Volume 1 Wuchang Vortex Chapter 71: The Deer in the Central Plains Are Fat
In front of the Advisory Council gate in the early morning, Qiu Wenbin stood still with a gun on his back. Two months of training had left deep marks on him. For example, in the most basic guard duty, when others were leaning lazily, he always maintained the most standard standing posture.
"Wenbin, there are no outsiders here, let's take a break." A comrade from the Eighth Town next to him handed over a cigarette. Qiu Wenbin shook his head and turned his gaze to the wide Yangtze River.
"Look at him... He thinks he's such a big shot, but he got us scolded a few times for being so unreasonable."
"I just can't figure it out. I heard that those who were kicked back by Commander Yang are like this! Tell me, brothers, why don't they work hard over there and come back to show off ? Do they think we don't know how to stand at attention?"
"Commander Yang is so kind to the soldiers. He even started paying them double pay yesterday! If it were me, I would never leave. Even if I don't get paid, I can't just sit there and watch my brothers bleed."
The sarcastic remarks coming from the side pricked Qiu Wenbin like needles, which made him feel uncomfortable. After the Battle of Liujiamiao, he and his friends from the Puzzle Club who were imprisoned at that time were all kicked back to Wuchang. Unexpectedly, after coming back, he was feared by his former colleagues in the Literature Club because he came from the Right Route Army, and was eventually assigned to do miscellaneous tasks such as guarding the door and standing guard.
What disappointed him most was that the uprising had already happened for several days, but the situation here was still chaotic and confusing. On the contrary, Yang Qiu not only organized the two towns in an orderly manner, but also sent people to the police, civil affairs, and customs to take over early. Every time he thought of his former comrades on the other side of the river fighting Liujia Temple and the small Northern Expedition, working hard, while he was doing the most basic chores of a recruit here, he always felt an indescribable discomfort in his heart.
What would happen if I were still at level 42?
With a sigh in his heart, his waist, which had been beaten for two months, seemed to gradually soften. Just when he was about to give up, hurried footsteps suddenly came . He suddenly perked up and turned his head to see that it was Wang Anlan, the former secretary of the 42nd section.
"Master Wang, what happened? Why are you so anxious?"
Wang Anlan recognized Qiu Wenbin and knew that he was an old member of the Yizhi Society. Unfortunately, he had no comradeship towards this person who was kicked back. Can a soldier who was kicked out of his old unit still be considered a soldier? He said in a cold tone: "It's nothing serious. It's just that the right-wing army won a small victory in Wusheng Pass."
Another victory?! Qiu Wenbin was very excited. He did not expect that there would be another victory report from Liujia Temple just two days ago. He asked quickly, "Did we fight against Beiyang?"
"Beiyang?! Do you know how strong the Beiyang is?" Just at this time, several soldiers came over to ask questions. Wang Anlan said to him and then changed his face: "It was a unit of Henan Patrol City Battalion. He Xi fought well and killed more than 400 enemies. The remaining more than 1,000 surrendered. We seized several thousand rifles and cannons, as well as a train . If you want to cross the river, you can. It's not proper to make a big fuss over a small victory!"
Four hundred enemies were killed, more than a thousand were captured, and so many weapons and supplies were seized! This is not a small victory, it is a complete victory! The soldiers didn't care how jealous Wang Anlan was. For them, blocking Wusheng Pass meant that Hubei was temporarily safe, so they cheered. Qiu Wenbin's face was even more sluggish, and he wanted to fly across the river immediately and return to the familiar camp to see the scene of prisoners over there. Only Wang Anlan's face changed when he saw everyone was happy, and he hurried to the second floor.
When he went up to the second floor, he saw that Li Yuanhong had shaved his head, and there was a green light on his head. He temporarily forgot his troubles and joked: "Li Yuanhong has cut off his braids, and he really looks like a Bodhisattva."
"How can a Bodhisattva speak nonsense? I am shaving my head and practicing... I am learning from the monks to sit in meditation." Li Yuanhong touched his bald head and asked, "Is Jingbo here to persuade me again?"
Wang Anlan quickly shook his head: "Li Du has already gone to send it, why should I come to persuade him? It's you, Yang Qiu, who should persuade him."
"Yang Qiu? What happened to him?"
"What? He's almost turned Hankou upside down!" Wang Anlan hurriedly repeated the Dazhimen victory report that had just been sent back, and said, "First it was Liujia Temple, then Wusheng Pass, and now he has openly opened the gates of Hankou to show the gentry and peasants the captured baggage and weapons, and the prisoners are filling the Hanyang camp! If his little Northern Expedition is over, I'm afraid you, Governor Li, will be... overwhelmed by him."
Li Yuanhong was also a little surprised. He did not expect that Yang Qiu would decisively go north to block Wusheng Pass right after taking Liujia Temple, and also dispatch a battalion from Henan to annihilate the entire army. The speed of his actions really caught people off guard.
"There's more." Wang Anlan saw that Li Yuanhong didn't say anything, so he continued to fan him, "Last night, news came from Hanchuan that Yue Peng led his troops to block the two battalions of the 41st Regiment, took away most of the soldiers, and incorporated more than a thousand volunteers from the Liang brothers. At this moment, the troops have been divided into three groups. The first group he personally led went to Jingshan and Xiangyang, the second group went to Xiantao and Qianjiang and headed towards Yuezhou, Hunan, and the third group went straight to Yichang and Badong!"
"So fast!"
Hearing this news, Li Yuanhong cried out inwardly and quickly shouted, "Bring me the map."
Seeing that he finally asked for the first time, the party members who were in charge of monitoring him quickly found a map and spread it on the table. After carefully looking at it for a while, Wu Zhaolin frowned. At this time, Wu Zhaolin happened to come in. Seeing him looking at the map seriously, his face was happy, but he was afraid of disturbing his thoughts, so he stood aside and didn't say anything. After a while, Li Yuanhong let out a long sigh, leaned back in his chair and said, "What a pity..."
It was the first time Wu Zhaolin had seen Li Yuanhong with this expression, and he curiously asked, "What's the pity, Governor Li?" Seeing him coming to his side, Li Yuanhong pushed the map in front of him and said, "You are also a person who understands military affairs. In your opinion, what exactly does Yang Qiu want to do?"
Wu Zhaolin was not the kind of party officer who would become powerful overnight. He joined the army at the age of 16 due to his poor family. He had personally participated in everything and carefully considered everything. He not only participated in two national new army autumn exercises, but also compiled "Tactical Implementation" and "Staff Travel", which were printed and distributed to various armies for reference. Even Li Yuanhong praised him as a rare staff talent.
Although he was only a captain and had never led a battle above the battalion level, it did not mean that he had no vision. After carefully looking at the map, he breathed a sigh of relief and analyzed: "Yang Qiu is indeed a man who knows military affairs and warfare. He knows that he cannot match the Beiyang army, so he first attacked Liujia Temple to resolve the crisis in Hankou, and then divided his troops to block Wusheng Pass all the way north. In this way, Yinchang's army will definitely not be able to quickly enter Hubei."
"One day later Yinchang arrives, he has one day more to prepare! Take this opportunity to sweep the north of the Yangtze River and first eliminate all the troublemakers in the Fourth Field Army. We can also take the opportunity to recruit veteran soldiers patrolling the cities from all over the country and recruit new troops to expand the reputation of the right-wing army! As long as Wusheng Pass can be defended for ten days or half a month, I'm afraid that everything except the south of Wuchang will be in their hands! As long as Xiangyang is taken away and Dahongshan is used to contain them, even if the Beiyang finally breaks through the pass, they will still be able to fight..."
Seeing that Li Yuanhong didn't say anything, Wang Anlan thought that he was also beginning to worry that Yang Qiu would grow too fast and threaten Wuchang, so he quickly asked, "Li Du, is this what you said was a pity just now?"
"What I regret is that he joined our army three years late, and he has too few capable soldiers. If all eight towns fall into his hands, Xinyang... I'm afraid even Yinchang can't stay here!" Li Yuanhong shook his head, his eyebrows and eyes almost squeezed together, and his short and fat body paced back and forth in the room, like a rolling winter melon.
Looking at his restless back, Wu Zhaolin vaguely guessed what he was worried about. Yang Qiu on the other side of the river was expanding too fast!
Although he and old subordinates such as Cai Jimin all supported him, Sun Wuning was unwilling to give up power even though he wrapped himself in gauze and endured the severe pain. All kinds of national telegrams were nominally issued by Li Yuanhong, but in reality they were never delivered to Xiaolou. Naturally, he felt extremely aggrieved as a governor, so he gritted his teeth and refused to cooperate.
But isn't he really a governor? Of course not, the title of the governor of the first uprising is too tempting. He is just waiting, waiting for Sun Wu to lose the battle and give up his power, waiting for the recognition of the party leaders, otherwise this powerless governor will be boring. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned, no one expected that Yang Qiu would appear and quickly solve all the troubles around, which made Sun Wu and other party members no longer rely on him.
But there is still a chance. Although Yang Qiu's expansion threatens Wuchang, the Beiyang cannot be stopped by Wusheng Pass. Even if Yang Qiu can finally gather tens of thousands of troops, if Wuchang does not cooperate, it is undoubtedly a foolish dream to rely on new soldiers who can't even hold a gun to defeat the Beiyang who broke through the pass! However... if he delays for a few more days, even if he sits firmly in the position of governor, he may not be able to move him!
Li Yuanhong was indeed as confused as Wu Zhaolin thought, and began to doubt whether he was wrong to force the party members to give up power and then relax. Yang Qiu's rise has become more and more urgent, and his pace is getting faster and faster! But he made a mistake and had to continue to watch... If one day the party members suddenly abandoned him and praised him, what should he do? Or should he talk to the one in Henan?
He is the one who can decide whether the Qing Dynasty can survive! In this chaotic world, he will never be content to continue fishing in Yangshou Garden. But would he like to see Yang Qiu rise, or would he like to see himself in charge of Hubei? Wuchang has become a big whirlpool, who will have the last laugh? The "fisherman" with 100,000 tiger soldiers, or the rapidly rising Yang Qiu, or himself who is as immovable as a mountain?
Li Yuanhong walked to the window and looked out at Hanyang Guishan Mountain. He suddenly smiled and said softly, "The dragons in the great marshes are hibernating, and the deer in the Central Plains are growing fat."
Outside the door, Sun Wu's body shook violently!
These two sentences were written by Yuan Shikai when he was 13 years old!
