Volume 1 Wuchang Vortex Chapter 33 The Fisherman
Henan.
By the pond of "Yangshou Garden" in Huanshang Village, Zhangde , the fishing line at the top of the fishing rod had just been stretched straight and the housekeeper next to him had not yet called out for help, but Yuan Shikai, who was like a clay Buddha, suddenly trembled his hand and the fishing line suddenly loosened again.
Yang Shiqi, who was standing nearby, smiled knowingly and said, "Your Excellency's self-restraint is truly admirable."
"Xingcheng, please don't make fun of me. I am idle at home now, so what's the point of self-cultivation?" Yuan Shikai stood up and handed the fishing rod to the servant. Then he walked into the garden with Yang Shiqi and asked, "How is Sichuan doing?"
"Gong Bao still can't sit still."
Yang Shiqi was a steady and trustworthy person. He had been Yang's aide for several years, so he knew Yang's temper very well. His face darkened as he said, "The news from yesterday was that the Pao brothers and the rebels in Sichuan have come together and are stepping up their siege of Chengdu. Governor Zhao Erfeng is personally leading troops to garrison the city. Riots have been reported in more than 10 counties including Huayang, Shuangliu, Xinjin, Qiongzhou, Pujiang, and Dayi. The rebels have gathered tens of thousands of people. Zhao Erfeng has already reported to the court that Sichuan lacks troops and requested that new troops be immediately dispatched from Huguang, Yunnan, and Guizhou to Sichuan to suppress the riots. I heard that they even had their eyes on our Beiyang Six Towns."
"What a big commotion." Yuan Shikai glanced at the fish pond and asked, "What's going on at the court?"
"Zaifeng has ordered Zhao Erfeng to suppress the rebellion, and has also ordered Ruicheng and Zhang Biao to dispatch new troops to the north for support. In addition, he has also transferred the 66th Battalion from the 17th Regiment of the Yunnan Army to Sichuan."
Yuan Shikai frowned, not expecting Sichuan to be so corrupt. After thinking for a while, he asked, "Kill the Tartars on August 15th... Haha, is there any news from Wuchang recently?"
Yang Shiqi nodded secretly. Yuan Shikai was indeed a man of great talent and strategy. He saw through the key to the chaos in Sichuan at a glance. After all, Sichuan was only inland. As long as Wuchang was blocked and the Yangtze River was blocked, it would be a fish in this pond. So he hurriedly said, "Although Zhang Biao and Ruicheng are at odds, they dare not act recklessly on this matter. The two have ordered the Eighth Regiment to block the Yangtze River. Ruicheng also transferred Chen Delong and the two ships Chuyu and Chuqian of the Yangtze River Navy to Wuchang to cooperate in the strict inspection of the waterway."
"However..." Yang Shiqi smiled and said, "Although Zhang Biao has made preparations to enter Sichuan, he has not set off yet. Instead, he recommended Rui Fang to lead the troops."
"Oh? Why is that?"
"Haha, it's just the thought of protecting the military power. The Ruifang also called Zhao Erfeng yesterday and asked him to control all the Sichuan military power. The two of them even had a dirty deal over this matter. I heard that the matter has been reported to the Governor of Huguang, Ruicheng. Ruicheng and the Ruifang are in the same nest, so how can they help Zhao Erfeng? Zhang Biao has also turned a deaf ear to this matter. It seems that he also wants to use the Ruifang to spread his new army to Sichuan."
"A bunch of idiots, aren't you afraid of getting into trouble?" Yuan Shikai cursed, looked up at the sky and sighed: "The tree wants to be still but the wind does not stop. Judging from Xingcheng, is the sky really going to change?"
Although Yang Shiqi was quite quick-witted, he was not as wise as Liu Ji in the past. He laughed and said, "Gong Bao is deliberately trying to make fun of me." Yuan Shikai was also amused and waved his hand and said, "Xingcheng, bring some silver to the capital later. The court is in trouble, and we old officials should do our best. Alas, it's a pity that my leg..."
After saying this, he deliberately patted his leg that was said to be sick. Yang Shiqi understood what he meant and said, "Gong Bao should just stay at home and recuperate. Xingcheng will definitely live up to your expectations."
After Yang Shiqi left, Yuan Shikai did not dare to delay and immediately returned to his study to write a few letters. He called his personal guard and said, "Here are a few letters. Go see Feng Guozhang, Duan Qirui and others immediately. After delivering the letters, come back immediately without saying anything."
After the guards left, Yuan Shikai opened the map and stared at the small city of Wuchang with his eagle eyes.
…
Miao Luo leaned against the head of the bed, pricked up her ears and heard no more talking outside. Just as she was about to stand up, she was suddenly frightened by the sound of footsteps and quickly lay down again, turning her body to the side with her back facing the door.
Yang Qiu pushed open the door and saw that Miao Luo was already asleep. He walked quickly to the bedside. Just as his fingers touched the quilt and were about to lift it to check her injuries, he heard a delicate cry.
"Evil thief, what do you want to do?"
This girl, it turns out she was just pretending to sleep. Yang Qiu smiled secretly in his heart, but he dared not open the quilt with his hands. He hadn't thought about it at first, but Miao Luo's shout reminded him of what happened that night, so he touched his nose and smiled, "I just want to see how the wound is."
The girl's face, which was pale due to blood loss, turned red. She said quickly, "No... no need. The doctor checked it this morning and said it has scabbed over. I just need to rest for a while and it will be fine."
"That's good." Looking at Miao Luo, Yang Qiu couldn't find anything to say for a moment, so he walked to the window, opened it and said, "You need to get more fresh air during your recovery. You can't stay in bed for a long time. You should move more where you can. This will promote blood circulation and speed up wound healing."
Leaning on the bed and listening to him babble on and on about things she couldn't understand, Miao Luo narrowed her eyes and thought to herself, I don't know where he learned all these things from. Not only is he so skilled in martial arts, but he also knows how to treat gunshot wounds. No wonder he can become a high-ranking official. What a bastard!
Miao Luo was originally an active person. After being injured, he had to lie down like this every day. He had long been impatient. When he saw Yang Qiu open the window, he lowered his head and said, "I... I want to see outside."
Hearing the sorrow in her words, Yang Qiu guessed that she was homesick, and immediately put an extra quilt on her back so that she could see the river view in the distance. He said, "I'll take care of them later. I'll let you see the outside every day so you don't get bored."
"Aren't you afraid that I will run away?" The girl frowned and glared.
Yang Qiu smiled and said, "Run away if you want. I won't necessarily lock you up like this for the rest of your life."
"Humph, if my foot wasn't injured, you wouldn't be able to lock me up!"
Seeing that Miao Luo was still stubborn despite such a serious gunshot wound, Yang Qiu also laughed and said, "That's right, our Miao girl is a female hero, a female hero who specializes in killing evil villains like me."
"Shameless." Not knowing what he was thinking of, Miao Luo blushed after hearing Yang Qiu's words. After a while, he raised his head again, looked at Yang Qiu and said sadly, "I... Can I?"
"Send a telegram to let me know I'm safe, right?"
I was guessed right by this villain again. Damn it. Miao Luo felt resentful, as if this good-looking guy could see through people's hearts. He quickly turned his eyes away and reported the telegram address.
"What's the point? Just say everything is fine and don't worry?" Yang Qiu asked.
"Of course not." Miao Luo thought for a moment and said, "Just let it flow freely, like a peacock flying southeast."
"The great river flows freely, the peacock flies southeast? Why post this?"
Seeing Yang Qiu's dumbfounded expression, the girl suddenly felt proud. Finally, there was something he didn't know. She burst into laughter, revealing two charming dimples: "This is a code word, idiot."
"Haha..." Seeing Miao Luo laugh, the idiotic expression on Yang Qiu's face immediately disappeared, and he also laughed: "Actually, you should laugh more often, because you look really good when you laugh." Seeing that Miao Luo was showing signs of getting angry, Yang Qiu hurried to the door with the telegram address: "Take good care of yourself, I'll come to see you in a few days." After saying that, he closed the door and left.
"Asshole, you pretended to be stupid even though you knew this was a code word! This evil villain, can't he...can't he...talk to me for a while longer? I'm so bored!" Miao Luo pouted and kicked the quilt with his right foot in anger. Suddenly, a dazzlingly white and slender jade leg appeared in the air.
