"On June 9, 1938, it had been two months since I arrived in China.

During these two months, I had just left the front line of the Spanish Civil War, proved that I had made the right choice, and realized that this trip to China would bring me an unforgettable experience.

I got to know a lot of Chinese, most of them were kind, civilized, and curious about me, a white-skinned foreigner, but without the reverence that yellow people often said in the newspapers before.

Oh shit, I'm by no means racist.

When I landed in Hong Kong after more than 10 days of turbulence on the Sino-American sea ship 'Yuanwang' from China Shipping COSCO, only God knows what a beautiful city I saw. I had read in the newspapers that she was still under the rule of the British, and although she had the same characteristics of a Western city, she was only ordinary.

However, when I got off the boat, I saw a different kind of Hong Kong. The original Victoria Harbour, which has been renamed 'Pearl Harbour', is lined with new buildings, and a 30-storey Global Hotel has become the most dazzling building in the Harbour. Although our Empire State Building is several times its height, this fantastically designed hotel still allows me to witness its unique charm.

God knows how familiar I am with this great hotel in the world, where I stayed when I set sail from San Francisco. And hell, many Americans think that the luxury hotels that have begun to pop up in the big cities of the United States are American-owned. My gut tells me that they may be the Chinese's own brand.

The streets of Hong Kong New Town are wide, there are a lot of cars coming and going, and there are even a lot of new cars that I rarely see in the United States Chinese............ I finally arrived in the nation's capital, an emerging world-class metropolis. Western perspectives pay little attention to her, perhaps because, of course, the more intriguing clouds of war are hanging over damned Europe, and many are far less interested in prosperity than they are in expecting war. In particular, as many of my compatriots, the citizens of the United States, think, 'Let the damn war come, and we will not only earn enough gold, but also watch a scene of blood and corpses strewn everywhere that belongs to other nations.'"

This city, the streets are wider than Hong Kong, there are more vehicles, the population is larger, and the population is more dense, more than New York, however, this big city has surprisingly perfect transportation, municipal facilities, and even 'KFC' and 'McDonald', which can only be seen in some big cities in the United States, as well as large chain stores, can be seen everywhere here.

Everyone is in a hurry, because they have to work hard for their new country, to build her, and only idlers like me come from the West to the East to be their loyal spectators...... Today, I will go to see a unique grand event, a grand ceremony belonging to the fifth anniversary of the founding of this great nation -- long live the country, and a national day military parade belonging to the orientals.

Oh, I'm sorry, but forgive me for my excitement, but I'm looking forward to the grand National Day parade in this 'scholarly' country, which I had just returned from the front lines of the Spanish Civil War and had only seen a few hundred soldiers carrying rifles in the United States. Dear readers, please apologize that I will pause for a moment to observe this grand military parade, if my Chinese friends have not lied to me, they will have tens of thousands of soldiers participating in the parade, which is really exciting. ”

Ernest Hemingway, an American novelist and reporter for the Star, after a brief civil war in Spain and a lot of high-quality manuscripts, the newspaper's fat editor-in-chief from Tennessee asked him to choose a trip to a place as a reward for his excellent performance, all paid by the newspaper.

Of course, the condition is that after the trip, he will hand over a high-quality travelogue.

Through careful selection, Hemingway chose China, a country he had longed for for a long time, and it is also gradually making many Americans curious.

As a novelist, he has a unique interest in traveling, witnessing the wonders of civilization and exploring the footsteps of history is his greatest desire.

Of course, there is another reason, when more and more daily necessities in life are labeled with 'Made in China', and even the inner wall of the toothpaste box and the inconspicuous corner of the shaver are labeled with the 'Made in China' logo, he resolutely chose China to see.

It has long been heard that the country, under the leadership of a legendary new leader, has achieved remarkable results, creating an economic miracle of 'reading talents', their products are sold all over the world, and more and more inexpensive and expensive goods are labeled as made in China.

Their head of state, the politician named Zhang Shusheng, was even selected by Time magazine as the fifth of the ten most powerful men in the world in 1937, surpassing the French president, second only to US President Roosevelt, German Chancellor Hitler, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, and the Soviet scholar Stalin, and was hailed as a newly rising world legendary political figure.

Under his leadership, China has caught up with Britain and France in more than 20 years, and is about to surpass them.

While the other four politicians also led the economic revival, but on a solid economic foundation, the Chinese leader led the entire Eastern nation, in Chinese parlance, from scratch.

After coming to China, Hemingway landed in Hong Kong on a sea-going ship and saw the miraculous Hong Kong New Town, which made him look forward to traveling to China even more. Later, he discovered that Hong Kong actually had a 'every bus' that directly connected to the Chinese mainland, and on this bus, whose surname was similar to that of a bus in a big city in the United States, he stopped and stopped from Guangdong, and went all the way north to Hanjing City, the new Chinese capital in the hinterland of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

After packing up the manuscript he had written all morning, Hemingway ate a Chinese ramen that the innkeeper had brought him, and then finally went out after indulging in the delicious taste and criticizing the famous pasta in the West.

Because he already knew Chinese roughly, after a few months of surprise study, his Chinese was able to basically communicate with Chinese.

Walking to this cheap hotel for rent, Hemingway stopped a taxi at the intersection, which is a kind of transportation that he likes to take in China's big cities, and the price is cheaper, far cheaper than taxis in big American cities, starting at only 1 cent, and then charging by the kilometer. Although it is not the most popular means of transportation compared to buses, it is also very affordable, and many Hanjing citizens can afford it.

"Hello, where are you going?" When the driver saw that it was a foreigner who got into the car, he took out a detailed English map of Hanjing City from the storage compartment and handed it to Hemingway, asking him to choose where to go, which is the standard configuration of taxi drivers in Hanjing City.

"Hello, I want to go to Huaxia People's Square." Hemingway smiled slightly and said in slower Chinese.

"Okay." The driver was slightly stunned, then nodded politely, and just asked more, "Today is the National Day ceremony, and traffic control is being implemented on Renmin Street near Huaxia Square, so I can only send you to one of the several major entrances." If it's all right, we'll go. ”

"No problem at all." Hemingway waved his hand, signaling that he knew the situation, and according to the information he had heard beforehand, in addition to tens of thousands of soldiers who would participate in the parade, millions of citizens would also go to watch the parade.

He was not afraid of crowds, but was very excited, because this kind of pomp and circumstance could not be seen in the United States, and secretly said, "Americans are busy making money, and like me, although they envy this kind of exciting scene, they are too lazy to let themselves participate in it." ”

"Okay, the seat belt is next to you." The taxi driver smiled and nodded, and started the car, this simple version of the Chinese car, although the shape is not as good as the latest type 3 car, but it is a very simple shape, full of power, sturdy and durable.

Of course, no one knows that the high-quality and low-cost model that Zhang Shusheng decided to let the Zhonghua Automobile Factory make is actually a popular Volkswagen taxi in later generations.

Since it was a military parade today, many cars and bicycles, even people on foot, were heading in the direction of Huaxia Square, and when they came to a place more than a kilometer away from Renmin Street, the car had to stop.

At this time, the sky in Hanjing was clear, and although it was only past 8 o'clock in the morning, there were long queues at more than a dozen main entrances leading from Renmin Street to Huaxia Square, and soldiers were checking every crowd that entered.

"Thank you." Hemingway took out a five-cent renminbi and handed it to the driver, and then got out of the car, a little more than a dollar, which was nothing compared to his salary and manuscript fee.

He didn't carry a camera today, not even a pen and paper.

I got the news from another journalist friend from Los Angeles that the Chinese military parade also allowed foreigners to enter and watch, but there was no special treatment, unless you were an invited world celebrity or a member of a national political axe tour group, you could only stand in the square with their people to watch.

Looking at the Chinese lining up in front and back, Hemingway couldn't help but feel that Westerners' understanding of Chinese has become seriously outdated. They obeyed the rules, and although they also loudly discussed the upcoming military parade, no one cut in line, just lined up in a regular manner. They were not badly dressed, and the richer ones wore better fabrics, but even the workers wore clothes made of newer fabrics. As far as Hemingway knew, these new fabrics were cheaper than silk and silk products, but they made a kind of clothing called 'new fashion', which also sold very well among American women.

"Hello, please show your valid ID!"

After half an hour of procession, it was finally Hemingway's turn, and the KPA on duty looked far more powerful than the American soldiers, and after the other party saluted, Hemingway took out his press card and temporary passport.

"Please go through the viewing passage."

Hemingway nodded, strode with the Chinese in front of him, and walked towards the viewing passage. The so-called viewing channel is not a privilege for foreigners, but the entire National Day ceremony, although it is mainly a military parade, but there are also other links, with hundreds of thousands of people strongly applying to become one of the performers, while the rest are purely spectators.

He was in a good position, following the crowd led by the soldiers on duty, Hemingway came to Area 16, which was very close to the center of the square, and he could see the rostrum tower of the square not far away.

"Yes, it seems that I can have a good position to enjoy this National Day ceremony."

Hemingway also watched the National Day or similar ceremonies in other countries, but without exception, the number of people was too small and not grand enough to make people feel the atmosphere of the festival, let alone the power of civilization.

Hemingway then sat there, feeling the joy of the Chinese, until the whole square was quiet, and he knew that this unprecedented National Day ceremony was about to begin.

Unfortunately, there are no cameras, and it is a ceremony where no official journalist of the Republic is allowed to take pictures.

"Hooray!! Banzai!! ……”

When the shouts of the sea and the mountains and the earth cracked sounded, Hemingway only felt that his ears were ringing, but he did not feel the slightest discomfort, but felt the spiritual power from the Chinese, and he, like all Chinese, looked forward to the direction of the city tower.

He could vaguely see that a few people appeared on the castle tower, but unfortunately he couldn't see it clearly, but he knew that they were the founders of this republic that had been established for five years, that is, the rulers of this 'country of scholars'.

A majestic voice announced, "The National Day ceremony begins, the national flag is raised, and the national anthem is played." ”

When that impassioned melody sounded, Hemingway found that every Chinese around him was singing the song seriously, and at that time he almost had the illusion that if he could sing it, maybe he would sing it too. This is an extremely shocking momentum, enough to shock everyone.

When the golden dragon flag was raised from the flag-raising platform in the square, the 50-gun salute in the west corner of the square sounded together for the fifth anniversary, making the opening ceremony of the whole ceremony reach the first level.

“…… Warmly welcome Comrade Zhang Shusheng, Chairman of the Supreme Power Committee of the People's Republic of China, for his speech. ”

At that moment, Hemingway noticed that the whole square suddenly fell silent, and then a thunderous applause broke out, and even he applauded, if nothing else, but because he would hear the voice of China's supreme leader, and he would speak live. You know, almost no Western journalists have been able to see his true face before.

“…… In the past five years of economic construction, we have made tremendous achievements, and this achievement does not belong to me Zhang Shusheng personally, but to you, to the more than 400 million Chinese who did not come to the scene, and it is you who have built this brand-new country with your own hands...... This is a grand ceremony that belongs to the Baath Party, to the Republic, to all Chinese, and to the global Chinese. We will use a grand National Day ceremony to publicize our achievements in construction to the world, bravely show ourselves, show goodwill to our friends, and demonstrate to our enemies............ Our people love the country and the Chinese family, and they have the strength to build this new country............ Our army is loyal to the country and to the people. They had the strength to defend the nascent nation. No matter where the enemy comes from, no matter how strong the enemy is, we will strike resolutely at the enemy.

As the head of the Republic, I promise you food, clothing, shelter and transportation. As the supreme military force in the Republic, I promise you safety and protection. As the supreme power in the land of China, I promise to you and to all the Chinese that those who offend my Chinese power will be punished even if they are far away.

Now I announce: The National Day military parade for the fifth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China has officially begun!

Iron-blooded lions, take your steel spear, take your most determined steps, and show your strongest strength to the people who feed you, and to the fathers and villagers who nurture you. Tell them that if something happens to China, you will protect them, shelter them, and rescue them!!

You are the invincible Great Wall of China. ”

"Hooray...... Hooray......"

After the sound of the mountain shouting long live, the impassioned march sounded.

"It's really exciting, unforgettable."

Hemingway muttered that his Chinese was not particularly good, but when the supreme leader spoke just now, he had rarely heard all his speeches clearly, and was deeply shocked. This leader has made no secret of China's construction achievements, let alone his resolute attack on the enemy, and if he were Chinese, he might also take up arms and obey his orders to fight.

The Chinese supreme head then stepped down from the rostrum, rode in a special version of the Chinese car, and inspected the troops who were about to participate in the parade, accompanied by the commander of the Hanjing garrison. And this time, Hemingway really saw the young leader of the republic, and he couldn't help but subconsciously touch the beard on his chin, and the Führer in front of him looked younger than himself.

His appearance is not too outstanding, but he is taller than himself, and his whole person looks sturdy, and he has a look and imposing that are completely inconsistent with those Western leaders in their fifties and sixties.

The popularity of the Führer could be seen from the Chinese around him, and although everyone did not cheer, they quietly followed his car with their eyes until he disappeared ahead.

After the review, the car drove back again, and this time, Hemingway saw Zhang Shusheng again, a seemingly ordinary, but thought-provoking face, which seemed to be full of hope.

For a moment, he was even very sure that he would be able to draw the Führer from memory when he returned.

The next link of the parade is about to begin, and the people in the entire viewing hall have chosen to sit down, because only in this way can more people behind them see the military parade in front, Hemingway also sat on the ground, and he saw that there was also a Westerner not far from him, and he also set his eyes on the east of the central parade avenue.

The whole National Day ceremony looks uncomplicated to Hemingway, with the country's rulers appearing, the flag-raising ceremony, then the Führer's review of the troops, and then the parade.

"Smack...... Syllable...... Smack......"

In the march, the first thing to come from the parade avenue was a neat vibration and a neat sound of stomping on the ground, and then a neat infantry phalanx came at the end of the sight, slowly advancing, as if a steel square was advancing gently.

The whole audience was silent, and there was not even a host to introduce what kind of troops this was, because, this was completely unnecessary. What was present in the audience was only the crowd, protocol, and military and political officials who were looking forward to the viewing platform and the city tower.

"Look to the right."

The front phalanx was not a salute phalanx, but a three-military phalanx, and the two lieutenants who walked in the front led the team, and at the moment they crossed the starting line, they instantly changed their way of stepping, raised their left foot high, had their right hand, and shouted loudly.

"Kill!! Kill!! Kill!! ”

Holding the steel spear with a shining bayonet in one hand, the soldiers raised their right hands and saluted in the direction of the rostrum, and several leaders on the rostrum, under the leadership of Zhang Shusheng, also returned the salute solemnly.

"This ...... This is the army of Chinese!! ”

Hemingway was shocked and felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, that kind of instantaneous visual impact, the impact of a hundred battles of lions that poured out like a mountain and a sea, made him only feel that the blood of his whole body surged up instantly, even if he was not Chinese, he also felt the power of iron and blood.

The neat three-military phalanx was dressed in a completely different military uniform from that of American soldiers, which, according to Hemingway's memory, was somewhat similar to the regular uniform of German soldiers, and was a kind of non-combat uniform. The khaki cloth, the three colors of sea, land and air constitute the entire phalanx. Each soldier was about the same height, and his face was filled with the most resolute, murderous expression, and his whole face was flushed with blood and excitement.

The steel gun in his hand, the muzzle of the gun pointed upwards, and the bayonet on it reflected a terrifying light in the morning light. The tall chest, the murderous expression, and the steel gun with the bayonet all tell people that this is not an army for people to watch, but an army that can be pulled into the battlefield at any time and fight to the death with the enemy.

"I'm willing to bet that even the German army is not as murderous as them."

Hemingway's most visually striking memory is the SS soldier who walked in front of Hitler, and their parade was just as grand and solemn, and even the Nazi soldiers shouted 'Hi, Hitler' hoarsely.

However, the military parade in front of him in this republic gave him a completely different feeling.

They didn't cheer long live the leaders, they didn't cheer superfluous slogans, just one word "Kill!!" ”。

Hemingway vaguely felt that if the German army was fighting for someone, for the so-called Third Reich, the army in front of him was even more terrifying, they were fighting for the whole nation, fighting for their mission, and they did not hesitate to die.

He already knew what he would write in the next travelogue, and he was so strict with the text that he was even convinced that he would not change that paragraph," ...... In their eyes, I saw an army of awakened lions of the East, full of supreme fighting power, who did not hesitate to go to war with any enemy to defend this nation, to defend this newborn nation. They have a strong will to fight, they are murderous, they are well-equipped and well-trained. When the Germans and Spaniards were still showing off their military might with single-shot rifles, the infantry phalanx of the Chinese could only see two types of firearms: semi-automatic rifles and fully automatic rifles, which of course they called, and Westerners preferred to call them submachine guns...... I bet that whether it's the British, or the Soviets, or the Germans, the American GIs will face hellish misery when they encounter them......"

Subsequently, Hemingway saw other phalanxes of the Chinese, although these phalanxes came from different armies, but they all had one thing in common, they were all wearing field uniforms, camouflage, their faces were painted with something called combat camouflage, the whole person looked a little strange, but absolutely murderous, giving Hemingway a feeling of army from hell.

When the dozen or so infantry phalanx finally passed, Hemingway thought he could breathe a sigh of relief, but what he saw next made him open his mouth again.

"Boom ......"

After the last infantry phalanx had passed, there was a rumbling sound on the ground, and the people sitting on the ground, including Hemingway, felt the whole ground beating.

"My God, what is this? Could it be an earthquake? ”

However, Hemingway found that although the crowd next to him was also a little nervous, it was an expectation, and it seemed that they knew what was next, but they didn't.

Looking to the east, Hemingway finally saw what was next.

Steel behemoths, nearly six meters long and more than two meters wide, have a thick barrel raised in front of them, and an equally chilling large-caliber high-level dual-purpose machine gun on the roof of the tank.

Hemingway dared to assure that if he had not seen their tanks on the front lines of the Spanish Civil War a few months before, of course, if those thin-skinned little guys could be called tanks, he would never have imagined that the Chinese would have so many war machines capable of causing great kills in war.

In addition to the small Spanish tanks, he had the privilege of seeing the German tanks, although their tanks were equally elite, but Hemingway was very sure that the German tanks, at least not as good as the Chinese, did not look as solid as the Chinese. Even the barrel is much smaller.

The tanks kept crushing the tracks through the square, and there were no infantry, but the commanders also leaned out from the roof of the tanks, stood up and saluted, and shouted: "Kill!!" Kill!! Kill!! ”

With an indomitable momentum, hundreds of tanks kept passing in front of him, and Hemingway even had the illusion that there were mountains of steel monsters driving in front of him.

When the tank phalanx finally passed, Hemingway had not let go of that breath, and saw a large number of armored vehicles driving by, if it were not for a war correspondent, who gave him a clear understanding of the classification of military equipment, he would even think that these were also tanks, such as the kind of armored vehicles with large bellies. However, these large categories, even armored vehicles equipped with anti-aircraft guns, made him realize one thing: the Chinese's armored forces are developing very quickly and comprehensively, from land operations to air defense.

When the countless phalanxes passed, then there were some things in boxes and pulled by large trucks, which were not revealed, but Hemingway could guess that they might be some new artillery or something.

When all the phalanxes had passed, Hemingway thought the parade was over, but at this time, there was a faint roar in the sky.

"Below will pass over the square is the great KPA's Air Force unit."

In the square, the voice of the commentator was rarely heard, and many foreigners, including Hemingway, understood that this was a military parade of the Air Force.

From time to time, the planes participating in the parade finally flew over, and the scale was so large that it was completely impossible to count.

"God !!"

Hemingway finally struggled to control himself, and like other Chinese, he stood up from the ground and looked up at the eastern sky.

He couldn't even tell which planes were fighters, which were bombers, and which were other planes.

They were lined up, each with one or two large planes leading the way, followed by several smaller planes. Most of the planes are glowing with metal, and when exposed to sunlight, they look extremely imposing.

These low- and medium-flying planes, at their rated speeds, lined up in a tight line, slowly flew towards the sky directly above the square.

"God!! This is a miracle for the Chinese. ”

Hemingway and everyone else were crazy, only to see the planes in the sky, which actually formed a huge plane shape, the most dense group in the middle was the nose, and the other wings and fuselage could be vaguely seen.

Hundreds, at least hundreds of fighters of various types were used by the Chinese to participate in their military parade.

What a pomp and circumstance.

Hemingway thoroughly understood that this was not so much a military parade as a military exposition to semi-openly declare force to the outside world, to the entire Chinese people, to show the strength of the country, and to show the strength of the army.

Looking at the overwhelming fleet of planes, Hemingway had only one thought: God bless the United States, Zhang Shusheng had better not become a second Hitler.

At the same time, while all foreign and unofficial reporters were refused permission to take photos and photographs, the military parade marking the fifth anniversary of the founding of the Republic was broadcast live to the whole country.

In front of nearly 100,000 television sets across the country, countless spectators in front of the crowded television sets watched the military parade, and although they could not go to the scene, they were also roaring hoarsely.

"Hooray!! Long live the Chinese people!! ”

They feel their blood boiling, because this is our own army, they are strong, they will be invincible.

On the radio, the announcer was still making the final remarks, "This National Day military parade tells us that the people's army has the strength and determination to fight back against any enemy." Under the leadership of Comrade Zhang Shusheng and the Renaissance Party, the Republic will surely move toward comprehensive rejuvenation and ......prosperity."

(To be continued)