Chapter Sixty Sleepless Night

  Li Yuanhong's worries were not unreasonable, for at the same time he was bickering with Wang Zanyuan and Lu Yongxiang, a man wearing a patrol uniform and carrying a rifle slipped into the Hubei Steel Medicine Factory on the banks of the Han River under the cover of several soldiers from the Hubei New Army.

  The man disguised as a patrol soldier was none other than Deng Gang of the Qunchu Xueshe. As a former military officer who had been stripped of his rank by the commander-in-chief and was awaiting trial in a military court, he was able to move about freely thanks entirely to Yang Wangpeng's efforts.

  Upon learning of Deng Gang's dismissal by Zhao Bei, Commander Yang Wangpeng personally went to the staff office to plead for leniency. With Blue Sky Wei also interceding and considering the sentiment of the Qunchu Xueshe, Zhao Bei ultimately agreed to let Deng Gang "redeem himself through meritorious service". He was sent to contact the remnants of the Hubei New Army's 8th Division. If he could instigate this Qing army unit to revolt, his punishment would be reduced. If the factory was also protected, he might even avoid court-martial. However, even so, Deng Gang would not be able to return to the Republican Army as a military officer again.

  The Steel Medicine Factory was a subsidiary factory of the Hanyang Arsenal, mainly engaged in steel smelting and gunpowder production. The Qing troops stationed at the Steel Medicine Factory were mostly from the 8th Division of the Hubei New Army. Although these troops had been withdrawn from Wuchang City by the Governor-General of Huguang before the arrival of the Republican Army, several cadres of the Gongzhixue She had secretly returned to Taizi Lake and gone into hiding in the 8th Division. When Zhao Bei led the Republican Army to occupy Wuchang, these revolutionaries immediately contacted the Republican Army through a liaison station and were ordered to continue hiding and waiting for the arrival of the liaison personnel.

  Deng Gang was that liaison officer. His task was simple: to instigate this new army to revolt and coordinate with the Republican Army to attack the Qing army, defend the arsenal and iron factory.

  After the Huanghuagang Uprising, the 8th Division of Hubei New Army was treated unfairly by Qing officials, and there were strong grievances among the soldiers. The cadres of Qunzhixueshe took full advantage of this sentiment to stir up the military, but due to the presence of some banner officers and soldiers in the army, they had not found an opportunity to launch a rebellion. After the Republican Army arrived in Wuhan, they immediately began to mobilize, and the military had already stood on the side of the revolutionaries.

  After the two parties met, they exchanged passwords, chatted briefly, and then got down to business.

  "How is the morale of the troops?" Deng Gang asked.

  "Available!" was his simple reply.

  "How is morale?"

  "Very tall!"

  "What's wrong?"

  "First, there is a lack of ammunition, and the reactionary officers are in control of all the munitions; second, among the troops there are a small number of Manchu battalions with excellent equipment and many eyes and ears, which are the greatest obstacles to the uprising."

  "Ammunition is not a problem, when the time comes, send someone to Longdengdi and there will be people sending bullets over. As for the banner people, as soon as the gun sounds, how can a small fly shake a big tree? The banner people in Wuchang City have surrendered, why should those in Hanyang be any different? But remember, do not kill indiscriminately, this is the commander-in-chief's military order."

  "The commander-in-chief is too soft-hearted."

  "Is he benevolent? On the contrary, he is overbearing and arrogant!"

  "What's the meaning of this?"

  "Alas, it's hard to put into words." Deng Gang rubbed his shoulder and sighed, clearly unwilling to say more. Now he was no longer able to return to the army to serve, and from now on could only be responsible for the daily affairs of the Qunchu Xueshe. For a young man who had thrown himself into the great era, this was simply more painful than being put on trial in a military court. But since Yang Wangpeng had used his own future as guarantee for him, this task absolutely could not fail.

  "Isn't the Commander-in-Chief one of the people from the Tongzhihui?"

  "No! He's a member of the Kuomintang." Deng Gang shook his head, seeming to want to say something but ultimately remaining silent. After giving some careful instructions, he changed into military uniform and left the steel factory with dozens of soldiers carrying guns.

  ……

  An hour later, the Republican Army balloon team raised the hydrogen balloon again in the night sky, with a string of lanterns hanging under the basket, alternating red and green, exceptionally clear in the night sky, even spectators far away in Hankou could see it.

  Under such illumination, it is impossible for balloons to perform ranging tasks, this is just a signal.

  After the balloon rose, a part of the Hubei New Army stationed at the Steel Medicine Factory moved eastward to the Iron and Steel Factory without authorization. The flag soldiers and officers who rushed to intercept were scattered by a burst of gunfire. Then, the soldiers of this new army tied white towels on their left arms, raised a red flag, formally declared the uprising, joined the Republican Army sequence, and continued to move east, engaging in fierce fighting with the Northern Army that came to intercept.

  At the same time, two Republican gunboats originally anchored in the Yangtze River also sailed towards the Han River and joined the battle in the dark, with their cannons continuously bombarding the Qing army's camps along the river. The sky on the side of Hanyang was filled with smoke, and explosions echoed back and forth.

  Upon hearing the cannon fire, Zhao Bei immediately issued a general attack order. The main force of the Republican Army, which had been waiting for an opportunity to strike, immediately advanced northward from their assembly point in Hanyang, breaking through the defensive positions of the Northern Army at Qintai and Guishan under the cover of artillery fire. They then split into two routes, forming a fan-shaped deployment. The eastern route was led by Zhao Bei, who directly attacked Guishan, while the western route was led by Yang Wangpeng, commander of the second echelon, who established an advance base at Qintai and continued to push northward in a steady manner. Relying on hundreds of wooden rafts and boats, they crossed Donghu Lake at night, directly attacking the flank of the Northern Army troops blocking the uprising at Gangyao Factory, cutting off their connection with the steel factory and armory garrison.

  The battle took place in the dark of night, and neither side needed to distinguish between friend and foe. The Republican Army fired uniformly northward, while the Northern Expeditionary Army fired uniformly southward. Explosions and gunfire erupted one after another, illuminating the night sky with flashes of light, like a thunderstorm.

  After several hours of fierce battle, the enemy at the Steel Medicine Factory was completely annihilated. The Western Route Republican Army immediately advanced eastward and joined forces with the Eastern Route Republican Army to implement a pincer attack on the Qing army. At this point, the Qing army defending the Arsenal and Ironworks had been completely surrounded.

  Later, the artillery positions of the Beiyang Army in Guishan also fell into the hands of the Republican Army. Dozens of new and old cannons were seized by the revolutionary army, which immediately turned their muzzles around to bombard the Qing army defending the steel factory and the arsenal from a commanding height. Although the shelling stopped soon due to poor visibility at night, it still destroyed the morale of the Qing army. By 9:30 in the evening, the steel factory and the arsenal had fallen one after another, and all the Qing troops stationed there were annihilated. The commander-in-chief of the 21st Mixed Brigade of the Qing Army, Lü Yungxiang, Lu Yongxiang, and Wang Zhiyuan were all captured alive by the revolutionary army.

  The remaining Qing troops in the northwest direction of the siege circle escaped along the Han River to the northwest, pulling the Black Mountain Qing army's feet. The Qing army was defeated and no longer dared to stay in Hanyang, and they rushed to seize ships from upstream to cross the Han River and escape to Hankou. There were no more regular Qing troops in the Hanyang area.

  Later, the Republican army troops, mainly composed of the Revolutionary Guard, unfolded in a northwesterly direction, and after sporadic fighting, they successively occupied the high points of Heishan, Pindanshan, Wenjianshan, Guodishan, Xiannvshan, Meinangshan, etc. A solid defensive line was established in the northwest of Hanyang. After dawn, the right bank of the Han River was already a sea of red flags, with camps everywhere.

  With this, the Battle of Hanshin ended completely.

  This battle annihilated more than 15,000 Qing troops, captured over 40,000 rifles, 20 machine guns, 20 Krupp field guns, 40 Japanese-made mountain guns, nearly 100 old-style cannons, and an uncountable amount of ammunition. Moreover, since the Hanyang Arsenal fell into the hands of the Republican Army, this arsenal immediately became a large military warehouse for the Republican Army.

  Before dawn broke, the entire battlefield was swept clean, and more than 2,000 rifles, five cannons, and a large quantity of ammunition were captured. Over 2,000 scattered Qing troops were also incorporated into our forces.

  Wuhan's three towns, except for Hankou which has yet to be recovered, have largely fallen into the hands of the Republican Army, and the revolutionary red flag is waving on both banks of the Yangtze River.

  On the night of the day when the battle ended, Zhao Bei summoned representatives of scholars and merchants from Wuchang, Hanyang to gather at the south bank of the confluence of the Han River and the Yangtze River. At one order, all the official sedan chairs seized by the Republican Army were piled up into a small mountain, and the officials' hats and official robes were poured with kerosene and burned together. The flames illuminated half the sky, and residents of Wuchang, Hanyang, and Hankou could see the soaring flames.

  Standing on an ammunition cart, Zhao Bei held up a metal megaphone and loudly proclaimed to the crowd:

  "The era of emperors and kings has ended! From now on, it's the era of republics! From now on, all unequal titles are abolished, no more 'gentlemen', 'commoners', 'slaves' or 'masters'! From now on, everyone is a citizen of the Republic! Let us shout in unison: Long live the Revolution! Long live the Republic! Long live the Citizens!"

  "Long live the Revolution! Long live the Republic! Long live the Citizens!"

  Tens of thousands of soldiers shouted in unison, although they may not all have understood the profound significance of these slogans, but at least they were shouting out that sweeping momentum that was eliminating everything outdated.

  Accompanied by the cheers of citizens, some red lanterns appeared on the river surface, more and more, denser and denser, thousands and thousands, like stars in the night sky, countless. That was the work of the newly established "Republican Military Government Propaganda Committee" under Zhao Bei's command. Before the Battle of Hanyang had completely ended, Zhang Jiyang, the director and general representative of the committee, gathered all the people of Wuchang, holding hastily made red lanterns, to hold a grand celebration of the recovery outside the city, and ignited river lanterns on Parrot Island, throwing them into the river, shouting for the Republic and assisting the revolution.

  Seeing the red lights on the Yangtze River, the military and civilians of Wuchang and Hanyang were all invigorated. The cries of "Republic" and "Revolution" shook heaven and earth, and the whole city was immersed in a victorious mood. As for Hankou, which had not yet been liberated, it was a scene of deathly stillness. The remaining Qing troops stationed there were all on high alert, their eyes wide with fear, nervously watching Wuchang and Hanyang, afraid that the revolutionary army would take advantage of the night to launch a surprise attack on Hankou.

  The Hankou concession authorities also strengthened their guard, and the consuls of various countries sent telegrams one after another, asking their governments to immediately send troops to reinforce the Hankou concession and arm neutrality.

  It was a sleepless night for everyone.

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