Unable to buy a ticket to Shanghai that afternoon, Zheng Yi simply followed Xu Bo's family to board a small passenger ferry to Huangzhou, and arrived at Xu Bo's hometown at noon the next day, Longjiagang Village, 30 miles north of Huangzhou. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

In the earnest stay of Uncle Xu's family and his younger brother Xu Maofu, Zheng Yi lived in Longjiagang for ten days before shedding tears and saying goodbye, Aunt Xu's tears and earnest advice, Uncle Xu's sighs and deep worries in his eyes, and his brother Xu Maofu's burning hope and oath-like agreement, pressed heavily on Zheng Yi's heart.

I thought that I came to this world alone, and I no longer had any family affection or concern, but the unreserved trust and loyalty of Uncle Xu's father and son, and Aunt Xu's motherly care and advice, silently filled Zheng Yi's mind, deeply engraved in his heart, and he deeply felt that he once again had a thousand turns of love and hatred, and had a heart-wrenching family affection and expectation, and his life became more fulfilling.

On March 14, 1924 in the Western calendar, at 6 o'clock in the evening of the 10th day of the second lunar month, Zheng Yi finally boarded the bustling Huangpu Port and entered the bustling and noisy Shanghai.

To his bewilderment, the bustling metropolis that appeals to anyone today doesn't give him much new feeling, and the driver's strong southern Anhui accent doesn't affect the communication between them on the way to the British Concession by rickshaw to find a hotel.

The gray buildings on both sides of the road and the narrow alleys in between, the tri-colored neon hanging from the tall buildings on both sides, and the bustling and toiling pedestrians are not fundamentally different from the same scenery a hundred years later, except for the difference in clothing.

In less than half an hour, Zheng Yi successfully checked into the British Concession Licha Hotel, which was called the best and safest by the coachman, the legendary fox and fake tiger bullied the soft and afraid of the hard Indian doorman stood on both sides of the door like wood, the European-style lobby was splendid, spacious and luxurious, and the waiter in the service desk was also a young Chinese with yellow skin and black eyes, Zheng Yi did not suffer from white eyes when he checked in in Wuhan dialect, and the British manager in a straight suit on the side also raised his hand very friendly to say hello.

Everything made Zheng Yi feel quiet and steady, even if he knew in his heart that there were countless sins and blood hidden under these appearances, it didn't make him feel any discomfort.

The reason why Zheng Yi stayed in the expensive Licha Hotel was because when he left Longjiagang in Huangzhou ten days ago, Xu Bo and his wife had to take out two hundred oceans from the property left by his mother and stuff them into his small suitcase, adding up to nearly three hundred oceans, which is not light, far exceeding the annual income of an ordinary worker's family, and for a long time in the future, Zheng Yi, who has no source of income, can only rely on this money to live.

For the sake of safety, in addition to carrying more than a dozen oceans on Zheng Yi in the past few days, the rest of the money was hidden in a small suitcase, so he would rather spend ten times more expensive than an ordinary hotel to stay in a high-end hotel to buy a peace of mind, rather than add trouble to save money, although every ocean spent made him feel heartache.

At night, Zheng Yi lay on the wide double bed of three silver dollars a night and couldn't sleep, and many people and things he had encountered in the past month were repeatedly presented in his mind.

In addition to the initial fate that could not be changed, Zheng Yi felt that what he did was not wrong, from becoming a tragic member of the Zheng family in disbelief to his decision to apply for Whampoa to join the army, the decision he made was made from the heart.

On the major life choice of applying for the Whampoa Military Academy, Zheng Yi thought more and more carefully: this is a magnificent revolutionary era, and it is also a cruel era of warlord division and war, no matter how strong his personal ability is, no matter how profound his knowledge is, he can only be a drop in the ocean, he is extremely vulnerable in the face of power and guns, and if he is not careful, he will make a mistake, and his final fate may be better than that of a moth to a fire!

Therefore, after repeated thinking and weighing, Zheng Yi believes that applying for the Whampoa Military Academy is undoubtedly the best shortcut to self-realization, and tragic heroes like Don Quixote can't do it themselves, and they can't do it, since they can't change this society, they must adapt, and only by thoroughly integrating into it can they realize their own value, and then work with like-minded people to gradually change this society with hard work.

As for the preliminary examination, re-examination and examination subjects on the enrollment advertisement of the Whampoa Military Academy, Zheng Yi did not care about it at all, and the only thing he was worried about was whether he could get the opportunity for the preliminary examination.

The next morning, the cautious Zheng Yi was not in a hurry to go to the place where the French Concession first took the examination, went downstairs to finish his Western-style breakfast, braved the misty rain and went out to the streets, wandered for most of the day to buy a thick 1920 edition of the map of the provinces of the country, an English version of the Shanghai traffic map, seven Chinese and foreign newspapers, and three magazines, and hurriedly finished dinner and returned to the room to read carefully, so as to better understand the current situation.

At 8 o'clock in the morning of the next day, Zheng Yi, who had been fully prepared, finished his breakfast, went straight to the French Concession according to the map, and found No. 44 Huanlong Road, the seat of the Shanghai Executive Department of the Central Committee of the Kuomintang, very smoothly.

Coming to the magnificent openwork iron door, Zheng Yi once again sorted out the half-new and old black youth clothes on his body, looked at the cowhide envelope in his hand, took a deep breath to calm down the slightly overflowing excitement, and entered the small open door on the side with his head held high.

"Stop! Where did it come from? Do you have a letter of introduction? ”

A middle-aged doorman with a local accent came to Zheng Yi and looked at the young and tall Zheng Yi vigilantly.

Zheng Yi politely explained in standard official dialect: "Uncle, my name is Zheng Yi, I am here to apply for the Whampoa Military Academy, and this envelope contains my identity certificate." ”

The middle-aged doorman cautiously glanced at the tall, thin, fair-skinned Zheng Yi: "I heard that your accent is from the north, right?" How old is it? Have a letter of recommendation? ”

"The boy's ancestral home is Hebei, he is eighteen years old, he has been in Hankou since he was born and studying, and he rushed to sign up when he saw the enrollment advertisement in the magazine "New Youth"." Zheng Yi replied truthfully.

The middle-aged doorman frowned: "So, you didn't get the recommendation of the party elders or the first deputies, and you didn't pass the review of your local recruitment person and came here yourself?" ”

Zheng Yi suddenly felt bad in his heart, and took half a step forward to explain: "Uncle, I just graduated from middle school, I don't have much social experience, and I don't know any revolutionary fathers, but I yearn for the revolution and hope to become a part of the revolutionary army, and I believe that I have the ability......"

"Stop, stop! If you really want to apply for the Whampoa Military Academy, then hurry back to your hometown of Wuhan, and get a letter of recommendation through the review of the local person in charge to take the retest, okay, let's go, don't block the door. ”

After the middle-aged doorman finished speaking, he unceremoniously pushed Zheng Yi out and closed the iron flower door casually.

Zheng Yi was annoyed by being pushed out of the small door, took a deep breath and begged respectfully: "Uncle, listen to me, it's not easy for me to come from thousands of miles away, and it's too late to run back, can you always report to the person in charge of recruitment for me, I am proficient in mathematics, physics and chemistry, understand the principle and structure of the latest marine diesel engine, and can also repair common machinery and electrical appliances, as long as I give me a chance, I will definitely be able to pass all the exams, excuse me, uncle!" ”

"It's useless to say anything without a letter of recommendation, go fast and go, don't get in the way."

After the doorman scolded Zheng Yi, he immediately opened the small iron door with a smile: "Mr. Chen, why are you here, please, please!" ”

Zheng Yi realized that at some point there was a middle-aged man wearing a black tweed coat and shiny hair standing behind him, and behind the middle-aged man stood a young man in a suit and leather shoes, who looked like he was either a secretary or a bodyguard.

Mr. Chen didn't even look at Zheng Yi, stepped into the door with a sinking face, and knocked on the doorman unhappily as he walked: "This is an important place for the party-state, not a place where any three or four can come, I hope I won't see such a situation next time." ”

"Yes, yes! Subordinates remember! ”

The middle-aged doorman bowed down respectfully, and only after Mr. Chen and his entourage entered for a long time did he close the iron door with a black face.

After listening to Mr. Chen's contemptuous words, and then looking at the iron door that had been closed again, Zheng Yi suddenly felt a chill in his heart, full of disappointment, he lowered his head and silently looked at the cowhide envelope containing the graduation certificate in his hand for a while, slowly put it into the hidden pocket on the inside of his jacket, sighed and turned to leave.

After walking more than 100 steps, Zheng Yi suddenly stopped, looked left and right, crossed the road and entered the street grocery store, bought a pack of the most expensive "Lao Dao brand" cigarettes, and returned to the iron gate of No. 44 again.

The middle-aged doorman inside saw Zheng Yi going and returning, and was just about to come up and scold, Zheng Yi had already smiled and handed the "Old Knife Brand" cigarette into the iron fence: "Fortunately, uncle, the kid just wants to ask you to mention a few words, and the province is full of confusion when he runs back and forth." ”

The middle-aged doorman looked at Zheng Yi, who had a humble attitude, shook his head and took the cigarette and put it in his pocket: "Young man, if you really want to apply for the Whampoa Military Academy, hurry back to Wuhan, only by passing the review of the person in charge of the party in Wuhan and getting the letter of recommendation, you are eligible to come here to take the retest, and only after passing the retest can you be eligible to go to Guangzhou and participate in the final exam of the Whampoa Military Academy, understand?" ”

Zheng Yi nodded again and again: "Uncle, which party do you mean when you keep talking about this party?" ”

The middle-aged doorman glared at Zheng Yi unhappily: "In addition to my Kuomintang, what other party do you think?" Don't you know that the Whampoa Military Academy in Guangzhou was run by President Sun Da? ”

"No, no! Uncle, you misunderstood, the kid just heard that this Whampoa Military Academy was jointly organized by the Kuomintang and the Communist Party under the leadership of President Sun Da, and welcomed aspiring young people from all over the country to join the revolution. Zheng Yi asked with a puzzled face.

The doorman subconsciously glanced at the small western-style building in the courtyard, turned his head and replied impatiently: "The Communist Party is only helping the party, and the party is mainly responsible, let me tell you the truth, the Mr. Chen Guofu who entered the party just now is the person in charge of the organization department of the party Central Committee stationed in Shanghai, and all the military uniforms, shoes, hats and military supplies needed for the opening of the Whampoa Military Academy are purchased from Shanghai by him. Alright, let's go, don't bother me. ”

Zheng Yi, who was not familiar with the history of the opening of the Whampoa Military Academy, finally understood, turned around and left after politely thanking him, thinking of the ubiquitous contradictions between the two parties of the Communist Party, as well as the bureaucracy and nepotism within the Kuomintang, he couldn't help but sigh frequently, and for a time his heart was inexplicably lonely and extremely disappointed.