Episode Summary
A spy chief fails to expose Liu Hancao. Li Kenong organizes a cultural resistance movement, creating an association and holding a memorial for Lu Xun to rally support. The event successfully outsmarts enemy spies. A new patriotic play arrives in Guilin, and the team works to get it approved by local officials.
Spoiler Alert
The Cat and Mouse Game
A Late-Night Interrogation
A spy chief who works for Dai Li wants to test Liu Hancao. He thinks something is off. So he invites Liu Hancao for a late-night tea. The whole meeting is just a pretense. The spy chief is really there to probe for weaknesses. He keeps trying to corner Liu Hancao with questions.
But these two are both masters of deception. Liu Hancao gives nothing away. His responses are airtight. The spy chief gets absolutely nowhere. He leaves the meeting just as confused about Liu Hancao's true loyalties as he was before.
Building a Movement
The Anti-Enemy Association
The higher-ups are telling their hidden agents to lay low. These agents are also skeptical about the cooperation between the Nationalists and the Communists. The whole alliance feels like it could break at any moment.
Li Kenong senses this growing tension. He wants to protect the united front. He also wants to protect the cultural anti-Japanese movement in Guilin. He suggests a new strategy to Xia Yan. They should still publish stories about the Communist Party’s wartime heroics. But they should be subtle. He tells Xia Yan to put the articles in the middle pages of the magazine, not on the front.
Xia Yan understands the situation. He agrees to the plan. They also decide they will only publish one of Ren Suning’s frontline reports per issue.
Next, they focus on creating an Anti-Enemy Association for the literary world in Guilin. This is a sensitive project. Our side is very careful about who they choose for the committee. Li Kenong provides a list of important names. It includes respected scholars like Li Renren, Zhou Libo, Xia Yan, and Wang Luyan. Interestingly, Liu Hancao is also added to the list. He was once a representative for the Guangxi clique.
Honoring a Legend
At the association's first official meeting, Wang Luyan is elected chairman of the standing council. At the same time, the writer Zhou Libo arrives in Guilin by train. Ren Suning personally goes to the station to meet him. Ai Wu, another writer, is there too. Zhou Libo and Ai Wu hit it off right away. They are both writers and have a lot to discuss.
The two go out to eat, and Ai Wu invites Wang Luyan to join them. The three of them are excited to be working together. They realize the third anniversary of the famous writer Lu Xun's death is approaching. Wang Luyan mentions that Lu Xun was the reason he became a writer. They immediately agree to organize a memorial event under the association's name.
During the event, Wang Luyan presents Lu Xun's work in a new way. He uses cartoons to illustrate the deep meanings behind the author's famous words. The approach is simple and refreshing. It makes complex ideas easy to grasp. The goal of the memorial is to use Lu Xun's legacy to inspire anti-Japanese passion and promote national unity. Wang Luyan leads the crowd in a reading of Lu Xun's essay, "From the Hundred-Plant Garden to the Three-Flavors Study." The piece describes a peaceful, harmonious time, and it energizes everyone present.
Dai Li's spies attended the event, of course. But they came away with nothing. The organizers were clever. They intentionally avoided any sensitive language. They chose poems and essays that nobody could object to. The spies were left with no excuse to make trouble. Even the spy chief has to admit they were outmaneuvered.
A New Play Arrives
Getting the Green Light
Back in Chongqing, Zhou Enlai is monitoring the situation in Guangxi. A director named Jin Shan arrives with a new stage play called "The Battle of Taierzhuang." The play has a very powerful message, and they want to perform it for the public. Jin Shan asks Li Kenong to help arrange the performance.
Secretary Xie, who works for Bai Chongxi, gets the notice. His job is to manage the local officials. These officials are completely loyal to Bai Chongxi. When they hear that their leader considers the play important, they immediately promise their full support.
