故事叙述富有的喜欢生物硏究的英国青年亨利，32年走进神奇的贵州山区，他宣扬真爱，制止血腥与残杀…传播主的福音，受到众多山里基督徒的裸拜和崇敬！

本故亊用基督的仁愛精神与共产党人血腥的“阶级斗争”相对比，彰显仁愛的力量：当共产党人要驱逐亨利牧师时，桀骜的双溪坪教徒爆发了反抗……许多扑朔迷离的山村故事，皆在此书中！

Zongming Zhang

张宗銘 著

Translated by Tangjin Xiao

肖唐金 译

Chapter 7

Yan Zhengfu noticed the glance from Zhang Yunxuan. To Yan, the reality was really disappointing. Why should there be so many public criticism parties? Why should violence rather than some other means be used against the enemies, reactionaries, landlords, rich farmers and anti-Communists? Never before had he seen such a bloody scene as today’s.

Yan was puzzled. Where should the new government lead the people? What should the policies and measures be? To him, revolution should be done for the good of the oppressed as well as the freedom, happiness and bright future of the Chinese people. But if the benefits were obtained at the cost of stripping about 10% of the people of their survival rights, such revolution would be questionable.

Yan made a count with his fingers. He had been in the movement of revolution for 17 years since the autumn of 1950. During the 17 years he had also been wronged and tortured. He hadn’t been involved in battles, but he had experienced the Long March and the revolutionary movements following it. He didn’t find life easy for anyone in China. The poor people lived a hard life, but the Communists lived a hard-to-manipulate political life.

Yan Zhengfu got acquainted with Zhang Yunxuan following the latter’s breakaway from the Kuomintang Party to the Communist Party. Yan was then a representative of the Communist military side to negotiate with Zhang. Yan felt that he had the right to protect Zhang for that sake. It was the Kuomintang generals like Zhang that made the liberation of Southwest China so peaceful and smooth. These people deserved respecting, for they had made great contributions to the founding of new China.

“I declare the founding of the People’s Republic of China!”

Chairman Mao Zedong’s word still rang in Yan’s ears. At that time, Yan was leading his troops towards Guizhou. At Chariman Mao’s word, the soldiers and officers shouted in the mountains:

“Long live the People’s Republic of China!”

“Long live the Chinese Communist Party!”

“Long live Chairman Mao!”

Happiness hung on everybody’s face. The founding of the People’s Republic of China was something eventful for the common people. They would no longer have to suffer oppressions; they would enjoy peace, freedom and equality instead of wars, pains, insults and exploitations. Yan had followed the Communist Party for 17 years for this ideal. He hadn’t joined the bloody battles in person; he hadn’t seen the cruelties of war by himself. He was a political leader in charge of documents and files. People like him worked in various regiments and enjoyed high status though they had no commanding experience in battles. Sometimes he felt guilty for the privileges that he got, but then he thought the high status meant more work rather than an idle living.

Yan had experienced a lot of hardships in his early years. He hadn’t planned to join the revolutionary movement, but he had had to get involved in it. He hadn’t planned to be responsible for ideological work, but he had been arranged to do that work. Now fate arranged him to make contacts with the enemies of communism. He had to face purges, political corrections and intra-party purifications. These tasks were really hard.

Yan had experienced the rebellion of the Communist troops—the Event of Futian. That was the first significant event for him.

Yan was born in a poor farmer’s family in Jiangxi Province. He grew up with his uncle who taught in a private school in Futian. He was absorbed in the instructions of Chinese classics such as Analects, Three-character Phrases, and Hundreds of Family Names. He knew them well at the age of 7 to 10. He was also good at handwriting. He was surely a talented boy in his native place. Sometimes he felt angry with Emperor Qin’s burning books and persecuting scholars; at other times he felt happy for the Robin-Hood-like rebels in Song Dynasty. He admired the loyalty of Generals Guan Yu and Zhang Fei for Liu Bei as well as the resourcefulness of Mr. Zhu Geliang in the Three States Period. He was sorry for the blind loyalty of General Yue Fei for the Song Dynasty monarchy, but angry with Minister Qin Hui for his cunning wronging of General Yue Fei and other good people.

Futian was a beautiful village. Shortly after the Communist revolution took place, the power of Communist soviet was set up there. Mr. Yan was then less than 20 years old. He was responsible for a private school. One day, two Red Army commanders with Sichuan accent came. They sat at a stone table by the bamboo forest in front of the private school. They played chess there. The white and black pieces moved skillfully in the two men’s hands. The chess players looked noble and unusual. Yan felt respectful for them. He brought a pot of tea for them. They drank the tea and played chess. The three persons were lost in the world of chess.

Suddenly one of the chess players complained, “There is going to be a meeting with others tonight. Let’s finish the game now.” They stopped the game. They got up and said thanks to Yan for his tea. Leaving the chess in Yan’s hands, they left with laughs in a hurry.

Yan Zhengfu then got to know General Chen Yi, one of the founders of Southwest Jiangxi Revolutionary Base. General Chen gave a book of chess to him. Yan made great achievement because of his talent. He was not the match for General Chen at first, but later became an equal for him. Yan didn’t know much about revolution when he first met General Chen. He merely regarded the Red Army as something of farmer rebels in Song Dynasty and other monarchy times.

In the winter of 1930 the Futian Event occurred in the Communist army. The event was a rebellion against the Communists. At that time any Red Army commanders related to the so-called Regiment AB would be tortured and even killed. Many commanders were arrested because they were suspected to be from Regiment AB, a reactionary group, though no hard evidence could be offered. The tortures they experienced were cruel. Heavy beating was the normal trick for them. A number of them died in the internal conflicts.

The tortures were unbearable for those innocent people. Mr. Liu Di was the political commissar of Regiment 174 of the No. 20 Red Army. He was angry with the treatment that some commanders got from the leadership. He led some soldiers to get the arrested commanders out of imprisonment. The rebels even held a public gathering against the purges, shouting, “Down with Mao! Down with Zhu!”

Yan Zhengfu took his saved cousin to the private school, and cleansed his wounds with some boiled water with wormwood and vinegar. His uncle wept at the sight of his son’s wounds. His cousin complained sadly:

“What a fucking wrong-doing! I even don’t know what Regiment AB is. How could I become an agent of Regiment AB? We the Guo family are in the revolutionary side, but does that mean we are the slaves to revolution? How could they beat us so fatally?”

A year later, the Futian Event was identified by the Soviet Committee to be reactionary. The rebels, regardless of their posts, were asked to attend a conference, and then arrested and executed. Liu Di and Yan’s cousin were no exceptions.

One morning a couple of Red Army soldiers came to the private school and arrested Yan in class. The students, Yan’s cousin and other villagers were dissatisfied with the action. They gathered at the gate of the Soviet Leadership Office, pleading for the release of the detainees.

Yan was taken to a dark, filthy and cold cell. He was stripped off his clothes. He heard the prisoners nearby being beaten and moaning painfully. He missed his cousin and felt shocked. Then, he was dragged into a room with many penalty tools and a burning fire.

A middle-aged man looking like a leader responsible went up to him, demanding, “Fellow, when did you become an agent of Regiment AB?”

Yan was not a coward, but he knew the importance of righteousness and reason. He struggled away from the grabbing, and questioned, “I’m a teacher. My name is Yan Zhengfu. It’s said that the Red Army is an army for the poor people. Why the hell did you get me here?”

That man heaved a sign, murmuring, “You’re right. The Red Army works for the poor people. But it doesn’t work for the teachers. Say less nonsense, and tell us your experiences in becoming an agent of Regiment AB. Or you’ll suffer physically.”

Yan felt insulted. This was really unbearable for him. He replied, “I’m not in the Red Army. How could I be an agent of Regiment AB? Nonsense!”

“Ha!” The man laughed. “True, you aren’t in the Red Army. But couldn’t it be possible for you to be from the Kuomintang troops and attempt to get Red Army soldiers and commanders into the reactionary side?”

“Ok, show me the evidence.”

“We have the evidence. Did you write two letters to Mr. Mao Zedong for Liu Di?”

Yan Zhengfu thought for a second, and said, “Yes.”

The man said, “Good. You have admitted the wrong-doing.”

Yan was puzzled, saying, “Liu Di has no schooling. He asked me to write for him. He wanted to declare his innocence to Mao Zedong. Is it guilty to write a letter for another person?”

The man spelled out his reply, “Liu Di is from Regiment AB. Why didn’t he ask someone else to write the letter but you? It is clear that you are from Regiment AB, too. Confess your crime to us truthfully!”

Yan thought the reasoning absurd. He replied, “What should I confess? Should I make up a crime?”

The man waved his hand, humming, “Let’s give you a lesson first.”

Before Yan realized what that meant, he was given a good beating by a heavy hemp whip. He felt like being stung and pierced by thousands of arrows. He had pains from head to feet. He could hardly bear the punishment. After a while, he implored to the man, “Ouch! Please don’t beat me! I have something to talk to you.”

The man turned around, and heaved another sigh. He spoke, “This is only a tiny lesson to you. Tell us if you’re from Regiment AB.”

Yan gave a second thought to himself. He was in a paradox. If he didn’t admit the made-up crime, more serious punishment would befall him. What was the use of dignity in such a place? If he admitted the made-up crime, that is, the crime of being from Regiment AB, maybe his life could be spared. But that crime didn’t exist in fact! Then, in his hesitation he admitted his crime.

At midnight, Yan was woken up. A Red Army soldier trembled with cold beside him, saying, “Dear brother, will you please leave your robe to me as a souvenir?”

Yan was frightened. He held his robe tightly, replying, “How could I do that?”

Yan was taken out of the gate of the Soviet Leadership Office, escorted by two Red Army soldiers. It was a cold and silent night. He felt fearful and asked the two soldiers, “Where are we going?”

They made no reply to his question. They just motioned him to go ahead. Yan was horrified. He had a hunch that something bad was going to happen to him. He stopped and shouted in a struggling tone, “Why do you push me ahead? What are you going to do to me?”

At this time, someone was running over to them from the clay wall opposite. Her cloth shoes pattered on the quiet stone road. She screamed, “Dear cousin, don’t go with them! Please don’t!”

Yan turned around and found it was his cousin and fiancé Guo Qingyuan. With their parents’ arrangement they were engaged at their birth. Yan had little contact with her, for she had little schooling and behaved improperly at times. But now she was saving him. He made his first-time plead to her, “Dear cousin, they’re going to execute me!”

Guo Qingyuan knelt down and held Yan’s legs tightly. She was unwilling to let him go. She knew many innocent Red Army soldiers had died in that way. She yelled to the two soldiers, sadly and painfully, “He is my fiancé. He is a teacher. Why do you want to kill him? Gosh, the Red Army is going to kill a teacher! Help!”

Miss Guo would rather die by herself than let her fiancé die. Though their engagement was arranged by their parents and they were cousins, she really liked her fiancé. He was a well-educated man, and he always behaved properly. She was unwilling to live a widowed living. To her Yan was all.

Guo’s yell woke up the people nearby. There came running many villagers, students and their parents on the wet and hazy stone path. They gathered around the two soldiers and reasoned with them. Some parents of the students queried angrily, “It’s said that the Communists care much for the poor. But why do you arrest the teacher of the poor? Fuck!”

Questioning went on.

“What crime did he commit? Didn’t you kill many people at the excuse of Regiment AB?”

“You can kill the Communists but mustn’t kill this teacher. He is our teacher.”

“If you are determined to kill him, let me die with him as well.”

The two soldiers didn’t know what to do. They were ordered to execute Yan, but they couldn’t do that now. Yet they couldn’t take him back to prison. Then, Mr. Li Shaojiu came. He was a leader in charge of the purges. He found the people conflicting with the two soldiers. He cared much about the relationship between the Communists and the poor. He came up to Yan and asked, “What’s the charge against you?”

“I don’t know what wrong I have done. They say I wrote a letter for Liu Di to Mao Zedong. And they regard me as from Regiment AB.”

“What are you?”

“I’m a teacher.”

How old are you?”

“20.”

“Why not join the Red Army?”