Where Lake Meets Sky (Part 1)

CHAPTER 06

1 Recovery of Gaoyou

When the Northern Expeditionary Army entered Gaoyou, it was the transitional period between spring and summer.

At the beginning of that year, Wang Jiayu gave birth to her third child. This time it was extraordinary! It was a boy. The Cui family, up to Cui Ruiting's generation, was passed on by a single son for several generations. Although Cui Ruiting had three sons, the eldest, Cui Jinlin, had only given birth to two daughters, Guozhen and Guodi, and there had been no movement since then. The second son, Cui Yulin, got married late and had no offspring at this time. So this boy was not only Cui Xilin's first son but also the only male heir of the entire Cui family. The excitement of the whole family was greater than holding a big pile of gold.

Cui Xilin consulted his father about what grand name to give his son. Cui Ruiting smiled and said, "Since this child is the first son, why not name him 'Kaiyuan'? This name comes from an ancient poem that you like."

Cui Xilin pondered for a moment and said, "Ah! I remember now. You're talking about that line by He Zhu from the Song Dynasty, 'Bright brocade and hidden fragrant orchids. The prosperous and long-lasting Changan of the Kaiyuan and Tianbao eras. By the railing of the Shenxiang Pavilion, only Sanlang can smile and watch.' It's wonderful! Let's name him 'Kaiyuan.' Thank you, Father, for giving him a good name!"

Five years later, Cui Kaiyuan's younger brother, Cui Kaiming, was born in Changzhou City. Later, Cui Kaiyuan's second uncle, Cui Yulin, also had a son named Cui Kainian.

After Cui Xilin had his first son, he immediately entrusted his only son to his eldest brother as a way to repay the kindness his brother had shown him in the past. Cui Kaiyuan would often stay at his uncle and aunt's house when he was young. Cui Jinlin said to Cui Xilin, "With Kaiyuan, we can live more at ease. In the future, there will be someone to burn incense and place willow stakes at our graves. I've talked to my wife about it. We shouldn't be too greedy. Kaiyuan is still young, and his parents are around. He doesn't need to call us mom and dad, calling us Uncle and Auntie is fine."

At that time, Cui Xilin's main focus was not on his son. General He Yingqin, leading the First Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army(25), was achieving continuous victories and was gradually approaching Gaoyou. The four members of the Kuomintang began to take covert action, not only making several Blue Sky with a White Sun flags(26), but also posting slogans at night, urging warlords to abandon resistance and encouraging the citizens to welcome the Northern Expeditionary Army into town.

During this period, a small episode occurred. Many years later, on a certain night when he was already eighty years old, my grandfather told me this story as if he were telling a joke. But the scene he faced at that time was not funny at all, but rather quite thrilling.

"This is how it happened," he said. "After the Northern Expeditionary Army achieved a major victory over the 'Five Provinces Allied Forces' in the Yangzhou area, Sun Chuanfang's troops in Gaoyou disappeared without a trace, and we knew that Gaoyou would soon be liberated. During those days, I stayed at Tuba's house so that I could join Xia Chuanyi in welcoming the army into town more quickly. That night was already very late when Ju Shangda suddenly came knocking on the door, happily announcing that the army had arrived, and their troops were passing through the main street. We were naturally delighted as well. So the three of us quickly tucked the prepared Blue Sky with a White Sun flags in our pockets, Xia Chuanyi carried a lantern, and I held a small paper flag with a slogan made of yellow paper. We walked out together and headed east along West Street. Before we reached Northgate Street, we saw the troops hurriedly moving from south to north. As soon as we saw them, we quickened our pace and headed straight toward them, shouting, 'Hey! Welcome! Welcome!'