The First Hero of the Conquest of the City in Chapter Four

  The sound of gunfire continued, but it had become much more sparse. Flames shot up into the sky both inside and outside the city, and Anqing City was a scene of utter devastation.

  On the night of November 19, 1908, after a fierce battle that lasted half the night, with the assistance of the rebels within the city, the 31st Mixed Brigade of Anhui New Army and the Hui Gang armed forces, totaling over 3,000 people, finally broke into Anqing City, occupying the arsenal, bombarding the old military camp with cannons, defeating the Qing army that was several times larger than them, driving them out of the city, and successfully joining forces with the rebel troops at the Provincial Governor's Office.

  With the flames soaring into the sky, amidst the artillery fire of the revolutionary army, Anqing City declared its liberation!

  History has been rewritten at this moment!

  Just as the commander-in-chief of the uprising, Xiong Chengji, and his staff were discussing plans to pursue the Qing army, the deputy commander of the 62nd battalion, Zhao Bei, led his men in a hurry to pick up rifles and bullets on the streets.

  These bullets were abandoned by the defeated soldiers of the patrol team as they fled, whole boxes and cases scattered all over the streets along several main roads in the city. This caused some hoodlums to covet them, and after the gunfire in the city died down, these people rushed out to grab the bullets. Some of them, after getting their hands on weapons, immediately revealed their true nature, going from store to store, robbing shops, and if the owners showed any resistance, they were shot dead on the spot. What's even more infuriating is that these people, taking advantage of the chaos, actually called themselves "revolutionary warriors", seriously tarnishing the reputation of the revolutionary army and causing panic among the city's residents.

  For these scoundrels who usurped the fruits of revolution, Zhao Bei was ruthless and emotionless. He dispatched his subordinates to search and attack in units of sheds and rows along several main streets. Anyone not wearing military uniforms but holding firearms would be disarmed on the spot; those who dared to resist would be shot dead!

  After two hours of mopping up, Zhao Bei's troops had killed more than 200 armed bandits, seized over 500 guns, tens of thousands of bullets, and two cannons. They also closely cooperated with the insurgent troops arriving from outside the city, successfully ending the state of anarchy within the city. Amidst the revolutionary flames and smoke, the "Revolutionary Government of the Chinese Restoration Army" was declared established, and the appointment documents for officials at all levels were immediately issued.

  When Wu Zhenhan handed over the appointment letter to Zhao Bei, this newcomer who had just arrived in this era was already exhausted, but on that smoky black face, he wore a smile like the warriors.

  "Oh? Appoint me as the Left Wing Commander?" Zhao Bei held the appointment letter, feeling quite surprised. When leading the uprising, he hadn't thought much about getting promoted or rich, let alone that there were not only Xiong Chengji leading the uprising, but also five or six "liaison officers" and "activists" from the Democratic Party, plus those officials who had been infected with the Jianghu gang's ideology. Even if the revolution succeeded, this official position would probably not be his turn to take as a person with an unclear background.

  "Wasn't it because of that bomb of yours?" Wu Zhenhan smiled. "Before you threw the bomb, the rebel army had been lurking outside the city for half a moment, seeing that the internal response did not seize the gate, Commander Xiong was anxious and hesitant about whether to order a strong attack, but the city gate was blown into the sky, our military morale suddenly rose. Commander Xiong himself said that this is called 'one bomb decides the fate of the world'! If it weren't for that bomb you threw, who knows if we could have entered the city?"

  As soon as he thought of the "mobile phone bomb" that almost blew himself up, Zhao Bei felt a little frightened. He retracted the smile at the corner of his mouth and looked at the appointment letter again, asking: "Did you tell Commander Xiong about me throwing the bomb? Do others have any opinions on this appointment?"

  "I have already told Commander Xiong and the officials at the Huoyao Warehouse about this matter in detail. They all said that it was heaven's blessing and divine assistance, otherwise, this uprising would probably end in failure. So when Commander Xiong mentioned your appointment, no one else had anything to say. After all, you are the first hero of the broken city, only a few leaders of the Hui Party were dissatisfied, they said that you killed their subordinates and could not command the righteous army." Wu Zhenhan said.

  "Ah? Those robbers indeed have people from the Huì party!" Zhao Bei slightly shook his head, earlier he had heard reports from his subordinates that several robbers who were caught refused to surrender, claiming they were the "Righteous Army" of the Huì party from outside the city. The soldiers naturally wouldn't be polite, and after a round of gunfire, they fell down in an instant. Now it seems that those few people might have indeed been part of the Huì party's armed forces that entered the city with the external troops.

  "It's not just that, those party members also said you have an unknown background and want Commander Xiong to investigate carefully. But Commander Xiong waved his hand and said 'As long as it's anti-Qing, it's a comrade, use people without suspicion, suspect people don't use!' Besides, if you didn't lead the troops to charge and cut off the telegraph pole, how would the Qing army inside the city collapse? As a result, those people had nothing to say. Now the righteous army has been divided into three routes: left, middle, and right. Commander Xiong is in charge of the middle route, Du Zhixun is in charge of the right wing, and our 62nd battalion is part of the left wing, you are the wing commander."

  "Commander Xiong's trust in Zhao, Zhao has no way to repay, only to fight bravely and recover the entire province as soon as possible, and then conquer Central Plains!" Zhao put away the appointment document, pretending to be a knight who would die for his lord, moved by the frankness of these young revolutionaries, while also regretting their political naivety.

  In the "Xinhai Revolution", among young revolutionaries, there were still many political idealists. Some of them participated in the revolution with the idea of "achieving success and retiring", and immediately retreated after the revolution succeeded. Others used their own blood and even lives to pave the way for those late Qing politicians who were eager to climb up, and also laid the groundwork for the subsequent warlord wars. If these revolutionaries could be more mature politically, China's modern history might have been rewritten.

  Of course, not all revolutionaries are naive and simple-minded. Some people take advantage of the revolutionary trend to successfully promote themselves to high positions, and then they also join the warlords' struggle for power. However, by that time, they are no longer revolutionaries.

  The soil of China in this era is more suitable for nurturing warlords than pure revolutionaries.

  "Now that I've crossed over into this era, let me change all of this." Zhao Bei thought to himself.

  Taking the lantern from the soldier, Zhao Bei led Wu Zhenhan into a silk shop that had been looted clean, pointing to the guns and ammunition filling the room, saying: "If we expand our army immediately, relying on these picked-up guns and ammunition, we can at least add several hundred more people. Moreover, we also picked up two big cannons, although they are old, but still intact, with about 200-300 cannonballs."

  "Commander Xiong's intention is that we must expand our troops to 20,000 men before dawn. The arsenal has a total of over 20,000 various types of quick-firing guns, the military equipment is sufficient, but there are not enough people. Adding the continuous influx of Hui gang members, at present we only have more than 5,000 people." Wu Zhenhan furrowed his brow.

  "The Hui party is unreliable, and the green skin gang in the city is even more untrustworthy. Troops are valuable for their quality, not their quantity. Although we have taken Anqing now, the enemy is numerous and we are few, and Anqing is adjacent to the Yangtze River, where gunboats can come and go easily. If they use the big guns on the boats to bombard the city, we can only passively take a beating. In my opinion, our best strategy now is not to defend the city, but to withdraw from the city with our troops and ammunition! We should make a direct attack on the sparsely defended northern Anhui, or move westward, where there are many mountains and forests, and the people are brave and fierce. Perhaps we can create an opportunity there, wherever the people are suffering, that's where we'll go." said Zhao Bei.

  "Go to drill the mountain? I'm afraid it's not suitable. Commander Xiong's intention is that these 200,000 people will be divided into three routes. After annihilating the Qing army's defeated soldiers outside the city, our army will take one route to attack Jixian Pass in the north, cutting off the retreat of the Jiangsu Ninth Town New Army and inducing them to rebel, while covering another route to attack the troops in Jiangning, and Commander Xiong himself will sit in the city, planning the overall situation. In this way, I'm afraid these 200,000 people are also not enough."

  "Of course, it's not enough! Although the 9th Division of Jiangsu New Army is currently participating in the autumn maneuvers at Taihu Lake, it does not mean that the defense of Jiangning City is empty. Don't forget, besides the new army, there are also the patrol battalion and the fake Qing dynasty's Wan Yujiang Defense Army in Pukou, these troops cannot be moved, they are just a stone's throw away from Jiangning, will be our greatest enemy." Zhao Beimi felt uneasy, now with few soldiers in the city, it's uncertain whether we can even defend the city, yet we still want to divide our forces and attack Nanjing in the south, the revolutionary party's idea of seeking quick success is indeed too serious.

  Historically, the "Anqing Horse Cannon Camp Uprising" was not successful, so the planned attack on Nanjing was not implemented. However, the situation has now changed due to Zhao Bei's intervention, and this uprising has at least achieved partial success, changing the course of history. If the uprising command had insisted on attacking Nanjing at this time, even without historical experience to summarize, Zhao Bei could have foreseen the inevitable failure.

  The problem is not only the various Qing army troops besieging along the way, but also the lack of ships for the insurgent army. Anqing is adjacent to the Yangtze River and is located upstream of Nanjing, hundreds of miles away. The best way to transport troops is by boat. If they march on foot, it will take at least five or six days to reach the city of Nanjing, and by that time, Nanjing City will be heavily guarded, making it impossible to attack. After all, in this era, there is a new gadget called "wireless telegraph", and the insurgent army's every move will be summarized by the Qing army along the way, making it not difficult to judge the main direction of the attack.

  Anqing is located on the north bank of the Yangtze River, originally an important commercial port in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and a strategic location controlling the Yangtze River waterway. Because it is situated upstream of Nanjing, whoever wants to capture Nanjing must first capture Anqing. During the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom period, there were several bloody battles between the Taiping Army and the Xiang Army over control of this important stronghold, which was known as "killing people filled the city". After the war ended, Anqing was desolate for hundreds of miles around, but later with the influx of outsiders, the city gradually regained some vitality. Relying on the hard work of the Chinese people and convenient transportation conditions, it once again became a bustling commercial port in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, where merchants and traders thronged and sails were set up everywhere. Along the riverbank, there were originally many large and small ships docked, which were very suitable for transporting troops. However, when the city's patrol camp was defeated and retreated from the south gate, they plundered all the ships along the river and set fire to those that could not be taken away. The flames burning fiercely on the riverbank illuminated half of the sky, and even now they have not been extinguished. Therefore, it is impossible for the rebel army to move troops by ship again.

  When he learned that the ships by the river had been burned, Zhao Bei knew that the plan to attack Nanjing was absolutely impossible to implement again, and defending a lonely city was not worth it. In Zhao Bei's view, the National Party's choice of timing for the uprising was very inappropriate, compared with the "Xinhai Revolution" which should have broken out three years later, this Anqing Uprising had three congenital deficiencies:

  First, on the eve of the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, due to poor agricultural harvests and the resulting soaring grain prices, there were multiple peasant uprisings in Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, and other places. The Xiang Party and the Huai Party both participated in these uprisings. Some troops from the New Army were dispatched by the Qing court to suppress the uprisings. Ordinary soldiers who came from poor backgrounds witnessed the corruption of the imperial court with their own eyes and felt the suffering of the people deeply, which prepared public opinion and popular sentiment for the full-scale outbreak of the revolution. As soon as the sound of gunfire from the Wuchang revolutionary army was heard, there was an immediate response from all sides. However, this is one of the innate conditions that the Anqing uprising lacked. Although it cannot be said that everything went smoothly, neither soldiers nor civilians were driven to desperation by the imperial court. As long as they had enough food to eat, very few people would risk their lives to rebel. To expect a response from all sides and for the people to follow like shadows seems somewhat unrealistic.

  Secondly, the Xinhai Revolution was initiated by the New Army and responded to by many Qing troops, half of which was due to the agitation of the people's party, while the other half was due to the reduction and unjust delay of military pay. This was not only true for the Hubei army but also for armies in other provinces, whether they were new or old, most of whom faced the problem of delayed military pay. At that time, the Qing dynasty's finances had already reached a point of exhaustion. Therefore, rather than saying that the Xinhai Revolution was an innovative uprising, it would be more accurate to say that it was a mutiny triggered by discontent over military pay, at least in its early stages. This is also what the Anhui Uprising lacked. At least within the city of Anqing, military pay was still being distributed in full, which can be verified by the number of troops participating in the uprising - the total number of officers and men in the temporary 31st Mixed Brigade was over 4,400, but only about 2,000 actively participated in the revolution. The old army, led by the Patrol Battalion, hardly defected to the revolution en masse, at least not from the perspective of the old soldiers, who felt that the imperial court had not yet reached a point of "heavenly wrath and human resentment".

  Finally, the Xinhai Revolution was able to quickly evolve from a military mutiny into a full-scale revolution that swept across various provinces because the "Constitutionalists" who had pinned their hopes on the imperial court shifted their allegiance. For various reasons, many high-ranking officials were also sympathizers and supporters of the Constitutionalists. Therefore, after the Qing court's farcical "Imperial Family Cabinet" was established, the Constitutionalists completely lost hope and began to reach a certain tacit understanding with the revolutionaries. When they discovered that the imperial court had become extremely weak, they decisively joined the "revolution". This is precisely the greatest congenital deficiency of the Anhui Uprising - without the simultaneous uprisings in various provinces, it would be difficult for a single province to shake the foundations of Qing rule. "No revolution in the era of rear-loading guns", without divisions and disintegration within the ruling group, revolution cannot succeed. The current "Constitutionalists" are eagerly awaiting the imperial court's grant of a "Constitutional Assembly". At least for now, they do not support revolution because revolution means war, means the collapse of the old order, means the redivision of the cake of interests - this is not what they want to see.

  It is said that "the times create heroes", and by moving with the times, one can achieve twice the results with half the effort.

  In textbook terms, the current social situation can be summed up as "the revolutionary moment has not yet fully ripened".

  As a traverser, Zhao Bei deeply believes in this conclusion and does not intend to forcibly resist the "trend" at least for now. Revolution has never been an accidental impulse, to succeed, it requires long-term planning, meticulous preparation, and must be prepared to fight repeatedly.

  "Let's go and visit Commander Xiong. I have a suggestion that I'd like to discuss with him."

  Zhao Bei assembled his troops and left some people to guard the arsenal, then immediately went with Wu Zhanhan's troops towards the Provincial Governor's Mansion.

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