Chapter 41: Eastward and Westward (Part 1)

  Zhao Bei carefully sized up the two young men in front of him. Sun Wu, because his name was similar to that of Tongmenghui leader Sun Wen, had been mistakenly rumored to be Sun Wen's brother during the Xinhai Revolution, although this was a far-fetched error. However, it did provide convenience for him to carry out his work.

  In these times of revolution, you can't get by without some prestige.

  "Yes, I am Sun Wu." The young man wearing a student hat was also taken aback. "Commander, you've heard of my name before?"

  "Your name reminds me of Mr. Sun from the Tongmenghui." Zhao Bei rubbed his forehead and said, "Aren't you a member of the Gongjinhui? How come you're also an official of the Tongmenghui?"

  The two young men were shocked, looking at each other in dismay. Peng Han said: "That's right, we are also members of the Gongjin Association, which is an outer organization of the Tongmenghui. However, we are also members of the Tongmenghui. The Gongjin Association was established in Tokyo last year, and I didn't expect the Commander-in-Chief to know about it."

  It turned out that the Gongjin Association was established in Tokyo. Zhao corrected his own historical misunderstanding, looked at the two of them and said: "I am a member of the Guangfu Association, with access to inside information, so I naturally know about the Gongjin Association. I don't know what brings you two here, do you want to join the Republican Army? If you're willing, I can invite you to be my advisors."

  Sun Wu came back to his senses, hastily shook his head and said: "No! We have a mission when we return home, we can't give up halfway. This is not a place for conversation, can we find a quiet place to talk?"

  Zhao Bei nodded and strode into the headquarters, accompanied by four guards, entering a signing room to discuss with two fellow revolutionary comrades from the Alliance.

  "Two people returning home on a mission, I suppose it's about establishing an organization in the Yangtze River region?" Zhao asked straightforwardly.

  The two exchanged a glance and nodded, this time they returned to the country, they were ordered by the Gongjin Association to move to the Hubei and Hunan provinces to establish party organizations, this task was extremely confidential, but unexpectedly it was broken by the other side in one sentence.

  Sun Wu said: "The commander-in-chief is right, originally we were the party of the Returning-the-Country Movement, but now it seems that putting our attention on the New Army is better. Compared to the armed forces of the Party for the Restoration of China, the New Army has more discipline and fighting power. This point was seen by the Party for the Restoration of Light, but not by the Alliance Society; now we, the Progressive Party, also plan to mobilize the New Army."

  Zhaobei nodded, in the historical Xinhai Revolution, Wenxueshe and Gongjinhui relied on the New Army to launch an uprising. Now it seems that due to the stimulation of Anqing Uprising and Jiujiang's change of allegiance, Gongjinhui has recognized the importance of the New Army in the anti-Qing uprising. However, since history has changed with his traversal, I'm afraid there is no longer an opportunity for Gongjinhui.

  Peng Han continued: "We returned from Japan half a month ago and had arrived in Hunan some days earlier. However, when we heard the news of the successful uprising of the Anqing New Army in Changsha, we collectively decided to split our forces into two routes. One route would go to contact the Anqing uprising army, while the other route would continue to mobilize the Hubei and Hunan secret societies to respond to the uprising. As it happened, when we passed through Jiangxi, your army was just changing its banner in Jiujiang. So, I and Yao Qing took the initiative to come and contact your army, hoping that you could provide us with some guns and cannons, which we would take back to Hunan to arm the secret societies and launch an uprising there to support your army."

  "Who is the head of your organization in this country?" Zhao Bei asked.

  "Hunan is comrade Jiao Daifeng's responsibility, Jiangxi is comrade Deng Wenqiang's in charge, however they have not returned to the country yet."

  Zhao Bei Duan picked up his tea, pondered for a moment, and said: "To be honest, our army's ammunition is not abundant either. The new army of Taihu participated in the autumn exercise, originally didn't bring many real bullets, attacking Jiujiang, our army consumed some more ammunition, and the captured weapons were not many. For your association's request, I am somewhat unable to help. However, since everyone is a fellow revolutionary against the Qing dynasty, it is still possible to lend a hand. I'll show you the bottom line, actually our army will soon go west to conquer Wuhan San Zhen, after occupying the Hanyang Arsenal, we can support your army with some guns and bullets. If your army can respond to the uprising in Hunan at that time, our western expedition will be even smoother."

  "But your army's 'Jiao Dian' says that the target of your attack is Jiangning and Guangdong." Peng Hanyu asked.

  "It's just a diversion." Zhao Bei put down his teacup. "There is an unfavorable factor in attacking Wuhan, that is the already completed Beijing-Hankou Railway. If the Qing army advances south along the railway, it can directly reach Hankou, and at most, it will take only two or three days for the Qing army to solidify its defense of Wuhan. Therefore, I want to shift the Qing court's attention to the east and south."

  "What if the Qing army doesn't take the bait?" Peng Han asked.

  "That's the only way, we can only launch a strong attack. In any case, we must take down Wuhan, which not only has an arsenal but also steel mills, textile mills, and is a city with a good industrial foundation, and is also a crucial location where nine provinces meet. Considering that the Battle of Wuhan may be a tough fight, military supplies will be consumed in large quantities, currently our army's weapons and ammunition can only be used by ourselves and cannot support your army."

  "Why not attack the southeast directly? That place has always been a rich and prosperous area, and it would be more convenient to collect taxes and grain." Peng Han asked again. "The arsenal is not only in Hankou, but also in Shanghai's Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, which is also a large arsenal. Li Hongzhang and Liu Kunyi have operated it for many years, with new equipment and machinery, and the guns and cannons produced are no worse than those of Hubei Province. Moreover, the quality of mountain artillery is even better. And there is another arsenal in Jiangning. If we take over the southeast, we can at least control two arsenals. Furthermore, the revolutionary forces in the southeast have a good foundation, and with one call, hundreds will respond. Now that the Ninth Division of Jiangsu Province is under our command, the Qing army's military strength in Jiangsu Province is empty. If we use the Ninth Division as the vanguard, not only can we take down Nanjing soon, but also the recovery of the entire Jiangnan region would not be a difficult task."

  Peng Han and Sun Wu both looked puzzled, their eyes turned to Zhao Bei, waiting for his response. In their opinion, going straight to the southeast was currently the best plan, while counter-attacking westward to Hubei was a bit too risky.

  As for this, Zhao Bei had also hesitated, but as soon as he thought of the special situation in the southeastern region, he dispelled his idea of going on an eastern expedition. There were two main reasons: Firstly, the southeastern region was the base of operations for the Tongmenghui and Guangfuhui for many years, with complex and deeply entrenched forces; if he led his army there, it would be like entering someone else's territory, becoming a guest army, and whether or not he could control the army would be secondary. If he provoked the local snakes, he might even be killed, which was a historical lesson that must be guarded against. Secondly, although the southeast was rich, it was also an area where the powers of foreign countries were strongest, and for the revolutionary cause, there were too many constraints, making it impossible to innovate freely; moreover, being close to the ocean, foreign warships could cover infantry landings at any time.

  Looking at Hubei, it has always been an area neglected by revolutionary parties. The Tongmenghui and Guangfuhui forces there are weak, but it is not a backward or isolated area. Industry and commerce have a certain foundation. If Zhao Bei occupies Hubei with his army, he will be like a dragon entering the ocean, and no one can control him. Although Hubei's prosperity cannot compare to that of the southeastern provinces, the influence of foreign powers is relatively weak there, and the comprador forces dependent on them are also much weaker. If one wants to carry out reforms there, it should be a good testing ground. Moreover, "Huguang is the granary of the world", Hubei and Hunan have long been China's grain stores. With an army in one hand and grain in the other, who can guarantee that he, Zhao Bei, will not be the one to ultimately contend for the throne? Hubei is also known as "the thoroughfare of nine provinces". To the west, it can directly threaten Sichuan; to the east, it can flow down to Jiangnan; to the south, it can sweep across the southwest; and to the north, it can take the Central Plains. It can defend when retreating and attack when advancing, making it a great place for warlords to carve up and dominate.

  Of course, correspondingly, this is also a "land of four battles". If there isn't a certain degree of confidence, Hubei indeed wouldn't be the first choice for a base. This is probably also why Sun Wu and Peng Han would rather choose to go in a southeastern direction.