Chapter Fifteen: The Quiet Beginning of Change

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  Deep into the night, two lanterns hung high at the entrance of the governor's mansion, although their style was somewhat old-fashioned, but the original kerosene lamp core inside the lantern had been replaced with sixteen light bulbs, and occasionally electric lights flickered in the civilian houses beside the government office, the electric wires and water pipes arranged along the beams wove the ancient and modern together.

  In the government office, Hubei Tidu and Ezhenjun leader Zhang Biao had changed into casual clothes. He glanced at Xiao Anguo and Yang Qiu who came suddenly, then slowly put down the book and took the invitation card handed by his deputy.

  After reading the famous post, Zhang Biao hummed a few cold tunes in his heart. However, an old fox is still an old fox. The whole world knows that he and Rui Ceng are not on good terms, mutually restricting each other, feeling that the other is hindering their hands and feet. But he wouldn't show it on his face, especially to those below him. So after a while, he raised his eyes and asked: "Chen Hua, An Guo, you two came overnight just to use this to tease me?"

  Xiao Anguo didn't read many books. When he was in charge of the logistics department, he even looked down on the revolutionary party. In other people's departments, there were literary societies and enlightenment societies that were lively and bustling, but when it came to his place, all that was left was disdain and scorn. Sneakily doing some private work for officials was already considered a good deal, so he could only watch as Yang Qiu handled things on the surface.

  Is this also called big brother?

  Yang Qiu's face turned black, and he cupped his hands in respect as he replied: "Commander, Yang Qiu has been away from home since childhood and is not well-versed in propriety. Having served under the Commander for only a short time, this trip to Shu was almost marred by a grave mistake due to the Commander's guidance. Upon receiving the invitation, I was filled with trepidation and had no one to turn to for advice, so I took the liberty of coming to see the Commander, hoping that the Commander would offer some guidance."

  "Oh? Then why don't you go find Lǐ Xié Tǒng?"

  "To be honest with you, I went to find Lord Li, but he has already retired for the night, so..."

  Zhang Biao nodded, somewhat satisfied with Yang Qiu's answer. However, an old fox like him wouldn't easily show his hand. He picked up the invitation card and lightly flicked it with his finger, gazing at Yang Qiu as he suddenly asked in return: "So, according to your thinking, should we attend this celebration banquet or not?"

  "Old Wang, you're finished." Yang Qiu was furious in his heart. He hated beating around the bush more than anything else in this life or the previous one, but now he was still at someone's beck and call. He could only bite his tongue and wave his hand: "Sir, both Biao Xia and Xiao are military men who don't understand social niceties, so please help us respond to the invitation."

  "Hum, Yang Qiu, you're quite bold!"

  Yang Qiu still thought that he would be satisfied after hearing it, but unexpectedly a cold hum suddenly burst out beside his ear. When he looked at Zhang Biao again, the other party's face had already turned iron blue, staring with anger and saying: "Do you think I don't know your little mind? I and Governor-General have some unpleasantness, but that is all for the imperial court, for the great Qing state! How can we tolerate you privately slandering and discussing Lord Rui in disorder?"

  "Bring in the man and give Yang Qiu 10 military lashes for privately guessing the superior's thoughts!"

  Just received twenty lashes, didn't expect to be beaten with ten military clubs again after only a few words, Yang Qiu was also confused, what kind of play is Zhang Biao singing? Xiao Anguo saw the situation and was anxious, just about to speak to beg for mercy but saw Yang Qiu making eye contact, could only shut his mouth and watch him being pressed down without speaking.

  With a series of loud slaps, Yang's buttocks were beaten until they were sore and swollen. When the guards helped him up, his face was pale. Only then did Zhang Biao continue to ask with satisfaction: "What do you want to say now?"

  Yang Qiu endured the pain in his buttocks, gritted his teeth and sucked in air: "Sir, I refuse to accept this, I am a soldier by birth, previously only served in the logistics camp, never had such a thing happen before."

  "Hmph...". Zhang Biao let out a cold laugh from his nostrils, his eyes becoming even chillier, which made Xiao Anguo even more frightened and hastily persuaded Yang Qiu.

  Although Yang Qiu's butt hurts, he has also guessed a bit of Zhang Biao's mind. At this moment, if he changes his words, it would be true that he is guilty of the crime of flattering the superior, so he grits his teeth and puts on a stupid expression, refusing to change his words.

  "This time, I'll let you off for not knowing the rules. Zhang Biao had already made up his mind and saw Yang Qiu stiffening his neck, so he didn't say much more. He intentionally said: "It's just to celebrate your victory, what can't be done? As long as you remember the reputation of my new army, don't get drunk and make a scene, that's all. As for other things, take care of them yourself, I'm busy with official duties, don't bother me again."

  "Yes, I understand now. Thank you for your guidance, sir." Xiang Ankou heard Zhang Biao say this and felt a great sense of relief, hastily picking up the name card to pretend to hold back Yang Qiu in gratitude.

  It's probably to take care of it, Zhang Biao dryly coughed twice with a cold gaze and said: "Yang Qiu, after this matter is over, you will immediately go to the 42nd marker for me. The other social engagements, I'll take care of them myself."

  Yang Qiu also let out a sigh of relief, seeing Zhang Biao seemingly about to leave, and thinking of something else, he hastily called out to say: "I will remember the teachings you have given me, sir, and I will not disappoint your expectations! However, these brothers are all scattered in different places, can you please let them come back once so that I can see them too?"

  This matter Zhang Biao readily agreed to, regardless of whether or not he could cultivate him as his own confidant. The military has its own rules, and since ancient times, new officials have always had to establish their authority when taking office. Moreover, he was also hoping that Yang Qiu would make a big fuss and help him bring out those rebellious parties so that he could thoroughly eliminate the internal troubles. Therefore, he immediately wrote down the order to deploy troops and handed it over to Yang Qiu: "Go find Lord Li to discuss and arrange."

  With the transfer order in hand, Yang Qiu limped out of the Admiral's mansion with a mix of emotions, both wanting to cry and laugh.

  Crying, he was beaten again with a stick, which made him realize that if he used traditional methods to fight these old foxes, he would be finished sooner or later. This was just ten slaps on the buttocks and it was already burning hot; if it were thirty or fifty slaps, who knows how many months he would have to lie in bed with his skin torn open?

  What he was laughing about was that the order to deploy troops had finally been obtained, and as long as he could bring back the scattered 42nd Division for a period of time, he would have hope to control this army. In a chaotic world, what's more important than guns?

  Seeing Yang Qiu's expression changing unpredictably, Xiao Anguo, who was supporting him, thought he had a sore butt and hurriedly asked with concern: "Brother, what's wrong this time? Are you okay?"

  "Hehe......ouch." Yang Qiu had just laughed and pulled at his wound, and after a pause, he said: "Brother Xiao should be happy instead. At least Commander Sun has permitted us to keep our appointment. If we hadn't reported it and gone anyway, I'm afraid it wouldn't have been just a matter of getting hit with a board."

  "That's right, just... your butt is in trouble, this is the second time, isn't it?"

  "What's wrong with this guy, always bringing up the past?" Yang Qiu sneered: "Xiao Da Ge, how about I give you some medicine this time?"

  "Hey, I'm not used to serving men's butts!" Xiao Anguo laughed and pushed the shameless guy aside. Just as he was about to ask Yang Qiu why he wanted to recall all the troops, he saw Bingwen waiting outside the door.

  After seeing the two, Bingwen hurriedly came forward, his eyes constantly sizing up the area behind them. Seeing that there was no problem in the back, he quietly put the revolver captured from Guang'an back into his waist and said: "Brother Yang, I saw you guys coming out so late and was afraid it might be dangerous, so......"

  "Hehe, still concerned about us, huh." Xiao Anguo patted Bianwen on the back and they walked together towards their destination. Only Yang Qiu furrowed her brow, finding it strange that he was here, and subconsciously turned her head to look back, discovering a cigarette butt lying on the ground at a distant street corner, sparkling as if telling its owner not to have thrown it away so hastily.

  On the street corner, Li Xiping and Jin Dui glared at Yang Qiu's back, and after a while, they reluctantly put away their left-handed pistol. They glanced at Bingwen before quickly disappearing into the darkness along the labyrinthine old streets.

  After the two left, a slender figure appeared in the original place. Unlike the previous two, her attention was completely focused on Yang Qiu. Seeing that there was no good opportunity, she gritted her teeth and stomped her feet, muttering to herself: "Yang Qiu, you scoundrel, wait for me, I won't rest until I kill you!"

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  Dark clouds press down, the night is dimly lit, and on the vast Yangtze River, not a single breeze can be found. Those who are familiar with it know that this is an omen of an impending storm.

  In the darkroom on the second floor of No. 85 Xiaochao Street, Liu Fukei could only slightly push open some windows that had been closed for years under the unbearable heat, and while fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan, he carefully studied the map of Wuchang's three towns.

  The map of the three towns on the table, he didn't know how many times he had looked at it, but the more he looked, the more confused he felt in his heart. Only now did he realize that there was still a gap between himself and those true military strategists. Now it's just a small three-town map, who knows what kind of chaos it will become if it's enlarged to the whole country?

  After drinking a mouthful of cool tea and feeling that the summer heat had dissipated, Liu Fugui had just lain down on the table when he heard footsteps coming from outside. He hastily reached out and pulled out a Colt revolver from the drawer.

  After the door opened, Liu Fubai saw that someone had come and finally let out a sigh of relief. He smiled and said: "I thought it was that Manchu daring to break in at night, but it turned out to be you." Sun Wu smiled and put down his disguise hat, saying: "If we're talking about being bold, you're the one with a belly full of hot blood."

  "What's needed is hot blood, if even the blood has cooled down, how can we overthrow the Manchu and restore the Han dynasty?" Liu Fubiji chuckled and ended his joke, asking: "It's so late, why have you come to my place?"

  Sun Wu sighed, took out a telegram from his pocket and handed it to Liu Fuke: "It's a telegram sent by Mr. Song from Shanghai. The Miao girl who was with him got off the ship at Wuchang on her way back to Shanghai from Sichuan. Mr. Song is worried about her safety and asked us to find her and take good care of her."

  "Miss Miao?" Liu Fugui scratched his head, and suddenly his eyes lit up: "Are you the Miao siblings from the Hongmen sect who came to protect Mr. Song?"

  When Sun Wu nodded, Liu Fukei also secretly thought it was not good. These two siblings had been protected by Mr. Song for many years and few people knew their secrets. He had only heard Chen Qimei mention it casually when he went to Shanghai on business last time that the two of them held important positions in the Hongmen society and had a big background.

  Sun Wu looked around and found that only Liu Fugui was there, asking: "Right, where are Ju Zheng and Yang Yuru? And also Ba Kui (Jiang Yi's courtesy name), why didn't I see them all the way here?"

  "Juzheng and Yang Yuru have already taken Liu Gong's money to Shanghai to purchase guns, I didn't see Bokui today, this guy is always up to no good, who knows where he's gone to cause more trouble, have you been to Liu Gong's place to look for him?"

  "He's gone." Sun Wu picked up a fan and fanned himself as he spoke, "I was just looking for him, he's familiar with the place, and we'll have to rely on him to find Miao Niang too."

  "Let's wait a bit longer, this guy is always coming and going like a ghost." Liu Fugui thought for a moment and asked: "By the way, why did that Miao girl get off the boat in Wuchang on her own?"

  "Alas, it's all because of that Yang Qiu. Mr. Song said she's determined to take revenge on Wang Tianjie, so he's worried she'll cause trouble for us, which is why he's a bit anxious."

  "That guy is also doomed." Thinking of the Manchu "great hero" that had been spreading around for days, Liu Fubai was also gritting his teeth.

  "It's a dead end, but can't die now." Liu Fugui understood Sun Wu's meaning, and with great things imminent, he couldn't afford to have any distractions, so he hastily said: "Don't worry, I'll tell Boqi to be careful when I see him."

  When Liu Fuke agreed, Sun Wu could only nod and saw the map on the table and turned to ask: "What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Liu Fuke nodded without hiding anything, pointing at the map and said: "I don't know what happened today, but the two battalions of the 42nd Brigade that were originally stationed in Yichang and Hankou have all returned to Hanyang, replaced by the 8th Town's 15th Cooperative 30th Brigade."

  "30 marks, it's Yang Kai!"

  Sun Wu was also shocked, Yang Kaijia was a well-known figure in the new army for being stubborn and unyielding, with many soldiers under his command who were brutal and ruthless, one of the few roles in the eight towns with a ruthless wrist.

  He was originally stationed in Yichang, and it wasn't a big threat to himself when he was active in the three towns. Unexpectedly, he was suddenly arranged to come to Hanyang. Is that comrade exposed? Are Rui Cun and Zhang Biao going to make a move on Hankou?

  Sun Wu's heart shrank a little, Wuchang was indeed their main base of operations, but Hankou was the key to the flow of money and weapons, because there were foreign concessions that could provide shelter, but if this place was strangled to death, it would be equivalent to losing its foundation!

  Liu Fugui's face was also solemn as he said, "Apart from the sudden change of guard on this side of Hankou, I am still worried about Chu Wangtai. We had already planted many comrades there before, but now Yang Qiu's fellow party member Xiao Anguo has been suddenly transferred there. Do you think Zhang Biao that old dog will smell something?"

  Sun Wu was also secretly anxious, whether it was Hankou or Chuwangtai, both were must-haves. According to his plan, as long as he could control these two places, with money and guns, even if the Wuchang side failed, he could still guard the fruits of victory along the Yangtze River, and then wait for good news from other places, and finally restore the Han dynasty in one fell swoop. But unexpectedly, both places were threatened now, and it came so suddenly that Sun Wu was caught off guard while preparing to take action.

  Is this because Yang Qiu took over the 42nd Division, which led to a series of changes? Sun Wu gazed at Hanyang, separated from Hankou by a river, and suddenly felt that Yang Qiu might have the potential to become a troublemaker.

  Could it be that this suddenly appearing, unremarkable logistics soldier has become his arch-nemesis?!