Volume 1 Teacher Chapter 3 Returning Home
Although Gu Changqing was reluctant to leave and Xie Zhigeng treated him warmly, Dai Jiliang still fled after living there for almost half a month.
The reason was simple. On the one hand, the New Year was approaching, and he couldn't possibly not go home in the twelfth lunar month and disturb other people's homes. On the other hand, he couldn't stand the harassment from Gu Changqing's cousin, Xie Zhigeng's beloved daughter Xie Xinfen, who was always on his mind.
As for the girl's appearance, Dai Jiliang thought it was just average. She was wearing a schoolgirl uniform made of blue Vaseline cloth, and had a doll-like hairstyle with bangs in front. She looked like a serious student from Shanghai in the early Republic of China.
She had no figure and no pretty face. Apart from the fact that she didn't have bound feet and was a little bit cute, she was definitely not as voluptuous as the girlfriend he met on the Tensitania and in Germany, who had big breasts, a nice butt and was full of voluptuousness.
Of course, this was a common problem among Chinese women of that era. Dai Jiliang also knew that his future wife might not look better than Xie Xinfen, so this was not the fundamental reason for his hasty escape.
However, this Miss Xie was too naive. Dai Jiliang finally understood where Gu Changqing's half-baked revolutionary ideas came from. He guessed that it was the influence of this Miss Xie.
Ever since she learned that she was a top student from the Japanese Army Academy and the German School, but did not take the initiative to join the revolutionary camp after returning to China, Miss Xie became excited.
Every day, there were talks about the French Revolution, equality, fraternity, Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People, hundreds of years of oppression by the Qing Dynasty, and any revolutionary tone that could be seen in newspapers that were inclined towards the Tongmenghui. Xie Xinfen would find an opportunity to bring it out in front of herself, an old antique who had no intention of serving the country and whose mind was full of feudal monarch-subject relations, to cleanse herself of it.
That’s not all. Somehow, this Miss Xie spread her affairs among her close friends.
As the saying goes, good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels far and wide. This incident really stirred up a hornet's nest. Not long after, Dai Jiliang's classmate from the 20th Infantry Class of the Japanese Army Academy, Jiang Zuobin, who was then the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Army of the Nanjing Government of the Republic of China, came to visit him.
What should I do?
You should know that the non-commissioned officers studying in Japan were a large and successful group in the Qing Dynasty. Although Dai Jiliang was not outstanding among them, as a minority of outliers who later studied in Germany, he must have attracted the attention of most of his classmates. Although Dai Jiliang refused Jiang Zuobin's recruitment on behalf of the Kuomintang, since he had emerged, there was an endless stream of envoys.
What to do? The best strategy is to flee. Taking advantage of the opportunity of the truce between the North and the South and the restoration of the road, Dai Jiliang said goodbye to Gu Changqing who was reluctant to leave, boarded the Yangtze River ship of the British-owned Swire Shipping Company to Yizheng, and then took the land route through the control line of the Southern Army to reach his hometown on the shore of Gaoyou Lake.
Looking at the calm surface of Gaoyou Lake and thinking about what would happen after entering the house, Dai Jiliang sighed. It's not that he had never thought about escaping the marriage. On the one hand, he still had to rely on the financial support of his family. Secondly, he had already given his parents in his previous life no thanks, so he didn't have to go against his current parents in this life.
"Dad, Mom, I'm back."
The sight of the two elderly people's gaunt faces flashed before his eyes, and Dai Jiliang couldn't help but have tears in his eyes. He first gave a formal military salute, and then knelt on the ground to pay homage to his parents.
"It's good to be back, it's good to be back."
The mother, Dai Zhang, wiped the tears from her eyes. Among her four children, apart from the eldest daughter who was married, the youngest child who was thousands of miles away overseas was the one she worried about the most.
"Have you finished reading the book?"
The old man , who had served as the head of , as well as a prefect, and finally retired to his hometown with the title of prefect, although his words were still bland, one could tell from the trembling amplitude of the copper water pipe in his hand that he was actually cold on the outside but warm on the inside.
"Yes, I did. The Berlin Military Academy awarded my son the rank of lieutenant."
Dai Jiliang did not say how high a price he paid, or how difficult it was for him to achieve this result in this era of white supremacy and in the stronghold of racism.
"The German Army is the strongest in the world."
Since the old man had been a local official, he was not completely ignorant of Western affairs. At least he understood his son's achievements.
“Well done.”
"Dad, Mom, the third child just came back and must be tired from the journey. Let him rest for a while first. We can talk after dinner if we have anything to say."
The eldest brother Dai Botang, who was waiting on the side, was fifteen years older than Dai Jiliang. He had passed the imperial examinations for the title of scholar and juren, but was ordered by the old man who saw through the officialdom to not continue his studies. Therefore, the family's land and properties had been managed by him over the years, and naturally he had the submissive look that the eldest son of the eldest house should have.
"I have also sent someone to notify the second brother. He will definitely be back from the city in the evening."
"Okay."
The old man nodded. It was not easy for the family to get together, so he could naturally ask some questions slowly.
"Take your brother down to wash up, and then go inform the Li family and tell them that the third brother is back. Go and greet them in a couple of days."
"Third brother, congratulations!"
Dai Botang led Dai Jiliang out of the yard, then looked at his little brother with a smile.
"Passing the imperial examination and having a wedding night, you have double happiness, third brother!"
"Brother, why are you laughing at me?"
Dai Jiliang touched his head awkwardly. Only when he returned home did he reveal his immature side.
"I haven't even met Miss Li, how can we talk about love or wedding night?"
"Third brother, you should not be ungrateful for what you have. Miss Li is kind and virtuous, and her appearance is second to none in this area. If it weren't for the fact that our Dai family is the most powerful official family in Gaoyou County, I'm afraid that the old man of the Li family would never agree to marry his daughter to a fake foreigner like you."
Dai Botang led Dai Jiliang through many twists and turns until they arrived at a courtyard and opened the door. "This is the new house your parents prepared for you. Go and have a look. If there's anything missing, ask the second brother to make it up for you."
She was gentle, virtuous, and had an unparalleled appearance. Dai Jiliang almost burst out laughing. What could he say about the aesthetic standards and moral orientation of this era?
He had no choice but to step into the room and avoid Dai Botang's kindness by carefully examining the decoration inside.
During dinner time, not only did the second brother Dai Shuheng rush back from Gaoyou, but even the eldest sister Wang Dai and brother-in-law Wang Danping, who were away from home, also rushed over from Tianchang County, which was across a lake but belonged to a neighboring province.
Dai Jiliang's second brother Dai Shuheng also studied modern learning. The eldest brother studied traditional learning , the second brother studied modern learning, and the third brother studied abroad, which was also a general choice for gentry of that era. Now Dai Shuheng is in charge of the Dai family's rice shop and tea shop in Yangzhou and Sizhou, and is more or less a Confucian businessman.
As for my brother-in-law Wang Danping, he was an aide to the last Anhui governor Zhu Jiabao, and he returned to his hometown not long ago because of the Xinhai Revolution.
This group of people sat together with Dai Jiliang's father. After eating and drinking, the most important issue, Dai Jiliang's future, was discussed in the old man's study.
"Zhixiang, as a graduate of the Japanese Army Academy and a German lieutenant, you should be able to get a platoon commander at least."
Wang Danping has been in the shogunate for a long time, so he is naturally well aware of the developments in this area.
"However, given the current situation, it may be difficult to find a better solution."
Dai Jiliang nodded. Wang Danping was right. As revolutionaries continued to emerge among the non-commissioned officers and as their own education system was complete, the strong man in the north would neither be willing nor confident to directly promote the non-commissioned officers who had studied in Japan.
But should they stay in the south and follow Sun Yat-sen and the Revolutionary Party? Dai Jiliang felt a chill. Sun Yat-sen was a man who was more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything. The Tongmenghui would soon fail in the Second Revolution. It would take more than a decade for the Chinese Revolutionary Party or the Kuomintang to have a chance to come to the fore.
Dai Jiliang cannot and would not wait until that time.
"No matter how difficult it is, we can't join the Democratic Party."
The old man said this with finality.
"There is a doctrine on the left and a constitution on the right. In the end, it is still a scheme to sell out the country by borrowing foreign debts."
Obviously, in this era, the credibility of the strong man in the north is far better than that of the mob in Stone City who are just monkeys in human form.
"A rebellious party, a rebellious party. Sooner or later, China will be ruined in their hands."
Dai Jiliang never expected that his father had such a sharp intuition.
Yes, the self-proclaimed revolutionaries of Sun Yat-sen’s party were naturally one of the reasons for the subsequent division and unrest in China.
The much-criticized Qing Dynasty would have been on the verge of revival if it had not been for the Manchu nobles' unyielding love of power.
Unfortunately, since 1911, every time China wanted to take that crucial step, there was always interference from internal or external forces. This situation continued for more than 60 years, causing countless people to sigh in vain.
"At worst, I can just spend some money. Over the years, I have never seen a hurdle that cannot be overcome with money."
The old man concluded.
"If you sacrifice my reputation and say hello to those people in Beijing, I won't believe it. "
"Dad is right."
The second son, Dai Shuheng, controls the Dai family's purse. Since the old man cares about the third son, he can't necessarily disobey him, right? "Although our family's money is not as good as those of the wealthy families, three or five thousand yuan is still enough."
As he said this, he turned to Dai Jiliang.
"Third brother, go to Beijing. If you don't have enough money, even if you sell the shop or the land, our family will support you."
This sounds nice, but the foundation is not as good as the face. Living in the capital is not easy, and one has to make connections. Three to five thousand is definitely not enough.
"Thank you, Dad, and thank you, second brother."
Although Dai Jiliang was fed up, the old man hadn't said anything yet, so he wouldn't necessarily quarrel with the second son over it, right? Besides, the family had spent so much money on him over the years, and he didn't feel comfortable asking for more.
"I will definitely bring honor to our Dai family."
"Yimin wants to help too."
A son-in-law is half a son, and the old man ordered Wang Danping around without any hesitation.
"Don't worry, Master Taishan. My affairs are my affairs. No matter how much or how little relationship my son-in-law has in the capital, he will be handed over to me later."
Wang Danping patted his chest.
"That's good. After the New Year, when the third child gets married, we'll arrange for him to go north."
After all, the old man had been an official for a long time, and there was a sense of official authority in his words.
"By the way, Boss, what's the response from the Li family?"
"Dad, the Li family wants to invite the third son to come over tomorrow."
Dai Botang answered respectfully.
"Then bring the third brother over tomorrow, so that people don't say we are impolite."
With the old man’s final instructions, the first day back home finally passed.
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