Chapter 1: The Story of Shu Road

  Disclaimer: This is a fantasy piece set in a parallel space and is entirely fictional!

  One piece.

  In front of the Wuhan Red Mansion Memorial Hall, Yang Qiu, who was tall and had a large build, stood out among the people queuing to buy tickets with his backpack on. The several big girls from the tourist group next to him couldn't help but keep glancing over at him.

  After a lot of hustle and bustle, he finally entered the Xinhai Revolution Memorial Hall.

  One by one, old photos and yellowed documents flashed before my eyes, silently narrating the courage and pioneering spirit of the revolutionary pioneers in that tumultuous era.

  It is undeniable that the idea of transplanting a regime from overseas was too simplistic, and due to the lack of long-term ruling experience and being constrained by the actual strength at hand, it ultimately led to the revolutionary results being gradually stolen by warlords. From the Railway Protection Movement to the first shot in Wuchang, while overthrowing the Qing dynasty, it also brought the country into a quagmire. The Beiyang government was in disarray, the southern provinces were in chaos, and the two major factions were vying for power. Japan, the United States, Britain, and other powers took advantage of the situation, ultimately leading to fragmentation, division, and descent into chaotic warfare.

  It was a fascinating great era, it was an unprecedented changing era in the 3,000-year history of the Chinese mainland, with too many strange and wonderful things happening. People living in the new society will never understand what happened under that turbulent tide.

  Shaking his head and casting aside these distracting thoughts, Yang Qiu was suddenly drawn to the two old guns in a distant cabinet.

  "Browning M1911!"

  As a retired soldier, Yang Qiu's fondness for firearms is indescribable in words. He immediately savored the war classics of that era, and the old gun seemed to have come to life, recounting the battles it had been through beside his ear.

  "Hey kid, like it?"

  Suddenly, a voice came from the side, Yang Qiu turned his head to look, and a middle-aged man with a black top hat had appeared beside him at some point. The exaggerated and old-fashioned hat made him look somewhat comical.

  "Uh-huh." Yang Qiu nodded without hiding his agreement. Any military enthusiast would probably not come up with a second answer.

  "Hey kid, did you come here alone?"

  "Yes, coming with a group is called traveling, but coming alone is what's truly paying respects."

  "Kowtowing! Good, good kowtowing, unfortunately not many people are willing to come now." The man laughed and suddenly waved his hands, Yang Qiu felt the world in front of him spinning suddenly, and then lost all consciousness.

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  "Wake up! Wake up!"

  Under the scorching sun, on the official road from Hubei to Guang'an, a dozen or so large horse-drawn carriages were lined up in a row, wrapped tightly in oilcloth, and could only be identified as long rectangular boxes by their shape.

  There were no signs on the carriage, and most of the people escorting it wore single shirts, looking more like a group of escorts from a security firm. However, these "escorts" all carried long guns, with braids wrapped around their necks, sturdy builds, and sharp eyes, appearing to be quite elite.

  In the center of the motorcade, a dozen or so "bodyguards" were clustered together, some fanning themselves and others holding up parasols to shield from the sun the young man in the same attire standing in their midst. Despite the unexpectedness of this scene, these "bodyguards" remained completely calm, with those who were supposed to be rescuing people doing just that, and those who were supposed to be keeping watch doing just that - it was clear at a glance that they were seasoned veterans.

  Yang Qiu only felt that someone seemed to be shouting non-stop beside her ear, but the dialect sounded vague and unclear. She thought she had arrived at Naihe Bridge, and when she tried hard to open her eyes, she found a group of tall men with long guns surrounding her, and what was even more bizarre was that these people were all wrapped in whips!

  This scene shocked him, was there a crew filming at the Wuhan Red Building Xinhai Revolution Memorial Hall?

  "Hu Zi, you've become too weak, can't even withstand this little bit of sunlight, I really don't know how you managed to join our new army."

  "Silence!"

  A bearded man started muttering to himself, when a sturdy fellow nearby stopped him, looking around nervously, and only after making sure there were no outsiders did he sternly say: "Less nonsense, help him up."

  The big men helped Yang Qiu up with all their might, and after drinking two mouthfuls of water, he finally felt a bit stronger. Looking around, he saw that they were surrounded by mountains and asked gratefully: "Thank you, brothers! What are you filming here? Where is this place?"

  "Shooting a movie..."

  Yang Qiu's question left the four big men around him bewildered, staring at each other in a daze. After a while, the burly man who seemed to be the leader asked nervously: "Huzi, what's wrong with you? Did you hit your head when you fell just now?"

  "Come on, come on, let's help him over and have a rest, we're in no hurry now."

  Yang Qiu felt a bit stifled, what was going on here? But at this moment, he only felt dry mouth and tongue, anxious but unable to speak, so he pointed to the water bucket in the hand of a young man with a doll-like face beside him.

  "Yang, slow down on the drinking." The doll-faced young man hastily handed over the water basin. Yang Qiu took it and was about to drink when he suddenly discovered that in the clear water there was a strange face, looking like someone around 21 or 22 years old, with a strong and handsome appearance, but wearing the same military uniform as him, and on his neck... was wrapped a shiny big braid!

  "What's going on, who am I......"

  In an instant, a pain he had never experienced before suddenly struck him, and Yang Qiu felt as if a string of giant firecrackers had been lit in his brain, exploding with a deafening crash that made him want to jump off the nearby cliff immediately.

  "Tiger, tiger!"

  Just as Yang Qiu felt a blackness before his eyes, countless strange and bizarre pieces of information flooded in, and the sound of tense shouting also rang out beside his ear, after which he lost consciousness once again.

  The mountain road stretches far and wide, the night wind blows gently.

  Yang Qiu and the doll-faced soldier sat together beside the bonfire, their faces expressionless.

  I've crossed over!

  This thing is really weird!

  He only remembered that he went on a business trip to Wuhan, and with great interest visited the Honglou Xin Hai Revolution Museum. He met a middle-aged man who asked him why he came alone.

  He said that if you come with a group, it's just tourism, but if you come alone, it's a pilgrimage! The middle-aged man was very happy and said that Yang Qiu was one of the few young people in this materialistic era who still came to pay respects to the martyrs on his own initiative, and then he forgot everything.

  When I woke up again, I was already on the Shu Road.

  Yang Qiu was still Yang Qiu, but his identity had changed to that of a soldier in the 8th Heavy Duty Battalion of the Hubei New Army. A typical case of transmigration, but the question was what use was he in this era?

  Do you think understanding a bit of modern military affairs can make you play with the Republic of China? Are you kidding me?!

  "Little tiger, eat something."

  At noon, the big bearded man walked over and interrupted Yang Qiu's thoughts, handing him and WaWa two pieces of hot and dark buns. He then sat down beside them with a big smile and said: "What's wrong? Did you fall and become someone else? Are you thinking about your wife?"

  The big-bearded man is called Ma Kui, a comrade-in-arms of Yang Qiu's generation. The black-faced strongman is the leader of everyone, and the logistics camp commander is Xiao Anguo. The doll-faced one beside him is called Bingwen, only 17 years old, and enlisted in the army with Yang Qiu in the same year. The two are the best of friends in the military. What's strange is that Ma Kui, a Hebei native, actually came to Hubei to join the army, and joined the Hubei New Army, which has a relatively high level of knowledge compared to China at present.

  "Thank you, Big Brother Ma."

  "What's the thanks for? You've also been ill for several days and didn't rest, and then ran with us rough men for three days and nights, exhausting yourself." Ma Kui made a few jokes after that, comforting him by saying: "Get some good sleep, it's nothing. I, Ma Kui, may not have much else, but I've got plenty of strength, at worst I'll carry you to Chengdu."

  "Chengdu? Are we going to Chengdu?"

  "Yang, what's going on...?" WaWa's face was pale as she stared at Yang Qiu in shock, her hands trembling. Yang quickly covered his head with his hand, pointing to his temple: "I hit my head when I fell just now, it hurts so much, and for a while, I couldn't remember some things."

  "Then forget it, I'm telling you."

  Bingwen and Yang Qiu enlisted in the same year. Because of his young age, he often relied on Yang Qiu's care during peacetime, so when he heard this, his heart was even more tense, and he always felt that something was not quite right. However, Ma Kui was straightforward and didn't seem as meticulous as Bingwen, so he didn't suspect anything. After all, the Yang Qiu in front of him was too familiar, and he patiently explained things to him.

  In the muttering of Big Whisker Ma Gui, Yang Qiu only felt that the mountain wind around him was getting colder and colder. It turned out that he had guessed some of it, and the thunderous Sichuan Railway Protection Movement began!

  Two months ago, the Qing government ordered the nationalization of the Hankou-Chengdu railway, which led to a large-scale protest in Sichuan. The revolutionary party fanned the flames, and the situation became increasingly volatile. Ten days ago, at a meeting of railway shareholders, there were calls for armed resistance. The new governor of Sichuan, Zhao Erfeng, urgently requested assistance from the imperial court. Upon receiving this news, the imperial court immediately ordered one thousand rifles manufactured in Hanyang to be transported into Sichuan by the New Army of Hubei.

  Counting on fingers, it's almost a month before the Railway Protection Movement evolves into an armed conflict, and more than two months before the Wuchang Uprising. But who can be clearer about the current situation than Yang Qiu, who has just visited the Xinhai Revolution Memorial Hall? The Railway Protection Movement is in full swing, Sichuan is on the verge of chaos, and the Wuchang Uprising is imminent!

  Now escorting guns and ammunition into Sichuan, isn't it becoming Zhao Erfeng's accomplice, the Qing court's running dog?! Yang Qiu certainly didn't want to go, being a temporary running dog wasn't what he was afraid of, what he feared was that at present, the situation in Sichuan had already become chaotic, and with only two platoons of the transport battalion's escort team, this journey would definitely be fraught with danger.

  Yang Qiu was not afraid of fighting, and after touching the gun, he felt a strange sense of familiarity and excitement in his heart. Because in his previous life, he had also been a soldier, still a frontier reconnaissance unit, stationed in the dangerous Karakoram Mountains, caught drug lords in the Burmese rainforest, and fought on the China-Arabia border. Later, during the campaign to eliminate separatist elements, he was injured in the leg and had to be discharged from the army. Fortunately, under the personal care of his instructor, he received the title of combat hero, and after recovering from his injuries, he was assigned as a mid-level manager at the Shanghai Volkswagen factory with professional military officer treatment.

  But the problem is that at this time, there was no Kevlar bulletproof vest or advanced communication equipment, not even a helmet. In the summer, they only wore single-layer clothing, and the militia teams of several dozen people were scattered all over the place, with at least a few thousand guns, and also had the support of the Tibetan local government and the Chengdu mud pit charge, what's the difference between this and seeking death?

  Yang Qiu was furious, if there were no people around, he would definitely jump up and scold loudly! You Zhao Erfeng can't even handle Sichuan, that's fine, but Rui Fang, you want to take credit and let the Hubei New Army come out, that's also fine! But why do I have to bring a bunch of "explosives" into this toilet with a group of people who don't even know what day it is?

  And Xiao Anguo with a dark face is also confused, you directly pull out a full-division camp, the Maxim machine gun opens the way, and the mountain cannon escorts left and right. Isn't it simple? But instead, they're making a fuss about covert escorting. Is this what military logistics escorting looks like? It's almost as secretive as the underground party.

  When it comes to the current situation in Sichuan, Ma Kui is also full of tension. Although this big bearded man is excited and talking enthusiastically, Yang Qiu, who used to be a scout and has a meticulous mind, can easily see that every time he mentions the revolutionary party and the people's team on the other side, his thumb always shrinks unconsciously.

  It's no wonder that the Hubei New Army eventually surrendered to the Nationalist Party, and even Lian Rui Fang was killed by soldiers. Surrounded by thousands of guns and tens of thousands of Nationalist Party members and militia, it would be a foolish act to try to play hero!

  Betrayal, immediate betrayal, join the revolutionary party! Wait... The Nationalist Party seems to have no future either!

  This is going to be the death of me!

  The night had just risen, and Yang Qiu was already wandering around, if the escort went smoothly it would be fine, but what if something happened? A thousand Mauser rifles with bullets were like a bundle of fuse leading to the ignition of Sichuan gunpowder barrels. If the Nationalist Party found out, they might be surrounded by thousands of people by dawn the next day. At that time, should he abandon his dark past and join the revolutionary tide, or stubbornly stick to being a Qing dynasty running dog?

  "That's all I have to say."

  Ma Qi stood up, patted Yang Qiu and Bingwen on the shoulder: "You two, one is from Shanghai Concession Foreign School, one is a new student, both are still ignorant of the outside world, so don't blame old Ma for being nagging. On this road, you must not be arrogant, don't think that we have a few guns, if we really enter Sichuan, it's not enough for others to chew on!"

  "Right, change into new clothes before we set off tomorrow morning. We can't let anyone see that we're the new army, or else... we'll all be done for." Big Beard patted his butt and left, looking at the small backlit figure in the firelight, Yang Qiu and Bingwen exchanged a glance, their hearts skipping a beat without reason, from these last words alone they could hear that Ma Kui and these new soldiers actually knew what was going to happen.

  Wen handed the kettle to Yang Qiu and also lost interest in talking, hugging his own Mauser rifle and leaning against the stone wall. Yang Qiu was even more unable to swallow the charred bun, tomorrow...

  "Was it the birth of a group of anti-Qing heroes, or was it a Manchu cannon fodder corpse on the streets of Chengdu?!" Under the chaotic thoughts, Yang Qiu slowly leaned back, suddenly he felt that his buttocks seemed to be knocked by something hard, and his right hand scooped up.

  Froze for a moment.

  This is a faded canvas backpack, of course not the double-shoulder type of later generations, but more like the single-shoulder oblique cross-body bag with a red five-pointed star on it in the 50s and 60s. Every soldier in the new army was issued one, which could be used to carry personal items during marches.

  The backpack wasn't the key, but what was inside was really unexpected. According to Old Yang Qiu's memory, when they set out, the backpack only had a few sets of spare clothes, but now it not only had two Colt M1911A1s and several magazines, but also something like a PDA handheld computer.

  What's going on?

  Everyone was asleep, Yang Qiu immediately quietly opened the PDA, and after a flash of the screen, a line of small words appeared. "Young man, I hope these are useful to you." This sentence reminded him of the middle-aged man with a comical hat, and he looked at it carefully.

  After the font is over, it is a series of usage instructions, and then there are sheet after sheet of microfilm, from ordinary revolvers to aircraft carriers.

  But this high-end gadget, which claims to be usable just by basking in the sun and can withstand close-range gunfire, not only failed to excite Yang Qiu but instead enraged him!

  You'd better give me the equipment and manpower to produce them directly!

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