Volume 1 Wuchang Vortex Chapter 15: Changes that Begin Quietly
In the dead of night, two gas lanterns were hung high at the entrance of the governor's office. Although the style was a bit old, the original kerosene wicks in the lanterns had been replaced with sixteen light bulbs. Electric lights occasionally flickered in the houses next to the government office. The electrical wires and water pipes arranged along the beams intertwined the ancient and the modern.
Inside the government office, Zhang Biao, the governor of Hubei and commander of the Hubei New Army, had already changed into casual clothes. He glanced at Xiao Anguo and Yang Qiu who had suddenly arrived, then slowly put down his book and picked up the invitation card handed to him by his adjutant.
After reading the name card, Zhang Biao snorted in his heart, but an old fox is an old fox. Everyone in the world knows that he and Rui Cheng are not on good terms. They restrain each other and think that the other is a hindrance, but he will not show it on his face, especially to his subordinates. So after a while, he raised his eyes and asked, "Chen Hua, An Guo, you two came here overnight just to use this to tease me?"
Xiao Anguo was not well-educated. When he was in charge of the baggage camp, he even looked down on the revolutionaries. The literary society and the enlightenment society in other camps were very lively, but when it came to him, he was only looked down upon and disdainful. Secretly doing some private work for the officials was considered a good salary, so he could only watch Yang Qiu and let him respond to matters in such a situation.
This is also called big brother?
Yang Qiu said something sinister, and then he bowed and said, "Your Excellency, Yang Qiu grew up outside and is ignorant of the ways of the world. I have not been working for you for long. This time, I almost made a big mistake even though I was supervised by you. So I was very nervous when I received the invitation, and since I have no one to ask for advice, I took the liberty to come and see you. I hope you can give me some pointers."
"Oh? Then why don't you go find your Li Xietong?"
"To be honest, sir, I went to look for Lord Li, but Lord Li had already rested, so..."
Zhang Biao nodded, and was quite satisfied with Yang Qiu's answer, but how could the old fox express his opinion casually? He picked up the name card and flicked his finger, then looked at Yang Qiu and suddenly asked, "So, in your opinion, do you want to go to the celebration banquet or not?"
"Old bastard, I'll kill you sooner or later." Yang Qiu was furious. No matter in this life or the previous one, he hated beating around the bush the most. But now he was still working for someone else, so he could only bite his tongue and wave his hands: "Sir, I and Sir Xiao are both military men, and we don't know how to socialize, so please reply to the famous forum for us."
"Humph, Yang Qiu, you are so bold!"
Yang Qiu thought he would be satisfied after hearing this, but unexpectedly, a cold snort suddenly exploded in his ear. When he looked at Zhang Biao again, the other party's face was already livid, and he stared at him with his eyes wide open and said angrily: "Do you think I don't know your little tricks? The governor and I are a little unhappy, but that is all for the court and for the Qing Dynasty! How can I allow you to slander and talk about Lord Rui in private!"
"Come here, punish Yang Qiu, who secretly plotted against his superiors, with ten military sticks to serve as a warning to others!"
He had just received twenty lashes, but before he could say a few words, he would be beaten with ten military sticks. Yang Qiu was also confused. What kind of play was this Zhang Biao playing? Xiao Anguo was also anxious when he saw this. He was about to speak and beg for mercy, but he saw Yang Qiu winking at him, so he could only shut up and watch him being pinned down without saying a word.
Ten slaps with the big stick made Yang's buttocks hurt. When the guards helped him up, his buttocks were already swollen. Seeing that his face was blue, Zhang Biao was satisfied and asked, " What ?"
Yang Qiu endured the pain on his buttocks while gnashing his teeth and taking a deep breath, saying, "Sir, I refuse to accept this. I was born in the army and have only served in the baggage camp before. I have never experienced anything like this."
"Hmph..." Zhang Biao sneered and his eyes became even colder. This made Xiao Anguo even more panicked and he hurriedly tried to persuade Yang Qiu.
Although Yang Qiu's butt was in great pain, he had guessed what Zhang Biao was thinking. If he changed his words now, it would confirm the accusation that he was trying to figure out his superiors, so he gritted his teeth and acted like a fool, refusing to change his words.
"This time I will just treat you as someone who doesn't know how to behave and forgive you." Zhang Biao had already made a plan in his mind. Seeing Yang Qiu stiffening his neck, he didn't say anything more. He threw the name card in front of him and said deliberately, "It's just to celebrate your success. Why can't you go? As long as you remember the reputation of my new army and don't get drunk and act crazy, you'll be fine. As for the rest, you can decide for yourself. I'm busy with official duties, so don't bother me again."
"Yes, I understand. Thank you for your guidance." Xiao Anguo felt relieved when he heard Zhang Biao say this. He quickly picked up the business card and pretended to hold Yang Qiu to thank him.
Perhaps wanting to show some care, Zhang Biao coughed twice with a fake smile, and said with a cold look in his eyes: "Yang Qiu, after this is over, you will go to the 42nd mark immediately. I will prevent other social activities for you."
Yang Qiu was also relieved. Seeing that Zhang Biao seemed to be leaving, he thought of something and hurriedly called him back, saying, "I will definitely remember your teachings and will not let you down! But most of the brothers in the army are scattered all over the place. Can you ask them to come back once so that I can see them?"
Zhang Biao agreed to this matter very readily. Regardless of whether he could cultivate him into a confidant, the army had its own rules. Since ancient times, new officials had to establish their authority when they took office. Moreover, he was counting on Yang Qiu to make a big fuss to help him lead out those rebels so as to completely eradicate the internal troubles. Therefore, he immediately wrote a mobilization order and gave it to Yang Qiu: "Go and consult with Lord Li."
After limping out of the Admiral's Mansion holding the troop mobilization order, Yang Qiu felt like crying and laughing at the same time.
He was crying because he was beaten in vain. This made him realize even more clearly that if he used traditional methods and learned to fight these old foxes like in novels, he would be finished sooner or later. His butt was burning after only ten hits. If it was thirty or fifty hits, his skin would be torn and he would have to lie in bed for several months.
The one who was laughing was that he had finally got the order to mobilize the troops. As long as he could mobilize the 42nd Battalion scattered all over the place back for a period of time, he would have a chance to control the army. In troubled times, what could be more important than the barrel of a gun? !
Seeing the changing expression on Yang Qiu's face, Xiao Anguo, who was supporting him, thought that his butt hurt, and asked with concern: "Brother, you suffered again this time, are you okay?"
"Hehe...hiss." Yang Qiu just laughed and pulled the wound. After a pause, he said: "Brother Xiao, you should be happy. At least the admiral allowed us to go to the appointment. If we went without reporting, I'm afraid we wouldn't be punished."
"That's true, but... it's hard on your butt. This is the second time, right?"
"Why is this guy talking about something that is not relevant?" Yang Qiu laughed viciously, "Brother Xiao, how about you apply the medicine to me this time?"
"Fuck you, I'm not used to serving men's butts!" Xiao Anguo smiled and pushed the shameless guy aside. Just when he was about to ask Yang Qiu why he ordered the troops to be recalled, he saw Bingwen waiting outside the door.
Bingwen hurried over to the two men, looking behind them. After seeing that there was no problem, he quietly put the revolver seized from Guang'an back into his waist and said, "Brother Yang, I'm afraid you might be in danger if you come out so late, so..."
"Haha, Bingwen still cares about us." Xiao Anguo did not doubt it, smiled and patted Bingwen, and walked back together. Only Yang Qiu frowned secretly, feeling a little strange about his presence here, and subconsciously looked back and found a cigarette butt thrown on the ground in the corner of the street in the distance, flickering, as if telling the owner that he should not have thrown it away so early.
At the corner of the street, Li Xiping and Jin Laili looked at Yang Qiu's back fiercely. After a while, they put away their revolvers in disappointment, glanced at Bingwen again, and then quickly disappeared into the darkness along the maze-like old street.
After the two men left, another slender figure appeared at the same place. Unlike the previous two, her attention was completely focused on Yang Qiu. Seeing that there was no good opportunity, she gritted her teeth, stomped her feet, and said to herself: "Yang Qiu, you bastard, just wait, I swear I won't be a human being if I don't kill you!"
…
Dark clouds were hanging overhead, the night was hazy, and there was not even a breath of wind on the vast Yangtze River. Anyone familiar with the situation knew that this was a sign of an approaching rainstorm.
In the dark room on the second floor of No. 85 Xiaochao Street, Liu Fuqi could only slightly open the windows that had been closed all year round due to the unbearable heat. He found a cattail leaf fan and fanned himself while studying the map of the three towns of Wuchang carefully.
He didn't know how many times he had looked at the map of the three towns on the table, but the more he looked at it, the more confused he felt. Only now did he realize that there was still a gap between him and those real soldiers. Now it was just a small three towns. If it was expanded to the whole country in the future, who knew how chaotic it would be.
After drinking some cold tea and feeling a little relieved from the heat, Liu Fuqi just laid down on the table again when he heard footsteps outside. He quickly reached into the drawer and took out a Colt revolver.
After the door was opened, Liu Fuqi was relieved to see someone coming. He said with a smile, "I thought it was that Manchu who dared to break in at night, but it turned out to be you." Sun Wu smiled, put down his disguise hat and said, "If you talk about courage, you are full of enthusiasm."
"What we need is passion. If even the blood is cold, how can we overthrow the Manchus and restore the Han Dynasty?" Liu Fuqi laughed, ended the joke and asked, "Why are you here so late?"
Sun Wu sighed, took out a telegram from his bosom and handed it to Liu Fuji: "This is a telegram sent by Mr. Song from Shanghai. The Miao girl next to him got off the ship when she passed through Wuchang on her way back to Shanghai from Sichuan. Mr. Song is worried about her safety and asked us to find her and take good care of her."
"Ms. Miao?" Liu Fuji scratched his head, and suddenly his eyes lit up: "Are they the Miao brothers and sisters sent by Hongmen to protect Mr. Song?"
Seeing Sun Wu nod, Liu Fuqi secretly thought that something was wrong. These two brothers and sisters have been protecting Mr. Song for many years, and not many people know their background. He also happened to hear Chen Qimei say when he went to Shanghai for business last time that the two of them had an extraordinary status in the Hongmen and were people with a big background.
Sun Wu looked around and found that only Liu Fuji was there. He asked, "By the way, where are Ju Zheng and Yang Yuru? And how come I didn't see Bo Kui (Jiang Yiwu's pen name) all the way here?"
"Ju Zheng and Yang Yuru have already taken Mr. Liu's money to Shanghai to purchase guns. I didn't see Bo Kui today. This guy is always acting strangely. I don't know where he is fooling around. Have you gone to Mr. Liu to look for him?"
"I'm going." Sun Wu picked up his fan and fanned himself while saying, "I'm looking for him. He's a familiar figure. I need him to help me find Miss Miao."
"Then let's wait a little longer. This guy is always elusive." Liu Fuji thought for a moment and asked, "By the way, why did that Miao girl get off the boat in Wuchang without permission?"
"Hey, it's all because of Yang Qiu. Mr. Song said that she wanted to avenge Wang Tianjie, so he was worried that she would cause trouble for us. That's why he was a little anxious."
"That guy deserves to die." Thinking of the "great hero" of the Qing Dynasty that has been spread all over the place in recent days, Liu Fuqi gritted his teeth.
"He deserves to die, but he can't die now." Liu Fuji understood what Sun Wu meant. He knew that there was no need to make any unnecessary troubles when the matter was at hand, so he said quickly, "Don't worry. I'll tell Bo Kui to be careful after I see him."
Hearing Liu Fuji's agreement, Sun Wu could only nod. Seeing the map on the table, he turned to business and asked, "What's the matter? Is there any problem?" Liu Fuji nodded and did not hide it. He pointed to the map and said, "I don't know what happened today. The two battalions of the 42nd Regiment originally stationed in Yichang and Hankou all returned to Hanyang. They were replaced by the 30th Regiment of the 15th Brigade of the Eighth Regiment."
"30th mark, it's Yang Kaijia!"
Sun Wu was also surprised. Yang Kaijia was a notorious person in the new army for being rigid and stubborn. Most of his subordinates were ruffians and extremely ruthless. He was one of the few ruthless people in the eight towns.
Originally, he was stationed in Yichang, and did not pose much threat to his people in the three towns. Unexpectedly, he was suddenly arranged to come to Hanyang. Could it be that the comrade was exposed? Ruicheng and Zhang Biao were going to take action against Hankou?
Sun Wu's heart sank. Although Wuchang was their main base of activities, Hankou was the key place for the flow of money and weapons because there were foreign concessions here for protection. But if this place was strangled, it would be equivalent to losing the foundation!
Liu Fuji also said with a serious face: "In addition to the sudden change of defense in Hankou, I am still worried about Chuwangtai. We have already stationed many comrades there before, but now Yang Qiu's accomplice Xiao Anguo has suddenly been transferred there. Do you think that old dog Zhang Biao will smell something?"
Sun Wu was also secretly anxious. Both Hankou and Chuwangtai were places that he had to take. According to his plan, as long as he could control these two places, he would have money and guns, and even if Wuchang failed, he could still hold on to the fruits of victory along the Yangtze River, and then wait for good news from other places, and finally restore the Han Dynasty. But he didn't expect that both places were threatened, and it came so suddenly, which caught him off guard as he was preparing for the uprising.
Could it be that Yang Qiu's appointment as the commander of the 42nd Battalion led to this series of changes? Sun Wu glanced at Hanyang, which was separated from Hankou by a river, and suddenly felt that Yang Qiu might become a troublemaker.
Could it be that this inconspicuous baggage soldier who suddenly appeared has really become his nemesis? !
