To Hsian
When Commander Ho arrived in Guanghua, he found with great surprise that his journey was cut short. Although they had located the railroad, it was an empty one.
This was why Commander Ho hated these lands so much—cars without gasoline, railways without trains, records without gramophones—he"d had enough of this!
Since Jin Hwan-Ran and Li Shih-Yao were still far behind with the rest of the army, Commander Ho had no choice but to send Major-General Sun on a train-hunt. Sun bore the mission in his hands like a red-hot mace—he didn"t know how to conjure a train out of thin air.
Commander Ho was a nuisance, but his wrath would be far more troublesome. After spending the better part of the night in contemplation, Sun gathered his forces at the break of dawn and set out for the nearest major station.
The train station happened to be under the People"s Protection Army"s control, making Sun"s operation of the day something akin to armed robbery. To insure the success of said robbery, Sun made ample preparations, going as far as mobilising an artillery battalion.
Meanwhile, Commander Ho waited in what appeared to be high spirits. Compared to Luyang, Guanghua was decidedly livelier. Its main town was full of grand restaurants and theatres, and even the girls at the brothels looked comelier. Traveling merchants from Hsian pa.s.sed through the town on a regular basis, granting it a persistent sense of prosperity.
Commander Ho watched two shows at the theatre and enjoyed a number of proper meals at the Futai House. On the seventh day, when even Li and his men had caught up, Sun finally returned with a train.
"I"m done for," Sun"s face was contorted in a bitter grimace. "We"ve made an enemy of the PPA. My cannons took out one of their Commander Ruan"s brothers."
Unfazed, Li Shih-Yao waved him off. "Nothing to worry about, Old Sun. So what if you blew up his brother—or even his old ma. What’s he going to do?"
Sun relaxed somewhat: "True, what can he do?" He then turned to face Commander Ho. "Commander, the train looks pretty new, has a nice clean carriage. It’s even carpeted.”
Commander Ho nodded with a faint smile. "Major-General Sun has done a fine job."
It had been a while since Sun saw a smile on the commander, and he perked up considerably. "You flatter me, Commander! I’m just doing my duty."
Li glanced at Commander Ho and thought about the time he got slapped in the face.
After running about for three more days, they finally got Commander Ho on the train. When he was boarding, the men laid eyes on Lan Bai-Shan for the first time in months.
Lan was in his uniforms and looked as sharp as ever, though his pasty face lacked its usual vivacity. He leaned on a black walking stick, while two orderlies, one supporting his arm, the other lifting him at the waist, struggled to haul him onto the train. Sun stared at him dumbly; he"d wanted to call out to Chief Lan, but sensing the silence of his peers, he hesitated and kept his mouth shut.
Li looked on with amus.e.m.e.nt. Ho"s certainly got the nerve, he mused to himself, to ruin so completely the once red-blooded man. At the moment, Lan was something like his outside paramour—although an inside one didn"t yet exist.
A wild move, very interesting.
Commander Ho himself boarded soon after. In contrast to Lan, he looked as dishevelled as ever. He wore tan army trousers with black riding boots, and a white shirt that hung loosely around his shoulders, its collars unb.u.t.toned. Whenever he dipped his head or bent down, it revealed everything from his bare chest to the belt around his waist—his skin was a snowy white, with two buds of pink dotting its expanse.
Aside from Commander Ho"s own compartment, the train consisted of about ten other carriages that carried Major-General Sun and his men, who would be acting as guards. The ordinance, staff, and logistics divisions, along with the rest of the idle departments, trailed behind with Li and Jin in a sluggish march.
After settling into his compartment, Commander Ho collapsed into a couch near the windows. Sunlight glared harshly into his eyes, so he grabbed Lan"s service cap and threw it haphazardly over his head, covering his eyes.
"Bai-Shan!" he said, his face half-hidden under the brim of the hat, a pair of crimson lips gathering into a smile. "We"re finally getting out of this h.e.l.lhole!"
Lan sat on the opposite side across a small table that lay between them. Recalling their retreat from Tientsin to Jehol, followed by defeat after defeat that drove them westward, their newfound fortune was indeed uplifting.
For a brief moment, Lan was lost in elation and smiled in spite of himself. "Look how excited you are at the prospect of going to a city. Such a child."
Commander Ho sprung forward in his seat, the hat still tilting on his head. "Good brother, I"m just a simple countryman!" he said and pushed the hat back, revealing a pair of shining black eyes.
Lan gazed at him, unsure of what to feel—he should be kinder, since Commander Ho did really love him; but he had also single-handedly ruined him. What a dilemma!
Lan took Commander Ho"s hat off, his gentle voice trembling slightly: "Good Ji-Ch"ing, let your brother take you out to play in the city."
Commander Ho seemed to freeze momentarily. Blinking, he stood up and paced before Lan, then turned and squatted down in front of him. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but merely rose to his feet again.
This time he hurried out, returning moments later with a bottle of brandy and a pair winegla.s.ses.
Uncorking the bottle, he filled the winegla.s.ses, one of which he pushed toward Lan, the other he raised to himself. "Bai-Shan, you haven"t spoken to me like that in a long time. Let"s drink!"
Before Lan could answer, his fingertips barely touching the gla.s.s, Commander Ho had drained his gla.s.s. He doubled over and started to cough violently, his face red and gasping for breath.
Commander Ho"s train squirmed among the unbroken chain of mountains like a little snake.
Lan had been worried about bandits, but as Commander Ho had predicted, bandits were mere men, and hadn"t suddenly grown the hearts of bears or the guts of leopards to have the nerve to rob someone like Commander Ho.
On the afternoon of the third day, his train finally reached the Hsian station.
Under Lan"s suggestion and guidance, Commander Ho changed into a new set of wool uniforms, a Sam Browne belt strapped across his waist. Putting on his hat, he writhed his neck at his reflection in the dress-mirror. "It"s too d.a.m.n hot," he complained.
Lan started, "How can a young man like you—"
"Treat yourself this way?" Commander Ho finished for him.
Lan smiled. "See, so you understand everything."
The train slowed to a stop, and the adjutants from the neighbouring compartments stood in lines by the exit. Commander Ho walked towards the doors, all the while wringing his shoulders disapprovingly—he really was hot.
The doors opened, and he bent down to descend a flight of small metal steps. At its bottom he found himself facing a tall man, who stepped forward with squared shoulders and his head held high, a reticent hand extended in front of him. The man smiled most brilliantly: "Ah, Commander Ho, my dear brother, you have finally arrived!"
Slow as he was, Commander Ho stuck out his own hand in response, but only stared at the newcomer blankly. After taking a better look at the Commander, the man also stared.
They fell into an awkward silence before a secretary who used to accompany Lan on his Hsian trips came forth. "Commander, this would be General Chao," he prompted gently.
Commander Ho recovered at the hint, and gave Chao Chen-Sheng"s hand a shake. He was about to speak when a sudden tide of deafening cacophony startled him. Glancing around, he spotted the few cl.u.s.ters of military bands lying about in ambush. The bands consisted of burly men blowing into their trombones and French horns, their faces bright red and brows drenched in sweat, as if they were aiming to kill someone with sheer volume. Commander Ho listened in for a moment, but failing to discern a tune, managed only to be spurred into a state of disarray.
Under the influence of such music, Chao too felt slightly agitated. It was said that some time ago when the leader of the North-Eastern troops, Commander Ron, came to Hsian, Fu Yang-Shan had given him a welcome of the highest standard. Now that Fu had won over Ron Hsiang, Chao Chen-Sheng was unwilling to lag behind, and had planned to express his own generous hospitality. When Fu received Ron Hsiang, he had rallied four marching bands, and despite not having the t.i.tle of Provincial Governor, Chao was in no way inferior and could certainly arrange for the same fanfare.
Commander Ho shook Chao"s hand, shouting: "General Chao, this is too much trouble! I"m terribly flattered!"
"Good brother, there"s no need to stand on ceremony!" yelled Chao, who then having reached the end of his patience, hollered into the sky: "SILENCE!"
Silence fell at once.
Which only made Commander Ho"s t.i.ttering sn.i.g.g.e.r all the clearer.
Chao Chen-Sheng was deeply embarra.s.sed. He wasn"t sure why, but he"d been quite p.r.o.ne to embarra.s.sments lately, all of them self-inflicted. Some days ago when he had been doing a military showcase for Ron Hsiang, he was accidentally engulfed in a square of marching infantry and had his hat fly right off in the confusion; this time…
Commander Ho and he stood facing each other, hands still locked in a handshake. Commander Ho was trembling with laughter, and because he had a pretty face, made one think of the proverb "quivering blossoms", though it wasn"t exactly appropriate, since Commander Ho wasn"t at all feminine.
Swallowing, Chao began with a blush: "Ah…My brother, you must find this all terribly funny."
Commander Ho thought there had never been a funnier scene in the whole world, but taking a deep breath, he forced himself to put back on a serious face. "No, think nothing of it. Has General Chao been waiting for a long time?"
Chao shook his head self-consciously: "No, not at all," his previous air of confidence shattered beyond recovery.
In his attempt to ingratiate himself with Ron Hsiang, Fu Yang-Shan had offered one of his most extravagant mansions to house Ron. In name, Commander Ho was still Chao"s subordinate, but Chao was very much aware that the name Ho Bao-Ting represented an unknown yet large number of men and wealth, and would never think of neglecting him. Although he had no pretty modern mansions to spare, he did own a few nice residences, and out of the very best, he chose a stately western-style house with a large courtyard and invited Commander Ho in. After years of living in a small tile-roofed cottage back in Luyang, Commander Ho could hardly find any fault with his new residence.
Chao found Commander Ho"s physical appearance very peculiar—he looked neither like a living man, nor a dead one. Beautiful he sure was, but he lacked vitality and seemed to be perpetually absent-minded. Chao would be droning on and on, only to find that Commander Ho was lost in his own thoughts, and when Chao in turn lost all interest and fell quiet, Commander Ho would suddenly look back up and pick up a conversation from an hour ago.
Chao Chen-Sheng was one of a bolder temperament and found communication with Commander Ho excruciating. Fortunately, after they had slowly gotten better acquainted during the course of several days, Commander Ho"s reactions became noticeably faster, and for the most part could follow Chao"s train of thought—if Chao could hold a calm and unhurried conversation.
Chao addressed Commander Ho as Ji-Ch"ing affectionately: "Ji-Ch"ing, if we could only kick away the foul and dense rock that was Fu Yang-Shan, Shansi would be ours!"
Commander Ho too used Chao"s courtesy name. "Brother Cheng-Ch"en, what you say is true, but Fu Yang-Shan will not be waiting for us to kick him. Moreover, he has the Central Government"s support, everything he does would be perfectly justifiable."
Chao smiled enigmatically. "The Central Government supports him? They might have in the past, but after he threw out their Commissioner Jin, there"s no telling where Nanking stands!"
"Wasn"t Jin Yuan-Bi summoned back by the Nanking Government?"
"Ji-Ch"ing, you"ve been falling behind on intel."
Commander Ho smiled. "Indeed. I"ve long been cut off from the world in my years of seclusion."
"Of course, Ji-Ch"ing, we don"t have to be concerned about him. Now that you"re here, I am like a tiger with added wings. There"s no need to fear for whatever trouble Fu can cause. Ha-ha!"
Commander Ho continued to smile along. Once Fu Yang-Shan falls, he thought, I will be the next rock you kick away.