A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

Song Hongfei and Zhang Yi were sent to study at West Point Military Academy in the United States by the Chinese government in the same year. As foreign students, they were in the same company and shared the same dormitory.

Zhang Yi graduated from the 6th class of the Whampoa Military Academy and received rigorous military training. Song Hongfei was taught martial arts by famous teachers from a young age. Later, for the sake of his family's interests, the Song family arranged for him to study at a military academy in the United States, with the aim of getting involved in the military in the future.

Both of them were in excellent physical condition and were active and playful, so the military and physical training at West Point was easy and enjoyable for them, which suited them perfectly.

After entering the cultural courses, Song Hongfei maintained his academic excellence as he had always been, ranking first in every subject and achieving almost perfect scores in each one, which shocked the entire school.

Zhang Yi came from an ordinary family and did not have English classes when she was in elementary school. She only learned the 26 letters of the alphabet and learned some Chinglish in middle school. Therefore, she found it very difficult to learn in the completely English environment of Western-style pastry.

When Zhang Yi first enrolled, he was ranked near the bottom of his grade, barely managing to pass, and was on the verge of being expelled for failing to meet academic standards. It wasn't until two or three semesters later, with the help of top student Song Hongfei, that he gradually caught up.

However, this was viewed with suspicion by white supremacists like Musk. In the narrow-minded and prejudiced views of white people in Europe and America at the time, East Asians were considered "incompetent"—how could they possibly learn the advanced scientific and cultural knowledge of Western countries? How could they possibly pass the exams?

Not to mention that one of these two Chinese students was first in every subject, and the other, whose grades were originally at the bottom, actually managed to catch up.

"These two either cheated on the exam, or they bribed the instructors to leak the exam questions to them." They harbored deep prejudice and suspicion.

Upperclassmen would occasionally use the excuse of checking study notes and homework completion to look through the two boys' notes and assignments, actually to find "evidence" for their suspicions. This infuriated Song Hongfei and Zhang Yi, who felt deeply insulted. They would fly into a rage, refute the arguments logically, and the conflict would often end in a physical fight.

Later, after the legend of Song Hongfei completing the test in twenty minutes and then falling asleep while still getting a perfect score, and the story of his IQ test score of 160 spread, Musk and others dared not criticize Song Hongfei in terms of academic performance, and instead focused their firepower on Zhang Yi.

"Damn it, this is outrageous!" Zhang Yi was furious.

Whenever he flew into a rage, the hot-tempered Zhang Yi would not stop until he and his opponent were both bruised and battered, no matter how many people there were. Song Hongfei, who shared a dormitory with Zhang Yi, and Wang Zhi, who lived next door, would certainly not stand idly by. The three of them, united in their hatred, fought together.

However, this was not a solution. They couldn't afford to give the other party any reason to seize upon it, so the three of them brainstormed and devised a countermeasure.

You have to be good yourself to succeed. Luckily, there's Song Hongfei, a top student who easily gets first place in every subject. So, he'll tutor Zhang Yi.

Song Hongfei didn't hesitate to raise his price. He offered Zhang Yi a roast chicken, a juice, a ham sandwich, a chocolate with liqueur filling, plus washing socks and cleaning shoes for each tutoring session, sparing no effort in tutoring him.

"That's outrageous!" Zhang Yi was furious, cursing Song Hongfei for taking advantage of the situation and being even more ruthless than a landlord.

One day, Wang asked Song Hongfei, "Hongfei, did you really take an IQ test and score 160? That score is higher than Einstein's!"

"Ugh, don't even mention it. I was young and naive back then. What did I know about IQ tests? I thought it was just a game. I only cared about whether it was fun or not. I didn't think about anything else. You know, I was only slightly serious about it." Song Hongfei said with a serious face.

"Blow, blow as hard as you can, just keep blowing."

Zhang Yi and Wang Zhi were dumbfounded; they couldn't believe it and expressed their disdain.

Whether it was due to his own self-awareness and determination, or because he was reluctant to spend the money so quickly, Zhang Yi worked hard and his academic performance gradually improved from the bottom of the class when he first entered school to the middle class.

Now Musk and his ilk can't find fault with cultural learning anymore. Of course, they won't stop there; they'll come up with other ideas in other areas.

Thus, during their years at West Point, Song Hongfei and his group and Musk's group couldn't stand each other. They would fight over any excuse, or create one to start a fight even if there was no excuse. Neither side would give in to the other, and a single spark could ignite an explosion.

During breaks in cultural classes, West Point will show military materials and internal documents about current military events around the world for cadets to learn from.

During the break that day, a slideshow about the "September 18 Incident" was being played. The images of the Japanese army's heinous crimes of burning, killing, raping, and looting throughout Northeast China constantly irritated the nerves of the three Chinese students. Their faces were grim, and their hearts were filled with grief and indignation.

However, Musk and his group seemed determined to add fuel to the fire, deliberately clapping, cheering, and laughing, inciting and provoking them. The three men glared at each other, but the other side remained unfazed and brazen.

When they saw Chinese soldiers and civilians being captured and brutally beheaded by the Japanese army, Musk and his group actually high-fived each other, cheered loudly, and laughed and jeering wildly! They completely disregarded the feelings of the three Chinese students present and even went further, accompanied by a series of unrestrained provocations and taunts!

"It's unbearable!"

This scene deeply hurt and insulted Song Hongfei, Zhang Yi, and Wang Zhi, sharply stimulating their sensitive and angry nerves, and immediately a surge of blood rushed to their heads.

A fierce fistfight between the two sides was inevitable and escalated into a natural confrontation.

From then on, Song Hongfei and Zhang Yi, who were in their third year of university, and Wang Zhi, who was already in his fourth year, were like they had been injected with chicken blood. They studied and trained like madmen, showing an extremely strong patriotic ambition and drive. Everyone in West Point saw this and secretly admired them.

Until that day, Feng Liana, the school affairs advisor who was proctoring the course test, thought that Song Hongfei had overworked himself during that period, resulting in excessive mental stress and overwork.

Fighting is commonplace in military academies. After all, military academy students are all hot-blooded and energetic young people. If they don't fight for three days, they'll be tearing the roof off. Otherwise, where would they expend their excess energy? Where would they vent their excess firepower?

Then let's fight to vent our anger! What kind of military academy students are they if they don't fight? If they don't fight, do you expect them to go to the teachers to tattle, to argue their point, or do you expect them to stand with their hands on their hips, pointing fingers and cursing at each other in the street?

Song Hongfei recalled that when he was at the G Military Academy in his later life, it was not uncommon for military academy students to fight.

Fights in military academies have their own characteristics; generally speaking, it's either beating someone up or being beaten up.

It's okay if you get into a fight; if you win, you can brag about it when you get back. As long as it doesn't escalate to the higher-ups, the captain will just give you a few words of criticism, and that's it. If you beat up some thugs outside, you might even get a commendation or an award when you come back.

But losing is a big deal. If you lose and get beaten up, you'll get beaten up again when you get back. Everyone will feel ashamed of you and the team. The captain will feel even more ashamed. The whole team will be united in their hatred and try every means to find the other side and get revenge. They must get back at the top and not lose face.

We've gotten our revenge. We'll deal with you when we get back. Don't you know your own limitations? You're not skilled enough, yet you dare to embarrass yourself outside? You haven't practiced enough! The captain will give you insane training sessions and meals; he's not your captain if he doesn't train you until you're urinating blood! It will absolutely touch your flesh and penetrate your soul. Let's see if you dare lose again!

The brawls between the student teams were even more exciting; the scene was absolutely spectacular.

Song Hongfei's cadet team and another cadet team were at odds. The reason was rather absurd: in short, one of the guys on their team and another guy on the other team were jealous of a very attractive "little vixen" at the military academy, and they started fighting each other.

He was so enraged for his beloved! How heroic it was to charge forward for love!

If a young soldier cannot clench his fist and charge forward for the one he loves, how can he be expected to pick up a gun on the battlefield and shed blood for the country and its people? In any case, in Song Hongfei's eyes, he was still quite manly, passionate, and youthful.

As things progressed, even the closest friend of one of the guys on one team and the closest friend of another guy on the other team got involved. Then, even more people got involved. Eventually, everyone from both teams was involved. From then on, the two teams couldn't stand each other!

Once, in the student canteen, two teams of students suddenly started fighting. In an instant, fists and feet flew, back and forth, chickens and dogs flew everywhere, and the crowd gasped. Amidst the flying pots and pans, plates and bowls, chopsticks and spoons, steamed buns and rolls, radishes and green vegetables... all sorts of items were scattered about, a truly spectacular sight.

Military academy students' brawls also involve strategies and tactics. Those who are tall and strong fight head-on, holding the line and fighting valiantly. Those who are not physically strong make full use of their agility and mobility, flanking and encircling, leaping up and down, jumping onto tables to occupy high ground, and seizing opportunities to launch long-range attacks with various weapons such as soup bowls and vegetable plates.

The boys from both teams were locked in a fierce battle, while the girls, equally formidable, were not to be outdone. They were banging drums and gongs—or rather, banging plates and bowls—around their own formation, constantly waving their arms, shouting encouragement, and cheering each other on!

What a magnificent scene that was!

In the bustling restaurant, the students, instructors, and staff were all used to fights, but this spectacular brawl was truly a once-in-a-lifetime event. Everyone in the restaurant craned their necks, eagerly watching this rare spectacle. Cheers, shouts of approval, comments, and pointing fingers filled the air, creating a lively and boisterous atmosphere.

Upon hearing the commotion, the military staff officer and school inspectors rushed to the scene to stop the disturbance. In the chaos, the staff officer in charge was intentionally or unintentionally hit by a vegetable basin, and pieces of vegetable leaves mixed with soup were poured over his head and face, a truly gruesome sight.

Finally, it was the experienced military affairs director who arrived with the communications company to bring order and control the chaotic situation. After the canteen brawl subsided, the two cadet teams, their faces bruised and battered, were taken back to their respective units for a collective self-criticism. They were given a severe dressing-down by their superiors and punished with a 5-kilometer cross-country run for half a month as punishment for their impulsive actions. These two cadet teams became famous overnight at the prestigious G Military Academy, their reputation spreading far and wide.

The matter was eventually dropped, and no one was seen to have a disciplinary record in their file.

Later, some busybodies from both sides asked the two gentlemen, "Whose girlfriend is that 'little vixen'?"

These two gentlemen then reluctantly revealed the truth: neither of them were romantic rivals; they simply considered each other love rivals.

This is absolutely infuriating and frustrating.

Song Hongfei recalled the earnest words of the director of the political department of the military academy and couldn't help but laugh: "Comrades, students, we are all class comrades and revolutionary comrades, yet you repay us with fists, how can we bear it..."