We arrived in Shanghai on the second night. The soldiers were still sleeping, huddled together with their rifles, when they heard faint bursts of gunfire from the south. The sounds weren't loud; in fact, they were almost indistinguishable from the clanging of the rails, but they were enough to wake the soldiers.
"Are we almost there?" the old sergeant complained, rubbing his sleepy eyes. "Why so fast?"
I understood his meaning. Although we weren't having an easy time in the carriage—exposed to wind, rain, and sun, and hungry—we hoped the train would never reach its destination. Perhaps this was also an unfulfilled wish hidden deep in the hearts of the soldiers on board.
However, this wish was clearly a pipe dream. As the train drew closer to Shanghai, the gunfire grew louder. The southe
