Chapter 221: Meet the painting boat
Three years ago, before the war broke out, Chen Miao came to Nanjing because of business operations. At that time, Nanjing was lush and lush, with a majestic momentum and full of vitality. Three years later, when he set foot on the land of Nanjing again.
Wherever you see, there are broken walls and ruins all over your eyes, and a scene of desolation and withering.
After the city of Nanjing was destroyed, he only saw sporadic photos in the newspapers, and later he also saw some of them from the intelligence information collected by the Military Control Commission.
But there is no such intuitive feeling in front of you that makes you feel heartbreaking and suffocating.
The massacre has almost been enough for two years. Nanjing has gone from a big city with a population of nearly one million to a bustling metropolis, with a population of less than one-third of that. Many buildings in the city still retain the scene after the war. No one cleaned it up, and overgrown weeds, making it a barren land.
Most of a city was destroyed by war, and a large number of precious cultural relics, books, and countless gold, silver and jewelry were robbed. It is said that the wealth transported from Nanjing alone was loaded with 300 trucks!
You can still smell the smell of gunpowder in the air, you can still hear the sound of rumbling cannons, and the buzzing sound of planes in the sky...
When the train arrived at the station, although the welcoming crowd was very warm, Chen Miao could not feel the temperature at all. The city had an inexplicable coldness.
"Fang Wenjun, what are you looking at?" A voice came from my ear.
"Oh, nothing, Xiao Yuanjun, I was thinking about what the scene was here three years ago. War was so terrible. His destructive power was unparalleled. What we need now is peace." Chen Miao said.
"Yes, peace is the most precious." To the reporter of Taro Kobuki, his colleague looked a little sentimental.
However, because of this, they have become friends who can talk about everything along the way, from economy to history, movies, music and even romance.
I feel very involved, especially with Japan. Xiaoyuan almost believes that Fang Wen has lived in Japan for many years. Otherwise, how could he have had such a deep understanding of Japanese culture?
But Chen Miao told him that what he knew was only what he saw and understood in the newspaper, but in fact he had never been to Japan for a day.
Taro Koburi is a reporter from the Shanghai Press Station of the Asahi Shimbun. This time he followed the observation team to conduct interviews.
In fact, Chen Miao also knew that Xiaoyuan was a member of the "Joint Intelligence Reconnaissance Office" jointly established by the Japanese Army's Office in Shanghai, the Embassy Intelligence Department and the Gendarmerie Command.
Any Japanese local newspaper reporters stationed in Shanghai have such an identity, collecting intelligence, politics, economy, military, etc. in the name of reporters, covering almost all walks of life.
"Let's go, tonight the dispatching army headquarters will host a banquet for Dr. Ito and the observation team. We are also allowed to attend. Tonight's welcome banquet must be very exciting." Taro Koburi said a little excited.
"Yes, I'm looking forward to it too." Chen Miao said casually.
"Let's go, pick up our car and walk from here to the hotel, I'm afraid our legs will break." Xiao Yuan complained.
...
When I sat in the car and entered Nanjing City, the scene was a little better, but this was by no means a credit for the Japanese rule after the occupation. After the war, the people were at ease. Moreover, a society had a certain ability to heal itself, which was like humans. Some minor problems were caused by relying on their own resistance and endurance.
However, such an unprecedentedly tragic war is impossible to heal itself alone. Moreover, Nanjing occupied by the Japanese army is not peaceful and harmonious.
The Japanese army's exploitation and plunder of the people in Nanjing has never stopped, but it has changed into a gentle way.
There is no difference in nature.
All industries are in a downturn, and the lives of ordinary people are difficult and difficult. You can tell by seeing that most Chinese people on the street have food on their faces and patches on their clothes.
The observation group and his party stayed at Tangshan Hot Spring Hotel. As reporters accompanying him, Chen Miao and others also enjoyed this treatment, but the room they lived in was worse than the ones in the inspection group.
But even so, this place was once a place where the government hosted foreign guests, and ordinary single rooms were much more luxurious than hotels and restaurants outside.
"Let's go, Fang Wenjun, go and take a hot spring together. This season, it's a great enjoyment. After settling down, Xiaoyuan, who lives next to him, came over and knocked on the door.
"No, I plan to go to the city first, you go." Chen Miao shook his head and politely declined Xiaoyuan's invitation.
"Oh, that's a pity." Xiao Yuan said with deep regret.
Chen Miao changed into clothes, put on the camera and then went out.
He called a rickshaw and stayed in the special training class of Honggong Temple in Nanjing for half a year. Although he didn't have many opportunities to go out, he was still very familiar with Nanjing because there was one of the training subjects, which was about the environment of a new city.
The streets in Nanjing City have not changed much, and the place Chen Miao is going to be Confucius Temple.
Out of the habit of professional agents, Chen Miao did not tell the rickshaw driver his destination, but went to Xinjiekou first, which was the most prosperous place in Nanjing City.
After getting off the bus, he walked around and made sure no one followed him. He bought a local newspaper in Nanjing and jumped onto the bus heading to Confucius Temple.
Half an hour later, Chen Miao got off the bus at the Confucius Temple platform.
Liang Xueqin, Qiaoer and others came to Nanjing for two days. According to the agreement, they would stay in the youth hostel near Confucius Temple.
After he arrived in Nanjing, he came over to meet them again.
It is easy to find a youth hostel, but Chen Miao found it without much effort.
"I'm looking for a Mrs. Chen. She moved in two days ago. I'm his cousin." Chen Miao spoke authentic Nanjing dialect, which made the hotel's front desk believe it without any doubt. He led him upstairs without any doubt.
"Mrs. Chen..."
The one who opened the door was Song Yunping. She is now Liang Xueqin's bodyguard and female housekeeper. When she saw that it was Chen Miao, she hurriedly let the person in.
After Liang Xueqin and Qiaoer arrived in Nanjing, they didn’t know when Chen Miao would come, so after staying there, they never went out, for fear of missing it.
"Xueqin, Qiao'er, you are tired. Let's go, I'll take you out for dinner." Chen Miao said with a guilty look when he saw Liang Xueqin.
"I haven't been to Nanjing for a long time. The last time I came was in the 26th year of the Republic of China. Two years have passed in a flash, and things have changed here." Liang Xueqin said sadly.
"Let's go, there are a lot of delicious food here in Confucius Temple. Since we are here, we can't go home empty-handed." Chen Miao smiled.
Food can always make people forget temporary troubles.
At noon, I ate duck oil pastry cakes, sesame oil and vegetarian shredded chicken sauce in Qifangge, which were all special snacks from Nanjing. Then I accompanied Liang Xueqin to visit Xinjiekou for an afternoon, bought a lot of things, and sent people back to the youth hostel, and then I reluctantly parted.
Next, Chen Miao probably won’t have time to accompany Liang Xueqin. He has to stay in Nanjing for two more days and then go back to Shanghai with the observation team.
"Fang Wenjun is back, let's go, the welcome group's cocktail party has just begun." Taro Koburi was very excited, and it seemed that the welcome party tonight was very lively.
"Haha, I've been shopping for an afternoon and am a little tired. I want to come back and take a shower and go to bed." Chen Miao showed a tired smile.
"There are many beauties tonight. It would be a pity if you don't go."
"I'm so tired. I'll visit with the observation team tomorrow. I want to rest early." Chen Miao closed the door after saying that.
When he came back just now, Chen Miao encountered a familiar back at the door. If he went to this welcome party, he would be recognized, so he chose to avoid it.
Although I am not afraid of being recognized, it is always a bit embarrassing to recognize it.
Sakurako Ikenai actually came to Nanjing too.
...
There must be something important about Sakurako Ikenai coming to Nanjing. Of course Chen Miao wanted to know, but he also knew that he could not be too curious at any time. Otherwise, he would not only not be able to satisfy his curiosity, but even the original task would not be able to complete.
He will not do such a thing that is not worth the loss.
Therefore, hiding in the room is undoubtedly the safest thing to do.
Anyway, these days, he has learned more or less about the members of the Observation Team and the concerns of these people.
Wherever they go, in addition to official activities, they will also quietly carry out some private activities, such as in-depth understanding of the market conditions in various places, visiting stores, and understanding the prices of various civilian resources.
They are particularly interested in the abnormal use of currency in the occupied areas and have conducted a large amount of collection and research on the currency circulating in the open and secret areas.
They also collected prices and currency circulation in many national-controlled areas.
There are several financial and currency experts in the observation group.
All of this made Chen Miao feel that the purpose of this economic observation group was as simple as conducting secret negotiations with the new government. It might have more important tasks, but he could not see any of them for a while.
He was wondering how to write this report after he went back.
The visit on the second day was arranged by the Liang Hongzhi government in Nanjing. The dispatched troops only arranged people to accompany and be responsible for the security work, all wearing plainclothes.
The visit is conducted according to the group, and Chen Miao and other reporters accompanying him will also choose the group they are interested in and the visit destination.
The previous few times they were grouped together, Chen Miao and Xiao Yuan became friends because of this. This time, they were no exception and were divided into one group as usual.
Their group was led by a financial and currency expert named Hengshan. They visited several larger banks and minting factories in Nanjing.
These were originally the core secrets of a country, but in front of the invaders, they could only open all their secrets to them.
What a humiliation this is, Chen Miao felt very heavy all the way along the way.
Xiao Yuan is extremely interested in the bank's vault and minting factory. If he were not allowed to take photos, he might have used up all the film he carried with him.
Finally, Chen Miao found a public phone number and called according to the number given by Lin Shiqun.
About seven or eight seconds later.
Chapter completed!