Volume 2: Famous all over the world Chapter 6 Sun Wu's Plan
The fighting at Wusheng Pass was brutal, and the small meeting room of the Wuchang Advisory Council was filled with gloom. Although they had expected that this battle was unavoidable, the result of losing nearly 2,000 troops in just two days made even the most optimistic people shut up.
There were not many officers among the party members who were proficient in tactics. Now Wu Zhaolin and He Xifan had gone to the front line one after another, and there were only a few left in Wuchang. Although there were still Yang Kaijia and other former assistant commanders of the Eight Regiments, everyone knew what kind of people they were. Making them staff officers was actually an excuse to undermine the military power. If they were really allowed to lead the troops, they would probably all run away before the Beiyang attack came. So everyone's attention was focused on Li Yuanhong.
Li Yuanhong was afraid of this kind of gaze. What kind of army is the Beiyang? The hero of the Northern Army! That person is eyeing the world's capital! What's more, he is alone, and there are three heroes sitting there, and there are so many generals. Is he going to lead the troops to the front line to command ? It's better to learn from Yang Qiu's resignation. What makes him even more confused is what the northerner is planning. The mere Governor of Huguang makes him work so hard. If... wouldn't it be even more difficult to fight?
Seeing the cold reception, Ju Zheng had no choice but to step forward again: "Hunan has been liberated, and news has also come from Jiujiang. The uprising will spread across the country soon. The most important thing now is to block Wusheng Pass and never let the Beiyang break through. Only by delaying the time can the revolutionary comrades in other provinces and cities across the country launch an uprising safely."
"Juesheng is right. I think it would be better for me to go back to Hunan and ask Jiao Dafeng to organize reinforcements to help immediately. Here, I will ask Qingcheng (Zhang Tingfu's pen name) to lead the four associations to support immediately. Once the Hunan reinforcements arrive in a few days, we can rest assured." After Tan Renfeng finished speaking, he looked at Li Yuanhong. After all, he was the governor and the only one in the Hubei Army who could compete with the one in the north. He said, "Do you think this is okay, Governor Li?"
Li Yuanhong scratched his bald forehead and said nothing. In fact, he still had a knot in his heart. That was the navy that was stationed in Yangluo and did not move. That was the real killer. If the navy cooperated inside and outside, the battle would definitely be lost. So he thought for a long time and asked Tang Hualong: "Jiwu, Zhuxin and the navy...?"
In the past two days, because of Yang Qiu's resignation, Tang Hualong and the constitutionalists suddenly lost their biggest backer, and their voices weakened a lot, so they were a little absent-minded. After hearing the question, they were stunned for a moment before replying: "Li Du, you know that the navy is controlled by General Sa, and Zhu Xin dare not mess around."
Li Yuanhong knew the status of his teacher Sa Zhenbing in the navy, but he was worried that the navy had been staying in Yangluo, so he fantasized about persuading Tang Xiangming to let the navy turn around. After his hope was extinguished by this sentence, he had to solve the problem of the army first and said, "Let's do as everyone said, and let the newly recruited five regiments prepare to go to Liujia Temple in advance."
Sun Wu, who had just taken over the Yangxia branch, was very proud of himself. He heard that everyone only talked about reinforcements but not the generals leading them. He stood up immediately and said with dissatisfaction: "Governor Li, the Second Division reported yesterday that after Yang Qiu arrived in Xiaogan, he asked He Xifan to obey his command. Now he has gone to Wushengguan in person. Maybe Wu Zhaolin will be bribed by him! With a powerful enemy at hand, we must guard against such usurpation! Now the Third Division is stationed in Qingshan to deal with the navy, and the Fourth Division is about to be transferred. The only ones left are the newly recruited Fifth Division and the Sixth Division that is being formed. The troops that can fight are all outside. Hanyang on the other side has gathered more than 6,000 new recruits and occupies the advantageous terrain of Guishan! In my opinion, it is better to order the right-wing army to withdraw one division of new recruits and leave the Fifth Division behind... just in case!"
Sun Wu's words were immediately met with a lot of dissatisfied looks, even Ju Zheng's eyes changed when he looked at him. But just as he was about to speak, Tan Renfeng pulled him from under the table and winked at Li Yuanhong. Turning his head, he saw that Li Bodhisattva seemed to be very interested in this proposal, and he thought to himself that this was not good.
Li Yuanhong was indeed tempted by this proposal. He had relied on Yang Qiu to save his life, but now the Right Route Army was expanding too fast, which seriously threatened his position! However, no matter what, Yang Qiu was the legitimate commander of the Right Route Army, and he also sent a telegram to the whole country. He would not do anything that was done openly, so he followed Sun Wu's tone and asked, "The soldiers in Hanyang are all new recruits, I'm afraid they are not worthy of being used, right?"
"Although they are new soldiers, they have sufficient weapons. They have machine guns to help them. They have sufficient weapons and Commander Yang is personally leading the troops. They will definitely report victory." Sun Wu saw Li Yuanhong coming towards him, and his face flushed. "As long as Governor Li can send another capable general to Xiaogan to take charge, we can be sure of any eventuality."
"Then who should be sent?" Li Yuanhong looked at Wang Anlan.
Wang Anlan quickly avoided him. Who would want to do such a thankless job? Although he didn't like Yang Qiu, he wasn't stupid enough to confront him head-on! Even if Yang Qiu had issued a nationwide telegram before, and it was impossible for him to compromise with the Qing court because of his tough words, was he so easy to deal with? The front line was not like Wuchang, where guns were used. Even if you died, you wouldn't know what happened.
Seeing that no one was willing to go, Sun Wu simply pointed at Zhang Jingliang next to him and said, "Mr. Zhang was originally the assistant commander and has good command. I think it would be better to send him to take charge."
Zhang Jingliang's eyes flashed with a hint of teasing when he heard this. Unexpectedly, he stood up and clasped his fists and said, "Li Du, please give the order. Jingliang is not a coward. Even if Wusheng Pass is lost, Xiaogan will be guaranteed to be safe."
Li Yuanhong took out the governor's seal, wrote the letter of appointment and the transfer order, but hesitated. He knew very well that once the seal fell, it would be difficult for him and Yang Qiu to reconcile! But now is indeed the best time to weaken the right-wing army. If you miss it, there will be no more! Seeing that the seal was delayed, Sun Wu guessed his thoughts and came over and said, "Governor Li, the Beiyang offensive is fierce, and we must make a decision early."
Outside the window, Qiu Wenbin was completely enraged. He didn't know whether Yang Qiu wanted to divide the river and rule, but the Right Route Army had been in the front from beginning to end, and had never done anything to let down the revolution! What's more, the commander was personally going to the front line to command the battle. The enemy was about to be defeated at the doorstep, and Sun Wu and his accomplices actually wanted to use the Beiyang to kill their former comrades. He was so angry that he gritted his teeth and glared at Sun Wu's back, stomping his feet and walked towards the river.
Sun Wu didn't know that all of this was seen by Qiu Wenbin. He was now at war with Yang Qiu. If Yang Qiu brought good news from the front, he, the head of the branch government, would immediately fall. So he kept urging Li Yuanhong to make a decision early. His words even revealed his intention to let the Right Route Army and the Beiyang fight each other while he would clean up the mess. Tang Hualong couldn't stand this, but now that Sun Wu's power had greatly increased, he could only snort and leave.
"Governor Li, you have seen it all clearly. If you don't make a decision, people's hearts may ..." Seeing Tang Hualong leaving, Sun Wu emphasized his tone. After thinking it over again and again, Li Yuanhong pressed the seal heavily.
…
"What!"
Inside the Hanyang camp, Xiao Anguo slammed the table hard and looked at Qiu Wenbin who came to report the news with a furious face. He never expected that Yang Qiu had already risked his life to go to the front line, but Sun Wu and his men were still unwilling to let them go. He was so angry that he was shaking all over.
Su Xiaohu was young and full of vigor. He pulled out his gun and shouted excitedly, "There is nothing more to say. Deputy Commander, give the order! As long as we let the Chuyu ship protect our landing, I can bring back Sun Wu's head! "
"sit down!"
Zhang Wenjing stopped Su Xiaohu with a low voice: "Use your brain! What should we do next if we kill Sun Wu? Besides, this order was issued by Governor Li. Did you kill Governor Li as well? They are mobilizing troops with legitimate reasons. If you lead them across the river, won't that give them an excuse?"
Without Yang Qiu, Zhang Wenjing had become the backbone of the group, so Su Xiaohu did not dare to refute and could only sit down angrily. Ma Kui was also very worried, and asked with a worried look on his face: "Sun Wu and we are already at war, but isn't Li Du afraid that we will rebel?"
"Rebellion? What rebellion? The commander sent a nationwide telegram the day after the uprising, confirming that we are the National Defense Army. Now it is known to the whole country. If we rebel, who will believe us in the future? And don't you see it? Even if the commander is wronged now, he will never rebel. I know he really wants to bring peace to the people!" Zhang Wenjing took a breath and continued, "Li Du did this because the commander had threatened him, and Sun Wu's jumping up and down made him make this decision. Besides, don't forget that in the end, he still has a way to go!"
"There is another way?" Before Xiao Anguo could figure it out, Su Xiaohu gritted his teeth and said, "Everyone knows that he was forced to the position of governor by the party members. Even the Manchu Tartars wrote to say that as long as he resigns, they will forgive him for his past mistakes!"
Everyone understood immediately. No wonder Li Yuanhong dared to give this order. As long as he did not openly rebel, he only needed to wink at the man in the north. With Wuchang's important geographical location as the thoroughfare of nine provinces, that man would certainly do his best to protect him! Although the right-wing army is now strong and the size of the army has reached a town, 60% of them are new recruits, and most of the remaining 40% are soldiers who have turned against the enemy. If he turns to the north, he will not be able to defend his side no matter what.
Qiu Wenbin didn't expect that there weren't so many connections. He forgot that he had been expelled from the Right Route Army and asked worriedly, "The commander is not here now. It will take two days to get back. But the transfer order will be delivered tomorrow morning at the latest. What should I do?"
Zhang Wenjing knew that the more critical the moment, the more he needed to stay calm, so he grabbed the cold water on the table and took a big gulp. After taking two deep breaths, he looked at Qiu Wenbin first: "Wenbin, what happened before is over. If you want to come back, I will talk to the commander. With his temper, he will definitely let bygones be bygones. But I have to say this in advance. When I come back..." Zhang Wenjing pointed to the Flying Tiger armband on his arm: "We are comrades! If anyone harms this unit, don't hesitate to do it. I will punish them personally!"
Qiu Wenbin was very excited and immediately swore: "Don't worry, everyone, Wenbin will definitely live up to the name of national defense !"
"Okay then." Zhang Wenjing immediately wrote a note and handed it to Qiu Wenbin: "Take a squad and make sure to deliver this to the commander in person!"
"yes."
"The only way now is to take advantage of the situation," Zhang Wenjing said immediately after Qiu Wenbin left. "The most eye-catching thing for us now is the new recruits from the two associations. As long as we dismiss them, the transfer order from Wuchang will be nothing more than a piece of empty paper!"
"Dismiss?!" Xiao Anguo stood up.
"Ziqing has been in Sichuan for almost half a month. I estimate that we should be able to succeed soon. Although Yue Peng has recruited a lot of Qing troops, the main force of the first and second battalions are in Xiaogan, and there are not many people available, so we might as well take this opportunity to transfer the troops first."
Everyone understood what he meant, and Xiao Anguo immediately made arrangements: "We now have 6,000 new soldiers. We can first allocate 2,000 to Hu Laosan, so that when Ziqing takes Chongqing, we can quickly return to Badong. The remaining 2,000 can be transferred to Yue Peng to defend Dahongshan."
Ma Kui said worriedly: "It's a good idea, but we only have two battalions of troops here. If we transfer 4,000 new soldiers at once, will Sun Wu and his men..."
"As long as the commander is fine, they won't dare to do it!" Zhang Wenjing slammed the table heavily, his eyes full of murderous intent: "As for Sun Wu... the commander is unwilling to move, so why don't we be the bad guys!"
