“Ouyang has decided that he wants no further part of our alliance. His people are leaving in a matter of hours. It is a foolish move but we have no reason to interfere nor should we,” Ky said.
“Then this is the alliance for now. We will allow others to join if they so choose, do you agree?” one of the older men ask.
Everyone agreed that for now this would be the decision making body until others joined. Another leader stood up and began to speak.
“I do not know how formal meetings take place. I do not pretend to know how the rules are determined but I think we need to have a spokesperson in some matters. Not a dictator or ruler but someone that speaks for the alliance when necessary,” he said and sat back down.
“It is reasonable,” others agreed.
“Is everyone in agreement,” the older man asked and they all nodded their heads in agreement.
“Good. Then we should select that person now before we do anything else,” he said.
“Why not just ask who wants to be the spokesperson?”
“I think it better to select. Being chosen to be the spokesperson is far better than just wanting to be. Many may want to speak but should they become that person is the question?” he replied.
“Let’s go around and make sure we each know the people’s names. I do not know everyone here,” another said.
Each man stood and gave his name in turn.
“Zhueg."
"Kinjo."
"Sima."
"Zhen."
"Tay."
"We.”
“Now we must pick a person among us to act as the spokesperson,” the older man named Tay said.
Once again paper was passed out and each person voted. Tay collected the papers and read them out loud.
“Tay. Kinjo. Zhueg. Kinjo. Kinjo. Kinjo,” he said and folded the papers again.
“Kinjo will be our spokesperson by agreement,” he said and sat down.
“I am honored. Then we should move on to what our plans are for the immediate potential danger,” he said.
They discussed various options from standing and fighting, breaking into different groups like they did when they escaped from Beijing, or trying to negotiate with the Army.
None of the options seemed very appealing. What they needed was solid information on the presence of the Army. If they were nearby they needed to know exactly where and how many. It would help to determine their next course of action. The dialogue continued on into the night as each man presented his views. At one point Ky marveled at the simple fact that they could even do such a thing out in the open.
Gatherings such as this to talk about what to do about the Army would be considered an act of treason and they would most likely be put to death. It made him all the more determined to work to change the course of the new China. The biggest obstacle was still how to deal with the power of the military. They had the training, the manpower, and weapons. They were also ruthless and would kill without remorse.
“We will send out our best people who know this region. They are to gather as much information as they can and get back here quickly, taking no unnecessary chances. Once we have that information we can act on it. If the forces are all in one area we will slip out the other way. If we are surrounded we will either attack one section like we did before or see if we can escape by boat down the river. We should get as many boats ready as we can find as a last resort. The ones that we can make run can pull any that cannot.”
“Assuming they do not have soldiers on the bridges or along the shore,” Tay said.
“That is why we must have the information before we make a decision on which path to follow. One thing going for us is that we have strength in numbers and they do not know that we are united. I think they are counting on us just giving in without a fight,” Ky said.
“We cannot go up against trained soldiers with guns,” Zhen said.
“Why not? We did before.”
“Yes but we had the element of surprise.”
“We still will have if they do not know we are aware of their presence and we attack them without warning.”
“It is a big risk,” Tay said.
“All of the options except surrender are a risk. We must choose wisely as to which offers the least,” Ky said.
“Then we will wait to make our final decision until we have more information. All scouts know they should be back by tomorrow night even if they have nothing to report.”
“Then we will meet then. Good night,” Ky said.
“Good night,” the others replied.
Ky was awakened at 3:00 A.M. by Sima.
“Ky, wake up. Two of the scouts have returned with news. Hurry.”
Ky quickly dressed and they rushed to the temple where the others were waiting.
“This is Dewei and Lok. They have some important news.”
“We were on the north side by the water treatment plant. The railway has a side track and we saw many soldiers so we went closer for a better look. The soldiers have been arriving by train and have artillery and rockets on trucks. We were lucky because it was dark so we could hear them talking without them being aware of us. They are expecting more men tomorrow and plan to attack soon. We did not hear what date or from where but it must be soon because one of them said something about getting back to Beijing before Saturday.”
“Saturday? That is only three days from now,” Tay replied softly.
“Two days. It is already Friday,” Ky noted.
“Do you know how many are there?”
“Only an estimate. Lok and I think between five and six hundred. We did not hear how many more were coming,” Dewei told him.
“We are not ready to fight that many soldiers. We must make preparations to flee.”
“Zhen is right. We are not ready, we must go quickly,” We added.
“Then we will go to Xining,” Ky told them.
“Why Xining?” Tay and Sima asked in unison.
“We can get most of the way by river. The summers are much cooler than other parts of the country and food will be abundant.
“I think Ky is right. It is further south than I would like to travel but it also has the advantage of distance between us and Beijing. They will not follow us that far,” Tay added.
“When should we leave?” Sima asked.
“Tomorrow night. We should carry on our usual routine during the day. As soon as it gets dark we will start getting people on the boats and barges tied up along the river. We will have to hurry so we can leave before first light. We must move quietly and quickly,” Ky told them.
~~
One of the most difficult things for Ky was waiting. He wanted to get moving and put as much distance between them and the Army as possible but if they were watching they would change their plans and attack immediately. He walked down by the river and sat on the wall, casually looking around. He was glad that there were so many boats tied up along the dock. They would need planks of wood to put across the boats because many were tethered to the next boat but there was no way to board them.
He decided the best thing to do, once everyone was on board along with all the food they could carry, would be to simply let the current carry the boats downstream until it was safe to start the engines, if they would start. He was pretty sure they would since most of the boats and barges looked fairly old. After eating a light meal he went to the temple and met with the others.
He told them of his plan and what needed to be done. They all agreed that it was a good plan. Sima worried about the possibility of the barges running into one of the bridges but after discussing the problem they decided that was a risk they were going to have to take.
Ky went for a long walk trying to think of how they could possibly rebuild a better country with the military still wanting to dominate the nation. At some point they were going to have to rise up against them even if it meant a civil war. He wondered how many total survivors there were out of the one billion, three hundred thousand peo
ple that had populated China.
~~
“Is everything ready?” Ky asked the five men.
“We are ready.”
“Then let’s start with your people first Sima. You have the most boating skills. You can show the others what to do once your people are loaded. Remember, we must be quiet at all times.”
“I will remind them. When should we start?”
“In one hour. We must be ready to leave by no later than 4:30 A.M. while it is still at its darkest.”
“Then I will go now and get my people ready.”
“Tay, you are second. Zhueg, you go after Tay followed by We and Zhen. My group will go last.”
They broke up and went to get their respective groups ready to move in one hour. It seemed like the longest hour in Ky’s life as he waited for the start of the loading. Finally it was time and he saw Sima’s group starting to board the barges. He was amazed at how quiet they were. He feared much worse but they were orderly and no one spoke louder than a whisper.
Tay’s group immediately followed and soon both groups were loaded. Ky smiled. It was going faster than he had expected. Zhueg and then We soon had their people on board. Ky realized Zhen’s group was nowhere in sight.
Sima came up to him and said, “Where is Zhen?”
“I don’t know. They should have been ready. I don’t understand what is keeping them.”
“We are wasting time.”
“Then go ahead and get my people on the boats. I will go see what is keeping them,” Ky said, starting off toward the city.
It took him some time to finally locate Zhueg. They were still sitting on the ground.
“Zhen, why are you not ready?” Ky asked.
“We have decided not to go. We are going to head north. Many of them are from the northern regions and they do not want to go south.”
“But you could have told us this at any time. Why did you wait so long? I do not understand.”
Zhen shrugged, “No reason. We just finally decided a few minutes ago.
“This is foolish. You have put the rest of us in danger. Do you not care what happens to others?” Ky asked in exasperation.
“It will not matter in the end. The military will hunt us all down eventually. We are just prolonging the inevitable,” he said.
“None of your people want to join us?” Ky asked.
“No. We will go north,” was all he replied.
Ky shook his head. It was no use wasting more time. He looked at Zhen once more then turned and started back to the river. Sima had everyone on board when he arrived back at the boats.
“Where is Zhen?” he asked.
“He is not coming. They are going to go north.”
“Then he is a fool. Come on. We are ready. I have instructed each boat how to steer. Once we are far enough downstream I will start my boat and come aboard each one and show them how to use the engines and controls,” Sima told him.
“Do you have anyone to help you?” Ky asked.
“I have three good seamen who can help. Now, we should go.”
Within minutes the boats and barges were cast off and floating downstream. Ky held his breath. He expected to hear gunshots at any time. They were moving slowly and that was probably a good thing at this point as they approached the first bridge. Ky watched intently as each one slid under the arches of the bridge. Not even one boat came close to hitting it.
The current continued to carry them further from the city but they were also starting to pick up speed as they drifted further away from the edge of the river. Ky froze when he heard a noise behind them and quickly turned to see what had shattered the stillness of the night. A boat came racing up and he could see it was Sima. He had started the engine and was heading for the lead barge. Someone climbed aboard and a few minutes later he heard the second engine start. No alarms were sounded and no shots rang out.
Ky couldn’t believe that they had gotten away so easily. He watched as Sima and his helpers went from one boat to the other and soon all boats that were powered were cruising down the Yangtze. Those without engines were tied to the others and pulled along. They only had one close call going under the last bridge. One of the barges was pushed out and scraped along the stone column. It made a loud screeching sound that echoed across the river but they were far enough down river that even if someone did hear it, they would have not known what had caused it.
Sima’s boat came along side and he scurried up the rope ladder.
“That went better than I had expected,” he said smiling.
“You did a splendid job. We could not have done this without your expertise,” Ky said.
“It was nothing. We should make it to Xing by tonight if all goes well. Docking the boats will be the most difficult part. I will go ahead and see where the best place for us to stop is. The current is slow there but even so, inexperienced pilots will have a hard time because of the size of the barges,” Sima told Ky.
“I had not even thought of that part,” Ky confessed.
“Why should you? You have never been a seaman. People seldom think about how they are going to stop a boat once it is going. We will figure a way, don’t worry about that part,” Sima assured him.
Sima’s estimate had been right. It was late in the afternoon but still light enough to see well. Once again, much to Ky’s surprise, the landing went smoother than he had expected. Everyone made it ashore safely.
Xing is a large city and the capital of Oinghai Provence. They unloaded the food from the boats and set up food kitchens immediately. By nightfall everyone had eaten. Finding a place to sleep proved to be no problem at all. Many hotels were located along the banks of the river and by midnight everyone was settled down for the night. Ky sat on the steps of the Zhong Fa Yuan Hotel with the other leaders.
“We must thank Sima for getting us here safely. He is a true master,” Ky said.
They all readily agreed.
“I have been thinking a lot about our future and would like to share some of my thoughts. The military is one of our biggest problems. They have little to do except to round up survivors and turn them into laborers for their own goals. If we are ever going to truly change the way China operates we are going to have to change the military,” Kay told them.
“Change? How do you change the butchers that make up the military?” Tay asked.
“Maybe change isn’t the correct word. We must eliminate their strangle hold on our country.”
“Are you saying we should try to overcome them?” Tay asked.
“If we do not we will always live in fear of them. They are at their weakest point now. We must round up every survivor we can find and build our own army and attack before they force others into their military service. You know how it works. We do not need to take on the whole army. We must get rid of the leaders. Once they are gone the army will disband,” Ky said.
“What you are suggesting is not possible,” Tay said.
“Wait a minute. Ky may be right. They are not as strong as in the past. We can single out the leaders and eliminate them. That is the glue that holds them together. Cut off the head and the body will die,” We replied.
“That is wishful thinking. How would we get to the leaders? They always have others around them. We cannot just walk in and kill these men,” Tay argued.
“Then we have consigned ourselves to live in fear and to become nomads. We will never be able to stay in one place long because they will eventually come looking for all other survivors. Then what? The longer we wait, the stronger they will get,” Ky said.
No one spoke for several minutes until Ky finally said, “It is late. It has been a long day. We have time to discuss this after we sleep. We can do nothing immediately anyway so let’s all just think about what we should do.”
They all separated but Sima stayed behind.
“You are right Ky. I do not want to live in fear of the military. I will support your plan to find a way to eliminate the leaders. I, like you, feel i
t is the only reasonable course of action. We are backed into a corner. Now is the time while they are not organized well and are few in number. We may have missed an opportunity back in Wuhan. We may have been able to kill many of them.”
“I gave it some serious thought but decided that we would only be getting rid of the soldiers. That would not deter the leaders. They are the ones that drive the war machine. We must find a way to get to them,” Ky said.
“Then we shall sleep on it and hopefully find a plan to secure our future,” Sima said.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
RUSSIA
Like their American counterparts, the Russians immediately went to work rebuilding. General Nitikin assigned his people to work on restoring communications as quickly as possible. It became his top priority. Without communications he felt that they would never be able to get enough information to start the rebuilding process. His next priority was to ensure an adequate food supply. They had plenty for now but that would not last forever.
~~
“Matryona, we have been over this before. I must go to Moscow and see what is going on. I am taking thirty soldiers with me so it isn’t that big of a risk. I don’t want to live underground like a mole. I want to get Moscow ready for our people here and those that have made it that far.”
“Thirty soldiers. You don’t have any idea what you are walking into. What if you run into a thousand that have decided to take over the city and don’t want the military running things any longer?”
“Then I will retreat and get more troops. Matryona, we cannot stick our heads in the sand and try to live out our lives here like rats. We need to get control of the country. Every day that we wait someone is getting the idea that they should be in charge. I need to go now and head it off before it becomes a bigger problem.”
“If there is a problem or if it’s not already too big.”
“Sitting around here isn’t going to tell me one way or the other.”
THE BEGINNING Book Two (THE EVENT) Page 18