Chapter 24: Wind and Rain in Jiucheng (Part 1)

  The cold wind is biting, and the leaden gray sky can't see a thread of brightness.

  It is now four o'clock in the afternoon, but the river surface is dark and gloomy, with extremely blurred visibility. The waves on the river are very high, and several small wooden boats are tossing about at the windward wave crest, as if they might capsize at any moment. The few red flags held up on the boat are particularly eye-catching, fluttering in the wind, all pointing towards the southern bank of the Yangtze River.

  Zhao Bei stood by the river, holding a pair of German-made binoculars, taking in the scenery on the river's surface.

  Behind him stood a row of solemn military officers, all holding binoculars and carefully observing the movements on the river. Although it was very dark and they couldn't see the details on the opposite bank, they could still guess the chaotic scene over there.

  In the distance, a "rumble rumble" sound of artillery fire came, and with each shot, the dark sky on the other side would flash with a burst of light. Then, the sky would transmit a rumbling sound like a speeding train. That was the Jinjifeng Battery on the other side firing at us from afar. The shells flew over the Yangtze River, tearing through the air and producing a loud roar. However, due to lack of proper guidance, the shells flew aimlessly in all directions, exploding loudly on the north bank of the river but posing no threat to the insurgent army.

  After two days of rapid march, Zhao Bei led the insurgent army westward, passing through Taihu, Susong, and Huangmei, entering Hubei Province. To cover their tracks, the insurgents hid their Iron Blood Republican flag and raised the Qing military banner instead. Along the way, they destroyed telegraph poles to disrupt Qing communication. When encountering isolated garrison camps, they disarmed the old army and forced them to retreat. However, when passing through county towns, they bypassed them without attacking. Upon arriving at Huangmei County, they immediately turned southward, swiftly advancing towards Xiaohekou, a crucial ferry crossing on the Yangtze River. They defeated the defending patrol troops, occupying this strategic location, and faced Jiujang City across the river. The Battle of Jiujang was imminent.

  Xiaopikou is located at the northern bank of Yangtze River where three provinces meet, with Anhui to its east, Hubei to its west and Jiangxi to its south.

  The reason why they did not directly attack Wuhan was twofold: Firstly, Jiujiang City is strategically located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, where the river is narrow and controls the navigation route. Since ancient times, it has been a place that military strategists must contend for. By occupying Jiujiang, they could cut off the Yangtze River navigation route, severing the Qing army's naval communication lines and seizing ships along the river to ensure the smooth advance of their western expeditionary forces. Secondly, recent intelligence revealed that a batch of guns and ammunition had just been transported from Hanyang Arsenal to Jiujiang City and were stored within the city walls, ready for Jiangxi Governor to recruit local militias to defend against the Anqing Revolutionary Army's attack on Jiangxi. After the Huangmipu Uprising, the revolutionary army was severely lacking in rifle bullets; if they could occupy Jiujiang, they would be able to seize those guns and ammunition.

  Apart from this, Zhao Bei also had another intention, which was to test the real combat effectiveness of his troops in the Jiujiang Battle, and at the same time make a gesture of marching south to Guangdong. He made a false move in Jiujiang, mobilized the Qing army, disrupted the Qing court's strategic deployment, and laid the groundwork for advancing into Hubei.

  According to the battle plan, the revolutionary army would launch a surprise attack on Jiujiang City. However, due to the haste of the vanguard troops in launching the attack, they failed to annihilate the defending forces, resulting in some remnants and defeated soldiers escaping across the river. The whereabouts of the insurgent army were exposed, and Jiujiang City fell into a state of panic. The merchant ships that had been anchored in Jiujiang hastily set sail, heading downstream along the southern bank of the Yangtze River to avoid the war. However, some wooden boats sailed northward, voluntarily joining the insurgent army. With the addition of the ships captured and requisitioned by the revolutionary troops when they occupied Xiaopikou, the revolutionary army now had more than 400 large and small wooden boats at their disposal, awaiting Zhao's order to set off.

  "It's cloudy today, looks like it's going to rain." Zhao Bei put down his binoculars and said, gazing up at the sky.

  The officers standing behind him also lifted their heads, looking at the sky, and no one took over. After two days of rapid march, the troops were already very tired. If they couldn't take down Jiujiang City in one go and rest, the morale of the troops would be hit.

  "Is there any news about Zhang Yu Kun?" Zhao Bei asked an aide beside him.

  "Not yet," said the staff officer.

  After the rebel troops left Huangni Port, Zhao Bei sent Zhang Yukun, Lin Shuqing and others to rush to the Yangtze River with Xu Shaobin, the commander of the 9th Division of Jiangsu who agreed to cooperate with the rebel army. They went to instigate the 33rd Battalion of the New Army of Jiangsu stationed there to revolt. According to the agreement, if they succeeded, they would lead the rebel troops to march west along the Yangtze River and meet with the main force at Xiaochikou. If they acted quickly, they might be able to catch up with the Battle of Jiujiang.

  It is now a matter of racing against time, and we must make every effort to capture Hubei before the Qing government assembles its main forces and marches south.

  It seems unlikely now that the 33rd Division will make it in time for the Battle of Nanchang.

  Right across is the Jiangxi territory, as long as they cross the Yangtze River and occupy Jiujiang City, the insurgent troops will be able to sweep through thousands of troops with an aura of dominance over South China. It should be noted that up to now, the Qing court has trained less than 120,000 new troops, more than 70,000 of which are still Yuan Shikai's Beiyang New Army in North China. The total number of new troops in the entire southern region is less than 50,000. After the Anqing Uprising and the Huangni Port Uprising, half of the new troops in the south have turned to the revolution, that is to say, Zhao Bei suddenly emptied half of the Qing court's southern new military power!

  More importantly, most of the Qing army's gunboats on the Yangtze River had been transferred to the lower reaches of the river. The river surface around Jiujiang was quiet and deserted, with only an occasional foreign gunboat passing by, and there were no ships on the river that could threaten the insurgent army.

  A rewritten history, a heroic passion to point at the mountains and rivers was surging in Zhao Bei's chest. He suppressed the excitement on his forehead, handed the telescope to his aide-de-camp, swept a glance at the crowd behind him, and calmly said: "Launch it."

  Bang! Bang!

  Two green signal flares rose into the sky, and the Battle of Nanchang officially began.

  More than 400 wooden ships hoisted their sails, carrying 2,000 assault troops, sailing southward with the north wind, and the field guns mounted on the bow of the ship held their heads high, with the dark mouths of the cannons pointing directly at Jiangnan. At the same time, the artillery positions on the northern shore roared, and the artillery had begun to bombard the southern shore with field guns, providing firepower cover for the landing troops.

  The dark river surface has white sails dotted, gradually dividing into two fleets, one in the upper reaches, responsible for feigning an attack on Jiujiang City, and the other in the lower reaches, they are the main force of the surprise attack, responsible for attacking the Jinji Slope artillery fort.

  According to the intelligence currently available, the Qing army defending Jiujiang is not large. According to the "New Army Regulations" published by the Ministry of War during the late Qing New Policy period, Jiangxi Province should have trained a new army of over 12,000 people, but due to various reasons such as the governor's disobedience and lack of funds, only less than 5,000 people were trained in the whole province of Jiangxi, which is just one brigade. Moreover, most of the troops are reorganized from the old defense battalions, with poor combat effectiveness, and can only deal with the Hui party armed forces. Facing the revolutionary army that is almost fully equipped and manned, the Qing army in Jiangxi is not a match. There are at most 2,000 new army troops in Jiujiang City, and even if the patrol teams are added, the total number will not exceed 4,000 people. The rebel forces have a five-to-one advantage in terms of troop numbers. The only concern for the rebel forces is the heavy fortress cannons on the Golden Rooster Ridge artillery platform, which were used to blockade the Yangtze River waterway and had a long range and great power, making them the biggest obstacle to attacking the city. Therefore, it is necessary to solve the Qing army there first, occupy the artillery platform, and then use the big guns on the artillery platform to bombard the city wall.

  The wind grew colder, mixed with small raindrops hitting the face, and the sky grew darker. This was advantageous for the attacking side, as it effectively blocked the Qing army's artillery line of sight and covered the actions of the troops crossing the river.

  Zhao Bei put on a raincoat with a rubber surface, took over the guard's straw hat, wore it on his head, stood at the riverside with his hands behind his back, gazing at those gradually distant white sails, his emotions surging, his spirit stretching far and wide.

  "The tiger crouches and the dragon coils, today surpassing yesterday. The heavens have turned upside down, and I am filled with emotion." With a satisfied smile, Zhao Bei stole away with one of his poems.

  The chief of staff, Lan Tianwei, was slightly surprised standing beside him. He had intended to take out his notebook and record the commander-in-chief's impromptu poem, but after waiting for half a day, he didn't see the commander-in-chief continue "writing" poetry, so the poem only had two sentences.

  "What a pity, the poem starts with such grandeur, but does it end here?" Blue Sky was deep in thought, looked up and saw General Zhao standing on a huge rock by the river, standing tall against the tide.

  In the misty fine rain, that tall figure forever stayed in everyone's memory.