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Chapter 3** Christmas Eve

The next evening, an ordinary one-and-a-half-ton Chevrolet truck slowly drove to the foot of Huangni Mountain, seven kilometers north of Yushan City, drove into the uneven roadside narrow open space and stopped, crushed the patches of frost and snow on the withered grass, and turned around with difficulty. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

The two coolie men on the carriage struggled to uncover the frosty canvas carport on the roof of the carriage, and brightened the empty carriage under the light snow.

An Yi, dressed as a scholar, got out of the front of the car, and Shen Fengdao, who was driving, came to him and stopped, and the two quietly looked at the mountain col at the end of the path in front of them, which was covered by lush trees.

After waiting for half an hour, a sturdy man holding a shell gun appeared on the col, and then more than thirty men with long and short guns gathered together one after another, discussed a few words, and then strode downhill to An Yi's side, seven or eight minions checked the carriage and the cab and shouted that it was okay, and the sturdy man standing in front of An Yi nodded with satisfaction, raised the muzzle of the barge gun and fired a shot into the sky.

After a while, dozens of minions escorted three people down the hill under the leadership of two leaders, all of whom were slapping their waists with copper nail belts riveted and two shell guns stuck in one left and one right, and discussed for a moment with the leaders who arrived in advance, and ordered the hostages to be pushed up.

Several leaders saw that An Yi was polite, and Shen Fengdao on the side was also dressed as a shop guy, smiled contemptuously, did not ask the names of the two and other circumstances, and said "I'm sorry" and led dozens of minions to retreat with a big grin, leaving the Alfred couple who were tied up with five flowers and Zhou Qian, the chamber of commerce personnel who came to negotiate and pay the ransom, and left.

An Yi quickly stepped forward to untie the rope for Mrs. Alfred, and when Mrs. Alfred saw An Yi, her face was full of tears with excitement, and she could barely stand. An Yi had no choice but to help her to the side of the truck.

Shen Fengdao effortlessly untied the rope on Zhou Qian and Alfred, Alfred thanked him gratefully, and then walked towards An Yi and gave An Yi a grateful hug: "Thank you, General!" Thank you ......."

An Yi gently hugged him and whispered comfortingly: "It's okay...... Go, help your wife into the carriage, Kaplan and many friends are in the old Nanchang church and hope that you will return safely, after tonight tomorrow will be Christmas Eve, everyone will be happy for you. ”

The strong Alfred nodded, walked to his wife's side and hugged her tightly, and the couple hugged tightly and burst into tears.

An Yi walked to Zhou Qian, who couldn't help but tremble, and admired the old housekeeper of this good man of Zhou: "Uncle Zhou, you have suffered!" ”

"It's nothing, these grandsons can't take 20,000 oceans, and they snatched away the old coats and leather vests...... It's cold......"

Zhou Qian, who was thinly dressed, was not afraid, but frozen.

An Yi quickly took off his woolen robe and draped it over him, and hugged him to the carriage that opened the back door. Lin Yaodong and Chen Mian, who were dressed as coolies, had already rebuilt the carport, jumped out of the carriage and closed the door and said to An Yi, There are at least a dozen guns in the forests on the three sides, and the muzzles are still aimed at us, let's go.

An Yi nodded and walked to the straw-covered carriage and sat down next to Zhou Qian, Lin Yaodong and Chen Mian quickly got into the front of the car, Shen Fengdao hung up the gear and increased the throttle, and slowly drove along the winding muddy road towards the county seat.

The flying snowflakes had long since stopped, and the crescent moon and stars in the sky covered the silver-covered earth with a clear soft light, and in the dark carriage, An Yi asked Alfred in a low voice: "Alfred, they didn't hurt you, did they?" ”

"It didn't hurt us except for the binding, which was loosened when we ate twice a day. They locked me and my wife in a big cave, and we could only see each other but not comfort each other...... Sadly, they took away all our watches, necklaces and wedding rings. It's okay to take away other items, but the ring has been passed down from generation to generation in our family, alas...... But I'm thanking God that I'm coming back alive! ”

Alfred hugged his wife tightly and kissed her cold forehead after answering.

An Yi breathed a sigh of relief, turned to Zhou Qian beside him and asked in a low voice, seeing that Zhou Qian was in good condition, he was also quite comforted, originally An Yi didn't care much about the short and fat and ordinary-looking housekeeper Zhou Qian, but now he has deep admiration for this courageous and chivalrous elder in his heart, and his powerful arms can't help but hug Zhou Qian's shoulders to warm each other.

Zhou Qian seemed to feel something, smiled slightly and stopped talking, closed his eyes and let the body shake, feeling extremely proud and satisfied in his heart.

At 10:40 p.m., the truck slowly stopped at Luoqiao, north of Shangrao County, and An Yi heard three ringing sounds, and hurriedly got up and ordered everyone to get off.

The Alfreds, who were gradually emotionally stable, followed An Yi to the side of the car, stepped on the wide gangplank they had just put on to the back of another four-ton truck, and stepped on the gangplank again to board the carriage with a horse lantern hanging, and were deeply moved to see the thick quilt spread inside.

Alfred helped his wife in and sat on the quilt, turned to the back door of the carriage to look for An Yi, and saw a group of officers and soldiers who were fully armed and walking quickly to the east, and couldn't help but be startled, and took a closer look at An Yi squatting on the side of the road in front of the left, surrounded by seven or eight heavily armed officers looking at the map with horse lanterns, An Yi whispered to the officers one by one to give brief instructions, and after a few minutes, all the officers left, leaving only An Yi to stand up and walk to the rear of the car to board the carriage.

After sitting down one after another, An Yi knocked on the back window of the cab, and the truck slowly started and hit the road again.

Zhou Qian lay beside An Yi, with two quilts rolled up on his body, and hummed comfortably, An Yi took out a military kettle from the small wooden box stuffed with quilts near the front of the car, and handed it to Alfred: "Let's have some coffee, it's still hot." ”

Alfred thanked him gratefully, took a sip from the lid of the jug, sighed pleasantly, and whispered to his wife, who was leaning beside him:

"My dear, the hot coffee that the general prepared for us is very fragrant and delicious, it is the most delicious coffee I have ever drunk in my life."

Mrs. Alfred picked up the coffee, her eyes moistened, and she took two sips and gently wiped the corners of her mouth: "General, thank you......"

An Yi took the military kettle with hot tea from Zhou Qian's hand, and gestured slightly to Alfred and his wife: "No thanks, I still remember that at the beginning of the year, when it was snowing, I drank the coffee made by my wife in the church in the south of Quzhou. I've drunk coffee before, and I like the unique taste of coffee, but I prefer tea! ”

"General, are the troops marching east just now your subordinates?" Alfred asked.

An Yi tightened the lid of the kettle: "Yes, you know two of the battalion commanders, you and your wife treated their injuries at that time, I remember that one of them was cut by shrapnel in the shoulder, and it took you a lot of effort, you must be able to remember when you meet, they entrusted me to greet you, because the time is too tight, they didn't have time to greet you."

Before I left, I told them to get your wedding rings back as much as they can, and if God willing, they will. ”

"General......

Alfred's protruding Adam's apple squirmed up and down, and he was speechless with emotion.

An Yi smiled politely: "We still have about two hundred and forty kilometers to go, it is eleven o'clock in the evening, the road at night is slippery and can't be fast, it is estimated that we will arrive at Lao Nanchang at about eight o'clock tomorrow morning." Let's rest first, if you need anything along the way, please feel free to command, you're welcome. ”

"Thank you......"

At 8:10 a.m. the next day, Mrs. Alfred and her sister Kaplan hugged tightly at the door of the church, and hundreds of men and women from Europe and the United States who volunteered to help and work in Lao Nanchang applauded and were extremely joyful, and the bell rang on the four-story bell tower and spread into the distance.

After hugging and greeting his friends and colleagues, Alfred anxiously looked around, and Pastor Pedro came to his side and explained kindly:

"Don't look for it, Alfred, Ann has quietly returned, he is busy and has to leave."

Mrs. Alfred and Kaplan also gathered around, and when they heard that An Yi had left, they were very excited, and friends from all over the surrounding countries praised An Yi's virtues, expressed deep regret for his departure, and asked to invite An Yi back as soon as possible to accept everyone's thanks.

Pastor Pedro could only explain aloud again: "Everyone, please be quiet, General Ann will be attending the grand ceremony at three o'clock in the afternoon, and a beautiful Christmas tree will be delivered."

Ladies and gentlemen, through the smooth resolution of this unfortunate event, we should all see the power of God, the magnanimity and fraternity of our religion, and we should also see the pious, loving, and sincere heart of the young General An, who expressed his honesty and fraternity to everyone in a unique way, and let us see the fine traditional virtues of the ancient Oriental nation. ”

"Amen ......"

The sound of prayers in unison is glorified by the melodious sound of bells.

At 9:40 a.m., Chiang Kai-shek, who was holding an informal earnest meeting in his residence, received a telephone call from He Jing, director of the Oriental News Service, and was so excited that he said three good words in a row, put down the phone and walked to Hu Hanmin, Zhang Jingjiang, Cai Yuanpei, Wu Zhihui, Song Ziwen, Chen Guofu, and more than a dozen other veterans and think tanks, and excitedly informed everyone:

"I would like to inform you of the good news that the two American missionaries who were kidnapped by bandits in northeastern Jiangxi have escaped from danger and have been successfully rescued and have now arrived at the Christian Church in Nanchang County, and they have not suffered any personal injuries except for the looting of money and belongings."

The crowd cheered with relief, and the heavy pressure exerted by the consuls, church organizations, the International Red Cross, and various organizations in Europe and the United States in the past few days suddenly disappeared, and the various diplomatic negotiations and tariff independence negotiations that had been abruptly suspended suddenly reappeared.

The patriarch Hu Hanmin sighed and nodded frequently: "Great, great!" Today is a Christian holiday, and I believe that this good news will clear the gloom of the past few days and pave the way for our future work.

I remember that a few years ago, a similar kidnapping case occurred in Shandong, which made the Beijing government at that time disgraced and blamed, and diplomatic and foreign economic cooperation came to a standstill for half a year, with serious consequences! ”

"Who did it?" Zhang Jingjiang asked with interest.

Chiang Kai-shek proudly replied: "It's An Yi again, he personally went to the negotiation site designated by the bandits to pick up these two missionaries, and when everyone was helpless, he used his outstanding ability and high sense of responsibility to redeem his influence for the party-state and win his reputation!" ”

"Huh! This kid is good......"

"Very good! Haha......"