Chapter 9: The Mind of the Military

  Upon hearing Yin Chang's nonsense, Duan Fang raised an eyebrow and glanced sideways at the several fully armed goshah standing at the door. He snorted: "Don't spout useless words, think about where we should attack first? Now not only is Jiangning empty, but even Hubei doesn't have many usable troops. This crucial place in Jiangnan, with just over 20,000 men at our disposal, must be carefully planned."

  "Of course, we must first capture Jixian Pass. Only after taking this pass can we open up transportation between the east and west, and the Ninth Town of Jiangsu can return to Jiangning. However, if the rebel army has already taken Jixian Pass and set up large cannons behind it, I'm afraid it will be a fierce battle. Jixian Pass is not easy to attack; Zeng Guofan's Xiang Army suffered losses here when they attacked Zhang Maoxun in the past. Now that the rebels have occupied Anqing, all the big guns in the city are theirs, and their ammunition is plentiful, so we can't underestimate them." Yinchang said, pointing at the map on the table.

  Duan Fang closed his eyes and said with hatred: "Zhu Zhiyao is a good-for-nothing! Not only did he lose the provincial capital, but when he fled, he didn't even blow up the arsenal. This is treason! The people who recommended him as Anhui's governor were blind! Just a few days ago, during the inspection, he still had the nerve to say that his new army in Anqing was no worse than Hubei's 'Flying Tiger Army'. Those boastful words are still echoing in my ears. And now, he has lost the provincial capital to the rebels. Ah yes, who recommended him again?"

  "Zhu Jiabao is Yuan Shikai's man, of course he was promoted by Yuan Shikai. In my opinion, this new army should still be handed over to the banner people to train, not just the southern new army, but also the five battalions in Beiyang. The imperial court must also take control of them. Yuan Shikai is not a thrifty person!" Yin Chang tapped on the table, he was very dissatisfied with Duan Fang's arrangement of letting Wang Shizhen, an old general from Beiyang, command the 33rd battalion. After all, Wang Shizhen was an old subordinate of Yuan Shikai when he was training troops in Xiaozhan. In Yin Chang's view, this person was not very reliable, it would be better to keep the military power in the hands of the banner people. He was about to speak out, but saw a figure flashing outside the door, and a gosha rushed in.

  "Sir, it's bad! The new Jiangsu army is rebelling again!" Goshha hastily reported.

  "What?" Duan Fang jumped up as soon as he heard it.

  "They complained that today's meal was not good to eat, and also today's breakfast was half an hour later than yesterday's dinner. As a result, hundreds of people gathered together, smashing the pot, and the monitor sent by the adults was also beaten," Goshah said.

  "Alright! Let's make some noise, all of you! Do you think you can overthrow the government?" Duan Fang slammed his hand on the table and shouted. "I don't believe it, just a bunch of young whippersnappers who haven't even grown out their hair yet, think they can turn our great Qing dynasty upside down!"

  Before the end was reached, another man came running in a flurry, who was Zhang Biao, the commander of the 8th Division of the Hubei New Army and known as the "Flying Tiger General". This autumn exercise, he was responsible for commanding the mixed 11th Division of Hubei.

  "Sir, the situation at the front line is a bit unstable. Just now, several soldiers from the Jiangsu New Army sneaked to our side and were caught by our men. They were about to be brought back according to your orders, but were snatched away halfway. When asked, it turned out that those who snatched them were not Jiangsu soldiers, but Hubei soldiers." Zhang Biao said in a low voice.

  "What a trivial matter to bother me! What is your Goshah eating? Is the foreign gun in your hand carved from wood? Quickly roll back and suppress it! Whoever dares to be insolent will be beheaded! If you are negligent, you will waste the sacred grace, I won't be polite to you either! Don't think that just because I'm not the Governor of Huguang, I can't handle you! I am now a special envoy with the imperial flag!" Duan Fang stepped forward and kicked Zhang Biao, showing the spirit that a flag bearer should have.

  "Your Excellency!" Zhang Biao knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down his face. "Since Your Excellency is not in Hubei governing, you are naturally unaware of the situation with the new army in Hubei. A few years ago, after Japan and Russia went to war, a 'Scientific Supplement School' suddenly emerged in the Hubei new army, which later became the 'Daily Knowledge Society'. They claimed to be studying Japanese military affairs, but in reality, they were plotting rebellion. Last year, the Xiangxiangli Party rebelled, and it was discovered that the Daily Knowledge Society was colluding with them. The provincial governor ordered the society to disband and arrested its leaders, including Liu Jing'an, who was thrown into prison. This temporarily calmed things down in the Hubei new army, but unexpectedly, someone recently came to report that a 'Group Governance Study Society' had been secretly established within the military. Although it's unclear what connection this society has with the Daily Knowledge Society, I dare not be negligent and have ordered people to quietly investigate and gather names, determined to eradicate evil. However, the society is extremely secretive, only recruiting soldiers and not allowing officers to participate. Despite my best efforts to investigate, I am at a loss... These past few days, the Group Governance Study Society has been very active, especially after the news of Anqing's fall was released. They have been running wild, and I am worried..."

  "What?" Duan Fang's face changed instantly, his legs softened, and he almost fell to the ground. He slowly sat down while holding onto the table, muttering: "Rebels, rebels... are there also rebels in the Hubei New Army?"

  "Where are those people now?" Yin Chang, who was indeed a military man by origin, asked more calmly than Duan Fang, taking a step forward.

  "No...I don't know. Since we entered the town, it's been hard to control the troops. Once the bullets were collected, the soldiers' discontent reached the sky, and they ran wildly all over the camp, with each battalion's organization already disrupted. Moreover, most of the people from the Gongzhixue Society are from the 21st Mixed Brigade, and I couldn't restrain them." Zhang Biao replied.

  The training progress of the Hubei New Army is the fastest among the new armies in the south, and it has now formed two divisions: the 8th Division (Division) and the 21st Mixed Brigade (Brigade). This autumn exercise at Taihu Lake is the third large-scale military exercise held by the Qing Dynasty since the training of the new army. The previous exercises were held on the northern plains, but this time it was held in the mountains of southern China to familiarize the troops with mountain warfare. The participating troops are all from the southern new armies, with the Hubei 21st Mixed Brigade as the backbone, and some units from the Hubei 8th Division were reorganized into the 11th Mixed Division, known as the "Southern Army".

  The commander of the "Southern Army" was Zhang Biao, the eighth town's garrison officer, and the commander of the "Northern Army" was Xu Shaozhen, the ninth town's garrison officer. The troops under their command were all elite among elites, especially the Southern Army, which had a large number of officers and soldiers from the Eighth Town mixed in its ranks. The Eighth Town was also known as the "Flying Tiger Army", having participated in the Northern Autumn Maneuvers and conducted confrontational drills with the Beiyang Army, making it one of the best among the new armies in the South. However, since it was a mixed unit, Zhang Biao could not fully grasp control of the troops. The backbone of the Southern Army's 21st Mixed Brigade belonged to Li Yuanhong, but he did not come with the army and instead stayed in Wuchang, commanding the new army units left behind to garrison Hubei and suppress local unrest.

  "Kill! Kill! Whoever dares to riot, kill without pardon! Zhang Biao, the official will give you the king's flag, you personally lead people to each camp to suppress, whoever dares not to obey military orders, regardless of size, you can dispose of at will!" Yin Chang looked at Duan Fang and saw that his face was pale and his legs were trembling, and couldn't help but sigh. Nowadays, most of the flag people are like this, the bigger the official, the smaller the courage, if Duan Fang could be as calm and composed as Yin Chang, the national affairs would not have deteriorated to such an extent.

  "Sir, I'm afraid that's not suitable." Zhang Biao didn't dare to look up at Ying Chang and remained with his head lowered. "The 21st Mixed Brigade isn't a team that can be easily managed, only Li Huangpo is able to keep them in check."

  "Fart! What's your team, my team? They're all imperial soldiers! You Zhang Biao don't dare to go and suppress them, I will!" Yin Chang pushed Zhang Biao aside, adjusted his uniform, the sound of his boots echoed, walked out of the hall, stood in front of the hall and shouted for a team of goshahs, carried up a machine gun, held the imperial edict flag and the king's flag, and marched out of the courtyard with a fierce killing intent.

  "What to do, sir?" Zhang Biao glanced at Du Fang, but was shocked to find that this dignified imperial court official, the Governor-General of Liangjiang and the Imperial Commissioner for Autumn Maneuvers, was slumped in his armchair, eyes closed, hands fiddling with the beads on his chest, mouth opening and closing as he listened intently, apparently reciting scriptures.

  "Alas. The noble and wealthy are not yet ready." Zhang Biao sighed to himself, gave a slight bow to the old monk who was sitting in meditation, and then turned around and left.

  Just as Yin Chang was leading the Goshha with a stern expression, carrying machine guns and suppressing the new military officers and soldiers in the barracks, on the opposite bank of the Mule River, less than two miles from Huangni Port Town, on a hillside, beside a clump of shrubs, several people wearing yellow straw cloaks were crawling in the dry grass, holding binoculars in their hands, carefully observing every detail in Huangni Port Town.

  Zhao Bei took out the straw that had been chewed to a pulp from his mouth, holding up the telescope and saying to Wu Zhenhan beside him: "It seems that the Qing army's formation has been disrupted, their tents are in disarray, soldiers are scattered all over the town and outside, flying around like headless flies, and it appears that the officers can no longer control their subordinates."

  "Strange? How did the troops mess up on their own? Even if the Jiangsu New Army is a mere facade, isn't the Hubei New Army known as the 'Flying Tiger Troops'? Their discipline has always been strict." Wu Zhenhan was somewhat perplexed.

  "No wonder. There were also revolutionary organizations in the Hubei New Army, and there were soldiers who tended to revolutionize, but for now, the Restoration Society did not have a strong influence, they heard about the news of the Anqing Uprising, I'm sure they were inspired. Maybe it was them who caused all this." Zhao Bei said very affirmatively. According to historical records, after the Anqing Artillery Camp Uprising, the revolutionary party members in the Hubei New Army had already prepared to respond, but because the Anqing Uprising failed quickly, they did not launch an attack. However, now with Zhao Bei's intervention, the Anqing Uprising succeeded, and it is likely that the revolutionary party members in the Hubei New Army were encouraged by this and began to implement their plans.

  In the history familiar to Zhao Bei, due to the rebel army's prolonged failure to capture Anqing City, it gave the Qing army a chance to counterattack. On the third day of the uprising, the new autumn exercise troops who rushed to suppress the uprising had already arrived in the western suburbs of Anqing. If the rebel army had not retreated at that time, they might have been caught in a pincer movement by the Qing army.

  However, things are different now. Since Anqing City has fallen into the hands of the rebels, the telegraph lines have been cut off, and the command center of the Anhui Qing army has been completely disrupted. As a result, not only has the momentum of the rebellion increased greatly, but even the Qing army units participating in the autumn maneuvers did not receive orders to reinforce Anqing. This is the "butterfly effect" brought about by the time traveler.

  History is rewritten bit by bit, and perhaps the butterfly's wings are insignificant, but they can stir up a storm. This storm will sweep away everything with destructive power, bringing new vitality to this ancient nation and changing the face of this era.

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