Chapter 820 819 [July 7th Incident]

"Puff puff puff!"

"Ding dong! Ding dong! Ding dong!"

In the middle of the night, the knocking on the door and the ringing of the doorbell alternated, showing how anxious the knocker was.

It was already three o'clock in the morning, but Zhou Hexuan did not sleep. Instead, he sat on the sofa in the living room and smoked. Hearing the noise outside, Zhou Hexuan said to Peichen: "Invite people in."

Yu Peichen quickly stood up and went out to see that Zhang Jiluan had entered the garden and was let in by the concierge of Zhou Mansion in Shanghai.

"Mr. Zhang, is there something urgent?" Yu Peichen asked curiously. She is still confused and doesn't understand why Zhou Hexuan stayed up all night and asked her to sit in the living room and wait together.

Zhang Jiluan looked very panicked and said as he walked: "The Japanese army has surrounded Wanping City!"

"The Japanese really took action?" Yu Peichen trembled in shock.

Wanping City was the gateway to the defense of Peiping, located in the West Fifth Ring Road of Beijing in later generations. If Wanping is lost, the entire Peiping will be surrounded, and the Japanese army's strategic intentions have been exposed.

The two came to the living room, and before Zhou Hexuan could speak, Zhang Jiluan said: "I just received a telegram that the Japanese army surrounded Wanping City. They said that some soldiers disappeared during the exercise and asked to enter the city to find their whereabouts. The 29th Army is urgently contacting the Japanese side. Consultation.”

"Sit down, let's drink tea first." Zhou Hexuan personally helped Zhang Jiluan make tea.

Zhang Jiluan said urgently: "What time has it been? How can I be in the mood to drink tea? Mingcheng, do you think the Japanese army really wants to attack Peiping this time, or is it just a simple conflict?"

Zhou Hexuan smiled helplessly: "Do you think there are really missing Japanese soldiers?"

"Even if a soldier is lost, there is no reason to go into the city to look for him. It is obviously a cover for Little Japan!" Zhang Jiluan said.

Zhou Hexuan sneered and said: "It is exactly the same as the September 18th Incident. First, they practiced to create excuses, and then launched an attack unreasonably."

"North China is in danger," Zhang Jiluan said in a sad mood, "Write an editorial."

Zhou Hexuan shook his head and said: "No hurry, just wait."

"What are you waiting for?" Zhang Jiluan asked.

"News of the war." After Zhou Hexuan finished speaking, he closed his eyes and leaned on the sofa to rest.

Zhang Jiluan said: "I have sent people to guard the telecommunications room and ask them to call whenever they receive the news."

As telegraph technology became more popular, telegraph machines became cheaper and cheaper, and even moderately wealthy companies could purchase them. In order to facilitate the transmission of news information, newspapers such as "Xinwen", "Shenbao", and "Ta Kung Pao", as well as some large news agencies, have established their own telecommunications rooms.

Time passed by, and the sky turned white outside.

Zhang Jiluan was restless, Yu Peichen was restless, and only Zhou Hexuan was lying on the sofa and taking a nap.

"Jingle Bell!"

The phone rings.

Yu Peichen and Zhang Jiluan woke up at the same time and went to answer the phone in no particular order.

Yu Peichen smiled slightly at Zhang Jiluan and took his hand back. Zhang Jiluan didn't care about the nonsense, picked up the phone and said: "Hey, I'm Zhang Jiluan!"

The other end of the phone said: "Editor-in-Chief Zhang, something big has happened! I just received news from Peiping. Around 5 o'clock this morning, the Japanese army suddenly launched an artillery attack. The soldiers of the 3rd Battalion of the 219th Regiment of the 29th Army are guarding Marco Polo Bridge and Wanping City!"

Zhou Hexuan suddenly opened his eyes, spread his hands and said, "Give me the phone!"

The phone call at this time was very loud. As long as they stood not far away, others could hear it clearly without Zhang Jiluan needing to repeat the conversation.

Zhou Hexuan took the phone and said: "I am Zhou Hexuan. In my own name, I am calling the whole country: brothers, sisters, compatriots, the war has broken out, Beijing and Tianjin are in danger, North China is in danger, and the Chinese nation has reached its most critical moment. We cannot compromise or give in, otherwise North China will become the second Northeast. The only way out is for the whole people to persist in the war of resistance! I implore all parties and forces to put aside their contradictions and disputes, and unite to deal with the outside world!"

The person on the other end of the phone was very good at shorthand. After only a few seconds, he responded: "Mr. Zhou, I have written down everything you just said. Now repeat it to see if there are any mistakes or omissions: Brothers, sisters, compatriots They..."

"There is no error, please power on as soon as possible." Zhou Hexuan said.

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Hexuan took out the manuscript from his pocket: "This is an editorial. You can take it for publication."

"Have you expected this?" Zhang Jiluan asked in surprise.

Zhou Hexuan nodded and said: "This editorial was written half a month ago. The Japanese army has conducted many exercises at Marco Polo Bridge and Wanping Hetao from mid-June to the present, and its strategic intentions have been clearly revealed. Song Zheyuan and his men should also have All we can guess is that they are unwilling to accept the reality and are still taking chances."

Zhang Jiluan was deeply impressed and said: "Then I will report back to the museum and write two articles."

"Go, don't waste time." Zhou Hexuan nodded.

After Zhang Jiluan left Zhou's mansion, Zhou Hexuan slumped on the sofa. The July 7th Incident finally came as scheduled.

Yu Peichen asked: "Sir, what should we do?"

"I can only watch," Zhou Hexuan said dejectedly, "I have written everything that needs to be said in the editorial of Ta Kung Pao. The rest is a matter for the government and the military."

…

While Zhou Hexuan electrified the whole country, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party successively sent out electrification.

Many tabloid offices that could not afford to set up their own telecommunications rooms did not receive the news until mid-morning, and then they hurriedly prepared to send out calls.

The incident in the north shocked the whole country!

Chang Kaishen, who was in Lushan, convened an emergency military meeting and immediately ordered Song Zheyuan: "Wanping City should stand firm and not retreat, and all must be mobilized to prepare for the situation to expand."

That afternoon, the generals of the Red Army jointly sent a telegram to Chang Kaishen: "The officers and men of the Red Army are willing to serve the country under the leadership of the Chairman and deal with the enemy to achieve the purpose of protecting the country."

In fact, on July 7th, Duke Zhou had already arrived in Shanghai, accompanied by Bo and Lin. He gave instructions to underground party members in July: "Japanese imperialism's all-out aggression and our country's all-out war of resistance are imperative and inevitable... Soon, unexpected incidents will occur in Shanghai and Peiping, and the situation will change dramatically. In this regard, we You must be mentally prepared.”

Less than 12 hours after Duke Zhou said these words, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident happened.

Immediately afterwards, in the name of watching a play, Duke Zhou borrowed the office of the Golden Theater to hold discussions with cultural circles and United Front personnel.

This symposium was hailed as "a turning event in Shanghai's cultural history." Since then, left-wing literati have established patriotic and national salvation organizations one after another, and shifted their focus from class struggle to the Anti-Japanese War. Various patriotic and national salvation poems, Novels, essays, plays... sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.

…

Shanghai, public concession.

Shao Xunmei and Xu Zhimo are busy preparing the editorial department of the poetry magazine "Spring Hope". Shao Xunmei was responsible for printing and distribution matters, Xu Zhimo was responsible for collecting and editing manuscripts, Dai Wangshu was invited to work part-time as deputy editor-in-chief, and the cover of the "Chunwang" poetry magazine was specially designed by Liu Haisu.

After two or three days of hard work, the office location has been selected and the layout design of the poetry journal is almost completed.

Zhang Jiazhu is responsible for the decoration of the editorial department, which is actually not that troublesome. You can just bring in some desks and chairs, and you don't even need to paint the walls.

Xu Zhimo came to the editorial office early in the morning. There was a lot of noise from moving things up and down in the room, so he simply took the manuscript and ran to the balcony to read it.

"What the hell are you writing!" Xu Zhimo threw the poem to the ground.

Dai Wangshu picked it up and looked at it, and immediately laughed and said: "You also throw away Yu Dafu's poems. Aren't you afraid that the poets from the Creation Society will cause trouble for you?"

Xu Zhimo sarcastically said: "Is that also called poetry?"

Dai Wangshu advised: "Mr. Zhou founded the poetry magazine "Spring View" because he wanted to unite poets from various schools to save the nation. The Creation Society responded positively, and Yu Dafu specially sent poetry manuscripts from Fujian. He must give him some face."

"I am discussing the matter based on the matter, not seeking revenge for personal gain." Xu Zhimo explained.

The Crescent Sect and the Creation Society had a war of words in the past.

Xu Zhimo insinuated that the Creation Society was a "bacteria in the literary world" that destroyed the health and dignity of Chinese literature. The Creation Society ridiculed Xu Zhimo as a "clown", accused Hu Shi as a "compromising idealist", and said that the Crescent Party was a comprador "gentleman" serving the bourgeoisie.

In terms of the historical conflicts between the two groups, to be honest, Xu Zhimo serves as the editor-in-chief of the "Spring Hope" poetry magazine, and it is already a great honor for Renren Creation Society to be willing to contribute.

Dai Wangshu continued to persuade: "Brother Zhimo, you should publish this poem by Yu Dafu. Yu Dafu is famous and has many readers, which will help the poetry journal to develop."

Xu Zhimo said excitedly: "No matter how famous he is, he still has to let his works speak for himself. Look at what he writes!"

This poem manuscript sent by Yu Dafu was written when he paid homage to Qi Jiguang Temple in Fuzhou. It is called "Visiting Qi Gong Temple in the Mountains": At Qi Gong Temple on the mountain ridge, the majesty still overflows. But the powerful generals in southern Xinjiang were present and did not teach the Japanese pirates to cross the river.

How to describe this poem? At best, the writing is simple and can be appreciated by both refined and popular people. At worst, it is unclear and poorly written.

It's strange to be able to get into Xu Zhimo's eyes.

Seeing that Xu Zhimo refused to let go, Dai Wangshu suggested, "How about choosing the poem written by Yu Dafu last year?"

"Which song?" Xu Zhimo asked.

""Man Jiang Hong" is also a tribute to Qi Jiguang." Dai Wangshu found a pen and paper and quickly wrote down Yu Dafu's works from last year. His memory is good enough.

Xu Zhimo tasted it carefully, nodded and said: "This one is barely enough, so I chose this one."

"Man Jiang Hong": In the past three hundred years, our country, China, has been in a state of decline. There are a few, such as Gongcheng, who have made great achievements. The light of the drawn sword chills the courage of the Japanese pirates, and the clouds are pointed at the heart of the sky... May the heroic spirit be preserved forever, and the golden treasure be intact. The class teacher beside the stage was drunk on the stone, and the missing son beside the pavilion was crying with blood. To the sky, shed tears to reward a thousand cups, Penglai Palace.

Dai Wangshu asked again: "Does Mr. Zhou have any new works? Why should one of his works be published in the first issue of "Chunwang"?"

"I haven't received it yet. He said he is working on it." Xu Zhimo said.

At this moment, the newspaper boy on the street downstairs ran wildly, shouting: "Extra number! Extra number! An incident occurred at Marco Polo Bridge, and the Japanese invaded Wanping City! Extra number! Extra number..."

Xu Zhimo and Dai Wangshu looked at each other, and both saw the shock in each other's eyes.

Dai Wangshu murmured: "Mr. Zhou expected everything. Something really happened within a week."