gunshots rang out in the middle of the night last night, communication between the city and Wanping was interrupted for a while. So it wasn't until so much time later that the news came in one after another. Now there are bursts of artillery in the direction of Wanping City, and the two sides are fighting in full swing in the surrounding area.

This is the first time in the lives of the two girls that they have encountered such a major event as the outbreak of war, and they can't help but be a little flustered, and it took a long time to calm down. Because Zhong Hui was still sick, Wen Jianning stopped her from going out, so she could only lie on the bed and wait for Wen Jianning to go out to inquire about the news and come back.

After Wen Jianning went out, he found that the news of the war had spread in Beiping City.

The students of Peiping have formed a National Salvation Federation, which is collecting donations on the streets, and tomorrow they will spontaneously go to the front line to comfort the defenders on the front line, and many citizens in the streets and alleys will spontaneously form teams to go out of the city to help the army fight the invaders.

Wen Jianning took out all the money in his body and donated it, and then found someone to inquire carefully about the battle situation. It wasn't until she heard that the front-line defenders had beaten the Japanese army several times that she was a little relieved and returned to the courtyard.

As soon as she hurriedly entered the door, Zhong Hui struggled to get up from the bed: "How was the battle?"

Wen Jianning told her everything he had seen, and then concluded: "I heard that the morale of our troops on the front line is very high, and they have beaten the Japanese army back several times. Everyone is very angry, and some students from other schools will go to condolences tomorrow. ”

Zhong Hui said angrily: "You know I'm not asking this, let's count this as a win or a loss." ”

Wen Jianning hesitated: "The fight only started last night, and it hasn't ended yet, and no one can say the outcome of this battle." ”

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that what happened at Lugou Bridge last night is a complete replica of the 918 incident in the northeast of that year. She didn't know how long the battle would last, and she didn't know much about military affairs, but she felt intuitively that this time might not be good for a while.

When she said this, Zhong Hui became dissatisfied: "Jianning, you can't grow the ambition of the invaders and destroy our prestige." ”

Wen Jianning hurriedly admitted her mistake: "Yes, yes, yes, I said it wrong, on our territory, there is no reason to win." If I dare to attack Beiping, I am bringing about my own destruction. It won't be long before they are completely driven out of North China. ”

Although he knew that what she said might not come true, Zhong Hui still let her go with satisfaction, and lay on the bed with his head back and muttered to himself.

"I hate that I'm not a boy, and I can't go to the front line to fight bloody battles together. ”

Wen Jianning comforted: "Women also have times when women don't let them shave their eyebrows, which is no worse than men. But even if you want to defend your home and country, the premise is that you must first recover from your illness, and it is not yet time to send a sick person to support the battle. ”

Zhong Hui barely cheered up: "I just have a cold and cough twice, in fact, my body is fine, it is better for me to go to the street with you tomorrow to have a look, it is better than leaving me alone in the house and worrying." ”

Wen Jianning reminded her: "It's okay to just look at it, but don't get hot in your head, and go with the student army." Uncle Zhong took special care of me before leaving, and he wanted to take good care of you. ”

Zhong Hui replied angrily: "I know how to measure." ”

After the two finished speaking, the room finally fell into silence for a long time, and the atmosphere that was quite relaxed gradually cooled down.

After a long time, Zhong Hui's somewhat dazed voice sounded again: "Jianning, do you think our army can really win?"

Until now, she still felt a little unreal, and there was actually a war outside the city.

This is not the war she saw in books and newspapers when she was in Hong Kong, nor is it an unfamiliar place name, a group of casualty figures, or a photo of a march, the real war is staged outside the city not far from her, and the war may spread to the nearby city of Beiping at any time.

She had asked this question once, but Wen Jianning hesitated for a moment, but still answered truthfully: "I don't know." ”

"Then you say, will this battle be fought in the city?"

Wen Jianning hesitated: "Perhaps...... Yes. ”

Once the war has begun, it is difficult for anyone to predict the final situation. At this moment, the flames of war that resounded over Wanping City could affect this ancient city that was close at hand at any time, and they would not be spared from being involved in it at that time.

"Then if the day really went into the city...... What are we going to do?"

For this, Wen Jianning had already thought about it on the way back.

"The school should organize a mass transfer of students, and we will follow the big army. If there is no organization, we will find a way to run out among the fleeing people and go to Shanghai or other safe places. ”

There are many colleges and universities in Beiping, bringing together talents from all over the country, and it is impossible for the authorities to ignore them. Once the war breaks out, the school will organize a large number of teachers and students to move sooner or later, and when the time comes, they will follow the large group and have a better chance of escaping. Even if the school is not organized, they have to find a way to escape from the city, and they can't just sit idly by.

This time, Zhong Hui paused for a long time before asking in a low voice, "What if we can't run out." ”

In this kind of chaos, it is not impossible for the two of them ordinary people to not be able to escape.

Although Wen Jianning hesitated, he quickly replied: "People are inherently dead. ”

Or heavier than Mount Tai, or lighter than a feather.

But if the entire Beiping City falls into the hands of the Japanese himself, it is really the moment of life and death and the moment of the choice of righteousness, Wen Jianning does not think that the death of her and Zhong Hui, two ordinary people, will be more important than Mount Tai in front of the family and country, more often, these ordinary people are like a puff of feathers, fluttering and scattering involuntarily when they are blown by the wind.

But what she can choose is how to die with a clear conscience.

Although Zhong Hui expected it, he was still a little frightened by her answer, and it took a long time before he hummed softly.

(End of chapter)