Chapter Twelve: Secret Conference

  The last ray of sunlight on the horizon gradually disappeared, and Huangni Port Town finally quieted down. Except for patrolling soldiers, almost no one was seen on the streets. Not only did the soldiers return to their barracks, but also the townspeople closed their doors tightly, not going out unless necessary.

  When the last ray of light disappeared, the barracks outside the town were completely shrouded in darkness, and the entire valley was suffocatingly quiet, with an oppressive atmosphere that made it hard to breathe. Occasionally, a few barks of dogs could be heard, but they were quickly suppressed by the oppressive atmosphere.

  After a whole day of suppression, the soldiers of Hubei New Army's 11th Mixed Brigade and Jiangsu New Army's 9th Brigade had temporarily restored order and discipline. Most people had returned to their respective barracks, with only a few still wandering outside the camp. Their vigilant eyes would occasionally sweep over, sometimes lingering for a moment on the heads hanging from the trees, before quickly moving away with a hint of hatred.

  To intimidate the soldiers, Vice Minister Yin Chang did not hesitate to kill, leading the guards to capture hundreds of rioting soldiers in one breath, killing half of them and hanging their heads on the treetops as a warning. Under this terrifying high pressure, although the soldiers restored discipline, their inner hatred became even stronger.

  Not every soldier was intimidated by this external strong and internal weak madness. At the time when Duan Fang and Yin Chang were toasting each other with fine wine, in a small tavern on the outskirts of Huangni Gang Town, a tense military meeting was being held.

  The meeting was attended by dozens of soldiers from the 41st Regiment of the 21st Mixed Brigade of the Hubei New Army, all of whom were members of the "Qunzhi Xueshe" (Mass Self-Government Study Society). The leader was Yang Wangpeng, a native of Hunan who had been a scholar. A few years ago, when the Qing court abolished the imperial examination system, he lost his path to advancement and his source of income was cut off. He had no choice but to join the new army in Hunan as a soldier. After being dismissed for spreading revolutionary ideas, he could not make a living in Hunan and ran to Hubei, where he joined the Hubei New Army under an assumed name and continued to spread revolutionary ideas. There were many people like him who had new ideas but were full of grievances and wandered around the world. Many of them joined the new army, which made the Qing court vigilant and issue a decree that "natives should guard their native land", prohibiting each province's new army from recruiting soldiers from other provinces. However, in an era where things were hidden from superiors but not from inferiors, this regulation became a mere formality, and there were many outsiders in each province's new army, especially in the Hubei New Army.

  Many members of the Gongzhixue She were not from Hubei, but relied on personal connections and backdoor approaches to join the Hubei New Army, making it a hotbed of revolutionary activity in the late Qing period.

  The news of the successful uprising in Anqing spread among the troops the night before last. At first, people were skeptical, but soon they firmly believed it because from the flustered appearance of high-ranking military officers, something major must have happened in Anqing; otherwise, Duanfang and Yinchang would not be so anxious. Judging from their series of small actions, the scale of the Anqing uprising was not small; otherwise, these Manchu officials would not be so tense.

  The atmosphere of the meeting was very heavy, the "Three Cannon" cigarette case on the table had been emptied, and the whole room was filled with smoke. People were smoking one after another, but they couldn't taste any flavor.

  No one spoke now, the earlier dispute had left everyone with a burning heart, and due to serious disagreements on whether to continue responding to the uprising according to the original plan, the meeting was facing an impasse.

  "The Qunzhixue She" was a secret anti-Qing organization within the Hubei New Army. As early as during the Russo-Japanese War, a "Scientific Supplement School" had been established in the Hubei New Army to carry out secret anti-Qing activities. Later, it was replaced by the "Rikai Club", which was led by Liu Jing'an. Although it did not receive direct leadership from the Tongmenghui, it highly approved of its principles. However, due to the poor planning of the Tongmenghui during the Ping-Liue Rebellion in Hunan two years ago, the Rikai Club was implicated and forced to disband, with Liu Jing'an also being imprisoned. The revolutionary forces within the Hubei New Army were temporarily suppressed, until recently when the "Qunzhixue She" was announced to be established, continuing to engage in anti-Qing revolutionary activities. Learning from the lessons of the Rikai Club, the Qunzhixue She decided not to easily accept military officers joining, and instead focused its attention on mobilizing soldiers. Therefore, currently, except for one company officer (company commander) who is their sympathizer, most members of the society are ordinary soldiers.

  Originally, according to the plan made yesterday, the Gongzhixue She was going to take advantage of the successful uprising in Anqing and instigate the Hubei New Army to change its allegiance, declare an uprising on the spot, and then drag the Jiangsu New Army's Ninth Division into responding to the revolutionary comrades in Anqing. With one mind, they would march towards Anqing and coordinate with the insurgent army there. For this purpose, the Gongzhixue She risked exposing itself entirely and began to secretly mobilize and agitate among the Autumn Maneuver New Army troops, using their common hometowns, schools, or even Triad connections to link up with soldiers and low-ranking officers in various units and instigate them to rise up.

  However, with the bloody suppression by Yin Chang and others, the new army soldiers who had been somewhat restless were immediately intimidated, and the good situation was about to be lost. As the saying goes, "Opportunities are fleeting, and timing is everything." If they couldn't seize this opportunity to launch a rebellion, who could guarantee that the next opportunity would be better?

  For this reason, Yang Wangpeng urgently convened this plenary meeting. Although the number of people attending was less than half of the total number, two different opinions emerged, with Yang Wangpeng's faction insisting on continuing the original uprising plan, seeking life in death, and launching a surprise attack at night. The other faction believed that the current morale and military spirit had been lost, and it was not advisable to make light moves, but rather continue to lurk in the army, and as for those comrades who had already been exposed, they should retreat overnight and go to Anqing to participate in the uprising. Due to the two factions having different views, the meeting reached a stalemate.

  Yang Wangpeng threw away the cigarette butt in his hand, stepped on it hard with his foot, and adjusted the lamp on the table to make it darker. He cleared his throat and said: "Gentlemen, we can't hesitate any longer. The Hubei New Army is unstable, and there are Tongmenghui cadres inciting unrest within the army. The Jiangsu Ninth Garrison is also in a state of turmoil. Many officers in this garrison graduated from the Anqing Military Academy, and they have close relationships with the Anqing New Army officers who launched the uprising in Anqing. Duanfang and Yin Chang are afraid that the Ninth Garrison will respond to the Anqing New Army, so they treat them as sworn enemies. The Ninth Garrison has been disarmed, even their bayonets were taken away. Now they're all holding back their breath. Yesterday, they even sent someone over to communicate with us, and their military morale can be used. As long as we take action, the Jiangsu New Army will definitely make a move."

  "We have too few people, I'm afraid it's useless. It's all because we were too timid at the beginning, and after the incident, we didn't dare to take action for a whole year. If our society had been established a year earlier, things wouldn't be like this now. At least, we could have controlled some troops in the eighth town." Zhang Yukun sighed from his seat in the corner.

  "Now let's talk about those useless people! The problem is that Yin Chang, that scoundrel, has a strong murderous intent, and also has Duan Fang backing him up. The Banner people are all of the same mind, opposing the revolution. We don't even have bullets in our hands, and wanting to go against them would be beyond our power. I still insist on my opinion, adapting to changing circumstances, those who should continue hiding should keep hiding, those who have already been exposed should hurry to Anqing. No matter where they go, it's all for the sake of revolution, why must we take such a risk?" said Zhong Qi from another corner.

  "I think the situation in Anqing is extremely critical, as the city is located on the Yangtze River and the Qing army's gunboats can come and go freely. If they use their large cannons to attack from the boats, Anqing will definitely be unable to withstand it. Therefore, I think we should either immediately launch an uprising to support Anqing or immediately disperse and return to our respective camps to preserve our revolutionary forces and wait for an opportunity. In short, we cannot hesitate like this, as every minute of delay puts the comrades of the Gongzhishuyuan in greater danger. I just counted, among those over 200 people, at least a dozen are from the Gongzhishuyuan, all of whom were liaising with various camps. Yesterday, we were still discussing the great cause of revolution against the Qing, but now they have already been separated by life and death." Another official of the society, Deng Gang, spoke up, then raised his hand to wipe away a tear from the corner of his eye.

  Yang Wang Peng hesitated for a moment, patted the table, but found that there was no more smoke. He coughed and stood up, just about to speak, when he suddenly heard the tightly closed shop door creaking several times.

  Everyone was shocked, and they all took out the daggers they carried with them, grasping them in their hands. If it were Qing soldiers coming to capture people, they would fight to the death, destroying everything.

  The knock on the door was rhythmic, four long and five short.

  "It's one of us!" Yang Wangpeng walked to the back door and asked in a low voice: "Who is it?"

  "It is I, Pan Kangshi (courtesy name Zhaoru)." The man outside the door replied.

  "Is it Officer Pan?" Yang Wangpeng and the others were stunned. This Pan Kangshi was currently the only high-ranking military officer in the Guanzhi Xueshe, serving as the platoon leader of the 1st Battalion, 41st Regiment, Left Platoon. Yang Wangpeng was his secretary officer, and it was under his protection that the Guanzhi Xueshe had been able to develop rapidly in a short period of time.

  Yang Wang Peng hesitated for a moment before opening the door, only to see Pan Kang and several others standing outside, all dressed in civilian attire and unarmed.

  "Zhang Licheng? Where did you go? I thought you were also sacrificed..." Yang Wangpeng saw the person behind Pan Kang clearly, but when his eyes turned, he found that the other three people were strangers, and suddenly became vigilant. "Who are they?"

  "Let's talk inside." Pan Kang stepped across the threshold and the others followed.

  Yang Wang Peng closed the gate and added a few more people to go out and keep watch, only then did he turn back to the table, carefully sizing up the three strangers.

  "My name is Tian Jinfu, an officer of the Anqing Uprising Army. These two are my subordinates. We came from Anqing to invite you to join the uprising!" One of the young men with a square face introduced himself in a bold manner.