Chapter 8: Crisis
The cold wind howled, dispersing the thin fog, but the sky was still overcast. The humid air from the south also moved in. If it remains like this for a few more days, perhaps there will be a storm.
This is Huangni Port Town, a small town in the middle reaches of Luoma River, less than 150 miles away from Anqing City.
The Luoma River is a small tributary on the north bank of the Yangtze River, also known as the Taihu River or Anhui River. It originates from the southern foot of the Yinghe Mountain (Dabie Mountains) and flows southeast from northwest. Twenty miles west of Anqing City, it enters the river. Because it runs through Taihu County, this river has become an important transportation route for the New Army's autumn maneuvers to transport supplies and equipment. In addition, a simple horse road was built specifically for the autumn maneuvers, which passes through Huangni Port Town. Outside the town, there is also an iron bridge built by the engineering camp. As a result, in recent times, this small town has become bustling with people and vehicles coming and going, with troops shuttling back and forth and supply vehicles passing through the town from time to time.
Now, the town has actually been taken over by the new army, and the ones who issued the takeover order are "Qinming Xiuyue Dachen" Duan Fang and Yin Chang. At this moment, the two of them are sitting in the main hall of a large household in the center of the town, facing each other in silence. Yin Chang occasionally raises his hand to scratch his shiny forehead, while Duan Fang has a worried look on his face, constantly sighing.
Since the news of Guangxu Emperor's death, the autumn exercise in Taihu Lake had actually stopped. Just as Duanfang and Yin Chang led a group of officials to mourn in front of Guangxu Emperor's spirit tablet, the news of Cixi Empress Dowager's death came one after another, stopping everyone's crying voices instantly. Regardless of their official positions, almost everyone had this question in mind: Why did the emperor and empress dowager die successively within two days? Especially Guangxu Emperor, who was not yet 40 years old and in his prime, how could he have died so suddenly? What exactly happened in the capital city?
Everyone was talking and speculating, suspecting gods and ghosts. If it weren't for Tongfang's efforts to suppress the rumors, they would have spread far and wide by now. In fact, not just others, but even Tongfang himself didn't believe that Emperor Guangxu had really died of illness - he must have been murdered by someone. Who was this person? Considering the political situation after the Wu Xu year, the murderer seemed to be almost within reach. But these words of suspicion only circled around in his mind for a moment before being quietly buried again.
No matter whether the murderer was the person that Tongfang suspected, the fact is that the current Qing Empire is ruled by a three-year-old child. If we count from the beginning of the Tongzhi era, then our dynasty has had three child emperors in a row. Everyone knows the principle of "the country relies on the wise ruler", but the national fortune is like this, and Tongfang really has nothing to say.
The only thing that can make Duan Fang and others slightly relieved is that the current regent of the Qing dynasty is none other than the biological father of the new emperor, Guangxu's younger brother Zaifeng. As the saying goes, "father and son are connected at heart", having the regent take over the government is better than Empress Dowager Cixi holding all the power alone.
But before Duan Fang and others could celebrate for long, an even more astonishing piece of news came over:
The Anqing New Army mutinied, suddenly bombarding the provincial government with cannons and burning down the constitutional court. In just half a night's work, the rebel army occupied the provincial government, formally raising the flag of rebellion!
It is laughable that this news was not conveyed from the imperial court, but was received by the wireless telegraph of the Autumn Maneuvers troops in a plain code telegram. The sender was a British warship anchored on the Yangtze River outside Anqing City. Apparently, the British had more timely information than the imperial court. Of course, it is also possible that the imperial court had some concerns and did not notify the Autumn Maneuvers New Army troops at the first time to avoid triggering a chain reaction.
The roof leaks and encounters continuous rain, now in the autumn of many things, the imperial court is indeed busy with one thing and neglecting another. The rebels are the Anhui new army, which was carefully crafted by the imperial court at the expense of national treasury, with high pay and sufficient food, and good treatment. Even such a troop can turn against each other, who can guarantee the loyalty of the Taiping autumn exercise new army?
At least Duan Fang and Yin Chang did not dare to guarantee the loyalty of these two new armies, especially the 9th Division of Jiangsu New Army. Many officers in this division graduated from Anqing Military Academy and had interned with Anhui New Army. The relationship between them was quite subtle. If there were revolutionaries among them who shouted slogans, Duan Fang and Yin Chang might not be able to suppress them.
So, after learning of this news, Duanfang immediately ordered to keep it a secret and not spread it out, lest the military morale be irretrievable. However, the radio station was managed by several Japanese instructors, and there were many foreign military officers observing the exercise, so Duanfang couldn't control them. As a result, the news still leaked out, and within half a day, it spread like wildfire, with various improved versions emerging one after another. The most exaggerated rumor was that the rebel troops had occupied Jiangning. When this rumor reached Duanfang himself, he was also skeptical about the combat effectiveness of those old troops. Those armies not only had outdated weapons but also employed obsolete tactics, practicing dense formations in the era of machine guns. Such an army would be no match for the new army. If the Anqing New Army could really seize enough ships and artillery, it might not be impossible to sail down the river and capture Jiangning in one fell swoop.
The crucial point is that the imperial court has remained silent all along, and even when Yuan Shikai and others telegraphed to inquire, they did not receive a clear response. How could this not shake the morale of the troops?
Helpless, Du Fang had to order the whole army to quickly withdraw from Taihu County, while sending a telegram to the imperial court and advancing towards Huangni Gang Town. This place is located at the transportation hub, with one road leading east back to Anqing, and another road leading west directly to Huangzhou, which is the only way to go to Hubei. The new army of Hubei came from there. If the rebel army in Anqing wants to attack Hubei, this place must be passed through. Without the cover of warships, the Yangtze River belongs to the imperial court, and the rebel army can only pass through here.
The day before yesterday, at midnight, the new armies of Hubei and Jiangsu arrived at Huangni Port, but the imperial court's telegram had not yet arrived. Duanfang did not dare to take matters into his own hands, so he ignored the advice of Yu Rong, Vice Minister of War and Right Servant of the Ministry of War, and ordered the entire army to station in Huangni Port, waiting for the imperial edict. Duanfang was afraid that the rebel army's momentum would be too great, and that they would drag the Autumn Manipulation troops into rebellion together. If the army were to mutiny halfway, "betraying the emperor's grace" would be a small matter, but losing one's head would be a big deal.
Nowadays, the world has changed, and the common people no longer look up to the officials appointed by the imperial court. Especially those who shout "Expel the Manchu and restore the Han" are even more lawless, making people tremble with fear. The assassination teams and squads they formed were like ghosts, killing officials and rebelling everywhere. In the 26th year of Guangxu, the rebel Shi Jianru plotted to bomb the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, De Shou. In the 30th year of Guangxu, the rebel Wan Fuhua shot and wounded the Governor of Guangxi, Wang Zhi Chun, in Shanghai. In the 31st year of Guangxu, the rebel Wang Han shot and wounded the Minister of Revenue, Tie Liang, at the train station in Zhengzhou, Henan. In the 33rd year of Guangxu, the rebel Liu Sifu plotted to bomb the Admiral of the Guangdong Navy, Li Zhun...
What made Duan Fang's heart skip a beat was the assassination attempt in the autumn of Guangxu 31, when he, as one of the five ministers appointed to study constitutionalism abroad, led by Zengji Prince Zaize, set out on his journey at the train station outside Qianmen Gate in Beijing. Before the train started, a loud explosion occurred, and the carriage where the five ministers were sitting was left with only half remaining. Among the five ministers, Zaize and Shaoying were covered in blood and were carried off the train, while Duan Fang and others were not seriously injured but were indeed frightened. After investigation, it was found that the bomb was brought by Wu Yue, a revolutionary party member who disguised himself as a servant and boarded the train with the help of an insider. He had planned to throw the bomb after the train started, but the bomb was too sensitive and exploded prematurely, blowing Wu Yue to pieces. If not for this, Duan Fang and others would have had no chance of survival.
As a noble and wealthy person, Duan Fang really couldn't understand the behavior of these revolutionaries. Take Wu Yue for example, his family was a prominent clan in Tongcheng, known for their literary achievements, and he himself had passed the imperial examination and even dreamed of becoming a top scholar. Yet, after 1900, he resolutely joined the revolutionary ranks, willing to sacrifice his life and add a "death" radical to his name, all for the sake of overthrowing the Qing dynasty and revolution. What kind of people were these, who didn't care about their own lives in order to expel the Manchus?
After the assassination, Duan Fang developed a condition where he couldn't stand the sound of firecrackers. During festivals and holidays when firecrackers were lit, he would hide in his study with the doors and windows closed tightly, fearing that a bomb might explode amidst the noise. Even during this autumn's military inspection, he didn't dare listen to the cannon fire and had cotton balls stuffed in his ears while sitting on the commanding platform.
According to the foreign doctor who treated Duan Fang, this condition was called "shell shock syndrome," which first appeared during the Russo-Japanese War and usually only affected soldiers who survived artillery attacks. It was a heart disease that was difficult to cure.
In fact, it wasn't just Duan Fang who suffered from shell shock syndrome; all five ministers who went on the foreign inspection tour developed different degrees of the condition, forcing the imperial court to adjust the list of ministers for future tours. Even officials who hadn't been bombed were nervous and suspicious, always instructing their families before leaving home in case they were killed by a bullet or bomb while out and about.
The imperial court was filled with rumors and fears, and all officials were silent as ghosts. Looking at the Qing government's bureaucracy today, who wasn't terrified? All of this was thanks to the revolutionary party's martyrs.
He judges others by his own standard, so he can't understand the real reason why these revolutionary martyrs come forward one after another. For the rise of this country, for awakening the sleeping masses, they are willing to pay any price, even their lives. In this era where thousands of horses gallop in silence, only the light of their lives occasionally flashes across the dark night sky, bursting out with a brief but dazzling brilliance.
After arriving at Huangni Port, Duanfang and Yin Chang did not sleep for a whole day and night. The anxious and uneasy mood made them unable to fall asleep. They were very dissatisfied with the slow reaction of the imperial court, but they had no choice. Similarly, the new military officers and soldiers of the two towns also did not sleep for a whole day. Due to Duanfang's suspicion that the 9th Town of Jiangsu New Army might mutiny, he ordered the collection of bullets, bayonets, and especially cannonballs from that town, and moved all of them onto the heavy-duty ships. He also ordered the Hubei New Army to guard the Jiangsu New Army and transferred the most unreliable 33rd Battalion of the Jiangsu New Army to the south, making them camp near the Yangtze River. Furthermore, he ordered Wang Shizhen, the Jiangbei Commander-in-Chief, to sit in the camp and suppress any unrest with troops, and had several gunboats brought from Jiujiang overnight to monitor the situation closely. This was because the soldiers of this battalion were not recruited but conscripted according to the new recruitment system, which meant they were forcibly enlisted, so their military morale was the most unstable.
As a result, not only were the Jiangsu New Army troops in an uproar, but also the Hubei New Army responsible for monitoring was indignant. Later on, to be on the safe side, Duanfang simply confiscated the bullets and shells of the Hubei New Army, leaving only bayonets, allowing them to continue monitoring the 9th Division of Jiangsu with their own guards.
The room fell silent for a moment, Duan Fang stopped sighing and closed his eyes, looking like an old monk in meditation. However, Yin Chang continued to scratch his head, the two of them had been discussing all night but hadn't even come up with a battle plan. This couldn't be blamed on anyone else, only Duan Fang's suspicious nature, no one could be trusted. He didn't use the new army's staff, instead pulling Yin Chang here to point at maps. Although Yin Chang understood military affairs, he wasn't an all-around talent. Modern warfare required more than just making battle plans, logistics, supplies and many other aspects couldn't be ignored. This was what the staff were for, but Duan Fang had Yin Chang take care of everything alone, which was beyond his capabilities. He wanted to call in his aides to discuss, only then did he remember that they had come to observe the exercise and hadn't brought any aides with them.
"If the Beiyang First Division were in my hands, it would be easy to handle." Yin Chang suddenly came out with a sentence. The predecessor of the Beiyang Infantry First Division was the Jingqi Standing Army, one of the "Beiyang Six Divisions" that shook the world. Most of the soldiers in this division were banner people, and their equipment was excellent, known as the first of the Beiyang New Army. In fact, they played the role of the Imperial Guard, responsible for guarding Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Five Divisions.
Of course, this is a waste of words. The First Division is far away in the north and must defend the capital city, so it's impossible to send troops to the south. If they were to be sent, they could only be from Yuan Shikai's five divisions of the Northern New Army.
