Volume 1 Wuchang Vortex Chapter 60: The Qing Dynasty's Final Decision
"Ha ha……"
The combat meeting room was filled with laughter. Xiao Anguo even wiped his eyes and twitched, "Commander, you are really good at this. In the blink of an eye, we have become the National Defense Right Route Army. You also took advantage of the situation to promote Li Xietong to the throne of Hubei Governor. Isn't this obviously embarrassing for them?"
"So what if it's embarrassing?" Zhang Wenjing said happily, "Tens of thousands of notices have been posted all over the streets and alleys. Everyone in Yangxia knows that Li Xietong has been appointed as the governor of Hubei and the commander has been appointed as the commander-in-chief of the right-wing army. If they have the guts, they can take them down."
"Wen Jing, you are forcing someone to do something difficult. Even if you take it down, what can you do? I have just ordered people to post a few posters at the entrance of the concession. The foreigners know about it. Moreover, Bingwen and Wang Guangxiong have already sent a nationwide telegram. The commander and our right-wing army's names will surely spread throughout the country in two days."
"Zi'an, you..." Zhang Wenjing said angrily, "You are so mean!"
Song Ziqing attended this kind of meeting for the first time, so he didn't dare to act recklessly, but he was really impressed by Yang Qiu's move. Because everyone knew that with his previous reputation and current connections and reputation, he could never rush to the front. So everyone has been worried about the status of this new army. But now, before they reacted, they decided their own status and position. They issued a notice to reassure the people and a telegram to the whole country, and even dragged Li's name into it. Unless they use force, they can only swallow their anger.
But will a hard approach work? Not to mention that the Marine Battalion is still in the river, preparing to make a first contribution as a token of their loyalty, the chaotic situation in Wuchang City alone will probably take several days to settle down. By that time, the whole country will know about it. Even if the Kuomintang wants to fight, they must consider the consequences of killing revolutionary heroes!
Now there is no doubt that the northern army will come, and the elite Beiyang will definitely be dispatched. Yang Qiu's purchase of so many machine guns obviously exceeds the defense needs, so he must have thought about fighting this battle well! As long as he can gain fame in this war and forge an iron army, then...where in the world can't he go?
"Send someone across the river." Yang Qiu raised his hand to quiet everyone down immediately, and said, "Tell them that Zhang Biao has occupied Liujia Temple and has seriously threatened Hankou. Our army is currently seriously short of weapons, military funds, and soldiers. They can't just watch Hankou fall again, right?"
Song Ziqing smiled knowingly: "The commander is right, but they certainly won't believe us so easily, so we need someone who dares to speak up and must not be swayed by them."
"You also need to be calm, a little more chaotic, talk louder, and have a louder voice!" After Zhang Wenjing finished speaking, he slapped his head and said happily: "Look at me, why am I thinking of the commander's precious piece of meat!"
Everyone burst into laughter again, even Yang Qiu was amused. He took a deep breath, suppressed his emotions, and said calmly: "Brother Xiao and Wen Jing will handle the communication with the other side. In addition, you can select a few people. We can't rely on Hu Ruilin and others for customs and police. When the matter in Wuchang is settled, I think we will be given the name of a branch of the military government, so some things must be organized now, and now the most important thing for us is to defeat Zhang Biao as soon as possible!"
"I sent people disguised as railway workers to scout." Everyone became serious when talking about business. Yue Peng spread the map on the table and pointed, "There are about a thousand remnants of Zhang Biao entrenched in Liujia Temple, mostly patrol battalions, horse commanders and his personal guards, and some troops from the 29th Battalion. Because they fled in a hurry and lacked weapons, the soldiers came back and said they only saw 5 cannons and 2 machine guns."
"Liujia Temple is less than 10 kilometers away from the northernmost Japanese concession in Hankou. The terrain outside the train station is open and undefended, but the roads inside are winding. There are dormitories and warehouses for railway workers on both sides, and there are several trains parked at the railway bureau. Machine guns have blind spots after entering. Moreover, Zhang Biao has seized the train. He must be trying to escape in the chaos after being defeated. So I think we should prevent him from escaping first. I have ordered people to dig up a section of track to cut off his retreat and shake his morale. After the action is taken, we will use our numerical advantage to besiege him from three sides, and only attack the side close to the river."
"You are so insidious..." Zhang Wenjing knew Yue Peng best, so he patted him on the shoulder and encouraged him, "Are you planning to have Wang Guangxiong's naval battalion wait there, and then fire the cannons at him when he feels safe?"
Yue Peng smiled but didn't say anything. When he looked up at Yang Qiu, he found that his eyes didn't seem to be on Liujia Temple, but on the Beijing-Hankou Railway, which stretched all the way north. This made his eyebrows jump! Could this guy want to go north and fight a field battle with the Beiyang? ! Relying on the defense of Hankou might still have a glimmer of hope of winning, but fighting against the Beiyang who were used to field battles and letting them give full play to their artillery advantage... that would be no different from seeking death!
He was right. Yang Qiu really wanted to take a gamble. However, after weighing the pros and cons, he sighed and said, "Zi'an, Ziqing. You two should be the best officers in our right-wing army. Let me ask you, if you face two Beiyang towns, three mixed corps, and the navy commanded by Sa, how long can you hold out?"
"Two towns, three associations and a navy!"
Yang Qiu didn't notice at all that everyone's faces were already a little horrified. To be honest, if they didn't have foresight, I'm afraid anyone of this era, even the best of the Hubei New Army, would have changed color when hearing these names. Just now, he was thinking about whether he could boldly attack first , but after some struggle, he gave up. With such a small number of people, it would be a death sentence for him to fight a head-on battle with the Beiyang. What's more, it was still unclear whether Wuchang was the enemy or not. The only thing he could use now was the southern towns that he was accustomed to the intricacies of. After all, street fighting was a problem even in his time in later generations.
"Commander, excuse my frankness, but no one in the country can match the Beiyang Field Army. So apart from relying on Hankou to deplete their vitality and seek an opportunity to survive!" Although he didn't know why he said this, Yue Peng immediately expressed his thoughts bluntly.
"Yes." Yang Qiu sighed and muttered to himself: "If I had a year, why would I be afraid of the Beiyang?"
Song Ziqing, who had sharp ears, raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard this. He found that the atmosphere in the conference room was a little solemn, so he smiled and said, "When water comes, we will cover it with earth. When soldiers come, we will fight them. We are not vegetarians. After the general meeting tomorrow morning, we will start with Zhang Biao! Maybe after a cannon fire, Zaifeng will not dare to come."
The laughter of the crowd made Yang Qiu realize that he had lost his composure. He looked at Song Ziqing gratefully and said with a smile: "So, it is easy to get thousands of soldiers but hard to get a general. It is a blessing for the three towns to have your help."
"Commander, you are too kind." Xiao Anguo saw that the atmosphere had eased a little, and quickly changed the subject: "Commander, what do you think of Captain Yue's plan?"
"Hit him like this!" Yang Qiu's big hand pressed hard on Liujia Temple.
…
Inside the West Garden Gate of the Forbidden City, the eunuch looked up at the starry sky, then glanced at the Military Affairs Office which was still brightly lit. Oh, no, it should be called the Cabinet now. He yawned again.
From noon till now, people have been coming in and out here without stopping, and everyone has a solemn look on their faces. Now it is almost midnight, so no one should come, right? The eunuch was just about to slip away to find a place to take a nap, when a crisp and powerful sound of footsteps came from outside. After seeing who was coming, he knelt down immediately and said, "Good luck to Lord Beile."
Zaitao didn't want to bother with the eunuch. He threw the whip in his hand to Liangbi and Li Jingmai who had returned from Yongping with him overnight, and walked into the cabinet. As soon as he entered the room, he saw the regent Zaifeng, Shanqi, and Puwei discussing quietly. Even the Minister of the Navy Zaixun came over and asked quickly, "How is it? How is Wuchang?"
Although Zaitao was young, he was the Minister of the Military Advisory Office, which was equivalent to the General Staff of European countries. He led the mobilization of troops across the country and had great power, so when everyone saw him, they stood up and greeted him. But he didn't like these red tapes and didn't even want to say hello. He asked again: "I heard that the Hubei Army rebelled. Is this true? This Ruicheng is really damnable!"
Zaixun quickly pulled him aside and said, "It was a telegram sent by Zhang Biao, the commander-in-chief of the Hubei Army. He said that Wuchang has been occupied by the rebels, Ruicheng's life and death are unknown, and there are also people causing trouble in Hankou and Hanyang."
"What about Zhang Biao?"
"Zhang Biao has retreated to Liujia Temple, seized the train station, and is waiting for the army to rush to support him."
Although Zaitao was not a serious person, he had some talent in military affairs. When he heard that Zhang Biao had captured Liujiamiao Station on the Hanjing Railway, he nodded and said, "This son-in-law is quite foresighted. However, the elite troops of Hubei are extraordinary, so there will be a bloody battle. Can you decide who will lead the troops?"
"The decision has been made. Yinchang has been ordered to go to Hubei to lead the army in the suppression, but the mobilization of those troops is still under consideration."
"Yinchang?!" Zaitao snorted in disdain, but he couldn't interfere in this matter, and it also involved the one from Henan, so he couldn't let the tiger out of the mountain easily. But when he heard that these old men were still considering which troops to send, Zaitao stamped his feet in anger and said, "Just pull out the six Beiyang towns, I don't believe that small Wuchang can stop them."
Shanqi had always disliked Zaitao's frivolity, but this turmoil was of great importance. The Hubei Army was the second largest new army in the country after the Beiyang Army, and the matter was of great importance, so he coughed twice before saying, "The six Beiyang towns and the Imperial Guards need to protect the capital, so how can they all be pulled out? This matter still needs to be carefully considered."
Seeing Shanqi talking, Zaitao didn't dare to say much, and only said: "No matter how you consider it, you must immediately dispatch a large army to go south along the railway to support Zhang Biao. If you lose the Liujiamiao Railway Station, even if Yinchang arrives, it will be more troublesome."
"Don't worry, Zaitao. I have ordered Sa Zhenbing to lead the navy to set off from Shanghai. They will arrive in Wuchang in five days at most."
As soon as Zaixun finished speaking, Zaitao said, "The navy alone is not enough. We should order Henan Governor Baofen to dispatch the 52nd Patrol Battalion to Hankou. The 52nd Patrol Battalion is not far from Xinyang. They will meet up with Zhang Biao at Liujiamiao Station and immediately lead the army to attack Hankou. As long as Hankou is captured, Hanyang and Wuchang will not be a threat after the army arrives."
"Haha... Zaitao is smart. I think it's possible. This way, we can let the rebels know the imperial court's determination to fight and shake their morale. It can also buy time for mobilizing other troops." Shanqi touched the imperial beads and asked, "How is Yongping going?"
"I have ordered the suspension of the autumn drills. All troops are on standby. The Second Town is also ready and packing to head south."
Hearing Zaitao's words, Shanqi nodded, picked up the list of troops of each town, thought for a moment, and then said: "The second town cannot be moved. Yongping has tens of thousands of troops, and it is a time of trouble. We must be on guard. I think it is better to transfer the first town, the fourth town, and the fifth town as the main force, and then mix them into the third and eleventh brigades to follow, and order the 52nd Battalion to support Zhang Biao as soon as possible. What do you think... Is this okay?"
"It's not a problem to transfer troops, and it's also okay for Yinchang to command the troops, but the choice of the commander of these three armies..." Pu Wei glanced at everyone, and everyone knew what he meant. These three towns are all the direct descendants of the "patient" in Henan. Will this transfer be...
"How about this, Yinchang will lead the 4th Regiment, the 3rd Mixed Brigade, and the 11th Brigade as the Central Army, let Feng Guozhang lead the 5th Regiment as the Second Army, and I will personally lead the 1st Regiment of the Imperial Guard to guard Beijing!" Zaitao was impatient and didn't like these old men's hesitation, so he decided to roll up his sleeves and do it himself. Regent Zaifeng was originally a person who didn't take responsibility. He felt that Yinchang and Zaitao were both his own people, and Feng Guozhang was also the most obedient among the Beiyang, so he agreed to this plan.
Facing the sudden "rebellion" of the Hubei E Army, the Qing Dynasty responded very quickly. From the time the news was received to the dawn of the next day, Zaifeng, who had stayed up all night, had already stamped the red seal on the troop dispatch letter. However, he did not know at that moment that this rapid troop dispatch to quell the rebellion would become the last decision of this central empire that lasted for more than 200 years.
However, Emperor Puyi, who should have been the country's highest decision-maker, was still sleeping sweetly in his wet nurse's arms, unaware that his empire had been shaken violently. Even when the war began, the little emperor still had no idea what was happening.
