The Manchurian Candidate: Pu Yi's Attempt to Restore the Qing Empire

Cohort:Glad your are caught up. Ornery? Hmmmm....kill of main popular character just be contrary? Maybe...as a matter of fact...muhahahahahahahahaha! Just kidding.

Le Ran: I am glad you enjoyed the interplay between Li and Dai. I was really trying to interject some light hearted comedy into what has become a very dark story. I have to admit that I still chuckle thinking about "Pope Dai".

At the office eh? You'll have to tell me what business your in sometime.

I have thought about it. And all this is saved in folders by chapter. Perhaps someday, whenever I finish this, I'll consider publication. Hey, if I do, all my loyal fans will get free copies.

The_Carbonater: Thanks buddy. Glad your still following along, out there lurking in the shadows.

Rodrico Stak/Quanto: Thanks guys. I swear, you two actually make me blush with your praise. I mean it, I am red faced as I type this. I think it's funny that Rodrico brought up the movie angle again. The scenes of this are now starting to play through my head in that format.

thrashing mad: Thanks TM. And that Polish saying may proved to be quite apropo. It just remains to be seen who will die. As far as Li and the daughter, not quite, but....

Things have been terribly hectic around here lately, but it is my plan to have an update up on Saturday night. It has become a little frustrating that I have got down to one update a week. Even my father is getting irritated with that production level as he tells me he needs his "fix". Hopefully the updating will increase to two per week her pretty soon. Thanks to all of you who have been so patient with my slow updating lately.

Chapter 6​

Convergence​

May 6th, 1936. Riverside District, Changchun…

Major Li watched the man react to the information. The pistol trembled in the man’s hand.

“My daughter”, he whispered, his eyes loosing focus momentarily, and then the anger surged back. “You lie!” The words came out in a hissing as if steam were escaping a fractured pipe. “You lie!”, came the words again, this time in a guttural growl.

The Major sighed and tapped ashes from his cigarette. “Sir, I have no need to lie to you. Be that as it may, I weary of this confrontation. I am leaving and you have two choices; shoot me or follow me.” With that, Li dropped his cigarette and ground it under his heel, then turned and began to walk away.

The gun trembled in the man’s hand again, and then slowly lowered. He began to trudge after the Major. He soon caught up and for a time the two men walked side by side in silence. After a time the man turned his head towards Li, “Where are we going?”

“My place”, answered Li.

The man reached and grabbed Li’s arm, spinning the Major towards him. “No”, said the man emphatically. “You will take me to my daughter now!” he demanded.

Li looked down at the man’s hand gripping his arm then raised his eye to the man’s face. In a calm voice, “Sir, it is near midnight, and the girl is asleep, along with the family that has been taking care of her. We will go in the morning, after a good nights rest. Besides, there is something I must show you before you see your daughter.”

The man gripped Li’s arm tighter. He was raising the pistol, “You will take me now Major or…”

Major Li stepped towards the man quickly. His face was now only inches from his adversary. “Then shoot me now, you bastard, and be done with it. I, for one, am sick of this posturing”, he hissed in the man’s face. The two stared hard eyed at each other for a moment, and then Li turned away, wrenching his arm free, and continued walking.

The man visibly trembled, his rage barely in check. After a moment, he again followed Li, falling in beside the Major a moment later.

While they walked, Li pulled his cigarettes again from his breast pocket, extracted one from the pack, and then slowed to light it. He then continued his measured pace towards his home. He held the pack towards the man, “Do you smoke?”

“No”, came the terse reply.

Li put the pack back in his pocket. After a few moments he said, “You have never killed anyone before, have you?” He heard the man’s step falter momentarily, and then resume its steady stride. He could feel the man’s eyes on him, but did not look over. After another moment, when he had not received an answer, “I sincerely hope you are not ashamed of what you may consider a shortcoming. It is actually a good thing that you have not killed anyone. It means you can touch your daughter with clean hands and a clear conscience.” Li paused and then continued in a lower voice. “I will never have children. My hands are putrid with death, and I would not subject them to my touch.” Again Li waited and again no response. Li made no more attempts at conversation.

After ten minutes of walking, they arrived in front of a modest but modern dwelling. Li proceeded through a small gate in a low wall, followed the path through a garden and arrived at the door that opened into the house. He went through the door, the man following behind him. He stopped inside a small foyer, and in the darkness fumbled his matches out of his pocket and lit a kerosene lamp that sat on a small table. He lifted the lamp and proceeded to go farther into the house. They arrived in a small sitting room that had a window overlooking the front garden. Li stopped.

Li gestured towards a door in the far wall. “That is a guest bedroom. At the foot of the bed you will find a chest with towels and linens. There is a washroom just down that short hallway.” He paused for a moment to let the man digest the information. “My bedroom is over there”, he said pointing at another door. “Do you wish to search it before we retire?”

The man swung his gaze to Li. “What for?”

Li shrugged. “Perhaps to insure there are no weapons in there that I might use to ambush you in the night?”

The man jerked his head in what Li interpreted to be the negative. “Very well then, I wish you good night.” Li extended the lamp to the man, who hesitated momentarily, then took it. Li turned and walked to his bedroom, entering and closing the door behind him. Once inside, he took a deep breath. He removed his uniform jacket and draped it over a chair. He sat down on his bed, removed his boots, and then without removing the rest of his clothes, lay down on the bed on his back. He positioned the pillow comfortably under his head, and then stared at the ceiling. With all that had happened today and in the last week, he thought he might have trouble falling asleep. Inside another moment, that particular fear had been laid to rest.

canonized: Thank you sir. It was meant to be significant. I hope to not disappoint with the next update.

rcduggan: Welcome back from vacation. Hope you had fun. Take all the time you need since I only seem to be able to get one update a week in.

thrashing mad: Thank you. Yeah, Li either has balls of steel, or he just didnt' care at the moment. Kill the daughter? You brute, you evil man, how could you say such a thing. To exploit a child just to advance the story plot would be unthinkable...okay, maybe not.

Rodrico Stak: Thank you sir!

rcduggan/canonized: Thanks alot guys, it means alot to me, but Armi, if that old bean comment is another crack about my age...grrrrrrrrrr.

Okay, I usually get an update up by Saturday night, but that is not going to happen. I am about three quarters done with it, but I am extremly unhappy with it so far and may do a partial re-write. If you have any complaints about this, feel free to sent them to my complaint departement at "Blame Armi.com" care of canonized's pm box as it is partialy his fault for the distraction that caused my crappy writing. I am sure he will be glad to hear from you.

I am going to try and get it up by tommorow night...hopefully. Thanks for your patience and remember...Blame Armi!

Chapter 6​

Convergence​

May 7th, 1936. Zujiawopu District, Changchun…

Major Li awoke to the rays of the sun slanting through his window onto his face. The warmth felt good and he lay there for a few moments letting it sink into his pores. He sat up slowly, surveying the room. After a moment, he put on his boots, stood, grabbed his uniform jacket and left the room. He stopped in the middle of the sitting room and stared through the open door of the guest bedroom. The bed was neatly made, the extra linens returned to the chest he assumed. He listened for a moment, the house was very quiet. He moved into the kitchen and noticed the door to the central garden was open. He stepped through the door and saw the man sitting at the small table in the middle of the garden, his face upturned towards the sun, his eyes closed. He, like Li in his bedroom, seemed to be basking in the warmth. Li stood there and studied this man, trying to take his measure. The man must have sensed his presence.

“Please Major, join me. I hope you don’t mind, but I made tea”, the man said without opening his eyes. Li noticed the tea service on the table. He made his way to the table, sat, and poured himself some tea. He raised the cup to his lips and sipped, his eye staring off across the garden.

“Did you sleep well”, Li asked the man distractedly, his eye loosing focus on the outside world as his vision turned inwards.

The man smiled slightly, dropping his head, but not opening his eyes. “Surprisingly well, I must admit. I feel I should be distressed by this, yet I am not. And you Major?”

Li’s vision returned to the outside world as he looked down at his cup of tea and thought about it. The revelation surprised him as well. “The same. Odd”, said Li, frowning.

The man opened his eyes finally, and he looked around the garden. “My sentiments as well.”

Li looked over at the man, suddenly wanting to get on with the day. “If you will excuse me, I will make a call to have a car delivered. It is not a great distance, but too far to walk.”

Now it was the mans turn to frown, the tranquility of the morning broken by Li’s announcement. Without looking at Li, he nodded. Li went into the house and made the call.

Thirty minutes later they were driving west along the smaller side streets, to the outskirts of the city, towards the poorer suburbs. Li crossed the Xihuancheng Gonglu into Fanjiadian. He pulled to a stop in front of what appeared to be a grocer belonging to a Jewish family judging by the signs in Hebrew. Li looked at the building, and then at the man, who was staring at the building through the passenger window.

“Sir, I need you to understand that everything today must be done in a proper order, so that it makes sense, to not only you, but to the other people it will affect. I do not seek to delay your reunion with your daughter intentionally. Do you understand?” Li asked.

Without turning to look at Li, “So she is not here?”

“No. This man instructs her, tutors her, as he did me when I was young. He is very wise and does not press his religion. I trust him implicitly. I must inform him that his pupil will not be coming by today. He is very fond of the girl”, Li finished.

The man nodded brusquely while continuing to stare out the window. Li exited the car and entered the grocery. A moment later he was escorted out by a bespectacled older man, of stooped posture, wearing one of those little caps that Jews wear. He looked over at the man and stared, then looked back to Li, shook his hand and went back inside the store. Li started the car and headed on.

“He was your tutor you say?” the man asked as they drove.

“Yes. His name is Mordechi Bar Lev. He is also a rabbi of the Jewish faith. He is very learned. He taught me a great deal, including the reading and speaking of Hebrew”, said Li. The man grunted in response.

Five minutes later Li pulled the car over and parked. Li looked across the street and the man’s eyes followed Li’s gaze until he too was staring at the cemetery. Li exited the car and walked halfway across before turning around and looking back. He did not gesture, but the man knew that Li was waiting for him.

When the man had exited the car he realized they were parked across from a Christian cemetery. As he came up beside Li he asked, “Why are we here? I thought you said my daughter was alive?”

“She is”, replied Li. “I need to show you something first.”

“What could I possibly be interested in here?” asked the man showing his frustration.

Li did not reply, he simply turned and headed for a small iron gate set in a low stone wall that fronted the cemetery. The man cursed under his breath but followed none the less. He followed Li through the cemetery, between rows of headstones until Li stopped. When he came up beside Li he was staring down at a headstone. Li looked at the man and then pointed at the headstone. The man turned to look at it. There were characters in both Chinese and some other script that the man did not recognize except for the fact that it was western. He studied the Chinese characters and then gasped. Suddenly his knees were weak and gave beneath him. The tears that followed his collapse were quiet, gasping noises. The man reached out and traced the characters in front of him and a name escaped his throat, Lin.

Li had backed away a few paces and turned his back to give the man some privacy to deal with his grief. A moment later he heard the man say in a quiet voice, “Why here?”

Li continued to stare across the manicured grounds of the cemetery. “No one would think to look for her here”, he said. “I knew that here she could be at peace.”

He heard the man getting to his feet, sniffling to clear his nose. As Li turned back towards the man he saw him wiping his eyes. “Thank you. All these years and I never knew what happened to her. Was she thrown into a pit with the nameless poor? Was she thrown in the river after me? Was she left on the side of the road for animals to feed on?” The man reached out again to run his hands across the top of the marker. “Thank you”, he whispered. Li made no reply. He could think of nothing worthwhile to say.

The man turned to Li. “My daughter?”

Li was looking at the ground and a smile grew on his face. “Listen”, he said pointing his arm up the gentle slope of the cemetery.

The man looked up the hill and then cocked his head to listen. At first he heard nothing, and then…was it? Yes, it was the faint sound of children laughing. His head shot up to the crest as he tried to will himself to see beyond it. He looked to Li, but the Major was already slowly making his way up the slope. The man bounded after him. The man came up beside the Major and slowed his pace. He was panting, partially from exertion, but also from anticipation. As they reached the crest, Major Li stopped and pointed down the other side to a cluster of brick buildings built in what must be a European style. In a grassy area between the buildings the man watched as children ran and played and screamed and laughed.

“What is this place?” he asked.

Li watched the children. “It is a school run by Christian missionaries, Jesuits. They take in orphans from time to time.”

“My daughter lives here?”

Li shook his head. “No. She merely goes to school here. She lives with one of the teachers and her mother.”

“Why…why did you do this?” the man asked in a tremulous voice.

Li did not reply. He merely said, “Please wait here. I will be back momentarily.” With that he started walking down the hill towards the children.

The man stood transfixed, watching the Major intently as he approached a young woman, one of the teachers he guessed. Li spoke with her for a few moments. The he watched as the woman called to one of the children. He eagerly searched the throng of children, trying to guess which would respond to the summons, but he was to far away to make out features. The woman called more intently, he heard one of the children moan dramatically, and then brake away from the others to make her way to the woman. When the child came up to the woman, the man noticed her shy away from the Major, almost hiding herself behind the woman. After another brief conversation, the three of them made there way up the hill towards him.

The man was trembling. As the three approached, the woman bent and said something to the girl. The girl looked up at the man, squinting in the sun, and then she stopped. No, she froze, her expression going blank as she studied the man. The man reached up and removed his hat, clutching it to his chest, crushing it in his hands as he kneaded it nervously. Then he saw it, the recognition dawning in the little girls eyes.

In a quiet little voice the girls said, “Papa?”

The man dropped to his knees, the tears again cascading down his cheeks. He held out his arms, one word breathlessly escaped his lips, “Mai.”

“Papa!” the girl squealed as she tore across the ground at breakneck speed, hurling herself the last few feet to land safely in her fathers arms. The man stood, his daughter clamped to his chest as he kissed her and stroked her hair all the while cooing at her. “Oh Mai. Mai, Mai, Mai.”

Li stood watching, Wu by his side. Wu looked over at Li, and seeing the expression on his face, moved her hand inside his, wrapping her fingers around his. Li smiled momentarily, and then realizing what was happening, stiffened. Wu was sure he was going to pull his hand away, but the Major continued to watch the interaction between father and daughter, and slowly he relaxed, leaving his hand entwined with hers.

After a time, the man lowered his daughter to the ground and took her hand. He looked up at Li and Wu, his eyes still moist with tears. Li noticed a small nod, and then the man turned and started to lead his daughter down the hill towards the cemetery.

Wu watched this and turned to Li. “Where are they going?”

Li followed them with his eyes and noticed their destination. He turned Wu around and started to lead her back towards the school. “Family reunion.”

_________________________________________________________________

We have finally come to the end of Chapter 6, which was by far the longest chapter. Some things have began to fall into place, but many questions are left unanswered.

I want to apologize for the fact that it took so long to get this update in. I spent 3 different days working on it, and sometimes I just wasn't happy with it, still not sure I am.

I have to go out of town on Monday and wont be back for a week. Business trip. So there will probably not be an update for about two weeks. And no, I am not going to let this become a habit.

I think most people's question would be when will Pu Yi's army go to war. Nice to hear from you sir. I have not commented lately, but I have been dropping by from time to time to check out your works. I suppose next time I should comment.