Chapter Seventy-One: The Deer of the Central Plains Are Fat and Worry-Free

  At the entrance of the advisory bureau in the early morning, Qiu Wenbin stood still with his gun on his back. The two-month training had left a deep impression on him, such as the most basic sentry duty. When others were leaning lazily to one side, he always maintained the standard posture.

  "I told Wenbin, there's no outsider here, take a break." A comrade from the Eighth Route Army handed over a cigarette, Qiu Wenbin shook his head and turned his gaze to the vast Yangtze River.

  "Look at him... thinking he's some kind of big shot, and yet we're the ones who ended up being scolded several times."

  "I'm at a loss, I've heard that those who were kicked back by Commander Yang are all like this! You guys tell me, they didn't work hard over there and ran back to our side to show off? Do they think we don't know how to stand at attention?"

  "Commander Yang is so good to the soldiers, and just started issuing double pay yesterday! If it were me, I'd rather die than leave, even if we can't get paid, we can't just watch our brothers bleed."

  The sarcastic remarks from the side were like needle tips, making Qiu Wenbin feel uncomfortable. After the battle of Liujiatun, he and his former Yizhi Society companions, who had been banned, were all kicked back to Wuchang. Unexpectedly, after returning, they were again assigned to do miscellaneous tasks such as guarding and sentry duty because they came from the Right Route Army and were looked down upon by their former Wenxue Society colleagues.

  What disappointed him the most was that the first battle had passed for several days, but this side was still in a mess, and Yang Qiu not only got the two towns in order, but also the police, civil affairs, and customs had already sent people to take over. Every time he thought of his comrades on the other side of the river, who were fighting battles at Liu Family Temple and Little Northern Expedition, working with great enthusiasm, while he was here doing the most basic chores as a new recruit, he felt a deep-seated discomfort that he couldn't express.

  What if I were still at 42 marks?

  With a deep sigh, the waist that had been battered for two months seemed to have softened slightly. Just when he was about to give up, the sound of hurried footsteps suddenly came over, and he immediately regained his spirit. He turned his head to look, only to find that it was Wang Anlan, the former secretary of the 42nd regiment.

  "Your Excellency Wang, what's wrong? Why such a hurry?"

  Wang Anlan recognized Qiu Wenbin, and at this moment he also knew that he was an old man of the Yi Zhi She, but unfortunately, for this kind of person who had been kicked back, he didn't have any familial affection either. Can a soldier who has been kicked out by his old unit still be considered a soldier? He said coldly: "Nothing big, just that the Right Route Army won a small victory at Wushengguan."

  Another victory?! Qiu Wenbin's emotions were stirred, and he didn't expect to hear good news from the Liu family temple again after just two days. He hastily asked: "Was it against the Beiyang?"

  "Beiyang?! Do you know how powerful Beiyang is?!" Just then, several soldiers nearby also gathered around to ask questions. Wang Anlan retorted with a sentence and changed his expression: "It's just a banner of the Henan Xun Chengying, He Xi did defeat them quite well, annihilating over 400 enemies, and more than 1,000 surrendered, capturing thousands of rifles and cannons, as well as a train. If you want to see it for yourself, go ahead, but making such a fuss over a small victory is just like Chen He's style!"

  Killed over 400 enemies, captured more than a thousand, and seized so many military supplies! Is this not a great victory? The soldiers didn't care about Wang Anlan's jealous words. For them, blocking the Wusheng Pass meant that Hubei was temporarily safe, so they also cheered. Qiu Wenbin was even more stunned, wishing he could fly back to his familiar camp across the river to see the scene of prisoners in rows. Only Wang Anlan saw everyone's happy faces change and hastily ran up to the second floor.

  He went upstairs and saw that Li Yuanhong had shaved his head, with a faint glow on his scalp. He temporarily forgot his worries and joked: "Director Li has cut off his braid, he really looks like a Buddha."

  "Bodhisattva, how can I speak falsely? This is shaving my head again to cultivate... learning from the monks' bitter meditation." Li Yuanhong rubbed his bald head and asked: "Qingbo, aren't you here to persuade me again?"

  Wang Anlan hastily shook his head: "Director Li has already gone to send it, what's the use of me coming to persuade him? It's better for you, Yang Qiu, to persuade him instead."

  "What's wrong with Yang Qiu?"

  "What? He's almost turned Hankou upside down!" Wang Anlan hastily repeated the telegram from Dazhi Gate, saying: "First it was Liujiatang, then Wushengguan. At this moment, he has opened wide the gates of the Hanyang Garrison to show off the spoils of war and military equipment to the gentry and common folk. The prisoners are packed tightly into the Hanyang Great Camp! If we wait for his little Northern Expedition to end, I'm afraid even Director Li will be... overshadowed by him."

  Li Yuanhong was also surprised, not expecting Yang Qiguang to take down Liujiatun and then swiftly head north to block Wushengguan, and even annihilate a brigade from Henan, the speed of his actions really left people unprepared.

  "Is that all?" Wang Anlan, seeing Li Yuanhong not speaking, continued to fan the wind and said: "Last night, Hankou sent a message that Yue Peng led his troops to block the return of the 41st Regiment's two battalions, taking away more than half of the soldiers. He also incorporated over a thousand militiamen from the Li brothers' side into his army. At present, he has divided his forces into three routes: the first route is led by him in person to Jingzhou and Xiangyang; the second route goes to Xiantao, Qianjiang, and then heads towards Yuezhou in Hunan; the third route rushes straight to Yichang and Badong!"

  "So fast!"

  Upon hearing this news, Li Yuanhong secretly called out in his heart and hastily shouted: "Bring the map!"

  When he finally took the initiative to ask, several party members who were responsible for monitoring quickly brought out a map and spread it on the table. After looking at it carefully for a while, he also frowned deeply. At this time, Wu Zhaolin happened to come in, saw him seriously looking at the map with joy on his face, but was afraid of disturbing his thoughts, so he stood by without speaking. A moment later, Li Yuanhong finally spoke up, leaning back in his chair and saying: "What a pity..."

  Wu Zhaolin saw this expression of Li Yuanhong for the first time, and curiously asked: "What's wrong with Commander Li?" Seeing him come to his side, Li Yuanhong pushed the map in front of him and said: "You are also a military expert, what do you think Yang Qiu wants to do?"

  Wu Zhaolin is not the kind of overnight sensation party officer, at 16 years old due to family poverty he joined the army until now, everything has been personally experienced and carefully considered, not only participating in two national new military autumn exercises, but also compiling "Tactical Implementation" and "Staff Travel" which were printed and distributed for reference by various armies, even Li Yuanhong praised him as a rare talent for staff officers.

  Although he was just a team leader and had never commanded a battalion or above, it didn't mean he lacked insight. After carefully studying the map, he let out a long sigh and analyzed: "Yang Qiu is indeed a man who knows how to fight wars, he knew he couldn't match the Beiyang Army, so he first attacked Liujiatun to relieve the crisis in Hankou, then divided his troops to block off Wushengguan, thus preventing Yin Chang's army from quickly entering Hubei.

  Yin Chang said, "The later we start, the more days we have to prepare! We should take this opportunity to sweep away all the unrest north of Yangzi River and eliminate all the bandits. We can also recruit local veterans and expand our military influence on the right route. As long as we can hold Wu Shan Guan for ten days or half a month, I'm afraid everything south of Wu Chang will fall into our hands! If we can take Xiangyang and use Da Hong Mountain to tie them down, even if the Northern Army breaks through the pass in the end, we'll still have a way out..."

  When he saw Li Yuanhong not speaking, Wang Anlan thought he was also worried that Yang Qiu's rapid growth would threaten Wuchang, and hastily asked: "Director Li, did you just say it's a pity because of this?"

  "I regret that this man arrived at our army three years late, and the soldiers he can command are too few. If all eight towns were under his control, Xinyang... I'm afraid even Yun Chang wouldn't be able to stay on!" Li Yuanhong shook his head, his eyebrows and eyes almost squeezed together, his short and stout body pacing back and forth in the room like a rolling big melon.

  Looking at his restless back, Wu Zhaolun vaguely guessed what he was worried about. The expansion of Yang Qiu on the other side of the river was really too fast!

  Although he and Cai Jizhong and other old subordinates supported him, Sun Wuning wrapped himself in gauze to endure the severe pain but was unwilling to give up power. All kinds of national telegrams were nominally issued by Li Yuanhong, but they had never been sent to Xiaolou. This kind of governorship was naturally very suffocating, so he bit his mouth and refused to cooperate.

  But isn't he the Governor? Of course not, the temptation of being a Governor is too great. He was just waiting, waiting for Sun Wu to lose power and for the recognition of the party's high-level officials, otherwise this powerless Governor would be boring to sit on. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned, no one expected that there would be a Yang Qiu who quickly solved all the troubles around him, which made Sun Wu and others even more able to not rely on him.

  But the opportunity is still there, Yang Qiu's doing big may threaten Wuchang, but Beiyang is not a Wu Shengguan that can be blocked by just one victory. Even if Yang Qiu can gather tens of thousands of troops in the end, if this side does not cooperate, relying on new recruits who do not even know how to hold guns, it would be foolish to think of defeating Beiyang and breaking through! It's just...if delayed for a few more days, even if he sits firmly in the position of governor, he will probably not be able to move him.

  Li Yuanhong was indeed as Wu Zhaolin had thought, his mind was in a mess, and he began to suspect that he had made a mistake by forcing the party members to loosen their grip. Yang Qiu's rise was becoming more and more pressing, and her footsteps were getting faster and faster! He himself had lost his strategy and could only continue to watch from the sidelines....... If one day the party members suddenly abandoned him and supported her instead, where would he go? Should he not communicate with that person from Henan?

  He is the one who can really take charge and hold on to it. In this chaotic world, he will not be at peace continuing to fish in the Garden of Longevity. But would he rather see Yang Ao rise or himself take control of Hubei? Wuchang has become a huge whirlpool, who will laugh last? The "Fisherman" holding ten thousand elite soldiers or the rapidly rising Yang Ao, or perhaps the unmoving self?

  Li Yuanhong walked to the window and gazed out at the distant Turtle Mountain in Hanyang. Suddenly, he burst into a hearty laugh and softly recited: "The dragon in the great marsh is hibernating, the deer in the central plains are getting fat."

  Outside the door, Sun Wu's body shook violently!

  These two sentences were written by Yuan Shikai when he was 13 years old!