Chapter Thirty-Nine: Preparing for Rotation

  "What reason is this! What principle is this!"

  It's getting cooler in the autumn, and Rui Ceng, who has a habit of taking a nap, had just fallen asleep after undressing when someone came to report that something had happened at Nanhu Lake. Frightened, he hastily put on his clothes while cursing: "These rebels are really deserving of death, they've actually brought disaster into the military!"

  Liao Ke-yu saw that he was anxious and had a murderous aura between his eyebrows, so when she helped him fasten his buttons, she reminded him: "Don't be in such a hurry that you harm your own body. Nowadays the world is getting more and more chaotic, this time with the military uprising, you must be extremely careful in handling it. When things happen, think of me often, spare one person's life, and leave yourself a way out for the future."

  Rui Ping was always a bit henpecked, and when he heard his wife's words, the anger in his heart gradually dissipated. Moreover, recently there have been rumors that Sun Wen had sent his younger brother to Wuhan to prepare for an uprising on Mid-Autumn Festival. Although Rui didn't believe it, where were those rebels after all? How strong were they? What if something unexpected happened and he couldn't control the situation?

  Among a string of bad thoughts, Rui Ceng walked into the main hall. Before he could sit down, Zhang Biao rushed in from outside: "Sir, have you heard about what happened at Nanhu?"

  "It's said that a few soldiers caused trouble and even snatched knives and guns before escaping."

  Zhang Biao hastily said: "It's not just a matter of soldiers being unruly! Those people stole military knives and bullets, escaped from the camp, and even made arrogant remarks, saying that the rebels would soon revolt, take over Wuchang City, and kill all of us officers. In my humble opinion, today's incident is by no means an accident! Although the ringleaders have run away, there are not a few people who followed them in making trouble. If Your Excellency does not show his authority this time and execute a few people, the rebels' arrogance will grow day by day. How can we end this if it continues?"

  Besides, in a few days, the Sichuan side will lead the remaining troops of the 31st and 32nd divisions to enter Sichuan to suppress bandits. If you don't take this opportunity to eliminate the rebel party, what if those rebels take advantage of the situation and cause trouble?

  Hearing Zhang Biao's increasingly urgent tone, it seemed as if Wuchang was about to turn upside down. Rui Cheng also lost his composure and according to his previous thoughts, he would have definitely started a massacre. However, the words of Madame Liao Keyu earlier made him become cautious all of a sudden, asking: "General Zhang, if we conduct a strict investigation, won't it... provoke the soldiers into resisting and cause some big disturbance?"

  Dà Mǎ Jīn Dāo sat beside Ruì Chéng, his eyes flashing coldly as he hastily said: "It won't happen, I've led troops for many years and can still keep them under control. The officers are all loyal and brave, as long as you give the order, I guarantee it will be done cleanly and efficiently, there definitely won't be any chaos."

  Zhang Biao's words were spoken hastily and quickly, but instead made Rui Cheng feel strange. Over the years, the two had clashed many times in their struggle for military power, yet now he was suddenly addressing him as "sir" and asking him to give orders - what did this mean?

  Seeing Zhang Biao's sharp eyes, Rui Ceng suddenly understood and his back was instantly covered in cold sweat. This young master is going to take advantage of the opportunity to kill someone with a borrowed knife and push himself to the mouth of the volcano! He hastily pretended to think and shouted: "Go, find Zhang Shifu, the governor has important business to discuss."

  Zhang Mei Sheng, who had been waiting outside, heard the shout and hurried in: "General Zhang is also here. The master has called for the student to come forward. I wonder what instructions there are?"

  Rui Cheng hastily told Zhang Mei Sheng about the proposal to thoroughly clean up South Lake and Zhang Biao's troops. Zhang Mei Sheng, who had followed him for many years, immediately understood the meaning behind his words and asked: "General Zhang, having led the army for many years, you are very familiar with the situation in the military. In your opinion, if something were to happen, can this town's and this cooperative's troops really be relied upon?"

  This sudden question left Zhang Biao somewhat at a loss, and with important matters at hand he did not dare to make anything up, so he hastily said: "Flowers and plants also have withered and fallen, let alone in the army. However, all the weapons are in the hands of the officers, so there is nothing to fear."

  "Ah, yes... Zhang Mei Sheng nodded a few times, pretending to be deep in thought. After a while, he said: "Lord Zhang is right to order a thorough investigation. If we don't eradicate the problem from its roots, it will never be solved. As the ancient saying goes, 'If Qing Fu doesn't die, Lu's troubles won't end.' We can't let these rebels get away with it and expect Huguang to have peace. The problem is that those who caused the trouble have already escaped, so where do we start investigating?"

  Zhang Biao's face turned black as soon as he heard it, and Zhang Mei Sheng obviously didn't want to give this order. He said: "What's difficult about that? Just arrest those who often come into contact with these soldiers and interrogate them thoroughly."

  "What the adults said is very right, but there are frequent interactions between soldiers and various camps, with many people involved. What if we mistakenly capture good people and cause a mutiny?" Zhang Meisheng asked, and Rui Cun hastily nodded: "Meisheng said a lot, what do you think should be done at this time?"

  "In the eyes of a student, since the rebels want to make trouble, they must be in the city. Since those soldiers have escaped, re-arresting them would only be like beating the grass to scare away snakes. So it's better to send people to carefully search within the city and try to capture the leader and destroy their headquarters! As for the military...". Zhang Meisheng smiled slightly at Rui Cun: "Your Excellency just needs to order a temporary confiscation of bullets, that won't be a problem."

  Rui Hong slapped his thigh: "Mei Sheng's plan is excellent, without bullets the gun is just a fire poker." Before Zhang Biao could react, he shouted: "Someone come and pass on my orders, temporarily collect all ammunition from each battalion into storage, no mistakes allowed."

  After finishing speaking, he deliberately glanced at Zhang Biao and said: "Director Zhang, the current situation is chaotic, this governor's office should also strengthen its defenses to prevent unexpected events."

  Zhang Biao's face turned black, originally he thought that he would take this opportunity to let Rui Cheng come and give the order to clean up the army, so as to avoid his own trouble of wielding a knife, and once something happened, he could also push the responsibility onto the governor's head, thereby removing the stumbling block in one move. Unexpectedly, the other party did not take the bait, and simply turned around and left after agreeing to strengthen the defense of the governor's mansion.

  The overbearing and arrogant appearance of the man enraged Rui Ceng, who burst into a loud scolding, saying: "A mere servant's son, actually daring to plot against me, it's really hateful to the extreme!"

  "Don't get angry and hurt your body." After Zhang Mei finished advising, he thought for a moment and said: "Although Zhang Biao's heart is punishable, his words still make some sense. Lately, the party's activities have been frequent, and Sichuan has had such a big incident, it's not impossible that the disaster will affect Sanzhen."

  This sentence also made Rui Cai feel a chill behind his back, and he remembered Liao Ke's words. He hurriedly said: "Mei Sheng, these few days you should collect all the things that need to be collected in the mansion, and exchange the silver and floating wealth for vouchers to avoid trouble when the time comes. By the way, also exchange the autumn taxes that have just been paid into silver tickets as a precaution."

  Zhang Meisheng nodded and left the Governor's Mansion. Yang Qiu also rushed to the 21st Mixed Brigade Command with He Xi.

  When he arrived at the command post, he found that all the commanders of each battalion and regiment had arrived. Not only were Liu Wenzhi and Wang Anlan present, but also Chen Shanyou and Guo Erxing, who had been ordered to rest at home for half a month after reporting illness, both looked displeased when they saw him, even He Xi was hated by them.

  "What's going on here, are you still causing trouble?!" In front of him, Lei Yuanhong slammed down the phone and saw that the three men were still staring at each other, also furious, scolding: "You two have been leading troops for many years, don't you know the rules in the army? Do I need to personally teach you?"

  Guo Er Xing was arrogant, but he didn't dare to talk back at this moment, let alone Chen Shan You, who was the leader of Weita. He hastily retreated to one side.

  No one dared to speak again. Seeing that everyone had closed their mouths, Li Yuanhong then said: "Do you all know about the Nanhu incident?"

  "I understand, sir. Please tell me what to do." Wang Anlan hastily clasped his fists and said.

  Li Yuanhong was also shocked, the military's most taboo thing is a purge. Fortunately, Zhang Biao just said on the phone that Rui Ceng didn't respond, and only ordered the collection of ammunition, so he felt slightly relieved. He immediately said: "The artillery camp had an accident, and they even took away guns and bullets, it's really shocking! But this incident has given us a wake-up call......" His eyes scanned the crowd, and he continued to say: "Due to several months of unpaid wages, although some have been issued but are insufficient, it is normal for soldiers to be resistant. At this moment, you people need to go and comfort them, absolutely do not use corporal punishment!"

  "The situation is difficult, we as soldiers must not get involved... Do you all understand?" Seeing everyone nodding in agreement, Li Yuanhong also slightly relaxed and turned to Yang Qiu: "Guo Xing, Chen Shanyou! Yang Qiu's first appointment, establishing authority is normal, but you two as officers, instead of supporting him, followed him in causing trouble, what kind of discipline is this? Punishment for three months' pay, tomorrow must return to camp, any objections?"

  Three months' salary is nothing to the two of them, but being scolded in front of each other made their faces somewhat unbearable. They didn't dare to talk back, so they could only blush and stare at Yang Qiu, who nodded slightly.

  "The Governor's Mansion has ordered the city garrison to collect ammunition from each camp... If there is a conflict, bear with me! Control your troops and don't cause trouble for me." Li Yuanhong looked somewhat tired, waved his hand and said: "Yang Qiulü, stay behind, everyone else go back."

  "I didn't expect Li Yuanhong to leave himself alone. After seeing everyone else leave, Yang Qiu hastily asked: 'Sir, I don't know what you're keeping me here for?'"

  Li Yuanhong glared and said: "Yang Qiu, you have a big nerve!"

  The sudden anger made Yang Qiu both bewildered and slightly annoyed, so he put on a sincere and fearful appearance and deliberately pretended not to understand, saying: "As a newcomer leading the troops for the first time, I don't know where I went wrong. I hope the adults will point it out."

  When he saw Yang Qiu being frightened by himself, Li Yuanhong narrowed his eyes and asked: "I heard that you brought back two light machine guns from the gun factory, is this true?"

  "It was this matter, Yang Qiu hastily took out the words he had thought of: "Sir, the mark is just to let the soldiers get familiar with several types of firearms. I have already filed a case at the gun factory, and the machine gun is also broken and cannot be used......"

  "You don't need to say more, this matter is not handled properly by you." Li Yuanhong glared at him fiercely and interrupted his words: "Although it's broken, I've asked the arsenal about it. If we encounter a master craftsman, it can still be repaired. Moreover, machine guns are heavy machinery. At this time when the rebels are causing trouble everywhere and Nanhu has had such an incident, what if it gets lost? How would I explain to the Governor-General?"

  "Adult, this South Lake... I don't know either."

  Yang Qiu's gesture of opening his hands and making a bitter face also made Li Yuanhong secretly smile. However, the machine gun was indeed not safe to leave in the military camp, especially at this time. So, after thinking for a moment, he said: "I know you mean well, but now is not the right time. You'd better return it for now. As for training... just let them go to the arsenal every day to learn, but absolutely do not bring it out again. Remember?"

  Fortunately, the plan to train machine gunners was not ruined. Yang Qiu let out a sigh of relief in his heart. As soon as he agreed, Li Yuanhong took out a document from the table and handed it over to him, saying: "I've heard about your methods, command and obedience......not bad! I'm afraid that within the 42nd Division now, your military orders are already being carried out smoothly."

  Is the old man really muddled or just pretending? Is he intentionally testing me? Yang Qiu took over the document without reading it and sincerely said, "Sir, don't scare the subordinate, the subordinate had no choice but to do so. Fortunately, I learned about the training methods of the German army when I was in school, and now I'm applying what I learned."

  "Alright, I'm not blaming you. The military is different from other places and discipline must be maintained. Thinking back to when I was under the strict teacher... Ah, never mind, never mind!" Li Yuanhong shook his head, seemingly unwilling to mention his past experiences under Yan Fu and Sa Zhenbing in the Beiyang Army. He pointed at the document: "You did well the other day with Commander-in-Chief. This is a new imperial decree, stating that one battalion from the 31st and 32nd Regiments will depart on the 10th to enter Sichuan, led by General Rui Fangrui who is familiar with the geography to suppress bandits."

  "After they leave, it will be necessary to redeploy. The Admiral has already decided that the 15th and 30th brigades, as well as our mixed brigade, the 41st, will all be redeployed. Your 42nd Brigade will be divided among Hankou, Hanyang, and Liujiatun railway stations. Any questions?"

  Yang Qiu's heart skipped a beat as he waited for so long, wasn't it just for this dispatch to arrive? ...... It finally came!

  However, he did not answer immediately, but frowned and said: "Sir, I have one brigade with three regiments, but I need to garrison three places. Moreover, among the three places, Hanyang and Hankou are separated by a large river. Once something happens, it's feared that we cannot respond in time. Do you think it is possible to propose that the 15th Brigade send one regiment to garrison Liujiatun, which can also alleviate my pressure?"

  "No way." Li Yuanhong was firm on this matter and said: "The 15th Corps must be recalled to Wuchang, this is not open for discussion."

  "Understood, I'll follow orders." Yang Qiu bowed and then deliberately looked worried, saying: "Sir, you know that I've only been in command for just over a month. Although things have settled down recently, it's hard to guarantee that nothing will go wrong. It's not that I'm afraid of taking responsibility, but the situation in Hanyang is extremely critical. If something were to be ruined, even if I had a hundred heads, they wouldn't be enough to chop off."

  Li Yuanhong also knew that what he said was true. The three battalions had to be in charge of the three places, and it was really difficult to make ends meet. However, Wuchang was too important. The 31st and 32nd brigades went to Sichuan and didn't know when they would return. After thinking for a while, he said: "Let's do this, temporarily put the Mixed Engineering Battalion and Logistics Battalion under your command in Hanyang. In addition, Ma Dabiao's Security Battalion will also be temporarily assigned to your department. When the two brigades return, we'll return them to their original units."

  What is the auxiliary team of the hybrid association?

  Yang Qiu was stunned, this is the first rebel army in the true sense! Many historical books later on often confuse the Eighth Town Heavy Camp with the actual first rebel army, the Mixed Brigade Heavy Camp, which is incorrect. The Eighth Town Heavy Camp is an independent unit responsible for the transportation and logistics of the entire army, while the Mixed Brigade Heavy Camp belongs to the artillery camp under the Mixed Brigade, there are big differences.

  What a team is doing to itself, isn't it frustrating!

  But Yang Qiu didn't dare not to comply, fearing that the old fox would see something, and besides, adding two battalions plus a security team equivalent to a regiment was always exciting. Unfortunately, the old guy from the artillery battalion still wouldn't let go, so he pretended to be difficult and made a show of it for half a day before gritting his teeth and agreeing to come down.

  After handing over some matters that need attention in the military mobilization, Li Yuanhong went to the backyard, but his foot had just stepped out and suddenly stopped, looking at Yang Qiu with a deep meaning: "Chen Hua, I know you are young and vigorous, but... can tolerate people and tolerate them! This world, today's life and death enemies, tomorrow may be in the same boat."