Suspicious Purge

“Lieutenant.”

Zhou said softly.

“Do you believe Chiang Kai-shek will purge me?”

“Is this summons Chiang Kai-shek’s request? Have you confirmed that?”

“The Generalissimo doesn’t request. He only orders. If it had the Generalissimo’s seal, I wouldn’t even be able to consider it. To live in the Republic and consider accepting Chiang Kai-shek’s order? That’s almost the same as raising a rebellion against the center. You should know well why China is sensitive about the warlordization of regional military.”

“Then it’s a request from an official other than Chiang Kai-shek. It’s not Chiang Kai-shek’s intention.”

“That would be the case…”

“Major. I’m still concerned about what happened in the party center. You already know who was purged, don’t you?”

“Of course I know. There’s just no need to spread it around.”

Anyway, I’ll find out all those names once I leave the school. There’s no need to hear the identity of each person from Zhou right now, but I wanted to know at least in what context this purge occurred.

“Can’t I at least know the main commonalities among them? If there was a large-scale purge, there must be some commonalities among those who were purged, right?”

“That’s what’s so strange…”

“What exactly is…”

“Well, I’m not sure if I should hold back or say this. It doesn’t apply to all of them, but there are some groups with strange commonalities. You might not know the names of the purged committee members well, but there are commonalities among their families.”

I could understand even if she directly mentioned the names of the purged committee members. I know all the names of the major figures in Chinese politics. But let’s not show it. A Korean female college student too familiar with Chinese politics is indeed suspicious.

“Their families, what on earth…”

“He Yingqin, Feng Yuxiang, Bai Chongxi. Do you recognize any commonalities? I’m not sure how much you know about modern Chinese history, but you don’t seem completely ignorant.”

“Aren’t they generals who made great contributions in the National Revolution and subsequent battles? Among them, Feng Yuxiang is even a superhuman…”

“There are no officers who made greater contributions in defeating Lin Biao’s group than them. Of course, their children and grandchildren were just about to step into the Kuomintang central. But the day after Chen Yayuan died, suddenly the children of these three people and other Kuomintang elders suddenly fell from power within the party.”

“…The children of party elders?”

Although they’re called the children of the elders, they must be already past middle age. It’s just that Chiang Kai-shek is living unusually long; the children’s generation of Bai Chongxi and others would already be quite old, an age where it wouldn’t be strange to call them elderly.

They would already have quite high status on their own without borrowing their parents’ glory, but they were all suddenly cut off? What on earth is happening in the Kuomintang central?

“That’s… a strange thing.”

“Right. Unless Chiang Generalissimo has fallen due to serious health issues, judging by how Nanjing isn’t as noisy as expected, Chiang Kai-shek seems to be in good health. Then it means Chiang Kai-shek voluntarily purged the children of meritorious officials who contributed to the great cause of Chinese unification… I can’t understand what he’s thinking. Is it possible that he’s already out of his mind despite appearing normal on the outside?”

“It’s possible. Even in the Spring and Autumn period, when Duke Huan of Qi lost his mind, didn’t three sycophants conspire to imprison Duke Huan and disturb the country as they pleased?”

“At 100 years old, even if he was lucid a month ago, it’s an age where you never know when he might have lost it… But still, I’m not sure. It doesn’t seem like Chiang Kai-shek has lost it. The purge is too clean for that. If Chiang Kai-shek had collapsed and his close aides were proceeding as they pleased, would the central commanders and purge targets have stayed quiet?”

“Are you saying that because Chiang Kai-shek himself appeared and moved, no one even thought of resisting?”

“Then why on earth?”

The timing, the action, it’s all bizarre. Coinciding with the mysterious murder of Chen Yayuan, who wanted to contact America while talking about China’s fate, Chiang Kai-shek’s old friends and their families fall from power by Chiang’s hand.

It’s even stranger that this happened with less than a month left until his birthday. If Zhou Lizhi, one of China’s strongest superhumans, goes to Nanjing in such a turbulent situation, there’s no telling what might happen.

“Nanjing won’t do.”

“Eun-young. But aren’t you being too serious?”

“How can I not be serious about a matter involving the Major’s life?”

“That’s why I’m asking, why are you so serious about my life?”

I was momentarily at a loss for words at Zhou’s question.

“Are you the type to give a lot of affection to someone you’ve slept with once, Lieutenant?”

“Zhou Lizhi. Then did you call me to bed thinking I was the kind of woman who would just use your body and discard your soul?”

From here on, it’s a personal conversation. Not as a student and instructor, lieutenant and major, but a dialogue between Zhou Lizhi and Shin Eun-young. I loosened my somewhat stiff tone and started speaking in a softer, more casual manner. Zhou also answered my words in a completely relaxed tone.

“Well, I’m the kind of person who casually touches women…”

“Even with my weak intelligence network, I’ve picked up some rumors about you. Don’t lie. I heard that the female students who slept with you receive various support from you until they graduate. Even in cases where they stopped sleeping together, I heard you keep taking care of them until the end. Even you yourself aren’t the type to be indifferent to a woman you’ve slept with once.”

“I’m a person with a lot of affection.”

Zhou admitted frankly.

“Touch lightly, but handle the aftermath heavily. That kind of feeling.”

“I think you touch heavily from the beginning.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean the reason you don’t touch women from noble families or powerful countries. Isn’t it actually because it’s hard for you to take care of the aftermath? Judging by what you said today, it seems you’ve guessed that Churchill won’t stay at the school for long…”

“Those women usually just come for sightseeing. If they come for tourism, from China’s standpoint, there’s nothing to hesitate about, so we just accommodate them. English schools are good enough. Is there a need to seriously study and graduate from Huangpu?”

“So I thought maybe you deliberately avoid them because you can’t take care of the aftermath. You don’t even touch women you can’t make your own through years of work from the beginning, right?”

At my words, the Major lost her words for a moment and sighed. She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head.

“So? What’s important if that’s the case?”

“The point is that you’re a person with a lot of affection, and at the same time, you’re thoroughly calculating while being affectionate. So it’s strange for you to ask me why I’m worried about you. While you keep taking care of women you’ve invited to bed.”

“You’re a bit different.”

“I know you’d say that to other women too.”

“No, that’s not what I mean… Hah, fine. It doesn’t matter how you take it. Anyway, we’re both crazy women who go around touching this woman and that woman, and we know each other’s habits too well to put on airs, huh?”

“I’ve been with many women, but you’re the best. I’m seeing other women now, but you’re the most special. What, this kind of talk? Isn’t it just nonsense you babble to two or three women at the same time, let alone two?”

“Anyway, you’re the only woman I’m seeing right now. You, who’s holding two women, are less righteous than me right now!”

“You said to eat if I could eat!”

“Did I ever imagine you’d go into heat and have sex with her the very next day after embracing me! If I had known, what were you two doing for a month before coming to me? What, did that Maestro pounce on you in heat after smelling my scent when you returned after one round with me?”

It’s scary that it’s not entirely wrong. There’s some exaggeration mixed in, but looking at the big picture, Zhou’s vulgar words have plausibility even if they’re true.

“So, are you dissatisfied?”

“Ha! I’m dissatisfied that I don’t have the right to express dissatisfaction, what can I do!”

Oh my, look at that tone. Someone might think she’s not even a major in the National Revolutionary Army, but a third-grade elementary school kid.

“Anyway, don’t go to Nanjing at the end of October. Something feels off. I don’t want to see you getting hurt by going there out of the blue.”

“Alright. For now, I’m thinking of sending a message of refusal too.”

Zhou nodded.

“I have a justification. It hasn’t been long since Chen Yayuan’s death, and the culprit hasn’t been caught, so the atmosphere in the school is unsettled. It would be helpful to have at least one Weapon Master at the school. If I say I want to stay at the school for these reasons, even the center, even the Generalissimo, won’t be able to forcibly summon me. I’ll have to decide my whereabouts after seeing the reply that comes after that.”