Chapter subtitle: Letter from the Magic City

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March 1927

Dear Father,

I am writing this letter to my father in the Mordor City. I was in the Philippines at the time of sending the letter, had just been promoted to second lieutenant, transferred to the USS Chaumont as a boatswain, but now in the mysterious Central Country.

Rest assured, I wasn't the slightest bit uneasy, but rather excited, because this is the life I want to live. Thank you for letting me go to Annapolis School back then.

The transfer was quite sudden, and I think you've seen the news about China in the newspapers. The southern Chinese government was marching northward, and this army was very unfriendly to the civilized world, and this year (1927) they actually regained the British concession after occupying an inland river port (Hankow).

In February, the troops of the Southern Government arrived near the Magic Capital. The local American businessmen asked the government for help, so we on the Chaumont accepted the urgent order and rushed to the magic capital with the 4th Marine Regiment at the speed of a sprint.

In the early morning of February 24, 1927, when we arrived at Wusongkou, the young men of the Marine Corps lined up on the side of the ship and were ready to make a big move, and even me and my men picked up rifles.

Fortunately, the Southern government had no intention of provoking the civilized world, and they informed the Ministry of Industry that the Demon Capital would not be in their pockets. Soon we were allowed to move freely, but we still had to stay on board every night. (Author's note: This is the case historically.) ）

And I met Mr. Yuan at the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai. It was a great pleasure to meet an old acquaintance in a foreign country, and you know that Mr. Yuan is a very good gentleman.

He also feasted the officers of the 4th Marine Regiment and the Chaumont, and became good friends with my commanders. Under Mr. Yuan's arrangement, two of my colleagues and I lived in a "SHIKUMEN" located at the junction of the French Concession and the Public Concession, with cooks and servants serving me.

Anyway, I'm very safe and happy in the magic capital, so don't worry.

Please say hello to my brother and sister-in-law and my nephew little Yurian on my behalf, saying that I miss them very much. It's rare for my brother to stay in New York during this time, so please continue to work hard to add another nephew or niece to me.

Eva wrote to her that she was going to Germany to make a film, and I wanted to laugh at the thought of her German. Then I wish her a smooth journey.

Your Heinche

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May 1927

Dear brother,

Do you remember Mr. TS Elliot? We once met Mr. Yuan at a party in New York. And I'm still carrying his autographed "The Wasteland" at the moment.

April is the cruelest month, and I spent the cruelest April of my life in the magic capital.

I don't know whether to thank or curse Mr. Yuan, because in this month he has taken me to almost the entire Demon Capital, and I have seen many, many ...... Many scenes that I don't want to recall.

These experiences are painful, but we are safe. According to Mr. Yuan's orders, we all had the Star-Spangled Banner flying high in our cars, and he said that as long as this was the case, the "YANGNU" would never dare to shoot at us. And he was really right, during the time when we were shuttling through the streets and alleys of the magic capital, no one dared to stop us.

In fact, our main job is to protect a film crew, which Mr. Yuan organized to shoot a documentary.

We saved his younger brother, a young man who was very easily angry, at the hands of a team of Chinese soldiers. He accused Mr. Yuan of refusing to save his comrades, and that he would rather die with them. Mr. Yuan had no choice but to throw him into the confinement cell of the Marine Corps.

I also asked Mr. Yuan why he didn't save the others. He didn't answer that question either. But after that, his "nonsense" became more and more serious.

He took us into some people's homes and beat up the male protagonists inside, and I remember one of them with the surname "CAI", who seemed to have been the president of a university or something. THERE IS ALSO A SURNAME "HUANG", WHO SHOULD BE THE INSPECTOR OF THE FRENCH CONCESSION.

IN LATE APRIL, MR. YUAN HELD A LARGE FUNERAL IN LONGHUA, INVITING A GROUP OF CHINESE RELIGIOUS FIGURES AND SEVERAL BANDS TO CARRY OUT PAGAN RITUALS WITH GREAT FANFARE. According to the custom of the Chinese, a lot of incense candles were burned and a lot of paper money was sprinkled.

The Chinese were very uneasy at first, but they seemed to get used to it quickly. It wasn't that no one wanted to stop the ritual, probably because of our presence, and those people didn't succeed.

Brother, this April is really cruel, maybe Mr. Yuan is right, our world is so cruel. And all we can do is make the cruel world a shame.

Your Heinche

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June 1927

Dear Sister,

I didn't know who to talk to, so I had to write to my little sister.

Sister, I'm in love.

I fell in love with the daughter of a Chinese doctor, her surname is Tang, and she is seventeen years old.

I met her at a charity theatre convention in May, when she was performing on stage, and I fell in love the first time I saw her.

I couldn't help it, so I had to ask Mr. Yuan about her. Mr. Yuan was completely stunned after hearing this, and then laughed for five minutes, and I was really angry at that time, and I almost wanted to leave directly.

However, Mr. Yuan stopped me, apologized to me sincerely, and promised to do everything in his power to help me catch up with the girl.

He said so, and did so.

With his help, I met this girl at a prom, and she seemed to like me too. Then I became the happiest person in the world.

Last month, the city looked like hell to me; And this month, the city has become my paradise.

I decided to marry her, and according to Chinese etiquette, Mr. Yuan and I went to propose to her family. But her father cruelly rejected me, even if Mr. Yuan's persuasion was useless.

In the end, even Mr. Yuan was angry, and he told Mr. Tang that if your daughter did not marry the American second lieutenant, then she would drag down the family and marry twice.

Well, that doesn't help us much. Mr. Tang kicked us out of his house and did not allow his daughter to see me again.

Sister, I'm out of love.

You wrote to me that you knew a good German gentleman, so I hope your luck is not as bad as mine.

Your Heinche

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July 1927

Dear Father,

This is my last letter to write in the Magic Capital, and the Chaumont will anchor tomorrow and return to the Philippines. The 4th Marine Regiment will stay here, while Mr. Yuan and his younger brother will stay on the ship.

This period should be the most ...... of my life According to Mr. Yuan, it is the most important experience to listen to the blow.

Life and death, revolution and reaction; Love and hate, heaven and hell, we humans are such contradictory creatures.

I now feel more and more that Mr. Yuan is right.

The enemy of mankind is this boring world.

Your Heinche

PS. The enclosed package is a gift from me to you, I hope you will like it.