"You are a coward!" Zhang Wanting pointed angrily at Editor Hu's nose and cursed, her chest rising and falling, obviously very angry.
Editor Hu's eyes were dim and he did not refute her. Yes, he himself thought he was a coward.
Faced with the suffering of tens of thousands of compatriots, how could he remain indifferent? He recalled the oath he swore when he graduated from Yenching University and started working in journalism: "Be impartial and put the truth first; do not fear power and do not flatter the secular world."
He paused and said to Zhang Wanting, "I'll think about it and give you an answer tomorrow."
When I got home in the evening, Editor Hu took the report and read it again and again. The truth inside stung him again. Countless compatriots were living in hell, but the outside world knew nothing about the atrocities of the Japanese invaders.
He had insomnia, one cigarette after another, and he dug out the diary he wrote when he was just admitted to college and choosing his major.
"The pen is a more powerful weapon than the sword. I will use the knowledge I have learned to serve the 40 million people and pierce this dark world..."
Do you still have your original intention? Now that you have a wife and children, you have to consider these things.
His wife brought over a glass of water and said, "What happened today? I see you are worried."
"Is the child asleep?"
"I've gone to bed. You should go to bed early. Staying up late is not good for your health."
Editor Hu suddenly asked: "Wan Ru, if I ask you to take your children out of Tianjin now and go to Xiangjiang or a mountain city, will you go?"
The wife frowned: "Desheng, has something happened?"
Editor Hu did not tell him the truth, but just said: "Maybe the newspaper will move to Xiangjiang recently. I don't know if you are willing to go."
The wife smiled tenderly: "I will go wherever you go. Our family cannot be separated."
"Well, you pack up first and take the children to Xiangjiang tomorrow. I'll go find you after I've finished handling the matters here." Editor Hu finally made up his mind, but first he had to send his family to a safe place.
"Are you in such a hurry?" the wife asked in confusion.
Editor-in-chief Hu nodded: "The sooner the better, Ta Kung Pao won't be able to open in Tianjin for a few days."
"Okay, I'll pack my things and get ready to leave tomorrow." The wife finally agreed, but she was still a little reluctant to leave this home.
Early the next morning, Editor Hu went directly to the general manager's office to meet with his boss Wu Dingsheng.
Wu Dingsheng looked at the report with a complicated mood.
He said to Editor Hu: "Old Hu, are you crazy? You are gambling with your own life. The Japanese will not let you go after seeing this report."
Editor Hu smiled casually: "I don't care, but I'm afraid that once this report comes out, boss, your business in Tianjin will not be saved."
"Old Hu, you really posed a problem for me. You are forcing me to move to Xiangjiang." Wu Dingsheng smiled bitterly. "Ta Kung Pao" was his lifeblood, and he spent all his money in Tianjin for a report. Giving up all the industries is indeed a bit difficult to choose.
The two were in the general manager's office, two old men smoking cigarettes and talking all morning. I finally made up my mind to publish this report no matter what. And the sooner the better, the sooner the truth is revealed, it may bring a little more hope to the suffering compatriots.
Returning to the office at noon, Editor Hu called Zhang Wanting: "This report can be published, but my name must be signed."
"Why?" Zhang Wanting asked puzzledly.
"Not only do I need to sign my name, but I also need you to move to Xiangjiang with the newspaper." Editor Hu continued.
"If I don't go, I will stay in Tianjin." Zhang Wanting naturally didn't want to leave.
"Well, you are fired now, and you have nothing to do with the newspaper." Editor Hu said aggressively.
As if she heard a bolt from the blue, Zhang Wanting pointed at Editor Hu with trembling hands: "You bastard!"
After speaking, he took off his work badge and left the office under the watchful eyes of everyone in the office.
On the same day, the general manager convened a meeting with everyone from the newspaper.
"Those who are willing to move to Xiangjiang with the newspaper should pack up and leave now. Those who are not willing should pay severance pay to find their own way out now!" Wu Dingsheng reluctantly gave an ultimatum to all employees.
An old employee stood up and asked: "Boss, can you tell us what happened?"
Wu Dingsheng looked at these employees, his voice choked up: "Tomorrow is the last issue of Ta Kung Pao. The remaining employees hope that everyone can complete this work with me today."
Some employees chose to leave, and some chose to go to Xiangjiang with the headquarters of Ta Kung Pao.
But everyone is willing to stay and stand on the last duty.
The next morning, the last special issue of "Ta Kung Pao" began to be printed and distributed at the places where "Ta Kung Pao" was sold across the country.
In the entire "Ta Kung Pao", there are long and lengthy reports on the Datong Massacre and the miserable life in the Datong Coal Mine, as well as news of mass graves and Japanese people smuggling coal to Japan.
There are oral statements from the parties involved, confessions from Japanese military officers, and photos of Jin Bao writing this letter.
It would not be surprising if a tabloid published such news. The general public would only regard it as an after-dinner anecdote, and at most they would scold the Japanese for their brutality. But this is "Ta Kung Pao", the most serious and fair newspaper in the country, and among the people across the country It has a high degree of authority in my heart, and it also has the signatures of General Manager Wu Dingsheng and Editor Hu.
This is not only using Editor Hu’s many years of career, but also using the reputation accumulated by Ta Kung Pao over many years to make a big gamble.
There is also a photo of the signed letter from Leopard. This is a hero in the eyes of the people. Who knows how much risk he took to get this information.
Like a bombshell falling on the lake, causing huge waves, the newspaper was quickly sold out, and then printed more copies and sold out again. The Datong Coal Mine tragedy became a hot topic across the country.
Countless voices cursing the Japanese came from the mouths of countless people across the country, and other newspapers also reprinted and reprinted the Ta Kung Pao report. Even some foreign reporters reported this incident abroad.
The entire country's upper class, ordinary office workers, and lower class people were all shocked by this report, including photos, testimonies, confessions from Japanese military officers, photos of the emaciated people involved, and the appalling mass graves.
Dohi Makoto took the newspaper and yelled angrily: "Everyone in the military police and the police station gathered together to arrest people in the French Concession."
Soon, thousands of police officers from the Tianjin Police Department and hundreds of gendarmerie soldiers broke into the French Concession and surrounded the Ta Kung Pao newspaper group.
However, the place was already deserted. Wu Dingsheng had already boarded the boat to Xiangjiang with his staff. Editor Hu was the only one standing at the door of the Ta Kung Pao newspaper office, looking like a general who had won a battle.
Wu Dingsheng persuaded him to leave together, but he refused to leave. Someone must be responsible for this matter, otherwise the crazy Japanese would arrest many innocent people, and even Ta Kung Pao staff and their families would suffer.
"It's such a good weather to close your eyes!" The early winter sun was warm and warm. Editor Hu lit a large front door, took a deep breath, and muttered to himself as he looked at the countless Japanese military police and pseudo-police around him.
