Entering December, the clouds of war once again loomed over Shanghai.

The direct warlord Wu Peifu was defeated, and the Anhui warlord Duan Qirui and the Feng warlord Zhang Zuolin united to prepare to seize the land of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Lu Yongxiang, who had fled to Japan, came to Tianjin, received the support of Duan Qirui and Zhang Zalin, and sent troops south to Zhenjiang.

The direct warlord Qi Xie, who had just occupied Zhejiang and Shanghai, retreated one after another, until he retreated to the vicinity of Shanghai, and the battlefield unfolded in the areas of Longhua, Caohejing, Minhang, and Xujiahui.

The nearest battlefield was less than ten miles away from Lin Zixuan's residence, and the sound of gunfire could be heard clearly.

The consuls of Britain, the United States, Germany, Italy, and other countries stationed in Shanghai sent telegrams to their respective governments on the basis of their troops heading south, saying that the situation in Shanghai was out of control and demanding that warships be dispatched to Shanghai and other important ports on the Yangtze River.

The Second Jiangsu-Zhejiang War broke out.

This time, more than 500,000 refugees poured into the concession, what is the concept?

In 1924, there were about 1 million people in the Shanghai Public Concession and no less than 280,000 in the French Concession, and the number of refugees was equivalent to one-third of the population of the concession.

The concession was completely unprepared to receive such a large number of refugees, and the chaos can be imagined.

With the experience of the last time, the refugees thought that the concession was a safe place, and they poured in, but they could not stop it, and it was better to fight to break into the concession for refuge than to be killed by the rebels outside.

As a result, refugees were everywhere in the concession, and looting incidents often occurred, and the patrol houses could not maintain order.

The Western directors of the concession had no choice but to let the gang forces in the concession deal with the refugees, and the gang members became an important force in maintaining law and order, which was also an important reason why the gangs were able to survive in the concession.

They can do the dirty work for foreigners.

At the same time, the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce and various social organizations are also doing the work of resettling refugees.

Lin Zixuan was also involved, having leaflets printed to inform the refugees about the resettlement sites in the concession and how to seek emergency help. It is also advertised on the radio station.

However, with new refugees every day, chaos remains.

This will not stop as long as the war does not end for a day.

This year's New Year's Day came in the midst of the war, and Lin Zixuan drove back to his home and saw it all the way. It's pretty bleak.

The Lin family belongs to the high-end residential community in the French Concession, and the French send troops to patrol it, and refugees generally do not come here to disturb them.

As for the refugees, the wealthy businessmen in the concession were most worried, most of these refugees just wanted to take refuge, but some people took advantage of the chaos to encourage the refugees to loot and even kill the rich businessmen.

Under the so-called luck mentality of not holding the public accountable, the refugees have committed many crimes.

There have been several such tragedies. As a result, the rich people in the concession are all in danger and usually do not go out.

The same is true of the Lin family, the family rarely goes out, and Lin Zixuan has to bring bodyguards when he goes out, let alone go deep into the refugees.

Even the celebrities who visit the refugees bring heavily armed soldiers with them in case something happens.

Lin Zixuan came to the backyard and saw Feng Chengcheng and Miss Song Jiasan teasing the children.

Since the outbreak of war. When refugees poured in, he took Miss Song Jiasan and her mother over. Their yard was unprotected and unsafe.

On New Year's Day, there are celebrations in the Shanghai Concession, and Westerners hold New Year's receptions and concerts, which is the best time of the year to socialize.

But now people are panicking, and movie theaters rarely open. Not to mention other entertainment.

Several people chatted a few words about the current situation outside, hoping that the war would pass as soon as possible, but it backfired and the war was still going on.

With the citizens in the concession hiding at home, newspapers became an important way to learn about the outside world.

It's not just news and current affairs newspapers. It also includes all kinds of entertainment newspapers, and there is nothing to do if you stay at home anyway.

Among them, "Happy Forest" and "Popular Fiction Daily" of "News" are the best-sellers.

Because "Happy Forest" published Lin Zixuan's "Jinghua Smoke and Clouds", and "Popular Fiction Daily" serialized Zhang Zhenshui's "The History of Chunming Dynasty", these two novels can be said to be popular all over the country.

These two novels have one thing in common, that is, the pattern is very large, the coverage is very wide, and the style of the entire era is described.

"The History of Chunming" is based on the love story of newspaper reporter Yang Xingyuan, courtesan Liyun and poetess Li Dongqing as a thread.

The story has a grand background, and the narrative is calm, with wealthy families, brothels, theaters, apartments, guild halls, schools, high-end hotels, clubs, temples, scenic spots, and all kinds of religions.

From the president, the prime minister, down to the courtesans, the actors, and the famous people.

It can be said to be a map of the customs of Beiping in this era.

Lin Zixuan's "Jinghua Smoke and Clouds" is not much better than Zhang Zhenshui's "The History of Chunming", or it is better.

"Jinghua Smoke and Clouds" wrote the history of the last years of the Qing Dynasty and the early years of the Republic of China, wrote about the grievances and hatreds of the big family, and reproduced the life picture of that era very realistically.

There is the depth of history, the breadth of society, and the integration of Taoist thought.

"Jinghua Smoke and Clouds" is more profound than "The History of Chunming" in terms of ideology.

As the story unfolded, those who had wanted to see Lin Zixuan's jokes before closed their mouths.

They realized that this "Jinghua Smoke and Clouds" is completely different from the ordinary Mandarin Duck and Butterfly novels, and may become a masterpiece that reflects an era, and if it can maintain this standard, it will definitely leave a name in the literary world and become a classic.

How popular are these two novels?

Newspaper sellers lined up at the entrance of the bookstore to wait for the newspaper to be printed, and many readers also waited at the entrance of the newspaper for a sneak peek.

The only thing that displeased Shanghai readers is that these two novels are written about stories that take place in Beiping, and although they enjoy watching them, they always have a little regret.

Mr. Zhang Zhenshui is a native of Anhui Province, living in Beiping, and it is understandable to write "The History of Chunming Dynasty", but Lin Zixuan is an authentic Shanghainese, so he should write the story of Shanghai.

Many readers wrote to Lin Zixuan to write a masterpiece with Shanghai as the background to win glory for Shanghainese.

That's a bit of a fool's errand.

There is no shortage of writers in Shanghai's literary circle who write about Shanghai, but when it comes to historical heritage, Shanghai is not as simple as Beiping.

Novels written in Shanghai always have some commercial flavor and fashion elements, while novels written in Peking are infected with political atmosphere and market habits, which are the different cultures carried by the two cities, each with its own characteristics.

If Lin Zixuan wants to write a novel about Shanghai, Zhang Ailing's novel is undoubtedly the best choice.

It's just that Zhang Ailing's novel looks at the city of Shanghai and the men and women living here from a woman's perspective, and Lin Zixuan is inevitably a little weird when he writes it.

It's as if a female writer blends into a male writer's team, making the reader feel that this doesn't look like a man's writing.

Therefore, Lin Zixuan does not intend to harm Zhang Ailing, but he can cultivate this genius female writer in the future. (To be continued.) )