The twentieth year of the Republic of China, A.D. 1932, January.

Qin Beiyang is back.

It's a cold Shanghai winter, and the garden houses in the French Concession are bleak, and the snow has not yet melted. Twelve-year-old Jiuse saw a homeless man and a stray dog standing outside the iron gate.

The homeless man was a tall Chinese man, wearing a sheepskin jacket from the outside of the gate, as if he had just come out of the ice and snow. He was no more than thirty years old, with long, fluffy and messy hair. Where did Xiao Jiuse always feel that he had seen it? As if when you were very young?

The stray dog was frighteningly large, like a zoo escaped beast, with a red mane and gray-white coat. Xiao Jiuse has participated in the parties of foreign classmates, and has also been to the official residences of the French and British consuls, and has seen the big dogs raised by foreigners, all of which are not as good as the one in front of him. A few feet away from the iron railing, she felt the heat emitted from the dog's body, making people's hearts tremble, their lungs trembling, and their livers trembling......

The snake cat appeared behind the nine colors, and when it saw the homeless man and the stray dog outside the door, it immediately let out a terrible scream, dragging the little master's trouser tube and escaping into the house.

Ouyang Anna walked out of the bungalow, grabbed her daughter and said, "Don't be afraid! There will be a war, there will be a lot of homeless people, and the mother will give them food, find them a place to live, and no one will go hungry. ”

Anna took out a few oceans from her pocket, ready to send the homeless man outside the iron gate away, but saw Qin Beiyang's face.

Three years and six months.

He's back.

The next day, Qin Beiyang washed out three catties of dirt in the bathhouse. He changed into a new suit, no longer a homeless man, but a burly man, and came to the Shanghai Great World Playground.

Qi Yuanshan, Ouyang Anna, and her daughter Jiuse are waiting for Qin Beiyang at the gate of the big world. Legend has it that Shanghai is about to go to war, but the concession managed by foreigners is singing, dancing, and running. In the bright world, Chinese, Westerners and even Indians have come to join in the fun. Qin Beiyang and Qi Yuanshan took turns to put Xiao Jiuse around their necks, so that she could have a lot of fun.

Anna stood in the crowd of rubbing shoulders, thinking back to the day when she was seventeen years old, on the day of the opening of the big world, three boys and girls, playing together in the lights, it really felt like yesterday. Daughter Jiuse is a human spirit, sensitively aware of her sadness, took Anna's hand and asked, "Mom, why are you sad?" ”

"Nine colors, let's go home."

The driver drove a Cadillac sedan and sent Ouyang Anna and the nine-colored mother and daughter home first.

At the gate of the big world, only Qin Beiyang and Qi Yuanshan were left.

"Beiyang, long time no see."

Qi Yuanshan lit a cigarette, red sparks flew in the north wind, and his fingers trembled slightly, this is not the style of commanding thousands of troops to take the head of the enemy general on the battlefield.

"Distant mountains, long time no see."

Qi Yuanshan looked at the neon of the big world: "Three years and six months ago, we just came out of the Qing Dongling, why did you disappear without saying a word?" ”

"I'm going to kill Ah Hai."

"Did you find him?"

"Nope."

"And where did you go?"

"Jiuse and I went to the three eastern provinces, even if we can't find Ahai, we want to find the coffin of the little prince of the Tang Dynasty."

Every time Qin Beiyang talks about "Nine Colors", Qi Yuanshan's first reaction is to think of the twelve-year-old Little Nine Colors - to this day he still regards Nine Colors as his daughter.

"Two years ago, I was ordered to send an envoy outside the border to meet Xiao Liuzi. The three eastern provinces were the bases of Japan's invasion of China, and the troops of the Eastern Army were stationed there. Behind Ah Hai's various behaviors, there are shadows of the Japanese and the warlords of the Feng family. The coffin of the little prince of the Tang Dynasty, if it is still in China, is most likely somewhere in the three eastern provinces. There is still a vast and sparsely populated virgin land, and some are hidden treasures in the mountains. I privately asked Xiao Liuzi to find Qin Beiyang. Soon it was reported that a fierce beast was seen digging the tomb in the Goguryeo ancient tombs by the Yalu River, and a man about 30 years old was manipulating the beast. This man and beast are not close to the fireworks in the world, and no one can get close. Even if Xiao Liuzi sent out cavalry to search for it, it would be useless......

Qin Beiyang lowered his head and admitted: "That's me and Jiuse!" I inquired that in Tianchi, Changbai Mountain, someone blocked the road up the mountain, and it was not accessible for several years. Jiu Se also sensed the direction of Changbai Mountain. The coffin of the little prince of the Tang Dynasty was once stored in the Taibai Mountain at the commanding height of the Central Plains for more than ten years, and was transferred from the Taibai Mountain to the Changbai Mountain, which is also the highest altitude in the three eastern provinces, which is in line with the habits of Ahai and Zhongshan. What's more, Changbai Mountain Tianchi is close to Korea, and it is a Japanese colony over there. When I went to Changbai Mountain with Jiuse, passing through Shenyang, I happened to encounter a major event. ”

"The 918 Incident?"

Qi Yuanshan raised his eyebrows, the cigarette butt in his hand trembled slightly, and a piece of soot floated by.

"Overnight, the Japanese captured the entire city of Shenyang. In the smoke of war, there is no chance of winning in Changbai Mountain. The Kwantung Army will definitely send heavy troops to protect Ah Hai and his lair. Between national hatred and family hatred, I can only choose national hatred and put family hatred aside. I evacuated Shenyang with Jiuse and followed the rout of the Northeast Army to Jinzhou. ”

"Zhao Si is romantic, Zhu Wu is crazy, and Hu Die is doing right. Gentle Township is a hero's mound, which cares about the East Division entering Shenyang. ”

Qi Yuanshan chanted Ma Junwu's poem in the Shanghai newspaper to imitate Li Shangyin's "Little pity jade body is horizontal at night, and has reported to Zhou Shi to enter Jinyang", ridiculing Xiao Liuzi for indulging in movie stars and ignoring the fall of great mountains and rivers in vain, comparable to the king of the Northern Qi Dynasty.

"In the Northeast Plain, Jinzhou is the only place that can be defended to the death. Three hundred years ago, Yuan Chonghuan defended the front line of Ningyuan and Jinzhou, and successively defeated Nurhachi and Huang Taiji father and son, and won a great victory in Ningjin. Qin Beiyang said angrily, "Tens of thousands of Northeast troops are trapped in the lonely city, and they can't advance, and they can't retreat." I just hope that I can use the Tang knife and the crossbow, as well as the nine-colored antlers and the Japanese invaders. ”

"I was also in Jinzhou at that time! I came to inspect on behalf of Chang Kaishen, why didn't I see you? ”

"Yuanshan, we've missed more than once in our lives."

These words made Qi Yuanshan silent for a long time, he extinguished the cigarette butt and changed the topic: "I heard that the last emperor Pu Yi has sneaked to Lushun and become a puppet of the Japanese, and the next step is probably to establish 'Manchukuo'." ”

"Pu Yi treasoned and surrendered to Japan, although there are various reasons, the tomb robbery of Dongling must be mentioned - Sun Haozi dug Pu Yi's ancestral grave and ransacked the coffin of the Empress Dowager Cixi, but was not punished by the national government, but the blood feud has been planted." Qin Beiyang remembered the early morning when he met Pu Yi in the Forbidden City more than ten years ago, "Ah Hai's plan has worked, and he has made a great contribution to the Japanese military department." ”

"Beiyang, then you came to Shanghai this time to ......"

"For the Nine Colors!"

Qin Beiyang closed his eyes and remembered the long and harsh winters in the three eastern provinces......