Volume 1 Wuchang Vortex Chapter 55: The Day of Rise (10)
By the time Song Ziqing arrived at the riverside, the situation was already as if they were facing a formidable enemy. Even the newly captured Hotchkiss machine guns were carried to a high place by the soldiers. Ten Krupp 75mm field guns made in Jiangnan were deployed in warehouses and behind fences, and all the shells were loaded. The infantrymen were all hiding on the spot, waiting for the fierce bombardment of the ship's guns.
In a warehouse along the river, Yue Peng was assigning tasks to the officers around him while cursing, "What do you think Chen Delong is doing? Why is he here instead of going to attack Wuchang?"
"Could it be that they noticed the commotion here and rushed over to suppress it?"
"It's certain that they discovered something." Song Ziqing had already walked over to the side and took over Zhang Wenjing's conversation, analyzing, "But he abandoned the important Wuchang and came to Hankou. In my opinion, there are only two possibilities."
"First, Wuchang is finished." Yue Peng nodded and said, "We can't continue to support it with three gunboats, so we might as well fire a few shots at Hankou to avoid being punished for not resisting. Second, it may be..."
Song Ziqing and Yue Peng went to study at the German Army Academy together, and served in the same army after returning to China, so they worked very well together. After taking a look at the mast lights of the warships on the river, he continued, "Rui Cheng or Zhang Biao is on the ship. If they see that Wuchang cannot be defended, they will prepare to come to Hankou to continue to defend it."
"You two are in sync." Zhang Wenjing blinked and smiled mischievously: "If it's the second one, then I suggest not to fight first, pretend to welcome it and then control it in one fell swoop, so as to save soldiers from casualties."
"That's a good idea." Yue Peng said, and took the telescope from the officer. When the lens was aimed at the Chuyu ship in the front, his mouth suddenly opened wide, his eyes widened, and his brain stopped working as he looked at the familiar figure.
Zhang Wenjing was also shocked when he saw his abnormal behavior. He raised the telescope and his whole body stiffened after seeing it clearly. He didn't know how to describe it. It was as if the person opposite him was not a dangerous gunboat, but Guishan who had turned back into the old turtle in the myth and stood up and swung its tail at him.
Song Ziqing was even more confused, and quickly pulled Yue Peng to ask , "What's wrong?"
Yue Peng finally reacted, his mouth suddenly fell as he pointed at the gunboat outside the window and said, "Look for yourself." Then he stuffed the telescope into his arms. Song Ziqing didn't dare to delay, but after seeing it clearly, he was also stunned. After a long while, he stammered, "This... this, who on earth is this commander of yours?"
General Biao went to Wuchang in person, captured Ruicheng alive, and seized the three gunboats that posed the greatest threat to Hankou!
The news spread like a whirlwind in the second and third battalions. A moment later, even Hanyang across the street knew about it. Everyone was excited and surprised. They rushed into Wuchang City, where artillery fire was flying and the two armies were fighting, with more than a dozen guns. Ruicheng was captured without firing a single bullet! They also brought back Chen Delong and three gunboats of the navy, eliminating the biggest threat to Hankou and Hanyang!
Is this possible? Ruicheng was a bit cowardly, but Chen Delong was no pushover! Not to mention how difficult it would be to catch him from the chaotic army without alerting outsiders, just finding him would probably worry everyone to death, right? But look at the commander-in-chief, it took less than two hours to go back and forth, and he solved a problem that the party had been working on for several years and had not yet solved it! The soldiers spread the rumor more and more, and in the end, they even said that Yang Qiu had become a god and could capture people from a distance!
At this moment, Yang Qiu was already sitting in the command post of the Second Battalion. In addition to Yue Peng and Zhang Wenjing, Hang Zhi and Song Ziqing also sat down beside him. Hang Zhi was an officer who turned against the army, while Song Ziqing was finally persuaded by Yue Peng and Zhang Wenjing to stay. Yang Qiu also thought highly of this young lieutenant who had the same experience as Yue Peng, and immediately appointed him as a first-class lieutenant of the 42nd Regiment.
Ruicheng and Chen Delong were both temporarily taken to Hanyang. The command of the three gunboats was temporarily handed over to Wang Guangxiong, the captain of the Chu Qian ship who had surrendered. However, because they were new, Bingwen and dozens of soldiers stayed there temporarily. Wang Guangxiong had no objection to this. Finally, due to the lack of supplies in Hankou and the convenience of the arsenal in Hanyang, the three ships took the lead in returning there for replenishment.
"Sir, this is the preliminary list compiled by Lord Xiao." Zhang Wenjing handed a list to Yang Qiu, who knew exactly what it was and immediately unfolded it to read it.
According to Xiao Anguo's statistics, a total of 3.5 million were dug up in Hankou, of which 1.5 million was in cash obtained by Jin Lai Li from the Shanxi Merchants Association, 2 million in other types of silver notes and banknotes, 600,000 in Hanyang, 2.4 million in his pocket, and nearly 8 million from Shen Shukai. He was finally relieved as he had been worried that his funds would be strangled and unable to grow. But it was only temporary.
Not to mention the equipment, just to support a town (division) every month, including the military expenditure during training, costs about 200,000. If all the money in hand is converted into pounds, it is not enough to even build a dreadnought. Alas, we are still poor!
"The independent battalion has already taken control of the gun factory. We also tried to probe the steel factory, but the Japanese were quite powerful there, so Su Xiaohu only detained a batch of finished products in the name of military control. Hanyang and Hankou have also been basically controlled. The munitions supply that you have been worried about has also been temporarily resolved."
"Have you found the arsenal?" Upon hearing the news, Yang Qiu pricked up his ears immediately. He was already worried about the munitions. Yue Peng smiled and said, "In fact, it's right under our noses at the Guishan Fort. It was originally the arsenal of the Jiangfang Battalion. We thought it was full of artillery shells stored by the Jiangfang Battalion, but we didn't expect Ruicheng and Zhang Biao to secretly hide the output of the gun factory in it."
"Ji Fucheng has already led people to count it. It is roughly estimated that there are 7,000 Hanyang-made guns, more than 10,000 rounds of various types of artillery shells, and about 5,000 boxes of bullets. In addition, we found 8 7.5mm field guns and 36 5.7mm mountain guns. Together with what we have here, there are a total of 18 75mm mountain guns, 36 57mm mountain guns and 4 Hotchkiss machine guns." Zhang Wenjing just handed the weapons list he made to Yang Qiu.
"The 18 Krupp field guns can be used to form a special artillery battalion according to the Beiyang organization. The 36 57mm mountain guns should be allocated to the Guishan Fort. It would be better to set up another fort on the west side. In this way, the two forts can completely protect Hanyang and cover most of the Chinese area of Hankou and Wuchang. In addition, we now have 5 battalions and 3 teams. After dawn, all the prisoners will be sent to Hanyang for incorporation. Together with the surrendered soldiers, we can probably form 2 more battalions. In this way, there will be 8 battalions including the artillery battalion and the baggage battalion. There are enough guns and ammunition at the moment, but we lack heavy firepower, especially machine guns..." Yue Peng, who studied in Germany, attached more importance to machine guns than others, so he was most worried about the problem of insufficient machine guns.
"Where's Shen Shukai?" Thinking of the machine gunner Yang Qiu, Zhang Wenjing was filled with hatred. He immediately said, "I was afraid something might happen, so I took him back to Hanyang with those things for the time being."
The expansion plan proposed by Yue Peng was similar to what he had in mind. After thinking about it, he immediately said, "The expansion will be based on Yue Peng's plan. The baggage battalion will be independent, and the new artillery battalion and the independent battalion will be reorganized into two regiments..."
"Regiment? Sir, you want to... change the military system!" Before he finished speaking, Yue Peng immediately caught a hint in his words. Yang Qiu did not hide it either: "Since you studied at the German Army Academy, you should know that this is a matter of time. We should put aside our mentality and align with Europe and the United States on some things."
"Your Excellency is right. The German Army's organization is the most complete, and the Beiyang Army has been imitating it. I think it's time for us to make some changes." Song Ziqing, who also studied abroad, also agreed with the reform.
"From town to tent, it is changed to division, brigade, regiment, battalion, company, platoon, and squad in order. Division and brigade come first, and then regiment. Each regiment has three infantry battalions and one artillery battalion, plus a baggage company and a training company composed of officers and outstanding soldiers. Each battalion is divided into three companies and nine squads. In addition, the machine gun that Shen Shukai bought for me must still be in his hands, otherwise he would not dare to return to Hanyang. After receiving this batch of machine guns, each infantry company must be equipped with a heavy machine gun and two light machine guns."
After Yang Qiu roughly explained how to change it, the four of them also thought it could be implemented. The only problem was that they were still short of an artillery battalion, but this matter could not be rushed. Instead, another thing gave him a headache: "The current problem is that our 42nd Battalion and Hang Zhi are all infantrymen. The army lacks qualified artillerymen and officers... and you only have a few guns."
These words also made the four of them frown. The surrendered soldiers could be recruited as long as they had a military foundation. After they were disbanded and integrated into the various battalions, their combat effectiveness could be basically guaranteed. However, officers could not be trained for a long time. In addition, the main forces of the new army were all in Wuchang, and Hanyang and Hankou were basically blank spots. It was difficult to win over officers to support two regiments at once.
If there are no suitable officers, the larger the army expands, the greater the burden. Yue Peng and Zhang Wenjing are also very clear about this, but they don't have many solutions at the moment. Song Ziqing next to them thought about it and said, "Sir, Wuchang is in chaos right now. I have learned a little before crossing the river. Most of the people involved are soldiers, and there are not many officers involved. I think we can think of a way to recruit them. The current situation is chaotic. Since you have raised the flag here, I think some people are still willing to come."
After he finished speaking, he volunteered, "No one knows about my coming here yet, and it won't cause suspicion if I go back. If you believe me, Ziqing is willing to go back."
"This is a good idea, but will they come? Here..." Yang Qiu smiled and said, "The temple gate is not as glamorous as the party members."
"You are joking, sir. You didn't invite Hu Ruilin to dinner. With his reputation, the gentry of the two places will definitely follow him. Once those notices to reassure the people are posted, you will be a great hero who fights against the Qing Dynasty and kills the Tartars. If the newspapers can publicize it, the temporary military government of the two towns will be established." Zhang Wenjing knew that Yang Qiu had actually made preparations when he saw the notices to reassure the people that had been printed long ago. He continued with a smile: "By then, unless you come to recruit them, the three ships alone will be enough to give them a headache."
"Okay, I see that your handwriting is good and the list you made is detailed, so I'll let you be the chief of logistics then." Yang Qiu picked up the list made by Zhang Wenjing and deliberately joked about it, and the other three also laughed.
Zhang Wenjing himself was not so embarrassed. He was not very enthusiastic about fighting, and he did not have the talent of Yue Peng and Song Ziqing. In addition, he had always been a secretary, so he was really the best person to be the chief of logistics. He smiled and said, "Sir, please keep your word, okay?"
"Of course, but... you have to find a way to get the steel plant and Hanyeping into my pocket first."
"ah!"
"Ha ha……"
After a few jokes, Zhang Wenjing, Yue Peng and Song Ziqing immediately started to draw up a list of officers who needed to be lobbied, and Lian Hangzhi submitted several candidates. Since the first three were the best of the younger generation in the army and had great prestige among the young officers, they also knew that Yang Qiu's approach was more easily accepted by young people, so they focused on those grassroots young officers who had ideals and were practical. In the end, Song Ziqing was sent to be the lobbyist, and for safety, several soldiers were sent to protect him.
By the time the work was done, a hint of stubborn golden red had appeared on the horizon.
Yang Qiu walked slowly to the window, with several eyes following closely behind him. At this moment, everyone understood what they had done in the past day! From the early morning of October 9th when the guns were checked until now, in Yangxia... a figure was following this dazzling glow, avoiding the most chaotic Wuchang and rising quietly!
