Volume 1 Wuchang Vortex Chapter 61: Oath
It was already autumn, but the cold current from the north had not yet moved south, and the hot and humid air was filled with restlessness and anxiety. In front of the stage on Hanzheng Street, more than a hundred soldiers were busy preparing, and a banner was hung above the stage, with the words "Right Route Army Oath-taking Ceremony" prominently displayed.
The public notices that began to appear in the streets yesterday finally put many people at ease. A number of people appeared on the streets. Some brave shopkeepers opened their doors, but no one came to buy things. A carriage arrived at the oath-taking venue first. Hu Ruilin, who was almost fifty years old, immediately caused a stir after getting off the carriage. He was well-known in the three towns. He was not only a respected layman and a member of the Advisory Council, but also a kind-hearted person, so many people knew him.
Hu Ruilin has washed away yesterday's tension and anxiety. Flights between Hankou and Wuchang were restored last night. Tang Hualong sent someone to deliver a message saying that Yang Qiu had posted a notice without authorization to appoint himself commander of the Right Route Army, and had also brought along Li Yuanhong, who was opposite Li Dushi. The other side had just acquiesced. What a coincidence, is there something... ?
According to Chinese tradition, the left hand is the most important. He now occupies the right wing army, leaving the position of commander of the left wing army vacant. This also shows that he may have planned it in advance. You must know that although there are more than 10,000 troops in Wuchang on the other side, the only one who can command them at this moment is Li Yuanhong! Doesn't this mean that after the party members were busy for two days and two nights, all the benefits were taken away by these two people? !
After a night of deep thought, he also felt that this was the best opportunity for them, the constitutionalists, so he must come to support this oath-taking meeting. As some congressmen and gentry living in Hankou gradually arrived under the "protection" of the soldiers, the meeting place which was slightly empty just now was already crowded with people. A moment later, a carriage escorted by a large group of foreign soldiers suddenly squeezed into the crowd. Hu Ruilin frowned secretly. Could it be that all the foreigners came to support Yang Qiu?
"stand at attention!"
A loud shout was heard, and the soldiers who were maintaining order suddenly stood at attention with their feet together, and the crowd automatically made way. Hu Ruilin looked back and saw more than a hundred soldiers and officers slowly approaching with Yang Qiu. He had a pistol on his waist, a saber in his hand, and a straight posture, a slender figure, and a heroic look in his eyes. His straight general uniform was not messy at all, and his leather boots on the stone slabs made a sound like drumbeats, which was shocking.
Ever since the assassination incident, he has been staying in Hanyang and seldom goes out, so everyone has only heard of this Qing Dynasty lackey and great hero Baturu but never seen him. Now that they see such a handsome young man, they feel a bit of good impression of him.
"Commander, this is the German Minister, Sir Traun, and this is the British Consul, Viscount Geoff..." Zhang Wenjing introduced them all the way: "This is the Japanese Minister, His Excellency Matsumura Sadao."
When Matsumura Sadao was introduced, two gloomy eyes immediately locked onto him, and he said coldly: "Commander, I want to know why you sent troops into the Hanyang Steel Plant? To capture the kind staff of Hanyeping!"
Sheng Xuanhuai hadn't arrived yet, but the leader had arrived! Yang Qiu pretended to be confused and asked, "What? Is the steel mill a Japanese company? Zhang Wenjing! How do you do things? Why don't you tell me?"
Zhang Wenjing laughed inwardly. After the translator beside him whispered in his ear, Matsumura Sadao's expression changed slightly.
Indeed, although Japan and Hanyeping have a close relationship, the ownership still belongs to Sheng Xuanhuai and the Qing government, so it is not Japan's turn to govern when Yang Qiu goes in to arrest people. However, Yang Qiu does not want to fall out with the Japanese now, and said seriously: "Your Excellency, I will investigate it thoroughly. If I have mistakenly arrested your personnel or violated your company, I will punish them severely!"
Seeing that Matsumura Sadao had been entangled with Yang Qiu about the steel plant, German Minister Traun could no longer hold back and walked over to block them. He took out a letter of agreement from foreign ministers stationed in Hankou from his pocket and said sternly: "Commander, we don't want to interfere in your internal affairs, but if you want to fight, you must leave the concessions of various countries 30 miles away, otherwise we will reserve the possibility of taking necessary measures!"
Yue Peng and Song Ziqing, who could understand some German, changed their expressions when they heard these words. After the oath of allegiance, they were about to set out to fight Zhang Biao. Liujia Temple was less than ten kilometers away from the nearest Japanese concession. Could it be that the foreigners had reached an agreement with Zhang Biao to deliberately keep him alive? !
Yang Qiu was not in a hurry. He spoke in German, "Your Excellency, I think you should hand over this agreement to the Qing government or Wuchang. I am just a soldier. My order is to defeat the enemy at all costs!" After that, while Traun's face did not change immediately, he suddenly took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to him.
Traun is a senior diplomat in his fifties. Due to the restrictions of the unified strategy of all countries in China proposed by Britain, Germany has not been able to completely open up the situation. So over the years, he has been well aware of how to protect Germany's interests in the Far East when it is in an unfavorable situation and lacks allies. So when he was about to discuss with the ministers of various countries to jointly exert pressure, Yang Qiu unexpectedly handed him a piece of paper.
First he spoke with a German accent, then there was a note written entirely in German. Traun was also secretly puzzled about Yang Qiu's origins. After taking the note and looking at it casually, his pupils suddenly began to dilate. He did not care that there were people around him and asked, "Sir, this is..."
"A British friend of mine happened to make a small mistake, so he fled to the Far East with these things to seek refuge. I bought them because I saw he was penniless. Are these really useful to you?" Yang Qiu lowered his voice.
"Yes, Germany needs..." Traun was about to continue speaking , but he realized that the situation was not right, so he immediately lowered his voice: "We need it."
Yang Qiu chuckled, snatched the slip of paper that Traun hadn't grasped tightly, deliberately folded it into a small square before stuffing it back into his pocket and said with a smile: "After we take over Liujia Temple, I think we can have a drink together."
The two spoke entirely in German, and at the end they were whispering to each other, so the other ministers only saw the two men gesticulating. However, Yue Peng and Song Ziqing, who were standing closest, were a little surprised. They looked at each other and began to guess what could have moved Traun, the old fox.
Hu Ruilin and others standing nearby were even more surprised. He could not understand German but knew how to read people's faces. He did not expect Traun to suddenly change his tone, and he became more suspicious whether he had the support of foreigners. Just as everyone was speculating, Yang Qiu put away the note and strode towards him. Before he could say hello, he was held by the hand and smiled cordially: "Councilor Hu, you are the most prestigious person in our three towns. I am really grateful for being able to attend this oath-taking ceremony. Brother, on behalf of thousands of soldiers of the Right Route Army, I promise you that we will fight bravely to protect the peace of Hankou and defend the achievements of our revolution! Oh, by the way, I have received the 50,000 yuan donation you sent the night before ! Thank you so much, thank you so much!"
Before Hu Ruilin could react, he heard that Yang Qiu had actually leaked the fact that he had given 50,000 yuan. Wasn't this telling others that he had joined forces with the Right Route Army? ! He thought that this young man should not be underestimated. Fortunately, he was prepared for this matter. He smiled and said, "It is my greatest wish to do something for my hometown. Commander, lead the soldiers to defend the country and protect Hankou. If it weren't for my age, I would be willing to accompany you to fight the enemy and make immortal contributions."
This old man is really good at talking. Yang Qiu smiled secretly, waved his hand and said loudly: "Thank you, Councillor Hu. I am a warrior. Yangxia still needs people like you to take charge."
These sounds were extremely loud, and Hu Ruilin was also smiling. The surrounding congressmen and conservatives immediately realized that the two might have reached an agreement. Does this mean that the constitutionalists are going to take the stage? But before they could find out, they saw soldiers carrying a cardboard box that was bigger than a person. On the cardboard box were five big characters printed: "Revolutionary Donation Box"!
Well! Hu Ruilin has donated, so I have to "contribute" a little bit, not to mention that he is holding a gun! One by one, the gentry began to grit their teeth and touch their pockets, which made Zhang Wenjing laugh: "Commander, you are really shameless."
"Being shameless is better than being penniless." Yang Qiu glanced at Hu Ruilin who seemed to be thinking about something, then took a deep breath and strode onto the stage.
In the corner, Rui Yao, dressed as a fisherman's daughter, stood between Chang Si and several guards. Seeing Yang Qiu's fundraising method, she burst out laughing, turned her head and smiled at the dumbfounded Miao Luo, "I know why this guy makes you, Junior Sister, lose your mind."
"Sister Rui, you...!"
Miao Luo was so angry that two red clouds flew across his jade-like cheeks. Looking at the tall figure on the stage, he didn't know what to say. This man had suddenly become a comrade from a lackey. Was he saying that he and him...
Yang Qiu walked onto the stage, raised his arms and spoke in a loud and firm voice: "Fathers, brothers and sisters! Fellow countrymen! I stand here today and actually have a lot of things in my heart that I want to say to you, but when I open my mouth I don't know where to start..."
"I just want to say. Today! Our three towns on the Han River were the first to be liberated!"
"The beginning of the Westernization Movement, the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the tragic year of Gengzi... countless ancestors sacrificed their lives and shed their blood for this day! Only then did we finally achieve our lucky success. After hundreds of years of bloody rule by the Qing government, the three towns of Han River finally returned to the hands of China!"
"but……"
“There are still many places in Hubei that have not been liberated and are still being ravaged by the Manchus! So... today the brothers are holding this oath-taking meeting, not to ask for anything from you, nor to make any big promises... Look around you, look at those young faces carrying guns, these are great men full of passion!!” When their eyes came over, the soldiers straightened their backs, and everyone felt very proud.
"We also have relatives and parents, and we are afraid too, but we are soldiers, and we have no choice since we put on this uniform!"
"Yesterday... we ended an old era and ended the rule of the Manchus in the Three Towns. Today! We will start a new journey. We will fight for you, for all the Chinese people in the world! For this country! To create a new world and a proud future for the Chinese nation!"
"Our right-wing defense army hereby swears that we will use our flesh and blood to completely overthrow the Qing Dynasty! For the rejuvenation of China, let our descendants of Yan and Huang once again establish themselves as a powerful country in the world, and from now on, we can hold our heads high and fight for the rest of our lives!"
"I would rather die than surrender!"
"If you break your oath, Heaven and Earth will kill you!"
"If you break your oath, Heaven and Earth will kill you!"
"If you break your oath, Heaven and Earth will kill you!"
The soldiers were so inspired by this passionate oath that they all shouted. More and more young people began to join the ranks. After a while, the whole Hankou began to echo with this sound!
"Sacrifice the flag!"
Following Zhang Wenjing's loud shout, Bingwen walked up to the podium holding a military flag that no one had ever seen before. Yang Qiu waved his hand, and a picture of a flying tiger roaring to the sky with his feet on a sea of blood appeared in front of everyone.
Then, nearly a hundred bound criminals were pushed to the river bank not far away. Many people shouted when they saw them, because they were the thugs who took advantage of the fire that night to rob, kill civilians, rape and abuse.
The smile on Rui Yao's pretty face suddenly disappeared when she saw them, because most of them were members of the Changjiang Gang. She was so anxious that she was about to rush out to stop them, but was suddenly pulled back by Chang Si. "Boss, they... are just thugs who took advantage of the situation to rob." As soon as the words fell, gunshots rang out. Amid countless shouting, accusations, and throwing of debris, a total of 77 bandits were shot on the spot!
When some people were trembling with fear at Yang Qiu's cruelty, the Flying Tiger Flag had already begun to fly away into the distance.
