Volume 1 Wuchang Vortex Chapter 57: Going in Circles
Li Yuanhong had just been invited to the Advisory Council, and Yang Qiu also rushed to see Hu Ruilin. Seeing how enthusiastically he treated an old constitutionalist, Zhang Wenjing, who was accompanying him, was a little surprised.
Hu Ruilin is nearly 50 years old. He is not only a member of the Advisory Council, but also studied economics in Japan when he was young. After returning to China, he invested a lot. In recent years, he is said to have begun to believe in Buddhism and vowed to become a great lay Buddhist. He is very famous in Hubei for his charity. Last night, the soldiers brought him here and heard gunshots all night. At this moment, his eyes were red and swollen, and his face was a little stiff when he saw Yang Qiu, but he quickly stabilized his mind. His special identity allowed him to meet many people from all walks of life, so he already knew about the instability in the three towns. He thought about the Kuomintang seizing power and Ruicheng stabilizing the overall situation, but he didn't expect Yang Qiu to appear!
Yang Qiu was lucky enough to become a commander-in-chief because of the disagreement between Zhang Biao and Rui Cheng. He did not expect that he could seize Hankou and Hanyang in just two months. His power was really amazing! He forced a smile and said, "You are too polite, Commander-in-chief. I am just a lay Buddhist. I joined the Advisory Council because of your kindness. I wonder why you invited me here..."
After asking someone to make tea, Yang Qiu said politely, "I should have come to invite Mr. Hu last night, but I was too busy to attend to other matters. I frightened you. Chen Hua is really guilty of death. I will use this cup of tea to apologize to you."
Hu Ruilin didn't expect Yang Qiu to be so polite. After a few polite words, he said, "Your Excellency Biaotong is young and promising. You have conquered the two towns of Yangxia. You will definitely become the core of the party in the future. Your rapid rise to prominence is just around the corner. I would like to congratulate you in advance."
Yang Qiu smiled and said, "You are wrong, I am not a member of the party!"
"You're not..." Hu Ruilin was startled, and the Buddhist beads in his hand spun rapidly. Although Zhang Wenjing didn't know what Yang Qiu was going to do, he could see the clues and said quickly, "You are wrong, Mr. Advisor. Biaotong is not a party member. He just doesn't want to see the Qing Dynasty lose its sovereignty and humiliate the country, cede territory and pay compensation, and make the people live in misery. That's why he took advantage of the situation to rise up in the hope of finding a way out for the people of the world."
Hu Ruilin had never thought that Yang Qiu was not a member of the Communist Party. He was moved and said, "Tong Biao is indeed righteous. I thank you for all the Han people in the world. But if you do this... I'm afraid your foundation is unstable."
"you do not say!"
"To be honest, Wuchang has been completely occupied by the Communists. I agree with them in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and expelling the barbarians, and I admire their spirit of sacrificing their lives for justice, so I immediately started the uprising after learning about it, but..." Yang Qiu slapped the table and deliberately frowned and sighed, "After the passion comes trouble. Chen Hua is just a warrior and doesn't know how to handle civil affairs. Moreover, the Communists have too shallow roots in the country, and their character is even more complicated. Last night I arrested hundreds of scums who smashed, looted, burned, and pretended to be Communists."
"Although this uprising is different from the past, almost everyone in the Hubei Army is participating, and there is still some certainty of overthrowing the Qing Dynasty, but what about after that? The soil is barren, and there has been no republic in China for thousands of years. It is a blessing from heaven that one out of 400 million compatriots can truly understand a republic. My original intention was to establish a constitution, and to learn from Japan and Britain's constitutional monarchy, which is most suitable for the national system. However, after the turmoil in the Gengzi Year, the Manchus cut off their own foundation, and the constitutional system has been discredited. There is no way back, and I can only follow the party members and persist."
"But you know, there are many party members and factions, and it is very difficult to get them to work together after they succeed! Once conflicts arise, they will split up in no time. In addition, their main personnel have all lived abroad for a long time, so how can they understand the situation in China! I dare to say that if this continues, it will become more and more chaotic. Although Chen Hua also thinks that a republic is the general trend, what kind of republic it is still worth discussing."
Without waiting for Hu Ruilin to speak, Yang Qiu took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, pretending to be anxious and continued: "So I always feel uneasy in my heart, so I specially asked you to come and give me some advice."
Hu Ruilin was also an old constitutionalist. The chaos in the Gengzi Year made him deeply worried, so he had some understanding of the current situation. However, he did not expect that Yang Qiu, a "warrior", could speak so clearly and give him a feeling of sudden enlightenment. He was very surprised. Moreover, he did not like the republic and had always been a hardcore constitutionalist. However, the constitutionalists had declined in popularity in recent years, and the party members regarded them as obstacles, so he could only pick up the Buddhist beads and become a lay Buddhist. Now after hearing these words and thinking carefully, the constitutionalists really had no way out. What should they do next?
Seeing that he was interested, Yang Qiu deliberately lowered his voice to sound mysterious, and said, "Layman, I have learned that the party members have no suitable candidates after the uprising, and they are ready to let Li Xietong be the governor, so I would like you to take charge of the civil affairs here... I am a warrior, I don't understand these, I hope you can come out and help! Besides, if the party members have any problems in the future, we... hehe."
Although he didn't continue talking, Hu Ruilin's eyelids were already twitching! The party members started an uprising, but Li Yuanhong was appointed as the governor. Is this possible? He didn't believe it, but Yang Qiu's face didn't seem to be lying. He knew who Li Yuanhong was. He would definitely not be of the same mind as the party members. Could it be that Yang Qiu was deliberately placed outside as a pawn, firstly to have a way to save his life, and secondly to use this to control some military power? !
If that's the case... Yang Qiu really needs to be won over! But he couldn't agree immediately. He had to wait and see what the wind was blowing. If Wuchang really got the news that Li Yuanhong was the governor, it wouldn't be too late to make a bet . So he took out the 50,000 taels of silver notes he had prepared long ago and said with a smile, "I'm old now. I've studied Buddhism for many years, but I don't know if I can pick up some trivial things. This 50,000 taels is just a little gift from me. I hope the commander-in-chief will not refuse it. Just treat it as a reward for the hard work of the brothers outside."
Hearing his tone soften, Yang Qiu knew that this old fox wanted to wait and see before placing a bet, so he did not refuse and immediately took the banknote, saying with a smile: "Then I will keep it for you first, and use it as the daily operation fund for the civil affairs after you leave the mountain."
Yang Qiu left immediately after he finished speaking. When he came out and saw that there was no one around, Zhang Wenjing asked in surprise, "Sir, I'm afraid the constitutionalists... won't be able to accomplish anything, right? And Hu Ruilin hasn't dealt with government affairs for many years, right..."
"I know! The old stuff can indeed be thrown away, but how many people who understand civil affairs can we find now? How many officials are needed to run the two towns? Do we have the connections and reputation? So now we can only rely on these people. Anyway, the constitutionalists and the republicans are not coming together so quickly. As for Hu Ruilin... he is a little old, and he is a lay Buddhist, but don't forget who his children's in-laws are."
"Tang Hualong?!" Zhang Wenjing's eyes lit up and he praised, "I am really impressed by you, sir. You have gone through so much trouble. You are... amazing!" Seeing that he understood, Yang Qiu also laughed. Of course, there was one thing he didn't say, that is, Tang Hualong and the Navy Chief of Staff Tang Xingming were brothers. His circle was not just to temporarily win over the constitutionalists.
The navy! Unfortunately, the corners of his mouth that had just cracked had not yet expanded to their maximum. The association between the sea and the ships made him angry again. His own munitions ship! So he stomped his feet and gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go to Hanyang and settle accounts with Shen Shukai!"
