Chapter Thirteen: Thunderclap in the Southern Skies

  Tian Jinfu's brief introduction caused a stir in this small winery, with some people getting so excited that they accidentally broke a wine jar, filling the entire room with the fragrance of wine.

  "Anqing Uprising Army!"

  Everyone stood up and stared at these three soldiers in surprise.

  "Are you the rebels from Anqing? Talk is cheap." Yang Wangpeng was more cautious.

  Tian Jin Fu smiled slightly and placed the pouch in his hand on the table, lightly pouring out its contents.

  "Bang bang......"

  In the midst of a dull thud, dozens of bright and shiny rifle bullets rolled out from the holster onto the table, dazzling everyone's eyes.

  "Bullet!" Deng Gang stretched out his hand, picked up a rifle bullet, stuffed the head of the bullet into his mouth, bit it with his teeth, and twisted it hard. The head of the bullet came off, the shell hit the table, and the flake-like gunpowder fell down.

  "This bullet can be used! Don't worry." Tian Jinfu patted Deng Gang's shoulder, took out a revolver from his waist and put it on the table, saying: "We sneaked into the camp early this morning, but we didn't find you, so we took advantage of the daytime to bring over more than 5,000 bullets in batches. In addition, there are also more than 50 earth bombs. Although the ammunition is a bit less, it's not enough for a battle, but it's enough to launch an uprising. When our Anqing New Army launched the uprising, each soldier had only a few bullets on average."

  "Not only that, they also have two mountain guns set up on the mountain, ready to fire at us at any time." said Zhang Licheng, a soldier of the 21st Mixed Brigade.

  "Mountain cannon? How many of you are there in total? Can't we just launch a direct attack on the Imperial Commissioner's Office?" Yang Wangpeng asked anxiously.

  Tian Jin shook his head and said, "We have over 500 people here, but half of them are new recruits. We can't launch a full-scale attack, so we'll just provide cover fire from the outside to support you. Our plan is to coordinate with your troops inside and out, attacking from all sides. Revolution can't be done by relying on others; it's crucial to rely on ourselves. To be honest, during the Anqing Uprising the other day, if our vanguard officer hadn't launched a decisive attack within the city, charging left and right, we probably wouldn't have even taken the city gate, let alone liberated Anqing. This time, the one leading us to contact your unit is that very same vanguard officer. With him here, I believe our uprising won't fail."

  "What's your detailed plan?" Yang Wangpeng asked while distributing ammunition to the crowd. With these bullets, everyone's morale was immediately boosted a lot, and the previous disagreement naturally disappeared. Now they only had one thought in their minds, which was to load these bullets into the gun chamber and shoot them into the officer's chest to avenge their dead comrades.

  "First, the first shot of the uprising will be fired by you, and once it is launched, we must first attack the Qing army's central forces, killing or capturing the Qing commander-in-chief, making sure that the Qing army falls into a state of leaderlessness; second, the transport ships docked in the harbor will be taken over or destroyed by our side from Anqing, if they can be smoothly captured, you immediately dispatch reliable troops to take over and distribute guns and ammunition; third, after the uprising, we must immediately cut off the telegraph lines of each camp, disrupting their deployment; fourth, you now immediately send out comrades who have already been exposed, but not to Anqing, rather back to Wuchang, to contact the Hubei New Army's Eighth Division troops left in Wuchang city, preparing to respond to the uprising and letting the flames of revolution burn everywhere..."

  Tian Jinfu recounted the details that Zhao Bei had entrusted to him, and added some of his own insights. Yang Wangpeng and others listened carefully, and immediately proposed several suggestions for improvement. Tian Jinfu agreed to go back and discuss with Zhao Bei. Considering the convenience of communication between the two sides, at the time of the uprising, a field telephone line should be set up first, and the iron bridge on the river should be controlled. The wire would be pulled from the Qing army's camp to the mountain ridge on the other side, where Zhao Bei could command the overall situation from a high vantage point.

  "Please, Your Excellency, be sure to convey our gratitude to Director Zhao. If the uprising is successful, Director Zhao will indeed be the first meritorious official." Yang Wangpeng stood outside the door, at attention and saluted respectfully, saying to Tian Jingfu.

  Tian Jinfu returned the gift, handing over his own left-handed revolver to Yang Wangpeng, saying: "Remember the agreed signal, five shots will be fired, and my troops will immediately bombard the Qing army. This revolver is given to you, anti-Qing revolution, establishment of the Republic, it has always been our wish, Brother Yang need not be polite, when the revolution succeeds one day, Tian Mou will definitely raise a glass with Brother Yang to celebrate!"

  Then, Tian Jinfu and others took advantage of the night to quickly sneak out of Huangni Port Town, sneaked back to the mountain ridge on the other side of the river from upstream, and reported the liaison situation to Zhao Bei.

  "Comrades." Yang Wangpeng shut the door, placing the revolver on the table with a serious expression. "The revolution is now! I have decided that except for those comrades who have already clearly exposed themselves, everyone else will immediately return to their respective units and distribute bullets to soldiers who are willing to join the revolution - those who usually get along with you or have conflicts with their superiors are our potential comrades. When the time comes and the gunshot sounds, each unit will take action upon hearing the order. The comrades from the Guangzhou Revolutionary Party must charge forward! As for those military officers who dare to resist the revolutionary tide, they will be shot dead without exception, but do not kill indiscriminately. Did everyone hear clearly?"

  "We hear you loud and clear!" The crowd responded in unison.

  "Alright! It's now 7:50. Around 9:30, I'll fire the shot, and after five shots, we'll immediately launch the uprising! Then, as previously agreed, each of you will take your assigned position, and I'll lead the main force to attack the Central Military Headquarters." Yang Wangpeng took out his pocket watch.

  ……

  Just as the revolutionaries of the Gongzhicheng Society were plotting to overthrow the Qing dynasty, a Qing naval gunboat flying the dragon flag on the Yangtze River outside Anqing City had completed the installation of its wireless telegraph antenna. A spark-gap wireless telegraph machine borrowed from a British warship was also set up. With the arrival of several British telegraph officers, the telegraph machine's striking key began to strike the base plate, conducting a few minutes of communication testing. Soon it made contact with a British ship hundreds of miles away. Then, with the help of manual relay function, it established contact with the radio station of the Beiyang Telegraph School in Tianjin. At that time, the wireless telegraph machine's communication distance was not far, and to conduct long-distance communication, several telegraph machines had to be used for relaying.

  "Tick-tock... tick-tock..." The blond-haired, blue-eyed British telegraph officer was intently tapping out a Morse code message.

  A document clerk from Anhui's provincial capital stood in front of the telegraph machine, accompanied by a naval officer, holding a telegram drafted personally by Anhui's governor Zhu Jiabao. With the help of an interpreter, he dictated the contents to the telegraph operator, who translated it into cipher and then transmitted it via Morse code.

  The guilty minister Zhu Jiabao knocks his head to report. In the autumn of many national events, the small and evil people jumped up and down, selling their cleverness. The previous night, a part of the new army stationed outside Anqing City's Ma Mountain suddenly rioted, firing cannons at the city gate, one cannon blew up the north gate, the rebel army led thousands of people to swarm into the city, occupying the arsenal, and placing large cannons in front of the arsenal, bombarding various military camps in the city. The huge shells flew horizontally in the city, and the soldiers and civilians were not distinguished from each other. My official residence was also blown up, and the government offices such as the Official Money Bureau and the Director's Office were also burned by the rebels, all turned to ashes.

  The defeated minister led his troops to fight against them for a long time, but unfortunately, the reinforcements were not timely, and the ammunition was lost. The morale of the army was shaken, and after fighting until the next day, they finally could not hold on. The defeated minister himself was wounded twice and had no choice but to withdraw from Anqing at dawn the next day, seize boats to cross the river, and set up a large camp on the south bank of the Yangtze River, facing off against the rebel army across the river. Later, he learned that Admiral Chen Congzhou led gunboats to blockade the river, burning thousands of small and large civilian ships along the riverbank to block the rebels' attempt to cross the river. He also sent personnel to secretly cross the river to the north to recruit the remaining troops in Jiangbei. However, the various armies in Jiangbei were weak and outnumbered, and yesterday they had already been defeated by the rebel army, with some killed or dispersed, and not a single soldier managed to cross the Yangtze River to the south. The two banks of Anqing were greatly shaken, and the Huizhou people were eager to move, while the hearts of the gentry and civilians were in turmoil. The defeated minister's large camp on the south bank was also on the verge of being pulled into chaos and dispersal, but fortunately, the defeated minister remained calm and steady in the camp, and it did not completely disperse.

  At this critical moment, I am aware of the country's laws and regulations, and I do not dare to conceal any dereliction of duty. However, the rebel army has removed all the telegraph poles inside and outside the city, and the telegraph is not working. As a result, I was unable to report in time, until today, when I borrowed a wireless telegraph machine from the British naval vessel and set it up on the gunboat, using foreign ships to relay the message. Here is a brief account of what happened and my handling of the situation:

  ……

  The guilty minister knows that his handling was improper and cannot avoid blame. He had originally wanted to die once to fulfill the king's affairs, but thinking of the heavy trust placed in him by the imperial court, he can only wear the crime on his head and await the imperial court's disposition.

  Currently, apart from dispatching cavalry to rush and attack the rebels at night, the most important thing is to deploy naval gunboats with large cannons to bombard the rebel forces within the city. However, this matter is of great importance, and Anqing City has a mix of merchants and civilians, as well as foreign consulates. I, the guilty official, dare not give the order to bombard the city, lest innocent civilians be injured. If that were to happen, I would not only be ashamed before the Emperor's grace but also lose face in front of the people of Jiangdong when we return triumphantly. Additionally, the Taihu Autumn Drill New Army has impressive combat strength and should be quickly deployed to Anqing to attack the rebels from both sides.

  Whatever comes and goes, I will follow the clear instructions.

  Traitor Zhu Jiabao. Raise.

  ……

  Soon, the "Nourishing Electricity" telegram sent by Zhu Jiabao, the governor of Anhui, was transmitted through wireless telegraph and became the most direct and powerful evidence of the uprising of the new army in Anqing, which was then spread to the Forbidden City of the Qing Empire. Then, through various channels, it quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys of Beijing, whether it was high-ranking officials or ordinary people, they all knew what had happened in that southern city. The rumors of the past two days had become a reality, and the news of Anqing's recovery was like a thunderclap, shaking everyone's normal life.

  This stagnant and ancient empire has finally shown a ripple, with people of all kinds casting their eyes to the south, eagerly wanting to know how this turmoil will develop and what impact it will have on their own fate.

  Whether people like it or not, a revolutionary era has arrived.

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