Liang: Wang Hongyi introduced me to Feng Yuxiang, in 1924.
Alitto: In 1924, Feng Yuxiang was in Beijing.
Liang: Feng's title was Inspector of the Army. There were about 50,000 men in his troops. He himself held the rank of Divisional Commander. A division was made up of two brigades. There were three more independent brigades, so five brigades altogether. There weren't 50,000 men. Probably around 35,000 men. They were stationed at Nanyuan in Beijing. It was at that time through Wang Hongyi's introduction that I first met Feng Yuxiang.
Alitto: Because Wang Hongyi was in Beijing at that time?
Liang: Yes, in Beijing. He invited me on behalf of Feng to visit Feng at his quarters in Nanyuan, and to give lectures to his troops. That was in the first lunar month of 1924. So I met Feng at Nanyuan. I gave five lectures.
Alitto: To what troops were all the lectures given?
Liang: To his troops.
Alitto: Did you lecture to all of his troops at once?
Liang: No. They were divided into separate groups. He had five brigades, right? I gave one lecture to each of his brigades, only to the officers and noncoms. So, one day I lectured to brigade A and the next to brigade B. The content of each lecture was similar though not necessarily. The content could be different. Feng also attended these lectures. Everyone called Feng the "Christian General." He was a believer in Christianity. The YMCA was part of the Christian church. So he operated a YMCA in his army. The person who ran this YMCA of his was named Yu Xinqing. Didn't Feng later get married? The person he married was Li Dequan. Ms. Li was a member of the church. She was a teacher in a church-run school in Tongzhou.
Alitto: What kind of things did you and Feng Yuxiang talk about when you met?