Chapter Ten: Demanding Someone at Their Doorstep

  "Yang, what's going on here?!"

  Wen was still young, although he had identified with the party in his heart. Since joining the army, Yang Qiu had treated him like a younger brother, and in Guang'an, he had also saved his life, so he had completely lost his mind when he saw Shifu walking away and immediately rushed to the front.

  Looking at Bingwen who was breathing rapidly with a red glow in his eyes, Yang Qiu didn't know where to start for a while.

  "Brother, speak slowly, I don't believe you killed the leader of the Party. There must be something strange about this." Xiao Anguo also brought everyone over to surround him, layer upon layer.

  Yang Qiu also had a hard time speaking, killing Wang Tianjie he did not deny, but did not expect that guy to have a list on him! Seeing everyone staring at him, he sighed deeply: "It's true, I killed Wang Tianjie."

  "What!" Bingwen suddenly jumped up, if he hadn't been thinking of Yang Qiu's goodness, he would have probably drawn his gun already.

  Yang Qiu's heart skipped a beat at the sight of Wen Hong's bloodshot eyes, and he hastily recounted the events of the day, but omitted the part about exchanging silver and meeting Song Jiaoren. After all, although they seemed like comrades-in-arms, people's hearts are separated by their stomachs. If the news of Song Jiaoren's secret arrival in Chengdu got out, it would be a huge scandal.

  When Yang Qiu's tone was calm and didn't seem like a lie, Xiao Anguo and Ma Kui let out a sigh of relief. As for Wang Tianjie, he deserved to die anyway, sneaking up on someone unawares and getting killed by mistake was also his own fault. Only Bingwen didn't speak, biting her lip, lost in thought.

  Yang Qiu didn't continue to explain, he knew that the more he explained, the more troublesome it would be. Moreover, after Wang Tianjie's death, the list of the Alliance was leaked and had something to do with him, and the gold bars given by the Sichuan Governor were seen by many people, so this "Qing Dynasty running dog and great hero" hat could not be removed for the time being.

  "Let's go back to Wuchang."

  Xiao Anguo didn't want to say more, this trip indeed caused too much trouble, so the best solution is to leave this place of disputes as soon as possible. As long as he returned to his own territory, at least Yang Qiu would be safer.

  The team quickly returned along the original route, and although Xiao Anguo had arranged Yang Qiu in a tight and solid horse-drawn carriage, he still didn't dare to be careless. He specially placed the captured Haicheks rifle on the largest carriage at the front, and kept his eyes wide open all the way.

  Separated by a canvas curtain, the sound of gunfire within the city grew more intense. Yang Qiu let out a silent sigh and grasped the data machine hidden on his person with his right hand.

  Did I really change history? Will the Ba Lu movement change because of me? Without the restraint of Sichuan, would the Wuchang Uprising still occur? Should I flee overseas and become a wealthy businessman?

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  The Han River is easy to cross, with three towns nearby, and nine provinces intersecting here. Goods pile up like mountains, the city is filled to overflowing, and merchants gather from all directions.

  In the late Qing dynasty, this tongue twister was almost universally known in Hubei, telling how since the Ming Chenghua period when the Han River changed course and separated Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang into three towns, this place where nine provinces meet became a hub for merchants thanks to its geographical advantages.

  After the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Li Hongzhang and other insightful scholars found that the closed-door central empire had fallen behind too much, and launched a grand Westernization movement. The collision of foreign Western ideas and traditional culture led to intensified social contradictions, but also brought tangible benefits to this country, with the most important being the rise of capital.

  New industries sprouted up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, and the capitalist forces that had been suppressed for thousands of years made a leap forward. In the early days of the Guangxu period, the annual tax revenue was only 80 million taels, but by the eve of the Xinhai Revolution, it had reached a staggering 200 million.

  Among them, the first batch of Wuchang Sanzhou as a commercial port is developing rapidly. With its geographical advantages, the annual trade volume has broken through 100 million and can rival Shanghai. The annual tax revenue has reached 6 million, and the American magazine "Harp" publicly calls Sanzhou the "Oriental Chicago".

  The Wuchang in the early morning was already bustling, with various signs on the streets that caught people's eyes, including conservative texts and revealing portraits of Western beauties. Horse-drawn carriages shuttled back and forth, pedestrians crowded together, beggars gathered in groups, and from time to time, blond-haired and blue-eyed foreigners could be seen, as well as Japanese ronin wearing wooden sandals and carrying swords at their waists. The shouts of the dockworkers on the docks were also heard everywhere.

  Across the river, the opposite Hankou and Hanyang were even more shrouded in thick smoke, especially Hanyang, which had become a representative of the Qing dynasty's industrial revolution with its top-ranked iron smelting and munitions factories throughout the Far East.

  The entire Hankou Sanzheng is filled with a kind of wonderful vitality.

  It's just...

  Seated in the governor's mansion by the river, Li Yuanhong, who was short and stout, gazed out of the window at the bustling scene outside, but instead of feeling delighted, he let out a soft sigh.

  A casually dressed Hubei governor, the new army leader Zhang Biao, had just come out of the inner hall when he heard Li Yuanhong sighing against the window. He immediately joked: "I say Song Qing (Li Yuanhong's courtesy name), we've known each other for many years, and you're coming to my mansion so early in the morning, sighing and groaning, as if you're trying to bring bad luck upon me."

  Also under Zhang Zhidong, Li Yuanhong did not dare to underestimate Zhang Biao. This man not only had a good fist and foot but was also well-versed in military tactics. Moreover, he had saved Zhang Zhidong's life before and was a prominent figure among the high-ranking officials of the province. He hastily cupped his hands in greeting.

  "You and I don't need to be polite." After letting him take a seat, Zhang Biao asked: "Why did Song Qing sigh just now?"

  "It's not just a disturbance on the opposite side." Li Yuanhong pointed to the other side of the river and shook his head with a bitter smile: "Last night, the Governor's Mansion sent out news that Rui Cunrui had withheld the operating funds for this autumn's gun factory, and also petitioned the imperial court to close some branch factories again."

  "Wild ambition!" Upon hearing this, Zhang Biao slapped his thigh and said fiercely: "This Rui Cheng has been eyeing my New Army and arsenal ever since he took the position of Governor-General of Huguang. Humph, as long as I'm around, I won't let him have his way."

  Li Yuanhong also let out a faint sigh and said: "Now the party members are causing trouble everywhere, previously Huanghuagang was just a warning to you, but Sichuan is where the real trouble lies. If Sichuan becomes unstable, the imperial court will definitely order my troops to enter Sichuan. At that time, I'm afraid the three towns will fall into the hands of the governor-general. You'd better think of a plan, sir."

  Zhang Biao was also worried, the most trusted person in his life was Zhang Zhidong. In his view, the gun factory and the new army were all legacies of Mr. Zhang, how could he allow others to intervene and make them dirty? Only some problems he couldn't solve either, that is, wanting to maintain the operation of the new army and the gun factory, the cost was really huge.

  Previously, Zhang Zhidong, who had served as the Governor of Hubei and Hunan provinces, once said: "The financial resources of one province cannot possibly meet the urgent needs of the whole country; it seems that the military expenses should not be borne solely by Hubei." However, the imperial court turned a deaf ear to this advice and still let Hubei bear all the expenses alone. Two years ago, this finally led to the financial collapse and closure of five factories, including the cannon factory, which stopped producing cannons and only produced Hanyang rifles and a few other firearms.

  Moreover, doing this job is very clear, the chaotic world is not far away. As long as he can control the new army and the arsenal, whoever will be in power in the future will not be able to move him. The problem is that he is only a commander, cannot manage money and food, so he has been suppressed by Rui Ceng on this matter all along.

  "When a cart comes to the foot of a mountain, it will find a way. Don't bother me with this anymore, but have you got any news about sending guns into Sichuan?" Li Yuanhong waved his hand, unwilling to discuss the headache-inducing gun factory business, and instead was more worried about Sichuan.

  Xiao Anguo is a man who handles things with stability and gravity, Song Qing feels at ease to hand over. However, just as the two were about to discuss Sichuan affairs, a sudden sound of footsteps came from behind, and when they turned their heads, they saw Rui Cheng, the Governor-General of Huguang, and Rui Fang, the Director of the Hankou Railway, who had been mentioned earlier, arriving together. This made both of them frown, as it was no secret that they had been competing with each other for credit over the Hankou Railway affair. How could they come together now? Moreover, judging from their facial expressions, it seemed like there was some great joyful event.

  The two men's hearts skipped a beat at the same time. Could it be that the imperial court really wanted to remove its own governor and hand over the new army to this guy?

  "Oh... Song Qing is here too."

  "Two seniors, this is......" Zhang Biao and Li Yuanhong hastily stood up to greet them.

  "Haha......" Rui Cheng, being the high-ranking official, took his seat first before pulling out a telegram of commendation from his sleeve and said with joy: "Today we have come to congratulate Mr. Zhang."

  "Congratulations to me?" Zhang Biao looked at Lei Yuanhong beside him, who was equally perplexed, and asked: "I don't know what you mean, sir? I haven't even left my door in the past few days, where does this joy come from?"

  "Governor Zhang has not left the city, but he has mobilized troops thousands of miles away, within the military camp, and dispatched elite soldiers and brave generals to take advantage of the transportation of firearms. With one move, they can eliminate the Sichuan rebels, this is a great achievement!" Rui Fang said, bowing his hands and asking Rui Cun: "Governor, what I said is not wrong, right?"

  "Haha, it seems that Lord Rui and I are on the same page with this matter."

  The two men's question-and-answer session only confused Zhang Biao further, and he hastily begged for mercy: "Governor, please don't play word games with me, a simple-minded man; just speak plainly."

  Rui Cheng looked quite pleased and asked with a smile: "Hu Chen (Zhang Biao's courtesy name), I ask you, can Yang Qiu be recognized?"

  "Yang Qiu?" Zhang Biao looked at Lei Yuanhong beside him, who furrowed his brow and thought for a moment before reminding him: "Sir, in the logistics camp under Xiao Anguo's command, there is someone named Yang Qiu, from Hubei. This person lost both parents at a young age and followed his second uncle to Shanghai, where he studied at a foreign school in the French concession. He only joined our army in May."

  "This won't go wrong."

  Rui Cheng listened and patted his thigh, handing the telegram to Zhang Biao: "Huchen's wise eyes recognize talent. This Yang Qiu is indeed a Hu Benzi warrior. In Guang'an, he single-handedly captured revolutionary party rebels, capturing more than 60 rebel leaders and subordinates, as well as a machine gun and over 100 rifles. After arriving in Chengdu, he killed the leader of the rebellious party on the street, obtaining a list of names. Now Governor Zhao is arresting people according to the list, and within five days, more than 300 have been captured, with over 100 killed! The rebels in Sichuan are mostly being caught and brought to justice!"

  "What?!"

  Not to mention the fiery Zhang Biao, even the deep and reserved Li Yuanhong widened his eyes in disbelief, turning the telegram over and over again, as if searching for a few words that read "just kidding".

  "Hehe...... The two adults don't need to look anymore." Rui Fang also smiled and said, "Now this matter has spread throughout the country, Shanghai and Guangzhou newspapers have reported it, saying that the two adults are good at governing the army, so they can produce such brave warriors. The Sichuan rebels are no longer in the limelight after this incident. The imperial court has already issued an edict, saying that a reward will be given to the two adults and Yang Qiu's memorial soon."

  "Isn't this wonderful news?!"

  "Good news, good news......" Zhang Biao and Li Yuanhong exchanged a glance and nodded repeatedly. This was indeed an unexpected piece of "good news", but the problem was that as a result, the Hubei New Army would definitely be targeted by the party members. Now that the wind and rain were raging, if things continued like this, wouldn't the three towns of Hankou be thrown into chaos?

  Before the two of them could recover from their shock, Rui Cheng had already picked up his tea cup and blew on it. He glanced at them out of the corner of his eye and suddenly interjected: "Hu Chen, recently the rebel party has been causing trouble everywhere. The governor often sees that the streets are not very peaceful, and since the governor is currently short of a city patrol captain, I don't know if you two would be willing to temporarily transfer Yang Qiu to me to alleviate this urgent situation?"

  "Transfer Yang Qiu?!" Zhang Biao couldn't hide the matter, and his face changed immediately. Not to mention that Yang Qiu had already made great contributions and had unlimited prospects in the future. He might even get the Han Yang Arsenal he had been coveting, or set up another infantry battalion. Even if none of these things happened, the Governor-General of Huguang shouldn't directly interfere with the new army. Although the Governor-General nominally commanded both military and administrative affairs, if he interfered in everything, what would be left for this Commander to do? Where would his face be?!

  Li Yuanhong was also dissatisfied, because Rui Cheng's heart was not in it.

  It's false that they are snatching people, but it's true that they want to take this opportunity to show off in front of Zhang Biao and promote Yang Qiushu as a model to tell others who is the real commander-in-chief, thoroughly breaking the embarrassment of being at a disadvantage on military issues for many years. If he succeeds, he will definitely make the already unstable morale of the army even more chaotic!

  He couldn't think of any other way out, let alone the fact that Rui Cheng had already made a concession, and he couldn't be lower than that level, could he? Thinking about this also made him anxious, and after a while, he glanced at Zhang Biao's displeased face and gritted his teeth to say: "I'll thank General Yang on behalf of the official, but General Zhang had already agreed to transfer Yang Qiu to my Mixed Brigade as the commander of the 42nd Regiment. This matter has already been announced in the army, if you go back on your word now, it would be bad."

  "Unanimous 42!"

  Xia Ruicheng's face changed slightly.

  As the Governor of Huguang, he nominally had control over the military and political power of both provinces. However, everyone knew that the New Army was actually under someone else's control. He had been looking for an opportunity to intervene in the affairs of the New Army and reclaim his military authority, but he did not expect Zhang Biao and Li Yuanhong to make such a big move just to prevent him from interfering with the New Army. His face suddenly turned dark, and he forced out a dry laugh, saying: "Then I'll be the first to congratulate Hu Chen on getting a new general." After finishing speaking, he waved his sleeve and walked away without even saying goodbye, his face still dark.

  As soon as Rui Cheng walked away, Zhang Biao's eyes gleamed with a fierce and ruthless light.