Volume 1 Wuchang Vortex Chapter 72: The Thigh of the Tongmenghui
The "fisherman" in the north holds a strong army and is waiting for the price to be raised. The old fox in the south seems to be powerless and has been sidelined by the party members, but no one can move him unless the party members depose him. With people like Cai Jimin and Wu Zhaolin, the actual control of the eight towns is still in his hands. Sun Wu and other party members are in high spirits with their great achievements in the first uprising. They can at least hold on to the great cause until the abdication of the Qing Dynasty.
As for himself... Yang Qiu Ning stood at the window, looking at the still slightly messy formation of new recruits in the parade ground, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, because he was also growing rapidly at a speed unimaginable for ordinary people!
After a night of persuasion, more than 700 of the captives sent back by Wushengguan agreed to defect, and the first batch of 3,000 recruits from the two towns were also recruited. In order to maintain the essence of the troops, all the recruits this time were workers and peasants, and the secret societies, gangs and unemployed vagrants that the party members loved the most were excluded. Compared with the complicated old troops, these young people with uncertain minds are the future of this group. From now on, they need to be dispersed with the defecting soldiers and receive a month of intensive training. The training plan and program are all new training outlines compiled by him personally. In addition, they need to receive repeated ideological education. These important things will be arranged by Xiao Anguo himself.
After He Xi took credit for the work, Yue Peng, not to be outdone, delivered good news. He first stopped the two battalions of the 41st Regiment that were returning to Wuchang overnight and persuaded most of them to join the Right Route Army. Then he rushed to Hanchuan and forcibly incorporated the Liang brothers' rebel army. After eliminating the restless factors, he disbanded them and the veterans of the 41st Regiment and reorganized them into three battalions. They are now acting separately from Hu Lao San.
The biggest problem facing him is not the several Qing army patrol camps in Xiangyang and other places, but Liu Ying in Jingshan! In the parallel world, Liu Ying brothers are rapidly growing in the name of deputy governors of the Hubei Military Government, sweeping across the Han River with great momentum, and they also participated in the Second Revolution and are loyal to the party. Whether they can be taken down without bloodshed is related to whether the superficial peace in Hubei can continue to be maintained.
Song Ziqing was not that fast. It would take four days to reach Chongqing along the river. Plus, it would take until the end of the month to catch up with the Sichuan and Hubei troops. What worried him most now was the weapons. He was guarding Hanyang but didn't have enough weapons. If he told others about it, they might laugh at him.
Originally, there were about 9,000 Hanyang rifles in reserve, but Yue Peng took away 3,000, and the training ground below also needed nearly 4,000. He Xi seized Japanese Type 30 rifles this time, which were not compatible with ammunition. When a large number of new recruits from the north come back, they will face the embarrassment of having no guns to use. The ammunition is slightly better. Shen Shukai temporarily alleviated the problem of material shortage after increasing the purchase efforts. The output of pointed bullets began to increase gradually as the workers became more skilled. The craftsmanship and quality were also improved under the personal supervision of Su Hongsheng. After several days of testing, the grenades entered the manufacturing stage yesterday. As for the artillery, I don't want to think about it. Even if Germany can deliver another batch, it can't get so many artillery.
Now He Xi was guarding Wusheng Pass, with Xiongguan as a screen and machine guns as support. As long as Beiyang continued to work hard, he could continue to guard for half a month. This meant that the most needed time was finally won after continuous and even breathless deployment.
Make good use of this time and quickly seize the area north of the Yangtze River, which occupies most of Hubei. It would be best if we could capture Chongqing and Guang'an as planned. Then we will have a good base. If Germany can respond earlier and complete the transaction, there will be a glimmer of hope in the closed future!
But... what kind of path can he lead this group in the end? He is not sure about this. The north is watching closely, and the old fox is not very tolerant. Sun Wu will not be willing to let others pick the peaches, not to mention the big figures like Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren who are about to come! But... they are probably also worried about me now, right?
Yang Qiu then realized that he had been able to slightly influence the overall situation in the world without realizing it, but he soon gave up his fantasy, let down the curtains and picked up the plan for the National Defense Army NCO crash course that he had been conceiving for a long time.
The Army NCO crash course was a very common means of training grassroots officers and technical soldiers quickly and in large quantities during the early Republic of China period. The expansion of the army had become unstoppable, and the growing gap in grassroots officers forced him to speed up the establishment of the crash course.
Fortunately, Hubei has too many advantages compared to starting from scratch. The Hubei Military Academy, which has trained officers such as Wu Luzhen and is well-known throughout the country, is the best resource. Since most of the students in the academy joined the revolution after the Wuchang Uprising, the teachers and instructors were considered by the party members to belong to the old officer system, and all of them lost their livelihoods for a while. When he learned about it, he immediately asked Zhang Wenjing to win over most of them with a high salary of 100 oceans per person per month. At this moment, all these people have arrived in Hanyang and have been arranged in the newly built Mo Shui Lake Qili Temple garrison. Now they need to decide which subjects to focus on.
Command, artillery, surveying and mapping, engineering and battlefield medical are the most urgently needed at the moment. He wanted to start a heavy machine gun class but couldn't find an instructor, let alone hunting soldiers. After thinking about it, he also added communications and government affairs training.
The communications class will be taught by radio operators drawn from the Navy Battalion , and the political training class is not for the present. He does not want to be controlled by the constitutionalists for the rest of his life. However, this class cannot be held in Hanyang, otherwise Tang Hualong will definitely guess that he is trying to get rid of them. When he signed the documents for the National Defense Army NCO Accelerated Training Class, Zhang Wenjing happened to come in and saw it, and his brows deepened a little: "Commander, if you keep doing this, I will really have no money!"
Zhang Wenjing has been so worried about his hair not growing back lately. He did make a fortune on the night of the First Uprising, but he has been spending money like water recently. The salary has doubled, the troops have been expanded, the new recruits have to settle down, and the purchase of urgently needed raw materials and the operation of the Hanyang factory have just started. These alone have cost nearly three million. If Traun agrees to sell arms, it will be another large sum. The thinner his wallet is, the greater the pressure on him, the chief logistics manager.
What's more, at this moment there is only input and no output!
The northward advance had just begun, and there was still a battle to be fought against the elite Beiyang. The most optimistic estimate was that it would take three or four months to collect taxes from the controlled areas. The customs also could not collect money for the time being. The foreigners now united and said that they would have to wait until the end of the war before they could restart the distribution of customs lijin, so he dreamed of digging up a golden baby these days.
This complaint made Yang Qiu raise his forehead. In addition to taxes, he now hoped that Song Ziqing could send good news as soon as possible, and then develop towards the western Sichuan plain with Chongqing as the base, which is the essence of the entire Sichuan. Sugar from Zizhong and Neijiang; grain from Luzhou and Yibin; and the Ziliujing salt area comparable to Yangzhou. In the parallel world, the total military expenditure of the Sichuan warlords in 1916 was only 6 million, but ten years later it reached a shocking 43.6 million! It increased sevenfold in ten years, almost all thanks to Ziliujing. In addition, another great fortune that can be remembered is the 8 million silver in the Chengdu treasury, but this money has been difficult to get so far.
It was still unknown whether Germany would agree. Ziliujing could not avoid Rong County, which was already independent and controlled by the Communists. He could not avoid the Pao brothers and the Communists when he entered Chengdu. Thinking of this, he could not help but feel frustrated. Why was the road so difficult? Was he too soft-hearted? Would it be a better choice to go to war with the Communists directly? Was it too unfair to try to restrain himself for the sake of the official status that he had not yet fully obtained?
"Commander, Speaker Tang is here, and he brought a man named Ju Zheng with him."
"Ju Zheng! You're finally back..."
Bingwen knocked on the door and brought the news that Juzheng and Tan Renfeng had finally returned from Shanghai. Yang Qiu immediately stuffed the piles of appropriation documents back into the drawer. What would this Tongmenghui boss, one of the few who developed in Hubei, bring to him?
As he walked steadily towards the reception room, Ju Zheng also held a teacup and looked curiously at the new recruits who were being trained on the parade ground. He saw them lined up in neat formations, each of them staggered by about several meters, practicing bayonet fighting and shouting loudly with each strike. Many of the soldiers were obviously so tired that they were staggering and unsteady, but they were still gritting their teeth and persevering. The officers supervising the training beside them did not ask for a rest, but instead kept shouting encouraging words such as "Soldiers should take orders and obedience as their first duty", "We are the National Defense Force", "Sweat more in peacetime and bleed less in war", and "Train hard and kill the enemy for the people and the country".
But this passionate scene did not make him feel excited, but rather confused. He did not expect that he had missed the most important moment because of his trip to Shanghai. The gunshot from the engineering battalion made the whole of China spin rapidly. As a senior member of the Tongmenghui, he was glad that the first uprising was successful, but the unexpected changes in the center of the vortex made him at a loss.
The biggest change was the unexpected rise of Yang Qiu. This young man, who was previously slandered by the world for being the last "loyal and brave Baturu" of the Qing Dynasty, turned into a revolutionary pioneer! What was going on? In order to figure this out, he did not care about the fatigue of the journey and immediately asked Tan Renfeng to meet Li Yuanhong to persuade him to officially take over as the governor. Then he took Tang Hualong, who had a good relationship with him, to the Hanyang camp, hoping to see Yang Qiu in person.
"Chen Hua is late. I hope Mr. Ju Zheng and Brother Ji Wu will forgive me."
Hearing the voice, Ju Zheng quickly stood up and looked, only to see a young man in his early twenties, with a handsome face, tall stature, and a neat military uniform, appearing at the door with an officer. As the two came in, the strong military aura that hit him in the face made him pause slightly.
Tang Hualong certainly hoped that Yang Qiu would always be a pure soldier. He smiled affectionately and said, "Chen Hua, you can still come to see us in your busy schedule. You should apologize for disturbing us."
"Brother Jiwu is really good at talking." Yang Qiu's eyes never left the well-known man in front of him, who was labeled an anti-Red diehard for the rest of his life. Seeing his slight surprise, he smiled secretly in his heart. This man, like .
"When I was in Shanghai, I heard Dunchu mention Chenhua many times, saying that you have extraordinary skills and are very skilled. I didn't expect that you are also proficient in military training, which makes Juesheng very envious."
"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Ju Zheng. I am a genuine red-topped Baturu. A few days ago, someone tried to assassinate me in the street and wanted to eat my flesh." Yang Qiu smiled slightly and was about to ask the two to sit down when Ju Zheng suddenly bowed.
Yang Qiu was a little surprised. Just as he was about to reach out to help him, he stood up and said seriously, "First, he saved Dunchu's life in Chengdu, and then he rose up in accordance with justice, captured Ruicheng, arrested Zhang Biao, fought the first battle at Liujia Temple, blocked Wusheng Pass, and bought time to consolidate the achievements of the revolution when Wuchang was leaderless! For such a contribution, let alone a bow, even Ju Zheng should kneel three times and kowtow nine times."
"Mr. Ju Zheng, you are too kind. I said it when we swore an oath in Hankou the other day that soldiers should obey orders to defend their country, but..." Yang Qiu felt strange in his heart. Why did Ju Zheng want to praise him so highly? He quickly winked at Tang Hualong and said, "Although Governor Li in Wuchang has sent a telegram to the whole country, there has been no order yet. Brothers are anxious and have to take action."
"Yes..." Tang Hualong took the opportunity to say, "Since the first uprising, the soldiers have not been training, the generals have not obeyed orders, and some people are even domineering and fighting for power. They know that the position of governor has been decided, but they still have hope. If Chen Hua hadn't taken the initiative to attack, I'm afraid... Alas!" Hearing him deliberately sigh, Zhang Wenjing laughed secretly. Everyone knows that the constitutionalists are the ones who want to fight for power the most. If Li Yuanhong's position as governor had not been completely decided, and if it weren't for the temptation of the civil power of most of Hubei when the northward advance began, they probably wouldn't have come to support the Right Route Army.
Yang Qiu also added fuel to the fire and continued, "The Qing Dynasty was unjust and foreigners were rampant. Chen Hua was born in Hubei. He did not want his hometown to continue to be in chaos, so he followed the righteousness and led his brothers to join the revolution. But if it continues like this... I'm afraid the soldiers will be disappointed."
Ju Zheng frowned secretly at the back-and-forth between the two. Although he had just returned, he was not completely unaware of the situation here. Sun Wu and Zhang Zhenwu were very dissatisfied with Li Yuanhong's appointment as the governor-general, and had been looking for an opportunity to replace him, but they did not implement it because they lacked virtue and prestige. So the two's words were more like a warning to the governor-general that it would cause a big change than a complaint.
Ju Zheng certainly did not want to replace Li Yuanhong. After all, he was a Hubei native, and he did not want to have to look at other people's faces after the success of the uprising. What's more, there was another little thought here, which was whether the Tongmenghui could regain its leadership position among the heroes!
In fact, Yang Qiu's words just now were also intended to stir up the flames in his heart. In the parallel world, Ju Zheng was fooled by Tang Hualong to come up with the "Organization Regulations of the Wuchang Military Government". This regulation strengthened the real power of the governor and excluded the Tongmenghui and the Literary Society. In addition to his political immaturity, he also wanted to use this to let the Tongmenghui regain the initiative. In fact, he almost succeeded in the end, but unfortunately Huang Xing was not up to the task and suffered a crushing defeat, which led to the Tongmenghui having to go to Shanghai and Hubei to compete for the right to speak in the country. So seeing that his face was constantly gloomy, he continued to fan the flames and said, "It would be great if Mr. Sun was in the country. In this way, we can elect him as the president, let Governor Li be the commander-in-chief of the army, and then use Hubei to control the whole country, calling on people with lofty ideals to rise up and completely overthrow the Qing Dynasty, so that others don't always say that it is not justified."
Ju Zheng's heart was pounding when he heard this, and he pretended to be calm and asked, "Chen Hua wants to nominate Mr. Sun as the president?!"
Yang Qiu smiled slightly. The Tongmenghui had almost nothing to do with the Wuchang Uprising this time. Now that he was offering such a big reward, Ju Zheng should be able to understand even if he had no experience. He nodded and said, "Apart from Mr. Sun, who else in the world can take on this important task? If someone wants to usurp the throne... Humph!" He deliberately sneered twice, "First, you have to ask my brother about the tens of thousands of guns in my hand!"
Tens of thousands of guns?! Zhang Wenjing was almost convulsed. At this moment, the Right Route Army had less than 10,000 guns at most, but when the commander said it, it became tens of thousands. This speed was faster than the first popular airplanes in Europe. However, he also really admired Yang Qiu. As long as he could hold Ju Zheng back and tie up the Tongmenghui, the future problems of the Right Route Army that worried him would be solved. If things went well, it might even become a central army!
Ju Zheng was even more delighted. After the Huanghuagang Incident, Sun Yat-sen fled, and Huang Xing fled to Hong Kong out of frustration, which caused the Tongmenghui to decline in power and gradually lost its voice in leading the group. For example, the Wuchang Uprising was all the work of the Literature Society and the Progress Society. Now even the military power is controlled by them. Who would be willing to listen to the Tongmenghui after a long time? The Tongmenghui was originally very dissatisfied with the split, and always believed that the whole country should have one voice. Now Hubei took the lead in the uprising, and also took over the eight elite regiments and 21 mixed associations of the Southern Army, making the Tongmenghui even more absolutely weak. This has a great impact on whether it can take power in the future, so Yang Qiu is now equivalent to throwing a huge ball! If Yang Qiu and his National Defense Right Route Army are pulled under the name of the Tongmenghui, doesn’t it mean...!
This time he was really confused, and even wanted to immediately cut off Yang Qiu's head and burn yellow paper to introduce him to the party. He suppressed his surprise and asked tentatively: "Chen Hua, I heard that you don't seem to have joined any party, why... do you want to nominate Mr. Sun as the president?"
Yang Qiu acted like a fanatic fan, stood up and waved his hands vigorously, saying, "To be honest, sir, what Chen Hua admires most in his life is Mr. Sun's perseverance in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and revitalizing China. It's a pity that we have never had the chance to meet. If I knew where Mr. Sun is now, I would follow him through thousands of mountains and rivers."
"Chen Hua really wants to see Mr. Sun?"
"Of course! Chen Hua wanted to sit down and listen to Mr. Sun's teachings, but unfortunately, the Qing Dynasty has not been overthrown yet, and only Hubei has taken the lead in recovery. I don't know if there is a chance now."
Ju Zheng finally couldn't hold back his excitement and said with a smile: "Don't feel sorry for Chen Hua. Mr. Sun has already left the United States. He plans to visit Britain and France to seek support. He should be back in a while, and then..."
"Is this true? Mr. Sun is coming back?" Yang Qiu pretended to be surprised, interrupted and waved his arms vigorously, saying: "Great! As long as Mr. Sun comes back, we will invite him to Hubei. This place is the crossroads of nine provinces and is a good place to command the whole country and command the heroes! With the prosperity of Hubei, as long as Hunan and Sichuan are stabilized, we will definitely be able to take the lead in launching a national northern expedition and completely overthrow the Qing Dynasty!"
Tang Hualong's eyes were full of stars when he heard this . He had never thought about competing for the presidency, but if Wuchang could be positioned as the capital of the country, wouldn't that mean...? He quickly agreed, "Chen Hua is right. Since we have started a revolution, there should be some new atmosphere! There are many remnants of the Manchu Tartars in the north, so it is not suitable to be the capital. Wuchang is a thoroughfare connecting nine provinces, and it is also a well-known place of wealth. There is also the production of military equipment in Hanyang, so there is no need to worry about not achieving great things!"
Yang Qiu laughed secretly in his heart. If the Beiyang government is not eliminated, how can the central government be established? But now he really needs a big backer, so he also said excitedly: "Brother Jiwu has a profound insight! Since the revolution has begun, there should be a new atmosphere. Since Mr. Sun is coming back, I think we should immediately send a telegram to the whole country and let Governor Li temporarily serve as the Grand Marshal of the Army of the World to control the revolutionary forces of the whole country and make overall plans to achieve the goal of promoting the whole country and ultimately overthrowing the Qing Dynasty."
Seeing Ju Zheng nodding his head, Tang Hualong immediately took out the "Organization Regulations of the Wuchang Military Government" that he had asked Huang Zhongkai to draft. Yang Qiu was slightly disappointed after reading it. If this regulation was passed, it would indicate that the old fox in the south had officially turned over! But he couldn't hesitate now, so he proposed to join the Yangxia Military Government Branch and the National Defense Right Route Army, and also suggested changing the name to "Organization Regulations of the Hubei Military Government of the Republic of China", which would be more legitimate.
Ju Zheng was naturally willing to change the name. Chinese literati had deep-rooted regional concepts. Moreover, he wanted to seize this opportunity to seize Yang Qiu and his right-wing army and allow the Tongmenghui to regain the national discourse power.
After the three of them finished their discussion, Ju Zheng thought for a moment and said, "Chen Hua, it is not a good idea for the Right Route Army and Wuchang to be disconnected. Tomorrow, Governor Li will hold a ceremony to offer sacrifices to the heavens to announce to the world that the Han Dynasty will be restored. You must come to attend."
Yang Qiu smiled and glanced at Zhang Wenjing who was sitting next to him. The latter immediately handed over a confession: "Mr. Ju Zheng, Speaker, you are all the pillars of the military government. You have to make the decision for our commander in chief. If the commander's safety cannot be guaranteed... the right-wing army will never cross the river!"
Tang Hualong took it first and flipped through it. After reading it, he was overjoyed. This was simply a great gift! So he deliberately slammed the table hard and said, "Nonsense! It's just nonsense! Such despicable behavior is no different from that of a bandit!"
Ju Zheng frowned after reading it. He didn't expect there were so many things involved. Jiang Yiwu and Zhang Zhenwu also made mistakes. How could they appoint a rogue like Jin Lai Li? If this incident caused Yang Qiu to have a rift with the Tongmenghui, wouldn't the previous discussions be in vain? So he said, "Don't worry, Chenhua, Dunchu has already told me everything about what happened in Sichuan that day. The Tongmenghui will definitely give you a fair and innocent answer."
Yang Qiu smiled slightly: "With your promise, I can finally get rid of the label of a Qing dynasty thief. But this Jin Lai Li slaughtered Hankou civilians in the name of revolution and destroyed more than a thousand businesses. This is an unforgivable crime! How dare a gangster be so brazen and even have explosives to use! I wonder who gave him the courage and weapons?"
Ju Zheng and Tang Hualong understood what he meant. This confession was a great gift. As long as they could use this to shut up Sun Wu, Zhang Zhenwu and others, then the passage of this regulation would be easy. So they immediately promised: "Don't worry, Chen Hua, you can cross the river. Ji Wu and I can guarantee with our lives that this will never happen again."
"Then I will wait for your news here." Yang Qiu raised his cup and toasted again, then he asked with a smile, "By the way, I have one more thing to trouble you two. My right-wing army is in great need of military equipment. I wonder..."
"Chen Hua can send someone to Chuwangtai to collect the necessary guns and weapons tomorrow. If anyone stops you again... don't blame me for being rude!" Ju Zheng had thought about this matter before it happened. After he finished speaking, he pretended to be embarrassed: "It's just... I also know that Hankou is the main battlefield, but Wuchang has to give Li Du some face. Chen Hua, can you reduce some of yours appropriately?"
"Since the master has said so, there is no reason for Yang Qiu not to obey." After that, he turned his head and said seriously: "Wen Jing, send someone to get... 10,000 guns made in Hanyang, 1.5 million rounds of bullets, 30 cannons, shells, gunpowder and some military supplies." Yang Qiu pretended to suddenly remember and slapped his forehead, looking at Tang Hualong: "I almost forgot, there are still 300,000... military supplies and 100 skilled artillerymen!"
"Chi..."
Tang Hualong nearly spit a mouthful of tea onto Ju Zheng's face, but he needed Yang Qiu now, so he had to grit his teeth and agree to allocate funds immediately after the military government made a final decision.
