Cai Tingkai advertised Hu Wenhu

◎ Yan Zechuan

After the "918" incident in 1931, Japanese imperialism vainly attempted to occupy Shanghai and use it as a base to further invade China. On the night of January 28, 1932, the Japanese Marines brazenly sent troops to launch a fierce attack on the Zhabei area, and the Weng Zhaoyuan Brigade of the 78th Division of the Nineteenth Route Army, which was guarding the line north of the Beijing-Shanghai Railway to Wusong Baoshan, first engaged the Japanese army, and the "128" Songhu War of Resistance broke out. Under the impetus of the national anti-Japanese angry tide, this local war of resistance was enthusiastically supported by the people of Shanghai, and Cai Tingkai commanded the Nineteenth Route Army to fight bloodily, holding the defensive line for 34 days, causing more than 10,000 casualties of the Japanese army, and replacing the commander four times.

Just when the Nineteenth Route Army and the people of Shanghai were fighting against each other to defend their homeland and defend the country, just when Commander Cai was doing his best to organize troops to fight, some unscrupulous businessmen who were eager for profit took advantage of the people's love for the Japanese generals and stole Cai Tingkai's prestige to make a big advertisement. A food company went so far as to print Cai Tingkai's signature elsewhere as an advertisement for a so-called stomach tea, saying: "The avant-garde of the people - Cai Tingkai, the people's lucky star - Maddy tea." Of course, the cunning of such profiteers will only attract public scorn. At that time, General Cai, who was busy with military affairs, had no time to think about it. However, during this period, Cai Tingkai took the initiative to make an advertisement for a businessman, who was Hu Wenhu, an overseas Chinese in Myanmar.

In his early years, Hu Wenhu lived with his father in Burma and founded the Yangon Yong'an Church in Yangon, which specializes in medicines. Although his property is overseas, his heart is always worried about the motherland. After the "918" incident, Hu Wenhu took the lead in organizing the Yangon Chinese business community to launch the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Activity, and donated money and materials to the Northeast Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army. When the "128" Songhu War of Resistance broke out, Hu Wenhu was in Shanghai, and he witnessed the ferocity of the Japanese invaders and the heroic counterattack of the Nineteenth Route Army, and was deeply moved by the anti-Japanese patriotic spirit of the officers and men of the Nineteenth Route Army. Taking advantage of his prestige and connections in the medical circles in Shanghai, he traveled in many directions to collect medicines urgently needed for combat, and in the more than a month of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he successively delivered four batches to the front line of the Nineteenth Route Army, a large part of which were "Tiger Label" brand drugs produced by Yong'an Tang. The great cause of the National War of Resistance made Hu Wenhu acquainted with Cai Tingkai, and the friendship between them also deepened with the anti-Japanese artillery fire.

At the end of February 1932, the Songhu War of Resistance entered the most tense stage. The Japanese army that captured Shanghai was reinforced, with a total strength of more than 90,000 troops, 80 warships, and 300 aircraft, and was put under the command of former Minister of War General Yoshinori Shirakawa, but the Kuomintang Nanjing government did not provide support, making Cai Tingkai's Nineteenth Route Army even more difficult. At the same time, Hu Wenhu's pharmaceutical business is also facing heavy debt pressure, but despite this, he has tried his best to raise a large number of drugs to send to the front line.

Taking advantage of the short gap in the battle, Hu Wenhu met Cai Tingkai at the headquarters of the Nineteenth Route Army, and the two friends were extremely emotional and in the face of the rampant arrogance of the Japanese Kou and the non-resistance attitude of the Nanjing government. Cai Tingkai showed his determination to fight to the death. He said: "My Nineteenth Route Army is stationed in Shanghai, and when it has the duty to defend the territory, in january of the Wusong War of Resistance, the attitude of our army from top to bottom is the same -- first, but pray for death in battle, do not seek survival!" Second, see an enemy, kill an enemy! Third, you must die an enemy and then die yourself! As a Chinese soldier, nothing else is as good as others, and only the chance to die gloriously for the motherland is more than others. Unequal international status requires us to die, and the fate of an unfree nation also requires us to die, and we can only use our death to fight for freedom and equality. This is our glory and our pursuit! General Cai's words made Hu Wenhu doubly admired.

On the occasion of parting, Cai Tingkai repeatedly thanked Hu Wenhu for his generous support and felt that something should be given away, but looking around, there was nothing but a map on the wall and a telephone on the table. So he picked up the brush, pondered for a moment, struggled to write the following paragraph:

Hu Wenhujun, the owner of Yong'an Hall, was enthusiastic about saving the country and helping people, and his 'tiger label' elixirs, bagua dan, headache powder, and qingkui water medicines, which were curative of the disease, had long been popular in the sea, and everyone was known as the same. This time, when our army resisted Japan in Shanghai, Hu Jun was the most effective in providing assistance, and it was difficult to share a vendetta in a hurry, which was inspiring. The book is here to commemorate it.

Cai Tingkai

After writing it, Cai Tingkai gonggongzhengly stamped his own vermilion seal, and then handed it to Hu Wenhu in his hand to show his gratitude.

On March 3, 1932, the Nineteenth Route Army was finally forced to withdraw from Shanghai because of the Nanjing government's traitor to the country and seeking glory. On May 5, the Nanjing government signed the humiliating Songhu Agreement with the Japanese invaders. In order to show his admiration for Cai Tingkai and the officers of the Nineteenth Route Army, Hu Wenhu published this passage of Cai Tingkai's handwritten letter, together with his trademark for drugs, as an advertisement in the 1932 "Declaration Magazine", and specially stated: "The credibility of good medicine is enhanced by the hero's words." This is both an advertisement and an anti-Japanese propaganda material, which shows Hu Wenhu's good intentions to support the War of Resistance. This advertisement condenses the love of Cai Tingkai and Hu Wenhu, two patriots.