Ba Jin once said: "I admire the talents of these people, one is Cao Yu, the other is Shen Congwen, and the other is Xiao Qian." I am ashamed that I am inferior to them, and my talent is several times worse. ”

In terms of fame, Xiao Qian at this time was far inferior to Cao Yu and Shen Congwen, and he has not yet become the only Chinese journalist in the European theater of World War II.

On the day of departure, Xiao Qian blocked Zhou Hexuan at the door of the embassy: "Mr. Zhou, I'm Xiao Qian!" ”

"It's Bingqian, when did you come to England?" Zhou Hexuan asked with a smile. Of course, he knew Xiao Qian, because Xiao Qian was still the editor-in-chief of the supplement of "Ta Kung Pao" last year, and Zhou Hexuan encountered several times when he inspected the newspaper.

"I arrived in England at the end of last year." Xiao Qian replied with some embarrassment.

Xiao Gan's embarrassment is not only because he left the motherland at the time of the national crisis, but also because of the reason for his departure - extramarital affairs. He fell in love with a female pianist, and couldn't choose between his wife and his lover, so he simply left without choosing either (his wife went to Yan'an after the divorce).

It can be seen that Xiao Qian is very indecisive on emotional issues, which has led to the failure of several consecutive marriages. He was going to marry a British mixed-race woman in a few years, but the woman had just given birth when she cheated on the midwife. This is not the end, Xiao Gan's third wife is a scheming, she married him because she valued his fame, and after marriage, she found that her fame didn't work and ran away.

Zhou Hexuan asked: "What do you do in the UK?" ”

Xiao Qian said: "I work as a teaching assistant at the Oriental College of the University of London. ”

"Have you ever thought about being a special overseas correspondent for Ta Kung Pao, specializing in covering the war in Europe?" Zhou Hexuan sent out an invitation.

Xiao Qian smiled: "Of course I do." By the way, I came to Mr. Zhou this time to invite you to give a lecture at the School of Oriental Studies, University of London. I have just started a short-term training course at the Oriental College to teach Chinese to British young people who supported China's war of resistance and introduce them to China's geography and history. ”

"That's a good thing, are those British young people willing to help China fight the war?" Zhou Hexuan asked.

Xiao Qian said: "They are all members of the British Friends Association, they are sympathetic to China's plight, most of them are willing to help China with propaganda and fundraising, and a few of them have plans to go directly to the Chinese battlefield. Recently, Mr. Zhou's street speech has touched them a lot, so I would like to listen to your lecture and talk about China. ”

The Friends of England were denominational organizations that were conservative and radical when they were first founded, and they attacked the Anglican and Puritan churches everywhere. Over the centuries, the Church has become more and more inclusive, even allowing followers of any denomination to join it.

This sect believes that every human being is born with a "spirit," a seed of spiritual light sown by God, with which one can learn the truth and gain wisdom and happiness. In general, it can be summarized as the inherent goodness of human nature, which is exactly the opposite of the "original sin theory" of traditional Christianity. They also believe that the Bible is not the whole revelation of God to mankind, and that as long as they rely on the "spiritual seed" to get close to God and understand the true meaning of life, this is a bit like the epiphany of Buddhism.

Why mention it in this book?

Because this denomination adheres to the principles of "love and tolerance" and strongly opposes violence, Friends have fought directly or indirectly in the wars from the American Civil War to the two world wars. They often stand on the side of "justice", including the Chinese anti-Japanese battlefield, and there are also members of the Friends Association.

When Xiao Qian's training course at the Oriental College was over, these British Friends would go to Yunnan. At the beginning, there were only 4 people, but in half a year it grew to 40 people, and Chinese people, the United States, Canada, India and New Zealand joined one after another, and by the time of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, there were hundreds of people.

They did not directly participate in the war, but were responsible for the transportation of supplies, the repair of cars, medical assistance, wartime services, etc., and some of them were buried forever on Chinese soil.

By the way, there are two founders of the "British Friends Ambulance Team" that came to China, one of whom was at the helm of the Cadbury family, and he even sent his own son to the battlefield in China - the Cadbury, which produced chocolate and chewing gum. You don't have to bother to buy their products, because in the 21st century, the Cadbury family has lost control of the company.

Since he is an international friend, Zhou Hexuan naturally will not refuse, he smiled and said: "When I come back from Oxford, I will go to the Oriental College to give a lecture." ”

"That's really good, I'm sure they will be very happy," Xiao Qian asked suddenly, "Mr. Zhou, can I follow you to Oxford?" ”

"What are you doing with me?" Zhou Hexuan said with a smile.

Xiao Qian said: "I usually write some articles and submit them to British newspapers. British readers are very curious about Mr. Zhou, so I would like to follow you and write a reportage called "Mr. Zhou in the UK". You wouldn't mind, would you? ”

"Whatever you want, but pay for the ticket." Zhou Hexuan joked.

When the two cars drove to the gate of the embassy, Ma Jue rolled down the window and said, "Sir, it's time to go." ”

One car was donated to the embassy by Zhou Hexuan, and the other was borrowed by Guo Taiqi, plus three bodyguards, two cars had to be used to sit down.

On the way to the train station, the road is full of potholes, and only the potholes in the middle of the road are immediately filled. Ma Jue suddenly pointed to the side of the road and said, "Sir, look! It's funny that the British actually planted flowers around the crater. ”

Zhou Hexuan turned his head to look, and sure enough, he saw a big hole on the side of the road, and the surroundings were full of newly planted flowers.

Xiao Qian explained: "The purpose of planting flowers is to remind passers-by that there is a big pit and prevent them from accidentally falling into the pit. ”

As a result of the repeated bombing of London by Germany, the urban area has become the surface of the moon, and there are so many craters that cannot be filled in a short time, and often one pit is left unfilled and one pit is reborn. In comparison, it is much easier to plant flowers around the crater, and I have to say that the British are still very interesting.

Xiao Qian continued to tell an anecdote he had seen in London: "Last week, German planes dropped leaflets for three days in a row to persuade them to surrender, and what do you think the British did? ”

"Burn it?" Ma Jue asked.

Xiao Qian said with a smile: "The London Red Cross collects leaflets and sells them in the city, one penny each. The British actually lined up to buy the leaflets, taking them as a joke, and all the money from the sale of the leaflets was donated to the army. ”

Ma Jue was overjoyed: "This is a good way." ”

Zhou Hexuan listened with emotion, because Chongqing also often had Japanese airdrop leaflets, and most of those leaflets were destroyed by the government, as if they were afraid that the people would really surrender if they picked up the leaflets.

Although the two cities of London and Chongqing were both bombed, the atmosphere of the people was significantly different, and there was more despair and numbness on the Chongqing side.

The numbness is most obvious among public servants, and Zhou Hexuan even saw with his own eyes that the corpse removal team dug out the ordinary people who had not yet lost their lives from the rubble, and dragged them around like corpses, and even threw them casually on the side of the road without knowing the severity. Although others can't bear this, they turn a blind eye, because the seriously injured are equal to death, and there are not so many medicines to treat them.

Whether it can be saved or not, it reflects a disrespect for life and a lack of the most basic humanitarian care.

Maybe someone has a hard life, and he can survive without relying on medicine, and the rough ** work of the corpse removal team can directly move the living to death!

Xiao Qian continued: "The British have become more friendly after being bombed. I have a neighbor who used to have a straight face and seemed to look down on Chinese, but now every time I go out, he says good morning to me. When I go to the restaurant to eat, the English waiter will often say, "Please enjoy your meal, sir, the Germans cannot take our food." ”

Zhou Hexuan said: "When war comes, it will always bring cohesion. Human beings are social animals, and they may have their own small abacus, but they will still choose to unite at critical moments. It's like a group of people with small contradictions going on an outing, and suddenly encountering a beast on the way, those people will definitely choose to cooperate to drive the beast away. It has nothing to do with the quality of the people, it is just the nature of human beings. ”

Xiao Qian said: "But I do feel that the quality of the British is generally higher than that of the Chinese. ”

"Cang Liao knows etiquette enough, it's nothing more than that Britain is richer and the people can fill their stomachs," Zhou Hexuan said and remembered the corpse removal team in Chongqing, adding, "Of course, culture and education also have a great impact." ”