Volume 1 Wuchang Vortex Chapter 31 I Don't Want to Go
After handing over the training task to He Xi and Yue Peng, Yang Qiu hurried to the Admiral's Mansion, only to find that all the officers above the rank of military standard had come, and the hall was filled with people.
"Chen Hua, this way."
Just as Yang Qiu was about to find a seat to sit down, he heard Li Yuanhong calling him and patting his side affectionately. He quickly walked over to greet him: "Your Highness, I am here to see the Assistant Commander."
"Chen Hua, you don't have to be polite. Take a seat." Li Yuanhong sat down and pointed to the two people beside him: "This is my Mixed Corps Assistant Officer Liu Wenzhi and Secretary Wang Anlan. The three of you are all serving in the Mixed Corps. You should get closer to each other in the future."
Liu Wenzhi was in his forties and looked dark and thin, while Wang Anlan was the opposite, with a pale face and a fat body, somewhat similar to Li Yuanhong. Yang Qiu quickly saluted the two men: "Master Liu, Master Wang, Yang Qiu is young and ignorant, and I hope you will take care of me as a colleague in the future."
"Haha, it's true that young people are heroes. Chenhua, please sit next to me." Ever since that day when he accompanied Li Yuanhong to secretly watch Yang Qiu establish his authority, Wang Anlan has been somewhat disgusted with Yang Qiu. He always felt that he was acting recklessly. Fortunately, Liu Wenzhi had a good temper and seemed to be someone who was easier to get along with, so he pulled Yang Qiu to his side.
"Did Chen Hua know about today's meeting?" Li Yuanhong asked as soon as he sat down. Yang Qiu nodded quickly: "I know, it's about Sichuan."
"Now that you know, it's good. You just came back from Sichuan and are familiar with the situation there. Perhaps the admiral will ask about it." Li Yuanhong was worried and said, "This matter is of great importance. It is not as simple as paying money to the soldiers. So don't make rash promises just because you are young and hot-tempered."
"Promise what?"
Seeing that Yang Qiu was a little confused, Liu Wenzhi quietly poked him: "What the commander-in-chief means is that my mixed-training group is inferior to the Eight Regiments, and the soldiers are short of guns and weapons. This time someone will definitely be sent to Sichuan to help suppress the bandits, and you just came back from there, so..."
Yang Qiu understood Liu Wenzhi's words. He glanced at Li Yuanhong, who was standing next to him like a clay Buddha, and thought that this guy was not as honest as he looked. He was actually trying to protect himself now. He nodded quickly and said, "Don't worry, sir. I know what to do."
Li Yuanhong nodded in satisfaction: "The Admiral has already known that you used your own money to subsidize the military pay. The Governor's Office will probably allocate the money in the next two days, so you can rest assured."
Isn't this nonsense? At this moment, Rui Cheng would not dare to withhold the salary no matter how unreasonable he was. However, it is always a good thing to get it back. Yang Qiu hurriedly thanked Li Yuanhong.
The four of them had just chatted for a while when they heard footsteps coming from behind. They looked up and saw the commander of the new army, Hubei Governor Zhang Biao, walking into the hall in military uniform. Everyone stood up and saluted.
"I called everyone here today, so I'm sure you all know what happened, right?" Zhang Biao asked everyone to sit down, and then he said, "First, Yang Biao was assassinated in the street, and now he is inciting mobs to besiege the government office . These rebels really think I'm a piece of cake!"
Zhang Biao glanced at everyone with a cold look, and said angrily: "The emperor has decided that this time he must teach those rebels a lesson, so he ordered our army to select elite soldiers and prepare to enter Sichuan. You all speak up."
"grown ups."
As soon as Zhang Biao finished speaking, Wang Desheng, the commander of the 15th Brigade of the Eight Towns, jumped up and said, "Sichuan has always had a tough folk character. There are many mountains and dense forests, and there are also Tusi and Miao people among them. We must be careful."
"Commander Wang is right. In my opinion, we should first send a small group of elite soldiers to Sichuan to investigate the situation before making a decision."
"Humph, why bother with a bunch of rioters? My new army has plenty of guns and weapons, and the soldiers have trained hard for many years. They are all strong warriors. In my opinion, there is no need to prepare at all. As long as Sichuan gathers enough food and grass, we can go upstream."
There was a sudden buzz of discussion in the hall, and everyone jumped out to express their opinions, except for the 21st Mixed Brigade where Yang Qiu was, where no one said a word. Seeing this, Zhang Biao glanced at Li Yuanhong, who was like a clay Buddha, and suddenly turned to look at Yang Qiu.
When Yang Qiu thought to himself that something was wrong, Zhang Biao had already waved his hand to quiet everyone down, then looked at him and said, "Chen Hua, although you have just taken over as the commander, you have been to Sichuan with the baggage camp before. Tell me about it."
From Li Yuanhong's care just now, Yang Qiu knew that Zhang Biao would definitely use this as an excuse, so he quickly stood up and said, "Chen Hua is still young, and I was recommended by you to take this position. I am very nervous."
"No problem, tell me what you think."
Seeing that Zhang Biao was not going to let him go, Yang Qiu had to salute again and said, "The mob is causing trouble, the rebels are inciting, trying to disrupt the foundation of Sichuan, and they are besieging the government office in broad daylight. This matter must not be forgiven lightly. But there are many inconveniences in sending out a large army, not to mention that our Wuchang Three Towns are much more important than Sichuan, so even if we send out troops, we must leave some behind to garrison."
"I went to Sichuan not long ago. The people there are really tough. The Pao brothers dared to assassinate me in the street, and they mixed with the rebels. So if we want to go to Sichuan, we must be on guard against them. In addition, Sichuan has many mountains and dense forests. The mobs are familiar with the terrain and are easy to hide. If our army goes out, it will definitely expose us to the enemy, so we need to make sufficient preparations before we set out."
"General Yang Biao is worthy of being Baturu, and he has been awarded a yellow jacket. In my opinion, it is better to let the 42nd Regiment go to Sichuan to suppress the bandits." As soon as Yang Qiu finished speaking, Zhang Jingliang from the 29th Regiment jumped up.
"That's right." Zhang Biao glanced at Li Yuanhong who was sitting next to him, turned his head and asked, "Chen Hua, I wonder if your 42nd Battalion can take on this important task?"
Yang Qiu immediately hated Zhang Jingliang, but fortunately, after Li Yuanhong's reminder, he had already made up his mind and hurriedly bowed and said, "Sir, do you want to see our army defeated?"
"Oh? What do you mean? Could it be that with so many soldiers in our new army, we can't defeat some rioters?" Zhang Biao frowned and said angrily, "Could it be that Chen Hua got sick and talked nonsense because of the rain yesterday?"
Yang Qiu knew that Zhang Biao could not hide what happened yesterday, so he stood up and said, "Yang Qiu has only been in charge of the 42nd Battalion for two days. The military prestige has not been established, and the orders are not carried out. The soldiers below are even more disobedient. Even this morning, two captains were sick and could not go out for drill."
"Your Excellency has been in the military all your life, and you should know the consequences of rashly dispatching troops if the generals do not obey orders and the soldiers do not follow them. Although I also want to go to Sichuan to make new contributions for the court and you, I cannot guarantee that I will defeat the mob in the current situation. So if you insist on sending the 42nd Battalion to fight, please withdraw me first."
As soon as Yang Qiu finished speaking, Li Yuanhong stood up and said, "Sir, Yang Qiu is right. His time as commander is still short. It may not be a good idea to let him go now. If the war goes badly and the court blames him, I am afraid..."
Li Yuanhong has always been regarded as an honest man with good popularity in the new army. Since he has spoken for Yang Qiu, everyone feels embarrassed to make trouble for him.
Zhang Biao also knew that there were problems in sending the 42nd Regiment, but he himself did not want to go to Sichuan. Now Rui Cheng was watching him covetously. If he went to Sichuan, the military power would be lost to others, so he quickly looked at Li Yuanhong.
Li Yuanhong was startled and waved his hands quickly, saying, "Sir, please don't call me. Look at my fat body, Song Qing. I'm afraid I can't even pass through the Shu Road. The soldiers will suffer in vain."
Everyone laughed when they heard this. Li Yuanhong had indeed gained a lot of weight over the years. Even Yang Qiu saw it and realized that he didn't want to go.
In history, Zhang Biao and Li Yuanhong did not lead the troops themselves, but handed them over to a Swiss man who did not understand military affairs. However, from now on, this person has obviously not been chosen yet, so he thought about it and said, "Sir, it is not necessary for you to lead the troops into Sichuan in person."
"Oh?" Zhang Biao's eyes lit up and he quickly asked, "Chen Hua, tell me quickly."
"Sir, my new army has been trained for a long time. We only need to send someone who can keep the situation under control and is not someone like me. It would be best if he is familiar with the geography of the mountains and rivers from Hankou to Sichuan."
Familiar with the terrain?
An idea flashed through Zhang Biao's mind: Who is familiar with the terrain?
Naturally, Yang Qiu would not say explicitly that the Swiss side was the supervisor of the Hanchuan Railway, and that they knew all the mountains and rivers along the railway, and asked them to send him there. However, when he saw Zhang Biao's eyes gradually brighten, he knew that his words had worked.
"Pass the order, all troops return to the camp, no one is allowed to go back home or go out without permission! Zhang Jingliang, your 15th Regiment will be responsible for Wuchang. Yang Kaijia, your 30th Regiment will be responsible for Hankou. Immediately check the ships entering and leaving the river, and pay special attention to the ships entering Sichuan. I will let the river water defense division assist you. Anyone who resists arrest will be killed without mercy!"
After Zhang Biao finished speaking, he looked at Yang Qiu seriously and said, "Yang Qiu, although I allow you to be transferred back to the 42nd Battalion for training, the Hanyang incident is of great importance. In addition to training the soldiers, you also need to pay more attention to it."
After these words were spoken, everyone knew that Zhang Biao looked at Yang Qiu differently, so Liu Wenzhi next to him gave him a thumbs up, and even Li Yuanhong nodded slightly with satisfaction. Yang Qiu felt relieved, as he finally didn't have to fill the big mudflat in Sichuan.
