In the evening of the next day, an ordinary one-and-a-half-ton Chevrolet truck slowly drove to the foot of Huangni Mountain, seven kilometers north of Yushan City. It drove into the narrow open space on the uneven roadside and stopped, crushing the patches of frost and snow on the decaying grass. Turn around and stop.
Two men dressed as coolies on the carriage struggled to uncover the frosty canvas shed on the roof of the carriage, revealing the empty carriage under the light snow that was falling in the sky.
An Yi, who was dressed as a scholar, got out of the car. Shen Fengdao, who was driving, came to stand next to him. The two of them looked quietly at the mountain col covered by lush trees at the end of the path ahead.
After waiting for half an hour, a strong man holding a shell gun appeared on the col. Then more than thirty men carrying long and short guns gathered together one after another. After a brief discussion, they strode downhill to An. Beside An Yi and the other four, seven or eight minions checked the carriage and cab and shouted that everything was fine. The strong man standing in front of An Yi nodded with satisfaction, raised his shell and fired a shot into the air.
After a while, dozens of minions were escorting three people down the hillside under the leadership of two leaders. The two leaders all wore waistbands as wide as their hands and riveted with copper nails. They had two rifles inserted on the left and right, and The leader who arrived earlier discussed for a while and ordered the hostages to be pushed up.
Several leaders saw An Yi's elegant appearance and Shen Fengdao who was also dressed as a store clerk. They smiled contemptuously. Without asking their names or other circumstances, they said "I'm sorry" and led dozens of people. The gangsters retreated carelessly, leaving behind the tied-up Alfreds and Zhou Qian, the chamber of commerce personnel who came to negotiate and pay the ransom, and walked away.
An Yi stepped forward quickly to untie Mrs. Alfred's rope. When Mrs. Alfred saw An Yi, her face was filled with tears and she could hardly stand. An Yi had no choice but to help her walk to the Next to the truck.
Shen Fengdao effortlessly untied the ropes from Zhou Qian and Alfred. Alfred thanked him gratefully, then walked towards An Yi and gave An Yi a grateful hug: "Thank you, General! Thank you. …”
An Yi hugged him gently and comforted him in a low voice: "It's okay... Go ahead and help your wife get into the carriage. Kaplan and many friends are in the old Nanchang church. I hope you can go back safely. After tonight, you will be safe tomorrow." It's night, everyone will be happy for you."
The strong Alfred nodded, walked to his wife and hugged her tightly. The couple seemed to have met a lifetime ago, hugging each other tightly with tears streaming down their cheeks.
An Yi walked towards Zhou Qian, who couldn't help but tremble, and admired Zhou Dashan's old butler: "Uncle Zhou, you have suffered!"
"It's nothing. These grandsons couldn't handle it even after taking 20,000 yuan. They took away the old man's coat and leather vest...it's cold..."
Zhou Qian, who was wearing thin clothes, was not afraid but was frozen.
An Yi quickly took off his woolen robe and put it on him, hugged him and boarded the carriage with the back door opened. Lin Yaodong and Chen Mian, dressed as coolies, had already rebuilt the carriage shed, jumped out of the carriage and closed the door and said to An Yi, "Three people There are at least a dozen guns pointed at us in the woods on the other side. Let's go.
An Yi nodded and walked to the carriage covered with straw and sat down next to Zhou Qian. Lin Yaodong and Chen Mian quickly got into the front of the car. Shen Fengdao put the gear into gear and increased the accelerator, slowly driving along the winding muddy road. county seat.
The flying snowflakes had stopped long ago, and the crescent moon and stars in the sky cast a clear layer of soft light on the silver-covered earth. In the dark carriage, An Yi asked Alfred in a low voice: "Alfred
,They didn’t hurt you, right?”
"In addition to being tied up, they did not harm us. They untied us twice a day when we were eating. They locked my wife and I in a quite large cave. We could only see each other but could not comfort each other...
Unfortunately, they took away all our watches, necklaces and wedding rings. It doesn't matter if they took other items, but the rings are passed down from generation to generation in our family. Alas... But I am already grateful to God for being able to come back alive.
!”
Alfred hugged his wife tightly and kissed his wife's cold forehead gently after answering.
An Yi breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Zhou Qian beside him to ask a few questions in a low voice. Seeing that Zhou Qian was in good condition, he felt quite comforted. Originally, An Yi didn't pay much attention to Zhou Qian, a short, fat and ordinary-looking butler in his forties.
, but now I have deep admiration for this courageous and heroic elder, and my strong arms can't help but hug Zhou Qian's shoulders to keep each other warm.
Zhou Qian seemed to feel something. He smiled slightly and stopped talking. He closed his eyes and let the car sway, feeling extremely proud and satisfied in his heart.
At 10:40 in the evening, the truck slowly stopped at Luoqiao in the north of Shangrao County. An Yi heard three knocks on the carriage and quickly got up and ordered everyone to get off.
Alfred and his wife, whose mood gradually stabilized, followed An Yi to the side of the carriage, stepped on the wide springboard they had just climbed to the back of another large truck carrying four tons, and stepped on the springboard again to board the carriage with a lantern hanging on it.
When I entered the carriage, I was deeply moved when I saw the thick quilt spread inside.
Alfred helped his wife in and sat on the quilt. He turned to the back door of the carriage to look for An Yi. He was startled when he saw groups of fully armed officers and soldiers marching toward the east quickly. He took a closer look.
An Yi was squatting on the roadside in front of him on the left, surrounded by seven or eight fully armed officers looking at maps with lanterns on. An Yi gave brief instructions to each officer in a low voice. After a few minutes, all the officers left, leaving only
Xia Anyi stood up and walked to the back of the car to get on the carriage.
After sitting down one after another, An Yi knocked on the rear window of the cab, and the truck started slowly and hit the road again.
Zhou Qian was lying next to An Yi, with two quilts rolled up on his body, and he hummed twice. An Yi took out a military kettle from a small wooden box stuffed with quilts near the front of the car, and handed it to Alfred: "Here.
Let’s order some coffee, it’s still hot.”
Alfred thanked him gratefully, opened the lid of the pot and took a sip. He sighed with satisfaction, handed it to his wife who was leaning against him and whispered:
"My dear, the hot coffee the general prepared for us is very fragrant and delicious. This is the most delicious coffee I have ever drunk in my life."
Mrs. Alfred held up the coffee, her eyes were moist, she drank two sips and gently wiped the corners of her mouth: "General, thank you..."
An Yi took the military kettle filled with hot tea from Zhou Qian and gave a slight gesture to Alfred and his wife: "You're welcome. I still remember that it was snowing at the beginning of the year. I drank it with my wife's hand in the church in the south of Quzhou City.
When I made coffee, I was in a hurry and couldn't taste the coffee, which made you laugh. I have drunk coffee before and I also like the unique taste of coffee, but relatively speaking, I prefer drinking tea!
"
"General, are the troops marching eastward just now your subordinates?" Alfred asked.
An Yi tightened the lid of the kettle: "Yes, you know two of the battalion commanders. You and your wife treated their injuries at that time. I remember that one of the shoulders had a large and irregular gash cut by shrapnel, which cost you a lot of effort."
, you will definitely remember when we met, they entrusted me to greet you, but due to time constraints, they had no time to say hello to you.
Before I left, I told them to try their best to find your wedding rings, and God bless them and they will get them back."
"General..."
Alfred's protruding Adam's apple moved up and down, and he was so moved that he could not speak.
An Yi smiled politely and said: "We still have about two hundred and forty kilometers to go. It's now eleven o'clock at night. The road is slippery at night and it won't be fast. We estimate that we won't arrive at Old Nanchang until around eight o'clock tomorrow morning. First.
Rest, please feel free to ask if you need anything along the way, you're welcome."
"Thanks……"
At 8:10 a.m. the next day, Mrs. Alfred and her sister Kaplan hugged each other tightly at the door of the church. Hundreds of men and women from Europe and the United States who were volunteering to support and work in Old Nanchang applauded. They were extremely joyful. Four stories high
The bells on the bell tower rang out into the distance.
After hugging and greeting his friends and colleagues, Alfred looked around anxiously. Pastor Pedro came to him and explained kindly:
"Stop looking, Alfred. Ann has gone back quietly. He has to leave due to his busy schedule."
Mrs. Alfred and Kaplan also gathered around. They were very excited when they heard that An Yi had left. Friends from all over the world praised An Yi's virtues and expressed deep regret for his departure. They all asked for An Yi to be transferred to him as soon as possible.
Please come back and accept your thanks.
Pastor Pedro could only explain loudly again: "Everyone, please be quiet. General An will attend the grand ceremony at three o'clock in the afternoon, and a beautiful Christmas tree will also be delivered.
Everyone, through the smooth resolution of this unfortunate emergency, we should all see the power of God, the magnanimity and fraternity of our religion, and we should also see the pious and loving heart of young General An.
With a sincere heart, he expresses his honesty and fraternity to everyone in a unique way, allowing us to see the fine traditional virtues of the ancient oriental nation. Everyone, I think we should all do something for General An, this nation.
"
"Amen..."
The voices of prayers are chanted in unison amid the melodious tolling of bells.
At 9:40 in the morning, Chiang Kai-shek, who was holding an informal meeting in his residence, received a call from He Jing, the president of the Oriental News Agency. He was so excited that he said three good words in a row, put down the phone and walked to Hu Hanmin, Zhang Jingjiang, Cai Yuanpei, and Wu Zhihui.
, Song Ziwen, Chen Guofu and more than ten elders and think tanks, excitedly informed everyone:
"I would like to inform you of the good news. The two American missionaries kidnapped by bandits in northeastern Jiangxi Province have escaped from danger and have been successfully rescued. They have now arrived at the Christian Church in Nanchang County. Apart from their money and belongings being robbed, they were not physically harmed.
"
The crowd cheered with relief. The heavy pressure exerted by consuls, church organizations, the International Red Cross, and various groups in Europe and the United States in recent days suddenly disappeared, and the sudden interruption of various diplomatic negotiations and independent tariff negotiations reappeared.
Elder Hu Hanmin sighed and nodded frequently: "Great, great! Today happens to be a Christian holiday. I believe this good news can eliminate the gloom of the past few days and pave the way for our future work.
I remember that a similar kidnapping case occurred in Shandong a few years ago. As a result, the Beijing government at that time was disgraced and criticized. Diplomacy and foreign economic cooperation came to a standstill for six months in a row. The consequences were serious!"
"Who did it?" Zhang Jingjiang asked with interest.
Chiang Kai-shek proudly replied: "It's An Yi again. He personally went to the negotiation site designated by the bandits to pick up the two missionaries. When everyone was helpless, he used his outstanding ability and high sense of responsibility to save the country for the party and the country.