Volume 1 Wuchang Vortex Chapter 45: Checking Guns and Eliminating Hidden Dangers
At night, there was a constant sound of hurried footsteps in the Japanese Concession Consulate in Hankou. After receiving a report from Dr. Kono that a riot would take place in Wuchang tonight, the ticking of the telegraph room had never stopped. Sadao Matsumura stood at the window, leaning on the sword given by the Emperor. Outside, the three towns of the Han River were already in dusk. Having stayed here for several years, he knew very well how much wealth was hidden in the three towns. It was no exaggeration to say that this place had become a gathering place for the wealth of the entire southern China.
There were 53 factories in the UK, 43 in Japan, 35 in Germany, and more than 200 factories in more than a dozen countries including France, Russia, and the United States. The annual commercial transaction volume of tung oil, raw silk, tea, etc. could reach 100 million taels of silver, even far exceeding Tianjin and Guangzhou, and second only to the most prosperous Shanghai.
Cream.
As he considered himself quite knowledgeable about Chinese culture, these two words immediately popped up in his mind. They meant a big, juicy, delicious piece of meat. However, this piece of fat was still a little too big for Japan. Too big...
Matsumura Sadao's thoughts were interrupted by the footsteps of the vice minister: "Your Excellency, Shanghai has called back. The Consul General asked us to ensure neutrality. Two cruisers have received the news and are on their way. But he also hopes that we can help those party members as much as possible. If they fail again, we will use the navy to escort them to Shanghai for refuge."
The vice minister was very excited and continued loudly: "In addition, the Consul General asked me to tell your Excellency that Mr. Saito Kijiro of the Army Department will arrive here in two days. He will personally observe this incident."
"Please tell the Consul General that I will try my best to help them." After saying this, Matsumura Sadao suddenly smiled coldly and asked, "Do you know why the Kuomintang people always fail?"
“There is a lack of armed forces that can be trusted.”
"No."
The vice minister thought for a moment and just as he finished speaking, Matsumura Sadao shook his head: "They are too chaotic. The internal factions are in disarray and they lack a true leader. Moreover... there is not enough soil for the establishment of a republic in China."
"But... this is a blessing for us in Japan." Matsumura Sadao took a deep breath, turned his head and looked at Wuchang City, which was squatting on the side of the Yangtze River like an ancient giant beast, and frowned, "What time is it now? Did Kono hear it wrong?"
The deputy minister looked at his watch: "It's already 11 o'clock, perhaps..."
Before he could finish his words, the military attaché stationed in Hankou rushed into the room and panted, "Sir, perhaps they have failed again..."
"what happened?"
"I just received a call. The Qing Governor's Office has extracted some secrets from the party members who were captured in the evening, and just destroyed the party's headquarters in Wuchang. I think they are afraid..."
"A bunch of Chinese idiots!"
Matsumura Sadao gritted his teeth and stamped his feet. He didn't expect that after waiting for most of the night, he would get this result. But when he thought of the telegram just now, he could only say bitterly: "Let them suffer a little. We will try to save them in the daytime."
Similarly, Deng Yulin, who had finally informed the camps in the three towns of the news of the uprising to protect themselves, was completely dumbfounded. He did not expect that when he arrived at the Xiaochao Street Literary Society's office, he was still a step too late. A large number of soldiers from the Patrol Camp had already blocked the streets. Liu Fuqi and his two companions fought desperately but were outnumbered and captured. Only Jiang Yiwu escaped and his whereabouts are unknown.
In fact, he felt something was wrong after Liu Tong was arrested, so he had to find a place to hide and wait and see what would happen. However, in his hurry, he forgot to tell Qiu Wenbin and others from Project 42 not to take any action for the time being.
…
"It's time to exercise, it's time to exercise."
Early the next morning, shouts were heard outside the dormitory of the 42nd Regiment. The soldiers, who had been accustomed to the high-intensity training for two months, jumped up like hounds. Even the engineering and baggage teams, who had just arrived a few days ago, quickly put on their clothes, carried their guns, and rushed out of the dormitory.
After receiving the news of the uprising yesterday afternoon, Qiu Wenbin quickly contacted the comrades in the First Battalion and the baggage train and made preparations. However, he listened carefully all night but still did not hear the deafening cannon sound he had dreamed of until the light of fish could be heard outside the window. So when he heard the bugle call and shouting, he grabbed the loaded gun from under the bed and ran out in a daze.
Just as he walked to the training ground, the figure that had haunted him like a nightmare for the past two months suddenly appeared in front of him. He was startled because he had a guilty conscience. After a while, he remembered to salute and said, "Qiu Wenbin, the officer of the third shed of the second squad of the first battalion, greets you."
"Bring your gun here." Yang Qiu looked at him deeply, and suddenly stretched out his hand to check the gun! This made the latter tremble in his heart. Usually, unless otherwise specified, it is required to carry a gun during morning exercises, and no one has ever checked it. Why would Yang Qiu...
In just a few seconds, Qiu Wenbin was already sweating profusely. Looking at those cold eyes, although he wanted to rebel, he didn't know why he didn't dare to draw his gun. In the end, he had to bite the bullet and take off the Hanyang rifle from his back.
This scene also attracted the soldiers' attention, especially the members of the Yizhi Society and the Kuomintang, who were extremely nervous. Some of them even retreated to the periphery and quietly moved towards the camp gate. Lei Meng and Hu Laosan, who had received orders long ago, immediately pretended to watch and led the soldiers to move closer.
Yang Qiu took the rifle, weighed it down, and suddenly pulled the bolt. Everyone saw a yellow bullet suddenly jump out of the barrel and landed on the mud, sparkling.
Qiu Wenbin and dozens of soldiers from the Puzzle Club were so scared that their scalps almost exploded. Some of them even began to tremble, while the other soldiers all frowned. They didn't expect that the gun of this usually very active Zhengmu was actually loaded!
There is a regulation in the military that guns must never be loaded during exercises, for fear of accidental discharge and injury. Therefore, most soldiers usually put the bullets they are issued into the magazine bags, and very few of them are directly pressed into the magazine. Even if a soldier occasionally presses it in, it will not be loaded.
After the incident in Hankou yesterday, Yang Qiu knew that these people must have received the news of the attack, so he used the excuse of checking guns to nip the unrest in the bud! So he bent down under the gaze of the soldiers, picked up the bullet without saying a word, and took out a white silk from his pocket to wipe the sand off the bullet, and then deliberately scolded: "It doesn't matter if you don't want to die, but your comrades don't want to die in the hands of their own people! They sleep in the same camp with you, eat from the same pot, and they have no doubts about their backs to you. As a regular officer, you should be more strict with yourself. How could such a thing happen!"
The angry rebukes made the Kuomintang soldiers breathe a sigh of relief. They thought their uprising had been seen through, but it was because of the loaded bullets. However, Qiu Wenbin secretly cursed. Since everyone had prepared for the uprising last night, he ordered everyone to load their bullets and be ready to set off at any time. However, he did not expect that they were blocked at the door early in the morning before the bullets were loaded.
"Lei Meng, take people to check all guns." Yang Qiu stamped his feet fiercely and shouted, "You still say that you are a new army that wins with knowledge, I think it's bullshit! Have you forgotten such a simple thing? The bullets are loaded, do you want to kill your comrades!"
These words aroused the dissatisfaction of most soldiers, and they all asked: "Wenbin, what are you doing?"
"Yes, I'm standing in front of you. If something goes wrong, I'll be blamed!"
"Yes, fortunately it was the commander-in-chief who saw it, otherwise it would have been a disaster. If he had been unlucky enough to meet Guo Erxing, he would have definitely been taken to the gendarmerie."
As his comrades spoke one after another, Qiu Wenbin became even more anxious, but he could not argue. Should he learn from the Third Artillery Battalion? No! Absolutely not. That would only alert the enemy and might ruin the whole thing!
"Report to the Lord, a total of 47 people have been loaded." After Lei Meng led his men to check one by one, he walked to Yang Qiu and handed him the list he had secretly recorded, saying, "Your Excellency can rest assured that they are safe."
"Look at what you look like!" Yang Qiu nodded, walked up to the 47 people who had been pulled out and had their guns loaded and surrendered, and pretended to be angry and shouted: "Military regulations require that gun management be followed. Last month, an accident occurred in the Eighth Town, killing their own brothers. Have you forgotten?!"
"I wanted to hand you over to the military police, but since we are all brothers, I won't make things difficult for you. Come here!" Yang Qiu shouted, "Take all of you away and put you in solitary confinement for three days. Reflect on yourselves!"
So many people loaded their guns at once, and the other soldiers all frowned. This was clearly the beginning of a riot! But why did Commander Biao put it down so easily? As for the soldiers who loaded their guns, they all breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that they would not be handed over to the military police for processing. Only Qiu Wenbin looked ashen and sat on the ground.
Yang Qiu’s move was really vicious!
