Volume 2: Famous all over the world Chapter 13: Killing without a Knife (Part 2)
Hoo-hoo… Hoo-hoo…
On the Beijing-Hankou Railway, an old steam locomotive towing six carriages with locomotives in front and back kept emitting a unique rhythm. A tall antenna was erected in the middle of the train. This was one of the radios bought from the Germans. In order to be able to communicate with the troops in real time and keep information flowing, Yue Peng, who had already separated from his troops, also took one with him. In the end, he had to draft the two telegraph operators on the Chuyu ship to serve as soldiers.
Yang Qiu had no time to worry about what to do with the Chuyu ship without a telegraph operator. He stood at the window looking at the green mountains and clear waters outside, his heart full of contradictions and hesitation. After all, there was no one else who could understand his feelings at this moment.
"Report."
Bingwen, who had rushed over from Hanyang, walked into the carriage and said, "Commander, this is a telegram from Director Zhang. He said that Xiaogan is ready and asked if you are going to start the operation as planned."
The last two words made Yang Qiu's heart tremble. He knew that if he nodded, the ugliest scene in his reincarnation would happen immediately. Was it right or wrong to do so? Would it lead to the loss of morale and eventually a loss of control and defeat?
He Xi and Ji Fucheng stood behind him. The two were already core members of the right-wing army. After seeing that he had not responded, they looked at each other and the former said, "Commander, this is a life-or-death moment! If we continue to let Sun Wu hold us back, I'm afraid we won't be able to win this battle!"
"Yes." Ji Fucheng also said quickly: "Although Wushengguan has dealt a heavy blow to Beiyang, and the commander's blocking has killed Beiyang, this has also made Feng Huafu angry! Once the road is reopened, there will be almost no defense from Wushengguan to Xiaogan. Although the First Division is harassing the flank, without the Second and Fourth Divisions, it is almost certain to fail!"
Yang Qiu knew what the two meant. The most fearful thing in a war is not how strong the enemy is, but internal constraints. Sun Wu has completely taken control of military affairs, and Li Yuanhong has completely sided with him because he is wary of him. To be honest, he can only command a few regiments, which is a huge gap compared to the Beiyang troops. Therefore, if he cannot trip him up and take control of the military power immediately, then this battle will be very dangerous.
There was another more crucial point. According to history, Huang Keqiang and Song Jiaoren had already gone up the river. If he could not completely control the military power before they arrived, once Li Yuanhong really handed it over to him, this "military god" who had been defeated in many battles and had only commanded a few hundred guns at most would not be able to clean up the mess. It would be too difficult for him to pick it up again. But if he nodded now, the fate of many people might be...
"Commander! Make a decision when necessary!"
He Xi's heavy words hit Yang Qiu's heart like a hammer. Suddenly he found that a small group had actually formed around him without him noticing. When they followed him, didn't they have any selfish motives? He Xi and Ji Fucheng were so enthusiastic about moving the big stone, not necessarily because they wanted to lift themselves up, so that they could also move up a level. Looking at the children leading the cows outside the window, he suddenly found that he was thinking too much. If the people under him did not seek fame and profit, I am afraid that the right-wing army would fall apart. So he slowly turned his head, glanced at the two of them, and said to Bingwen: "You go back with Dai Tianchou immediately, first spread the news of Wusheng Pass, and build up momentum. Then tell Zhang Wenjing to contact Tang Hualong and Hu Ruilin immediately and tell them...all I want is military power!"
After Bingwen nodded and left first, Yang Qiu turned around and continued, "I will go to see Zhang Jingliang after arriving in Xiaogan. Don't get off the train and continue to go south. Get off the train and go back after arriving in Xingou. I will notify Jiang Tai and others to cooperate in the pincer attack. Remember! You must protect the remaining weapons, otherwise our efforts will be in vain!"
After arranging everything, Yang Qiu sat down slowly. He suddenly found that his hands were shaking. In a trance, he suddenly realized that he had reached a position where he could decide the fate of some important people. So, when things succeeded, could he decide the fate of the entire country?
The baggage soldiers three months ago are now just one step away from taking control of the army! Are they climbing too fast?
…
"Mr. Liu, this time we have to rely on you."
In the Advisory Council, Sun Wu, the Minister of Military Affairs and the Director of Yangxia Branch Office, was beaming as he pulled Liu Gong's hand. He could be said to be in high spirits now. He used the excuse that the Liu brothers had driven away Yang Qiu and withdrew Zhang Jingliang to control most of the military power. Although he was very annoyed that Yang Qiu transferred the new recruits early, as long as he held the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Right Route Army, he would not be able to escape from his control.
After getting the military power, he began to prepare to take action against the civil power. He had long been dissatisfied with the organizational regulations made by Ju Zheng and Tang Hualong. Now the situation is very good, and he must strike while the iron is hot to seize the civil power. With military power in his left hand and civil power in his right hand, who else can compete with him in the future except Sun Dapao who is far away overseas? As for Huang Keqiang, Song Dunchu and Chen Qimei... they still have to look at their own face! Of course, the most important thing now is to grasp the civil power of Yangxia Branch Prefecture first. Compared with Wuchang, Yangxia's civil power is really too big. With Xiangyang taking over nearly 70% of Hubei counties and towns, everyone's attention is on Wushengguan at the moment, so Liu Gong was immediately recruited to serve as the director of the Civil Affairs Department of Yangxia Branch Prefecture. In this way, even if Yang Qiu comes back, it will be too late.
Before the uprising, Mr. Liu was the prime minister elected by everyone. Unexpectedly, after the uprising, due to the emergence of constitutionalists such as Li Yuanhong and Tang Hualong, he was not even included in the list of the new government. Instead, people like Hu Ying who were close to the constitutionalists took control of diplomatic and other powers. Although he was not very keen on power and his health was not very good, he was still a little angry about this deliberate exclusion. So when Sun Wu asked him to come out of retirement, he immediately agreed. However, he was still a little worried about Hu Ruilin and others. After all, the civil power of Yangxia was controlled by him, and Yang Qiu was standing behind him, so he asked: "I'm not afraid of Hu Ruilin's mischief, but Yang Qiu will come back anyway, what if..."
Zhang Zhenwu can now be said to be Sun Wu's most loyal confidant. Seeing that Liu Gong was worried about Yang Qiu, he immediately said, "Brother Yaozong, don't worry too much. Sending Zhang Jingliang is to slowly deprive Yang Qiu of his military power. Li Yuanhong is extremely dissatisfied with him now and will definitely stand on our side."
Sun Wu also said, "Chunshan is right. Li Du has already agreed to your position as the deputy director. A formal official letter will be sent to Yangxia this afternoon, so you can rest assured to take up the post. Even if Xiaogan is in a bad situation, it will take at least ten days or half a month to fight. The most important thing for Yaozong now is to get our comrades to Yichang, Xiangyang to seize civil rights. After you are done, I will propose to revise the "Organization Regulations" made by Ju Zheng and Tang Hualong. As long as Tang Hualong is pulled down, Yang Qiu will be a commander without the support of the constitutionalists and will never be able to make any difference."
Liu Gong felt that his words made sense, but he was still a little worried: "Now that we are facing a powerful enemy, you must be careful about this matter. What if you force Yang Qiu to..."
"Don't worry, Yaozong. I can still handle this matter. I will go to Governor Li now and ask Xiong Bingkun to lead the Fifth Corps to station in Hankou. This way, if he gets desperate, we won't be helpless." As soon as Sun Wu finished speaking, Zhang Zhenwu, who had been promoted to Deputy Minister of Military Affairs, stood up immediately and said fiercely: "I will go to Xiong Bingkun to make preparations. If Yang Qiu dares to move, I will break his bones!"
Just as Zhang Zhenwu was about to leave, he saw a figure suddenly rush into his arms. He took two steps back and saw that it was Tang Zihong, the secretary of the Military Affairs Office. He was also an old member of the Tongjinhui, so he was arranged by Sun Wu to work in the military government as an assistant. When he saw Sun Wu, he didn't even bother to catch his breath. He immediately took out a telegram and said, "It's bad! Xiaogan just sent a telegram saying that Wushengguan was lost this morning!"
"What!" Zhang Zhenwu was the most anxious. He refused to leave when he heard that Wusheng Pass had been lost. However, Sun Wu's eyes lit up and he immediately said to Tang Zihong, "Go, tell Governor Li the news. Also, call everyone immediately and tell them that Governor Li wants to hold a military meeting immediately... Someone should be held responsible for the loss of Wusheng Pass!"
Zhang Zhenwu and Liu Gong immediately understood what he meant. The former clapped his hands and said, "Great. Let's see what Yang Qiu has to say this time!" After that, he immediately went to find Xiong Bingkun. At this moment, the Fifth Association had to cross the river immediately to prevent Hanyang from making desperate moves.
After seeing the two of them leave, Liu Gong felt a little uneasy for some reason and asked, "Sun Wu, what about Xiaogan..."
Sun Wu immediately assured, "Zhang Jingliang had a good personal relationship with Li Yuanhong before, and he is studying command at the Japanese NCO school. Even if we can't win, we can definitely hold out for a few days. As long as we quickly overthrow Yang Qiu and take control of the right-wing army, and transfer the remaining regiments over, we should be able to hold out for ten days or half a month. Tan Renfeng has already returned to Hunan, and Jiaozuofeng's camp will at least send three regiments of elite soldiers over. By then, we can gather 50,000 troops. Are you still afraid of Feng Huafu ?"
Mr. Liu knew nothing about military affairs, but he was relieved after hearing what he said so clearly. He immediately went to Yangxia to take over the position of director of the Civil Affairs Department of the branch government.
The Yangxia Military Government Branch was located in the former Merchants Bureau. It was a two-story European-style house. When he arrived, the news of the loss of Wusheng Pass also spread here. Because it happened suddenly, it was completely chaotic. Especially Hu Ruilin was extremely panicked. He didn't expect that Wusheng Pass would be lost just like that. What's more, it was Yang Qiu who was guarding there. He had to bear at least half of the blame for losing the pass! If Sun Wu took this opportunity to launch an attack, would they...
Before he could figure out what was going on, a transfer order arrived at the branch government. Citing the chaotic and ineffective civil affairs, the Governor's Office asked Liu Gong to replace him as the director of the Civil Affairs Department of the branch government.
Sun Wu took action!
As the political circle of Hubei, which had just calmed down, was shaken again , Hu Ruilin, who had just transferred power in disgrace, was suddenly protected by a team of soldiers and arrived in Hanyang. Soon after, Tang Hualong and the members of the Advisory Council also got the news and came secretly. At the same time, Bingwen and Dai Tianchou also arrived quietly. Photos were quickly developed. While battlefield reports were sent to Shanghai via radio waves, the printing workshop of the Hubei Daily in Hankou also suddenly accelerated. Newspapers with eye-catching signs were printed overnight, and gradually piled up into a small mountain.
But some careful workers were very surprised, because the date printed on the newspaper was the morning of the day after tomorrow!
