Liang Maocai escorted 300,000 kilograms of grain back to Jiangbei through Jiangsu, Anhui and other places.
The difficulties and obstacles were beyond description.
Fortunately, the reputation of the Jiangbei Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army was resounding throughout the country, and everyone from all walks of life gave them a piece of noodles.
In addition, Liang Maocai was tough.
He was so brave that he came back with this batch of life-saving food.
In the summer of July, the land was covered with fire.
When Liang Maocai set foot on the land of Jiangbei, he really felt as if he was in another world.
Suddenly, he was shocked by the scene in front of him.
The familiar green gauze tent in the past turned into a barren white land.
Could it be that the Japanese had launched a large-scale raid?
, this tragic scene is more like the scene of a locust plague passing by.
After asking some villagers, I found out that there had indeed been a locust plague not long ago.
The ground was covered with locusts, which covered the sun and left no grass anywhere.
This year was already a severe drought and the crops were not harvested.
There was another plague.
Locust plague, this is God’s plan to win over people.
When they came to the headquarters with the food, Chen Zikun had already received the news and greeted him at the entrance of the village.
When he saw Liang Maocai coming, he stepped forward and bowed.
This move frightened Liang Maocai.
He jumped back and said: "Commander, what are you doing?"
"What's more?"
"I would like to thank you on behalf of the Jiangbei elders.
If we can't get food anymore, something big will happen."
Chen Zikun said.
Liang Maocai was born as a farmer and knew the horror of disaster years.
Farmers had no food to eat and could only eat grass roots, tree bark and Guanyin soil.
After eating these, you can only wait for death.
Although 300,000 kilograms of grain is a drop in the bucket for the hundreds of thousands of people in Jiangbei, it can still save many lives.
Immediately afterwards, Chen Zikun saw Chandes and almost didn't recognize this old friend.
He looked carefully before confirming that he was his old classmate from West Point.
He stepped forward and hugged him: "Bill, you have suffered."
Major Chandes burst into tears and choked with sobs: "Thank you, thank you, but Emily and the children are still in Shanghai."
Chen Zikun said: "I will find a way."
The group returned to the headquarters, and Liang Maocai recounted what had happened.
Thirty thousand kilograms of opium was exchanged for only three hundred thousand kilograms of grain.
In order to manage the various people on the road, another thirty thousand kilograms were sent out, and a full load of 270,000 kilograms was shipped.
Take another Major Chanders.
"If you don't do your job well, please punish me, Commander-in-Chief."
Liang Maocai said.
Chen Zikun said: "Now there is a severe drought in the Central Plains, and the price of food is soaring.
Although opium is valuable, it cannot satisfy the hunger.
If it is too late, the food will not be exchanged.
We will have to make decisions in critical situations.
You have done a good job."
Liang Maocai was a little restless, and Chen Zikun knew what was going on: "Hurry up and go home and take a look."
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"Thank you, Marshal."
Liang Maocai got anxious and went to the warehouse to carry two bags of rice.
He wanted to ride his motorcycle back, but the motorcycle ran out of gas and fell down.
He was heartbroken and carried a sack weighing a hundred kilograms on each shoulder.
Walk directly home.
Outside Liangjiazhuang, there is no grass growing, the land is chapped, the bark of the trees has been peeled off, and there are white flowers.
There are corpses of starvation lying on the road, and the eyes of wild dogs are turning green after eating.
When he arrived at the door of his house, Liang Maocai felt nervous and walked into the house in three steps.
He saw his wife and son sitting at home, looking good.
There was also a little girl of fifteen or sixteen years old in the house, who was very skinny. , which makes a pair of eyes look extraordinarily big.
"Master, you are back."
Mrs.
Liang Qiao was so surprised that she even shed tears of joy when she saw the food bag on her husband's shoulder.
"This is it."
Liang Maocai put down the sack and looked at the timid little girl suspiciously.
"Her name is Xi'er.
She came from Henan to escape famine.
Her parents both starved to death.
I thought she was pitiful so I took her home and gave her to Pan'er as a child bride."
Xi'er was very well-behaved and called her father-in-law in a low voice.
Not only was everything going well at home, but they also had a daughter-in-law.
Liang Maocai finally let go of his worries and said with dignity as a parent: "Xi'er, from now on you will be part of the Liang family.
If I have a bite to eat, you won't be hungry.
You are Henan."
Where are they from and how many people are fleeing the famine?”
"I am from Qi County.
More than 100,000 people in my hometown fled from famine, and half of them starved to death on the road.
My father, mother, and sister all starved to death.
My brother was sold to someone else," Xi'er said.
The tears couldn't stop flowing.
Liang Maocai was deeply shocked.
He suddenly understood why the commander wanted to bow to him.
A large number of refugees from Henan poured in from Jiangbei.
There was not enough food to eat.
Now it was even more difficult.
Chen Zikun set up relief points in each village and cooked porridge in large iron pots to satisfy the refugees' hunger.
Many refugees also poured into the Japanese-occupied areas. , Southern and Northern Thailand were overcrowded, and the puppet government also set up porridge shacks to relieve refugees in order to buy people's hearts.
Chen Zikun led a group of people from the headquarters to a nearby relief point on foot.
After the locust plague, even the hay on the thatched huts had been eaten away.
The war horses needed feed.
One horse could eat as much as five people.
These days, everyone is raising If you don't live, you can't care about the horses, so the bad horses are slaughtered to make horse broth.
Cars need gasoline, and it is extremely difficult to get oil behind enemy lines, so they can only walk.
On the way to the porridge shack, the ground was full of hungry people.
The refugees' arms and legs were as thin as firewood sticks, but their bellies were swollen because they ate indigestible tree bark.
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Seeing a group of dignitaries approaching, the refugees stretched out their hands to beg.
There was no hope in their godless eyes, but it was just a subconscious action.
"Master, I only need ten kilograms of sorghum noodles in exchange for a young girl."
An old man prayed.
Next to him knelt a girl, skinny, black, and indistinguishable from her age.
Chen Zikun sighed and turned his face away.
It wasn't that he didn't want to save, but that he simply couldn't.
Major Chandes was stunned.
He had never seen such a desolate sight.
Troops were stationed around the porridge shed to prevent anyone from snatching the food.
A huge iron pot was steaming.
The cook stirred the pot with a long-handled horse spoon.
The aroma wafted out, causing the refugees to straighten their noses and hundreds of people.
People swarmed over with bowls in their hands, clamoring for porridge.
They were all unkempt, skinny, with cloudy and dim eyes, looking like ghosts.
The cook was condescending and poured a little porridge into each person's bowl.
The person who got the rice didn't care about scalding it and drank it as soon as he raised his neck.
Others hurried out with the bowl, probably to feed the hungry ones who couldn't walk.
Relatives send meals.
A recruitment point was set up nearby, and the flag of the Anti-Japanese and National Salvation Army was fluttering.
The young men who applied for recruitment were lined up far away.
They were all thin and yellow, with long hair, tattered clothes and bare feet.
They were worse than beggars.
In the past, recruitment was based on arrest. , there is no need to arrest them now, if you put up the recruiting flag, there will be people who will feed you.
Chandes was puzzled as to why Chen Zikun would add burden to the army.
These low-quality soldiers would only drag down combat effectiveness without any benefit.
As a West Point student, Chen Zikun didn't understand this.
He explained that it was just for the better.
Organize the victims and leave some seeds for the country.
The old, weak, sick and disabled can only fend for themselves.
If the young and strong are left behind, the country and the nation will one day be rejuvenated.
Major Chandes shed tears.
During the trip, Liang Maocai often nagged, saying that he alone had paid for at least 200,000 kilograms of grain.
If he did not rescue himself, he could exchange for more grain and save more people. , if you live, tens of thousands of people will die.
"Chen, I owe you a lot."
Chandes said movedly.
Chen Zikun said: "You're welcome, I'll find a way to send you to Chongqing right now.
Wait for a while and wait for Emily and the children to come back.
You and your family can go back to the United States as soon as possible."
Chandes said: "I will not return to the United States.
I will stay in China and do my best for the Anti-Japanese War."
Chen Zikun said: "Okay, if you go to Chongqing, help me bring a letter to Chairman Chiang and tell him what happened here.
The famine in Jiangbei is not serious because there are not many battles between our army and the Japanese army.
There is food in stock to cope with disaster years.
These The refugees are all from Henan, and Henan is the main battlefield.
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Tang Enbo's troops raided the people and were more powerful than locusts.
He was the main cause.
It is useless for us to impeach him.
You, an American, must come forward to make this happen.
I believe it.”
Chandes said: "I will definitely handle this matter."
Major Chandes came to Chongqing.
His arrival caused a sensation.
Reporters from the Associated Press, the New York Times and other organizations interviewed him.
His legendary experience was amazing.
The Associated Press specially produced a long series to report on it.
The United States The country was also shocked.
General Marshall, the Chief of Staff of the U.S.
Army, called him to express his condolences and asked him to return to the country to accept a new position.
"I want to stay in China" was Major Chandes's resounding reply.
Chandes submitted to Chiang Kai-shek a joint letter from Chen Zikun and American journalist Catherine Stanley, in which he impeached Tang Enbo, the deputy commander of the First War Zone, accusing him of setting up troops to plunder the people, causing a famine in Henan, and wanted three million people to starve to death. person is responsible.
After the letter was submitted, it was like a mud cow sinking into the sea.
In fact, Chiang Kai-shek already knew about the situation in Henan and had also allocated food for rescue.
He felt that the matter was not that serious and that Chen Zikun was exaggerating just to trouble Tang Enbo.
Chandes chatted with American friends in private.
When talking about this matter, an American Times reporter named Bai Xiude told him that famine did indeed occur, but it was limited to rural areas.
Henan generals and officials were still As for the disaster relief materials, they were resold by the officials responsible for the disaster relief before they were shipped to Henan, and they were shipped back to Chongqing to make a lot of money on the black market.
"This is the real Chongqing, the real China."
Bai Xiude said.
Major Chandes was transferred to Shanghai in early 1937.
He had lived in China for a short time.
He knew that corruption was prevalent in China.
In fact, he was not that honest.
As a logistics officer, it was common for him to resell scrapped materials. , but there is a limit to that.
At least it is worthy of God and one's own conscience.
The crimes of these corrupt officials in Chongqing can go to hell.
The stubborn temper of the Americans grew, and Chandes once again went to Chiang Kai-shek to appeal, but this time he failed.
The Chairman of the Generalissimo was not something he could meet casually, but he did meet the well-known General Tang Enbo at a banquet. .
Unlike Chen Zikun, who was skinny and tired, Commander Tang Enbo was very rich and well-nourished.
He looked at Chandes arrogantly while holding a glass of cocktail and said, "Oh, you are that Chandes."
Chandes sensed his rudeness and arrogance and ignored him.
The feasting Chongqing song and dance hall and the starving Jiangbei intertwined in Chandes' mind, and he seemed to have been baptized.
What is coming will eventually come.
President Roosevelt learned of Major Chandes' legendary experience and personally sent a telegram to pay tribute to him.
In view of his bravery and tenacity, the U.S.
Army Department awarded him a medal and promoted him to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
At the same time, a new position was appointed, director of the U.S.
Aid and Lend-Lease Material Management Office in Chongqing.
This is an extremely important position.
U.S. aid and materials leased to China are continuously shipped from India via the Hump Route, ranging from gasoline tires to weapons and ammunition, to compressed biscuits and canned luncheon meat, all of which are determined by the Material Management Office to be allocated to Who, Americans are well aware of the corruption of Chinese officials, so this job must be handed over to an American, and an American officer with the selfless qualities of a saint.
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Lieutenant Colonel Chandes, who escaped from the Japanese internment camp and spoke out for justice in Chongqing, is the best candidate.
After Lieutenant Colonel Chandes took office, he immediately became the darling of the Chongqing social circle.
Everyone wanted to have a relationship with him, especially the generals and commanders-in-chief.
A large number of invitations were sent to the desk of the Lieutenant Colonel in the Management Office every day. superior.
"I don't care about others.
Don't get a drop of gasoline or a can of cans from me."
Lieutenant Colonel Chandes said with high spirits at a party
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