The Great Shanghai Battle
Diocesan Girls ' Junior School , Hui , Sarina - 9
W ow !” Stephanie exclaimed . Her mother had just been telling Stephanie and her brother Lawrence about their family history .“ Do you mean that we are actually descended from the great commander Zhang Yang from Old Shanghai ?”
“ Yes . Don ’ t lean too close , Stephanie . You ’ re spitting all over my face !” Her mother , Laura , replied . “ As for the commander Zhang Yang ,” Laura went on , “ he was a famous commander from the Qing Dynasty who devised some good battle tactics for the Great Battle of Shanghai , although the battle was lost . He fought bravely in the battle and was killed by General Takagi of the Japanese army .”
“ There is an ancient scroll written by him long ago in the cabinet I always tell you two to keep away from . Don ’ t you dare touch it ,” she added , noticing Stephanie and Lawrence ’ s mischievous faces . “ They are greatly treasured and not written for certain pesky children to tear up . Behave now . I am going to work .” She whisked away , leaving Stephanie and Lawrence alone in the room .
By late afternoon , Stephanie ’ s mother had still not returned . Suddenly , her brother Lawrence burst into her room . “ Why don ’ t we take a look at that scroll ?” he queried . “ I ’ m bored sick in here .” Stephanie was afraid her mum would find out , but curiosity soon overcame her and she agreed with her brother . The children opened the cabinet . A mixture of dust and beetles sprayed out of the cabinet . “ Achoo !” Stephanie sneezed . Eyes streaming , she looked inside the cabinet . She found a scroll of tattered , yellowish paper deep in a corner . The children unrolled the parchment . On it were words written with very faded ink . Stephanie squinted her eyes , “ The Diary of Commander Zhang Yang — The Great Shanghai Battle .” She read out loud . “ Shh !” Lawrence hushed . “ Dad will find out !” But Stephanie was too excited to hear him . “ The diary of the great commander Zhang Yang !” She said in awe . “ I must read it !”
Suddenly , there was a blinding flash of light in front of Stephanie ’ s eyes . When she could see again , she discovered that the room had vanished ! She heard cracking noises like fireworks all around her . The strong smell of gun powder drifted around her , making her more fatigued than ever . All she saw was a piece of muddy , bloodstained grassland . She looked down at her body and saw a muscular , battle-dressed body below her head instead . They were being transported back to the Great Shanghai battle as soldiers ! All around , they saw men grappling with each other . A cannon sounded , breaking into the heart of a military building . It crumbled into pieces , taking lots of men ’ s lives as the bricks fell onto them . Men rushed around her , fleeing for their lives . Some wounded soldiers lay motionless on the bloodstained turf . Tanks were everywhere , firing bullets at every soldier in sight . I must help ! Stephanie thought as she scrambled to her feet . Lawrence joined her .
They stared ahead into the distance and saw two muscular men dueling with each other . As they looked more closely , the children saw that the men were Commander Zhang Yang from China and General Takagi from Japan ! The children approached them warily . Just then , Commander Zhang Yang slipped on a pool of blood and landed awkwardly onto his side . Looming over his opponent , General Takagi raised his sword above his head and brought it down , striking Commander Zhang Yang ’ s chest . The commander ’ s blood immediately spurted out of his wound . As the children stared , horrified , Commander Zhang Yang convulsed . Spotting Stephanie and Lawrence , he whispered “ Avenge my death …” He drew in a last rattling breath , then died .
Stephanie said hoarsely “ He told us to avenge his death !” The children understood now . As Commander Zhang Yang ’ s descendants , the scroll had brought them back to the time of the Shanghai battle to right an ancient wrong . Suddenly they were aware of General Takagi advancing towards them , snarling viciously . Together , they picked up