Chapter 37 No Longer Concealing (Seeking clicks, collections and recommendations) Carefree

  PS: To all the brothers in the history department, hippopotamus has been continuously exploded on the list these days, it's heartbreaking. Hippopotamus is a steady and practical person, wild imagination YY is based on reality, and never limits word count, public chapters have appeared with 5,000 to 6,000 words!!! At least everyone can see my kindness! Sincerely asking members to click, collect and recommend!

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  "What is this?"

  After seeing Tan Yanqing off and returning to the big camp, what was in front of him was already a lively scene. Zhang Wanjing had moved a small table to the center of the drill ground, with a small box of silver coins beside it, and the soldiers were lined up one by one to receive them.

  "Hehe... Sir, you've forgotten. Today is the first day of the month, payday." Yue Peng, who had just finished selecting the machine gunners, walked over with a smile: "Everyone has been waiting for two months."

  Yang Qiu only then remembered that the first day of each month was the day for the new army to receive their pay, but due to the intensification of the Sichuan Railway Protection Movement, although Huguang Governor-General Ru Cong had allocated the overdue pay, Commander-in-Chief Zhang Biao had only distributed a portion of it, with the rest being reserved for emergency use.

  Several soldiers who received the silver reward saw Yang Qiu and immediately surrounded him to thank him, because this time the 42nd Division was the only unit that received the full amount. Of course, this wasn't because Zhang Biao looked at them with different eyes, but rather because last time Yang Qiu took out 10,000 yuan which never came back.

  "No way, I have to go find Lord Li later, he promised to return my silver. Yang Qiu deliberately patted his forehead and joked: "Hey! I'm telling you, Wen Jing, don't spend it all, that's my wife's dowry, spare some for me!"

  Haha......

  Yang Qiu's joking words brought a burst of laughter from the soldiers, and Yue Peng also chimed in with a tease: "I heard that your second uncle in Shanghai is doing big business, so he shouldn't be short of this little money."

  "A small sum? One hundred thousand yuan?! Yang Qiu's eyes twitched, having risked life and death multiple times to get over six million points! So he ignored the guy and asked: "How's the machine gunner selection going?"

  Yue Peng's face suddenly fell, and he bitterly said: "Sir, among the 42 of us, except for me, no one knows how to operate a machine gun. If we start from scratch, isn't half a month too short?"

  "Ah, I also know this little time is not enough, but...". Yang Qiu looked around and found no one was paying attention, so he leaned in and said: "If I tell you, half a month later Wuchang will have a big earthquake, do you believe it?"

  Yue Peng is not a fool. After entering August, the air in Wuchang's three towns has become increasingly tense. The rumor of killing Tartars on August 15th is flying everywhere! All kinds of flyers can be seen on the streets, and newspapers are worried about the situation every day. The dissatisfaction between the lines can be seen as long as you can read! Especially recently, the Sichuan Railway Protection Movement has officially evolved into an armed conflict. After the Hubei New Army was ordered to seal off the waterways and passes entering Sichuan from Hubei, tension and unease have been fermenting on both sides of the Yangtze River. But Yang Qiu dared to predict the time so accurately, which surprised him greatly. So after hearing this sentence, his heart suddenly tightened, and his eyes became sharp.

  "I know it's hard to believe, but I'm telling the truth." Today, Yang Qiu didn't want to cover up some things anymore. Although he still clearly remembered the sites of the Nationalist Party activities recorded in the Xinhai Revolution Museum, including Xiao Chao Street, Chu Xiong Building and Bao Shan Li, which could be completely destroyed with a wave of his hand, led by San Wu's revolutionary center, but he knew he couldn't do that!

  History is written clearly, Wuchang seems accidental, but it is also inevitable.

  The continuous uprisings of the Revolutionary Party, although all ended in failure, have had an ever-expanding influence through repeated sacrifices. Even if it was destroyed in Wuchang, it would emerge elsewhere. The problem is not how strong the Revolutionary Party is, but that the foundation of the Qing government has been shaken to the point of collapse under the impact of these repeated blows.

  People's minds have changed and it has become the norm, even many local officials are unwilling to intervene, they just let things be. In the army, although there aren't as many party members as later propaganda claimed, soldiers generally sympathize with these people.

  Without Wuchang, there would be no Xinhai Revolution; without the Xinhai Revolution, there would be no rise of Yuan Shikai and no abdication of the Qing dynasty.

  From the shame of the First Sino-Japanese War to the Hundred Days' Reform, from the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 to the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance, this vast central dynasty had long been abandoned by everyone. Overthrowing the Qing Dynasty had become a trend of the times, and no one could stop it. Yang Qiu was naturally unwilling to do so either.

  He wanted to save the country, not the Manchu Qing dynasty, but he was also unwilling to see the decades of warlord chaos after the National Party, so he hesitated until that day when Yue Peng used his words to awaken him, and finally made up his mind to fight for it. Only then did he have the transaction with Schenck and Germany, and only then did he provide Su Hongsheng with machine gun drawings.

  But these are still not enough!

  Even if advanced weapons and ammunition were brought in to fill the three towns of Wuhan, they would still require people to operate them, requiring... sacrifices!

  "Will you go for a walk with me?"

  "I'm willing to accompany you." Yue Peng nodded and followed him out of the camp, coming to the banks of the Han River. Looking at the rolling river, Yang Qiu found a large rock and asked him to sit down together, saying: "Yue Peng, how long did you stay in Germany?"

  "Call me Zi'an from now on." Yue Peng said: "After waiting for thirteen months, unfortunately..."

  "Too short?"

  "It's a bit." Yue Peng seemed to be deeply nostalgic for that period of time, and said in a low voice: "When we left, Zi An was full of confidence, but when we arrived, we found out that the gap between us and the world was so big! Do you know, sir? My first stop was Wilhelm Harbour, where there were forests of masts and flags fluttering everywhere, and ironclad warships filled the bay.

  Then I entered the military academy and briefly joined the Guards for practice, and understood what a truly powerful army in the world is! From that day on, I was somewhat disheartened until an adult pointed out to me and suddenly realized that the gap between us and the powerful countries of the world is not how many big guns and machine guns we have, but rather that we lack a heart that dares to compete!

  Germany's territory is small, with a deadly feud with France and Russia forming an alliance, both the east and west lines are under pressure, without Britain occupying so much land, nor America having the privilege of being the only one, even the outlet to the sea is under someone else's cannon! If it were someone else, they might have surrendered, but they relied solely on their competitive spirit and became a major European power in just a few decades after the war!

  "Soldiers, charge!"

  A simple and uneventful narrative, yet it deeply moved Yang Qiu. As the person with the most "foresight" in this world, he could say something more wonderful and profound than Yue Peng, but he couldn't express that kind of envy, helplessness and disappointment that came from experience.

  "Zi'an, do you believe those people?"

  Yue Peng picked up a stone and threw it into the waves, smiling and asked: "Sir, do you want to be Batu Lu?"

  "I don't like them... but I also didn't like them, they launched the Guangzhou Uprising after the Sino-Japanese War and stepped onto the stage, they were determined to sacrifice their lives for their dreams, all of which made me admire them. But over a decade has passed and they haven't made any progress, does Zi An know why?"

  Before Yue Peng could respond, Yang Qiu continued: "They are too radical, the sword has gone astray and entered the devil's lair. For their dreams, they have forgotten the humiliation of the First Sino-Japanese War and joined forces with the Japanese. For their beliefs, they do not hesitate to join forces with gangs, using every trick in the book! Perhaps they can achieve their ideals, but what then?

  The Beiyang warlords dominated the north, foreigners roamed the southeast, and Japan was eyeing them covetously. Internally, there were many factions vying for power, but they themselves lacked sufficient strength to awe the world. Do you know what kind of situation that is?

  A few short sentences brought up a smoky scene in Yue Peng's mind, and for the first time, he looked straight at the man in front of him who had risen from being an insignificant baggage porter to becoming a banner commander.

  Yang Qiu picked up a withered branch and began to draw seriously on the ground. After a moment, the general situation of the three towns appeared in front of Yue Peng. As an officer born from a military family who had also studied abroad, he was extremely surprised by these rough lines, because Yang Qiu's strokes were few but each one hit the vital point, as if the three towns were built by him.

  How many years of tempering is this?!

  Yang Qiu quickly sketched out the general situation of the three towns using the military drawing method he had learned from later generations, saying: "Wuchang is the central hub of the three towns and also the center of my Hubei army. Although there are tens of thousands of soldiers stationed in Wuchang, it seems impregnable, but that's not the case."

  I believe outsiders can't shake the foundation of the army, but what if it's the army itself? You know better than I do about the current situation in the military. I believe most soldiers will adhere to their principles, but don't forget that soldiers are also human beings. The struggle between the governor and the admiral has led to frequent interruptions in supplies, exacerbating the dissatisfaction among soldiers. With a little incitement, it could lead to mutiny. Those people will inevitably stand up as leaders, and many soldiers who can't find a way out will be drawn into their ranks!

  Once Wuchang is lost, Hankou and Hanyang will inevitably be unable to defend!

  Standing on the northern front, if there is a problem in the three towns, they will definitely send a large army to conquer. Zian, do you think that with our current strength, even if we concentrate all our forces, can we withstand the Northern Ocean? Can we withstand the naval fleet advancing along the river?

  They have nothing to worry about, for if they fail here, they can go somewhere else. They can abandon Hankou, abandon Hanyang, and even abandon Wuchang, but can we do the same? This is where we were born and raised, this is where the people of the three towns have been supporting us with their frugal livelihoods! If the great army comes north, they will surely wreak havoc, how can we face the cries for help from them?

  I don't want to support anyone, I just want to keep the three towns, to be worthy of the three towns and the people on this land. Because there are iron factories, armament factories, the best industrial foundation, and tens of thousands of skilled workers. What does industry represent? You've been to Germany, you should know better than me! This is the last bit of vitality of this country... I want to keep it!

  I don't have a silver tongue, nor do I have a program, and even less so beautiful promises that people can follow! But I'm not afraid, because I am a soldier! In front of soldiers, there are only guns and cannons, only gunpowder smoke...and sacrifice!

  Yang Qiu smoothed out the lines in front of her with her foot, threw the branches into the Han River, and then turned around with a faint smile: "Does Zian want to go with me to fight for it?"

  Yue Peng was shocked.

  Really, it was the first time he had heard someone analyze the pros and cons of Wuchang and the world so thoroughly. For the first time, he knew that there were indeed madmen in this world who would stand between two factions with a gun in each hand, resolutely stepping into the mysterious and unpredictable whirlpool that could swallow them at any moment!

  His scalp was numb and he really wanted to agree with Yang Qiu immediately, but he still had a doubt in his heart: "Sir, why are you so certain that something will happen within half a month? Is it not the rumor of 'killing Tartars on August 15th'? Although there are many dissatisfactions in the army, they only sympathize with those people, and it's hard to incite them!"

  Yue Peng said it with great certainty, but he forgot another thing, that is political exchange.

  The Wuchang Uprising was indeed accidental, but it would be more accurate to say that the uprising was a spontaneous mutiny of grassroots soldiers. Although many party members were among the mutineers, most were dissatisfied soldiers who rioted. The fact that Li Yuanhong later became the military governor of Hubei suggests that it would be more accurate to say that they hijacked the mutiny rather than launching the uprising themselves. Sun Wu and his faction saw the value of the mutiny and quickly joined forces with the mutineers, but they were not strong enough and eventually had to let Li Yuanhong, who was second only to Zhang Biao in prestige, take over.

  Yuan Shikai, whether under duress or intentionally, needed a great cause to command and mobilize the troops, so he also joined forces with the Nationalist Party. It can be said that this was a classic case of mutual exploitation!

  The Republican Party took advantage of the mutiny to achieve its dream of launching a nationwide revolution, and picked up an oversized wallet given by history. The military clique used the Republican Party to gain the great righteousness to call on the whole nation, and the Battle of Yangxia made Yuan Shikai come out again, tolling the funeral bell for the Qing Dynasty.

  Yang Qiu sneered inwardly, how could she tell her brother that he was a time-traveler? This was all history, wasn't it? She could only feign mystery and squeeze her eyes: "Let's make a bet, something will happen at Nanhu within two days!"

  "Nanhu? Cannon Mark Three Camps?" This sentence made Yue Pengzhen sit up straight, staring at Yang Qiu: "Sir, who are you...?!"

  Yang Qiu, courtesy name Chenhua, 22 years old, genuine goods at a fair price! Yang Qiu said with a smile and patted his shoulder: "They... may not have that strength, but if the soldiers' anxiety and dissatisfaction are not handled properly, they might be exploited by others! So... you should train the machine gunners well...... maybe that's our only hope to save the three towns. As for you personally... if you're willing, come find me tomorrow night."

  Turned around and left.

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