Chapter Thirteen: Sun Wu's Anxiety

  The summer rain poured down, flowing into the Han River along the streets and alleys, washing away countless impurities as if it had scrubbed the three towns of Hankou clean. In the distance, Turtle Mountain resembled a giant beast coiled around the river, with Snake Mountain on the opposite bank, standing guard over the three towns amidst the wind and rain.

  In the Hankou Russian concession, which was within sight of Turtle Mountain, a man in Western dress and leather shoes had his hands thrust into his pockets. On the street below, several Russian soldiers happened to be passing by with their guns slung over their shoulders; the man instinctively shrank back from the window, waiting until they were gone before pushing aside the curtains once more. Just as he was about to look outside again, there was a sudden knock at the door.

  Three knocks later, followed by two more, the man opened the door after hearing the password. Two men wearing wide-brimmed hats darted into the house.

  Sun Wu

  Jiang Yiwu rushed into the house and hastily made a gesture to Li Xiping, who accompanied him. The latter hurriedly walked to the window to observe the outside, while he pulled Sun Wu urgently and said: "Yang Qiu has returned to Wuchang yesterday afternoon."

  "Oh? He's back?"

  "Yes." Jiang Yiwu continued, "According to the news spreading from the Admiral's mansion, Xiao Anguo who returned with him has been appointed as the Pingku of Chuwangtai. He was first flogged and then promoted to be the commander of the 42nd Mixed Brigade!"

  Chu Wang Tai Ping Ku! Hun Cheng Xie 42 Biao Biao Tong!

  Sun Wu was shocked, he never thought that Yang Qiu would become the 42nd banner commander. It seems that the imperial court had spent a lot of money to win him over. The 42nd banner is stationed in Hankou and Hanyang, which means that all these places will eventually come under his jurisdiction. This is a considerable threat to the Hubei comrades who have established their revolutionary base here.

  As for Xiao Anguo being promoted to Pingku, it was also a considerable threat. Inside Chu Wangtai, there were tens of thousands of guns and hundreds of large cannons that he had been eyeing for a long time. Jiang Yiwu and others had been secretly persuading the Engineering Corps, hoping to pull in more like-minded comrades. Unexpectedly, Zhang Biao and Li Yuanhong intervened, making it difficult for them to make their move. With Yang Qiu guarding Hanyang and Hankou, and Xiao Anguo defending Chu Wangtai, the uprising would likely require even more effort.

  "What's the worry about? Ping Kui is just a key holder, not worth being afraid of. As for Yang Qiu, I say, let me take someone to get rid of him." Li Xiping, who was standing guard beside them, saw that both of their faces were solemn and immediately patted his chest and gritted his teeth.

  "What nonsense, do you think killing him is that simple?" Sun Wu glared at Li Xiping and said: "Now he's not what he used to be, with a high position and heavy power, even the slightest movement will cause chaos in the three towns. Moreover, he has already taken up the post of 42nd Banner Commander, and wherever he goes, there are bound to be heavily armed soldiers protecting him. At present, our big matter is imminent, so we absolutely cannot afford to branch out."

  "Are we going to let those two lackeys live happily ever after?!" Li Xiping said indignantly.

  "Alright, let's not talk about Yang Qiu for now." Sun Wu, as the leader of the Gongjin Association, knew that it was no longer possible to kill Yang Qiu at this moment, and he also feared that bringing up the matter again would lead to dissatisfaction among the literary society "mud-legs" like Jiang Yiwu. So, he changed the subject and asked: "Have you got any news about the explosives I asked you to arrange?"

  Li Xiping was blocked by Sun Wu and felt very unhappy, but he didn't dare to talk back, so he had to vent all his anger on Yang Qiu again, secretly making up his mind to find an opportunity to get rid of this evil villain who opposed the revolution.

  Jiang Yiwu's expression changed unpredictably, and he shook his head in response: "The arsenal is too heavily guarded, I only managed to get a few dozen unloaded private guns from those craftsmen, but we still haven't gotten the explosives."

  "Never mind, I'll think of another way." Sun Wu sighed and waved his hand: "You immediately go back, think of a way to get in touch with more soldiers within the 21st Mixed Brigade, our development here is really too slow."

  Jiang Yiwu heard it, Sun Wu was also worried about Yang Qiu, so he nodded immediately. Just as he grabbed his hat and was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and asked: "By the way, how is Sichuan doing?"

  "Some comrades have died, fortunately most of the backbone are preserved." Sun Wu said: "Now Mr. Song has returned to Shanghai, I heard that Mr. Song has already talked with Deng Xiaoke and others, and will personally take over the affairs of Sichuan, it is estimated that it will be re-launched soon."

  "That's great, Mr. Song is taking personal charge of this matter, it will definitely be a huge success." Upon hearing that Huang Xing was going to take personal charge of Sichuan, Jiang Yiwu and Li Xiping were both excited, as the name of Song Jiaoren was much more famous than theirs.

  "Maybe." Sun Wu was not as optimistic as them, and said lightly: "Let's do our job well. If Sichuan really succeeds, we will need to use our sacrifices to defend the fruits of victory!"

  "Yes." The two nodded, put on their hats again, and after opening the door to see that no one was paying attention, they quickly left. Seeing the two leave, Sun Wu sat down again, took out paper and pen, and wrote two big characters heavily on the white paper.

  Yang Qiu!

  After finishing writing, Sun Wu was still uneasy, so he stood by the window to get some fresh air, but saw Jiang Yiwu and Li Xiping walking on the street, whispering to each other.

  "Brother Jiang, are we just going to let that scoundrel get away with it?" Li Xiping said fiercely, still unhappy about being blocked by Sun Wu earlier. Jiang Yiwu was also dissatisfied with Sun Wu's plan to spare Yang Qiu for the time being, and seeing an opportunity, he gritted his teeth: "Let's go, find Jin Xia."

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  "Hiss......"

  In the 8th town of Wuchang's new army, Yang Qiuguang lay on a bamboo bed in the logistics camp, surrounded by soldiers from the logistics camp. Ma Kui sat beside him, using a cotton ball to apply medicinal liquor to his back, constantly wiping away at the faint red bruises, each wipe eliciting a hiss of pain.

  "Alright, alright, my great Batru hero, does it hurt that much?"

  This intake sound not only didn't make everyone anxious, but instead brought a burst of laughter. Old Hu, who loved excitement the most, even intentionally squinted his eyes and said with pleasure: "Brother Yang, I think this whip isn't being used forcefully enough, could it be that Ma Kui's touch is too comfortable for you?"

  "Yes, I think our captain deliberately went easy on the adults. Last time I got flogged, I was bedridden for three days and nights."

  "Nonsense, can you compare with Yang brother? By the way, why did you get flogged last time?"

  "I knew it, he went to a private meeting with his lover and ended up being messed around all night and missed the morning exercise."

  Haha…….

  Compared with other troops, the soldiers in the logistics battalion mostly came from rural areas and had little culture. When speaking, they didn't care about vulgarities, but instead had a kind of familiarity that was rare in the army before. It was as if Yang Qiu, who had studied at a foreign school, had become an outcast.

  Apart from Bingwen, most people only regarded him as a prodigy and rarely chatted with him casually. This time, after traveling to Sichuan and saving the brothers who were transporting goods, he was finally rewarded by the imperial court for his entire logistics camp, with each person receiving 10 taels of silver, which suddenly brought him closer to everyone.

  "Are you all idle to the point of being anxious? Do what you should do!" Xiao Anguo's loud voice rang out from behind, and the soldiers suddenly scattered like chickens and dogs, disappearing in an instant, leaving only Yang Qiu and Ma Kui who was applying medicine for him.

  "Brother, big brother didn't hit you that hard, did he?" Seeing Yang Qiu's exaggerated expression as if he had suffered a great injury, Xiao An Guo couldn't help but secretly laugh. This guy was indeed good at pretending to be dead, worthy of being a scholar!

  "Huh? How come Lord Pingku is so idle all of a sudden? Aren't you afraid that if you're late, tens of thousands of guns will be snatched away?" Yang Qiu joked as he put on his clothes from the side: "Could it be that you want to follow my example and take three days off to treat your whip wounds?"

  "I actually have something to look for you."

  Xiao Anguo found a stool and sat down beside him, seemingly wanting to discuss something. Ma Kui immediately stood up, thinking of leaving, but Yang Qiu pulled him back, laughing: "Brother Ma, sit down, we're not outsiders, besides, you've already been recommended by the garrison commander to take over the heavy camp, and the commander has agreed. I reckon that in two days' time, the appointment will be announced."

  "Really?" As soon as Ma Kui heard that Xiao An Guo Bao had recommended himself to take over the logistics battalion, he was so happy that he scratched his head. Although the logistics battalion was not as important as Ping Ku, nor did it guard key locations like the 42nd marker, officials would often come to the logistics battalion to transport goods and whatnot, and the benefits were not bad either. He quickly thanked Xiao An Guo Bao.

  "You're delighted, but don't thank me for this, it's all thanks to Brother Yang."

  Xiao An'guo's mouth drooped as he said, "To be honest with you, brothers, after returning from the Governor's Mansion, I've been feeling uneasy in my heart. Can you tell me why General Ti and Lord Li would recommend me to take up the post of Pingku?"

  "I didn't know." Yang Qiu rolled his eyes, patted his forehead and said: "Big brother, you're just a warehouse keeper, to put it bluntly, you're just a warehouse guard. But I'm... what's going on here!"

  "It's different, it's different." Xiao Anguo hastily waved his hand and said: "Brother, you are a talented person, and you have drunk so much foreign ink. When I first arrived at the logistics camp, I knew that you would rise to prominence sooner or later. But I, Xiao Anguo, am just an uneducated roughneck. If I hadn't joined the army and followed Mr. Xi to learn a few characters, I'm afraid I wouldn't even know how to write my own name."

  Seeing Xiao Anguo's bewildered face, Yang Qiu knew that he was really anxious in his heart, so after thinking for a moment, he said: "If big brother doesn't think I'm talking nonsense, then I'll analyze it for you."

  "Brother, speak quickly." Xiao Anguo hastily moved the stool closer, and even Ma Kui perked up his ears, wanting to hear Yang Qiu's lofty words.

  "Xiao Da Ge." Yang Qiu took a deep breath and raised an eyebrow, saying: "The responsibility of the Chu Wangtai is great, so there is a saying in the military that only trusted relatives can be appointed. But thinking back, are trusted relatives really reliable? Since the establishment of the new army, how many eyes have been watching Commander Sir? Not to mention this arsenal, which is even more crucial. That's why for so many years, Sir has not arranged for a warehouse manager and only let Li Kefu from the engineering battalion serve concurrently, fearing gossip and criticism."

  "Why let Xiao Da-ge take over now?" Ma Kui asked from beside him.

  "One reason is that Big Brother Xiao has just made a meritorious achievement and needs to be rewarded. Yang Qiu raised his finger for analysis: "Secondly, it should be said that I have harmed you, because after passing through Sichuan, Big Brother Xiao and Big Brother Ma, you are all likely to have been labeled as Yang Qiu's accomplices, so there is no need to worry about the armory being infiltrated by the rebels."

  "Brother, you mean... those rioters will rob the armory!"

  Xiao Anguo and Ma Kuidun were taken aback, not expecting Yang Qiu to say such a thing. The defense of Chuwangtai was renowned throughout the new army, and outsiders would think it impossible to breach. However, the latter did not reveal any prior awareness of history and continued: "The Commander-in-Chief and Lord Li have been in charge of the new army for many years, naturally knowing which places are important, and they also understand the situation within the military like the back of their hand, and..."

  As he spoke, a bold idea suddenly rose up in Yang Qiu's mind. In history, Rui Fang had borrowed troops from the new army to rescue him, and Zhang Biao had lent him the 31st and 32nd battalions of his eight towns, but it was precisely these two battalions that were about to defect to Chengdu!

  Instead, the remaining troops that stayed in Wuchang unexpectedly entangled with the insurgent army for a long time. If it weren't for Chu Wangtai and later Li Yuanhong being brought out, Zhang Biao might not have been defeated! According to this reasoning, can it be inferred that Zhang Biao actually knew something and deliberately sent out the two most severely infiltrated battalions?

  Now because of his own little fork, and even let Xiao Anguo take charge of Ping Library, does it mean... he already knows that Chu Wangtai is in danger? It's worth noting that at the time, the mutiny troops took down the core Chu Wangtai without firing a single shot or bullet under the instigation of several MIND members.

  "So... I've become a target for the party!" Yang Qiu slapped his thigh, suddenly understanding everything.